It took an eternity to get Monica out of the house, but after a promise to do her laundry for the next week, she finally made herself scarce.
Which meant I had the house to myself for the night.
And Cooper would be coming over any minute.
I quickly wiped my hands on a pillow in the living room to try to eliminate some of my sweat, but it wasn't doing as much as I would like.
I couldn't get my mind to turn off. I was so sure that this is what I needed to do to get my feelings across to Cooper, but what if it wasn't enough?
What if he still didn't believe me?
I couldn't think like that. I had to stay confident. I had to believe this would work out.
A knock on the door got my attention, and suddenly it was hard to breathe.
Jesus, I need to calm down. It's only Cooper.
It's only the love of my life. It's only the person who's likely supposed to be my soulmate. It's only my past, present and future wrapped into a single entity.
I opened the door.
Cooper stood there with his hand still raised, as if to knock again. He awkwardly lowered it when he saw me and instead gave a little wave. "Uh, hey."
"Hey." I breathed, moving to let him come inside.
Cooper stepped into my house and I shut the door. A heavy silence fell over us.
"So..." Cooper started after a few moments. "What was so important that I had to come over tonight? You know how I get without my beauty sleep." He joked, but I could tell he was just as anxious as I was.
He knew what this was about.
Taking a deep breath, I offered Cooper my hand. "I want to show you something."
Cooper raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Uh...okay?"
He took my hand, and I tried not to relish the sparks I felt at the contact before pulling him upstairs.
We made it to my bedroom, where I'd already set out the key piece in all of this on my bed.
Cooper's eyebrows furrowed as he let go of my hand and approached my bed. "Your box of treasures? Dude, I've seen this a million times."
"You've seen the outside. But you haven't seen the inside in a long time." I explained.
I could practically feel Cooper's confusion radiating off him. "...Okay?"
Rolling my eyes, I took the lid off the box and gestured to it. "What do you see?"
Cooper peeked inside the box, a grin forming on his lips. "Uh, a bunch of junk you were too sentimental to let go of?"
I shoved him lightly before reaching into the box, pulling out items one by one. "Movie ads, to movies we would plan to see together." I held up the stack of papers. A lot of them were either horror or romance themed.
Cooper's eyes widened in surprise as I set the stack down and pulled out something new from the box. "Wrappers from candies were shared on previous Valentine's Days." I held up the sparkly red and pink wrappers before carefully setting them aside and grabbing another item from the box. "Pictures we've taken together over the years on different occasions."
I set the photos down and tried not to get too anxious at Cooper's shocked gaze. I found a particular item in the box that made a fond smile form on my lips. "The first note you ever gave me." I held it up for him to see.
Cooper slowly took the paper in his hands in genuine awe. "You kept this?" He asked in disbelief.
"Of course I did."
Cooper let out a shaky breath. "I...I don't...Gary, what are you trying to tell me?"
I huffed. "Look at what the box says."
Cooper glanced at the writing. "Gary's treasures?" He said in confusion, not understanding my point.
But then it hit him. "Wait- why would you- your name—"
I smiled. "I wrote Gary because the only memories I ever found worth keeping in here were memories of us, Cooper. Of you. I've never had any others important enough."
Cooper slowly set the note down back in the box, hands shaking. "That...That doesn't mean anything."
My heart stopped. "What?"
"You...You just haven't been around enough people." He insisted distantly, refusing to look at me.
"Are you- Are you—" I sputtered, before pure anger fueled my chest. "Are you kidding me!?"
Cooper's shoulders shot up to his ears. "W-What!?"
"You- You asked me for proof of my feelings. How is this not proof!? How is the fact that everything I care about has been centered around you, not mean anything!? How can you look at all of our memories right here and just—" I had to fight back tears. "Dismiss them?"
"I am not dismissing them." Cooper protested in an instant, hands balling into fists.
I scoffed, moving to shove the items back into the box. "Really? Then what the hell do you call this? I have no idea what you want from me, Cooper. I don't know how else I can possibly show you my feelings are real." I slammed the lid on the box and shoved it into my closet before turning to glare at him. "Why can't you just accept that I'm in love with you!?"
"BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE ME DON'T GET TO WIN IN THE END!" He shouted suddenly.
I stared at him in disbelief.
Tears filled Cooper's eyes in that moment as he anxiously gripped at his hoodie. "People like me...don't get to win against the perfect girl. They don't get to be with their best friend and have everything they've ever wanted in life. They don't get to be loved back by the only person that matters to them." He choked out a sob.
Any anger in my body faded away into nothing. Before I could overthink it, I was walking over and taking Cooper's hands in my own.
"It's not about who wins, Cooper." I started softly. "But if that's really how you see it then- then you need to realize that you did win, okay? My heart is here for you to take and do what you want with it. It always has been. You're my favorite person." I smiled a little. "The only thing that's changed is I've found another way to love you."
Tears rolled down Cooper's cheeks as he looked me in the eyes, shoulders shaking as he hiccupped.
And then he was hugging me so tightly it hurt.
But I didn't mind. I merely wrapped my arms around him and held him, trying to somehow make up for years of pain in a single moment.
"Please don't change your mind." He sobbed, hands grabbing fistfuls of my sweater. "Please tell me this is real. Please, please Gary—"
"It's real." I promised, a warm smile forming on my lips. "Thank you for waiting so long. For letting me work out my feelings. For being my best friend before anything else. Thank you."
I don't know how long we stayed like that, holding each other as if the world was going to break beneath our feet.
But at some point, Cooper finally stopped shaking, and began to let me go.
And then he was meeting my gaze with wide eyes full of shock.
"Holy shit. Holy shit, we're boyfriends." He stated in genuine awe.
I stared at him in pure silence for about two seconds before breaking down into wheezes. "I—yes?"
"Oh my God—oh my GOD—" he freaked, a little hop in his step. He grabbed my arms excitedly. "Gary, we're boyfriends!"
I laughed hard. "I know, I know! And you know what that means?"
"What?" He looked at me curiously.
"I can finally kiss you." I grinned, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.
And the reaction I received made it worth everything.
Cooper's face turned a bright shade of red. And his expression became downright shy.
It was so cute.
"T-T-That's the only kiss I get, huh?" He asked after a moment, looking flustered.
My face suddenly grew hot, and I hesitantly leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips.
The second our lips touched; I felt the electricity all the way down to my toes.
Cooper and I broke out into fits of giggles before leaning in and kissing again, and again, and again.
Before I could lose my nerve, I tackled Cooper down on my bed in a tight hug, grinning so hard my face hurt. "I can't believe we waited so long to do this"
"Me either." He laughed, nuzzling against me. Somehow, he seemed to fit almost perfectly in my arms.
"Hey," I started in a whisper. I pressed my nose against his lovingly as I met his eyes. "I love you."
Cooper let out the dorkiest giggle I've ever heard in my entire life. "You're such an idiot. I love you too, you absolute sap."
He wasn't wrong. I was a sap.
If only for him.