He admired him from afar for a while.
Soon after he'd first seen him, however, the admired noticed the admirer.
They met, quickly becoming friends, and the admirer's admiration grew.
The aforementioned thoughts were realized, the admirer trying to hide them as well as possible. It worked fairly well, to the admirer's relief.
The admirer and the admired were often stuck in situations alone. There were many instances where the thoughts almost had slipped, but the admirer was able to catch himself, either rewording his statements or coming up with excuses. The admired always confusedly accepted his revised words, and the admirer always hoped he wouldn't catch on.
There was always that chance.
