Dora's Got Nothing on Us

Natalie could feel her heart rate increasing as they kissed. She wasn't used to this kind of kiss at all, but she liked it. Really liked it. Especially since it was with Landon. She scooted closer to him and placed one hand over the hand that was touching her leg and moved the other to cup the side of his face, slowly moving it down to his neck. They were so far beyond friend-territory at that point, but she didn't care.

Natalie could only hold the kiss for so long before her lungs were begging for her to take a break and breathe. She pulled back and looked at him for a moment. She wondered if she should tell him that she liked him as more than a friend, though she was sure he had to know already. In her mind, it was obvious. Not wanting to ruin whatever it was that they had going on, she decided to keep it to herself for now, and kissed him again.

So beyond friend-kissing! Natalie's mind couldn't stop repeating the sentence, no matter how badly she wanted to just block it out and enjoy what was happening. She was surprised to feel him gently biting her lip, but it felt oddly nice. She sighed lightly and ran her fingers through his hair and, not having any clue what to do, parted her lips to give him access, if he wanted it. She could only hope that some other curious student, or worse- a teacher, happened to stumble in and see them.

Natalie felt as though they'd taken a one way trip to Awkward City and were stranded there, but she still couldn't stop. She hesitated a bit when he slipped his tongue into her mouth, but she was pretty sure that was something they were supposed to do. Not them, specifically. But, people. In general.

She didn't know what to do when he pulled back. "Um, we can stop, if you want," she said softly with her eyes still closed. She didn't particularly want to stop, but she didn't know if he was getting uncomfortable or if they were getting ahead of themselves.

Natalie was happy to go back to simple, little kisses. She was good at that, they were comfortable territory. She returned his soft kiss and smiled when he kissed her forehead. She rested her head happily on his shoulder, snuggling into his side, and looked around the room. It wasn't until then that she remembered where they were. "Lando, do you realize, we just made out (she used the term for lack of a better word) in the Shrieking Shack?" she asked, dissolving into giggles at the absurdity of this being the place it had happened.

Natalie looked up at Landon in shock. How had he found out about that? "I didn't tell everyone," she protested. "Just the girls in my dorm. And maybe a painting or two," she added sheepishly.

"Don't act like you didn't tell anyone," she stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation. "And besides, I wouldn't tell them about it because I don't want them to try to take you away from me. They'll just have to find their own best friends who happen to be really good kissers," she blushed as she finished her sentence.

Natalie listened to Landon in silence and stayed quiet even when he was done speaking. There was no question that he'd just sent her into a silent panic. More girls were chasing him? Which girls? Not the ones from her dorm, right? They knew that she really liked him, so they wouldn't try to interfere, would they? She panicked even more when he said she might have competition. Competition? So he knew? Or did he?

It was so confusing that Natalie could hardly take it. Why couldn't they go back to the days when they could just run around and do stupid things for hours and give each other little kisses here and there, just because they were friends and they could? Stupid emotions getting in the way...

"We should probably get back to school," she said finally. Perhaps it was just best for her to put off thinking about everything that he'd said; it would only drive her crazy.

Natalie returned Landon's kiss, as she always did and always would, as long as he wanted to kiss her, and allowed him to pull her up. In some semblance of normalcy, she turned him toward the exit and then hopped up onto his back, a task which had probably grown easier since he was a bit older and sturdier now. At least it proved that nothing had changed too much between them; he was still her favorite mode of transportation. "Back to school!" she said happily. "Unless there's somewhere else you'd rather go first."

"Oh really? Couch? What couch?" Natalie asked teasingly, sliding down off his back and sauntering back to the couch they had just been sitting on.

"You mean, this couch?" she sat on it, then laid down and threw one arm dramatically against her forehead, turning to look at Landon.

She couldn't keep a straight face for very long before she started to giggle. "I didn't really have anything in particular in mind. This was today's big event," she said, still laying on the old couch.

Natalie looked up at Landon innocently, although she was pretty sure that it wasn't an accident when he *ahem* "tripped" and fell on her. Luckily, he seemed to have a little bit of control over how he fell, because he didn't completely crush her into the couch cushions. She kissed him back and got to her feet after he got off of her.

"You're not trying to be a gentleman, you are a gentleman," she replied, poking him in the shoulder. She hopped back up onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We could go to the Three Broomsticks and get a butterbeer," she suggested. It sounded pretty delicious and she wasn't quite ready to go back to school just yet.