All Her Secrets

Touch - Pigeon

A/N: How did y'all like the last chapter? I have been waiting to write that for-freaking-ever!! Eek! These two are just big heart eyes right now. 

    Chapter Song: "Sue Me" by Sabrina Carpenter

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    Collin found me as soon as I walked back into the backyard. And he was PISSED.

    "Pigeon! What the actual f**k were you doing up there?! You could have gotten killed, for God's sake! You could have- you are so- UGH! I'm not leaving you alone ever again." I stood in front of him, allowing him to rant for a minute with my arms crossed and an eyebrow lifted, a smirk playing on my lips. After Collin ran out of steam he ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply. 

    'Done?' I asked while staring at him. He was still frustrated, but he wasn't actually angry with me. "Yeah, I guess. You, girl, are so so very lucky that I don't have Carter's number." I rolled my eyes and smiled. Carter would smile and congratulate me. "Alright, let's go. Grace has asked us to meet her and Jess and Tyler, whoever that is, by the bonfire." 

    I rolled my eyes, knowing who Grace was talking about. 

    Tyler Young, one of the most well-known names around here. He lived in a giant house in the woods, but never threw parties, was a business major who took Anatomy for some reason. A good friend of Grace's, who also had that weird silent communication thing with her and a lot of their friends. Jess lived in the house with him, and I'd visited before but stayed in the car. His dad was mega-famous- or as famous as an architect could be.

    "Hello, earth to Pigeon? Are you okay?" Collin had been trying to get my attention for the better part of a minute, but I had been watching the fire. Turning to him, I flipped my ponytail over my shoulder and smiled as I rolled my eyes. I noticed the camera and decided to stare into it for a minute until he pulled it away. 'I'm fine, Collin. In fact, I'm better than fine. I'm great. Now that I've successfully made this party not boring at least.' 

    Collin let out an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking at his feet. To pull his mind off my defiance of death, I quickly asked him 'Still got that ring?' to which he just nodded. "Haven't been able to come up with something to say yet. I need it to be perfect." he pulled it out of his pocket, and it gleamed in the firelight. 

    Snatching it from his hand, I inspected it closely. 

    Either silver or white gold band with a sapphire on the left and garnet on the right. In the middle was a smoky grey diamond looking stone, and I had to admit, Collin had done an excellent job picking out a ring. 'Birthstones?' I asked as I handed it back to him. He nodded, looking at the band closely before putting it back in his pocket. I knew he was a September baby, which meant that Abby's birthday was coming up in January. I smacked his arm and said 'Well then it's perfect! You should propose to her on New Year's! Didn't you tell me once that she was born on the second of January?' I signed quickly, becoming more animated as I planned it out in my head. "The third, but I could do it on the second instead. That way it's not cheesy like the first, but not her birthday either. You're right, it is perfect!"

    His smile was wider than the Pacific Ocean as he lifted me by my waist in a bone-crushing hug. I pounded on his back, but he refused to let me go until Jess walked up and tapped him on his shoulder. Clearing her throat, she put on a serious face and opened her mouth before Collin cut her off. "Don't worry, I've already raked her over the coals for it." She nodded solemnly for a minute before grabbing my chin and staring into my eyes. 

    "If you EVER  do that again, I WILL kill you MYSELF. Clear?" she let me go, her point having been made, and started looking around for Grace. 

    A few minutes of typical chatter later, Grace was still missing. And Tyler. 

Why do I care that he's missing? 

Whatever.

   The longer that they were gone, the more anxious I got. I was practically jumping at the bit by the time I saw Grace's wild blonde curls come through the shadows by the gate with Tyler. 

He's taller than I thought he was... And really cute. Wow...

Snap out of it! 

    Grace wrapped her arms around Jess's waist and leaned onto her shoulder. Jess jumped, startled before she laughed and kissed Grace on the cheek. Scrunching up her face, Grace stepped back and scrubbed at her cheek, exclaiming "You're wearing red lipstick! You'll ruin the earth tone aesthetic!" and Jess singsong-ing back to her "I don't care. You are mine, and I wanted to kiss you. So I did." "You did? What about now?" Grace asked, pretending to be hurt by the past tense. 

    "Gracie, I always want to kiss you," Jess said as Grace grabbed her face and pressed their lips together. 

So cute. 

   During the whole Grace and Jess love fest, Tyler had been staring at me, almost waiting for me to acknowledge him. I knew he was staring at my eyes- everyone did when they first met me. I expected his first question to ask if I wore contacts, and to avoid that overdone asked and answered awkwardness, I jumped in feet first.

    'So you're the famous Tyler Young, right?' I signed. He continued to stare, almost like he hadn't noticed my signing, so I glanced at Collin and he translated my symbols to words. "So, you're the famous Tyler Young, right?" he said almost lackadaisically. 

    Tyler blinked a couple of times, which drew my attention to his eyes. A startling storm grey, one I had seen before but couldn't place. They didn't quite match with his other features- too light in a sense. A blush spread across his cheeks as he smiled, replying with faux confidence. 

    "Sure am. And you're the famous Pigeon, right?" he bit the inside of his cheek as I flipped my ponytail and smiled, nodding. This time when I signed, his eyes darted to my hands and then to Collin with confusion. 'Well, it's nice to meet you. Officially, at least.' Collin translated easily as I signed, and I watched as Tyler's eyes lit up. 

He's nervous. 

Why?

   He bit the inside of his cheek again as he reiterated my words back to me, "And it's nice to meet you. Officially." I could see indecision warring in his eyes for a moment- those beautiful eyes- before his hand darted out and grabbed mine, pressing it to his lips quickly. 

    And suddenly, I felt everything. Fireworks came through my blood, fizzing and bursting right where his skin met mine. Heat exploded from my hand, and I had an irrational urge to never let him go. 

    I gasped quietly, meeting his eyes for only one more second.

    And then everything went dark.