You had been cursed fresh out of college, on a rainy night.

You hadn’t been careful that night, in a hurry to get home before it started thundering.

You had taken a shortcut and lost your way, stumbling upon a dark alleyway where all you could see was a faint, yellow glow.

As you drew nearer, the falling raindrops giving you a headache, a gnarled old hand reached out to cradle the light closer.

“Leave,” the voice commanded in a hoarse voice. “Or else you will be damned forever.”

You didn’t reply, not really paying attention as you tried to find your way back onto the street.

You ignored the threats and warnings that were thrown your way, not bothering to listen because you thought you were probably just hallucinating, the bad weather on top of a bad day making you tired.

And that’s when it happened.

A scorching, burning feeling erupted in your throat, traveling to the corners of your mouth and covering your lips, the flames every surface of your face.

You had screamed, dropping to the ground and thrashing around before the pain finally subsided and you were left whimpering, the yellow glow disappearing into the darkness of the night.

The numbness bothered you but you struggled to your feet and ran all the way back home, slamming the door behind you when you finally reached the safety of your small apartment.

You had breathed a sigh of relief, smiling as you saw your boyfriend already passed out on the bed. 

You changed quickly out of your wet clothes and took a warm shower, drying your hair before going to bed.

The next morning, everything was fine. Normal.

Or so you thought.

A warm hand wrapped around yours and gently shook your shoulders awake.

You smiled sleepily, eyes still closed as your boyfriend pressed his lips to yours for his usual morning peck.

And then he screamed.

An ear piercing scream that could’ve shattered glass.

He had almost died that day. He was in the emergency room for the longest time and when he was finally let out, he left you, afraid that you were possessed. A psychopath that wanted to kill him.

Broken hearted, you resorted to a life of isolation. You had only a handful of close friends that you kept your distance from. You moved to a new town, started a new life. Tried to live life as normally as possible, keeping your secret buried within yourself.  

You promised yourself that you would never kiss another person, because you had lips of poison. You swore to never fall in love again.

Because the one you loved would be in terrible danger if you ever did.

2 years later.

You couldn’t believe yourself. You kicked the door, raked your fingers through your hair, and muttered profanities under your breath.

It was just your luck.

Of course you had to fall head over heels for the tall, handsome stranger. Of course, because as soon as his eyes met yours, you just knew. That he was the one.

He had told you his name was Kris, that he had just moved to your town from Canada. He said you were the first person he met, that he hoped to stay good friends.

And when you started spending more and more time together, your feelings grew. You couldn’t stop them no matter how hard you tried. You couldn’t help yourself. You couldn’t help the blush that would spread across your cheeks whenever his hand lingered on yours for a moment too long, whenever you caught him staring at you with awe in his eyes. You couldn’t help the feeling of being safe, being wanted whenever you were with him.

You tried telling him about the curse, warning him about the consequences. But before you knew it, slowly, he was falling for you too.

And all too soon, that fateful day came, when he dropped you off at your apartment and lingered at your door, trying to steal a good night kiss.

He had leaned down towards you, his arms wrapped aroun