~Get ready bitches~

It's been a few days since the surgery. I'm actually feeling a lot better. My mom gave me a bunch of ice cream to soothe my toothache and the swelling has goma down quite a bit. I still have my mom get me ice cream every now and then, but hey, who would give up the chance for more ice cream?

I heard a knock on the trailer door and since I was the only one home I got up and opened it.

It was Cristina.

"Hey, I wanted to thank you again for setting me up with that appointment. My teeth feel a whole lot better and now I get to eat a bunch of ice cream without being judged..."

"Shawn i'm gonna ask you a question and you have to answer me honestly." She interrupted.

The tone of her voice sounded very serious and it was starting to scare me. "Umm, okay? Shoot."

"Why do you never get into a committed relationship with another girl?"

I take it back. Don't shoot. Unload the freaking gun.

"Umm, I don't know, i've never really thought about it before."

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Bullshit. I want the truth you know how I feel about lying Shawn, so spit it out. Why don't you ever get serious with girls?"

She's making me nervous. How am I supposed to get out of this?

"I don't know, maybe i'm just not ready to be in serious relationships yet?"

"More bullshit? Seriously? Shawn, you decide when you are ready for that. If you're not ready it's because you don't want to be. So why don't you want to be ready?"

"What are you getting on my case for? You've never cared about my dating life before, so why are you so upset?"

"Shawn you're my best friend, and as your best friend, i'm just asking you to answer my question honestly. Because you've kept the truth from me a lot lately. So i'm gonna ask you one, more, time. WHY DO YOU NEVER GET SERIOUS WITH GIRLS?!"

I was starting to get frustrated.

"Maybe it's just because I haven't found the right girl yet." I mean that was somewhat the truth.

"Haven't found her? Or avoiding her?"

Fuck.

"Why would I avoid a girl?"

"Because you like her, and for some reason that scares you. So you decide not to tell her. You keep it a secret from her for God knows how long..."

Wait, what's happening?

"...until she goes with you as emotional support to your first dentist appointment in 8 years..."

Fuck no. This can't be happening.

"...and you keep that secret sealed tight until you're laying down in the dentist chair drugged up out of your mind and admit to her that you have feelings for her."

I was in shock.

No wonder she's pissed. I ruined everything.

Fuck me.

"I...I did what?" That was all I could manage to say.

I see Cristina's eyes start to water. "Why didn't you tell me Shawn?" Dammit. This is exactly what I thought was gonna happen. "We're best friends, you're supposed to tell me stuff like this."

"No...no i'm not supposed to tell you stuff like this."

"Why not?" She sniffled.

"Because i'm not supposed to be feeling stuff like this!"

She took a second to think.

"How long?" She practically whispered.

"What?" I was stunned by her question.

"How long have you felt this way?"

I looked away from her and averted my eyes to the couch. "Remember on my birthday a while back, when you sang me that song as my gift?"

"Yeah."

I made eye contact once again. "Since that moment. Since the second you finished singing that song."

Her eyes started getting so watery they started to look like glass.

"Shawn that was almost 3 years ago...you've kept this from me for 3 YEARS?!" I single tear ran down her face.

"WELL WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! HUH?!"

"You were supposed to TELL ME?!" She grabbed my sleeve as she said the last part, as if she was begging.

"YEAH?! AND THEN WHAT?! I tell you that I have feelings for you, and then you pat me on the back and tell me that we're best friends? That it's okay and that i'll get over it soon enough? Well guess what Cristina? I NEVER GOT OVER IT! TRUST ME I WAITED! I WAITED FOR DAYS, WEEKS, MONTHS! HELL I WAITED FOR DEREK TO COME AND GO LIKE THE DOUCHEBAG HE WAS!"

I felt bad for yelling, but it was the only way I could tell her how I felt without crying myself.

I saw her gears turning internally and she let go of my sleeve as she took a few steps back.

"Oh my god, you liked me while I was with Derek." She put her hands over her mouth in surprise and thought about it for a moment. "Well at least that explains why you never liked him."

"No I didn't like him because he was a dick and Corey and I are supposed to protect you from getting heartbroken from guys like him. That had nothing to do with me even if it did hurt like hell everytime I saw you with him."

More tears began streaming down her face and all I wanted to do was go up to her and wipe them off her face as I held her. But I couldn't. And what she said next just made it worse.

"Shawn...what do you want from me?"

"What do I want from you?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! I LEFT WELL ENOUGH ALONE AND TRIED TO AVOID THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION! BUT MY DRUGGED UP BIGMOUTH LET IT SLIP AND NOW YOURE HERE SCOLDING ME!"

"Fine, then I won't scold. But I just wanna know why you didn't tell me?"

I sat down on the couch and ran my hands through my hair. "I'm afraid of getting hurt, okay? I've seen the pain on my father's face every time a woman walks out because he's not good enough. Hell my own mother has walked out more times then I can count."

"Shawn you are not your father and I am not your mother. So just tell me the truth."

"You want the truth?" I stood up from the couch and looked directly into her eyes. "Fine. I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU! I DON'T JUST LIKE YOU! I am in love with you."

As soon as the words left my mouth my heart sank. I was expecting her to run out or panic. But she didn't. Instead she stood there, looked at me for a good 10 seconds, and smiled.

"Why are you smiling? I said it, I said I love you. So now you're free to run off just like everyone else."

"What makes you think i'm gonna go run off?" She kept the smile on her face.

"Because every time i've loved someone they've never loved me back long enough to stay. My dad, my mom, my brother. You and Cory were the ONLY people that never left me."

"And that's never gonna change Shawn."

I looked at her confused.

She walked right up to me and held both of my hands. "Because guess what? I love you too."

Her smile widened and my jaw fell.

"W-what?" I stuttered, still in shock of what she just said. Part of me thought I heard her wrong.

"I said I love you too. Shawn Patrick Hunter, I love you too." She repeated.

Her words were replayed in my head over and over again. And it took a minute, but what she had just said had finally set in. I smiled from ear to ear. I couldn't contain my excitement and neither could she.

And I finally got the courage to do what I had been waiting years to do.

I kissed her.