Shrugging, he said, "I'll be fine. Promised you a movie, remember?"
"We don't have to go out to a theater or anything. Let's just watch something at my place," she invited easily.
"Okay," he agreed.
"See you in about thirty minutes. Oh, and Lou?"
His heart gave an involuntary jump, and he stammered, "Y-yeah, Kenz?"
She wrinkled her nose at him. "Take a shower, for God's sake. You stink."
He flipped her off easily, and watched as she walked away, laughter still twisting her pretty pink lips into a smile.
* * *
"Louis, for fuck's sake, we are not watching that movie."
"Aw, Kenz, it's one of my favorites. It's a real classic," he protested, perched on her couch. His chestnut hair was damp and tousled from his shower, and he was wearing loose gray sweats and a white t-shirt that made his eyes appear even bluer.
Though most girls would probably have disagreed, Louis thought he was being a slob today, as far as appearance. Especially since Kenzi(as always) looked beautiful, hair falling in soft locks down her back, her eyes thoughtful as she scanned the array of DVDs lining her shelves. Louis thought it was extraordinarily unfair that she got to look so pretty, even when she was only dressed in a hoodie imprinted with their school logo, and a pair of jeans. Someone should've warned him not to wear sweats; he probably looked like the Beast beside Beauty, standing next to her.
Whatever, he reflected to himself. It was a movie night for them, anyway. She'd think it was weird if he got all dressed up to impress her--not that he... not that he was trying to impress her, but still--
"Anything with blood all over the cover is not a classic," Kenzi told him firmly, interrupting his thoughts. "Let's compromise. How about 'Monsters Inc.'?"
An easy grin. "Well, since we're so mature and grown up-"
"Oh, hush. You know we won't agree on anything else."
"All righty. Monsters Inc. it is," Louis said, humming a senseless tune under his breath and drumming his fingers along the arm of the couch.
Sliding the disc into the DVD player, Kenzi walked over and threw his legs off the couch. "Shove over or I sit on you," she threatened, flopping down beside him.
"You're a munchkin compared to me, Kenz. I'm not scared of you."
"Mm-hm, whatever, Lou. If I were you, I'd be scared. Just because you play soccer doesn't make you tougher than me."
"Oh, except it does." He leaned into towards her, so that the sharp smell of his soap and cologne(so maybe he had tried to impress her, but only a little bit; cologne wasn't overboard, was it?) mingled with the citrus-berry smell of her shampoo. "I'm hungry. What're we eating?"
Shifting to rest her head on his shoulder--a gesture that should've been nothing but familiar warmth to Louis, but instead was like a firey set of explosives and rocketships going off in his belly--Kenzi said, "Well, my parents are out, so I thought we'd just order pizza."
"Pepperoni?" Hopeful, and hungry. His question.
"Duh." Scornful, and teasing. Her reply.
A silence fell over them, save the noise coming from the TV. For Kenzi, it was a comfortable silence, one of many she and Louis had shared over the countless years of their friendship. For Louis, it was a restless period of waiting. Words kept bubbling up in his throat and dying on his tongue.
How to tell her, how to tell her, how to tell her?
Louis had promised himself, with as much convinction as he could muster, that he would confess his true feelings for his "best friend", Kenzi.
That had been about a month ago.
He'd been procrastinating far too long, and his feelings were growing distractingly strong. It was getting harder and harder to pretend.
But still, a large part of him held back. He and Kenz shared the most precious friendship in the world, and if his confession wrecked it or made things awkward, he would never forgive himself.
Besides, what ever gave him the idea she would reciprocate even a fraction of his feelings?
Closing his eyes, the boy took a few deep breaths, then dared to speak. "Kenzi?"
"M'trying to watch the movie, Lou," she mumbled sleepily. Her breath tickled his cheek, and her hair brushed in silky-smooth kisses against his nose.
"You've already watched Monsters Inc. a thousand times," he said rebelliously. "I've got something to tell you."
"You are not more important than Monsters Inc."
"Kenz. Please."
The urgency of his tone seemed to surprise her, and she arched her back in a luxurious stretch, twisting on the sofa so she was facing him. Tucking her knees to her chest, she gave him a smile--an adorable, drowsy smile that made it hard for Louis to breathe. "What is it?" she slurred.
"I-"
At that moment, the phone rang. Fuck, Louis thought, silently vowing to pummel whoever the caller was into the dirt.
"I'd better go get that, be right back," Kenzi said, moving to stand.
"No! Wait!" Louis grabbed at her arm frantically, trying to stop her. He succeeded in pulling her down onto the couch, but she stumbled and fell into his lap instead. The incident brought their faces mere inches apart, and Louis felt everything slow down and speed up at once.
It was now or never--only this wasn't a last-minute kick in football, or anything. This was much, much more.
So, before he could think about it anymore, Louis leaned in and kissed his best friend.
At first, nothing happened. The phone stopped ringing, dying into silence.
And then, Kenzi began to kiss him back.
Her lips were warm and soft, and tasted sweeter than anything he ever dreamed(dreamed about it an embarrassing amount of times, actually). She reached up to hook her hands around the back of his neck, and he placed his hands tentatively on her waist--then tightened his grip a little, pulling her body to his.
The kiss broke. Unwilling to tear his lips from hers, Louis murmured softly, "I love you, Kenzi."
"I know." Her eyelashes brushed his nose, that's how close they were.
He shook his head. "I love you, Kenzi."
"I know," she repeated, mouth moving against his. "I love you too, Louis."
He sucked in a ragged breath. "You're kidding."
"I'm not. I love you." She smiled gently.
"Do you really?"
"Yes."
"No you don't."
"Louis--"
"You're lying. You only feel sorry for me, and oh God, I've ruined our entire friendship now, and things will forever be awkward between us and--"
"Louis, Louis, Louis." She sighed. "You should just shut up."
And to make him shut up, she leaned in and kissed him again. Which he was so totally fine with. He tugged her further into his lap, and breathed in the sweet scent that was so distinctly Kenzi, and found it impossible to find a single trace of discontent in his body.
The girl he'd loved for forever was finally his.
#kouis(happy birthday, kenz!)
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