1 Vol. 01-00: Once Upon a Kiss

A 17-year old Cal hid at the back of the school building. He leaned on the fence and had one foot propped against it. A cigarette sat between his lips, smoke trailing up the sky. His icy blue eyes stared forward as if he could see past the forest trees that surrounded the premises.

Time passed quietly in this place.

But he found it better than sitting through teachers drowning on and on with topics he could care less about. Although he was still trapped inside school premises, he felt a sense of freedom in his hiding spot.

He blew out a puff of smoke in contentment.

Just then, the emergency doors of the school burst open and his female schoolmate stumbled out. He shifted his focus towards her. The latter hid beside the short concrete steps.

"Damn that annoying son of a bastard!" she cursed under her breath, stomping on the ground. Frustrated sounds flowed out of her lips. "I hate him! Ihatehim-Ihatehim-Ihatehim-Ihatehim!"

She continued to scream and kicked the wall.

Her grunts of pain soon followed.

Cal's eyebrows shot up. 'Now, that's something you don't see everyday…'

A smirk appeared on his lips. He took out the cigarette from his lips. "Well, well, look at Miss Goody Two-Shoes getting in trouble."

He heard her gasp as he shook off the ashes of tobacco. His head still bowed, he gave her a sideways glance. Clear amusement shone in his eyes. Who would have ever predicted he'd see Aunika here?

Aunika turned around to look, her brown eyes trembling in fear.

That was until she caught sight of his face.

"Oh, it's just you." Aunika snorted, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head away. "Thought it was someone important."

Cal placed a hand over his wounded heart. "That hurts, Auni."

"Oh, piss off, Cal."

"Ah, my name never sounded sweeter," he teased, taking out his box of cigarettes from his pocket. He offered it to her. "Since you're already here, want to have a smoke?"

Aunika scrunched her nose. "Ew. No."

Cal merely shrugged. "Suite yourself, princess."

She marched away from him but found a dead-end. Nowhere else to go, she headed back to her previous spot and sat down with her rear hovering above the ground. A scowl knitted her eyebrows.

Those icy blue eyes watched her the whole time. Long shiny brown hair and an upturned small nose, Aunika turned heads whenever she walked by. Her athleticism and her brains soon earned her a reputation— like a desert lower on a pedestal.

The thought made Cal sick every time he remembered. They made her sound like public property when she belonged to no one but herself.

"Want to see my tattoo?" He asked all of a sudden, already rolling up his sleeve.

Aunika glared at him from the corner of her eye. "Why are you trying so hard to make small talk?"

"It's called being hospitable," he replied with a chuckle. "You're in my turf. I have to keep you entertained."

"I'm pretty sure this is school property."

"So? Nerds have the science lab. Jocks have the gym. I have this secluded area."

"Wow, award-winning logic."

"Thank you.

"It wasn't a compliment."

"I know."

Rolling her eyes, Aunika chose not to waste her breath any longer and stared at the ground. Her leg muscles began to cramp but she endured. She hugged her knees tighter. Afternoon classes were about to start when she ran all the way here.

But why should she care about her attendance record right now? For once, she wanted to do something without caring about anyone or anything else.

Her hands clenched into fists. Tremors crawled up her skin as she held back tears. Although she thought that way, she'd still face consequences later.

Cal exasperated a sigh. She really made it difficult to ignore her. He extinguished the light from his cigarette and tucked it away. 

"Since you're obviously uninterested in me, care to share why you're here?"

Aunika refused to meet his gaze. "None of your business."

"This is a safe space. Nothing in here ever goes out."

"Oh, really?" She arched an eyebrow, finally meeting his eyes and jumping in her seat at how close he was. Cal had crouched beside her. The red tips of his dark hair looked worse at this proximity. 

It looked so patchy. 

Did he do it himself?

He shrugged and leaned away. "Up to you whether you want to believe it or not, princess."

"Don't call me that," she sneered and averted her gaze. Cal remained by her side, back to staring at the trees. 

Aunika sneaked a peek at him. Cal always kept to himself. He never poked his nose at anyone's business. Most people thought he was a troublemaker but, really though…

… who actually causes trouble in school? The kid skipping classes or the kid spreading lies to drag another person through the mud?

"I caught Heath making out with Marion," Aunika finally muttered under her breath. She must have looked pitiful—laughable even. 

Cal narrowed his eyes. "Isn't Heath your boyfriend?"

"Not anymore." Aunika snorted. She bumped the back of her head against the wall. Her eyes glazed at the sky. She started muttering to herself. "So stupid… a prank, they said. How could I be delusional, they said. I'm way too ugly for him, they said."

"Who said what now?" Cal saw red. It was clear to him that they had wanted to bring her down. His blood simmered at the half-assed insults. Were they in fckng elementary? They couldn't even do this shit right.

Aunika sighed and shook her head. "Never mind. Good riddance to them. Not like I really lost anything except my first kiss."

Cal relaxed slightly. He'd deal with those yahoos another day. He moved closer in her direction. The rest of his anger dissipated when she didn't push him away. "I thought girls want their first kiss to be special?"

"It's just a kiss. Doesn't mean I'll kiss one guy forever so does it even matter?" Aunika said as she swallowed her sobs. Her words weren't entirelyvwrong. Someday she wouldn't even think about that stupid kiss. 

She just wished she could skip over to that time. Why did she have to go through the motions anyway? 

Why did anyone if they already know what happens?

Cal stared at her, noticing her expression. His hands balled into fists. When he finds that bastard, he'd beg for death. 

 "How did he kiss you?" Cal asked, trying to keep his temper in check. 

Aunika frowned. His eyes held an intense gaze as if silent fury hid beneath his poker face. But why? "Gee, Cal. I didn't know you were into that kind of gossip."

"Was it a peck?" He fired back, feeling restless.

She opened her mouth. Then, she closed it again.

Was she really about to tell Cal about this? 

"Yeah, it was." Aunika sighed. Better to answer him than make matters worse. He was unpredictable like that. "I'm just overreacting, okay? I don't know why it even matters to you—W-What are you doing?"

Cal had grabbed both of her cheeks. When her eyes widened with fear, he relaxed his hold. He stayed still until the fear in her gaze dissipated. 

If there was anyone she shouldn't be afraid of, it was him. Despite how popular she became, she never changed. She always showed her brightest smile and her genuine nature could melt anyone's heart.

She didn't deserve to suffer from other people's petty jealousy. 

"Hold still." His voice dropped to a husky whisper.

Aunika blinked out of her daze. "Wha-What—?"

"Let's wipe him off you," Cal said and met her eyes. "You do want that, right?"

She gulped, unsure of where this was going. After all that happened, who wouldn't want a two-faced boyfriend to be erased from memory? But that wasn't something easily done unless struck by amnesia. 

"Maybe?" Aunika found herself admitting. Despite how reality worked, one could dream, right?

Cal nodded. He began to lean in and close the gap between them. "Then, don't move."

Aunika hitched her breath when his lips came in contact with hers. The school fence behind Cal filled her vision while the latter had his eyes closed. Both of them stayed still for half a minute, mainly because Cal was waiting if she'd shove him off.

When she didn't, he parted his mouth open and stringed her along to follow the same. Aunika smelled tobacco on him and a hint of cologne. Both scents enveloped her. Everything about his touch filled her senses that her eyes began to close.

Cal deepened the kiss once Aunika started responding on her own.

They finally broke away when they ran out of air.

"Now, that was a first kiss," Cal told her in between breaths, satisfied by how swollen her lips were. "Not some kindergarten spin the bottle crap."

Aunika stared at the ground and touched her lips. It was an intense one—far from what she had experienced. What happened slowly dawned onto her. She snapped her head towards the person behind her second first kiss. 

"Cal—"

The doors burst open once again and several men came out. They immediately spotted the two students. Aunika crouched in fear. They were in deep trouble now. The teachers would drag them to the principal's office in humiliation.

It was just the thing to make her enemies happy.

Cal, on the other hand, stood up with a guarded stance. "What are you doing here?"

Aunika's ears perked up when she heard it. She glanced at both parties alternatively, tension present in the air. The three men didn't look like anyone on campus upon closer look. They had to be people Cal only knew.

Were they after him? Did he do something?

Was it illegal? Her heart hammered in her chest just from thinking about it.

One of the men stepped forward. "We've already informed the administration. We're taking you home."

"On what grounds?" Cal questioned. His delinquency record wasn't unknown to his household. Punishment for such behavior was dealt with at home after school was over. Their presence here must be related to something else. 

The man glanced at Aunika. She developed an urge to become smaller. His message was clear. Tremors crawled over her skin that her hands began to shake. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't have cut classes. They must think she was an accomplice and want to get rid of her.

Cal blocked the man's view of her with his arm. Although he was skinnier than the other party, he held his head up high. "If you have something to say, you better not try to touch her while doing it."

"Then, we'll talk in the car," the man compromised.

"Fair enough."

Dropping his arm, Cal checked his pockets if he had everything. He never carried a bag to school. Everything he needed was in his pockets—a pen, a swiss knife and his pack of cigarettes. This time, he didn't relax. 

He couldn't let his guard down, knowing there could be big news ahead of him.

Aunika reached for his sleeve. "Are you going to be okay?"

The worry in her voice made his eyes pop out of their sockets. He just tricked her into kissing him. How could she care about him like this? Still, the corner of his lip curled upwards.

"I'll be fine," he replied. Then, he pinched her nose. "Stay cute, princess."