“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he whispered.

I took a deep breath. “I… um…”

“Yes?” he asked, his ocean-blue eyes widening.

I swallowed hard. “I thought I should just tell you that I…” ...am an idiot, I finished in my head.

“Yeah? Just say it already!” he said impatiently.

“Okay, but this is going to be mega-weird. Well… see, I sortofkindof… love you.”

He stepped back, cast his glorious blue eyes downward, and scratched his red head. “What?”

“I am in love with you, and I have been for at least the past two years.”

“Oh. That’s … cool,” he replied quietly, still shocked.

“Yeah. So, just thought you’d like to know,” I said, and walked away, my heart feeling like it had been broken into a thousand pieces, piercing at me.

“Wait!” he said, and ran to catch up to me. He took me in his arms and held me against his chest. “I love you too,” he whispered and gently kissed me, right there in the middle of the hallway.