Beautiful

The explosion hit hard, sending a shock through their cores, the bones of their chests rattling against their skin, hearts threatening to pound out of their chests and onto the ground. It was well in the air above them, far from being dangerous to them in any way, but it still rocked them and made their minds go blank for a moment. All they could witness was the vivid lights of the flame expanding, separating, and becoming a million tiny flickers of candle light, floating down without a wick and fading before they could ever touch the ground.

Daniel was the first to turn his head, and see the girl laying beside him. He was taken in by her appearance as the gentle flickers fell around her, illuminating and darkening her face in a thousand ways, changing with every moment, allowing him to see every bit of her face in the best light at one point or another. She glowed in the embers, vividly illuminated, as if the gods themselves were presenting her to him. For a moment, he forgot that he knew this face. He forgot her name, or where she had come from, or why on earth she was laying beside him.

Michelle turned her head next to see a boy staring at her. Who was the boy? she asked herself. And why did his eyes shine so brilliantly in the flames? The way he looked at her with those flickering eyes was like two infinitely deep pools of water, the sun reflecting on their surfaces as if they were calling her to dive in and explore their depths. Without a word, compelled, she reached out a hand to those pools, and found it laying gently upon the boy's face. But before she even had time to process the thought, she felt the caress of his own hand on her face. She had no idea where she was or why. The thought of the explosion was even melting away from her mind. All she could focus on were his eyes.

The warmth of the falling flames was quite abruptly not enough. Without words, the two scooted closer together, gently pulling their faces closer together, their hands sliding across skin and into one another's hair. Their breath was warm on each other's skin. They blushed as they realized what they could feel, but they couldn't stop. The flames fell around them, as if urging them closer.

Michelle closed her eyes first, but Daniel felt it first. Their lips as they met. The explosion of heat running through his system, like a flip turned on that pushed him further. He gripped her hair firmly and pulled her closer, his lips pressed tight against her own. She didn't fight. She clung to him, desperate for the warmth he was shooting through her.

When they pulled apart, and saw the last of the flames die out, their faces turning to darkness, they remembered what was happening.

And they kissed again.