Journey Ever Re-Directed

What A Noodle~❤️

Kian's POV

I don't understand what's going on. I'm laughing. I understand that. I'm laughing at Jeremy's joke, that part is also very true. But what I don't understand is what is it that's causing me so much... warmth. It feels good.

Jeremy is so funny to me. Even if the joke would normally make me stare at somebody with unamusment, Jeremy made it funny! And I don't know what about it made it so funny but... I guess because it's Jeremy.

I turn my head to look at him from my arms on the table. I'm still laughing.

His eyes sparkle, probably happy that I found it funny. I sit up and let the last of the chuckles out. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to feel things.

It felt good to be around Jeremy.

"Jeremy?" I ask.

"Yeah?" He said, pushing his plate away from the original task.

"I feel.... it feels nice." He said.

"What does, buddy?" He asks, looking up at me with those pretty eyes. He has really pretty eyes. They are the color of the shores of Hawaii, the shores about 4 feet deep, the aqua of the shallow parts of the reef. They were so pretty.

I love it when he calls me buddy. It feels personal. More personal then my other name. Kian. But buddy seems like a pet name for somebody really personal.

"Laughing. Feeling happy. Being around you." I said.

I can see Jeremy blush.

"You're blushing!" I said.

"I-Uh. Y-yeah. It feels nice to be around you too, Kian~" he finally said with a grin. His blush gets darker.

"Jeremy the blushing!" I point out. "Is that the love thing?" I say. It feels weird to not be able to look up the answers to this feelings stuff. But nobody really knows how to explain it. So I just need to learn like the other humans.

By experience. And let me tell you. If what I'm feeling around Jeremy is "love," I'm definitely getting experience. A lot of very pleasant experience.

"T-the l-love thing?" He asks. "You mean the feeling of love?" He asks.

I nod vigorously.

"I-..... uh... come with me." He said, standing. "We're gonna watch a movie." He said.

"But you never-"

"I'm about to answer your question, Kian. You can actually answer it yourself. By watching this movie." He goes over to the bookshelf and pulls out a movie called "The Longest Ride."

"Ooooo. That movie has fantastic ratings!" I said. The synopsis calls it a romance movie.

"Come sit." Jeremy said putting the movie in.

I sit down on the couch and Jeremy sits next to me. We watch the movie.

Jeremy's POV

We cried together, we laughed together, and we cringed together.

Here's the thing. I could've just said 'yes Kian, the blushing is because I love you' but fuck that because I can't deal with crushes by outing myself. It make me feel too... vulnerable. So I'm gonna let him do the deciding. Because I know I love him, but does he love me is the question....

After the movie was over, Kian wipes the happy tears from his cheeks. "How does one cry when they're happy? That makes no sense..." Kian said.

"Human emotions are weird." I said.

"Jeremy?" He looks at me.

"Yeah?" I hope he's gonna ask it...

"Why did we watch that movie?" He asks.

"Because, ki, I wanted you to see an example of love. You keep asking about it and-" Something stops my words, stops my mouth.

Something warm. Something... soft. Something pleasant.

I'd like to say that 'I kissed him back passionately and gripped his cheeks tightly and we kissed and maybe if I got lucky even took it further,' but no. No. I'm not that smart. In fact, I froze. And Kian I'm sure had no idea what the fuck he was doing because he was kinda frozen too. So now there were two frozen seniors sitting on my couch, one with his eyes screwed shut not sure where he was going with this and then there was me.

Me, actually enjoying this a lot, but frozen because holy fuck he just shut me up with a kiss and that was practically #1 on my bucket list. But I'm also an anxious puddy so I ended up retreating.

"........."

"........"

"It's time for bed..." I finally declared.

"Yep." Kian agrees.

Then we head to bed and nobody says a word about the incident.

Until however,

Now.

Because remember, that was a flashback.

Now? We're on the bed of my rom laughing at stupid stuff and talking about things that don't matter and facts that were completely useless.

Until the silence happens and we both need to address the kiss.

"Kian?" I ask softly.

"Hm?" He said.

I take a breath. It's finally time for me to address the situation. "Do you know what love is yet?" I begin.

"I have a borderline sense of it, yes." Kian says, quicker than I thought he would.

"Ah.... Uh... w-was that kiss the other day.... was that... because you love me?" I finally ask.

Kian is silent. I think at first it's because he's trying to figure out the best way to say no, but when I look over I can practically see the last piece of his puzzle fit into his eyes, and his eyes go wide as if he was having an epiphany. It was so fucking funny.

Well it was funny, until he rolls over and stairs at me intently.

"Jeremy Heere. I do. I love you." He said so straight faced it was almost intimidating.

"Soften! Jesus Christ! You look like a statue~ if it were anyone else you might've scared them with your statue like intimidating confession~" I coo out to him.

He chuckles. "Jeremy, do you love me too?" He asks softly. "Something feels off, I need to ask if you like me too." He said.

"I don't like you, Kian, I love you." I said, not letting that pause hurt the other. I'm sure if I let that joke go with a pause, Kian wouldn't understand and I might make him cry and that's the last thing I want because he's such a noodle and when he cry's it's so heartbreaking.

"How do you not like me but love me?" Kian asks, confused.

"You are such a noodle." I said with a grin. "It means I don't JUST like you. I love you." I said.