cool about it - weston koury

01

january 7, 2022

i knock on the door of the kourys' house, hearing a "coming!" and footsteps immediately after.

"hey mar!" kalynn greets.

"hi my baby !" i smile back.

"what'd you get weston? i was stuck on the big time rush hoodie and otv merch." she says, smiling and walking away, signaling for me to come in.

"i didn't get him anything. this is just a cake."

she stops in her tracks and looks me dead in the eye,

"there is no way you're being serious right now." she says, pure shock in her face. i laugh at how serious she looks before responding,

"okay i did get him a gift but, it's more of a gift for all of us."

"... what did you do?"

"i got us tickets to a btr concert." i blurt out, waiting for her response.

she stays silent for a second, before screaming and jumping, and me joining her.

"holy shit what's going on down there?" i hear weston's voice coming from upstairs.

"nothing!" kalynn screams back. she turns to me and lowers her voice.

"okay, i'm gonna go get ready. big day ahead of the austin house!" she leaves to go to her room.

i nod at her, looking back up at weston, still standing there.

"happy birthday." i smile faintly at him, him doing the same and staying silent before heading for the stairs.

i've known weston and kalynn since we were thirteen, when i first moved to north carolina. they instantly became my best friends, since we were neighbors.

i never thought i'd catch feelings for weston. i'd thought about it, seeing all the friends to lovers tropes, but it always confused me. it just seemed so unrealistic, like it would never happen in real life.

until around... early 2021. weston had grown his hair out, he had completely changed his style, and we were hanging out one-on-one a lot more, watching shows that didn't interest kalynn.

ever since then, a tiny ... attraction (?) developed. i thought it would go away, seeing as they were moving to texas soon anyway, but it didn't. and now i have a crush on my best friend. and also planning on moving in with him. and also living in the room right across from his. but fuck it we ball ! ...

he walks into the kitchen, lips pursed together smiling at me.

"what's in the bag mara chanel?"

i roll my eyes at him and smile, "your birthday cake. you wanna see?"

"yes please !" he says, sitting down on the stool and reaching for the bag,

i reach for the bag too, which makes for a very awkward two seconds.

"let me do it. you're the birthday boy!"

"such a gentleman you are." he smiles.

i smile and stay quiet, focused on opening the box of cake. i finally get the tape off,

"ready for your big reveal?" i tease.

"born ready!" he sits up straight,

i open the box to reveal a cake with bumper from pitch perfect printed on it. his jaw drops as he laughs,

"holy shit mara! that's awesome oh my god!"

i laugh, not being able to think of anything to say back. he follows up,

"okay, wait right here please. i'm gonna go get my phone!" he says, standing up.

"just take a photo on my phone, here." i suggest, pulling out my phone instead.

"yes! you're a lifesaver." he says, grabbing the phone from me, our hands touching for a second.

"wait, why are you taking it?" i ask, confused.

"huh?"

"i- i thought you wanted a picture with the cake?" i blurt out. i hate feeling judged by him, even though i know he wasn't, it was just embarrassing in a way.

"oh shit you're right." he hands me the phone, our hands brushing against eachother, ... again.

i start taking pictures of him posing with the cake, both of us laughing. once i'm done taking photos, i hand him my phone to let him see the results.

our hands didn't touch that time. huh.

i ignore it, and watch as he looks through the photos, him smiling and laughing looking at them. i stand there in silence for a bit, just appreciating the fact that i get to admire him without him knowing.

then it hits me. i stare at him a bit too much. i care about what he thinks of me too much. i like his smile a bit too much. i'm literally in love with him.