What Love Entails

fourteen

sous l’âme || fourteen

♤

I woke up with a start. I was sweating as I tried to recover from the god awful nightmare I just had. My parents had gone away to visit my grandmom who was ill and it was just me in the house. I was so scared. I grabbed my phone in the dark. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I dialled River's number. He didn't pick up. Of course he didn't. It was 2 am in the morning for crying out loud. But I was desperate. I quickly redialled his number and after the fifth ring, he picked up.

"What's wrong with you?" He groaned, his voice was deep and husky as he just got up from sleep.

"River," I choked out. "I'm scared."

Silence. "Wait," he said before ending the call.

I gripped my blanket as my heart rate grew faster with each ticking second. After god knows how long, I heard a voice. "Kyla."

I screamed. "Kyla! It's just me! It's River!" He turned on my bedside lamp and relief rushed over me as I took in his face.

"H- How did you get in?"

"I know where you guys keep the spare key to the house," he held up a key. "Under the bonsai pot next to the door." He smiled.

I didn't even know I was crying until he wiped them away with his hand. "What happened, Kyles?" His voice was gentle and comforting.

"I had a nightmare," I sniffled. "It was so awful-"

"Shhh," he got into bed next to me and placed my head over his chest. "You don't have to talk about it. Just go to sleep, I'm right here."

Slowly, my heart rate and anxiousness decreased. River's scent and the gentle drumming of his heartbeat over his chest relaxed me as I tightened my hold on his shirt.

"I'm right here," he repeated, and no words could've comforted me more than those three words.

_____

"Are you going to the bonfire tonight?" River asked me when he spotted me during lunch.

"I guess so," I stayed rooted on my spot, waiting for him to say something before I headed to a table.

"Well?" He raised his brows. "Lead the way."

"Ah," I turned and walked to the empty table that I usually occupied. So he was going to sit and have lunch with me? It got my heart racing. It had been so long since we had lunch together at school. Also where we gonna keep ignoring the fact that we kissed last week at the party? I mean, I was okay with it- actually not- but I wanted to know why he kissed. I had a right to know, didn't I? I mean he couldn’t just pretend that nothing happened after he kissed me. Oh my god. I put a halt to my thoughts as I realised that I was basically rambling to myself.

I set my plate down on the table and took the seat as River did the same. "It's been a while since we've had lunch together," I chuckled as I took a bite of my sandwich.

"Yeah, I missed this," he smiled before biting down on his burger.

"Hey, Kyla," Andrea grinned as she appeared in front of the table. Only when she sat down did she notice River. "Oh hey River."

"Andrea. What's up?"

"Food is what's up," she licked her lips before devouring her food. I looked at her in amusement, meeting River's eyes on the way. He harboured a similar reaction to Andrea's love for food.

"How come you guys are sitting together?" She asked. "I didn't know you guys were friends."

"You're so nosy," River rolled his eyes.

"What?" She raised her hands up in mock surrender. "Can't even ask a single question without being branded as nosy these days."

"Well, you are," a new voice joined in. Kaden smirked as Andrea rolled her eyes. He casually took a seat beside River. "Hey, Rivs." I laughed at the ridiculous nickname.

"I told you not to call me that," River glared at him, earning a grin in return.

"So are you all going to the bonfire tonight?" Andrea butted in. "Kyla and I are."

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Kaden answered while River simply nodded.

"Cool. I'll see you guys there then."

Kaden locked eyes with me and wiggled his eyebrows as he gestured towards River with his eyes. I ignored him and continued to eat my food. "Aren't you going to get food?" River questioned him.

"I am," he got up. "So then, see you guys around." And off he went.

River finished up his food earlier than Andrea and I did. "I'll be going ahead," he stood up with his plate. "See you tonight."

"See you," I smiled as he walked away.

"So you like River?" I choked on my food. I gave Andrea an incredulous look as she smirked.

"I- I don't-"

"Oh come on! Its so obvious by the way you look at him."

I blushed as I glared at her. "Just don't tell anybody."

"I won't," she assured me. "Besides I think River likes you too."

Did he really? Everything he did was confusing; heck, he was confusing. "Actually, we used to date. But we broke up and we're just friends now."

Her eyes widened at the sudden information dropped on her. "Wait seriously!? Wow, that's-"

"Yeah, I get it," I muttered. I was used to the reaction.

"Let's get ready for the party together," she suddenly suggested. "I'll make you look smoking hot and make River's jaw drop down to the-"

"Woah, woah, stop!" I flushed. "Let's not go there."

"Soo.. my house?" She showed me her puppy eyes.

"Okay," I huffed, biting back a smile.

________

When Andrea and I arrived at the beach that night, the party was going on in full swing. There was a bonfire in the middle and people were seated around it, chatting and singing songs. There was barbeque, drinks and snacks nearby.

My eyes immediately scanned the crowd for a dark mop of hair and I finally found him, standing by the fire with his friends. The light of the fire illuminated his face, making him look even more alluring. His eyes snapped up and met mine before trailing down my body. I squirmed in the denim shorts and tee that I was wearing, suddenly feeling conscious. When his eyes reached my face again, he smiled. I returned the smile and he went back to talking with his friends.

Andrea was already surrounded by guys who were chatting her up but she didn't seem interested at all. "Sorry, guys," she glanced at me. "I came with a friend so I need to get back to her now."

She practically dashed towards me and took my hand, leading me towards the food section. "Thank god," she breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Don't you have a boyfriend, Andrea?" I suddenly blurted out. She gave me a look before laughing.

"No I don't," she had a distant look on her face.

"Why not? You're really popular after all. In my opinion, you could get any guy you want," I shrugged.

"I just don't want to."

I didn't press on further. It didn't seem like a subject she wanted to talk about. Instead I said, "Let's get some food."

We got our food and talked as we ate. Andrea went to take another serving while I strolled around. "Sorry," I muttered as I bumped into someone. I looked up to see that it was John Michael, the captain of the football team.

"It's alright," he grinned and he reeked of alcohol as he spoke. "You're cute. What's your name?"

"Um, Kyla," I replied uncomfortably.

"Can I have your number?"

"Uhh.." I wanted to refuse but I just didn't know how to say it.

"Hey, Michael. Lisa's looking for you," River interrupted.

Realisation dawned on Michael as he nodded. "Oh right," and he walked off.

"Thanks," I said meekly.

"For what?"

I blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed for thinking that River had interjected my conversation with Michael to help me. "Nevermind," I dismissed it.

He chuckled before tilting his head. "Wanna take a stroll?"

"Sure."

We walked beside each other and drew away from the crowd, talking animatedly about the past and what we used to do as kids. We laughed as we recalled the stupid things we used to do. We reminisced about how I used to wake him up in the middle of the night because I was scared and he would come over and stay with me until I fell asleep. We kept walking until we reached an insolated area of the beach. The sound of the waves rang in my ears as I took in the beautiful night sky filled with countless stars. "It's so beautiful," I breathed out, lost in the enchantment of the sky.

"Yeah," River mumbled, making me turn towards him, only to find that his eyes were on me the whole time. I blushed and averted my gaze.

River's deep warm eyes, however, never left mine as his hand reached out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. My breath hitched as he further traced my cheekbones with his thumb. "You're really beautiful," he whispered, leaning in closer.

My knees wobbled as his other hand pulled me by my waist. Our breaths were mingling and our noses were touching. Just when his lips were about to brush against mine, I pulled away. Hurt flashed in River's eyes as I breathed in, knowing that no matter how much I wanted to kiss him, there were things I had to settle first.

"River, do you remember the game we played at your house? The question game." My voice was pitchy and River nodded as he recalled the game.

"We still have one question each left," I mumbled. "So can I use mine now?"

He cleared his throat. "Alright," disappointment was evident in his tone.

I recalled everything that had happened over the past few days- what Kaden had said, what Bree had said and how we had kissed- before firming my resolve to ask him the question that would answer what I had always wanted to know. I let out a shaky breath, my heart beating rapidly, before looking straight into his eyes. "Do you still love me?"

He looked stunned for a moment before his grip on my waist tightened and he leaned in close. I squeezed my eyes shut as his breath tickled my ear. "Yes," he whispered huskily into my ear. "Do you?"

I didn't answer. Instead I pushed him off of me and grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him.

________

Hey readers! Thanks for reading this far! What do you think of the story so far? Do you support RiverxKyla? Or no? Well, they've confessed now hehe.

The next chapter would probably be the last chapter of sous l'âme and a new part will begin. As you can see, What Love Entails is a collection of stories. Each part is independent of other parts and can be read as a stand alone. Anyway, please follow so that you don't miss any updates. I'll be updating frequently.

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