The next morning, the school atmosphere felt heavy, but not for the reasons Karen expected. She had spent the night rehearsing how to act "normal" around Josh, but the moment she stepped into the hallway, she saw Erika.
Erika was sitting at her desk, her head buried in her arms. On the chalkboard behind her, someone had taped a piece of notebook paper—the very letter Erika had spent hours drafting.
"Check it out," a boy’s voice laughed from the back of the room. It was Satou, the "brick" Erika had a crush on. He was surrounded by his friends, passing around his phone. "She actually used the word 'eternity.' Who even talks like that? It’s like a bad soap opera."
Karen felt a cold, sharp spike of adrenaline. The denial she had been feeling about her own heart vanished, replaced by a protective fury. Before she could think, she was across the room. She snatched the letter off the board and marched straight up to Satou.
"Is this funny to you?" Karen’s voice was low, trembling with rage.
Satou smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Relax, Karen. It’s just a joke. Maybe if your friend wasn't so pathetic—"
Slap.
The sound echoed through the silent classroom. Satou’s face snapped to the side. The smirk was gone, replaced by a red mark and pure shock.
"Karen!" Erika cried out, grabbing Karen’s arm. "Stop it! It’s okay!"
"It's not okay!" Karen shouted, her eyes stinging. "She gave you her heart, and you treated it like trash!"
The teacher walked in a second later, but Karen didn't wait to be scolded. She turned and bolted from the room, pushing past the crowd in the hallway.
The Rooftop Sanctuary
Karen didn't stop until she reached the rooftop. She slammed the heavy metal door behind her and leaned against the railing, gasping for air. The winter wind bit at her skin, but she welcomed the chill. She felt like she was vibrating with anger and embarrassment.
"You really have a mean right hook, you know."
Karen didn't have to look. She knew the voice. Josh was standing by the water tank, his hands in his pockets. He looked like he had been there for a while.
"Go away, Josh," she whispered.
"I saw the whole thing," he said, walking closer. He didn't mock her. He didn't make a joke. "Satou is a jerk. You did what anyone would want to do. But now you’re going to get detention."
"I don't care about detention," Karen said, finally looking at him. Her hair was messy from the wind, and her eyes were red. "I just hate that love makes people so stupid. Erika is a mess because of a letter, and I’m a mess because—"
She cut herself off, her heart leaping into her throat.
"Because why?" Josh asked. He was standing directly in front of her now. The snark was gone. He looked concerned—genuinely, deeply concerned.
The Accidental Kiss
"Because everything is changing!" Karen cried, stepping toward him, her frustration bubbling over. "We were supposed to just be neighbors! We were supposed to just be friends who made fun of each other! Why does everything have to get so complicated?"
She reached out to shove his shoulder—a familiar, friendly gesture they’d done a thousand times—but her foot caught on a stray piece of gravel. She stumbled forward, her momentum carrying her right into him.
Josh instinctively reached out to catch her, his hands gripping her waist to steady her. But the force of her fall sent them both back against the fence.
It happened in a blurred second. Karen’s face crashed into his, her lips landing squarely against his.
Time stopped.
The wind died down. The distant sounds of the school disappeared. It was clumsy. It was sudden. It tasted like cherry lip balm and the cold winter air. It was both of their first kisses, and it was nothing like the movies.
They pulled apart instantly, both of them staring at each other with wide, horrified eyes.
"I—" Karen started, her face turning a color that shouldn't be humanly possible.
"Karen—" Josh breathed, his hands still hovering near her waist as if he didn't know whether to grab her or run.
"That was a joke!" Karen yelled, her brain short-circuiting. "That was... that was a physical prank! Don't look at me!"
She spun around and scrambled for the door, nearly falling again in her haste. She left Josh standing on the rooftop, his fingers touching his lips, a look of utter bewilderment on his face.
Payback
An hour later, Josh found her in the library. She was hiding in the back of the reference section, trying to disappear into a book about ancient architecture.
"Karen," he whispered, appearing over the top of the shelf.
"I'm dead. I've passed away. You're talking to a ghost," she muttered into the pages.
"You owe me," Josh said, his voice containing a hint of that old, familiar mischief. "You stole my first kiss as a 'prank.' I think I deserve some payback."
"What do you want? Money? My lunch?"
"Sit up."
She did, looking at him warily. Suddenly, Josh lunged forward and began tickling her sides.
"Josh! Stop! We're in a library!" she hissed, trying to suppress a loud laugh. She squirmed, her face lighting up as she fought him off. For a moment, it felt like they were kids again, playing in the backyard.
Josh stopped abruptly. The laughter died down, leaving them in a charged silence between the bookshelves. He looked at her—really looked at her—and the teasing light in his eyes changed into something warmer, something more intense.
"Actually," he said softly. "I changed my mind about the tickling."
Before she could ask why, he leaned down and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her cheek. It wasn't an accident this time. It was slow, deliberate, and it made Karen’s heart do a backflip that nearly made her dizzy.
"Now we're even," Josh whispered, his face just inches from hers.
He turned and walked away, leaving Karen staring at a book she couldn't see, her hand pressed against her cheek where his lips had just been.
ns216.73.216.141da2
and then Add to home screen.