You stood outside of his house, shivering in the cold winter weather as you waited for him to let you in. He texted you earlier, asking you to come over because he wanted to talk to you. You were thrilled that Kevin was actually inviting you over; you've had the biggest crush on him for the longest time. If the time and circumstances were right, you were going to tell him about your feelings.

when Kevin opened the door, what you saw wasn't what you expected at all. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying, and he looked like a mess. That wasn't like the Kevin you knew.

"K-Kevin..."

"Come on in. I have something to tell you," He led you into his house, closing the door behind you and going up to his room. You followed him, your mood suddenly downcast due to how Kevin appeared to be.

Kevin sat on his bed, clasping his hands in his lap and looking at you sadly. When you didn't move, he patted the empty space next to him on the bed, and you sat next to him. When you did, he took one of your hands in both of his, which made your heart flutter and your face flush.

"Listen, [name], I hope you can respect that I don't exactly want to tell you everything, but I've been under so much stress lately," You nodded, looking at Kevin, who sounded on the verge of tears. "I've been waiting for someone to take the pain of all of it away from me, and it seems as though it's you. You're the only one who has been able to make me smile lately, and... to be honest, I know everything's going to be fine, because you're by my side."

Kevin sounded so broken, so to hurt, that it hurt you to see him that way. you reached over and tugged him into a tight embrace, feeling his shoulders tremble slightly. his back as gently as you could, you cooed your words softly to him.

"Whatever's going on, I'll always be here for you, Kevin. No matter how broken you may be, I will always be here, You can count on me, because..." You inhaled deeply, forming your sentence in your mind before you spoke it. "I've loved you for the longest time, and I want nothing but the best for you. It hurts me to see you like this, Kevin, but I'm not going to leave-- Ever. Because... I love you"

"I...I love you too, [name]."