what it was | √

seventh; when you say nothing at all by ronan keating

I had a smile on my face.

I was walking to school, my hands at my sides as I neared the school gate. I slowly walked to the entrance, passing by the parking lot when I heard you call my name.

It was like a mantra, really. Hearing your name felt like tasting the best fried chicken in the world. Weird, I know.

"Oh hey!" I grinned at him as he sprinted towards me, his backpack slung on his shoulder.

Before he could say anything after smiling at me, a couple of guys called him. He turned to them and waved goodbye.

I bit my lip and told myself to get my shit together.
Keep your cool, I played inside my head as Luigi and I walked together to enter the doors.

"Hey, I'm sorry you lost the other day." I looked up at his wide eyes and gave him the most attractive sympathetic smile I could muster.

He shook his head and smiled at me, tapping my shoulder as he did. "Nah, it's fine. We, uh, have another game next week anyway."

I hit him with my shoulder, sending him a little on the side. "You better win this one now, Orlando." I bit my lip and giggled softly at him.

And as we both were about to enter our room, he put his arm around my shoulders and pushed me a little closer to his body which made my eyes go wide and my face flush. He then pushed the door open with his other shoulder, steering the both of us inside the room.

And when he finally let his arm down from my shoulder, I saw a couple of my friends looking at me with raised eyebrows.

Swallowing the hard lump on my throat, I gave them a small, quavering smile and immediately sat down, at the same time wiping away the sweat on my eyebrow.

⚓️

I didn't know what love was. But slowly, I learned. And I learned that love is wanting that person near you, wanting the world to know that you can be near that person. It's wanting that person to just hold you; hold your hand and grip it softly, and that feeling alone can make you safe.