From the Beginning

Chapter 5

Leah's POV

Kevin and I drove towards the mall in silence with the radio playing in the background. I was too busy staring out the window, watching the trees and the cars go by to pay attention to what was on. I really wasn't excited to be going to the mall, which was upsetting since it was normally one of my favorite places to go. My mind wandered back to Ian and the feeling of disappointment came back, making me frown slightly out the window.

I looked over at Kevin as I thought back to the interaction on Ian's driveway earlier. He looked completely relaxed and happy now, but he'd kind of been an ass even though Ian had been nothing but friendly and polite. It was really unlike him.

We pulled up at the mall outside of the food court a few minutes later, and as I was going to open my car door, Kevin's voice stopped me. "Don't move," he said as he climbed out of the car and jogged around to my side. I watched him with a confused expression as I wondered what he was doing until he got to my side and opened my door, holding out his hand to help me out of the car. My eyes widened as I stared at his hand for a second before slowly reaching out and grabbing it, climbing out of the car and hearing him shut the door behind me. I felt him place his hand lightly on the small of my back as we walked inside and I frowned, wondering why he felt the need to be so touchy-feely today.

We walked inside, the smell of mall food and the noise from the people buzzing around hitting us as soon as the sliding doors opened. We walked back towards the side of the mall where all the shops were, and we stopped once the mall broke off into two directions.

"Alright Princess Leah, where are we going today? Do you have anything you want to look for in particular," Kevin asked as he smiled down at me, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

I shrugged easily. "I don't really have anything in mind. I could stand to look for some new Vans, my old ones look like they've been tossed into the pits of hell and spit back out."

He chuckled and nodded, leading me in the direction of where we knew the shoe store was. He was telling me about the party last night and how Brian Andrews ended up stripping and throwing up in the pool which effectively ruined everyone's night, but I was only listening half-heartedly. Brian Andrews was on the football team with Kevin, playing as a linebacker, and everyone knew he was an absolute moron, so getting drunk obviously wasn't going to improve that.

We walked into the store just as he was finishing his story, and I eagerly looked around at all of the different options they had. My older pair was a low-top, skater style of shoe, but I was thinking of getting some high-tops for my new pair.

After trying on the different sizes and colors for about half an hour, I finally decided on a pair with a burgundy base and black stripes up the side. They looked awesome, and I was excited to start breaking them in.

We left the store and ended up walking around the mall for another few hours, mostly because I was leading Kevin into every store that had something mildly cute in it. We stopped after a while to eat a late lunch, and while we were eating I decided it was be a good time to ask about his attitude this morning with Ian.

"Kevin?" He looked up from his tray of Japanese food when he heard me say his name, a noodle hanging out of his mouth comically. "Can I ask you a question?"

He swallowed and set his fork down before smiling at me. "Yeah babe, what's up?"

My eyebrows furrowed slightly at the nickname, but I ignored it and asked my question instead. "Why were you being so rude to Ian this morning when I introduced you?"

As soon as he heard Ian's name, that sour look came back onto his face as he picked up his fork, poking at his food. I waited patiently for him to answer, knowing he would tell me when he was ready.

"I don't know. I was really excited to hang out with you alone today since it's been a while since it's just been the two of us, then I saw you talking and laughing with him and you got upset when he said he couldn't come out with us. I guess I was just... jealous."

My eyes widened briefly before I burst out laughing. Kevin just watched me, his face blank as he watched me laugh at his statement.

I finally calmed down after a minute and shook my head, a small grin on my face. "Why did you feel jealous? Worried he's going to take your spot as my best friend," I teased, smiling and tilting my head as I waited for him to smile and shrug it off.

He didn't do that, though. His frown deepened, his hand clenching around his fork a little tighter, and the expression on his face actually made me frown a little.

He shook his head and sighed. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm worried about," he said sarcastically, putting his fork down and running a hand roughly through his hair.

I sighed, feeling annoyed that he wouldn't just tell me what was on his mind. "Okay, well then how about you tell me exactly what it is you're worried about," I stressed. Kevin never kept things from me, even something as small as if we was upset about something.

He stayed silent for a few minutes as he seemed to think about what to say before finally looking up at me, a determined look on his face as his eyes met mine. I took a sip of my drink just as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm in love with you, Leah."

All of a sudden I forgot how to breathe, and the swig of my drink I'd just taken got stuck halfway down my throat. Kevin jumped up and patted my back as I coughed like I'd been inhaling smoke for hours, trying to breathe and process what he said at the same time. As soon as I got my breathing back under control I stared at him as he sat back down, knowing I must've looked like a deer in headlights from where I could feel my eyes wanting to pop out of my skull. This couldn't be true, he must be playing a joke on me or something.

"Please tell me you're not serious, Kevin. Right? You're joking," I pressed, really hoping he would burst out laughing, jump up, and yell "YOU'VE BEEN PUNK'D!"

Unfortunately he shook his head, his eyes never leaving mine. "Serious as a heart attack," he said, picking at his nails nervously. "I want you to know this isn't something I've been hiding from you since the beginning of our friendship. It started the day we went running on that hiking trail in Suwanee, when we raced at the end of the second mile and you won because I tripped at the last second."

I didn't respond, but I knew the day he was talking about. We'd spontaneously decided to go and exercise together one day, and it had been a lot of fun. He yelled that he wanted to race the last tenth of our last mile thinking he could beat me, but I've been running forever so my stamina was better than his. He just got cocky, lost his footing, and I pulled ahead.

"I just couldn't help but notice how beautiful you looked that day, your smile as you laughed and jumped up and down, your hair flowing out all around you even though you were sweaty as all hell. You just took my breath away, and I don't know how I hadn't see it before," he explained, gulping before speaking again. "I love you Leah, and I think that we'd be perfect together."

I couldn't do anything but stare at him, completely dumbfounded. My mind couldn't even piece together two words to give to him, let alone a full sentence. What are you supposed to say when the guy you've been friends with your entire life confesses he's in love with you and wants to be with you?

Kevin didn't exactly have the most stellar record with girls as of late. He was known for being nice but kind of careless when it came to the girls he dated, seeing as how in the end he only really dated for sex. Not that I thought he would ever do that to me, but actions speak louder than words. Plus, it didn't help that I was now comparing my time with him to the new guy next door.

I took in a deep breath, and Kevin looked at me hopefully as I opened my mouth to answer. "I'm so, so sorry Kevin, I-" my words got caught in my throat as I saw the broken look that came onto his face. I looked down at the table, scratching my nail along the surface, knowing that he was well-aware of what I was going to say. "I'm sorry." With that, nothing else was said as we both sat there lost in our own thoughts.