All the Beautiful Things

IX

"LOOK, I'LL JUST admit it now, I have a crush on you. There, it has been said. That is the reason I'm always so jealous of you and all that... I've loved you for years and I never knew how to act... and when you guys started talking I just... I couldn't handle it all."

Across the table where the dark haired boy sat, staring nervously ahead, his blonde companion glanced around the room for a fraction of a second, then smiled softly and said "I have always felt the same... I have strong feelings for you" before leaning over and pressing a kiss to the boy's lips.

"Aww, romance! How disgusting." Casper snapped, slamming his mug of hot cocoa down on the polished wooden table and frowning sadly. Raising his eyebrows, the boy on the other end of the table set his coffee down as well, though far more gently than his friend. "Are you jealous, Mr. Gonzales?" Everest asked.

Casper scoffed at this and stirred a peppermint stick in his hot chocolate. Yes, he was quite jealous of the couple nearby, who were very obviously on some sort of date with one another, seeing as they were giggling and kissing repeatedly after they had completed admiting their feelings for each other. He just didn't want to admit it to Everest, seeing as it would surely lead the blonde to ask some questions and Casper didn't want to say that his crush was actually Calum.

Calum Campbell was the center of the Hispanic boy's entire world. He thought about him day in and day out, his mind always coming back to his smile, the way his eyes would light up at the mention of certain bands and film characters, and the little things he said that made everyone laugh. He was a wonderful person to be around, always so polite and charismatic. Not to mention his energy always lightened tense moods and cured any awkward tension.

He was completely and utterly whipped.

Ever since meeting Calum when they were younger, he had fallen hard for the brunette. At one point, Calum had even returned those same feelings. The boys dated for two years, Casper always planning new dates and allowing his then-boyfriend to take multiple photos. It was a blissful time for both parties, and they never tired of the other's company. It was like they were meant to be together.

But then there was that night.

The night that changed everything. 

Most importantly, the night where Casper royally screwed up.

Calum was one of the most forgiving people Casper had met, and Casper was known for making ridiculous mistakes, Calum was fully aware of this, but what happened that night was beyond forgiveness. He had tried so hard to let it go and leave it in the past, where it belonged, but it ate at him like a parasite and after a while, he broke the label between the two and downgraded their relationship to a friendship.

They didn't even become best friends again for a long time after that time, something Casper dubbed "the incident."

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty jealous. I just want something like that, you know? A romance... a happy one," Casper responded, taking a sip of his hot chocolate with blush coating his cheeks as he pictured Calum's smiling face.

The boy absolutely hated to admit it, but Calum was addictive to him. Everything about the smaller, brown-haired boy drew him in like a drug. From his messy brown hair to his ridiculous dance moves when "Girls Talk Boys" came on, he was mesmerized by him. It simply wasn't fair that he couldn't have him anymore.