(Anthari Fanfiction) Fade

Chapter 2

"Morning Mari-Mari," he says with his everlasting, charming smile. "I heard what happened with Peter and I want you to know I am here for you and you can always ask me for comfort and I will always be here for you."

Unsure how to respond, I start to tear up, realizing how I feel, but quickly halt the crying for the sake of my dignity. "Thanks Anthony."

"What are friends for?" he says putting his hand on my shoulder. What are friends for? What are friends for? That one hit me. That one hit me really hard. That one hit me hard, like a wrecking ball barrelling towards a cinderblock wall. Friends? I thought we had something special. I thought we were more than friends. And yet, the hard reality of everything just slammed into my face. I made all of this up in my head and thought he loved me until I come to the realization that he only thinks of me as a friend.

I try not to show my emotions on the outside and let him into my apartment with a welcoming smile. "Sorry about the mess," I say to him with a half-smile. "That's the life of a gamer."

"Nah it's cool, you should see my place. It's a wreck," he says with his dreamy smirk. Anthony notices an empty Loot Crate box on my table. "You are subscribed to Loot Crate? Me too! I love all the merch they send."

"Yeah, I love getting the Doctor Who stuff. I need more than seven TARDIS machines," I respond, laughing to myself.

"Obsessed much?" Anthony said to me.

"Considering the appearance of my apartment, I would say I agree to that accusation," I said motioning to my shelves full of Weeping Angel Plushies.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Anthony asks me, holding up my all-time favorite movie Annabelle.

"Definitely! As long as you don't pee yourself because I don't want to have to clean it up," I tease causing him to turn red.

"The only pee you'll have to clean up is from when you pee yourself because this movie doesn't scare me one bit!" Anthony says lounging on my couch.

I kneel down by the DVD player to plop in the movie, impatiently waiting for it to load and go to the title screen. It finally loads up and Annabelle's terrifying face pops up on the screen, scaring Anthony. "You're toast," I say, playfully punching him on the arm.

"Hey, when Annabelle comes out and kills you in the middle of the night, don't come crying to me." He says, shivering by the thought of her presence.

"It's okay," I reassure. "I'll protect you from the possessed demonic doll." I sit on the other side of the couch not near him at all.

We are about halfway through the movie, with Anthony looking traumatized, and I am indecisive whether I should move closer to him. I know he doesn't suspect me, but I still felt really awkward about all of this. Then, to my complete surprise, he gets up and sits next to me. He puts his arm around me pulling me in closer and I can feel warmth emanating from his body.

He may notice my tenseness and I worry he'll pull away. But, all he does is snuggle in closer. "Mari?" he says, looking me in the eyes.

"Yeah?" I say, interested in what he has to say next.

"I have a confession. I didn't tell you this earlier, because I didn't want any sympathy. I can't keep it in any longer. The truth is, Kalel, she um. Kalel left me." I could see tears forming in his eyes so I hugged him close.

"It's okay Anthony, it's okay. You don't need to explain yourself any further." I pull away from his embrace, holding his freezing hands in mine, and not breaking eye contact once.

"One if my good friends once told me, that he would always be there for me no matter what, and I could always ask for comfort and he would always be there. I want him to know, that is exactly how I feel about him too."

"Thanks Mari," he says sniffling. He leans in closer, and I'm assuming he's going to hug me, but before I knew it, our lips were connected. The kiss lasts about 30 seconds, but it felt like hours. We pull away and look at each other in the eyes.