The New Kid In Town (Luca x Alberto)

Chapter 2

Suppressing my feelings for Luca is getting harder by the day. Every time I see him, something stirs in my chest that I can't control, and no matter how hard I try to push it down, it keeps bubbling back up. The problem isn't just that I have a crush on him. It's that I'm falling for him. Hard. Every small interaction, every laugh, every accidental brush of his hand is driving me crazy.

But the fear of screwing everything up holds me back. I've never been the kind of guy who gets nervous about anything, but this? This has me totally messed up.

Luca is my best friend. We have this easy, comfortable rhythm that makes me feel like I can be myself around him, even when I'm acting like a complete dork. I don't want to ruin that, especially over something as unpredictable as my feelings. What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if I freak him out? I'd rather keep my feelings bottled up than risk losing him altogether. Yeah, yeah, pathetic, I know.

But that plan? Yeah, it isn't working out so great.

The more time I spend with Luca, the more I feel myself falling. Every smile, every time he laughs at my jokes, or when he leans a little too close while we talk—it all sends my heart racing in ways I can't ignore. At first, I thought maybe I could just ride it out. Wait for the feelings to go away. But they just don't. If anything, they only grow stronger, and pretending everything is normal is starting to become impossible.

___

One day after school, it became too much. I found myself sitting alone on the bleachers, staring out at the empty football field, feeling like my head was about to explode. Luca had just gone home, and the silence he left behind was overwhelming. My mind replayed the last hour we spent together in an endless loop, as if dissecting every moment might help me figure out what the hell was going on inside me.

We spent the afternoon working on a homework assignment for biology. It was something simple—categorizing organisms into groups—but I couldn't focus. Luca sat next to me, closer than usual, leaning over my shoulder to check my notes. His body heat was a subtle but constant presence, and the faint scent of his cologne filled the space between us. Every time he shifted, his knee brushed mine, sending sparks through my entire body. It was torture in the most confusing, thrilling way.

"Hey, did you get this part?" Luca asked, his voice breaking me out of my daze. He pointed at the diagram of organisms we were supposed to label, but I could barely focus on the paper.

"Uh, yeah. I think so" I muttered, my voice shaky as I tried to act normal. But nothing felt normal. Not the way his arm was pressed against mine, or how his fingers tapped the edge of the notebook so casually, so unaware of the storm he was causing inside me.

Luca turned toward me, eyebrows raised. "You okay, dude? You seem kind of out of it."

I swallowed, nodding too quickly. "Yeah, just... tired, I guess." The lie felt heavy on my tongue, but I wasn't about to tell him the real reason for my distraction.

He grinned, that cute, toothy smile that lit up his whole face. "We're almost done, don't worry. Just a few more species and we can call it a day."

His smile. That was all it took for my chest to tighten again, my pulse quickening as I tried—and failed—not to stare at him. His eyes sparkled, the same way they always did when he was enjoying himself. There was something about that look, something that made my heart race and my thoughts jumble together.

"Right" I murmured, forcing myself to glance back at the textbook in front of us, but the words blurred together. Every part of me was too aware of him, too distracted by the nearness of his body, the way his knee occasionally brushed mine, sending electric jolts up my leg.

At one point, he reached over to grab my pen, his hand grazing mine for just a second. But that second was enough. My breath hitched, and I had to fight the urge to jerk my hand away or, worse, reach out and take his.

"Oops, sorry" he chuckled, handing the pen back, completely unaware of how that simple touch had sent my brain spiraling.

I caught myself staring at him as he scribbled something in his notebook, the way his brow furrowed in concentration, how his hair fell into his eyes when he leaned forward. I wanted to reach out, push that stray lock of hair behind his ear, just to see how he'd react. My fingers itched to move, but I held back, clenching my fist under the table.

Luca glanced up, catching me off guard. "What?" he asked, smiling softly like I'd just said something funny.

"N-Nothing" I stammered, looking away quickly. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel the heat rising to my face.

He tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly in amusement. "Are you sure? You've been acting kind of weird all day."

"I'm fine" I said too quickly, the words tumbling out in a rush. "Just... distracted, I guess."

"By what?" Luca asked, leaning back in his chair with that same playful grin that always made my stomach twist. He was teasing me, but there was a softness in his voice that made me wonder if he knew. If somehow, he could sense what was going on inside me.

I scrambled for an excuse. "Uh, I don't know, just... school stuff."

Luca laughed, a low, genuine sound that sent shivers down my spine. "School stuff? Really? You, Mr. 'I'm on top of everything,' are distracted by schoolwork?"

"Hey, it happens to the best of us" I shot back, trying to play it off with a laugh, but it came out forced, awkward.

He shook his head, still smiling. "Alright, if you say so."

And his smile... God, that smile. He looked up at me after solving one of the problems, his doe-eyes sparkling with such warmth and sincerity that it felt like a shot of adrenaline straight to my heart, and I was powerless to do anything but smile back like an idiot.

"Seriously, though" Luca continued, flipping the notebook closed. "If something's bugging you, you can tell me. You know that, right?"

I hesitated, feeling my throat tighten. I couldn't tell him—not now, not when everything between us felt so... fragile. If I told him, it would shatter everything. The easy friendship, the laughs, the shared moments. It would change us forever, and the thought terrified me.

Instead, I forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks dude."

Luca gave me a playful shove. "Alright, man. Let's get out of here before my brain turns to mush."

I laughed, even though I felt like I was drowning inside. As we packed up our things and headed for the parking lot, his shoulder brushed mine again, sending another jolt through me. I stole one last glance at him and wondered how long I could keep pretending.

Because it wasn't just attraction—it was more than that. There was this warmth in my chest every time we talked, like he was pulling something deeper out of me, something I wasn't sure I could control. When he laughed, really laughed, I felt like the world was brighter, lighter. I wanted to make him laugh like that all the time. I wanted to be the reason he smiled, the reason he was happy.

The worst part was how he made it seem so effortless, how easy it was for him to just be himself around me, while I was spiraling into this emotional black hole. Every little thing he did drove me crazy, and he had no idea. He was completely oblivious, just going about his day like nothing had changed.

And I'm falling apart.