The Love Letter Game || The Music Freaks

Chapter 25 | A Long-Awaited Confession

A/N
Before you read this chapter, I'd like to apologize in advance, as I know quite a few of you will be disappointed with who ends up with who. Despite that, I hope you'll still enjoy the chapter, and I'm very sorry if you were disappointed by the outcome.
And thank you so much for reading this far.

"Hey, Jake?"

My voice catches his attention, and he turns to look at me.

"Hails," He utters, slightly confused by my presence. "Hey, what's up?"

It was just then I noticed Drew, standing next to him, his hand on Jake's arm.

"I wanted to talk to you," My voice came out a lot more shy and meek than intended. My eyes then lock onto Drew's, and I can tell he isn't too pleased with me being there. "Alone..." I add, causing Drew's scowl to deepen.

They exchange a small glance, before Drew hesitantly looks back at me, then walks away, disappearing around the corner.

Once he's gone, I step closer to Jake, leaning against the side of the building.

I gaze up at him, though his face is barely visible in the dark. I'm able to make out his hazel eyes, which gently dawdle to the grassy ground. The few stars in the sky almost light them up, making them seem brighter than ever.

Just as I'm about to break the silence, he beats me to it.

"Hailey, listen," He starts, still avoiding my eyes, "About what happened at prom... I'm sorry... It was wrong of me to punch Kingsley."

I gape back at him in surprise. I certainly didn't expect him to apologize. And not to me, of all people. My childhood best friend is the one with a broken nose.

"Oh, uh, it's fine, I guess," I mumble, not entirely sure how to respond. "I mean, he did kind of egg you on. But really, you should be apologizing to him, if anyone."

Jake lets out a sigh, turning away from me, "Yeah, I know. It's just... Difficult, to have to suck up my pride."

A slightly smile at that, "Of course, I mean, you're the great and noble Jake."

He rolls his eyes with a smirk on his face, "Oh, shut up," He chuckles, giving me a playful shove. He keeps staring at me, although his smile is replaced by an almost hesitant look. Eventually, he goes on, "Actually, speaking of Kingsley, I didn't know you two were a thing." He falters, speaking each word slowly, watching carefully for my reaction.

My face goes red, and I'm praying he can't see it in the limited lighting. "Wh-what makes you say that?!" I exclaim in a futile attempt to keep my voice steady.

My reaction seems to calm his uncertain demeanour, and he raises an eyebrow, "Well, for one, I saw you two kiss backstage earlier," He explains teasingly, before his expression and tone soften, "And, plus, I see the way you look at him."

I let out a shaky breath, brushing some of my hair behind my ear. "Yeah, he's... He's great."

I can feel my heart speeding up as I reach for the envelope, clutching onto it.

"Hey, so, um," I pulled it out of my pocket, revealing it to Jake, "I've been meaning to give you this."

I hold it out to him, and Jake stares at me for a moment, before looking back at the letter, taking it from me.

An awful silence follows, accompanied with the sound of the envelope crinkling as Jake opens it.

As he does so, I speak up, trying to fill in the silence, "I'm sure you've been receiving a lot of letters. I was, uh, one of the people giving them to you. I don't expect you to return my feelings, this is more just for me to get this off my chest."