Gravity: Chapter 7

An annoying pop song began to play, shattering the silence in your room and forcing you to awaken. You turned an irritated eye to your alarm clock, which was guilty of spewing forth that terrible noise; how you hated that alarm clock. With a heavy hand you slammed down on the off button to cease the tacky and overall distasteful music.

Your bedroom went quiet again and you laid your head down on your pillow, struggling to remember the dream that you knew you had, and trying to fully awaken yourself while you were at it. All you could remember was that Arthur was there and . . .

Oh, you remembered now.

Mr. Jones was kissing you and you wholeheartedly kissed him back.

An aching began in your chest as you remembered his face as he glided away from you, as he watched Arthur replace him, and before you turned away from him. Maybe your dream was a message telling you—

"Name, are you decent?" Jess called from outside your door.

"Come in!" you shouted as you forced yourself into a sitting position.

Once Jess set one foot into the door she began to blast you with words. "Are you okay? I got here a few minutes ago and heard you crying! Did someone try to break in? Did they steal your innocence? What's Arthur going to think once he hears that?! I think—"

"Jess, calm down!" you advised with a roll of the eyes. "Seriously, I'm fine . . . but what about me crying?"

"You were crying pretty loud a little while ago," she said as she sat herself in your desk chair. "Something about Arthur and Mr. Jones . . . is everything okay with them?"

Shrugging, you set to prepping your school uniform for the day. "Do you mind if I change?" She shook her head. "Thanks. Anyways, everything's fine with Arthur and everything's unchanged with Mr. Jones."

"And you said that you were going to visit Mr. Jones today, right?"

"Yup, I'm visiting him during lunch, remember?"

"I know, I'm just reminding you."

A sorrowful smile graced your face. "Thanks . . . I hope that I can make things right."

She returned your smile with a more cheerful one. "I'm sure you will!"

"Thanks for the reassuring words, Jess."

"It's what friends are for, Name, now get downstairs and get some breakfast in you!" she commanded as she took your shoulders and literally scooted you along out the door.

---

"Arthur," you chimed as you nuzzled your face into the splendidly warm crook of his neck.

"Yes, love?" he replied as he traced the subtle contours of your face with his fingertips.

Before answering him you threw a glance at the analogue clock mounted on the wall, deciding that there was sufficient time to carry out the task you would ask him to complete. "You promised you would sing me a song."

A smile teased at his lips. "I was hoping that you'd forget, dear Name, but I suppose that there's no avoiding it."

"You're darn right," you agreed in a gruff tone.

"What song would you like me to sing for you?"

"Anything; I'm not picky."

Instead of replying, his voice eased into what sounded like a lullaby, but you were sure that you had heard it on the radio once or twice. The delicate tone he sang in lulled you into a peace that put your heart at ease and forced your eyes to close. His rich accent complimented the elegant melody and lyrics, and it really did strike something inside you; the way his voice hit the notes and drew out the appropriate words was magic in itself.

Your eyelids parted and you stared up at his pale visage with focused vibrant eyes. Wordlessly, you began to litter his face with kisses as you listened to his song, but alas it ended too soon and Arthur went silent.

"I love your singing voice."

"Thank you, love."

"You should sing me to sleep every night," you suggested as the tips of your fingers drew haphazard patterns across the skin of his forearms.

His chest rumbled with laughter underneath your ear and you wanted to laugh, to, because it was so infectious. "How would I do that?"

"Sneak in through the window like Romeo and sing for me." A smile graced your face as you imagined Arthur trying to scale the wall that led up to your window. "Maybe not, that sounds dangerous."

"If we stay overnight in New York City I'll sing for you, okay?" he offered as he tucked a stray lock of hair behind your ear.

"Do you promise?" you asked with childlike eyes as you fussed with his tie.

"I promise, love," he assured you as he wove a hand into your hair and his lips brushed against your brow. "I'd sing you all of your favorite songs if you want me to."

A smile grew on your face. "Thank you for the offer, but class is going to start in a few minutes."

Despite your subtle accentuation of the phrase 'a few minutes', he groaned and gave you something akin to a final kiss upon your lips and asked you to remove yourself from your perch on his lap.

---

Upon walking into Mr. Jones's classroom during lunch, you noticed him playing with a toy that looked similar to an alien spaceship. He released it from his grip and you watched in amazement as it floated above a circular platform without assistance, twirling in a lazy fashion, but hovering in the same spot for the most part.

"What's that, Mr. Jones?" you asked as he jabbed at the amazing device with his forefinger.

"Just a silly toy I found the other day," he explained with a clearly forced grin. "I figured out that this thing uses magnets to fake a state of anti-gravity . . . but this little toy convinced a lot of people that there was a simple way to cheat gravity here on Earth . . . I wish there was . . ." The teacher flicked a switch and the device powered down. "Well, I'm going to be showing this to the class tomorrow so don't you dare ruin the surprise."

"You got it, Mr. Jones," you replied with a sad quirk of your mouth.

Upon watching him flick the toy's switch on and off to make the toy rise up and down at his will, you remembered why you were in such a rush to get to his classroom.

"Mr. Jones . . . I'm sorry."

A dark blond eyebrow rose to express his confusion. "What are you apologizing for, Name?"

"For . . . everything," you tried to explain as your eyes dropped to a patch of skin just around the base of his neck. "I wish that I gave you a chance. I shouldn't have just jumped to Arthur after that weird fight we had. But . . . it's too late to turn back now. I'm so sorry, Mr. Jones, I really am."

A beautiful, real, genuine smile broke out onto his face, one that showed his perfect white teeth and made your heart flutter out of joy to see it again. "I accept your apology, Name. It was my fault for leading you on and having nothing to show for it . . . but can I make a request?"

You blinked at him. "Sure."

"I . . . I just want to kiss you, just once," he confessed with timid blue eyes and the faintest hint of a blush dusting his cheeks. "I promise that I'm not going to try anything. I just want to kiss you goodbye for . . . closure."

Gnawing on your bottom lip, you nodded. "I-I suppose."

He stood from his swivel chair and crossed over to you, his arms outstretched to envelope you into his embrace. In return you wrapped your arms around his neck and shoulders while he rested his forehead against yours, his peppermint-scented breath blowing against your face; as much as you hated to admit it, there was something natural about the way you fit in his hold. It was like for at least this one moment he was yours and you were his in both body and soul.

Mr. Jones leaned down further so his mouth could meet yours, a light brush all that you received and a pining in the pit of your stomach for more. His hands moved to hold your face as he melded his lips against yours in a passionate kiss that kicked your heart into overdrive. Trembling, you kissed him back and closed your eyes as the kiss deepened.

On the inside you were aware that you would regret your whole life that that might have been your only kiss with him.

---

Following the end of school, you walked with a clouded mind to Arthur's classroom, where you knocked upon the door and was ushered inside by the Briton. He caressed your face, played with your hair, kissed you . . . showered you with affection. You returned his every action and listened to him jabber on about who-knows-what and nuzzled your cheek against his chest.

Yawning, you tilted your head to a subtle angle so you could watch his lips move to form words, his tongue run along his somewhat chapped lips every here and there, and how his lips pursed when he made an 'o' sound. When he paused in his speech you nodded to express that you were paying attention to him.

"Arthur," you said in a quiet tone.

"Yes, love?"

"Why don't we talk about our future trip to New York City?" you suggested.

"You're right, we should decide on an itinerary and the like—"

You looked at him with incredulity in your gaze. "'Decide on an itinerary'?" you repeated. "Why would we do that?"

Frowning, he raised one of his large eyebrows. "Well . . . we should decide on what we should do throughout our stay . . ."

"What about spontaneity? A trip is no fun if you don't explore and surprise yourself with what you find!"

"But if we don't have a schedule then we might . . ." He sighed. "Well, how about a compromise? We'll explore certain areas of New York City over the course of our trip per day or part of the day, okay?"

You nodded in approval. "Okay, I like that idea."

He pecked you on the lips and brought you in closer to him. "So it's settled. Now . . . about the sleeping arrangements . . . ?"

"I want to sleep in the same bed as you."

Face turning an unhealthy shade of red, he spluttered and spoke in a jittery and chaotic manner. "U-uh well, Name, I, um . . . well, love—"

"I won't try anything on you, my innocent little Arthur," you assured him jokingly, "I just want you to hold me while I sleep . . . if that's not too much to ask for . . . ?"

His face lost a shade or two of blush at your words and he took a calming breath. "O-oh, of course it's not too much to ask for! Well, I'll see what I can put together for us."

"Thank you," you chimed as you gave him a loving hug. "Arthur . . . I—"

A single finger was pressed against your lips before you could finish uttering those three little words. "I know; and I you, my dear."

A smile lit up your face as you kissed him over and over again, unable to get enough of his very being and the way he made you feel and—

You abruptly pulled away from him upon realizing that a faint scent clung to his clothes.

"Is something wrong . . . ?" he asked with hazy green eyes.

"You've been smoking," you stated as you pushed away from him and glared pointedly at your boyfriend. "Arthur, this is two days in a row—"

"Name, you have to understand that quitting is hard! I mean, I haven't looked at a pack of cigarettes for quite some time but it just came back to me and . . . and I don't know what to do." He raised his gaze to meet yours. "I've just been so stressed lately that it's been hard to find any sort of peace, and I can only find peace when I have a cigarette in my hands or you in my arms."

As cheesy as that was you sympathized with him but, as much as you did love him, you wanted him to just stop killing himself with his addiction. A flicker of pain arose in your heart at the thought of losing him to something so trivial. "Please try to restrain yourself," you requested in a soft tone.

Shoulders slumping in resignation, he heaved a heavy sigh before bringing you closer to him. "I'm sorry, love. I'll try, I promise I will."

"Arthur . . ." you muttered through your trembling lips.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." His arms constricted around you and he planted kisses all over the crown of your head and your face. "Please forgive me, love, I'm sorry."

"I . . . I need to go get some fresh air," you said lamely as you forced your way out of his embrace. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Name, wait—!"

You turned on your heel and walked away.

---

Though you felt as if you overreacted maybe the slightest bit in response to Arthur's smoking habit, you couldn't help but continue walking the lonely winding paths of the One World Academy and take in some clean air. A chilling gust of wind swept past you and you gathered your uniform's winter blazer around yourself to try and gain some sort of warmth. The cold only got worst as the sunlight gave way to the deep blue skies of nighttime, so you thought it best to just make your way to the girl's dormitory; hopefully Jess wouldn't be busy so you could spend some time with her there.

Your pace sped up as you tried to backtrack your way to the school building, but you only managed to bump into a certain Russian biology teacher.

"Hello, little one," Mr. Braginski chirped. "Strange how we ran into each other, right? Fate must have brought us together!"

That creepy aura began to swirl around him and you took a step back. "R-right, that's funny, Mr. Braginski!"

"No, I was being honest," he said with a frown. "Besides, I know you like me!"

". . . Wait what."

His face split into an uncomfortably large smile. "That's right! I know the way you look at me, there's no need to deny it, little sunflower!"

"Mr. Braginski—"

He closed his eyes and puckered his lips in an almost comical manner at you. "Kiss me!"

Seeing the opportunity to escape, you took it and tiptoed quietly passed him before breaking into a full-on sprint.

"Sunflower, where did you go?" he called from quite a ways behind you.