"Iggy. Hey, Ig, wake up."
I groaned and opened my eyes-not that it made a difference-and yawned, "Wha's happenin'?"
I felt a hand on my shoulder, not pushing me down or pulling me up, just being there. Fang whispered, "Nothing. It's just me."
I rubbed my face, pushing my hair back off my forehead, then asked, "So, um, is there a particular reason you woke me up, Fang? Or are we all just partaking in Wake The Blind Kid Up Early Day?"
"No," Fang snorted quietly, "Come with me."
I reluctantly left my warm sleeping spot to follow him, wondering what he wanted this early. Well, I wasn't really certain that it was actually early, but it felt pretty damn early. Whatever. I put my hand out in front of me to make sure I wasn't about to run smack-dab into him and touched his shoulder, then said, "What time is it, anyhow?"
"The sun's coming up. Give me your hand, this part's rough." he replied, guiding me around whatever disaster there was in the middle of the floor. My foot touched a creaky stair; he was taking me upstairs? "Fang, where are we going?"
He didn't speak for a moment, then his mouth was right next to my ear: "Found this place you'll like. Careful-"
Fang seized my arm, rescuing me from a patch of emptiness beneath my right foot. Disoriented, I fell into him, then felt something against my mouth, something soft and slightly moist. It only took me about half a second to realize that it was Fang's mouth and pull away, but the damage was done. My first kiss ever-with a boy, no less-and it ends up being with Fang.
I turned my head away from him, covering my mouth with my hand, then, after a long minute of silence, I followed his footsteps up the stairs. I wasn't sure if it was the best decision, but it wasn't like I could navigate that giant hole again by myself, right? Follow the leader is the best advice you can give a blind guy sometimes, but it can also be the worst. God only knew what it was going to be this time.
Our progress was slow and silent, and, for the most part, separate, except when Fang reached back to lead me around something. But I felt a strange kind of electricity whenever his hand brushed mine, like the touch was more than just helping out a friend and more like. . . I wasn't even sure. It didn't make much sense to me, like a whole lot of things in the world.
Eventually, the stairs ended, and Fang halted at the end of a short hallway, then I felt his eyes on me. He took a shaky breath, then said almost inaudibly, "I'm sorry."
"Why?" I questioned, swallowing.
"I. . . I just-I want to kiss you again, Ig." he said in a rush.
My mouth fell open, and I floundered, completely at loss for words. I started to say several things, but changed my mind before I even got the first syllable out, then finally made myself just shut up. I heard him open a door, then he walked forward; I hesitated, wondering if I was getting myself into something I couldn't have any sort of control over. Then again, I never had control over much of anything in the first place, so what difference did it make? I entered the room.
Inside, it was almost silent, so quiet I could hear Fang breathing from several feet away. I estimated that it was a medium-sized room, roughly five yards by nine yards. The floor was wood, like the steps and first floor, only not half as creaky, and there must have been an open window somewhere, because I felt a very subtle breeze twitching my hair. Nice and quiet. A perfect place for me.
I sat down near Fang, leaning back on my hands to comment, "This place is great, Fang."
"I thought you'd like it." he said, and I could hear one of those rare smiles in his tone. I cast my right hand around for him, and my fingers soon came in contact with his arm, which I held onto, then took his hand, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from him. Feeling pretty brave, I leaned close to Fang and murmured, "Thank you."
With my other hand, I reached up and touched his face, mapping it out before I went into action. Moving slowly so I wouldn't screw things up, I put my fingers over his mouth until I was close enough to feel his breath on my cheek, then I kissed him.
His reaction was swift and instantaneous.
Fang wasted no time kissing me back, and before I really knew it, his arms were around me and he was pressing his body against me. I held onto the front of his shirt, marveling at the feel of his mouth, then his tongue forced its way between my lips. I groaned low in my throat and twisted both hands into his hair, glueing us together as he pinned me to the floor, his body long and lean on mine. We kissed for what seemed like forever, then he rolled off me and pulled back, staying close to link hands and press his forehead to mine. He panted in a whisper, "Wow."
"Yeah." I agreed.
Silence, both of us trying to catch our breath. Then, Fang asked, "What now?"
"What do you mean? Like, do we tell the flock?" I clarified.
He sighed, "Yeah."
I thought about that. What would the others think? More pressingly, what would Max, the fearless leader, think when she found out the only boys her age were kissing behind her back? She'd throw a fit, that's what! Fang and I would end up as corpses, and I didn't really want that to happen. "I don't think that would be a good idea."
"So we keep this to ourselves."
"Exactly."
"And what does this make us? Like, you and me."
"Just a dirty little secret for no one else to know."
He chuckled quietly and kissed me again, a smile on his lips.