Go for it, Kel!

Friday (Part 2)

Time was ticking, yet, it had yet to tell him if his efforts were truly worth it.

He stood as still as if he had ants in his pants. He couldn't help but shift his weight from foot to foot, swaying alongside the butterflies in his stomach that never seemed to find a moment of peace.

Outside the school gate was where he told Sunny to meet him. Obviously, Sunny would have to pass by in order to get home, but this is where he sealed his fate. This would be the spot where he confessed his feelings.

He had everything calculated and planned with precision in his head. First, Sunny would see the letter flutter out of his locker as he opened it, read it, then after school make his way to the gate where Kel was waiting. Then, Kel would add onto the contents of the letter before Sunny could reply with one final note that he had been rehearsing in his head over and over again to get it just right. Kel has made several mistakes in the time he has been alive, but just this once was the only time he did not want to make one.

He took the crumpled piece of paper out of the pocket of his basketball shorts to once it over one more time. His eyes scanned it, mentally noting the parts he predicted he would forget or fumble on.

He read the last lines on the paper, hastily scribbled down in second hand embarrassment, 'I like you, Sunny. Will you go out with me?'

... Who was this sappy guy?

Absorbed in his own thoughts and fantasies of the perfect confession, "Sorry for making you wait," a voice made him jump.

"Oh, it's no worry at all!" Kel nonchalantly slid the piece of paper back into his pocket. "Hey, uh, Sunny?" he asked, eager for him to mention the letter.

"Are you ready to go to my house?" Sunny asked over him. "The others are already waiting there."

He stopped fidgeting. Failing to register that this was the stillest he had been in his entire lifetime thus far. The butterflies in Kel's stomach shriveled up and died as he tried to stop himself from recoiling in pain from the shock. Did he not see the letter? Or did he just willfully ignore its existence?

He poured his heart out in that letter. He poured his everything into it.

Something shattered in Kel. He tried to stop the disappointment from settling into his facial features; to keep his smile from wavering, stop the scrunching of his brows, to uphold the cheerful attitude he always has. But it was hard for him to do so as his vision blurred from the wetness in his eyes.

He tried to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He cleared his throat, hoping it would stop the burn he felt at the back of it, but that didn't stop his voice from cracking, "Yeah, I'm ready."

-

As the two made their way to Sunny's house, Kel used this time to recuperate. He didn't want to show up to their weekly gathering all depressed; it wasn't his personality to be. Everyone expected him to be loud, rambunctious, and as Aubrey usually described him, annoying. So, he would give them loud, rambunctious and annoying; the usual Kel.

When the two arrived at their destination, they opened the door to the usual Friday scene; Hero, Aubrey, and Basil playing Mario Kart on Hero and Kel's shared Nintendo Switch, while Mari's sweet laugh carried through the room from how insanely horrendous her boyfriend was at the game. From Hero's defeated expression, it seemed to Kel that he found himself in last place once again, competing with Basil for the second last spot so as long as he's not last.

Aubrey fist pumped in the air. "Alright! First place again!" she turned to Kel, "Eat that, Kel."

He tried his hardest to reciprocate the banter, "I wasn't even playing!" he exclaimed. "Plus, if I was, there's no doubt in my mind that you'd be second place. Outperformed by the great Kel, no less!"