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Iris saw his glance down and immediately felt self-conscious, cheeks warming again. She couldn't just stand here, she had to do something. But what? Leave and forget this never happened? Or... something else... As soon as the thought came to her mind, she whisked it away. Nope, nope, nope. Awful idea. If she did it could be the end of their friendship. Besides, she'd never kissed anyone before and didn't ever plan on it. So why did she suddenly feel like she had to? Iris took a step forward, not even noticing that she did so. |
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Caden saw her cheeks flush, immediately regretting the decision. He noted how she stepped forwards, going to back before realizing he couldn't due to the desk. His mind clawed at him, screaming things which made him want to crawl into a hole and die. For once, Caden felt trapped. |
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When she saw Caden's expression, it took Iris out of her trance. She stepped back, breaking his deep gaze. She looked down at her hands, mind suddenly attacking her with questions. 'What was that? Hm? What just happened? Why'd you step closer to him? Why did you even consider kissing him? When has that become a thing? Haven't you guys been friends? When did you start liking him that much?' Iris brought her hands to her temples, closer her eyes and gritting her teeth. She didn't know the answers to any of those questions, but she desperately wished she did. |
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Caden saw her back, a weight feeling as though it had lifted off his chest. He watched closely as she ran her hands to her temples, slipping her eyes shut and gritting her teeth so loud he could hear it. He cringed at the sound, watching as she seemed to mull in her brain. "You alright?" Caden asked after a moment, placing a hand on her shoulder as he looked down at her with a worried expression. |
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Iris was caught off guard by his touch. She flinched away automatically, hands dropping to her sides. She'd kind of forgotten he was there as she'd been so lost in her thoughts. She looked up at him and immediately averted her eyes. She didn't want to think about what had happened anymore. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Caden's worried expression just made it worse. "Hi, yeah, I'm okay, thanks." She said quickly in an unusually high-pitched voice and with a forced smile, then turned towards the door. "I should probably go..." She muttered, wanting to stop all those emotions from washing over her. |
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Caden drew his hand back quickly when she flinched, watching as she left and he just... stood there. The door clicked shut behind her and his shoulders slumped, leaving him staring at a closed door and empty room. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before flopping onto his bed and thinking off all that'd gone wrong. Caden slowly drifted off while staring at the ceiling, dreaming of her curled at his side. He forced himself awake, wiping the image from his mind and repeating 'just friends' dozens and dozens of times until he only saw her as a friend---nothing else. Just like that, he regretted saying he liked her. |
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Iris opened the door and stepped out into the late morning air, which was now colder than before. It was still raining, but she hardly noticed. She walked back to her dorm room, arms wrapped around herself, shivering, mind whirling a thousand miles an hour. If Caden liked her-- and she was pretty sure he did-- why had he shrunk against the wall like that? If he had enjoyed the hug as much as she did, why had he let her leave? Were things like that going to keep happening, forcing them to restart over and over again? And the most nagging question of all: What was she supposed to do now? Those thoughts and more bombarded Iris as she hurried back to her room through the pouring rain, unaware that some of the wetness on her face was tears. |
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Caden went and grabbed his things to shower, none of his roomates having arrived yet. As the cold water ran over his shoulders, he thought back to the scene. He had shrunk back let her go, now they were back at square one. The man let out a breath, squirting a little bit of soap onto his hands before raking it through his hair. As he dried off and dressed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, he still thought of her. Saw her features even in the tile when lines lined up to well. Caden grabbed his things, taking the long haul back to his dorm before setting them aside and doordashing something random. The food soonarrived and he ate at his desk, the same spot he'd messed up with the whole thing. |
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Iris made it back to her dorm, pushing open the door. Her roommate was on her bed, looking at something on her phone. She looked up when Iris came in, and Iris hurried to close the door and find somewhere else to think. No way was she going to be in her room when her roommate was there. But before she could close the door all the way, her roommate said, "Wait!" Iris paused, slowly opening the door again. She looked at her warily. "Iris, right?" The woman got off her bed and walked over to where she stood in the doorframe and shook her hand. "I'm Kinley. Got boy trouble?" |
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Caden finished the meal and stared off into space for what felt like hours, only being snapped out of it when he heard one of his roomates clear his throat. "C'mon man, tell me. I know something's up," He mused, Caden just shaking his head. "It's... it's nothing."
He assured, the other just chuckling. "Nuh uh, I know exactly when something's up and guess what? You're going to tell me, whether you do it freely or I make you." He teased, Caden standing abrubtly. "No, i'm not. Now quit pestering somebody who's way out of your class," Caden mused, the other going silent. While Caden did feel bad about saying it, it worked... sometimes. First few times it crashed and burned, seemed it hit this guy. The man strode out into the crisp afternoon air, the wind slapping him in his face as he took in big gulps. He walked over to his Corvette, unlocking it before hopping in and causing a few nearby dogs to start barking as he drove off into who knows where. |
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Bright Sunshine with a few High Clouds
