toby and tommy run to the front of the cafe to look at menus. i stay back with wilbur and niki.

"you don't want to be with tommy and toby?" niki asks. i shake my head.

"why? do you guys want privacy..?" i ask timidly. the two laugh.

"no! just wondering. you seem to be really close with them..." niki looks at wilbur and they're both trying to hold back laughter.

"huh? what am i missing?" i ask, a hint of curiosity laced in my voice.

"nothing?" wilbur says, almost saying it like a question.

"you liar," i say with a laugh.

"let's go get a booth big enough for the ten of us, and then we can talk," niki says. i raise my eyebrows, but oblige.

we find a large booth in the corner and sit down, claiming it for our group. the others are still up looking at the menu, and the three of us decide we'll look at it when they come back.

"so..." wilbur starts. he bites his bottom lip to keep himself from bursting into laughter.

"what's so funny?" i ask.

"well..." niki attempts to continue the conversation, but fails. i can't help myself but laugh.

somehow, my mind trails back to earlier. going down the slopes with tommy's hands on mine, laughing, wishing the moment would never end-

"val?" wilbur asks, snapping me out of my trance.

"huh- what?" i ask while blinking, forcing myself back to reality.

"you and tommy. you two have gotten close, huh?"

can this man read my mind or something?

"mmm, i guess you could say that..."

"close in a friendly way, or..?" niki says, motioning for me to continue.

i furrow my eyebrows at the question.

because honestly?

i don't know the answer.

my gut instinct is to insist that we're only friends.

but friends don't hold hands like we do. friends don't hold each other like we do. friends don't talk to each other like we do.

and friends don't feel the way i feel for him.

"i... uhh... shit..." i stutter, scratching the back of my head.

"SO THEY ARE IN LOVE!" wilbur exclaims. i shush him excessively, looking in the direction of the rest of our friends. luckily, i don't think any of them heard.

"NO! god no. stop. i just wasn't ready for the question. we're friends. that's it. yeah..."

i avoid eye contact with the two, looking everywhere but them. after a minute, my eyes trail to them and they look at me with perplexed looks on their faces.

then wilbur and niki look at each other reluctantly.

what are they hiding from me?

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

flashback to two nights ago

i sit up in my bed reading a book. i'm sure the entire house is asleep, it's so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. but suddenly, my door creaks open.

i snap my head to my door, expecting to see a psycho killer at the door. but i see a head of fluffy blonde hair and realize that i'm wrong.

"tommy?" i ask quietly, closing my book. i check the time. 2:21 am. "what are you doing, buddy? shouldn't you be asleep?"

"well..." tommy comes towards me and sits on the bed. i move and sit next to him and put my arm around him.

"bad dream?" i ask. he shakes his head. "what is it then?"

"have you ever..." tommy pauses, leaning his head on my shoulder, trying to figure out what words he should use. "have you ever met someone, and really REALLY liked her, i want to say loved her but i don't know if that's the correct word, and you had no idea if she liked you back but you wanted to tell her she's the best thing that's ever happened to you, but you don't want to ruin what you have with her, so you're just letting it eat you alive inside and it sucks so much and you want to tell her so so so badly that you care for her so much and you want to call her yours but you know you can't because you don't want to fuck everything up?"

"woah woah, slow down. can you give me some more details? who's this about?"

"who do you think it's about?" i click my tongue in thought. of course i know who he's talking about.

"why are you thinking about this at 2 in the morning?"

"because i was with her. i had my arms wrapped around her and she was sleeping so peacefully. it was so surreal, it felt like i was in heaven holding an angel. i had an angel in my arms, will! and i realized i liked her! more than a friend likes a friend. so i realized, 'holy shit. this isn't good.' and i couldn't sleep. because i CAN'T like valerie like that. i don't want to ruin everything."

he said it.

he confirmed that it's valerie.

"have you ever considered that she likes you that way, too?" i ask. tommy raises his head and looks at me.

"have you SEEN her, pal?" he asks me. "she's GORGEOUS. she could get any guy she wants. she could wave her pretty little finger and fucking, i don't know, leonardo dicaprio would come running."

"any guy she wants," i repeat. "what if YOU'RE the guy she wants?" tommy scoffs.

"yeah right."

"i'm dead serious. who else would she be into?"

"some guy from america, maybe? the homecoming king? the star quarterback... is that what it's called? one of her admirers?"

"have a little more confidence in yourself, mate! val doesn't go for people because of their status. she's not shallow. you're a great guy, tommy. any girl would be lucky to have YOU." i point a finger at his chest. he laughs.

"i don't want any girl, though. i want her."

"you gotta tell her."

"but what if that's the worst decision i've ever made?"

"but what if it's the BEST decision you've ever made?" i kneel down in front of tommy as he sits on the bed and force him to look me in the eyes. "you're in the wrong mindset, tommy! think positively! you've got, how long, a week to do this? a week until she goes all the way back across the world! do something about this while you still can! otherwise, you'll regret it. you'll regret never telling her. some wanker might sweep her off her feet if you don't act fast enough!" tommy snickers at the last part.

"thank you, will..." he mutters.

"anytime, big man." i pat his knee and stand up. "are you gonna go back with her?"

"no, i don't want to wake her up... i'm gonna go to me and toby's room. i appreciate this, though. i was hoping you were awake."

"i'm always awake at unusual hours. you can come to me for a late night talk anytime you want." tommy nods and smiles.

"g'night, wilbur," he says, standing up to walk out of the room.

"night, tommy," i reply.