Blooming Iris | ✓

-Blooming Iris Chapter 22-

Iris' POV~

Stepping inside the guest bedroom, I saw two black suitcases next to each other. They were laid on top of his bedspread, covering half of it; looking around the room, I saw that it was about the same as my room, but maybe a little bit smaller in size.

"So Iris," Shane spoke up. "Care to help me unpack now?" he asked, pointing to his suitcases, giving me a smirk.

"I guess." I shrugged, walking around him.

Making my way over to his bed, I brought the suitcases closer to me. Looking at the bigger of the two, I grabbed the zipper, opening it up. A giant pile of clothes appeared in front of me. Staring at it in shock, I glanced at Shane in the corner of my eye. Why does he has so much clothes? This is going to take forever to put up in his closet!

Sighing, I went to his other suitcase, opening it up. This one wasn't filled with clothes, but it was just as bad. His laptop, iHome, DVD player, and Wii were stored in the middle, while a bunch of wires, chargers, and games where placed around the devices.

"You still play the Wii?" I asked slightly shocked.

Back when we were younger, whenever I came over to his house, I would find him in his room playing the Wii. He was so absorbed in his games that he didn't even notice me until the game was over.

He stared at me, probably thinking why I even asked such a question. "Of course! Don't you?"

I shook my head. "Not really. After my parents died-"

"Wait a minute," he cut me off, "your parents are dead?"

I nodded, not really wanting to talk about my parents to Shane. Even though I told Richard about them, I wasn't ready to tell Shane. Funny how that works out right? I mean I had known Shane a lot longer than Richard, but with Richard, I felt like I could tell him anything. It's weird, I know.

"What about Ivan?" he asked, sounding slightly afraid.

"Gone," I whispered at last.

"Oh God," he muttered, his eyes clouded over with sadness. I would be too, if I just found out my childhood friend was dead. There was silence in the air before he spoke again. "No wonder why you work here."

I knew Shane was just trying to change the subject since he didn't want to talk about Ivan anymore, so I went along with it. "Yeah, but I like working for Richard," I told him, giving him a small smile. "He's really sweet, kind, caring, lov-"

"Please stop," he begged. His voice sounded gloomy but it was laced with anger? "Don't talk about him like that."

"Why not?" I was really confused, I mean, why can't I? I was just speaking the truth. I stared into his blue and brown eyes, hoping to see any emotion, but all I saw was a blank stare.

In a split second, he crossed the room. He grabbed my hands, and pulled me towards him. Soon, my body collided with his, as his arms circled around my waist. 

"Um...Shane?" I mumbled into his chest, struggling to get free. 

He held me tighter, stopping my movements. "Yeah?" he asked, his voice sending a slight shiver down my spine.

"What are you doing?"

"Hugging you," was his short reply.

"I know that, but why?"

"Because," he paused, pulling me away from him so he can see my face. "I want to."

"Um, okay...?" I was still slightly lost. We went from me talking about Richard to him hugging me.

He sighed, looking down at me. "Iris, you're too naive for your own good."

"What?" What the heck does he mean by that?

"I like you," he blurted out. 

I wasn't exactly sure why Shane was saying this now. I mean I already knew he likes me. He is my friend, of course he likes me. "I like you too."

His lips tugged up in a smile, before something clicked in his head. "Iris, when you said, "I like you too" what does that mean?"

"That I like you of course. You're my friend."

He rolled his eyes at me, his smile disappearing. "Iris." He placed his hands on my shoulder staring straight at me. "I like you a lot more than a friend."

Like me more than a friend? I don't get it.... "What?" I stared at him in complete and utter shock. Shane can't like me like that right?

"My feelings for you never went away. I still like you a lot."

He still liked me? But that's impossible. It's been so long though. "Um...."

"I know this is hard to understand," Shane said. "But just know that I like you a lot."

I'm not sure what I did next, but in one second, I pushed Shane away from me. Before he could progress what happened I ran towards the door. I heard Shane's voice telling me to stop in the background, but I didn't listen. I kept running and running, until I was safely in my room.

Leaning slightly on the door, I closed my eyes, letting out a short breath. I'm not sure why I ran away from him, but I knew I needed to get away. I couldn't really grasp the fact that he likes me.

"Iris?" a deep voice asked.

Snapping my eyes open, I saw Richard standing there, leaning against my bed. What was he doing here in my room? And how had I not known he was in here when I came in?

"What are you doing here?" I voiced my thoughts.

His eyes drifted away from me nervously, as he began to stare down at his shoes. "I was just... um, waiting for you."

"In my room?"

"Yeah?" he said gulping. "Is that okay?"

"I guess, it's your house."

I walked over to my bed, taking a seat on it. Richard stood next to bed frame, not taking his eyes off of me. "So Iris, why are you back so soon?" he asked.

"No reason."

"Iris...." he said, breathing my name. "What happened?"

"Nothing!" I squeaked out too loudly.

"Doesn't sound like nothing," he said, his eyes penetrating mine. "Now, what happened? And don't lie."

"Shane-told-me-he-likes-me," I mumbled out quickly, hoping Richard wouldn't be able to understand my words.

"He what?" he yelled loudly, as he eyes widened in shock.

"Um, he said-"

"I know what he said," he said interrupting me. "Did you say anything back?"

"No, I ran here when he said he liked me."

Richard smiled at this, making me wonder why. "Good."

"Why good?" I probed.

He stared at me, as his eyes glanced at me then down at his fingers and finally back up to me again. He nodded, probably coming up with a conclusion in his head. "Iris."

"Yeah?" I questioned.

"Please don't run away from me too," he begged sounding desperate, "but I like you too."