The Whisper Of Tonight

Chapter 2 - Struggles

Looking at my reflection in the hazy mirror, I could see the nervousness etched on my face. Beads of sweat glistened on my forehead, a testament to the turmoil within.

My bedroom, with its light blue wallpaper adorned with band posters, felt suffocatingly familiar. The cluttered table with my computer setup stood silently in the corner, while my bed beckoned with its tousled sheets, a haven in the midst of my uncertainty.

"Hey Naomi," I began, the words catching in my throat as I struggled to articulate the feelings I had harbored for so long, "I-I have a crush on you. I've always had one since we were in 10th grade-" I stuttered, swearing to myself when I messed it up. I couldn't find a good time to say it, and I'd always mess the actual confession up.

Even when I tried writing a letter instead, the text looked super awkward and messy, as if I was writing symptoms of a patient.

"Damn it, I'm always choking," I thought in frustration, thinking that I might not be able to get a shot at this.

I began to grow agitated because I couldn't land the words out of my mouth, so I opted to rest while surfing through the Internet, hoping to find anything useful.

The temperature was a little hot outside, so I turned on some Puccini to make myself more comfortable and took a sip of cold water to rehydrate myself before going on the Internet.

"how to confess to your crush" ended up winding up in the search bar. After clicking enter, there were a bunch of sites to maybe get opportunities.

Opportunities, my ass.
Half of these were half-assed, and the best ones were just Buzzfeed articles. I sounded a sigh.

Wait. Maybe I know someone who I can call.

~~~~~~

"It's pretty obvious that you like Naomi, dude," a voice stated, to which I raised my eyebrow. Huh. "What do you mean, Darren?"

The voice, now Darren, rolled his eyes at me in response. "I don't know if you're acting stupid or whatever, but everyone thinks you two are together," I tried to cut him off but he proceeded, "I know you two aren't, but everyone thinks so."

His words struck a chord within me, stirring a glimmer of hope amidst the uncertainty. Could it be that Naomi felt the same way? Was I letting my fear of rejection cloud my judgment?

With all my thought, I, however, only gave him a disbelieving look before chiming in. "Alright, but I want to tell her that I do like her, but the action of trying to tell her feels so awkward and I'm afraid of messing it up," I cried.

Being the good friend Darren was, he patted my back and told me to relax. "Look man, you like her, I'm sure she likes you too. Just look at the way you two function together, it's so out there," He reassured me with a smile.

"The fact that you two are 24/7 together, she hugged you two times yesterday, and she's so comfortable around you makes me think that she likes you back, but she's also hesitant," Darren continued, but I stayed silent.

I thought about that for a bit. She DOES feel comfortable around me, she DID hug me twice yesterday, and she DOES hangs out with me almost every day.

"But still, wouldn't that be her just being nice?" I tried to argue, but Darren instead facepalmed. "My brother in Christ, if you're looking at the two of you in the perspective of someone else, it would definitely look like you two are dating," Darren deflected.

"I-I don't know anymore, man. It feels so complicated, and I don't even understand my own feelings," the room was quiet soon after, only the sound of the clock ticking and the fan spinning.

After a while, Darren gave a sigh and let out a suggestion. "Alright, if you don't trust yourself, that's completely fine. What I will tell you though, is to observe her actions around you. There should be clear signs whether she likes you back or not."

I pondered for a moment, thinking about the recommendation. It sounded good, and I wouldn't have to worry too much about what I'd do.

"I will try. Thanks, Darren," I gave a genuine smile, where he reflected it back. I gave him a strong hug and we talked more about graduation.

~~~~~~

"Shoot, it's getting dark. I should probably leave now," Darren muttered, looking outside. I agreed and led him to the front door.

"Look man, I really want to say thanks for the suggestion. I'll try to do well, and I'm hoping to be able to confess before graduation," I explained.

Darren gave me a firm smile and wished me good luck before leaving for home. I took one good look outside before heading back in, now more confident.

~~~~~~

Once in my bedroom, I thought about my approach to confessing again. After a while of thinking, I decided to rewrite my script, but with a clear mind this time.

As I began writing my script, I made sure to make it not too long nor complicated and remembered to keep it simple.

"Naomi,

I've always thought of you as my best friend since we first met, but as time changed, I thought of you in a different way. Since 10th grade, I had a crush on you, and I still do. I know you might not feel the same way, but I wanted to get this out of the way."

I placed my pen down and I stared at the note, making sure that every word was clear and concise.

I then decided to practice in front of the mirror, messing up at times, but I soon got the hang of it.

Eventually, I had to go to sleep because of how late it was. Besides, it was school tomorrow and I promised Naomi that I'd accompany her to go out together.

Speaking of which, I got goosebumps again. Man, what is wrong with me?

Anyway, she said she'd bring me somewhere 'special', so I'm hoping to not become a missing victim.

Either way, I'm both excited and nervous about tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to confess then? Whatever happens, I hope I don't freak out too much.

I slowly closed my eyes and thought about Naomi before drifting into unconsciousness.

Hopefully, I'll be able to dream about her.

~~~~~~

Author's note:
Next chapter is more filler (the two hanging out) since I want to extend these guy's cute moments, but I know you guys would enjoy it either way :).