Un... Requited Love? (MHMMP: A Novella)

Chapter 15

I walk towards the big picture and grab it. I see my younger self in the picture, eating some ice cream. I barely remember that moment. I was playing with the twins, Bailey Grady and Briley Grady. Their mother bought us an ice cream and she smiled at us, and hugged us. Mrs. Elizabeth Grady and my mom were bestfriends. And still are, I think. But I barely hear them from mom’s mouth.

Zane walks towards me.

“You remember that?” He asks me, half smiling at me. His dimples are showing.

“Barely.” I admit.

“You were in 4th grade. You were playing with the twins and I saw you. I had my camera at that time and took a picture of you. That’s when I began to stalk you.” He takes the photo album from the drawer. The photo album’s cover has a heart stick on it. I take and open it. “From that moment, I knew that I was in loved you. And I still am.”

I can’t help but to smile. I flip the pages and the photos are all me. Younger me. Drinking water. Eating pasta. Playing with the cat. Crying. I flip another page and some photo falls on the ground. I pick it up and look at it. Then I gasp. It’s Zane. But young. But it’s not about Zane. It’s about the necklace he was wearing in the picture.

It’s the blue half-moon necklace I gave to the boy I accidentally kissed.

“What?” Zane asks me.

“Where’d you get the necklace?” I look up at him.

“Uh… There was this kid. She bumped into me and we both fell, and she accidentally kissed me. I was about four, or five years old at that time. She gave me that necklace.”

It’s like destiny. I never thought I’d see that kid again. I’d see Zane. Zane was that kid. I never thought about it. I accidentally kissed Zane when I was 5 years old. And I gave him that necklace.

The necklace.

The necklace I gave to him.

Zane opens the drawer and picks something, and he shows me the blue half-moon necklace and I grab it. “What’s with this?” He asks me.

“Zane.”

“Yeah?”

“You were that kid.”

“I – what?” He says, tilting his head. “Pardon?”

“You were that kid.” I turn my head to him and make a face. He studies me for a while, and his face lightens.

“You were that girl! The girl who accidentally kissed me! You gave me this necklace and you ran away! I was calling your name and then your head turned but you ran away again. And I wanted you ask you why did you give me this, but you’re gone!” He says enthusiastically.

“Yes.” I feel my tears rising, then he kisses me on the lips.

This kiss is better than the others. I mean, super better than the other kisses. We kiss passionately and I feel my face blushing. He hands are on the back of mine and mine are on his shoulders. He pushes me and now, my back is on the wall. I tug the hem of his shirt and he laughs while his mouth is still on mine. I break the kiss first. “Stop.” I say, breathless.

“Okay.” He smiles at me. His eyes are staring at mine.

That’s the thing about stare. You just look each other in the eye, but there’s this teeny tiny feeling that makes you feel happy and overwhelm and satisfied. Without doing something, just staring. Sometimes, there’s a spark feeling. His eyes are still staring at mine. I feel the intensity in it. I’m not happy and overwhelm and satisfied. I’m overjoyed, though, not satisfied. Because I want this feeling to last forever. I feel no spark feeling, but I feel a fire. That fire is burning. I tiptoe and kiss his lips gently and softly.

“I love you. You know.” I say.

“I know. Because I love you too.” He says. His lips brushing against mine.

We are at the Centennial Olympic Park when a girl approaches us. My eyes drift on her. It’s Keamie, the ex-girlfriend of my current boyfriend. Zane squeezes my hand and I squeeze his hand too. I prepare myself for a fight. Just in case. I don’t care if it’s a verbal fight or a physical fight. I’m prepared. But she’s walking calmly.

Walking towards us with a smile.

“Hello.” She says to us. Her eyes are trained on Zane’s hand, which is holding mine.

“Hi.” I say to her. Her eyes drifts to mine and smiles.

“George. I mean, Greg. Whatever. Said you guys are here.” She looks at the ground and back at us. “I came here because,” she trails off. “Because I want to apologize. I have moved on. Moved on from Zane. And believe it or not, I am happy for you guys. I knew that Zane has a love feeling for you. But I ignored it. I’ve had the feeling that our relationship was unrequited love. I found his notebook, full of your names. Your pictures. But I totally ignored it. Zane did not hurt me. I hurt myself.”

How should I reply to that?

She apologized. Say something! Use your brain!

“Okay.” I reply. YOU IDIOT! “I mean, I wasn’t expecting this. But, you’re forgiven.” I smile at her.

“I’m sorry.” Zane says. “I should have told you about everything. More specifically, about her. About Cashmere.”

“That’s okay. I knew it from the start. Before I became your girlfriend.” She says gently, but I know, from the bottom of her heart, that she’s still hurt. And hoping.

I give her a smile and she grins.

I stand up and open wide my arms to hug her, she moves forward and hugs me.

“Thank you.” I whisper.

“You’re welcome. And I’m really sorry.” She replies.

I move back a little and I say, “Friends?” I offer my hands and she stares at it.

“Friends.” She shakes my hand and giggles.

Zane and I are in his room. We’re not doing something, we’re just lying on his bed. He rolls and now, his face are nearly on my face. The tip of his nose are on the tip of my nose. He shifts a little, so that he can kiss me. “Want to know something.” I say, and that stops him.

“About what?” He asks.

“Hmmmmm….”

“Do tell.”

“To be honest, you’re not my The One. But I know, that you are my One True Love. It’s not destiny. It was planned. And I’m glad.” He grins at me and gives me a peck on the lips. “You are not my soulmate. You are part of me. Part of my life. And now, that I’m complete. I will love you forever and ever.”

“And I will love you no matter what. I’m part of your life and will be forever. I may not be the best boyfriend, or whatever. But I can make you feel happy like a forever. And I’ll do it as long as I can. We will live in this imperfect world and make it perfect.” He says.

And I believe him.

Because it's true.

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This is just a shory story. I wanted this story to be a novel. But just couldn't. And I hope you'd like this short story of mine. Thank you, readers. Thank you to my number one reader, Keamie. You're the best! lol. Hahaha.

Note: You'll see them again... soon. So don't be sad.