Mᴏʀᴇ Tʜᴀɴ Jᴜsᴛ Fʀɪᴇɴᴅs

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟♧︎︎︎𝑇𝑒𝑛

"Mooom!"

"Hm?" Destiny furiously typed away on her laptop, round glasses sitting on the tip of her nose with a deep frown evident on her face.

"I'm fine now! Healthier than ever! Please, I wanna go to school today."

Destiny huffed, removing the glasses and looking up at her son, "Fine. But don't stress yourself too much and don't you dare eat anything from the cafeteria. Dad will pack you lunch, eat that."

Shawn resisted another whine, "I'm 18, mom. Not 10." He argued meekly.

Destiny arched a brow, narrowing her eyes.

"Thank you, mom." Shawn quickly muttered and scurried out of the room, not wanting to be in the way of her mom's famous Archer wrath.

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Shawn's excitement knew no bound as he got ready for school. Janette would be coming to pick him up and he had a slight bounce in his step as combed his hair.

"Damn, bro." Oliver whistled, entering his room and leaning against the door frame while juggling an apple in his hand. "Is this all for Janette?" He smirked.

"Wh-what? I dunno what are you talking about." He stammered, buttoning his shirt and putting on some cologne.

"You know exactly what I am talking about. Anyway, I think it's high time you stopped pining after her and confessed." The younger Archer said while munching on the apple.

Shawn hesitated for a minute, but as his brother's words sank in, he couldn't argue to that. He eventually gave in, turning to face Oliver. "What if she said no? What if she doesn't feel the same way."

Getting on his feet, Oliver walked over to him and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Trust me, Damy. If she's capable of loving anyone except of her parents, it's you. I have never seen that ice queen melt like she does when around you."

Shawn's cheeks heated up and he couldn't meet the curious gaze of his brother, his heart fluttering at the possible chance of the future connection he might share with Janette.

"Are you sure?" He was still skeptical.

Oliver rolled his eyes, groaning and flopping back down on the bed as he took another bite of the apple in his hand.

"Come on, Damy! Stop being a pessimist and just go with the flow. Grow some balls and confess, trust me."

Shawn bit the inside of his cheek, rethinking Oliver's words and sliding his glasses back up his nose. A new found courage rising in his chest as a flame of hope ignited within, a hopeful future where he'd have his loved one next to him.

"Okay." He finally mustered his courage, "I'll try. But how?"

Pushing himself on up his elbows, Oliver grinned, "That's like my brother. Now listen, don't just confess right away. Give her a few hints first."

"What kind of hint?" Shawn frowned.

Oliver made a thinking face, munching and plotting then his face lit up. "Get her a flower today and see how she reacts to it. Think of it as a first step!"

"That sounds nice." Shawn's face brightened, "Thanks, Ollie!"

"It's nothing. I want the best for you." He patted Shawn's back.

"Damy! Janette's here!" Came Aaron's voice from the hall and Shawn felt his heart leap up his throat, wave of anxiety hitting him at once.

"Chill, Damy. You're gonna do just fine." Comforted the younger and Shawn nodded, breathing out deeply, preparing himself for the upcoming day that would either make or break his life.

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All throughout the previous night, Janette couldn't shake the unpredictable emotions away from her mind, they kept luring back deep in her brain, nagging and clawing, rising waves of questions till she was forced to grab her phone and began a search.

How to know if I have more than friends type of feelings for someone?

And Janette wasn't happy with the search results, especially since each one resembled the state of her heart.

In big bold letters, google displayed every thing she felt for Shawn. From caring for him more than others to protecting him, having her heart raced whenever he's around, hating to see him sick or in trouble.

Did it actually mean she was in love with her bestfriend?

It couldn't be. No way.

All her life, Janette had only seen Shawn as a friend. A friend dearest than any other but nothing more. It was in her instinct to do these stuff for him, she never gave them any thought till her girlfriends and parents began teasing. They forced these thoughts into her head.

Yeah, that'd be it. They put these complicated stuff in her brain, forcing her to believe she had feelings for Shawn as more than friends but in real, it's only friendly vibes.

She shouldn't fuel them and ruin her friendship with Shawn. She'd never let anything come between them, not even her unsorted, calculated feelings. She should get rid off them before Shawn caught a whiff of them and thought of her in any wrong way.

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Shawn's giddy heart couldn't stop pounding as he subtly hid the single rose in his hand, away from prying eyes so no one could bully him for it. He had come to the school with Janette, they parted ways and he got this flower during break, from their school garden. He's already texted Janette to meet him by the backyard so the girls couldn't tease him about it.

His hands were clammy and he kept wiping them against his pants, gulping hard as he waited by a tree. It took everything in him to muster up the courage to just stay and not run away at the last minute.

"Damy? You okay?" He snapped around and Janette was there, she looked worried and a little out of breath. She must have ran here. Shawn felt right away guilty for calling her out of the blue. She must have thought he was in trouble.

"Yeah." He replied with an assuring smile, running a hand through his hair, the flower gripped in his fist behind his back.

"What happened then?" She asked, stopping in front of him. Without a thought, she tucked some stray hair behind his ear and Shawn shivered.

Instead of responding, Shawn decided to just do it right away. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, extending the hand with the flower and presenting it to Janette.

The air around them stiffened and Shawn held his breath in, looking at the girl expectantly, heartbeat racing against time and for a moment, he wanted to rewind time and not do this. But that's impossible and he needed to do this if he actually wanted to see if there's actually hope.

Janette's expression was unreadable, stoic even. She stared at the blood red rose like she wanted to burn it with her eyes and Shawn felt even more nervous.

"I'm allergic to flowers, Damy."

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A/N:-

Sorry for the delay guys. I've been sick as you all may know. But I'll try to update soon from now on. Thanks for your patience.

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