The Last of Sansora

THE CONFESSION

[EVA'S POV]

My hands roam all over Ace's stiff face, over his eyes which are still closed and not giving me the chance to see those beautiful green orbs. I can feel tears gather in my brown ones, and my body trembles slightly as I let them fall. A soft cry escapes my lips as I withdraw my hand from his face. I thought I would be able to control myself, but my body is not cooperating.

Baxter's hand squeezes my shoulder and
pulls me into his chest.

"It's OK. Don't be sad. He'll be fine." he says, patting my back.

"I'm not...sad." I correct him with a sniffle. Me crying onto his shirt is giving me a feeling of déja vu. I guess he'll always be my shoulder to cry on.

"Then why are you crying?" he asks, pulling away from me to look into my puffy eyes.

"It's just....I'm excited that he's going to be fine. I'm glad he's not dead. I'm going to see him again."

He gives me a tiny smile. "Yeah right. But you need to stop crying, your face is all pink." he tugs at his shirt and shows me the wet spot on it. "You even gave me your germs."

"Whatever." I chuckle, wiping at my cheeks.

"Let's go home now. You need something to eat."

"Yeah," I sniffle. "We should go."

✴✴✴

I watch silently as Baxter chops carrots for dinner with a lot of concentration, as if he was trying to distract himself from something else. This is so unlike him. He looks....sad. Which is weird, because for him everyday is a happy day.

"You're upset. You're gonna go jerk off after dinner, aren't you?" I joke, leaning my face on the palm of my hand supported by my elbow.

I earn a light chortle from him which makes me feel good about myself. "I'm not upset." he claims, still not looking at me.

I sniff the air dramatically and frown as I wrinkle my nose. "What's that smell?" I gasp. "It doesn't even smell like the sauce you're making."

Baxter looks up at me, rolls his eyes and concentrates back on the carrots he's chopping.

"Oh!" I exclaim, feigning surprise. "It smells like the little thing people like to call a lie." I say wryly.

"I'm not lying. I'm not upset." Baxter denies.

"Oh I know when you're upset, Baxter. Is it about the kiss?" I ask softly.

He looks away from me and sighs. "Forget about it. I don't want to ruin everything."

"Just tell me already. I need explanations. You can't just kiss me and..."

"....I just got carried away, okay?" he cuts in. "I forgot that I'll never be able to come out of the friend zone you put me in."

I lean back in my chair, taken aback by his words. He sounds very hurt, which is totally unlike him. "What are you talking about, Baxter?"

"I have feelings for you, Eva. There I said it. Can we move on now?" he blurts out, sounding a bit furious.

"No, we can't move on. I wanna talk about it. I honestly didn't know about it. You've never shown any signs. Plus you and Marie were together and you loved her."

He closes his eyes briefly and opens them before talking. "I was attracted to you from the moment I saw you crying by my locker in high school. From the day you cried onto my favorite shirt. I thought it was just pity, but as time went on, I realised I actually loved you. And not just as a friend. I wanted to protect you and show you how much I cared."

"But what about Marie? I thought she was the one you liked, not me."

"I knew you'd never return the feelings I had for you because you only saw me as your best friend, so I decided to move on. When you intouduced me to Marie and tried to hook us up, I gave in. I thought I could use her as a means to forget about you."

I sigh. "Baxter, you didn't have to do that. You could've just told me about your feelings."

"I was just scared okay? I didn't want to ruin everything. And I loved Marie, I really did. But I didn't love her enough and she noticed it. That's why we broke up."

I reach for his hand and gently rub it. "I feel really bad. I'm so sorry. I had no idea that's how you felt. If I did...."

"None of that matters anymore. In fact I've noticed how you look at Hudson's brother. What's going on between you and him? Do you...love him?"

I swallow and look away from him. "I think so. I-It just happened and...I couldn't help it."

Baxter gives me a teasing smirk. "Does he make you happy?"

I nod shyly. "Yes. Very much."

"Apart from seeing you suffer while you're trying to cook, I love to see you happy. Whenever you're happy, it makes me happy, Eva." he says candidly with a wide beam.

"Thank you, Baxter. I love to see you happy too. And by telling me about your feelings you've not ruined anything. I still love you, even if I'm not able to return those feelings. You're a very good friend and one day, you'll find someone who'll love you more than I ever will."

Baxter rubs his nape coyly as he giggles. "She better come fast."

I impulsively reach in and hug him. "I could easily pay you back the twenty dollars I owe you for ruining your favorite shirt back in high school so that this friendship will be over with. But do you know why I haven't done that for five years?"

"Because you're a miser?" he jests.

"It's because I love you." I say sincerely. "I always will."

"I know that, you cheap skate." he replies with a laugh. We pull away from each other and he pays attention back to his cooking, this time not looking too serious.

"Tell me all what happened back in Exlcloff." he says, breaking the brief silence.

"It's Exyclott, you heathen."

"Whatever. How is the place like? Why were you wearing that white gown? And how did the battle start? Also how on earth is Hudson Lockmore dead? It's going to be all over the news!"

I grin. "Let's just say I was born to be relevant after all."

❇
I wrote this chapter while feeling tired. I've been on a writing spree since morning lol. Please vote and comment honestly. Thank you 💙💚💛💜

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Song Recommendations:
Boy In Luv by BTS 👌
Boy With Luv by BTS 👌

THEY'RE NOT THE SAME!