Boy Next Door ✔

chapter forty-three

C A L E B 

My heart was racing and my mind was clouded with one thought and one thought only: what the fuck. 

Never had I ever expected Mateo to like me back. Never had I ever expected my crush to return my feelings. After all, this was reality, wasn't it? Why was it that the reality I had grown to despise was suddenly turning into those cheesy rom-coms? Why now? - Not that I was complaining though, despite having read that horrible quote he had lifted from Riverdale.

I clutched onto the diary tightly and set it aside, snatching my phone from beside me and quickly opening Mateo's contact. I debated on whether I should call him or text him, and settled for a simple text message instead - after all, if I were in his position and received a phone call about a confession, I'd be dead embarrassed. 

'I read it' - was the message I'd sent him. I had spent around fifteen minutes contemplating on whether I should add a heart or not, and decided not to because I was too embarrassed and shy to do something like that. 

'Yeah? Well.. what now?' - was his response.

"Geez, that was quick," I said to myself before typing back a quick response which read the following: 'You really have feelings for me?'

'Love thy neighbour as thyself -Matthew 22:39' he responded.

'Ew, Matthew.' I typed back, with a smile on my face. This idiot.

'Really? That's what you focus on? I'm hurt :(' he typed back after barely a second. 

I chewed on my bottom lip for a while, letting my thumb float inches above my screen, thinking about what I should respond with - finally, I settled for the following: 'Can I come over?'

'Buy a man dinner first ;)' he sent back, quoting his drunk-self.

 I scoffed in response and set my phone aside after typing back something along the lines of 'fuck off, perv'. In a hurry, I rushed over to the mirror in the washroom and checked myself out, making sure I looked presentable enough. I ran my fingers through my hair in an attempt to fix it and checked my smile, making sure I didn't have any food stuck on my teeth. I even managed to check my breath, in case.. you know. 

When everything seemed to be just fine, I rushed out of my apartment with the biggest grin on my face - I looked like nothing less than a fool. With my heart pounding, I knocked on his door as loud as I could, because again, his darn music. 

Barely a second had passed before the door swung open and a cheeky Mateo showed up. His hair seemed to be styled perfectly, unlike all of the other times when I had awoken him at this hour. His cheeks were painted with a subtle pink tint and he simply stood there, scratching the back of his neck with a sheepish grin on his face. 

"Can I come in?" I questioned, a little flustered myself. 

"Oh fuck, yeah, I'm sorry," he said, letting out an embarrassed chuckle before stepping aside so I could make my way inside - which, I did. 

He shut the door behind us and there we stood in silence for a few minutes, staring at each other, both of our faces resembling bright red tomatoes. I could hear his heart beating even from five feet away, and I was pretty sure he could hear mine too.

"I also have another confession to make," he suddenly spoke, breaking the ice.

"Go on," I urged, the smile never leaving my face. 

"That day when I said I had a water leak - I didn't. It was just an excuse to spend more time with you," he finished, scratching the back of his neck and looking down at his feet.

"Oh my God," I began, my eyes widening. "I should've known! I was wondering why they needed five hours to fix a little water leak."

"I know, I should have come up with a better excuse," he snorted before finally looking up so that his eyes could meet mine - and just from the mere eye contact, my body felt like it was being electrified all over again. He took in a deep breath before starting again, "I'm sorry if I surprised you with my.. confession. I just couldn't keep it to myself and decided that you should know-"

As he proceeded, I took a step closer.

"-I don't know if you feel the same way about me or not, and I want you to know that you don't have to feel pressurized at all into returning my feelings-"

Another step closer.

"-And I want you to know that even if you don't like me back-"

One last step closer.

"-I'll still respect you."

And with that, I hooked my arms around his neck, brought him down to my level and slammed my lips against his.

Bold move, I know.

The moment our lips made contact, the sparks of electricity that were rushing through my body felt as if they had contorted into a trillion blooming flowers accompanied by a kaleidoscope of butterflies gliding all around my stomach. On top of that, my heart felt like it was going to explode and give way to a shower of multi-coloured confetti. 

He secured his arms around my waist and brought me impossibly closer, smiling into the kiss and pulling away just for a brief moment so that he could whisper, "So I'll take it that you feel that same way?"

"Of course I do, you idiot," I scoffed, my voice a little shaky. "I thought I made it obvious enough."

"By kicking me off your bed, calling me a loser imbecile and considering taking Dustin to your workplace for 'take your partner to work day' instead of me?" he theorized. "Yeah, you definitely made it extremely obvious."

 "Shut it," I grumbled, smacking his chest before stepping back. "I'm sorry if that was a little sloppy, I've never kissed anyone before.." I admitted, an embarrassed expression on my face. "Did I do it right?"

"I'm not entirely sure either because I'm not a professional kisser," he snorted. "But, if you must know, I did feel the butterflies that they always talk about in those cheesy romance movies."

I found myself cracking a smile at that, "Huh? You're comparing us to a cheesy romance movie now?"

"I mean, yeah," he began. "Does this mean that we're dating now?"

"I.. I think so," I stammered, flustered. "Love thy neighbour."

He stifled a laugh at that and looked away, equally as embarrassed as I was. This whole situation was making me feel like I was having a sugar-rush. He was being so damn sweet, I felt like I had contracted diabetes. 

"If we were a cheesy romance movie though," I began, catching his attention. "What do you think the name of it would be?"

"Good question," he commented. "It would probably be something really cheesy and generic."

"Obviously it would be cheesy, dumbass," I blurted, unable to maintain eye contact with him. "Something cheesy and generic like?"

He let out a soft chuckle and reached his hand out to ruffle my hair. I watched, captivated as his gaze travelled down to my lips almost instinctively. He began to lean in and just a second before our lips made contact for the second time that day, he whispered:

"Boy next door."

-

A/N: ok gn, the book is finally over. im so sad im going to go down an entire plate of fruits because we stan healthy queens sniff