What's Better Than E?

■57 - You Are My Crush■

To make things less awkward, he passed Laurel a half smile but realized too late that he might have come off as a jealous guy. All of a sudden, he began feeling guilty for loving her and so he quickly pulled himself out of the dark abyss and turned his attention back to the girl in front of him.

"I am so glad that I was given this chance to clear out our misunderstandings. If it wouldn't have been your comic book, I think we would have lived our whole life in ignorance. I am grateful that it was me who got your book. Really, I am." He chuckled, running his hands through his hair.

"So true, I am so glad too." She grinned. "I got to know you better."

"Yeah, same." He cleared his throat when his mind started to fill with the thoughts of her "crush" again. "So! What about your crush?"

"What about him?" Laurel asked him dryly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. How can he be so daft? She thought with a frown.

"I mean…" He shrugged, his hold on their entwined hands tightening a bit because he didn't like thinking about her with someone else. The mere thought made him want to throw up. Throw up on that guy himself.

"Bob… do you even know who I have a crush on, you doofus?" She scowled.

He reeled back because of how livid she looked and sounded but his initial surprise turned into an angry glare as well. "What do you mean by that? And how would I know? Why would I care about your "stupid crush" to even know who he is?!" He exclaimed, his frustration coming off in waves.

Because of her exasperated mode being on, Laurel came closer to him that their knees were touching and their faces were really close. Close enough to be considered as intimate. However, it didn't register in their minds because they were too angry to notice and Laurel was ready to combust into flames.

"Oh, yeah? Well tell you what? He really is a stupid crush because he is sitting right in front of me and doesn't even know that I am talking about him!" She slapped his knees lightly as if proving a point.

Ethan's breath hitched and he was perplexed for a few seconds before it vanished into thin air. Is she talking about me? No, wait, that was a redundant question. She really just talked about me. His thoughts were spiralling at the speed of light. It was an exaggeration, yes but that's how he felt. His lips parted and that's when he noticed the few inches of space between them. Looking at her closely, he found her vexed expression really adorable and amusing. Or maybe, suddenly everything in his eyes was starting to fill with bright colors.

"Yes, that's right, you stinky blob of Bob! I was talking about you this whole time! You are my crush, you doofu-"

Ethan cut her off by wrapping his hands around her neck and pulled her closer. Without thinking twice, he placed his lips on hers.

Laurel was stumped at first but she soon snaked her arms around his shoulders as well and kissed him back slowly. She could feel her entire body tingling with a burning anticipation and her heart thudding inside her chest as if clapping in joy and glee.

Not liking even the smallest of distance, he pulled her on his lap and deepened the kiss. Ethan felt like he was floating in space with his Pixie. Just the two of them with nothing holding them back anymore. He didn't even know how much he loves her until he kissed her like his life depended on it.

Breaking the kiss, they both took deep breaths as Ethan rested his forehead against Laurel's with an unfiltered grin. Her lips were brushing against his, making his doubts an old news. 

Unable to stop himself, he pecked her on the lips once and closed his eyes with a drunk smile. "I love you, Pixie," he whispered softly before opening his eyes to see her reaction. At this point, he wasn't even scared to tell her about the truth. In fact, he felt like an invisible force was helping him to levitate.

Laurel had her hopes that he liked her but love was not what she had expected. Not that she was complaining but her eyes involuntarily widened in stupefaction. Just then, she could feel her body humming in peace. She was happy and her smile knew no bounds. "Well, Bob, I love you too." She giggled, still high on his kiss and confession.

This time, she was the one to initiate the kiss just as the sun was beginning to set. Perfect, she thought giddily. She believes that sunset kisses are magical and it makes all the wishes come true. Maybe it was just her thinking but her forever dream had finally come true and she was almost in tears.

"Hey, hey, why are you crying?" Ethan held her cheeks in his hands with concern. When she gave him a watery smile shining with genuineness, he felt better. Not asking about it any further, he hugged her and patted her back soothingly. "You up for another round of ice-cream?"

"Sure," she croaked, sniffing which made him laugh cutely.

They both stood up and headed outside the park. Since it was getting dark, the park was almost empty and Laurel was relieved because even though she got carried away, she was glad that nobody had witnessed them kissing.

Ethan held her hand in his own while they walked on the pavement serenely as if they didn't have any destination in their minds. Like it was a casual walk with two people in a relationship. He felt proud when she saw her holding the rose he gave her in one hand - the one he was holding - and the sorry letter in the other.

"Was Thanos from our school too? Because I had never heard of him or something…?" She asked him curiously.

"Well, Theo and I met during our debut MV shoot. It was the music video of Rachel Winters. You know that singer-"

"Oh, my gosh! I know her! And I remember now! Of course! I remember seeing you being the best man during Rachel's "wedding" with Mason West in that video! I am a huge fan of her but I was so sad over the fact that the Mason in the video was not the real Mason but someo-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Ethan guffawed loudly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder to pull her in a hug. "You're so adorable, you cute Pixie."

"Shut up," she grumbled, slapping his chest with the back of her hand.

"Jeez, you really do blush when you say that. Aww, man, my heart," he cooed, poking her cheek.

That certainly brought a shy smile on her face, making Ethan enamoured by her beauty. "You really are a stinky blob of Bob."

"And you really are a witchy Pixie," he shot back with a wide grin and a teasing wink.

It was one of the best evenings they ever had as they laughed, smiled, teased - mostly that - and devoured their favorite flavors of ice-cream all the while making funny faces. They secretly thanked the heavens above to be tied back to each other by some miracle. Or a comic book. Whatever you'd prefer.

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