A-List to Z-List. Finding love in the least likely place- A Highschool Romance

I tightened my hand around Kale’s as we took each stair, one at a time, up to my door. I think any other guy would’ve thought I was just showing affection, but Kale knew that I was holding onto him because he was the only stable thing that I had to hold on to.
Lights were on upstairs. What else that entailed, I wasn’t sure. But I was about to find out. I gazed hesitantly at the door, then his face became the only thing I could see. He wrapped two gentle, comforting arms around my waist and pulled me close.
“Call me if you need me,” he whispered in my ear. I nodded, and for once, I felt secure. I knew he wouldn’t leave me out to dry. From now on, he would never let me deal with anything on my own. He’d always be there. My burden wasn’t lifted, but I felt like it was shared and understood; a feeling I would be forever grateful to him for.
I nodded and forced a smile as I turned and twisted the doorknob. I felt him grasp my hand.
“Blake,” he called softly. I pivoted my body and he caught me up in his arms, took my face in one of his hands and kissed me softly. When he pulled away, I smiled, my eyes still closed.
“That’s what I was looking for. Grimaces don’t suit you very well,”
I chuckled lightly and shook my head.
“Bye Kale,”
“Goodnight Blake,”
“Kale?”
“Yeah?” I smiled at the hope in his voice.
“Thank you. For today. Tonight. Everything,”
I knew he was disappointed but he smiled anyways.
“Anytime.” Such a simple answer, but it still managed to get my heart to skip a beat.
Genuine. True. Real.
Then reality hit as I stepped into my house. All good things do come to an end, I thought as I gazed around at the wreckage, not the least bit surprised. The vase of false flowers had been knocked over, now completely shattered. Scribbled on notebooks were strewn across the floor, pages scattered here and there. Evidence of not just a fight- but an epic war. The battle cries still resonated through the empty halls.
Without making a sound or saying a word, I stepped back outside, closing the door behind me. I looked out to the driveway. Kale was sitting motionless in the car, head against the wheel as if in exasperation. I opened the passenger door and sat down. He jumped and pressed his back to his door.
“Blake?”
“Can we just go?” I asked, my voice sounding lifeless rather than harsh.
“Of course. I-...where do you want me to go?” he was still confused, but I wasn’t about to give him any answers just yet.
“Anywhere but here.” I answered, looking straight ahead.
In my peripheral vision, I saw him nod and pull the vehicle into gear. As the car sputtered to life beneath me, a new feeling spread like fire throughout my body. Before tonight, one could propose that I disliked my parents. Tonight, the burning hand of hate and loathing gripped my heart and twisted it. They are the reason. They are to blame. They are why I am in this condition. Because of them, I have finally become a sulking blob of emotion. Yet at the same time, I am completely void of any emotion at all.
The house lights became smaller in the side-view mirror. As I got farther away, the easier breathing became. My thoughts wandered as we drove in complete silence. I was grateful for the quiet. I’ve always found it annoying when someone grills you about a touchy subject when really all you want to the person to do is shut up. I raked a hand through my hair and let out an emotional sigh. I hadn’t even noticed we had pulled up to his house and Kale was waiting, gazing patiently at me.
“Is it okay if I crash here tonight?” I asked cautiously. Hopefully.
He just nodded and opened his door. Motioning me with his hand to “hold on”. Five minutes passed by and he popped his head out the screen door and waved me in. I smiled at the lightening bugs as I passed them. I fought the desire to ask them what made them fly. I was so desperate to feel whatever they felt when the were flying. To feel free...
I reached the door and he took my hand, leading me carefully into the dark basement. He flicked on a light. We were in his room. He stuck his head in, grabbed a few blankets and came back out. There was a huge couch in the far corner of the basement. Exhaustion hit me with the force of a ton of bricks. I eyed the cushions hungrily.
He laid the blankets out and I plopped myself down on them. Kale bent down on the balls of his feet and tucked me in, a cute smile on his lips. Even in the darkness I could sense what his intentions were. As the space between our faces closed, I smiled.
When his lips met mine, a tingly feeling crept up my back. My hands were itching to touch him. I felt high. He gave me a high I had never experienced before.
Then an abrupt image of my parents flashed through my head. My mom’s furious face as she screamed at my dad. My dad’s protruding veins as he threatened my mom. I broke away with a gasp. He looked confused and opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted him.
“Goodnight Kale,” I said gently in a forceful voice, hoping he’d get the hint.
I always knew he was a brainy one, and he proved it by walking away without arguing. I watched his back retreat regretfully and turned to face the cushions. A new chill had creeped up my spine, spreading throughout my body.
I ended the best day of my life ended wrapped in one of the darkest nights I’ve ever had...
The morning broke early. I turned my cell phone for the first time since the mall, ignored the texts, voice-mails, and missed calls and saw that it was 5:13 A.M. Kale’s door was still shut, so I assumed he wasn’t an early bird and wrestled the blankets off of myself so I could stand up. I wobbled upstairs and got my first good look at the inside of his house. It was small in a cozy quaint, country-style way. The walls were a pale green and the L-shaped couch sat in all its rich brown glory as it faced a large flat screen TV. The halls were decorated with pictures, one for each of Kale’s school years. I saw the same progression of photos for a small girl, obviously his younger sister. She was completely different than him, though. She was built the same, tall and skinny, but she had dark red hair and an adorable line of freckles across her nose. How that contrast came to be is a mystery to me. Then I saw her eyes. The same piercing steel blue eyes. So cheerful, yet so severe at the same time.
I shivered and turned to face the door. “Home is where the heart is.” hung on a sign over the door jamb in big antique black letters. I instantly felt warm. Is this what “home” felt like? I gently twisted the knob and stepped out into the crisp dawn air.
There was nothing like a country sunrise. The light shone through the yellow, orange, and red leaves, painting their surroundings with vibrant color. Dew glittered on the grass, reflecting miniature rainbows of their own. It automatically sent a wave of happiness through me. Before I knew it, I was walking, heading for the park from last night.
I found our table and lay in the same spot I did before. The sky was just as beautiful at dawn as it was at midnight. Even though the awe of the stars were missing, the new morning carried something just as profound with it. I felt as if nature itself spoke to me as I lay there, listening with all my might. Maybe it was God speaking to me, but whatever it was, it was so soothing that I was in no hurry to leave, much less move an inch.
I don’t know how long I was there- I left my phone at Kale’s house- but I felt it get later as the town came to life around me. Cars whizzed by and kids started piling into the park, already fighting over who got what swing for how long.
“Hey,” I heard a male voice say as carefully as he could, almost as if he was hoping his arrival wouldn’t scare me. I let my head fall to the side and I felt a smile split my lips. It was Kale. He waited, and I patted the space next to me. He grinned but decided to sit on the bench closest to me instead.
“You’re parents-”
“Went to church,” he said quickly.
“How long have I been out here?”
“Well my lady, I’m not sure because I awoke at 9 to find you MIA,” he said, a sarcastic smile on his lips. I bit my lip guiltily.
“And what time is it now?”
“Nine-thirty,” he answered, “It took me a while to find you. I tried calling you, but you’re phone was at home- with a million and one messages by the way.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Four and a half hours. Four and a half perfect hours,” I mused, sending a dreamy smile his way. He returned it and took a piece of my golden hair between his fingers. I watched as he gazed at it with twirling absentmindedly. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as he lifted his eyes to my face slowly.
“What’s your sisters name?” I fired off suddenly.
“Kayla,” he responded quietly not taking his eyes off mine. “Blake...”
“Kale...don’t. Please?”
His eyes seemed to quiver with emotion. He was so terribly confused and I wouldn’t even let him do anything about it.

It was better this way.

If I can separate myself from him long enough for him to detach himself, we might actually have a fighting chance. At friendship. Pain and Hurt were hand in hand with Relationships. I wouldn’t let us go down in flames like that.
“Maybe its time for me to go home.”
Whether the reminding emphasis was for him or for me, I have no idea...