"But...but... how? When?" I stuttered out pathetically.

Ethan slowly closed the distance between us and reached and took both of my hands in his.

He swallowed. "Remember how I told you I had a crush on you back in the sixth grade, and that's why I was so mean to you?" he said softly, as he absentmindedly traced circles on the back of my hand.

"Yeah?" I said hesitantly, not sure where he was going with this.

"Didn't you notice I never told you what grade I got over it?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, I noticed, but I just assumed you got over it in the same year. Crushes never last too long," I shrugged.

He smiled. "Mia, I never told you a date because it doesn't exist. I never stopped. My feelings got worse with time, not better. I've spent the last six years insanely obsessed with you, Mia," he softly chuckled.

I shook my head in disbelief. "B-but that can that be true? You literally told me you liked someone else. You said she was perfect and all this other unbelievable shit," I said with narrowed eyes.

He looked confused for a couple of seconds before realization swept over at him.

He laughed. "That girl was you, Chubs. I was always, always talking about you. I could only ever love you." he whispered as his blue eyes flickered between mine.

"Think about it, you're pretty much the only girl in school, I regularly talk to," he said as he smiled down at me in amusement.

I opened my mouth and then closed it again, shocked to the point of speechlessness.

"But seriously? The entire time...." I spluttered out like an idiot.

"Yes, Chubs, the entire time, since the very first class we shared, all the way up till now," he smiled.

"But what's so great about me?" I asked in confusion. "Not to sound insecure, but I'm hardly 'perfect' or any of the other extremely nice things you said."

"Are you actually kidding me? I can't think of a single thing that's not great about you, Chubs," he exclaimed.

"You make me feel amazing when I'm just standing near you, and you make me smile even when I don't want to. And I love how crazy you are and how you're not afraid to break into my house in the middle of the night," he laughed as he shot me a pointed look.

"I love bickering with you, and how you roll your eyes at me when I say something stupid. I love how your face goes all red whenever I say something inappropriate. I love how embarrassed you get whenever I check you out. I love how you throw a cushion at me whenever I piss you off. I love how when you bite your lip, you have no idea how much I want to kiss you," he said as his eyes drew down to my lips.

I love how your eyes widen, whenever I get too close to you," he smirked as he took another step closer to me and squeezed my hands.

"I just love you, okay," he said softly.

I felt like I could hardly breathe as I looked up into his intense blue eye. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I know you only see me as a friend, but I just needed to get this off my chest. I apologize if this creeped you out, and I'll promise not to-"

I didn't let him finish and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and pulled his lips down to mine.

I heard him let out a small moan in surprise as our lips met. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I moved my lips softly and gently again his, wanting him to know how I felt.

After a few seconds, Ethan broke out of his stunned state, and I felt him smile against my lips. The tension left his body, and he wrapped an arm around my waist. He kissed me back with equal passion, making my head feel as light as a feather.

My mind was empty except for a single beautiful thought that kept floating through my mind over and over, 'He loved me.'

If it weren't for his hands around my waist, I'd fear I might melt into a puddle. It felt amazing to be in his arms and know he well and truly loved me just as much as I loved him.

Finally, we broke apart, both our chests rose and fell heavy as we tried to regain our breath. A burning emotion shined through his eyes as he looked at me, and this time I knew exactly what it was; it was love.

His eyes dropped down to my lips once more, before slowly coming back to mine.

"Please, please tell me I'm not dreaming, and that you're real," he whispered as he stared at me as though he was expecting me to vanish before his eyes.

I laughed. "Of course, I'm real, you idiot. "And I love you too, Ethan," I whispered as I bit my lip.

His eyed widened. "Are you serious?" he whispered as his eyes frantically searched mine for some sign of deception.

I shook my head at him in amusement. "Yes, I'm very serious. I'm madly in love you, Ethan," I stated more confidently this time.

"Okay, I'm about ninety-nine percent sure this is a dream now, this is the typical thing dream you would say," he said as he narrowed his eyes at me in suspicion.

I rolled my eyes at him, and grabbed him by his t-shirt, pulling him in for a second kiss.

As soon as our lips made contact, he immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me back. Before it could get too heated, I gently pulled myself back.

I smiled up at him. "How real does that feel?" I whispered as I quirked an eyebrow up at him.

His mouth stretched into a smirk, and he looked back down at my lips. "I'm still not convinced, let's try it again, just to be safe," he mumbled as he grabbed my cheek and started to lean back in.

I put a hand on his chest to stop him.

I smiled. "I wasn't born yesterday, Ethan, you clearly know it's not a dream," I laughed.

He was clearly trying to trick me into repeatedly kissing him. Not that I minded, of course, but that didn't mean I was just going to give my kisses away for free. He's got to earn them!

"Yeah, I know, but it was worth a shot," he shrugged.

I felt the blood drain from my face as a realization struck me. "You know what I just realized..." I mumbled.

"What?" he said as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"If that girl you were talking about this whole time was me. That means...that means I've been jealous of myself for months. Like...like an idiot." I whispered.

His eyes lit up in amusement. "Aww, did my little Chubs get jealous of my crush?" he teased as he grinned from ear to ear.

Of course, the little dickhead was pleased with the idea of me being jealous.

"Shut-up," I mumbled in embarrassment.

"Oh, wait, shit!" I cried as I was smacked in the face by another realization.

"I've indirectly called myself a stupid, blind bitch in my head over and over again," I groaned as I covered my face in humiliation.

Ethan just laughed. "I'm not sure about the stupid or bitch part, but you might be onto something with the blind. It was a bit worrying how you never clocked on to the fact I liked you," he teased.

I was about to pipe up and defend myself when I suddenly remembered we were supposed to be on a hike.

"Crap, we're so behind. Do you think anyone's noticed we're gone?" I said as I widened my eyes in panic.

"Probably," he shrugged. "It's hard not to notice when the hottest guy in your group is gone," he sighed as though he was just speaking straight facts.

I slowly shook my head at him. "How do you support the weight of that ginormous head?" I asked in amazement.

"Easily, on this well-built 'Greek-god like body' as you like to put it," he smirked.

I didn't even grace him with a response, and just pushed past him and started to continue up the trail.

He let out a long dramatic groan and jogged to catch up with me. "Are you sure you want to catch up? Wouldn't you rather just stay here and make out some more? I don't think they've noticed we've gone," he sang persuasively.

I gave him a dead-pan look.

"Okay, or maybe not, it was just a suggestion," he said as he held his hands up in defense.

---------------------------------------------

-