𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦 ᴴᴱᴺᴿʸ ᴴᴬᴿᵀ

XIII. 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦

— AS HENRY'S EYES darted from the television to his friend charlotte, his face began to turn a shade of crimson. He couldn't help but feel a burning jealousy inside of him. It wasn't like he was some pathetic loser who couldn't get a date or anything, but lately it seemed like every time he turned around, some other guy was asking y/n out. It was getting on his nerves, to say the least.

He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, and turned to charlotte. "I can't take it anymore, Charlotte. I just wish they'd all just leave her alone." He blurted and watched as his friend's expression shifted from one of surprised to a smirk.

"What?" He asked confused

Charlotte shook her head, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Nothing. I just think it's kind of cute how protective you are of y/n. I mean, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself." She paused, considering her next words carefully. "Maybe you should tell her how you feel."

Henry felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of confessing his feelings to y/n. He'd thought about it a million times, but every time he tried to muster up the courage, he would overthink and chicken out.

But now, with Charlotte's encouragement, he felt like maybe he could really do it this time. "You know, you're right," he said, trying to sound casual. "I should probably just man up and tell her how I really feel."

He waited for another day, trying to calm his nerves, before finally mustering the courage to approach y/n. He found her alone in the front as Jasper was on his break down in the man cave. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to her. "Hey, y/n," he said, his voice sounding a bit shaky even to his own ears. "Can I, uh, talk to you for a sec?"

She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide and curious. "Sure, Henry," she replied, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. "What's on your mind?"

He took another deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart. "Well," he began, "I just wanted to tell you that...I like you, y/n. A lot. I've liked you for a really long time, and I just...I wanted you to know that." His words came out in a rush, and he could feel himself blushing furiously as he stumbled over them.

She listened intently, her eyes never leaving his face. When he finished speaking, there was a long silence. Henry braced himself for her reaction, waiting with bated breath.

Finally, she smiled softly and reached up to gently wipe a stray hair from his forehead. "I like you too, Henry," she said simply. "I've liked you for a long time."

Henry's heart soared at her words. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her right there, but he restrained himself, not wanting to scare her off. Instead, he just smiled back at her and said, "Really? You mean that?"

She nodded, her eyes shining with happiness. "Of course I mean that. Why would I say that if I didn't?" She paused, then added with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Well, maybe because you're my best friend and I didn't want to ruin our friendship or anything."

Henry felt a rush of relief and joy wash over him. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think we can handle a friendship and a relationship at the same time," he said with a grin. "Besides, I don't ever want to imagine not having you in my life."

She laughed softly and leaned a little closer to him. "Me neither, Henry. You're my favorite person in the whole world." They stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying the closeness and the knowledge that they could finally be together.

Then customers began to filter back into the shop, and they reluctantly pulled apart. She resumed her duties as Henry went back down into the man cave with a big smile planted onto his lips. It was as if a weight had been lifted from both of their shoulders, and they were finally able to be completely honest with each other about how they felt

MARCH 11, 2024

ᯓ★ IM STARTING to change my writing, I'm becoming more confident and putting more dialogue into the stories,, please tell me if it's too much LOL