best friend | zdj

fifteen

i was met with three familiar faces as i opened the front door of the house. i furrowed my eyebrows as i eyed the cakes on the table.

"is it my birthday already?"

zabdiel laughed and stepped forward. "we heard what happened at school today. if i was there, i would've punched them for doing invading your privacy like that." he reached for me and kissed my forehead.

"i don't promise that i won't punch them next time i see them in school." joel shrugged and messed up my hair. "nobody messes with my little sister like that."

i stuck my tongue out at him as i tried to make my hair look good again.

"what did those letters say?" isabelle asked as she stepped closer to me.

she didn't know. joel hadn't seen his letter, at least he hadn't told isabelle about it. my heart raced as i tried to keep my tears at bay.

"oh my god, i'm so sorry. i didn't mean to make you upset." she quickly said and hugged me.

i laughed and wrapped my arms around her. "it's okay, isa." i looked at zabdiel. he smiled at me.

tell her he mouthed.

i took a deep breath and pulled away from our hug. "can we talk? alone?"

she smiled sweetly and nodded. i motioned her to follow me into my room, even though i knew the guys would be eavesdropping on us.

"look, the letters that got sent out were very private. i didn't think anyone would ever read them, much less did i think about sending them."

she nodded and told me to continue.

i bit my lip, not sure if i should just say it or dance around the topic for a while. "uh... they were basically love letters. there are four of them. i wrote them all in middle school, the last time i edited them was in freshman year. i grew out of it, i don't even know why i left them in my drafts."

"those assholes sent the letters. oh my god." she murmured to herself. "they're lucky you only slapped them."

i giggled. "right..." i looked down, suddenly finding my rings more interesting to look at. "joel is one of them." her eyes widened, so i kept talking. "i swear to god, i wrote it before you guys started dating. i tried to forget about him as soon as he asked you out. please believe me." i whispered the last part, scared of her reaction.

much to my surprise, she pulled me in for a hug. "i believe you, anna. i know you wouldn't do that to me, little sis. besides, you're with zabdiel now."

i laughed nervously. "about that..."

i told her about richard's letter and what he did to get us in detention. then how i blurted out that zabdiel and i were dating, even though we weren't. what happened last night after dinner, what happened this morning in the car.

"i've been shipping this for so long." she sighed in content.

"we're not dating, isa." i bit my lip. "i'm not sure about my feelings. sure, he's cute and we've known each other our whole lives, but what if i'm mistaking my feelings for something else? what if i just see him like the brother i never had and i'm thinking these are romantic feelings because you're all pressuring me?"

"joel is my first boyfriend, so i don't have much experience in that field." we laughed. "but i'm gonna go ahead and say that i wouldn't kiss someone i saw like a brother the way i saw you kissing him this morning."

i blushed. "i guess you're right..."

"y un pajarito me dijo... that he really likes you." she poked me and i squirmed around.

"he does?"

"anna, you can't seriously be this dense. he kissed you this morning!"

"well, i kissed him and then he kissed me." i corrected her.

"which literally proves what i just said." she smirked.

"tell me i'm not dreaming." he whispered.

i giggled. "want me to pinch you?"

his hand sneaked to the back of my knee. i gasped as he pulled me onto his lap so i was straddling him. "how about you kiss me again?"

oh my god. i can't believe i'm so dense.