I promised myself.  I’ll make you feel better.  I’ll be there for you when you need me.  Slowly but surely, I started to figure it out.  There was more to us than just friendship.  It was more than that.  It was bigger, better, deeper, more complex.

“Good morn-” I sat down next to you on the bus and found you asleep with your head leaning back.  “Hm.  Sleep well.”

She’s so cute when she’s sleeping.

Wait…

What?

“Morning.”  You mumbled, letting your head fall on my shoulder to rest.

Stupid heart of mine.  What are you doing, now?

Did you see a ghost or something?

No, more like an angel.

After 10 minutes, my shoulder started to ache.  Regardless, I refused to move and resisted the bruning sensation that was now spreading to my arm.  I looked down, admiring your face for… a bit too long.

I guess my stomach is going to join my brain in doing funny things.

That feels like…  It can’t be.

Those aren’t butterflies are they?

I shook the thought away and leaned my head on yours while letting out a tired sigh.  Disregarding the pain in my shoulder, I remained as still as I could until our bus had arrived at the front of the school.

“Is my hair messed up?”  You lifted your head and looked at me, pointing at the mess on your head.

“No, it looks fine.”  I stifled a laugh.

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not.  It looks fine to me.”  I chuckled while brushing a few strands of hair back into place.

“… Is there something on my face?”

“Huh?  Oh!  No, no, nothing’s on your face.  I just.  Uh.  Nevermind.”

“You’re strange.”  You laughed before ruffling my hair.

I simply smiled back, still feeling a little confused.

Maybe we’re just really good friends…

Yeah, that’s it.

There’s nothing else to it, right?

“Hey.  Did you even get any sleep last night?”  You furrowed your eyebrows.

“Huh?”

“Or is there really something on my face?”  You started to brush your cheeks, chin and nose.

“Uh- no!  Sorry.  It’s nothing.  I’m just a little tired.”

Stop staring at her, you idiot.

That happened more and more.  It became difficult to resist.  It was even harder when you suddenly became more affectionate all the time.

“I’m not looking forward to doing this assignment at all.”  I groaned.

“Same here.” 

 “So do we just do these questions on the first page or do we- What are you doing?”  I laughed while putting the sheet of questions down.

“Nothing.”  You smiled and purposely tried to sway me off balance while you had your arms around my waist.

Oh God, people are staring…

Then again… Do I care?

Hah, not at all.

I admit it.

I love the feeling in my stomach and my chest when you smile at me.

It’s like I’m flying.

I feel lighter and happier.

It’s like I forget every single bad thing that’s ever happened to me.

It’s like…

Love?

A few of our friends looked at us and smiled in admiration for the closeness we shared.

I’m happy to have her too.

I was so happy to have you that I made sure not to let go.  I did anything and everything I could for you.  Even if it meant trouble for me, I’d do it.  But I might have pushed myself too far a few times.

“Tiffany, can we please stop by my locker?  My back is killing me and I’m carrying 2 textbooks.”  I shifted my bag to the floor, remembering the fall I had this morning during gym class.

“C’mon.  It’s not that far.”  You shrugged and kept walking.

Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.

“My back hurts a lot.  Agh.  Maybe I just need to lie down.”  I caressed the area around my spine before lying down on my bed.  After a short nap, it was time for dinner.  I sat up, and gasped, feeling an explosion of pain in my lower back.

It’ll go away in a day or two.  Yeah…

“Sit up.”  My mom tried to diagnose the back pain.

“I can’t.”  I tried sitting up, crying from the pain in my spine and gave up.

“I think we need to get you to the hospital.  When did this happen?”

“It started hurting yesterday, but I think I made it worse.”

“I told you.  You need to start putting your books down at your locker!”

“I know, I know.  I’ll be fine, mom.”  I wiped the tears and rolled on my side, using my arms to push myself up.

“We don’t have time to take you to the hospital at this hour.  Why didn’t you say something earlier?!”

“I didn’t think it’d get this bad.”  I tried standing up, feeling my lower back muscles spasm in my attempt.  “Agh!”  I fell back down, feeling more pain radiating from my back.

You caused the extra pain, sure.  But you also helped take my mind off of it.  How could I be mad at you?

“I feel really bad.  This wouldn’t have happened if I just let you go to your locker.”

“It’s not your fault.  I guess I’m not that fit.”

“Well, it’s still partially my fault.  Turn around.”

“Why?”  I turned my back to you, being careful not to bend even a little.

“You know, I’ve never seen you sit with such perfect posture before.”  You chuckled before pushing your fist into my back.  “Here?”

“Uh, a little lower down…  Perfect.”

I came to love physical contact.  Whether it was just a handshake or a hug from behind, I felt like there was electricity running through me every time it happened.  It spread out over my entire body and I could even feel it in my chest.  You’d accidentally rip things apart and break almost anything you touched but when it came to me, you were so gentle.  From brushing my hair out of my face to cleaning a stain on my shirt, you found a way to show it.

“I need a haircut.”  I frowned as another piece of hair fell in front of my eyes.

“Yes, you do!”

“Ugh.”

“Here, let me do it.”  You reached forward, pushing my hair to the side.  “Don’t cut your hair.  I like it this way.”

“But I like it shorter.  It’s easier to dry.”

“Fine, then.  Cut it.  See if I care.”  You pouted.

“Haha, alright, I won’t change it.”

Sometimes I wondered if maybe we were an unofficial couple.  It felt like it.

“I’m so glad we have the same lunch period.”  I turned my head to you and smiled.

“Me too.”  You leaned back, resting your head on my lap, like you always did.  Automatically, you tugged on my sleeves, indicating for me to let go of everything and to hug you around the neck.

“You know, we’ll be graduating soon.  We won’t be able to do this as often.”

“So let’s make the most of it while we can.”  You closed your eyes.

Yeah.  Someday you’ll be gone…  But that’s not going to happen for a long time, right?

I cherished the moments we had so much.  I wish I could revisit them and relive them but missing it is part of what makes a memory, a good one.  So we made new ones.  Better ones.

“We should get matching rings engraved.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea!”  I snapped my fingers, excited at the idea.

“Yeah!  But what would we engrave in the rings?”

“I always tell you to smile for me.  And you always reply with ‘always’.  Maybe that’s what we can engrave.”

“I like it.”  You smiled.

“Me too.”

I’ve been thinking about that a lot, recently.  I wonder if you still want those rings.  I know mine would hold a lot of meaning in it.

“We need to measure the finger sizes and everything, though.”  You pouted.

“Well, I wouldn’t.  I’m not wearing it around my finger.”

“Why not?”

“For a ring with such sentimental value, I’d rather make a necklace out of it because something like that should be worn closer to the heart.  It’s closer to home and not on a finger, where it can fall off easily.”

“Hm, I like that a lot.”

“I’ll get them when I can.  That won’t be for quite a while, but it’s worth the wait, huh?”

Anything for you is worth the wait for me.  I’d wait an eternity for you if it means that in the end, I get to come home to the smile of an angel.

I don’t know why the thought of liking you bothered me so much back then.  Maybe it’s because I thought it was weird.  It was different and definitely out of the ordinary but not once, did I think it was bad.  Why are some people in the world so against this, then?  What’s the difference?  As far as I’m concerned, it only matters that the feelings are sincere.  And I think my feelings were sincere.  They still are.  That probably won’t change.

I took a little too long to realize this, but eventually I did.

And I don’t think I’ll forget anytime soon, either.

We had an event at school that ran until 8pm yesterday.  I promised my friend that I'd audition to sing next year if the event was successful.  ...  I guess I'm auditioning hahaha.  Another way to let things out.  Maybe I can show you guys a clip?  If I'm good, you'll enjoy it.  If i'm bad, you'll enjoy it because it's funny :P  Anyways.  Prepare yourself for a loooooooaaaadd of fluff in the next two chapters.  Enjoy them while you can.  Fluff and then angst warning ahead.

Happy reading! ♥