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[color=brown][i]Before you came round, my heart would never beat much faster
Before you came round, I was ready to slow down
Before you came round, I was heading for a small disaster
Before you came round, I was ready to blow me down

Before I was found, I felt like I could drain the ocean
Before I was found, I didn't want to breathe out
Now my soul beats a sound, loud enough to quiet the thunder
A love with no doubt, and now I'm never gonna slow down
Never gonna slow down[/i][/color]
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[color=lightgray][indent][indent]The last time Salem was at homecoming, he accidentally spilled punch all over Gwen’s dress, and spent the rest of the dance shooting guilty looks at his embarrassed girlfriend. She assured him it was fine, and forgave him easily enough, but he could tell it bothered her all throughout the night. Salem’s hand flexed where he held it tucked towards his body, Marisol’s arm looped through his, and he gave a suspicious glare towards the punch table.

Despite being afraid of spilling punch all over Mari’s absolutely stunning dress, he wouldn’t be a gentleman if he didn’t offer her a drink. Leaning down low, so she could hear him over the blasting music, Salem whispered into her ear, [color=8BCCC5]“Do you want something to drink?”[/color]

Marisol, who had [i]totally [u]not[/u][/i] been busy looking around the room for any signs of her ex-best friend and Pinkie Pie, quickly whipped her head towards her date. [color=brown]“Oh my God, yes,”[/color] she immediately answered, turning to Salem with a look that was somewhat pleading and pitiful.

Not seeing Sonny around with Nadia was making her nervous… Like [i]really[/i] nervous. Her anxiously creative brain was coming up with all different scenarios about where they could be and what they could be doing together, each scene getting progressively more suggestive and painful to visualize. Mar had been right in the middle of one with Sonny kissing Rainbow Dash’s and his hands moving slowly down her body when Salem mercifully interrupted this nightmare. Bless him for coming with a distraction at just the right time.

[color=8BCCC5]“Of course,”[/color] Salem smiled before guiding Mari around the throngs of people in the direction of the punch bowl, stationed at the very back of the first tent. [color=8BCCC5]“Think the punch is spiked?”[/color] he muttered curiously in her ear. 

A naughty grin spread across the girl's face, green eyes sparkling with the mischief of knowing something nobody else did. [color=brown]“I don't know about the bowl, but ours will definitely be…”[/color] she answered before opening her sparkly bag and giving Salem a peek at two miniature bottles of tequila. [color=brown]“Took them from the stash in the game room at my place. Figured they would come in handy eventually in this stuck-up party.”[/color]

Salem hummed playfully in response, glancing up to meet her glittering eyes with his own. His eyes flickered and held Mari’s only for a second before he focused on scooping into a cup what is essentially red water with a shit ton of sugar in it. He imagined that if he moved over and took a sniff of the drink, he would probably smell if there was any alcohol mixed in. But, in the end, Sal refrained to do so, because the fun was in the mystery... Not to mention how utterly dumb he would look doing it.

[color=8BCCC5]“Well then, have at it.”[/color] Salem grins, offering the cup to her and inclining his in her direction to make the spiking of their cups less noticeable by any potentially hazardous people.

[color=brown]“One sec…”[/color] Mari said, giving a quick glance around the room. The chaperoning teachers were currently distracted with other students, and the whistle-blowing rats like Victoire Bailey were occupied making others miserable. Without wasting any more time, the young woman pulled out the tequila from her bag, unscrewed the cap and proceeded to use up about half the bottle to spike up both cups before screwing it back up and hiding it from view. 

[color=brown]“There we go,”[/color] she said, satisfaction heavy in her voice as she took the spiked cup of punch from Sal's hand. Their eyes met again, and another smile was on her lips now. Mar didn't know if it was the lighting in the room or just her imagination, but the Italian-American boy seemed to get more good-looking the longer she stared at him. Alcohol would probably only emphasize this feeling, but that was the least of her worries. [color=brown]“Should we, like, make a toast or something?”[/color]

Salem waggled his eyebrows mischievously and cleared his throat, raising his cup and giving his best Gatsby impression. [color=8BCCC5]“To a beautiful night with a beautiful lady, and many hopes that I don’t accidentally step on your feet while dancing!”[/color]

As usual, the taller boy’s antiques brought a laugh to Marisol, who shook her head and raised her cup towards his. [color=brown]“You are just absolutely ridiculous, you know that?”[/color] she told him, a grin stretched from ear to ear. [color=brown]“But, alright, let me add onto that, then: here’s to a beautiful night with the most handsome gentleman, and many hopes that my complete lack of experience does not fuck up your dancing.”[/color]

Salem revelled for a second in Marisol’s beautiful laugh, like the sound of windchimes on a summer morning, and his face lit up with a sunny smile. [color=8BCCC5]“Bottoms up, then!”[/color] He cheered, taking a big gulp of the drink and it burned down his throat like liquid fire. His date followed suit, taking another big gulp of her own cup and giving Salem a bright smile.

Over the rim of his glass, Salem watched Marisol’s expression with genuine enjoyment in his eyes. The lighting was perfect and flattering to Marisol’s soft eyes, so reflective he could swear up and down that he saw his own image mirrored back at him. Her skin seemed so soft and, in the forefront of his thoughts, Salem wondered if it would feel silky under the deep grooves of his fingertips. Salem banished the idea the minute he thought it.

Clearing his throat, Salem dramatically held out his hand and bowed, [color=8BCCC5]“Well, my little enchilada, should we slam these drinks back so I can ask you to dance without wasting the tequila you so [i]thoughtfully[/i] brought?”[/color]

The girl didn’t bother with a spoken response. Instead, she winked mischievously at him  before expertly downing the cup in one gulp. [color=brown]“Done,”[/color] she announced proudly, acting as if the back of her throat wasn’t currently screaming and burning. 

[color=8BCCC5]“Mighty impressive for such a small girl.”[/color] Sal teased before finishing his drink off, taking extra care to not get it everywhere.

[color=brown]“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,”[/color] Mari teased back, wiggling her eyebrows at him. [color=brown]“There’s way more where that came from.”[/color]

As if on queue, a familiar song began to play over the speakers: lovelytheband’s ‘Broken’. Mari’s eyes lit up instantly at the sound of the first few notes, and she let out an excited gasp. 

[color=brown]“Dude, I fucking love this song!”[/color] she cried out to Sal, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the middle of the dance floor. Smiling brightly, Mar threw her slender arms around his neck and began to sway to the upbeat music, singing along to the lyrics she knew so well.

Salem laughed at her eagerness, wrapping his arms around her and moving with the beat. Knowing that much of the night would be spent yelling over the din of the music, Salem took the time to rest his voice and simply enjoy the moment with Mari. He didn’t know the song playing very intimately, but he recalled hearing it once on the radio of his ma’s car. Either way, Mari seemed to be enjoying herself, which made him enjoy himself as well.

A few more upbeat songs played back to back after the first one, and Sal and Mari danced and sang along to every one of them. It didn’t matter whether it was pop, rock or rap, or whether they knew the lyrics or not: all that mattered was that they were having a ton of fun together. Whatever negative things she’d been feeling before had disappeared.

[color=brown]“Holy shit. I haven’t had this fun in a fucking while,”[/color] Marisol giddily told Salem, once again walking back to the refreshments table to grab one of the water bottles on the cooler. All that dancing and singing had left her breathless and thirsty. [color=brown]“This is the first homecoming I’ve been to since middle school.”[/color]

[color=8BCCC5]“That long?”[/color] Sal grabbed his own bottle and took a long pull of it, humming thoughtfully to what Mari was saying. 

[color=brown]“Yup. The last Homecoming I went to was in sixth grade. The boys and I were there for about an hour before we decided to bounce the fuck out. We went over to my place to watch movies, play video games and eat pizza instead. It sort of became tradition after that: we would skip every school dance and just meet up at someone’s place to chill and hang out,”[/color] she explained, taking a few seconds to drink some water before giving Salem a soft smile. [color=brown]“I’m glad they forced us to come together this year, though. You’ve been amazing company so far.”[/color]

[color=8BCCC5]“Well, then, I am happy to be your first high school homecoming experience and I will make sure this will be the best homecoming of your life.”[/color] Sal bumped his water bottle against hers in cheers, smiling radiantly at her.

[color=brown]“Then you’ll be even happier to hear that you’re already doing a hell of a job,”[/color] she told him softly, looking up at him with a sweet expression that would take by surprise anybody who knew her. 

[color=8BCCC5]“If I die tonight, I will die a happy man, it seems,”[/color] Salem responded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, [color=8BCCC5]“I’m having a lot of fun, too, this time around. It’s easy being around you. Relaxed, you know.”[/color] 

Sal could feel his face heat up and scratched his cheek bashfully. There must be a dopey smile on his face now; he was always a big idiot around pretty girls.

Salem’s words only made Mari’s smile widen. [color=brown]“You feel it too, huh?”[/color] she asked him, brow raised in curiosity. When the boy nodded, looking at her with those sweet, big brown eyes, Marisol bit her lip while heart did somersaults in her chest.

And before she realized it, she was blurting out every single word that was on her mind. 

[color=brown]“I fucking swear: I’ve never felt as comfortable with someone as I do with you. And I know it's only been a week since we've known each other, but everything just seems to click. It’s, like, I can be myself without worrying about anyone or anything. Like, ever since the shit with Sonny happened, I’ve been feeling like complete horse shit. But ever since you came around, I haven’t felt like that at all. Instead, it’s, like, not only do you accept me for who I am, but you bring out the best of me. I… I’ve never felt like this before - with anyone. You’re just- You’re just, like, fucking amazing, Salem. Really [i]fucking[/i] amazing.”[/color]

As she realized what she’d just said, it was Mari’s turn to blush scarlet. She didn’t know if it was the tequila that had caused her to pour her damn heart out like a damn fool, but she meant every single word she’d said. It was too late to take anything back, though. She would take the heat of whatever came next.

Sal’s heart thumped in his chest and he didn’t know if it was from a heart attack, the thrumming of the DJ’s bass, or [i]something else[/i]. The feeling was vibrant and lively as much as it was aching and stretched. It was the perfect pull of hurt and heal, the throb being soothed and the soothing cycling to a throb. Like butterflies fluttering in his veins, Salem became hyper aware of the alcohol pumping through him - he wasn’t drunk, but obviously his good sense was impaired.

Even so, Salem reached out his hand to caress Marisol’s cheek. The grooves of his finger slid gently across her silky skin; it was just as he imagined, but better. Salem’s throat felt very dry, and it took him a moment before he could work his mouth long enough to call her name.

[color=8BCCC5]“Marisol…”[/color]

Salem wanted more. He wanted to draw her close and feel the pink of her lips, know the way she tasted, and bask in the warmth of her body pressed against his. Dizzy, so dizzy, and he was pulling her closer because he wanted [i]more[/i]. Her lips were so close to his, Salem could feel each puff of her minty breath against his cheeks and he wanted to swallow it. So close, he was so close...

Instead, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket like a fly in a room that you just can’t catch. Abruptly, Salem jerked away from her, his hand falling, and his chest pounding. Mind swirling with ‘[i]stupid, stupid, stupid[/i]’ and with headiness, Salem just barely saw through the fog enough to manage pulling his phone out to see who the ever-loving [i][u]fuck[/u][/i] was calling.

He was content to ignore it until he looked at the screen and saw who was calling him. Salem’s face contorted into a grimace when he pocketed the phone, his face losing some color and eyebrows furrowing.

[color=8BCCC5]“Shit, Mari, I need to take this call. Sorry.”[/color] Salem began to walk away when he stopped for a second and turned back around, [color=8BCCC5]“I’ll be right back, I promise.”[/color]

Marisol merely nodded as she watched him go, her mouth dry and unable to speak. Even if she was, she was certain no unintelligible words would come out. The girl was barely able to breathe, skin on fire where his gentle touch had been, while her heart was thumping loudly in her chest as if she’d just raced a marathon. Her head replayed the scene that had just happened over and over again, helping her come to terms with the very real fact that she’d definitely been just seconds away from making out with Salem Rivera.

[i]Holy. Fucking. Shit.[/i]

The more she thought about it, the more Marisol realized that she didn’t just [i]want[/i] to kiss him, but was craving it… Craving [i]him[/i]. Her body temperature rose and her tan skin became covered in goosebumps at the mere thought of it: lips locked together in a kiss that turned from sweet to passionate, bodies pressed together hard, hands running up and down bare skin where fancy clothes had mysteriously disappeared... 

Oh God Almighty… She [i]definitely[/i] needed a break.

Sighing deeply, the young woman grabbed her water bottle from the table and walked away in the direction of the gardens. Maybe some fresh air would help her clear her clouded judgement and raging hormones.[/indent][/indent][/color]