Expect The Unexpected

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| E X P E C T T H E
U N E X P E C T E D |
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Brooks' eyes had been red for hours, due to him rubbing at them, and him trying his absolute best to keep the tears from running down his now red cheeks. At first, he felt as though he couldn't breathe, like Jackson, his best friend—his brother had been slipping out of his fingertips.

And now, thinking back to every time Jackson would come to him for relationship advice, he now understood who the advice was towards. Him. Jackson had been talking about him all along.

Was Brooks always too dense? Or was Jackson just that good at hiding his feelings? Especially while being in a long-term relationship with the girl who Brooks couldn't help but feel bad for, in a moment like this.

He thought about calling Blake as soon as it happened—but how needy would that be? And for all he knew, when Blake said to call him if anything happened, he could've just been being nice.

Because the Blake that Brooks had just met, completely different from the one he'd know since grade school—was capable of being kind and friendly. Even if his heart wasn't entirely into it.

But for safety measures—in terms of Brooks' already broken heart, he hoped Blake's heart was in fact, in his words.

When talking to Blake, and explaining what had happened over the line, Blake had been understanding, and never once said the words, I told you so, or, I never liked him anyway.

He just listened, and tried his best to comfort Brooks as best as he could, while the two of them not being face-to-face. But Blake knew, that once they were, he'd hold onto Brooks until he was able to smile again.

     A real smile.

     Blake drove in a hurry, hands slamming against the steering wheel whenever being stuck behind a red light. Only God knew what Brooks could be feeling at a time like that.

     First, his parents kick him out of the home he'd grown up in, then, his best friend reveals how he really feels about him, and is forced to admit that he's catching feelings for someone he never saw himself falling for.

     His emotions had been kicking through the roof, since he first stepped out of Jackson's home, and spent the next few hours crying into the crook of his sweatshirt on a bench outside of Merritt Hills Community Park.

     Brooks could feel his heart kick into an overworked beat, as Blake's familiar car pulled into the curb of the park, Blake instantly running over to Brooks' side, tending to him as tears fell onto his sweatshirt.

     Brooks' arms fell around Blake's neck, as Blake's arms held onto Brooks' waist as tightly as he's ever held anything. They held onto one another, as the hug felt like some sort of confession. Like they were confessing to everything they'd been feeling since the kiss at the lake.

     And the very many kisses after that.

     Everything had happened so quickly. Brooks had fallen for Blake so quickly, so quickly that it felt like some kind of joke—on his already faltering heart. And it was that moment, that Brooks knew just how easy it would be to fall in love with Blake Warner.

     If they would ever let themselves get to that point. And if something or someone didn't interfere.

     Blake pulled back, fingers squeezing at Brooks' waist. "I know you're hurting, and I know that tonight's probably been the absolute worst. But, I wanna be here for you, even when no one else is—I," Blake took a deep breath, his forehead leaning onto Brooks', "I wanna be with you."

     Brooks smiled, never needing another second to process his sentence, already knowing that he wanted the exact same thing. "Okay—I mean, yes. I wanna be with you, too."

A / N : Okay, I feel kind of insecure about this chapter, because I didn't want their realization to happen too soon. But, hopefully it all flows.