caidduh

[caidduh]

"Who hasn't?" Caid smirks, lifting his legs to sit criss-cross applesauce. "It was fourth grade. Her name was Emily Bohanen. All I wanted to do was hold her hand on the playground, but she only used me to carry her backpack. It was a truly unhealthy relationship." He laughs, before realizing that wasn't a helpful answer and his face falls. "Why?" 

"This is going to sound stupid, but… Have you ever been friend zoned?" She asked sheepishly.

[caidduh]

Caid leans back too, shuffling his hands in his lap as the thought of Kat resurfaces in his mind. "Tess?" He asks.

"Oh thank god." Tessa leans back in her seat letting out a puff of air. "You are going to be the death of me Maxwell."

[caidduh]

"Of course I'm joking." Caid laughs and flicks his cheezit at her cheek. 

"Caid I swear to god, you better be joking." Tessa stared at him with wide eyes.

[caidduh]

Caid's eyes widened because Kat's head fit on his shoulder. "Mhm, pity. It's beautiful." He agreed, but he wasn't talking about Bali. 

"Pity there’s only a day and a half left on here" Katerina replied, resting her head against his shoulder as they walked.

[caidduh]

"Yeah." Caid nodded. His hand accepted Kat's, but he lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulder so he could pull her closer, rubbing their intertwined hands over her skin to keep her warm. 

Her hands searched his, offering for her to come with her, “It’s getting cold, you wanna go?”

[caidduh]

Caid exhaled under her small touch. "A super long time." He smiled, leaning forward to kiss her one more time. Pulling away, he leaves a little more space between them this time, his smile indestructible. Caid was happier than he had been in a long time. 

"A- a long time?" Katerina replied breathlessly, running her thumb across his cheekbone, unable to comprehend what she had just heard. 

[caidduh]

Caid breathed speechlessly for a few moments. "Wow," he copied, lifting his eyes to hers. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." 

Savouring the last few tastes of his lips, Katerina reluctantly pulled back - only slightly - leaving only millimetres between them. “Wow” She whispered against his lips.

[caidduh]

"Don't be," Caid mumbled. He walked to the bed and sat down. 

Alice sighed again, running her hands through her hair. “You are right.” She whispered, wiping her eyes and patting her bed beside her. “I’m sorry.”

[caidduh]

Caid's eyes blinked open to make sure she was still there, that this was really happening, before he shut them again, erasing what little space there was between their torsos. 

Kat’s hands slid into Caid’s hair, interlocked her fingers with his short dark brown strands.

[caidduh]

Caid inhales sharply through his teeth. "This might be a bad time to tell you, but actually I'm deeply in love with you." He teases, unable to keep a straight face while he speaks. 

Tessa shrugs, “Because I want to have a guy friend without holding any sort of feelings toward them like I do with Will.”

[caidduh]

"I thought you wanted..." Caid shuffled his hands in front of him between Alice and himself. "This. Talking and stuff. I'm actually listening for the first time, so could you meet me halfway here?" 

"I said go away , Caid. Not in the mood to talk. Just go, I am fine." She said with a sigh, closing the bottle of nail polish.

[caidduh]

Caid lifted a hand so a few fingers to touch his lips, remembering how it felt to have Kat kiss them. His hand fell when he saw the puffiness of his sister's eyes. He stepped forward. "What happened?" 

Alice groaned turning around, her eyes puffy. “First you hate me and avoid me and now you won’t leave me alone? What do you want?!”

[caidduh]

Kat kissed him harder and Caid lifted his eyebrows at the sensation. His hand travelled from Kat's hair to her neck, forgetting the beach around them. 

Katerina dived deeper to meet the intensity of his kisses, pressing her chest closer to his.

[caidduh]

He leaned against the room's doorframe. "I don't think pink's my color." 

If you like them, keep them. But leave me alone Caid.

[caidduh]

"Aw," he mocks, reaching over to steal a cheezit. "Why do you bother to keep me around then?" 

"Damn, thats such a sad thought then." Tessa playfully wipes away a tear.

[caidduh]

His body wouldn't comply with his brain because all he wanted to do was walk away, but he couldn't. Hearing Delilah and knowing she was right, was enough to make Caid stay and listen. He turned around. He felt his heart tug at the thought of Kat and his eyes widened as each word Delilah spoke seemed like another reason for Caid to go find her. He would kiss Kat, he decided, finally. He didn't miss a beat as Delilah finished talking, immediately looking at her to say, "Thank you." Caid was smiling now in a goofy, but thoughtful grin and he repeated his thank you. He left using some medium between walking and running, but not without looking back at Delilah a few times. He left his flip flops in the sand where he had stood beside her. 

"Don’t push past me like I’m nothing." Delilah’s small structure made her only tall enough to come up to his neck, but she pushed her shoulders back and felt her confidence grow, "Caid Maxwell, you have been bullshitting your life for far too long. That’s not what Evan would’ve wanted, he’d want you to be happy. So stop being this asshole, and goddamn it do something with your life. You can’t just mope around. It’s been years, Caid, years. For fuck’s sake do something that makes you happy. Just fucking do it.” Delilah let out a breath she didn’t she has holding, putting her hands on her hips and staring him down.

[caidduh]

One of of Caid's hands slipped to her waist while the other found the back of her head. He ventured deeper into their kiss with all the passion he'd been saving for months. 

Katerina slid her arms up Caid’s chest to snake around his neck.