Alberto was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. His head shot up when he heard the sound of the door opening.
Papa? No, it was Luca. Luca? Alberto thought.
Luca made eye contact with Alberto as he entered the room. The small curly headed, brown eyed boy made his way across the room to his best friend. Luca sat on the end of Alberto's bed, still giving plenty of personal space taking into account the current terms the boys were on with each other.
"Luca? What are you doing here?"
"Beto, we should talk."
The nickname made Alberto's heart flutter. The window was letting in a cool August breeze but all of a sudden, the room was a million degrees.
"About what?" Alberto replied, desperately trying to keep his cool.
"You know what."
Alberto fixed his eyes onto the ground. He started fidgeting with his thumbs and shaking his leg. The pit in his stomach grew into a canyon.
"I don't know what you're refering to, Paguro."
Luca noticed Alberto's leg shaking from anxiety. He placed his hand on Alberto's thigh. Alberto's cheeks might as well have been on fire.
"Us, Beto."
"Pft... I think I know exactly what's going on. You and Guilia seemed pretty cozy down stairs together."
"Okay, first of all, that is not what was going on and second of all, you're the one who wanted to be just friends in the first place, so why are you acting all jealous?"
"Because we are best friends and I don't want to lose my best friend to some stupid ginger. And I feel like I am because you and Guilia are always together now."
"Beto, we're always together because you wanted us to date, I have no idea why but it was YOU who was so enthusiastic about it."
Luca had a point.
"Okay and? You're the one who told Guilia you would go on a date with her so obviously you like her."
Alberto had a point.
"I don't like her like that Alberto." Luca stated.
"Then why did you tell her you would go out with her, why are you spending so much time together and why did it feel like I was interrupting a special moment between you two downstairs?!"
"I told her I would go out with her because I was running from own problems and trying to be normal, I led her on and I shouldn't have done that. But I clarified it with her Beto. I told her I don't like her like that and apologized and she understood. That's why we were hugging."
"What do you mean trying to be normal?"
"I mean I'm in love with someone else."
Alberto's heart dropped. So now his own competition wasn't even his own sister, it was a stranger? At least if Luca was with Gulia he wouldn't have to worry about him being with someone who wasn't good enough for him. But now if you add a stranger to the mix, there was a whole other plethora of things to worry about. Gahh! Why did the fish gods put some kind of sick love curse on him?!
"What? Who?" Alberto dared to ask. Maybe it would be better if he didn't know, but his curiosity got the best of him.
Luca suddenly not feeling as brave, broke eye contact with Alberto. He hadn't moved his hand from the other boy's thigh. Only now was he considerably aware of it. A red hot blush creeped onto Luca's cheeks now matching Alberto's.
"You, dummy." He muttered under his breath, giving Alberto a shy smile.
Alberto's heart started beating faster. His cheeks turned an even brighter shade of red, if that was even possible. He felt like a pomodoro on steroids.
"Huh..?"
Alberto needed a minute to process what Luca had just said.
A long awkward silence grew between the boys, each minute becoming more deafening. Alberto finally spoke up after about three minutes had passed, he knew it was his move after Luca just confessed his love to him.
"Luca do you remember the night we kissed?"
"Of course I do, it was the best night of my life."
"Well, I should apologize because the truth is I was the one who started it and the one who stopped it. I led you on and I'm sorry for that." Alberto said looking directly in Luca's hazelnut brown eyes.
"It's okay Beto, you can't control who you love and I've accepted that you don't see me that way."
Wait. Is that what Luca thought? That he wasn't absolutely head over heels for the boy in front of him?
Alberto you grosso grasso idiota. Of course Luca thinks you're not in love with him, you made it clear you want nothing but friendship. But you were scared then and you're not anymore.
Alberto hit himself in the head for all the pain he had caused Luca. All the wondering and sleepless nights his friend must have endured.
"Hey Alberto, why did you just hit yourself in the head?" Luca reached for Alberto's hand, guiding it away from his face so he couldn't hurt himself.
"Luca, I'm such an idiota."
"Hey don't talk about my best friend like that."
Alberto's frown slipped up into a small grin.
"Luca the truth is, I'm acting jealous of Guilia because I'm jealous of you guys."
"Yeah I know Beto, you already said that, and you don't have to worry, you're my best friend, not her."
God he sucked so much at expressing his human emotions. Alberto hated all the complicated feelings that came with being human.
"No Luca, not just in a friendship way."
"What do you mean?"
Now it was Luca's heart that started beating faster.
"I mean that night I kissed you. I don't know." Alberto focused on Luca's hand and the way it rested on his thigh, so comforting. "I wanted to kiss you Luca. I have feelings for you in a more than friend kind of way. I have for a while but it took me some time to realize it and also some time to not be afraid of my feelings either."
Luca smiled at Alberto and moved closer to him so that they were both resting against the head rest of the bed, sitting next to each other. Butterflies were in flight in both of the boy's stomachs as Alberto continued his rant.
"And I'm so sorry Luca. I'm so sorry for all the pain that I've caused you, all the sleep that you lost because of me." Tears started leaking from Alberto's eyes, leaving behind a trail of purple scales upon his cheeks. "I'm sorry for not knowing what I wanted or realizing what I already had."
Luca took Alberto's head in his arms and caressed his hair. Alberto reciprocated the hug and buried his head into Luca's chest.
"Hey now Beto, please don't cry."
"But I caused you so much pain and now here I am crying about it when you should be the one crying.I'm pathetic."
"Hey, listen to me. How could you have known what you wanted in moment, huh? You're not physic, you can't tell the future. But what matters now is that we are both here, and we're on the same page. It wasn't easy, but we got here Beto. One step at a time il mio dolce pesce."
What in the world did Alberto Scorfano do to deserve Luca Pagruo?
"Thank you, Luca."
"Hey, I'm with you, okay? Always." Luca tighted his grip on Alberto in his arms.
Alberto continued to silently sob in his best friend's embrace.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."