"Okay? Okay?! Really Samantha? I just confessed my feelings to you!" Klaus exclaimed.
"I'm sorry I-I don't know what to say, okay?! This is the first time someone's kissed me!" Samantha replied in the same tone.
Klaus stepped back and sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice like that. I hope I didn't frighten you?"
"A little. But it's okay, I'm not mad or a-anything. I'm sorry for raising my voice as well." She said, flushed and avoiding eye contact.
"I didn't know that was your first kiss, even though you reciprocated my wavelength perfectly before Bush, Shaggy, and Daphne interrupted us," Klaus said sheepishly.
Samantha continued to play with her hair, avoiding eye contact, and she couldn't contain her fidgeting and stuttering. Klaus's loss of composure was a shock to her, but the understanding and calmness he exuded immediately frightened and excited her at the same time. The anxiety gave her an additional source of curiosity that increased the dopamine levels in her brain, resulting in her body reacting to the heat of the matter. With each passing second, as Klaus tried to change the subject back to the Northern Lights, she grew more excited. Experiencing this fresh sensation towards a mysterious boy whom she had only started talking to two weeks prior, lifted her from the dark cloud that surrounded her mind from time to time. Talking to him almost every day slowly dissipated the dark cloud, and the cloud no longer hung over her head after he kissed her. Meeting him and being introduced to other interesting people gave her new hope of finding peace and letting more people back into her heart.
"Hello? Earth to Samantha. Are you listening?" Klaus said, waving his hand in her face.
"I'm sorry, what were you?" She replied.
"I was saying, if that was too much for you, you can respond to everything another time. Let's head back before everyone wonders where we are." He said.
Even though he sounded confident, his shaking hands and flushed cheeks said otherwise. The two walked back in silence again.
Near the bonfire, most of the students were lined up by the telescopes, taking notes on the phenomenon and awaiting the meteor shower. However, some students were surrounding Mr. Morty and the other teenage boys, singing "Kumbaya My Lord" with everything they had. They were more enthusiastic than during the car ride to Erie, when even Paul sang as if he had written the song, and the college students looked mesmerised by his voice range. Nicole rushed over to Klaus and Samantha, noticing the awkward demeanour between the two.
"Klaus, we've been waiting for you to join our little barbershop quartet," Nicole said, pushing Klaus from the back towards the others.
"I think I'll pass Nicole. I can't really sing." He said.
"Oh, come on. Do it for Samantha." Nicole replied, grinning.
Klaus stopped and looked at Samantha. "Fine." He said, flushed.
Klaus walked over and casually joined his peers. He naturally harmonised with them, and the performance amazed even the students who were by the telescopes.
"Wow, I didn't peg him as someone who can sing so well," Nicole said.
"Yeah," Samantha said. She couldn't keep herself from smiling as she stared at him.
"Okay, spill it. What happened on your little walk?" Nicole asked.
Samantha explained everything that had happened, including the two students who had interrupted them. Nicole stood there in awe, smiling.
"You kissed? Like pecking or tongue?"
"Tongue," Samantha replied, covering her face.
"You're nasty," Nicole laughed.
"It just happened, and it was my first time, and it was...so good. But I didn't respond well to his confession. That's why it's slightly awkward."
"Well, I can't blame you. Though it's good how he calmed himself. So you have feelings for him?" Nicole said.
"If I'm being honest, yes, but I'm scared," Samantha replied.
"That's perfectly normal. You need to tell him, grab his ass and kiss him back. That would be so epic," said Nicole. She was so excited that her feminine side was more pronounced, even in her baggy jeans and black death metal t-shirt.
"But what if I kill him, too?" Samantha muttered under her breath.
"Sorry, I didn't hear what he said, but don't worry. We've all known that he likes you since he transferred here." Nicole replied.
"What? He's liked me for months now? Now I feel like a jerk for thinking it was a recent spontaneous attraction."
The dark cloud slowly crept back into her mind until, suddenly, the sky was filled with streams of light shooting part of it. The meteor shower had begun, giving the shower a green and orange tint from the Northern Lights.
Nicole turned and looked Samantha straight in the eyes. "Look, Samantha, don't run away and regret never knowing where you two can become. Tell him and see where it goes from there. What do you have to lose? Your GPA? Nope, maybe your virginity, but we're teens, so who cares? Sam, live and experience life. I know we just became close, like literally yesterday, but I've seen you around school, and you're distant. Let him in, let us all in."
The words from Nicole dissipated the dark cloud and rejuvenated Samantha's spirit. Immersing herself in books and solitude was all but a means of distraction and penance. However, Bridgette and her parent gave her a sense of mental probation. Nicole reminded Samantha of Bridgette so much. The only difference was that Nicole had better discernment and analysis of Samantha than Bridgette due to age and experience.
"You know you're pretty wise and weird at the same time." Samantha sobbed a little and hugged Nicole.
"I know it's a gift from the gods as a Sister of Fate." Nicole smiled
They both laughed and watched the meteor shower while the boys sang "Hotel California," with Klaus beat-boxing because he didn't even know the song.