The Heaven I Found In Hell (55 page)

I was so familiar with his face, his body and every part of him, but still his smile and every expression he made got to me, hitting my nerves and most especially my heart. His light brown hair was slightly fixed but still the out-of-bed look stuck to him and I wasn't going to complain. I completely adored his boyish and roguish charm. It made him look so easy to get along with despite his popularity and untouchable reputation in school. The times I spent with him, alone, made me see him as a little kid who was normal and just wanted to have fun in the shallowest of ways. These things, the way he teased, the way he hugged and the times he let me rest my head against his firm chest in comfort, these made me fall for him, and they still do. I was never going to be sick of him I realized.

"Is that a joke?" I asked and in reply, he nodded. "Well, do you see me laughing?"

"No."

"Then I guess your joke didn't get to me," I answered smiling. "Hah-hah."

"We're here," he said, turning off the engine of the car. I looked at what was in front of me. Riley was right; he had brought me to an arcade.

We got out of the car and on the way to the complex; he took hold of my hand and intertwined his finger with mine. I didn't look up in fear that I was going to blush in front of him which was in my part, embarrassing. We just simply walked together, hand-in-hand and entered the arcade.

"I am so ready to play video games," I said in such a sarcastic tone I was scared that I might have offended him, but in response, he just laughed at what I said.

"I asked you out for dinner, and I'm going to spend that time playing 'House of the Dead' or 'Time Crisis'?" he asked in disbelief.

I opened my mouth to speak but what exited it were only a couple of vowels that even seemed inaudible.

"We're in an arcade, isn't that what you do when you're in one?" I asked, and once again, he chuckled before he pulled me over to the place where the prizes were.

"I made a reservation for the karaoke room," he said to the lady that stood behind the ledge. "Nathan Adams."

I squealed with what he had said, and I couldn't help but smile so wide the end of my lips probably reached my ears. We were going to sing, and Nathan singing? He wouldn't do it unless I forced him, and right at the moment, he was doing it on his own accord. I really couldn't help but blush. This simple act of his made him so much more lovable.

"Thank you," I said, and the smile still evident on my face.

"Anytime."

I looked at him and raised my eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe not anytime," he said grinning. "But you're welcome."

I reached up on my tiptoes to be able to give him a quick kiss on his cheek. In return, he wrapped my waist with one of his arms before we made our way to the singing booth. The place was bigger than I expected, and it could probably fit like fifteen people with enough space to stand and sing and be the center of all eyes. We sat on the seats and the door opened.

"Do you guys want to order already?" a girl dressed in her work uniform asked. "My name's Tiffany by the way."

"Heya Tiffany, we just need the menus and we'll be ready in five minutes," Nathan answered with a smile.

She left closing the door silently and returned after a minute or so. She handed us the laminated menus and my mouth started to water. I felt like pigging out, but decided not to after my battle with myself. If ever I ate a lot, I'd need to burn the calories later, and I was too tired at the moment to exercise, so as always, a salad would suffice.

"Here ya go, I'll be back in five," she said, leaving us once more.

The room fell silent for a moment, and I swore I heard my heart beat when the realization came to me that it was only Nathan and me. We were alone, and for some unknown and alien reason, tonight felt like the night I should just tell him what I felt, that I wanted to be with him and that I still loved him. Wishing to get a clue, I looked at him and in return, he gazed right at me with a sweet smile on his face, but everyone smiled so the way his lips curved up, as adorable as it was, was useless. I shook my head and put my current thoughts at the back of my head. I should just enjoy tonight, and so, I got the song list that sat on the table in front of me and started to look at the selections.

"What shall we sing first?" I asked, browsing through the songbook, when my eyes landed on a certain page.

"Oh!" I said, immediately brightening up. "I want to sing 'I Will Survive'!"

He could only laugh, and I did sing the song, and during my singing he was laughing his ass off. Not to sound arrogant or anything, but I had a nice voice, better than Nathan's anyway, but I wasn't going to sing like I was in American Idol or some talent show; I wanted tonight to be fun and memorable, and this could only be done if Nathan and me acted crazy, like we had no care in the world and the judgments that came with it.

"And now you're back, from outer space!" I shouted thanking the architect of the arcade for the sound-proof walls.

I started swaying my hips and before the song ended, I landed on my knees with my arms raised up in the air as if I had planned a grand finale. When the song stopped, Nathan clapped his hands in enthusiasm and before I could sit once more, he hugged me. I returned the embrace and was about to sit back down, but he didn't let me. We must have looked stupid just in each other's arms for more than a minute, but hey, no one was watching. I suddenly realized how wrong 
this
 was, and so, I told him to let go. He obliged without any questions and I thanked God for that.

"That was some show you put for me," he said in mischief. "And now it's my turn."

"I think it's a good time for me to listen to my iPod," I teased with an all-knowing smile.

He turned to me, his facial expression asking me if I was serious, and I could only laugh at him before I shook my head.

"I may be a bitch, but not right now, I'm having way too much fun."

He smiled and then turned his back against me before he pressed the numbers of his song. A loud familiar beat played and I soon figured out he was going to rap.

"Rap huh?" I asked, and I knew I was going to enjoy this.

"Well, God didn't gift me with a nice voice, so might as well sing a song where tone isn't so needed."

"Smart," I returned winking.

He began, and in sync, I started my laughter. I covered my stomach with my arms and bid it to stop hurting from laughing. He was trying to be gangster which was absolutely not fit for him. He started bouncing, his skills on the dance floor showing, but even that wasn't enough to hide the fact that his voice was deafening. When he ended, he turned to me and asked me how he had done.

"I'm so thankful you brought me here," I said in all honesty, appreciating very much the fact that he took me out to karaoke even though he knew it was not his thing. "It means a lot."

"And you not insulting me means as much," he said, sitting back down beside me.

It was once again my turn and before I knew it, the song started to play and I began swaying my hips again, this time in a seductive manner. He started grinning and before I was even belting out the lyrics, he was laughing with the way I body-waved.

"All you people look at me like I'm a little girl. Well did you ever think it'd be okay for me to step into this world!" I belted out, singing Britney's 'I'm A Slave 4 U.'

I didn't care if Nathan probably thought I was weird or something, I wanted to have fun and make him laugh, and he was. I felt assured though when he gave me a 'thumbs up' when I finished. Once again, he had the floor and what played next brought a smile to my face. He wasn't trying to be funny. He wanted to get something across me, and it was working.

I looked at him and the feelings came rushing back like a crazy river with a wild current at the moment. He may have been out of tune, but the work was there, and I could only appreciate it. Throughout the song, he had his eyes on me. He wasn't grinning or smirking or holding that air of arrogance I always enjoyed putting down. He looked even scared, afraid of what my reaction would be when he ended and had to face my comments.

"
One... you're like a dream come true...
Two... just wanna be with you...
Three... girl it's plain to see... that you're the only one for me...
Four... repeat steps one through three...
Five... make you fall in love with me...
If ever I believe my work is done... then I start back at one"

I finally knew what I had to do after weeks of acting clueless and unsure of Nathan's feelings for me. Of all the songs he could sing, he chose 'Back At One'. It wasn't a personal favorite of mine, but there was a message behind it, one which was very adaptable to Nathan's life and mine. To reassure me even more, when he sat back down beside me, he opened his mouth to say, "Now, you know what step two is."

I nodded and could only smile sheepishly at him. After a few minutes though, I moved myself towards him until I was close enough to wrap my arms around his neck. In return, he encircled my waist with his arms and set me onto his lap. With this position, it was so much easier to face him and so much better to see the expression on his face and in his eyes. Silence surrounded us and to bring everything to a stop, he leaned his head down closer to mine. Our lips were about to meet when my finger got in the way.

"How cheesy can you get?" I said, grinning.

"What?"

"Singing that song and putting me on your lap?"

"You put your arms around me," he said, having a point, and my lips could only form a thin line. "You were leading me."

"And I succeeded," I said laughing.

"I don't want to hurt your ego, so yes, you did," he replied smiling, but I knew behind the warm and placid exterior, he just wanted to get it done, for the both of us to clear things up.

Silence took up a moment of our time and we could only stare back at each other. I kind of knew already what he felt since he told me, even though in such indirect ways, and so, I didn't really feel so nervous anymore. Once again, we moved our heads closer to each other.

"So where were we?" I asked, a smirk forming on my face.

"About to do this," he said, leaning down once again to be able to crash his lips on mine, but once more, the annoying side of me interfered.

"I just want to tell you something," I said grinning and definitely enjoying the moment.

I heard him let out a sigh, hopefully not an exasperated one, before he said, "Thank God I love you so much to hit you."

"You're going to hit me?" I asked, pouting and in a teasing way.

"No, I am not," he said. "Alex, please,"

"What?" I asked, my hands going down until they landed on his chest.

"Quit it."

"Fine, I will."

"Goo-"

And before he saw it coming, I placed my lips over his and pulled him down closer to me. I remained on his lap as my hands ran through his hair messing it up all the more. I felt the tension that was becoming thicker with every second passing by the way our chests were pressed up hard against each other. After a few moments, his mouth left mine, as he trailed kisses down from my jaw to my neck. His lips went up once more, whispering into my ear, "Two steps down."