Reece's Haven

54

I mean, the last thing I want is for him to get hurt, and I feel that the longer I delay telling him the truth, the harder it will hit him. So, I take a deep breath in.

"Damien, I need to tell you something," I say.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Not here. Can we talk outside?"

"Sure."

Once we pass through the exit, we head to the deserted playing field (luckily, there is no football practice today). I clutch onto the straps of my backpack until we reach the one of the benches, where we dump our backpacks on the ground and sit down on the bench.

"So what's up?" he says, getting comfortable, grinning.

Gosh... I don't want to be the one to remove that adorable grin of his – so filled with playfulness and curiosity. I send him a feeble smile before I take another deep breath in.

"Damien, we can't date," I say.

"Ok, we don't have to consider this as a date then. It's just two friends hanging out at a museum–"

"On Valentine's Day," I say.

"Friends can hang out on Valentine's Day too."

"Not when one of the friends is in a relationship," I blurt with a pounding heart.

He furrows his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

I place my hand over his hand, which rests on the bench.

"Reece and I are together," I finally reveal, looking into his eyes.

Confusion vanishes from his face as he widens his eyes.

"What?"

"We're together."

Silence falls on us, during which Damien processes this revelation. He stares at the view in front of us with pursed lips.

Gosh, my heart is still thumping, wary of his reaction.

After what feels like forever, he finally breaks the silence, but he continues to stare ahead.

"Since when?"

"About three weeks ago."

"And you're telling me this now?"

"I... I wanted to focus on building my relationship with Reece without having to worry about dealing with everyone's reaction, especially yours."

"Why?"

"Because I was afraid that I'd lose you as my friend."

"...So there was always a chance for you both to be together," he whispers, more to himself.

"Damien–"

He pulls his hand away from mine, before he stands up abruptly, takes a few steps forward and halts. With his back facing me, he sighs deeply, rubbing his temples.

"You know," he begins, dropping his hand to his side. "Every time I lose motivation to study, or work on my application – which is very often, by the way – I'd always think about you. I'd always think about my future with you in it."

A lump grows in my throat and I look down at my hands, which are placed on my lap.

"I'm not leaving you, Damien," I say in a low tone. "I'll still be around as your friend–"

"You mean more than just a friend to me, Dorothy," he says, interrupting me.

He turns around and approaches me. He goes down on his knees right in front of me and holds onto my hands. We stare into each other's eyes.