I'm not in love

Karma's a bitch

Even after Gwen had started to relax, Wolfie couldn't seem to take their eyes off of her. It wasn't because they were worried, or that they were paranoid about her safety. It was more of an unknown feeling Wolfie had never felt. They recognised the feeling as love, but they weren't too sure up until now, when they couldn't stop looking at her face, examining her facial features; it was like they were trying to commit every detail of her appearance, from the shape of her nose to the curve of her lips.
Wolfie's fingers twitched with desire while they watched Gwen's mouth move in a steady, gentle pace, trying not to interrupt her speech. Gwen was still speaking and her voice had changed slightly, making it sound lower than usual. It would be so easy to kiss her lips right now, just to get rid of this strange feeling inside of them, but Wolfie had a feeling that Gwen wouldn't appreciate being interrupted like that. So they tried to focus on something else. The only thing they could think of was how beautiful she was when she smiled and spoke. She was breathtaking.
Gwen seemed to notice their intense staring because she stopped talking for a second and looked at them.
"Why are you staring?" She asked.
"What? I'm sorry. My mind drifted away..."
"I don't believe you."
"What do you mean?"
"You've been staring at me since I got here. Do you like me or something?"
"What? No! Of course not!" Wolfie protested, then went silent, realising how rude it sounded. "I mean... Yes. But it's not what you think."
"How can you say that? You keep watching my every movement and your cheeks flush whenever I turn towards you. If I didn't know any better I'd say you're in love with me."
"What? Why would I be in love with you?!"
"You do realise how that sounds, right?"
"It sound rude, I know! And I didn't mean it like that. Please forgive me."
"Apology accepted. Now, why don't you tell me what exactly made you stare at me like that?"
"It's nothing. Really."
"You're lying to me."
"No I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Okay, maybe not completely."
"So what were you thinking about? Something important enough for you to lose yourself in my face, without even noticing your surroundings anymore?"
"Not really important. Just... something."
"Hmm. Okay, what is it?"
"Nothing special."
"Come on. Tell me."
"JUST STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!" Wolfie shouted, then quickly covered their  mouth. They hadn't intended to yell, but hearing Gwen talk about it made them feel uneasy. They wanted to change the topic to less painful ones.
"Hey!" Gwen raised her hands in mock surrender. "I'm going to stop asking questions now if you want me to."
"Good choice. Thank you."
"I may as well leave as well while I'm at it!"
"Go ahead!" then the door slammed open, then slammed shut as Gwen left the house. Wolfie, left in silence, sat on the  sofa in their room. Their thoughts turned back to Gwen, and how much they wished they were able to tell her everything about what they had been thinking. That thought alone made Wolfie shiver. This was all getting way out of control. How did their crush on one of their closest friends turn into something like this? Were they falling in love? The more they thought about it, the more they began to doubt themselves. Could there really be a possibility where things could happen between them, without the risk of rejection?
As soon as that thought crossed Wolfie's mind, they jumped down from the sofa, ran to their closet and opened it up. Inside they found a small box, which contained a ring. They took it out and stared at it for a few seconds before putting it back in its place. They knew that they should give it to Gwen, but they also knew that they shouldn't. They didn't want to ruin their friendship by confessing their feelings. They didn't know what to  do. There were no words that came to their mind to describe how their heart was racing and how uncomfortable they felt. Their head was spinning, and all they wanted was some time alone to calm down, so they decided to go outside and walk around the neighbourhood for a bit. It was a cold winter night, and although it wasn't snowing yet, the sky was dark and grey. They decided that ever after the big argument that occurred just now, they should find Gwen and apologise.
Wolfie walked along the streets, taking in the scenery. Although it was quite late at night, the streetlights still worked. There were hardly anyone out and about. Most people were probably asleep already. When they reached a street corner, they noticed a young woman sitting on a bench, reading a book. She looked to be about seventeen years old. As Wolfie approached, she looked up at them and smiled.
"Hello!" She said, smiling. "Can I help you?"
"Yes. Could I ask you a question?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Do you know where I could find a young lady called Gwen?"
The smile instantly disappeared from the girl's face. She slowly got up and stood in front of Wolfie, blocking their way.
"Why do you want to know? Are you stalking her?"
"No!"
"Then why do you need to find her?"
"I don't know. Is there anyway I could explain it to you?"
"No thanks. Good luck finding her." Then she turned around and walked away.
Wolfie sighed, then continued walking. As they passed by a shop window, they saw a pair of shoes. At first they looked expensive, but when they looked closer, they realised that they weren't. In fact, they were just ordinary brown shoes. Wolfie stopped walking again and stared at them. Was she just playing a prank on them? A couple of seconds later, they started walking again. It was best to look for Gwen instead of getting distracted by some dumb shoes. Wolfie continued looking for people for directions. They finally found someone who was giving directions, but when they asked them if they knew where Gwen was, they simply shook their head and mumbled something under their breath.
After asking another man who said he was "the mayor" the same question, and getting the same answer, Wolfie decided to try the next person they met. This time, they were standing in front of a café. Noticing their hesitation, the young man asked, "Are you waiting for somebody?"
"Kind of," replied Wolfie.
"Want a coffee?"
"That would be great. Thanks."
He handed him a cup and smiled at him. Then he added, "Have a good evening."
"Thanks."
Wolfie entered the café and ordered their favourite drink: coffee. After paying for their drinks, Wolfie placed the money on the table. Then they waited for the waiter to come to pick it up. Wolfie left, and continued searching for Gwen. They checked all the stores in the area, but it seems that the blonde wasn't present anywhere. After spending half an hour walking aimlessly, they finally gave up and headed home. They needed to have a long and deep conversation with Gwen about the fact that they were in love with her. All of a sudden, they heard a loud commotion in one of the city roads.
A loud crash, and shouting, saying someone got hurt.
They rushed through the crowded streets and arrived at the scene of the accident. Several people surrounded the car that had crashed into one of the lampposts, trying to save some of the cars passengers. Others begging for help, while several bystanders were calling 911. Wolfie looked around in an attempt to find anyone who knew what happened, but when they got to the scene, they realised what had happened. Someone hit somebody else with their car. One of the other cars had run over somebody else's foot, causing him to drop his phone and his wallet. The driver was badly injured, but he might recover eventually. Wolfie was sure that he wouldn't. There were many witnesses who had seen the accident from a distance, but everyone else was busy helping the injured driver. Wolfie looked around, trying to find the one who got hit, but there were massive crowds blocking their view.
"Sorry! Excuse me! Trying to get through here!" Wolfie shouted, trying to push their way in front of the crowds.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please excuse me! We've been waiting so long!"
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry..."
Finally, they managed to squeeze through the crowd, ignoring the stares they received from the onlookers. Once they got past them, they searched the street for anyone with a bloody foot. But it seemed that nobody was hurt too much. Wolfie was about to take a step forward, when a voice interrupted them.
"Excuse me! Excuse me! Can you hear me? Do you see anything? Can you tell me if anybody's hurt?" A voice echoed. Wolfie looked over to whoever was speaking and nodded, then looked back at the crash and started searching for any injured people. They couldn't. They were just about to leave when a glimpse of red caught their eye. They looked at the mess, realising it was blood. Upon closer inspection, Wolfie only faintly recognised the victim, until it clicked. They knew who got hit: Gwen.