Ours - Taylor Swift WLW Romance Fanfiction

Chapter 21: Worth Fighting For

Author's  note: I had NO idea this story will go in this direction lmao but here we are :D 

Also in case you wanted some stats for this fanfic - it's officially 60k words long (and 160 pages), which qualifies it for a novel :) 

It started with a look.

A lingering gaze across the breakfast table, heavy with unspoken emotion. A brush of fingers as the coffee was passed, charged with a new, terrifying intensity.

Kyle felt it in his bones, the shift between them. The way his heart raced when Ron's eyes met his, the way his skin tingled at the slightest touch.

He tried to ignore it, tried to push it down and carry on as if nothing had changed. But it was getting harder and harder to pretend, to act like what they had was just physical, just a casual release.

Because somewhere along the line, between the heated kisses and the passionate nights... Kyle had gone and fallen in love with his best friend.

And it was tearing him apart.

He knew he should say something, knew he should confront the growing tension between them. But the thought of losing Ron, of ruining the easy camaraderie they'd always shared... it was too much to bear.

So he kept quiet, kept pretending.

They were in Ron's room, tangled together in the sheets, their bodies cooling from yet another sexcapade. Kyle lay with his head on Ron's chest, listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat, trying to ignore the ache in his own.

"We should get up," Ron murmured, his fingers tracing idle patterns on Kyle's back. "Taylor and Ava will be back from their date soon. Wouldn't want them to catch us like this."

Kyle tensed, a hot, sickening feeling rising in his throat. He sat up abruptly, pulling away from Ron's touch.

"Is that all this is to you?" he asked, his voice tight with barely-contained emotion. "Just something to hide, to be ashamed of?"

Ron blinked, confusion and concern etching his features. "What? Kyle, no. That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, Ron? Because I gotta tell you, I'm getting real tired of being your dirty little secret."

Ron sat up, his brow furrowed. "Kyle, come on. You know it's not like that. We agreed, from the beginning, that this was just physical. Just two friends blowing off steam."

Kyle laughed, the sound harsh and jagged. "Right. Just two friends, who fuck each other senseless every chance they get. Just two buddies, who can't keep their hands off each other. And cuddle each other as well. Totally normal, totally platonic."

"Ky..." Ron started, reaching for him. But Kyle jerked away, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

"I can't do this anymore," he said, his voice cracking. "I can't keep pretending that this doesn't mean anything to me. That you don't mean anything to me."

Ron stared at him, shock and realization dawning on his face. "What are you saying?"

Kyle swallowed hard, the words sticking in his throat. "I'm saying that I love you, you idiot. I'm in love with you. And I can't keep acting like I'm not."

For a long, agonizing moment, Ron was silent, his expression unreadable. Then, slowly, he shook his head, a look of pained resignation settling over his features.

"Ky, I... I care about you. So much. But I don't... I can't..."

He trailed off, but Kyle heard the unspoken words as clearly as if they'd been shouted.