Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Monday came quickly, facing again another hours and hours of boring classes about economics and whatnots. I sighed as my forehead was kissing against my locker. I was still a bit tired from last night's gig.

Unfortunately for me, Keelan invited himself to watch us perform. I had no choice but to introduce him to the rest of the band. He was smirking mischievously the whole night and I was on my toes, nervous at the thought that he'd tell them who I really was. I warned him the whole night not to even try and told him empty threats because let's face it, I do not know how to threaten anyone.

"Kyree! Kyree, hey!"

I looked up and saw Ember who seemed to be in relief to find me. She looked exhausted while panting.

My eyebrows creased. "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?"

She signalled her finger to give her one second to settle down. "I was looking for you. I know we have all day or all week but I'm just so excited, you know. Okay, here it goes. So at the end of this month, there's a festival. Students in the performing arts department are mostly showcasing their talent on that day."

She paused and grinned at me which made me a bit skeptical. I have a trauma with that kind of smile. There's always something behind that smile. Proven and experienced.

"As you can see, I'm one of the organizers for that event. We planned that the performing arts group will have a contest of their talent instead of just performing on stage. You know kind of like motivation for them to take this rather seriously. Contests though include intermission. After hearing you sing that night at camping, the way you sing, I couldn't just get you off my mind. You sound so amazing, Kyree."

My head tilted to the side as I kept on listening to her rambling. I suddenly have a thought of where this was going.

"So I'm inviting you to perform for an intermission number." She grinned at me excitedly as she swayed her feet back and forth.

Her grin slowly fades as she notices my silence.

"Kyree..."

"I don't know, Em. I don't think it's a good idea." I said rather sadly. I honestly want to but it's just too risky for me.

"Come on, Kyree. Don't you want to share your voice to everyone else?" I still didn't reply. "It's not about boasting your talent. It's about sharing. Mila warned me at first that you won't join the contest. She said you'd definitely refuse. I want to hear your voice again. I want to hear you sing so I told her I'll try to convince you to join the intermission instead."

"You talked to Mila?" She nodded.

I didn't know that I gave such an impact to Ember.

"Also, if you refuse, I told the others that we'll bug you until you say yes. I'm trying to convince you here as much as I can to spare you the trouble." Ember stated in a serious face but the hint of humour was there.

I laugh. "Honestly, I'm quite intrigued on how you guys will convince me."

She narrowed her eyes with a challenge. "You sure, girl?" She shook her head. "Not sure if you're ready for this."

I laugh again. "Show me then and I'll think about it."

Okay I regret challenging Ember. Three whole days they were pestering me. That includes Jenny and Remi's friends, Chris, and Ian. Gavin tried really hard the most like Ember. It was because he's the one who appreciated music the most among them. He even invited me to play with him some time. He was by far the most convincing but I'm still not that persuaded.

"I didn't expect everyone would make an effort like that." Mila stated. The professor's voice now faded as the three of us started a conversation. I was always seated between Mila and Remi.

"Maybe you should give this a chance, Kai. I think there's no harm in performing for just an intermission number. Hell, if I didn't know your situation, I would have been with them convincing you." Rems added his sentiment about it.

"Me either." Mila agreed.

"I don't know." I sighed. "You know I'm still thinking about Darren West's offer. I kinda feel guilty if I refuse, you know. This is their dream and here I am, messing it up."

Mila and Remi both looked at me with sympathy.

"We're so sorry, Kai. If we could do something, you know we won't hesitate to help you. Heck we've proven that to you when we were seniors in high school." Mila and I giggled.

Remi shivered dramatically. "Please don't ever remind me of that. Do you know how awkward it was to suddenly know that you're marrying your best friend?" We suppressed our fits of giggles, not wanting to grab the whole class' attention.

"And here I am still facing the same damn predicament. You guys can't even do anything about it. Your relationship won't save me now."

"Maybe we can try." Remi suggested.

"No offense, guys, but I think you already know. I'm scared shit of Kai's dad." Mila said with wide eyes.

I sighed. "I'm scared shit of my dad too."

We kept talking with hushed voices. They even tried to convince me to take Ember's offer but they didn't push it when I said I'll think about it.

I was on my way to the studio, when a certain someone's body blocked my path. I side stepped him and he blocked me again. Side stepped. Blocked. Side stepped. Block.

"What the fuck do you want, White?" I asked irritatedly with a scowl on my face. His annoying mouth grinned.

"Well, glad you asked, love." My scowl deepened. "See those folks there?" His head nodded towards my back and I turned my head around to look at it.

Everyone was there. Even Ren! He was waving at me with a playful smile on his face. Everyone who joined the camping trip was there. Remi had his arm languidly around Mila's shoulders. They both have a smile on their faces. Sadly, I could not read what kind of smile it was. Ember had an arrogant smile on her face while she had her arms crossed. Everyone else had a cheerful face.

Holy shit. I'm suddenly nervous of what they're gonna do.

I turned back to Keelan.

"What are you up to-"

I couldn't even continue when his mouth was suddenly on mine. He kissed me.

He held me even tighter and his kisses deepened when I tried to resist and push him. He licked my lower lip before swooping his tongue right in doing a french kiss. I groaned from his actions. I could hear the people from the back cheering and hooting us. It was hella embarrassing and this guy doesn't know a thing about embarrassment.

My back arched as he continued to kiss me. Seconds later, I found myself falling for his kisses. I was literally melting. I responded with equal fervor. Even fought his tongue so I could dive inside his mouth. It felt like I had won when he moaned.

He slowly pulled back. I was in a daze to wonder why he stopped. My eyes were half lidded unable to see everything clearly. He then whispered against my mouth.

"Say yes." He kissed me again. It lingered for seconds and he pulled back again.

"Yes." He kissed me again, lingering for another seconds before pulling away again.

"Say okay." He did it again. Kiss and pull away.

"Okay."

I thought he'd kiss me again but I realized he didn't so I looked at him. He had a huge grin on his face. I frowned and wondered why.

He looked behind and yelled. "She said it's okay!"

My eyes widened. I now realized what he was actually up to. I heard everyone screaming yeses and cheering. I pushed Keelan away, furious at what he did.

"Oh sweetheart, you don't know what you got yourself into." His ear splitting grin never wore off.

"You little piece of shi-"

And he kissed me again. This time, he didn't pull back