Afterlife

Afterlife
By Otaku Freak Kiken

A glistening mist collected on and dampened our thin clothing and long, unnaturally colored hair. Miniscule droplets formed a shimmering coat over our bare skin, the moisture beginning to trickle down our faces in intricate rivulets. The humidity was so thick it choked us as we inhaled our heaving breaths.
The mist evolved into a heavier precipitation, not quite a downpour, but not a drizzle, either. Twilight engulfed the last bit of sunlight that warmed our shaking bodies. Shivering, standing out in the cold, morbid dusk, her body heat was just enough to keep me from running back inside the house. That, and the promise I had made to her.
A silly, weird little promise it might be, but I never promised anything I wasn’t going to keep. I did many insignificant things, some quite embarrassing, just to get her to laugh or smile. It didn’t take much at all to do either, but to know that her mood was elevated from a dumbass stunt was worth the humiliation. This promise, however, wasn’t going to put a dent in my image, it wasn’t going to total my pride, and it wasn’t going to be seen by anyone else. It was just a kiss.
Blue-green locks of hair clinging to her face and neck, her hazel eyes gazing up towards mine, I couldn’t look away for even a second. Rain poured down upon us with more force, causing us to shield our eyes and wince once or twice as the droplets made contact. I eventually just closed my eyes as I leaned down, close enough to touch my lips to hers.
Only seeming like a minute, we had been kissing in the rain for almost an hour. Our skin was a pale, bluish color, and the shivering we were showcasing earlier had become a much more severe quaking. As a mutual agreement, we pulled away, smiling and slowly moving towards the house. She giggled at the sound of our sloshing shoes, clutching my shaking hand and smiling as we entered the silent house.
We were so drenched that the clothes we wore drizzled water all over the floor. Pulling at the laces of our soggy shoes, slipping off the soaked socks, and peeling off the flimsy jackets that were supposed to keep us dry, we couldn’t help but laugh at the growing puddle around us. So saturated were our clothes that the dyes from our new band shirts were starting to stain our skin a blackish purple.
My parents were gone for the weekend, my sister was at her friend’s house, and my brother was at a church camp for a week. This was the first time I had ever had the house to myself. Battling my way out of going to the church camp was no easy task. Just yesterday I had announced that I was an atheist. And, just yesterday, my parents had accused my girlfriend of “tainting my beliefs in God.” Little did they know that she had never mentioned religion before, and that I had decided that on my own during the middle of Sunday service, four years ago.
Based upon their theory of Stephanie’s atheistic conversion of my beliefs, my parents had argued with me for hours upon hours about how she had corrupted my spirituality. I have known her for two years, I’ve been dating her for less than one, and I still don’t know what her beliefs are, or lack there of. All I know is that she needed me, I needed her, and we both have an amazingly beautiful, mutual love. But, sadly enough, my parents had tried as hard as they could to stop me from seeing her. It was such a futile attempt, though, because I had told them that nothing could separate us. Nothing. I had a car, she had a car, we lived in different cities, and I was nearly old enough to leave home. The most they could do would be to ban her from the house. Like hell I’d let that happen.
I had planned all this out, however, in such advance. I knew exactly when I was going to reveal my secret, I knew they’d fight with me, and I knew that I’d win. All I wanted was one weekend with Steph. And, now that it was within my grasp, I had a bit of a nervousness aching inside my chest. We had talked about intimacy many times. We had shared small, beautiful moments with each other. But one thing that we never attempted, the one thing that many fear and love, was always in the back of my mind. I was too scared, too cowardly, to bring it up. Knowing that she was waiting for me to start the conversation made my stress reach new levels. I was just hoping that the day would come when I didn’t have to think. When I didn’t have to speak. The day when I’d just let my body do the talking, and let her know how I felt without saying a single word. Maybe my hope was a bit too fantastic for reality.
“Liam…argh…” Stephanie’s small frame was shuddering like a leaf in the wind. A bluish tint frosted her lips as they were muffling the sound of her chattering teeth. “I’m so c-cold… and f-f-freaking wet-t…” Chuckling, she pinched a fold of her shirt, held it out in front of her, and pointed at the dyed water drizzling from it. “What-t are we g-gunna do?”
“I… ums…I-I dunno…” I laughed. I really didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t stay in those clothes forever, and the house was desolate… The next thought that came to my mind was to just peel off the rest of our layers and run for the nearest source of warmth and dryness. Shiftily glancing about, as if I had to covertly undress in my own house, I pulled off my shirt and pulled down my pants. Cold, wet, shaking, and pale (well, pale except for the part where the dye stained my skin), I stood there. Vulnerable. The only thing covering me was my pair of black boxers, and they were even soaked. Steph covered her mouth, her face building up a bright red color. I just smiled, nice and wide, and reached over to grab her shirt.
“What… what are you doing?” Giggling and swatting me away, I could tell she was too embarrassed to strip. But, if I coaxed her enough, she would. She knew I was just playing, and that I had no ill intentions whatsoever. She eventually let me raise the shirt over her head, exposing her stained skin and mid-sized chest. Her light-green bra had dark blotches here and there, but no dye blemished her perfectly shaped bosom. Next, her pants dropped around her ankles. Light-blue panties. I loved the way she would fight me when I expressed my thoughts on her appearance, and how she’d finally accept it with a blushing smile.
“Stefy… you’re gorgeous…” I smirked, reached out my hand, and poked her small, pudgy belly.
“LIAM…” Rolling her eyes, pushing my hand away, she covered her bright red cheeks with her still-shaking hands. “You’re so lying… shut up…” A long shiver followed her uttered words, causing her teeth to chatter.
“Why would I lie to you about that, huh?” Wrapping my arms around her, resting my chin on top of her head, my black and blue hair dangled in her face. “Mmm… Body heat…” Swaying from side to side, she tightened her grip around my waist and leaned into me. “Whatchu doing, Stefy? Huh?” I looked downwards, into her eyes, and she gave me a smug little smirk.
“I. Am. Cold. Liam.” In other words, as if that wasn’t clear enough, she wanted to go off and cuddle… She grasped my hand, tugged on my arm, and led me into my room.