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The moon hung high in the sky, shining down brightly on the slowly dwindling crowd gathered in the clearing. There was still music emanating faintly from the boombox, a few couples were swaying along to the beat, some perhaps a little too handsy considering the public space. Not that any of the similarly drunk people around them were paying much attention to care.
Van eyed the crowd, cup in hand, they’d been nursing it all night. It tasted like shit, but they didn’t expect to find the highest quality alcohol at a Randy Walsh party. Tired of standing and getting a bit antsy, they started wandering in search of where Taissa had gone off to.
They weren’t paying much attention when she’d left, Laura Lee was talking to them about…well Van couldn’t remember to be honest. That was a while ago now.
Even though most people got the que it was time to wrap it up, a few seemed to think the party was only just getting started. Navigating the crowd was a bit like running the gauntlet, Van narrowly avoiding a few collisions and at least 4 spilled drinks, and grateful they had gotten out of the way just in time before some guy puked right onto the ground where they were just standing.
They grimaced as they tried to block out the sound of the retching. The sooner they found Tai and got the hell out of here, the better.
They were near the edge of the clearing now, eyes scanning left and right. They spotted Tai, elegant as ever, even if she was in a sea of drunk teens. Van’s imagination could’ve been playing them, or maybe it was the slight buzz of the cheap beer starting to hit, but under the moonlight, she looked ethereal. Like an angel in the night.
Her eyes were darting back and forth before she spotted Van, eyes locking in like a hawk. Her face softened from hardened concentration to slight relief. Van didn’t take long to cross the clearing to her.
“Hey, lady,” they approached with a grin, “so much for a going-away party, huh?”
Taissa scoffed playfully, “Yeah, some fucking party,” she responded sarcastically. She hasn’t exactly been in the best of moods
Van didn’t need anymore confirmation that it was time to head out. “Ready to go?” Van asked, like they hadn’t ridden here with Taissa.
“God, yes,” Taissa said with a sigh. Van couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped their lips. It had been an eventful night, to say the least.
“Well, after you,” Van half said, Taissa smiling as she led them towards her car.
The drive was full of laughter and conversation, easy and free-flowing. All the tension from the party seemingly melted away in an instant. Which was usual when they were driving around together. Shielded away behind the metal and glass of the small four-door minivan, the world outside kept at bay, it felt like the two could relax. Let their guards down and just be with each other. It’s why Van always loved riding back from practice with her, inside the car, the two could be in their world.
“Hey, take a turn up here,” Van said suddenly. Taissa was eyeing them suspiciously from the driver's seat. Which was understandable, taking random detours into the woods at night was probably the least advisable decision anyone should be making, and they didn’t blame Taissa for reacting skeptically.
“Oh…kay. And where exactly is that going to take us?” she responded curiously.
“Just a spot I know,” Van replied, silently hoping nobody else had beaten them there.
“And this…’ spot’ is far out into the woods?” Taissa questioned as the car turned off the paved road onto a dirt trail, headlights working overtime to illuminate the otherwise pitch black forest surrounding them. “Isn’t that just a little bit creepy?”
“It’s not actually in the woods. It’s like-” Van started, but figured overexplaining it would ruin the surprise. And what would be the fun in spoiling things?
“Look, Tai, when we get there, you’ll see. It’ll be worth it, I swear. Trust me”
Taissa leaned over just a bit, head tilted just slightly towards Van, “Alright..I’ll trust you. But I swear if it’s some shack in the woods-”
Van giggled as they went on the defensive again, “It’s not a shack, it’s…it’s going to be good. Would you just drive?”
“Fine, fine, okay.”. Tai finally relented, though the look she gave Van from the corner of her eye told them her doubts had yet to be quelled. Well, Van was sure that when she saw it, she’d change her mind.
“Alright, stop right here,” Van told her. It had only been a short drive, a minute or two at most up the small trail. Now out of the woods, they were in a small opening as Taissa parked the car.
Van hopped out first, before heading over to Taissa’s side to open her door.
“Aren’t you a gentleman?” she asked with a small smile, taking Van’s outstretched hand as they closed the door behind her.
“Only the best for you,” Van joked.
“Such a romantic”
As Van led her up the small trail to the overlook, Taissa had to admit, she was impressed. Not that she ever truly doubted Van, they seemed to have a knack for finding these sorts of spots. They were on a hill, with a complete view of Wiskayok down below. The lights of the city slowly fade into the bright glow of the night stars. It was a sight to behold, Tai in slight awe as she continued to admire the scene before her.
“See? I told you it was worth it,” Van spoke up beside her.
Taissa nodded as she let out a small huff, her breath billowing just slightly in the night air. “Yeah..you were right this time”
“Just this time?” Van chuckled, “Think I can name a few more times where I proved you wrong?”
“Okay, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves now?” Taissa retorted as she continued to follow Van up the small pathway.
“What? It’s the truth, you just don’t like admitting it.” Van grinned, a knowing look in their eye as they turned back to face Taissa, who only rolled her eyes playfully in response. The pair made their way up the last few steps, stepping onto paved rock and stone. Tai continued to take it all in as Van broke away, finding a seat on one of the scattered rocks overlooking the city.
“Come on, sit down,” Van said, patting a spot beside them. “Promise it’s more comfortable than it looks.”
Taissa didn’t argue, smiling as she took a spot right next to them. And Van was right, the rock made for quite a comfortable resting place. The two sat together for a while, staring at the city below and sky above, comfortable in the silence and presence of each other.
“I always love watching the stars here,” Van said softly, voice breaking the comforting silence that had built between them. “They’re always so pretty”.
The dazzling tapestry in the sky never failed to amaze them. It truly felt like something out of a painting. Van was left in awe every single time.
“Yeah…it is”. Taissa was closer now, her warmth comforting as the slight chill of the night began to set in. They were side by side now. There was a slight jolt that raced through Van as Taissa’s fingers skimmed theirs, the kind that made their heart skip a beat.
It was a strange feeling between them now, the air was charged and electric, but not tense. The two continued to sit, quietly taking everything in. Because this feeling didn’t just come out of nowhere, and it didn’t start tonight. It had been building for weeks now.
Taissa knew Van probably felt it too. How every passing second they spent together grew deeper, stronger. With each stolen glance, every kiss in her car after practice, all the times they stayed up late just to talk to each other. And especially in moments like this. Alone together in the open, just the two of them without a care or worry in the world about who might see or say something.
It felt nice. It felt right; this is how it should be all the time.
“Tai…” Van said, so softly that if Taissa wasn’t suddenly hyperaware of everything right now, she probably wouldn’t have heard it. When she turned to face them, Van stared back, blue eyes glimmering beneath the light.
Taissa’s hand was cupping theirs now, tight and assured. The soft glow of the moonlight bathed her in an ethereal glow. Like back at the party, but a thousand times more surreal, she looked like something out of a dream beneath the moonlight. But the warmth of her hand cupping Van’s face reminded them that she was here and real.
“Van…” But Taissa didn’t quite know what she was trying to say, or even if she wanted to say anything at all. She stayed there for just a second, unmoving as she searched Van’s gaze for the slightest hint that they were also feeling the same.
Confirmation didn’t come in the form of words; it was Van leaning in, closing the gap between the two of them as their lips connected. But it didn’t feel like any of their other kisses. It wasn’t mixed with adrenaline and the ever-looming tension that came with the fear of being caught. Or sloppy and hungry. It was languid, unsure slightly, but full of that same electricity that had been bubbling around them. It felt like they had been taken back in time and were kissing for the very first time all over again.
And then it clicked.
This feeling. The one they had both truthfully been aware of for a while now, but had silently vowed not to bring it up for fear of what it could all mean. A four-letter word that started with L.
Or at least they were pretty sure this is what it felt like; neither had experienced it before to tell. It felt…good. Freeing. Right. And fucking terrifying all at once. Because Taissa and Van didn’t just like each other.
They were in love.
The kiss deepened, hands tangling in hair. It felt like reassurance, the two trying to communicate to each other what they couldn’t quite bring themselves to say with words yet. That they felt it too, and it was okay. At least here and now it was, when it was just the two of them.
Neither wanted to be the one to break it. But it was their brains that reminded them of their mutual need for oxygen that caused the two to pull apart, panting and breathless.
While Van was busy catching their breath, they heard the familiar sound of laughter. First came one small giggle, barely contained. Followed by another, louder this time, until finally Taissa seemed to be set into a fit of hysterics next to them.
"What?" Van asked, confused, fiddling with a few strands of hair that had gotten lightly tousled during the kiss.
"No..no it's nothing just…. You should see your face right now, I don't think I've ever seen someone so red."
"Yeah, well, I think I was like..two seconds away from suffocating, so cut me a little slack?” Van grinned.
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing, I think it suits you.” Taissa smiled, standing up, Van following behind her.
“It’s getting late, you know, we should head back,” she continued.
Van nodded. It was getting cold out, too. A slight breeze was blowing past the pair as the two headed back to the car. On the short trek, Taissa's hand found Van’s again. Squeezing just ever so slightly, as if trying to reaffirm that this was reality. Van returned the embrace just as tightly.
As the two climbed inside the car yet again, Van turned to face Taissa, eyes hopeful as they spoke, “You know we don’t have to go home just yet,” they began. Because truthfully they didn’t want this night to end just yet.
Taissa raised a brow, “Got another spot?”
“That old diner we go to sometimes, it’s 24 hours,” Van offered, “You up for a milkshake?”
It probably wasn’t a good idea to stay out any later than they already had. But it was a Friday night, and the last few days in town before they left for nationals. She looked at the digital clock in the car, 1:34 AM. It was then that Taissa said fuck it, mentally at least, why not? Besides, Van could always crash at her house; her parents never minded.
“Anything to get out of these creepy ass woods,” she joked. Van didn’t argue against the supposed creepiness of the woods this time (which was a bit unsettling at night), instead smiling widely as they asked her, “But it was worth coming here, wasn’t it?”
Taissa paused for a second, the sound of the running engine surrounding the two in a soft hum. Then she was grabbing Van’s chin, tilting it ever so slightly as she leaned in for another kiss. It was quick, but full of the same tenderness as the one they shared just mere moments ago. Taissa pulled apart after a beat, unable to stop the spread of a smile on her face.
“Yeah, it was.”