chapter eighteen . . . at last .
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real life!

"VAL! You wanna go out today?" Jonathan asked as he entered the kitchen where Avalon was pouring a glass of apple juice.

She placed her glass down on the counter, "Yeah, sure. I just gotta get ready." As she left she heard JD mumble something but it was incoherent. She brushed it off and wandered up the hall to her temporary bedroom.

The first thing she did was toss everything out of her suitcases which she had yet to unpack. Good outfit, Good outfit, Good outfit was all her brain could think as she held clothes up to her body in the full-body mirror and tossed them aside seconds later. She couldn't remember the last time she cared about what she looked like in front of a guy. Of course, she didn't think JD would judge her, but she didn't wanna look like crap in front of him.

"I sound like a teenage girl." She mumbled to herself.

After an embarrassing amount of time, she had finally chosen an outfit, at least a decent enough one. She fixed up her hair and brushed her teeth, put on some makeup, and lastly, her shoes she was ready to go. She walked out of her room and paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and a shaky sigh, she sauntered into the living room where JD was sitting on the couch scrolling through his phone.

"I'm ready to go." Avalon adjusted her bag on her shoulder and pulled down her top.

JD looked up from his phone, his expression turning into a slight smile as he stood up, "You look beautiful."

No matter how many times he complimented her or displayed flirtatious behavior, Avalon would never get used to the rush in her cheeks and the busy swirling in her stomach, "Thank you. You clean up nice."

"Thanks." He responded, grabbing his keys from the little dish on the console table besides the door. He opened the door and stepped aside letting Avalon through first and he stepped out after. As they reached the car he unlocked it and quickly opened the passenger-side door for her.

"Where do you wanna go?" JD asked as they both settled into the car. Avalon plugged the auxiliary cord into her phone and the car, scrolling through Spotify to choose a song.

"I don't know, you chose. It'll be a surprise." She smiled, turning on Good Days by SZA, you can never go wrong with it.

"I have somewhere in mind." He put the car in reverse and back out of the driveway, his arm around the back of Avalon's chair as he looked over his shoulder to the street behind them.

He didn't move his arm the entire ride. Avalon was freaking out.

The entire ride was spent talking mindlessly about life, it was never awkward small talk between the two which is one of the many things she loved about hanging out with him. Not to mention their music taste was eerily similar so she could play whatever song and she wouldn't have to worry about him not liking it. Except for ABBA. JD did not like ABBA.

"Here we are." He grinned, pulling the car into a parking spot just outside of a little walking trail where people had their dogs and kids strolling along beside them through the paths.

"This is cute." Avalon said. "I love it." Just as she was about to reach for the door handle, JD opened it from the outside, allowing her to hop out of the car and he shut the door behind her, locking it. He was very adamant about opening all the doors for her today, apparently.

"I was hoping you would." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the entrance of the trail. Avalon was suddenly glad she had decided on wearing sneakers today.

The two once again chatted with no intention of ever stopping, switching from topic to topic through childhood stories and unpopular opinions. Avalon felt like she could talk with him for hours upon hours without getting bored. She thought she could sit in silence forever in a room with only him and she wouldn't be bored.

"We should get going, it's gonna start raining any minute." Avalon heard from a mother passing by her and JD which made her wonder if it really was supposed.

"I'll check the weather, you continue your story." Avalon dismissed, opening her phone for the first time since she got out of the car. She opened the weather app and was practically blinded by the blue loading screen. Sure enough, there was a 90% chance of rain.

"So then my mom asked the waiter-" JD was cut short by a loud crack of thunder that rattled the myriad trees that surrounded them. "Yeah, I think it might rain."

As if on queue, Avalon felt small, cool drops of rain splashing upon her skin. Instantly, she began laughing. How could they be so stupid as to not check the weather?

"Let's go." JD laughed, grasping her wrist gently as they ran through the trail back to the now-empty parking lot. "Keys, keys, keys. Where are my keys?"
He patted his pockets frantically, no sign of noisy metal clanging against itself.

"Maybe we dropped them in the trail somewhere. We gotta find them." Avalon began as she started walking back to the trail.

JD grabbed her wrist to cease her from going any further. "Um, seeing as we have nothing better to do right now." He started, not letting go of Avalon's wrist even though she now faced him, steady in place, "I was gonna tell you this later. That's why I-uh wanted to go out in the first place, but anyway. Avalon, this might sound kinda childish, but I really like you. Like, like like you. I know you might not feel the same way and that's fine if you don't, we can and still remain friends. But since the first time we ever talked, I haven't stopped thinking about you since. Every waking moment to every dream I have at night has been about you, I know it's really cheesy, but I can't help it. You're so beautiful, and you're kind and super funny, and-"

It was like a reflex Avalon didn't know she had, she placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed her lips against his. It was a euphoric feeling she had never felt before. Their lips moved in a rhythm, like a carefully composed harmony that couldn't sound (or feel) wrong no matter how hard you tried to ruin it. He held her face in his hands to deepen the kiss as Avalon wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling them closer, if that was even possible.

They broke away for a moment, breathing in the crisp air. Suddenly, Avalon remembered the rain pouring down upon their heads, soaking their hair and dampening their skin. She pressed her lips to his again and the euphoric feeling only intensified. His hands wandered down the sides of her neck, to her waist, and settled there for a moment, then farther down.

Avalon broke away again, "I think you just found your keys without even trying." She reached into her back pocket where she pulled out his keys that clattered together. "Sorry, forgot they were there."

Jonathan did nothing but start laughing, Avalon soon joining as she handed the keys back to him.

"So...I take it you like me back?"

Avalon gave him one last peck on the lips before stepping to the right side of the car and opening the door, "Is that a clear enough answer?" She raised her eyebrows with a playful smirk and got in.

"Yeah, yeah, I got the memo." JD nodded as she slammed the door shut.

"So, where did you plan to go after this?" Avalon asked when he got in and shut the door, immediately turning on the windshield wipers to clear the glass of water.

"I was thinking we could go out to eat, where? I have no clue." He shrugged.

"Oh! That dinner on the boardwalk with the live music from the other day. It'll be empty because it's raining."

"Yes ma'am."

"You should say that more often."

"Will do."

"Thank you." Avalon responded as she turned on Revenga by System of a Down.

. . .

AUTHOR'S NOTE ## it breaks my heart to say that this is the last chapter. i've loved writing this book and i love and appreciate everyone who's read it and supported me along the way, but i don't have motivation for this story anymore. i hope that this last chapter is up to par for everyone's expectations for their first kiss, if it's not, i'm sorry. i've been working on this chapter for over a month and this is the best i could do. maybe in the future i can write bonus chapters or add in a few here and there, but this is where i'm leaving off for now. remember that i'll always love you, thank you for all of the support, it means the absolute world to me <3

-ani ❤️

p.s. if you're interested, i have a padmé amidala fanfic up (star wars) so go read if you'd like :)