Blow A Fuse

As always, I had a dreamless sleep, but when I awoke, my arms were holding something warm and soft. I took a deep breath in, and I smelt lavender and something fruity and then moved my face down to get a better smell, and I bumped into something hairy.

I opened my eyes and stopped breathing.

The fruity lavender smell was coming from Ahna's soft blonde hair that my face was pressed into. My arms were also wrapped tightly around her, pressing her body into mine.

The way I could feel her in a way that I had never experienced before increased my heart rate. I grew as full realization set in of what I was doing, and then she moved.

Suddenly, I was thrown into a fit of panic as Ahna started to wake up and wiggle in my arms. I couldn't let go of her.

My body was frozen with shock. I wondered how I ended up like this as Ahna yawned and what I was supposed to do now.

"Thank you for keeping me warm. I am sorry, but I usually have a big blanket, but it was stolen from me in the last town I stayed in," Ahna said as she started to stretch in my arms, but I couldn't let her go.

It was like I was frozen solid. My heart was hammering in my chest so hard that I was sure Ahna must either feel or hear the pounding beats thundering through my body.

"I… ah… I," Was all that I could get out, but Ahna seemed to understand, but what happened next didn't help.

"Am I the first girl that you have slept with? I have never slept beside a boy before either if it makes it any better for you," Ahna said, and then turned her head up to me, and I locked eyes with her, and she spoke again, "I don't think it was that bad, right?"

Then she kissed my cheek and squirmed out of my arms.

I was left holding on to the air and completely stunned.

[Be careful; you might blow a fuse if you think about it too hard. I should have warned you, but I thought it would be good to have someone like Ahna close to you after everything. I guess I really didn't think about your lack of connection with other women, and I am sorry about that. Next time I will warn you if she tries that again.]

I let my arms down, and rolled over onto my back, and looked over at the cute girl that had just been lying in my arms. No, it was not that I didn't like it, but I was still worried that at any moment, she was going to turn on me and start calling me a Castless.

[That is something that we will have to work on with time, and it won't happen overnight, but I can assure you that this girl will not treat you like that. If she was the type to do that, I would not have sent her to find you.]

I guess C6 was right, but my natural instincts weren't going to be swayed that easily. I had years of abuse from people like her to keep me vigilant and on my toes.

The words of a person I couldn't even see were not enough to break my built-up stigma to the Cast. Still, Ahna did seem different, and waking up with her in my arms had made me feel things.

My parents had never had a close relationship with me, but I think they knew a long time ago that I would be Castless. Maybe the reason that they treated me like this was to prepare me for the brutal world that they were going to force me out into.

"Rhune, are you okay? You have a pained look on your face," Ahna said as she came over to my side and tried to take my hand, but I sat up, pulling my hand from hers.

It was like I was scared to touch her now, even though she had just been in my arms. What was wrong with me? It was like my body was gaining a mind of its own and making decisions for me!

"I-I am okay… I think. I just have a lot going on in my mind right now," I said, but I turned away from Ahna as I did, and that was no understatement.

I couldn't think straight now when I looked at her, and when our eyes locked, everything in my brain froze. Why is this happening to me all of a sudden?

Is there something wrong with me? Or did I get hit in the head while I was sleeping? I was mainly having no problems with communicating when we talked yesterday, but now…

[She is a girl]

Really? Thank you so much for clearing that up, but what is your point?

[You are a boy, and she is beautiful. Don't worry, you are not the first man to become confused after getting themselves into an awkward situation.]

"I am sorry, I am not sure what I did, but if you tell me and can make it right, or at least try not to do it again," Ahna said from far too close to me, and her mouth was near my ear when she spoke.

The hairs on my body stood on end, and my heart started to pound in my chest violently. This couldn't be just because Ahna was a girl; there had to be something actually wrong with me.

[I just checked, and while your heart is beating fast, it is only because she is making you nervous from being so near to you. Take a deep breath, and you will feel a bit better, then turn around and tell her what you are feeling.]

What?! No! You tell her!

[Fine.]

Wait, what?

Suddenly, I became a passenger in my own body, and I took a deep breath and let it out, and my body calmed a bit. Then I took three more, and my body turned, and I was forced to look into Ahna's crystal blue eyes.

For some reason, I didn't feel nervous, and I actually was able to enjoy how amazing she looked for the first time, but then I started to talk.

"Sorry, this is all new for me, and you are a beautiful girl. I have never spent time with someone like you or even got close like we just were. I am also worried that this might be all an act to get me to drop my guard, and then you will start treating me like how all the other Castless have. I know that this sounds crazy, but these are just some of the things that are affecting me right now," I said, and then suddenly, I had control of my body.

Ahna was staring at me, shocked, and my face lit on fire with embarrassment. What had C6 just done to me?!