Dreader's Escape

Seven

"You ready to go, Lon?" Ash asked. I hesitated and shook my head. "No, no... Y-You go, I gotta... I gotta prepare myself. I-I don't like heights, remember?" I stammered, sucking in a deep breath. Asher frowned and got close to me. "Well... Maybe that's a good sign to just go ahead and get it over with, alright? I'll be up here watching you--"

"No, no, I'd feel better if you were down there. I trust you the most to catch me if I slip or something," I quickly said. Asher frowned and looked around. "Are you sure? What about being up here alone for a bit..?" He asked. I shook my head and smiled weakly. "I'll be okay. It's most likely just in my head, right? I know you won't take long to get down there," I assured him.

Asher smiled a little and got closer to me, grabbing my hands. "Guys! Everything alright up there!?" We heard Taylor yell. Ash looked up and huffed. "Yeah! I'll be down in a sec!" He yelled back, turning his attention back to me once again. "Can I tell you something before I go down to my doom?" He asked. I chuckled a little and nodded. Ash leaned in and looked into my eyes before softly pressing his lips to mine, reaching up to caress the side of my neck. I gently kissed back, reaching out and gripping onto his shirt, feeling my face heat up. Asher pulled away and pressed his forehead against mine, smiling. "I think I'm falling for you, Avalon... As I've said before, I've always thought about what it'd be like to kiss you, even before I started questioning my sexuality. It was just something I was curious about as your best friend. You've been helping me out a lot with my confusion and... After all this experimenting with you, I keep... Wanting more. Every time I look at you, it feels like my chest is tightening and I just want to hold you and never let go. I know we've been testing the waters of our relationship to see if this is something we want to be more than it already is, and because of that, I think I've finally come to the conclusion that... I like you more than just best friends. It terrifies me, because I don't want to screw things up, but... That's how I feel," he said to me, reaching up and cupping my face.

My eyes widened and I stared at him in shock, a smile slowly making it's way on my face. "R... Really? I--"

Asher held his hand up and shook his head. "Nope! Don't say anything. I want you to think on it and focus mainly on that while I make my way down there, okay? Try and keep that as the only thing on your mind and just... Give me your response when you get down there with me. Even if it's a negative one," he interjected, chuckling lightly. I smiled wider and nodded, watching him pull away from me and head over towards the rope, grabbing onto it. I stepped closer so that I could watch him go down, keeping my mind only on what he said to try and not freak myself out.

My best friend for years has confessed to me. I never knew I would even start to like him until he brought everything up. When we started to experiment and I enjoyed everything we were doing so far, it just made me realize how much pent up feelings I had for him that I didn't even know existed. Even talking about it with Heidi helped open my eyes more, but I still wasn't sure. I was utterly confused. He was my rock through everything and I thought he was nothing but like a brother to me, yet... He wasn't. That was just me doubting everything because I was scared of change. I was lying to myself. I never realized I wanted him so bad like I do now. Just thinking big on all the experimenting we've done... I don't want to see him do that with anyone else! I've fallen for him too...

I bit my lip in excitement, feeling myself get all giddy and excited to get down there and just scream at him how much I love and appreciate him.

"Alright, Lon! Your turn! Be careful, I'm right here in case you slip! Don't focus on the height! Focus on what I talked to you about!" Asher screamed from down below. I sucked in a deep breath, mentally preparing myself and stretching my arms out, shaking my head quickly to kind of make myself feel more present and awake.