Friends of mine.

Chapter Thirty Three

"Oh Ands, just take one!"
He pushes my shoulder playfully, holding the bowl of strawberries to my face as I back away from him, his knees touching mine as we both sitting crisscrossed on the bed.

"Cut it out!"
I squeal, pushing his hands back towards him, wanting to hold onto them as I feel the warmth of his fingers intertwined in mine.

"Just have one, will you? You're getting on my nerves."
I scoff at him, watching his devious smirk as I stare.

"Oh really?"
I say, leaning closer to him and he doesn't back away, he stays with his face inches away from mine; he smells of strawberries and his lips are tinted red from them.

"I bought them for you, silly."
He rolls his eyes with a small laugh, shimmying closer to me, and I find myself with a red face when his leg becomes in between mine.

"What, do you expect me to eat a full bowl of them? Come on, they're delicious."
I watch him as he lifts one from the bowl, bringing it towards my face, and so I scrunch my face up, looking at him quizzically.
He holds it to my lips, and so I roll my eyes, holding his wrist to keep him still as I take a bite, and Nick takes the rest of it, making me smile.

"How could you not want that?"
I let out a giggle, covering my mouth as I do so, my smile doesn't fade.
This is all I really needed, what I missed the most. To be myself again, to be with the person who knows the real me that not a lot of people get to see. I just missed having Nick, having the person who made me feel like I was flying, and that's not an exaggeration at all, I truly do feel that way when I'm around him, just being able to act an idiot with him is all I want.
I look to him, his head tilted to the side, eyes staring in admiration, and I suddenly become confused as to why he's gone silent.

"What are you staring at?"
I ask jokingly, leaning my head in my hand with a smirk, looking up at him.

"You. I can't help it, you're so pretty."
He beams, not looking away from me once, his eyes widened on me.
I clear my throat, looking to my hands in complete nervousness, feeling my face heat up, not knowing how to respond.
I feel his hand reach out to my chin, tilting my head up to meet his eyes, and it's terrifying me, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do.

"Oh Nick, you're making me blush."
I say, trying to turn away but he won't have it, keeping me still, still studying my face.

"Cute. You really are blushing. I never see you blush."
His voice is the most genuine I've ever heard it, I swallow thickly, my eyes manage to stay on his, and it's confusing as I'm usually very bad at communicating in these situations, mostly because I've never had to be in these situations.

"Every time I see you, I remember the way I smiled on the way home after we first met, it's one of those things that never leave my head."

I smile, a small laugh escapes my lips with my overwhelmed heart, knowing he remembers that day, knowing that he smiled at the thought of first meeting me, I never thought anyone would feel that way on just meeting me.

"You did?"
I ask, a little bit of doubt passes through my mind, it's always been hard for me to accept compliments or believe them, especially from Nick.
He nods at me, his hand travelling to my chest, resting there, giving me warmth all over, his thumb stroking over my heart that beats like mad.

"I remember how nervous you looked, how awkward you were. I stood watching you, I found myself smiling at you and we hadn't even talked yet."
He says with a small laugh, tucking my hair behind my ear, and I begin to recall that day, he's right about how nervous I was, especially when I saw Nick for the first time, how intimidated I was by his attitude and his overall beauty that I couldn't comprehend.