CW: slight panic attack
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After they kissed, Teresa couldn't look Chris in the eyes. She leaned her forehead on his chest and sighed loudly.
He gently tried lifting her head, searching for her gaze, but she covered her face with her hands.
“Teresa, look at me.”
“I can't.”
She was shaking.
“Why not?”
“I don't know. This overwhelming fear just washed over me. I'm so scared to like you, to be fall…" She stopped herself.
“Are you saying you might be falling in love with me too?”
Tears welled up in her eyes and began pouring. She had no idea why this scared her so much. She'd never been afraid to fall in love before, but she had also lost the love of her life three years prior. Part of her felt like she was betraying him, but at the same time, she couldn't stop her feelings for Chris.
“I…” She bit her upper lip, then finally met his gaze, and it was game over.
“I'm not falling in love with you. I am in love with you.” She finally admitted it to him and to herself, but not before a slight panic attack began. She started crying, her chest beat out of control, and she had a hard time catching her breath.
“Whoa. Whoa… Teresa, let's breathe. Oh my gosh. He led her to the sofa, where she could sit. “Look at me. What do you see?”
“You.”
“What do you smell?”
“Your cologne. God, you smell good!”
“Who do you love?”
“You! I love you!”
“You love me?”
“Yes.”
“I love you too… so much!”
“You… what? You love me?”
“Yeah. From the first day I met you.
“Te amo, Teresa.”
“Te amo Christopher."
“Her heart swelled up. No sense denying it.”
The panic attack was a clash between her feelings and her mind wanting to stop them from flowing freely.
She loved him, and she'd been trying to stop herself from falling in love from the day she met him, too. It was time for the pretending to end and just honor her feelings.
He hugged her, and they stayed like that until her breathing normalized.
She was still shy, though, which made her look even cuter in his eyes.
“About time I get to see you flustered with me! I almost kicked Changbin out of Stray Kids, I was so jealous!”
He made her laugh. “Wow, you can't live without Changbin! The lies!”
“Yeah, that was a lie. I love that dude.”
She finally began to grab ahold of herself, looked him deep into his eyes, and caressed his face. “I can't believe you're real, that this is happening right now.
“Who knew a simple interview for a contract position could change both our lives.”