Rainbows after Hurricane

6. |p r e s e n t|

>>c h a  p t e r  s i x<<

|p r e s e n t|

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The first time Asher had a crush, he was fourteen. He had always been the shy boy around girls and had never really dated any girl unlike Zach who had gone out a couple times. Zach was not particularly afraid or nervous to speak out his mind—which was why Asher hadn't even told him about his crush.

Her name was Belle. She was pretty with long wavy blonde hair that came up to her waist and she had that two cute dimples on her cheek whenever she used to speak or smile which made Asher's stomach do funny things. In short, Belle was drop dead gorgeous—the kind of girl every boy wanted to be with.

It was not like Asher never tried to man up and confess his feelings for her but every single time he tried, his heart beat would start beating so fast he could not think straight let alone speak a single word without messing it up. After a few times, he gave up.

But, that did not stop him from watching her from afar.

                  "Dude, your eyes are gonna fall out if you continue staring at her for one more day."

The sudden voice just behind his ear was so surprising, Asher jolted forward, nearly spilling the coffee all over himself.

                 "What the hell, Zach? You nearly gave me a heart attack." Asher complained, wiping some of the coffee from the corner of his mouth.

Zach shrugged with a cheeky grin. "Don't you think that's inevitable?"

               "What do you mean?"

               "I heard this one guy from football team asked Belle out. What was his name again, uh, yeah, Dean." Zach informed, biting down on his tuna sandwich as he kept his eyes fixed on Asher.

Asher felt like he was punched in the stomach and all the air was sucked out of his body. He tried to think clearly all the while the words repeated inside his head like a slap on his face. He was late—too late. But, what surprised him more was why Zach was telling him all this?

As far as he knew, Zach was never interested in gossips. So, why now?

Trying to maintain his composure, he turned his attention back to Zach, before saying, "Why are you telling me this?"

For a second, Zach stared blankly at him, giving him a serious look—the tuna sandwich in his hand hung in mid-air as the silence stretched between them with a wave of thick tension. Finally, Zach scoffed, put the sandwich down on his lunch tray before looking back at him with an accusing glare.

                 "You really think I don't know about you crushing over Belle? What do you take me for?"

This time, the coffee did fell over himself, staining his white shirt. "How do you know about that?"

Zach gave him the look.

Quickly realizing his slip-up, he said, "I mean—that's not true—I don't.."

                "Asher!" Zach called in the way a parent would call their child when they were being stubborn. "There is no point in denying. I know."

Asher wanted to deny about it, wanted to tell him that he was wrong not only because he felt ashamed about not having the courage enough to confess a girl but also because he felt guilty for hiding the truth with his best friend cum brother despite knowing quite well that Zach was smart enough to figure it out himself.