you belong with me | c.w. ✓

twenty-five [finally]

t w e n t y - f i v e

finally

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For the second time that day, I ran to find Cole. It was like my mind wasn't controlling my body - it was moving on its own, like the only thing it knew was that I had to get to him.

By the time I made it up to our floor and was standing in front of the door to his room, I was out of breath and probably looked like a mess. I couldn't imagine I looked halfway decent after crying my eyes out for half an hour. But I didn't care. All that mattered was the fact that I loved him, and - if Mia was right - he loved me, too.

I paused in front of the door, taking a deep breath. This would either be the best moment of my life or the worst. And all I could do was pray that it would be the former.

Trying to keep my hand from shaking, I lifted it to knock on the door. I heard the TV being paused inside, and footsteps coming toward the door. Suddenly I started to freak out.

What the heck was I going to say to him? "Hey, nice shirt, mind if I come in to watch New Girl with you? Oh, and by the way, I'm in love with you."

But I didn't have time to think about it, because suddenly the door was opening and Cole was standing right in front of me.

"Riley?" he asked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

I didn't respond; I just stared at him as I tried to think of what to say.

And then, as I looked into his eyes, I realized something.

That was my problem. I was always thinking - about words people had said to me, how someone made me feel, what to say to someone.

I was done thinking. It was time to start doing.

So I reached up, took his face in my hands, and kissed him with everything I had.

But he didn't kiss me back.

Three seconds.

Three seconds - it doesn't sound like a long time, but at that moment, it felt like an eternity. Either he was too shocked to respond, or...I didn't want to think about the alternative. Was Mia wrong? Did he really not love me anymore?

But then, his hands went around my waist, and he pulled me closer as he finally responded to the kiss.

As soon as he kissed me back, it felt like my whole body was on fire - like if I opened my eyes I would see electricity sparking off of my fingertips.

After what could have been seconds or minutes or hours, we finally pulled away.

Cole stared at me, shock and confusion written on his face. It took him a moment to speak. "What...what was that for?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

I took a deep breath. "Because I love you."

His eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"I've been in love with you for six months. I tried to tell myself I was over you, but..." I let out a light laugh. "Clearly, I'm not."

Cole blinked, shaking his head in disbelief. "You...you love me?"

I smiled and ran my hand through his hair. "I always have."

He still looked shocked, and I couldn't blame him. I almost felt bad for not giving him a warning or anything, but I figured saying something like, "Hey, what's up? I'm about to kiss you and declare my love for you, no big deal," would ruin the moment.