Daybreak | IC Inbox.

[awooligan]

CLIFFORD NORMAN
UN: REDRIDINGHOODIE

STATUS: grade 11

ACCOLADES: n/a.

BIO: name's cliff. let me know if you'll buy cigarettes and shit for me, we can work something out.

© TESSISAMESS

Comments

[awooligan]

He has actually considered it. He even thinks it's the more likely of the scenarios -- that everything will be just fine, it could even be wonderful. They could be happy. But to him, the alternative is so, so much worse. She might not think it was a problem, but while he can't say that everything about being a werewolf has been awful, it's still not a risk he's keen on taking. It's hard to accept the idea that he might just willfully infect her with something for little moments of selfishness. That's not even getting into...things that would be far, far off, if they were to ever happen.

He breathes slowly through his nose, not lifting his gaze and not trying to offer a weak smile for her words. The most she gets is a small but definite nod when she mentions he could, but never would, hit her. Just the idea of it makes him sick. Cliff lets his hands fall away, allowing her again to do whatever she wants, though he already misses the warmth and softness of her skin. He wishes he felt better and could thank her for her words, since there's no way she would let him apologize after telling him not to feel bad about it. He wishes he could explain that she's his best friend and he doesn't want to lose her, even if she doesn't think it's as possible as he does. He wishes he wouldn't get so screwed up by this, that, and everything else. He wishes...he could kiss her.

"I trust you," he finally says, quiet. He trusts her more than anyone. An apology almost slips again, but Cliff manages to keep his mouth shut and release it as a sigh instead, and even if he doesn't move to take her hands himself or lean forward, he's going to let himself see that as a win.

[kept_his_letters]

How afraid they both are, she thinks. Though, not of the same things. He's afraid to make a mistake, to spread what he is, afraid to be the monster. But, she's afraid to push too far, too fast. She fears taking this all in her hands and shattering it. She pushes it down. She doesn't want to regret having made a move past friendship in the first place.

She almost smiles with his given trust. Her hands free, she reaches up once more, again to his face. All the little fears of inexperience mingle with the fears of worse, but she moves in. She takes a breath. Her head tilts in the last second. She presses her lips to his.

[awooligan]

He has absolutely no idea what he's going to do about all these feelings except bottle them back up again, put a better stopper on it so he won't bother her with it anymore, and try to get it taken care of on his own. He doesn't realize how afraid she is to make mistakes, too, since they're different than his. But when she moves in closer and he feels an anticipatory throb in his chest, he remembers to be worried about the normal part of all this, too -- he doesn't have a damn clue what he should be doing. At least he wasn't freaking out and jerking away, but what if he screwed up by just being bad at it?

He doesn't have forever to drive himself crazy, thankfully. Coco's kissing him, and then the worst thing he could do wrong was not kiss her back, which he easily avoids. Even he can't make that boneheaded mistake. Perhaps emboldened by this, Cliff lifts one of his own hands to her face, barely brushing his fingers against her at first, but settling before he pulls back slightly and scans over her face.

Well. She's not a werewolf. Not that he actually thinks he'd be able to tell, if something did happen... But the point is that it wasn't an immediate catastrophe, and holy shit he just got kissed by the girl he likes? That's more than enough to put a smile back on his face, however small and shy it might be. God, his face is so warm, maybe he'll just straighten a bit more to escape her hands so she won't be feeling just how warm anymore.

"I think, uh, that would be worth it. Yeah." Maybe he'll just...go for a second one? Show her that yes, this really is something he wants to do. Like, a lot.

[kept_his_letters]

Cliff no. None of your stoppers work. Stop doing this.

On the positive end of things, she doesn't miss, which she was afraid to do. She also doesn't erupt into a furry creature and he doesn't pull away from her. So far, so good. He even kisses back, a little bit of pressure that seems to go straight to her heart. The touch to her cheek, too, inspires the same sort of feeling.

It's not the really intense stuff of movies, she knows that, but even still, she feels rather breathless. She smiles at him as he pulls away, her face heated.

"Definitely," She says, and before she knows it, he's kissing her again.

Now this? This is a really good valentines day.

[awooligan]

Maybe he's just not hammering them in hard enough. He'll do a better job this time. It's fine. It's not a big deal. Don't worry about it.

If she thinks this is good, she should just wait for actual valentines day. Happy as he is, Clifford doesn't think this moment will be able to compare to the one where her dad proposes to her mom, or when her mom would undoubtedly say yes. Still, this is pretty damn good, and that's not something he's considering right now, anyway. He's not even considering how this is something crossed off the bucket list, which he may or may not have much time left for. Screw you, sense impending doom, he's too busy trying to get his feet to find purchase instead of continuing to flip over his head in delighted heart cartwheels to think about you.

This time when he moves away, his hand falls again and he lets out a soft, almost disbelieving laugh. He loves her. Maybe it's too early to say that as a boyfriend, but she's been his best friend for half a year in the craziest time in his life. She's been there, and with her here now, it seems simply impossible to not think love is what this is.

He has to say something stupid eventually, so he might as well get it over with. "I'll, uh, have to have you send me this song." Music might not be his biggest link to memory and it might not fit in with the other music he listens to, but another reminder of this feeling definitely couldn't hurt.

[kept_his_letters]

WORRIES ABOUT IT.

Except, at the moment, she's not worried about all that much. Even without knowing the chaos that awaits, even with knowing the looming apocalypse. Everything is really, truly alright for the first time in a long, long time. Letting even the idea of doom slip in is not going to happen. Her stories will be ones where love wins.

She finds herself laughing too.

"I will. Maybe I'll send you a mixtape," She says with a grin, gesturing to the cassette piles.