---

"I don't know if I can do this, Hutt..." Jake mumbled to himself, shaking his head as he was unsure whether if it was going to be successful or not.

"Don't worry about it, Jake," Ben rested a hand on his shoulders and patted it. "You're going to do your best and hey, she totally likes you! She's not going to say no to you..."

"You really think so?"

"I know so, Jake...Believe me, I passed my sign language class in college, I think?"

"You think?"

"Let's move on! Shall we?"

---

"Hey, Y/N." I turned around to face Jake with a smile on his face. "Can we talk for a minute outside?"

"Sure..?" I signed back to him, surprised that he was communicating to me in Sign. Usually, when I hung out with him and Ben, we usually had to have Ben translate back and forth between English and Sign Language. Thanking the barista, I paid for the drink and quickly left to follow Jake. "Okay, Jake. What would you like to talk about?"

Jake drew in a deep breath and exhaled really swiftly before just bursting out the truth. "I. Like. You." He signed to me. Was he telling me the truth or was it all just a prank?

"Wait. What?" I signed back to him as a reaction in shock. "Are you telling me the truth or are you just messing with me, Jake?"

"I am not messing with you, Y/N." Jake signed in reply to my question. "I truly do like you. More than just friends. I learned Sign just for you, Y/N. I want to be able to communicate to you and not have Ben do all the work for us..."

My cheeks were heating up as he continued to communicate to me in Sign, but I intently watched him try to make out what he was trying to tell me.

"Jake Virtanen," I signed to him, making him quiet for a moment. "Are you trying to tell me that you have a crush on me? That you learned Sign to talk to me?"

He slowly nodded his head and shyly smiled. I smiled back at him and walked closer to him, setting my drink down at a table nearby.

"That was the sweetest gesture anyone has ever done for me." Happy tears were brimming my waterline and didn't really fall down my cheeks; but I did feel their presence. "And I've had a crush on you too, Jake. Don't worry about it."

"Really? I thought I might've ruined our friendship forever or something..." Jake's eyes widened before wiping the tears away. "I thought I might've lost you forever...."

"You could never lose me, Virtanen," I giggled in a low tone, not being able to hear it. "Does tomorrow night at 6 sound good with you? We could go out to a restaurant or something..."

"Sounds perfect with me, L/N."

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