Do I Really Hate Him? (Lafayette x Reader) [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 7: An Explanation

   Regaining my composure, I stared at Lafayette in disbelief. If he liked me...why had he said all of those horrible things to me? And why was he so intent on winning Angelica over?

   I opened my mouth to ask him, but no words were coming out. I was just staring at him, looking like a fool.

   Lafayette must've know what I was trying (but failing miserably) to ask, because he smiled, grabbed my hands, and said in a soft and gentle tone, "Please, let me explain everything...," he hesitated a little before adding, "...darling..."

   My heart jumped into my throat as he uttered that word. It's funny how one simple word, that had previously meant nothing to you, can feel so great when a particular person says it. More often than not, your crush. I nodded, wordlessly saying that he could begin his explanation. It better be a good one.

"Well...you know how we always used to prank each other when we were little?" he asked.

I nodded, trying not to chuckle as I remembered the time where I sneaked a spider into Lafayette's food. You should've heard his scream. Ah, I was a brilliant twelve-year-old.

"Well, I thought that when you told me you liked me, it was another one of those pranks. So I was scared to share my feelings, because if it was a prank, you'd laugh at me and make me feel humiliated. So I lied. Please, please know that I didn't mean any of it," Lafayette said. He smiled softly before saying, "I hate seeing you cry..."

   I suddenly felt very embarrassed about the leftover tears that stained my cheeks. I wiped them off, looking away. I still wasn't sure if he was lying or not.

   "How do I know you're not doing this so that you won't get kicked out?" I crossed my arms. "Because that seems like a very Lafayette thing to do."

   Lafayette smiled, a spark of bravery lighting up his chocolate brown eyes. "Well, would someone who's only 'confessing' to be able to stay in a house do this?"

   And, without even giving me a chance to ask "do what", Lafayette's lips were on mine, practically making me keel over and die.

   I was not expecting that at all, so I was frozen for a few seconds, trying to process what was happening.

   After that few second period, my mind began working again, and it came up with an idea on how to react that my body rolled with.

   I kissed Lafayette back, thinking that there was no way what was happening wasn't a dream.

   I had never kissed anyone before, mind you, so it was a bit weird at first. But I quickly picked up on how to do it with Lafayette's help.

   He wrapped his arms around my waist, and something about the way he was kissing me proved that he really did love me, that he wasn't just doing it because there was nowhere he could go but here. The way Lafayette was doing it was genuine and sweet. It wasn't staged or anything like that.

   Lafayette pulled apart first, staring into my eyes with a smile. "I—" He stopped talking, his eyes falling elsewhere. His muscles tensed as he took his arms off my waist, beginning to babble curses in French.

   "What is it?" I asked, not knowing why Lafayette was speaking like a parakeet that had learned how to curse in French.

   Stopping his babbling, Lafayette weakly pointed behind us both.

   A bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. I was beginning to have suspicions at what he was pointing at...

   Gulping, I turned around, and sadly, I was right.

   My dad was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and looking quite annoyed. It was safe to say that he had seen me and Lafayette kissing. My muscles tensed as well. "Uh...hey....Dad..," I said quietly. "I-it's not what it looks like—"

That cliche saying of when you get caught doing something didn't work on my dad. Come to think of it, it doesn't work on anybody! "It's not what it looks like? So, you weren't smooching Lafayette?"

"No..?" I said even quieter, knowing that that was a pretty stupid thing to say. My dad had seen us kissing.

To my surprise, my dad chuckled to himself.

Lafayette and I glanced at each other quizzically.

"You don't need to lie because you think you'll get in trouble, (Y/N)," my dad said with a small smile. "I'm not mad. You guys are old enough to be doing this sort of thing. It was a little disturbing, but meh." It was then that he realized that Lafayette had said I had meant nothing to him, so he, not having heard the explanation, mind you, said with a raised eyebrow, "Lafayette, I thought you didn't like (Y/N)."

"Oh, I do, Mr. Washington! I really, really do! I only said that because I thought (Y/N) was pranking me, and I didn't want her to laugh at me because of how I really felt about her," Lafayette explained, smiling.

My dad shook his head, chuckling. "Well, you certainly know how to avoid heartbreak..." His facial expression suddenly turned serious. "But break my daughter's heart again and I will make your life miserable. Got it?"

Lafayette squeaked in alarm, looking nervous. "Uh, yes sir..!"

My dad nodded, the tiniest of smirks on his face. "Good."

He was about to walk away when Lafayette said, "Uh, can you bring Mrs. Washington up here? I want to ask you both a question..."

My dad nodded and went downstairs to fetch my mom.

I turned to Lafayette curiously. "What do you want to ask them?"

"I want to ask them if I can court you," he responded, smiling at me in an adorable way. "But before I ask them, I have to ask you: Would you do me the honor of letting me court you if your parents are okay with it?"

My answer came to me almost immediately. Despite how awful Lafayette's comments had made me feel and how I couldn't prove that Lafayette really loved me (my intuition and the way he kissed me told me that he did, but that's not exactly proof), I was confident that I indeed wanted him to court me.

"I would love it if you courted me," I said with a smile.

Lafayette smiled as well. "Yay!"

The smile I had on slipped away, knowing my mom could be a bit harder to please. Hell, she's super selective about the people I hang out with, let alone the people I date. My dad? Well, he usually goes along with whatever my mom says. So he might not be a challenge to please, but me and Lafayette would have a hard time persuading him to disagree with my mom, if she said no. "Let's just hope my parents allow this..," I whispered, more to myself than to Lafayette.