Sorry for the interruption but this needs to be said,

I like oblivious characters; I really do. They've always made me laugh, and I'm obsessed with the long dramatic build-up to realization. BUT, not everyone feels the same way, and that's completely understandable. However, what is not understandable is why people who hate obliviousness, my characters, the way I write, etc continue to read on. If you do not like my story, I genuinely beg you to stop reading and leave QUIETLY. I do not need to hear your angry departure speech. I haven't actively tried to hurt anyone on here, so please do not actively try and hurt me. Especially, if it's over something as trivial as not being into the same things as me. I put this story up for people who have the same reading preferences to me and a similar sense of humor, not for people who don't.

This message is by no means directed to people who like to playfully tease Mia because that's perfectly fine, and funny. This is for the people who leave shady comments, shaming me for writing in a way that I love.

(Written March 2021)

"Until you met me?" I chocked out in disbelief.

He gave me a soft smile and squeezed my hand which still rested in his before softly stroking the back of it with his thumb.

"Yeah, as soon as I saw you on that first day of middle school, my promise was instantly forgotten. All I had to do was get one look at those gorgeous big brown eyes of yours, and I instantly melted at your feet. I had the biggest crush on you; it was pathetic," he chuckled.

I shook my head slowly. "That's definitely not true. I don't know what twisted version of reality you've got running through your head, but there's no way twelve-year-old you had a crush on me," I laughed. "You kicked a ball at my fucking face, and then laughed about it."

Amusement shone in his eyes, and he snorted. "And you certainly didn't hold back on expressing your feelings. You cussed me out in front of the whole playground and then tried to attack me! It took me aback, that's for sure! I wasn't expecting that much aggression and colorful swear words to come out, of a cute, eleven-year-old girls' mouth," he chuckled.

"Well, what were you expecting? For me to run into your arms and kiss you?" I scoffed as I shook my head at him in disbelief.

"So, yeah Ethan, funnily enough, I'm not buying your I used to have a crush on you bullcrap."

"Well, you should believe it because it's true. Ask anyone, I was so fucking obvious about my crush, that pretty much everyone knew. Well everyone but you," he smiled.

"And I was only mean to you because my feelings scared the crap out of me. They were just too much, too quickly, and I didn't know how to get them to stop. I figured if I got you to hate me, I'd get over you, and I could leave you in peace. If you didn't like me, there's no way I could truly hurt you," he whispered softly as his blue eyes glistened with sadness.

I shook my head once more, still struggling to believe him. This just didn't make sense, it wasn't possible. "You have to be winding me up, you hated me. You literally told my middle school crush, I was a lesbian," I accused.

He smirked as I said that, as though the memory amused him. "Well, that was because I was also a petty little bastard, and I hated that you liked someone else, so I sorted it out," he shrugged.

My mouth parted open in shock, so surprised by the lengths he had gone to. How the hell had I been so oblivious?

"I can't believe I never noticed...," I murmured in disbelief.

I couldn't help but notice the irony of the situation, he used to have an unrequited crush on me, and now I was stuck in the same position as he was. It was like life was making a mockery of us.

"This so weird," I marveled as I leaned back on the bench with a sigh.

He glanced over at me with fondness in his eyes. "What's weird?" he chuckled.

"This. Us. A couple of months ago, I couldn't stand being in the same room as you, and now I can't stand not being in the same room as you," I laughed. "You were the last person I'd ever thought would end up being my BFF," I joked as I playfully nudged his shoulder with mine.

"Mmm friends," he murmured, as his smile slipped from his face. His posture had gone oddly rigid, and his eyes held a sadness to them.

"You don't have to look so miserable about it. It's not that horrible being my friend, is it?" I laughed.

He didn't answer straight away, and he just gave me a long look, as his eyes swam with emotion. He pulled his gaze to the floor.

"You have no idea how badly it sucks," he muttered. It was supposed to be a joke, but there was a bitterness to his tone that was almost impossible to ignore.

I gave him a funny look, wondering why he was acting so weird. Did I say something?

"We should probably get going, it's late," he said abruptly.

Then with that final word, he quietly stood up and without even waiting for me, started to make his way down the trail.

I followed him in silence to the car, not knowing what to say to him, he was clearly upset about something, and I didn't know what. Once we made it back to the car, I climbed into the passenger seat and waited for him to start the car.

Tonight had been so strange. Ethan had bared his heart out to me and unveiled a lot of things he had been keeping secret. I felt like an idiot for judging him so much over the years. I had assumed his life was perfect when I hadn't a fraction of a clue what he was going through.

I snuck a look at him as he drove, and my eyes were instantly drawn to the coldness of his eyes. I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt, as I knew I must have upset him somehow.

"Did I say something to make you upset?" I mumbled quietly, not being able to take the silence anymore.

He sighed and combed a hand through his hair. "No, you didn't Mia. I'm just tired that's all," he mumbled as he kept his gaze unwaveringly on the road ahead.

Soon enough, the car then turned on to the familiar street of my house and Ethan slowed down before making a complete stop outside my house. I undid my seatbelt slowly but didn't make a move to get out of the car.

Come on Mia, say something.

I turned to face him. "Thanks for the ride home Ethan, and for you know...sharing with me. It means a lot that you trusted me enough to tell me," I smiled softly.

He lifted his head to look at me, and the look he gave me, made my heart stop beating inside my chest.

I swallowed nervously. "I guess, I'll see you tomorrow then," I whispered as I turned around to open the car door.

"Wait," he said as he reached over the center console and grabbed my wrist. Then before I even had time to turn, he swung me back around to face him.

"Eth-." was all I got out before he silenced me by crashing his soft lips on to mine.

I gasped in surprise as one of his hands reached out to gently cup my cheek. He started to move his lips gently, and almost hesitantly against mine, as though he expected to get pushed away. I stayed frozen in shock before I gradually felt my body relax, and my eyes close. I reciprocated the kiss and shyly matched his movements.

He groaned against my lips and started to kiss me with more passion and longing. His hands snaked around my waist and gave me a gentle squeeze before he lifted me out of my seat and onto his lap. I let out a small squeak in surprise, and he used the opportunity to delve his tongue inside my mouth to deepen the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled us closer together, feeling hungry for more of him.

After a while, we both slowly started to pull away. Inches away, we both just stared at each other, breathing heavily to regain our breath. His blue eyes stared at me intently, shining brightly with happiness.

I shifted slightly on his lap, and I let out a gasp of surprise, as I lost balance and fell clumsily against the steering wheel. It made a loud honk, and I closed my eyes in embarrassment.

Real smooth Mia, real fucking smooth.

Ethan started to softly chuckle, and I took that as my cue to leave. Clearing my throat, I unwrapped my arms from around his neck and climbed my way back to the other seat. His arms lingered slightly around my waist, but with a sigh, he reluctantly slid them away and let me go.

"See you...erm...tomorrow then," I stuttered like an idiot as I opened the car door and got out.

"Chubs?" he said with an amused smirk on his face.

"Yeah," I said sticking my head back through the door.

"You forgot your bag," he chuckled as he nodded his head down to the car floor.

"Oh, yeah, silly me," I nervously laughed as I quickly bent down to retrieve it.

I was just about to close the door again when a thought came to mind. "You're not going to ignore me in school, tomorrow right?" I asked as my eye narrowed in suspicion.

His face morphed into one of amusement. "No, Chubs, I'm not going to ignore you in school tomorrow. We can't have you becoming a stalker, can we?" he teased.

I blushed, knowing he was referring to my massive rant earlier, where I had threatened to stalk him if he ignored me.

"I'm going to trust that you're right about me..." he whispered.

The way he looked at me made my heart flutter. "Now hurry up and get inside, before your dad notices I'm parked outside and attempts to shoot," he joked.

I snorted at him and closed the car door. I gave him a little wave through the window before making my way over to the house.

As soon as I got up to my room, I squealed and jumped up and down, as I did a little happy dance. I was acting like a giddy pre-teen who just got a text from their crush, but I couldn't help it.

Ethan Blythe had kissed me. Again.

He had to feel some sort of attraction to me, you can't kiss someone twice by mistake. Right?

It was incredibly confusing because he hadn't said anything about the kiss or how he felt afterward. I couldn't help but feel a little bit skeptical, as I had heard from some people that guys sometimes just kiss you when they're curious or just because the mood is just there, it doesn't necessarily mean they have any real feelings for you.

Maybe he was looking for some kind of friends-with-benefits type deal, while he waited to win over that girl he liked. Things had gotten pretty emotional tonight, so it wouldn't be ridiculous to assume he had just gotten caught up in it all.

But, despite all the negative thoughts swarming in my head, I had a tiny glint of hope that maybe just maybe he liked me.

Because after our conversation tonight, the handholds, and that stolen kiss- I knew one thing for sure.

It was undeniable that I, Mia Collins, had fallen madly in love with Ethan Blythe.

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