The Blood Rite

First Kiss

Ruby was just walking up her drive when Talon suddenly bounded out of his house and right to her. She noticed his bike lying directly in front of his porch as if he'd thrown it down the moment he'd gotten home and bolted inside to game.

"Hey," he said, "what's wrong?" His face was round and chubby, and though he was still a foot shorter than her, Ruby had noticed him starting to grow and slim out over the summer. Her grandma had said it had something to do with puberty.

She shook her head, attempting her best smile. "Nothing."

"Come on," he said, "tell me."

"Okay," she sighed, gripping her bag straps tightly. A part of her had wanted to tell him anyway. "Some people were making fun of me for not having kissed anyone yet."

His face scrunched and his already dark eyes went darker. "Who?"

"It doesn't matter, Talon-"

"Tell me who, Ruby."

"Louisa, John, Beau and Elizabeth."

Talon scoffed, "First of all, John and Beau are only agreeing with whatever their girlfriends say so don't listen to them. And second of all, Louisa and Elizabeth have no room to speak. They just had their firsts last week."

Ruby's brows drew together, "Still, they made sure everyone heard."

Talon fell silent, watching her. There was anger lining his features as there always was when Louisa or Elizabeth bothered her, but he appeared more contemplative than anything else. Then after a moment, he smiled and said, "Would it help if you got your first over with?"

Ruby thought about this. If it wasn't for Louisa and Elizabeth teasing her then she wouldn't even be worried about it and in truth, she wasn't. The idea of her lips touching someone else's sounded disgusting, especially when every boy in the sixth grade was gross and picked their noses.

But there was a curiosity that the girls had sparked inside of her at the prospect of doing that with a cute boy. Why did couples do it so much in the movies? There had to be a reason for it. Was there a spark of electricity during it?

She decided she wanted to know.

Nodding, she said, "Yeah, I think so."

"Okay," he said. With a shrug, Talon began to walk towards Crier's Creek.

"Where are you going?"

He turned, his brows scrunched in confusion, "To our hideout. For our kiss?"

"What?" Ruby reared back, heart suddenly racing in her chest. "I'm not kissing you!"

"Really, Ruby. Tell me, what other boys do you feel comfortable enough to even speak to?"

"That's different. You're my best friend."

"Exactly, so we'll just get it over with and go on with our lives."

Her lips pressed tight and she watched him. He had a point. Ruby was the most comfortable with him. She'd jump and roll around in the mud with him. She'd changed shirts once in front of him in a pinch, and though she didn't have anything to show in the first place, he'd never made her feel uncomfortable. They'd grown up with each other.

"Okay," she said finally, "let's get it over with. But I swear if ma finds out and kills me, I'm going to haunt you." Mary would have a heartattack if she knew half of things him and his friends did around town. And if she knew Ruby and him were kissing behind her back? Well, they'd both probably die.

His only response was to give her a grin that would soon become a trademark for him. It was the smile that would end up winning him many hearts, even her's, later on. A troublemaker's grin.

They trudged their usual path to the Creek. It was only a yard or so from their houses but the entrance had become so overgrown that no one ever used it. No one but them. It was a shame too because the Creek was the place where they had the most fun. But they wouldn't tell anyone about it because it was theirs.

Years of jumping over the stream, kicking dirty water at each other, or playing hide and go seek in the overgrowth was for them and them alone.

After marching through the grass, they reached the Creek. One tree had a branch low enough that they'd tied two pieces of rope to, along with a long wooden plank between those to make their own swing. Both of them had had plenty of experience being both shoved off of it and being the shover.

Talon grabbed one of the ropes and with a loud oomph hopped up onto the swing. It tended to take multiple tries for them to get on it and by luck he made it his first try. Giving her a cocky grin, he held out his hand. While he was chubbier and shorter than her, Talon had always been stronger from long days working with his abuelito.

Ruby took his hand and let herself be hauled up onto the spot beside him. She was quick to grab her corresponding rope before falling over the other side, and soon they were swinging softly.

Beneath them, there was the gentle trickling of water from a river nearby. Sunlight broke through the treetops and danced in glittering rays over the creek. It was dirty and disgusting water but in the light, it was beautiful.

"So," he said, making her heart suddenly speed tenfold. She hadn't realized how nerve racking it would be to kiss him and was now very grateful she was doing it with him rather than a boy she didn't know.

"So," she repeated.

Talon turned to look at her and that split moment before he kissed her would stick in her mind for years. Sunlight cascading over his halo of black curls, his face round and bronze. His black eyes crinkled as he smiled.

Slowly, he leaned in and touched his lips to hers.

It was only a quick peck but at her age, it was a lot. His lips had felt soft and cool but there had been no spark. Nothing exciting that could explain why adults or even the upperclassmen would do it so often. She'd been nervous for nothing.

Still, she'd thanked him and afterwards, they'd shared smiles and talked about the upcoming dance. By the time he was helping her off the swing and they were racing against the setting sun to get home, they'd forgotten all about it.

Ruby would remember that moment for years after and the older she got, the more it made her smile. Once they'd been in the throes of hormones and freshman year, Ruby had felt drastically different about boys and kissing. And she'd notice how Talon's features would define and become handsome enough to give her confusing thoughts.

By fifteen, she'd wish she could kiss him again.

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Awh, so cute!

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