Jacob Anderson didn't have quite the knack for love, or anything remotely romantic for that matter. It wasn't that he was ugly, no, he was fairly average-looking. Brown hair, brown eyes, pale skin. He didn't have girls falling for him left to right...
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YOULOVEDME. At least, that's what you told me. Though it was just a little, that was the only thought that ran through my head when I woke up that morning.
I still couldn't believe it. It didn't seem possible with the way you rejected me in the beginning. I'd always thought you hated me for some reason. Was I too talkative? Annoying? Was I just downright ugly? It couldn't be.
No matter how many times I'd asked you the next day, you never responded. You simply smiled with a shake of your head, laughing it off as if it were some inside joke you shared with yourself.
"I didn't hate you, you idiot. You were just doing too much and I didn't want to get caught up in it at the time," you finally told me one day during lunch. "I mean, seriously? A poem? You went too far there, but it was a nice gesture. Weird, but nice." You'd taken a bite out of your sandwich.
"But you always rejected my invitations to eat together. Why is it that that one day, when you hesitated to respond, you finally said yes?" I questioned, staring down at my meal with a frown.
"I don't know. Well, I-I know, but at the same time I don't know why I did it," you shrugged. "I guess... I guess I just realized that I wouldn't be here after a while. I'd pass away quietly in my little hospital room, feeling my few happy memories slip away."
"What made you change your mind?" I'd felt a heavy feeling in my heart at the way you whispered those words.
"I wouldn't say it was exactly you, because that's too cheesy. But you were being pretty annoying that week, and on that Monday when you purposely bent down to untie your shoelaces again just to speak to me, I realized that I should just give this life a chance and live while I'm still able to."
I'd jumped back, feeling as though my whole face was on fire. "Y-you noticed that?" I'd asked quickly.
"You thought you were slick, huh? Try again, Jacob," you'd scoffed with a playful roll of your eyes. "Though it was pretty funny. I was trying my best not to laugh at how flustered you'd looked." I couldn't help but laugh along with you.
"Ah, damn it." I'd chuckled, burying my face in my hands in embarrassment. I couldn't dare show my face then. I wouldn't dare show my face now.
I felt your head gently rest against my shoulder and I'd sat still for a moment, listening to the sound of the trees swaying and your content sighs. I smiled, shuffling awkwardly to wrap an arm around your shoulders.
"Do you remember what happened yesterday?" I asked after a moment, letting the silence pass by between us before continuing. "I-I never got the chance to say it back, you know?'
"Well, there's nothing holding you back," you murmured.
"I kind of like you. I think I kind of love you, too," I whispered, my eyes squeezed shut. I didn't know why I'd been so nervous. It wasn't as if I were going to get rejected once more, but something inside my stomach bubbled with anxiety.
You didn't answer. You didn't have to, really. Oddly, I'd felt your happiness radiating off of your warm body and onto mine. You shuffled deeper into my embrace, and that was all it took to send me into an internal frenzy.
Despite what the future held, I'd cherish these moments with you for as long as I'd be able to remember. Things were fine now, as they were. It was fine for me as it was for you.
"We really should get going though, we only have 10 minutes until 3rd period begins," you yawned.
