Just The Three Of Us | The Music Freaks

Chapter 13 (Finale)

I deeply apologize if this was not the option you wanted! But, it was completely majority rules!

Thousands of different emotions flooded Luke's body, crashing into each other, creating unwanted crashes and waves, disrupting the calm ocean of his mind. He was drowning in his thoughts.

On one hand, he was ecstatic. The person he'd been in love with for nearly six years now returned his feelings.

On the other hand, his best friend, the person he cherished the most platonically, also held those exact feelings.

He wanted to accept his crush's confession, but that would mean breaking his best friend's heart at the same time. And he didn't want to do that. He couldn't.

So, he just uttered, "I'm sorry," and began running down the hall, away from his two childhood friends he left clueless.

He kept running for quite a while. Alone with his thoughts, pounding against his head. He just wanted to run away from it all, escape into his own little world, where his mind was clear, empty. The cool air brushing against his face as he ran provided little comfort to his burning-up face.

He finally slowed down once he neared the entrance of the school. Luke was never the type to skip class, but he simply couldn't focus in a classroom. Not now.

He reached for the nearest locker, leaning against it, as he let out forced, rapid breaths, running a hand through his messy copper locks, in a futile attempt to calm himself. After a long, stressful minute, he heard a soft voice call out his name

"Luke?"

He immediately recognized it. That was the voice that never failed to light up his day. The voice of the person he needed the most at that moment, because they never failed to comfort him, and make all his worries wash away with the power of a simple smile. The voice of the person he loved.

Zander.

He quickly snapped his head around, blinking at the mauve-haired teenager, who was slowly approaching him.

"Are you okay?" Zander murmured, clear concern spilling into his tone, bleeding into his periwinkle eyes.

Luke remained silent for a moment, switching his gaze to the floor, his cheeks fading to a rosy red. "Did you mean what you said?"

The shorter boy quickly glanced away, the hue on his cheeks matching those of the auburn-haired boy in front of him, "Um, yeah..." He mumbled, nervously scratching at his arm, "I did..." He squinted his eyes shut, tensing up, "And I understand if you don't feel the same way, you probably like Stacy anyways! I just really wanted to tell you because-" He was cut off when he felt two strong arms wrap around him, enveloping him in a warm embrace.

Zander stood there in confusion for a while, before slowly hugging back, allowing his eyes to flutter shut and enjoy the comforting act of affection.

Eventually, Luke pulled his head away, though still kept the violet-eyed boy close to him. "I never thought you could ever feel the same way towards me," He whispered, cupping Zander's cheek in his hand, gently caressing it.

The latter blinked, the realization crossing him, "Does that mean you like me too?" He blurted, possibly a bit too loud.

Luke slowly nodded, a small tear of joy rolling down his cheek, streaking down a water stain with it. Zander's eyes widened, trying to wipe away the giant grin that was fighting its way onto his way.

After a few moments, the golden-eyed boy gently placed his finger under Zander's chin, tilting it up, forcing his orchid eyes to look at him. Luke's eyes slowly traced down to the other boy's lips, "Can I?" He uttered, glancing back up at his eyes.