Kiss Cam

by Kiara London

  “Clearly chopped-off fingers is worse,” I say.

  “I don’t know.” Lenny shakes his head. “I’d rather the twins chop off their fingers than jiggle their butts in front of a camera.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Yeah, now that you put it that way,” Jasper ponders aloud, and both boys share matching looks of disgust. I think I can see the Big Brother vibe radiating faintly from Lenny.

  “Oh, all right. Next question,” I say, and nudge Jasper in the ribs with my elbow.

  “Fine then.” Jasper shrugs. “This one is for you, anyway.”

  I turn the computer toward me. Thursdays are always the days where I question the mental stability of most of our viewers, because of the mind-boggling questions they ask us. I’m sure the questions are just for kicks, but sometimes they make me seriously wonder. Despite this, I readjust my position on Jasper’s bed and read the next question aloud.

  “How do you tell a guy that you’re not interested in being more than friends?” After reading it, my brows furrow and I stare blankly at the question for a moment before looking up at the camera.

  It’s a fairly normal question, but it still causes both boys to snicker. It’s hard for me to get my thoughts straight before I answer. I’ve never had something like this happen before, and I don’t want to give this person unhelpful advice.

  “Um . . .” I smile a little and brush hair behind my ears. I go for the route I would take in this situation. “I think you just have to be up front about it. Making someone think they have a chance is only going to end up hurting feelings in the end. Stop it before things even get started.”

  “Cold,” Jasper comments. “Not even going to give the poor guy a chance?”

  “You can’t force feelings,” I reply with a shrug.

  “Huh,” Jasper breathes, and purses his lips at me. “You’re kind of a heartbreaker.”

  “Yeah, okay,” I say with a laugh. Lenny snorts and glances between us.

  “Next question,” Jasper commands, and spins the sticker-covered laptop to Lenny.

  Lenny clears his throat and tilts the screen up. “How big is your pe—whoa—uh . . . Wouldn’t you like to know?” His cheeks flush pink, and he turns the screen away from himself. His attempt at trying to be smooth has Jasper snickering. I myself have to bite my lip to stop giggles from erupting at the inappropriate question.

  “Right,” Jasper laughs, and glances at Lenny, who punches him in the arm. The laptop almost slips from Jasper’s lap, and I take it away just in case things get heated.

  I set the computer on my lap and scroll to the next comment. My stomach flutters and my teeth clamp down on the inside of my cheeks when I read it. I know Jasper won’t have a problem with this, and I shouldn’t, either, so I force the nervous flurries away and read the question as confidently as I can.

  “Ten-second Jasiper kiss.”

  And, just like that, Lenny’s cheeks lose their flush of embarrassment and a winning smile overcomes his features. I know why, too. As soon as the kiss happens, nobody will remember how awkward he was about his question.

  “Oh, time specifications.” Lenny beams wickedly and slaps Jasper’s shoulder lightly.

  “No problem,” Jasper replies positively, and scoops the laptop from my lap and places it in Lenny’s. “You can count back from ten, if you like,” he tells Lenny.

  “Fine.”

  Jasper turns to me and I let a deep breath out my nose.

  It’s no big deal. It’s just a kiss. We’ve kissed twice before. There’s nothing to worry about. I remind myself of these things over and over when Jasper’s hand comes behind my neck and brings my face to his. When I feel his lips on mine, I remind myself again that there are no feelings to worry about—maybe to smile and enjoy it. Lenny’s at seven and Jas moves his head, bumping my nose and making me want to laugh. It’s awkward again, but the tension isn’t as high. We just sit there with our lips attached for the whole ten seconds and I, regrettably, think that maybe our viewer could have been a bit more creative with their kissing request.

  When the kiss is finally up, Jasper pulls away slowly for dramatic effect and collapses onto Lenny as if swooning. I raise an eyebrow at him and hold down a smirk.

  “You guys might as well have a specific segment where you lock lips.” Lenny rolls his eyes and slaps at Jasper’s cheeks. “Call it Kiss Cam or something.”

  IT’S NOT UNTIL Friday afternoon that the idea of a “kiss cam” is taken seriously. I promptly dismissed the idea upon its initial suggestion, knowing that things could get out of hand if left up for discussion. The case was closed after that—or so I thought.

  Things are starting to go haywire at our chosen lunch table. Lenny brings up the comments from our last vlog and begins coming up with an argument as to why we should do it. Jasper leans over the table to see the evidence himself and quickly tries to rope me into the idea.

  “Juniper, it’s the absolute worst idea,” Allison remarks when it looks as though I’m going to give in.

  I know it’s a bad idea—a funny and unpredictable idea, but a bad one, nonetheless. I know what she’s worried about, but there is no way anything between Jasper and me could develop now. We’re just friends for a reason. Why ruin a good thing with complications? I figured that out freshman year when he started dating Bree. I decided then and there not to let him get to my head. Everything with him was just friendly, and feelings were never allowed. No complications meant no feelings could get hurt.

  And kissing without the complication of feelings? What could be so bad about that?

  I had previously thought I would never give my kisses away so easily, but after sifting through the comments, I have to admit our viewers’ reactions are worth it. There’s something thrilling about having people so invested in you. It’s like being persuaded onto a roller coaster you’d never dare to ride otherwise and ending up drowning in your own giggles as you swoop down a near-ninety-degree drop.

  Plus, it’s fun reading about the excitement people get from a segment where their ship is smashed together by the lips. I’m a crowd-pleaser, to say the least, and it’s not even like Jasper and I are doing anything bad. Our viewers know that there’s nothing actually going on between us—they only wish there was. We’re being teases, and that’s what makes it exciting.

  But Allison dropping her two cents into the piggy bank of opinions makes a good dose of reality shoot back into my system, and my excitement deflates like a balloon. She’s seen things go terribly wrong between Jasper and me before. Maybe she’s right and I can’t justify the idea the way I thought I could.

  Sighing, I lean away from the computer screen. “She’s right. This is ridiculous.”

  “We all know kissing between friends never goes well,” Allison tacks on.

  “We’re not normal friends,” Jasper reminds her. “We live on the Internet, and this kind of thing happens on the Internet all the time.”

  Allison motions at Jasper accusingly. “Can’t you see? He’s glamorizing everything in order to get you to play along with his silly game—which, by the way, can only lead to trouble.”

  Jasper’s fingers have been tapping on the table since she started talking, but now he just turns on her with narrowed eyes. “Why are you making me out to be some kind of bad guy? I didn’t do anything.”

  “But you will,” she snaps.

  Silence settles over the table. Even Lenny’s rapid typing and clicking comes to an abrupt stop while Allison and Jasper stare fiercely across the table. I’m at a loss, not even sure what’s happening here. Like I said, Allison and Jasper don’t get along well. There’s always this tense wall between them. I always thought it was because he pushed her limits with the video camera. Now I know it’s because she’s bitter about him being reckless with my feelings in the past, and although I’m grateful for her loyalty, I know it’s time to prove that Jasper and I are beyond that—because he didn’t even know he was responsible in the first place.
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br />   “Um, guys,” I say hesitantly to break the silence. “You can put your claws away. I honestly think that maybe the ‘kiss cam’ is taking things a bit far, but I don’t see any harm in doing it as long as when I say that’s enough it stops, because I can easily seeing this going too far.”

  Jasper’s eyes lower from Allison’s startled ones, and he swallows. “You want to make Kiss Cam a thing?” he asks me.

  I glance at Lenny’s laptop and think about all the views and the excited comments. “I guess so.” Then I look between Lenny and Jasper and feel the tension still radiating from Allison and decide to lighten the mood. “But only if you two contribute a little something as well—don’t pretend you didn’t see the Jasper and Lenny ship sitting on the edge of their seats in anticipation for some of that action as well.”

  Lenny’s eyes widen, and he leans away from Jasper, who grins hugely and wiggles his eyebrows at him. “No,” Lenny squawks.

  “Oh, come on, Leonard. Give me some sugar.” Jasper leans in with a coy smile and flirty wink, and Lenny falls out of his seat and scowls. Allison snorts beside me and shakes her head.

  “You know that’s not my name. Stop being weird.” He dodges Jasper’s reach, and Jasper leans back, face red with laughter. Lenny’s face turns pink and he slams his laptop shut.

  “Fangirls,” he curses, and stalks off.

  “Fangirls, indeed,” I repeat through a giggle.

  Jasper turns back to me, still half chuckling, and runs a hand through his chaotic hair. “But actually. You want to do it—Kiss Cam?”

  “Pull that on camera, and it’s a deal,” I barter with a sly smile.

  Jasper looks over his shoulder at a flustered Lenny hovering semi-close to the table until he knows it’s all right to come back. “For that reaction? Let’s do it.”

  Nodding, I say, “Let the shipping begin.”

  Allison sighs heavily beside me but doesn’t say anything. When Lenny rejoins the group and I tell him my decision, we spend the rest of the lunch period joking about ships and discuss making an announcement video after school. Allison, though, sits silently beside me, playing with her food in a disapproving sulk.

  I’m still confused about the whole ordeal between Jasper and Allison even after lunch period is over. So later in history during a partner discussion of a Vietnam War document, I seize the chance to ask Allison what all the fuss was about during lunch—besides the obvious.

  Without trying to sound desperate for an answer, I go ahead and ask, “What happened with you and Jasper before?” Allison’s sharp jaw becomes sharper when her mouth snaps shut and clenches as though I’ve brought up something frustrating. “Jasper Lahey is a coward—but you didn’t hear that from me,” she replies, and then purses her lips and straightens the document on her desk like she’s going to ignore me now and go back to her points.

  “Jas is the least cowardly person I know,” I state smoothly, and it’s true. Despite what other people might think of our vlog, he walks around with his camera and films things anyway. He doesn’t embarrass easily, or at all for that matter, and owns up to all his problems. It’s out of spite that she calls him a coward.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure,” she retorts, and clears her throat to continue with the Vietnam discussion before time runs out. I watch her carefully after that. What I thought was anger seems to be exasperation, but exasperation about what I intend to find out.

  Jasper is reading in bed when I arrive back at his house later that night after the Kiss Cam announcement video. I wanted to stop back home and see my parents before they left for work or went to sleep but ended up alone again within the hour.

  It’s a short walk across the street, and my hands aren’t too cold, but the moment I sit down beside him he drops his book onto his chest and holds out his hands. After setting down my laptop, I give him my hands to warm up. He holds mine in his and uses his palms to press against my fingers.

  “You really sure about Kiss Cam?” he asks after a moment. He’s slouched farther down than me against his headboard, and his messy dark hair falls into his eyes when he looks up.

  “Yep,” I reply, but he sits up quickly and drops my hands. His book tumbles off his chest and falls into his lap to reveal the graphics on his Superman T-shirt.

  “I didn’t mean to pressure you into the idea or anything, earlier,” he tells me hastily, and his eyes scan my face. “It’s just that it’s never been a big deal to me—kissing—unless there are emotions there. You can really feel those, you know? I just thought we wouldn’t have to worry about anything unless one of us started to feel something for the other person. Then we could decide what to do from there.”

  “Jasper,” I cut in, and set a hand on his shoulder. “It’s cool. I totally agree with you. It’s not a big deal. I mean, it’s you after all. I trust you more than anyone.”

  He laughs at this and nudges me. “Good.”

  “And speaking of trust,” I say, and he stops reaching for his book and glances up. My mind goes back to this afternoon with the episode between Allison and Jasper. It seemed like she knows something about him that I don’t. He wouldn’t lie to me now. He couldn’t. I’ve just decided to do this Kiss Cam with him. I told him I trust him. Besides, since when does Allison rank higher than me?

  “We’re best friends,” I clarify, and he nods, his eyes twinkling with humor. “You tell me everything?” His brows furrow in confusion, but he nods nonetheless. “Everything?”

  “What’s this about?” he asks, his voice sounding concerned and his eyes narrowing.

  I feel guilty for questioning him with little evidence, and my hands become restless in my lap. “It’s just,” I start, and then pause to sigh and shrug. “You and Allison today.”

  He stops me there by putting one of his large hands over my mouth. “She assumes too many things.”

  I pry his fingers off my cheeks and hold his hand in mine. “What does she assume, exactly?”

  “Things,” he says again more fiercely, and then opens his book and leans back against his headboard without explaining himself.

  I know it’s pointless to argue and pressure Jasper to explain what he means by “things,” so I just sigh and open my laptop to answer comments on VlogIt.

  In the lull it takes for my computer to warm up, I glance over at Jasper. Just as my eyes slide over, I barely miss seeing his flutter back down to his page as though he was already staring back.

  It’s a normal thing for me to look up and see that he’s been watching me, but it’s not so normal that he quickly averts his eyes to make it seem like he wasn’t. Maybe I’d made him uncomfortable by mentioning his dispute with Allison. He could have been glaring for all I know.

  IT’S WHEN MY arm flings across Jasper’s mattress and hits him that I realize I’ve once again fallen asleep at his house. Jasper groans sleepily and rolls away from me, taking the blanket with him and leaving me cold and in a state of partial awareness. My eyes flutter open after a moment or two of gradual waking, and I turn my head to see him cocooned in his giant orange comforter with nothing but a mop of dark hair sticking out the top. I breathe out a slight chuckle and sit up.

  The room is still cloaked in darkness, with only a thin glow of sunlight peeking through his heavy curtains. My laptop is still open beside me, screen black and inactive. I notice my sweatpants have rolled up my legs during sleep, and I quickly kick them down while sliding my computer onto my lap.

  Lenny uploaded the Kiss Cam announcement onto VlogIt last night, and I’m eager to see the response. My computer hums when my fingers tap across the touchpad and then plays out a little tune while my desktop flashes onto the screen, a picture of Lenny, Jasper, and me at a meet-up with some of our viewers as my background. Jasper sighs beside me and brings his blanket up to cover his fuzzy head. I shake my head and bring up VlogIt to check on the video.

  It’s late into the morning, about eleven o’clock, and according to VlogIt Lenny had uploaded the video at around two in the m
orning. Already there are thousands of views and a couple hundred comments.

  sammyforever12: Will there be separate videos or will they appear in your daily videos?

  I read the comment and purse my lips. Lenny, Jasper, and I had briefly discussed this but hadn’t made concrete plans. I have to skip answering the comment until I know for sure. However, I’m sure that the segments will be called Kiss Cam and that they will appear randomly in our daily videos. I have to clear some things with the boys first. So I continue to scroll.

  _noonecares: Forget Jasper, guys. Leniper needs a turn! Like for a Lenny and June kiss!

  I shake my head vigorously in response. Kissing one of them is enough—and Lenny would never allow that to happen. His crush on Eva Longoria prevents him from becoming anyone else’s. Every time someone brings up Leniper, Lenny makes a point of telling me: “June, I love you. But no way.” I continue to scroll.

  green_fizzle_pop: Don’t mind me, just leaving this kissing request here. I say you two should fight and end with a superhot kiss. Have you read the fanfics lately? They clearly need some guidance. . . .

  My eyes grow wide and I choke down an explosive laugh. Is this person suggesting we inspire some fanfiction? Is this what the Kiss Cam has already come to? My face is warm with a blush, and I bite down hard on my lip to stop the goofy smile from spreading across my cheeks.

  Acting out something like that for a fanfiction writer to create a story around is both embarrassing and intriguing. It’s almost shameful that I’d want to read whatever they’d come up with. My curiosity is starting to become dangerous. I resort to replying to her.

  WereVloggingHere: Alas, a creative request—but for the purpose of better fanfiction? Ah, I should’ve known this would happen! Is it terrible that I’d like to read whatever the writer comes up with? The result of Kiss Cam shall be very interesting, indeed.—June