Water and Fire (BL)

Chapter 25: Confession Pt.2

Chapter 25: Confession Pt.2

After Olivia told all the living things in that secluded place behind the cafeteria, all about her lengthy monologue and feelings towards Charlie, the petite girl was breathing heavily.

Crouching down, she hid her face in her arms. She felt so dumb that she wanted to kick herself in the ass. Her tears watered the weeds by her feet.

What are you doing, Olivia, ha?! What happened to your fucking plan about letting Charlie take the first step, ha?! Ain't so smooth now, are we?! Olivia had these thoughts spinning inside her mind, drowning her.

Having confessed her feelings upfront, she didn't feel so good. She felt like she was the opposite of a woman. Not so feminine now, are we?!

For a couple minutes, only the crows responded.

But then, out of the blue, Charlie smiled casually. He looked up at the canopy of leaves and breathed deeply.

No one was prepared for the words that came out of Charlie's mouth.

"I know."

Eric gasped.

"All those presents and love notes. I know they're all from you."

David also gasped, though he had no idea what the fuck was going on.

Olivia stopped breathing, but she stayed in that prostrate condition for a couple of seconds. Sniffing and wiping the snot from her nose, her head finally emerged out of her arms. Her bloodshot eyes stared at Charlie's beady eyes.

She wanted to punch Charlie in the face.

"Well, aren't you gonna say something?" Charlie asked, smiling like a fucking dog who had no idea how wrecked Olivia was.

"You know all along?!" Olivia stood up slowly like a fallen ninja who's now starting to assume an attack stance.

Like a flash of lightning, she ran towards Charlie. The next thing they saw, she already collared Charlie and pinned him to the narra tree.

"Why didn't you fucking acknowledge it, huh?!" Her spit flew everywhere. The sparrows who began to nest in the canopy took flight again after hearing Olivia's thundering voice. "Are you so stone-hearted that you preferred to watch me suffer, ha?! All those love notes that I put in your locker, all those presents, all those longing gazes, everything—you knew all of those were from me, yet you did nothing?! Are you a man?! You could have repaid the love I had for you. Or at least, tell me outright if you don't like me! Why, Charlie?!"

Charlie's face was surprisingly calm. It's like he had the upperhand in this duel of words and emotions.

"Because I'm afraid," he said casually, still having that same lazy smile on his lips. His beady eyes began to look like luminescent pearls.

"Afraid of what, huh?!" Olivia shook Charlie vigorously that Charlie's head bumped on the tree behind him. "Are you afraid of love, huh? Or…" She drew her face closer to Charlie's. "...Are you gay? Tell me, Charlie, are you gay?! Do you love Eric, huh?!"

"Yes, I love him!"

Olivia's eyes became perfect circles. Eric and David were shocked as well.

Olivia slapped Charlie hard on the face.

Charlie laughed weakly, grabbing his reddened cheek. "I love him... like a brother," he said softly. "It's the first time that someone cared for me in this damned high school. He's the best friend and the best brother that I never had. But..."

Olivia's eyes were fixed again on Charlie.

"But my love for Eric isn't like the love that I have for you!"

These words that came out of Charlie's mouth silenced the whole Earth.

Olivia's brows furrowed. "Wha---?" She fumbled for words but nothing came out of her lips. All of her brain cells quarreled and rioted in the cubicles of her brain. In the end, all her brain cells tendered their resignation and jumped out of the office buildings of her brain. Her arms lay lifelessly at her sides. Her knees felt weak. She felt like dreaming. Involuntarily, she took a few steps back, as if weak from a large impact that hit her entirety.

Charlie stood up abruptly. His posture was nothing like they've ever seen before. It was aggressive, powerful even. "You want to hear that, ha? You heard it right, Olivia, I love you!"

Now it was Charlie's turn to assume the aggressive role and attack the now-passive Olivia standing despondently. "I loved you since junior high, Olivia! And you had no idea how crazy happy I was whenever I'm reading all those fucking notes in my locker! I know all of them were from you!"

Regaining her senses, Olivia responded, "Then why do you have to pretend like I'm not existing, huh?" Olivia asked weakly, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "Why didn't you reciprocate my feelings?"

Charlie smiled. "Because I was afraid." He took a step forward towards Olivia. "Afraid that all of your notes might be a prank after all. Afraid to involve myself in a relationship with a girl who might not be in love with me, after all."

He took another step. "Afraid that you're just messing with me, after all."

He smiled bitterly. "You have no idea how hard it is to be me. Everyday I've been always afraid. I've always been victimized, bullied to the point that it felt anesthetic to be physically harmed. To the point that I can't feel a thing anymore whenever they're punching me, berating me, abusing me."

He took another step. His tears began flowing from his eyes to his cheeks.

He took another step. "Now, can you blame me for not trusting you?!" His voice was like a violent gust of wind along a vast ocean, serene yet destructive.

"And even if I knew that there's a big possibility that all of your love notes were false, that all of it was a prank; it still gave me endless joy, even if it meant lying to myself that maybe, just maybe, all of it could be true!"

Olivia sobbed once more. "It is true! I like you, Charlie... you had no idea..." She hid her face on her palms, as if a last resort to keep her remaining pride intact. She's never felt so guilty like this.

Charlie took another step until finally he stood face to face with the girl he loves.

He hugged her. The girl was so shocked that it seemed like time stood still just for the two of them.

For the first time, Olivia felt this unexplainable fuzzy warmth glowing inside her. It seemed like a thousand feathers were rubbing against her very existence.

Charlie hugged her even tighter. "I'm sorry for being weak. Now that I know that you're not messing with me, I'm gonna acknowledge all that you gave me and make sure to repay all of them. I'm sorry... sorry for being weak."

Olivia was beat with emotions surging inside her heart. She sobbed on Charlie's shoulders. "There's nothing to forgive." Yet she pounded on Charlie's shoulders.

"I love you."

The wind seemed to have stopped.

Hearing these three words, Olivia cried even more, though the tears coming out of her eyes were not of sorrow anymore.

Eric and David stared at each other like they were watching a real-life K-Drama scene. They blinked once, twice, thrice, wondering if they were dreaming because this scene in front of them was so unreal. Their mouths were ajar.

David then stared at Eric's eyes longingly. I wish I also had the courage to tell you what I truly felt, Eric.