Part 8

"I won!" I whispered underneath my breath in the fear of accidentally waking my mom up.

"How are you so good at it?" He whimpered at me in complete defeat.

"Practice makes a man perfect"

He laughed and soon I joined him too.

"How about we go to the river?" He stared at me, lingering for an answer.

"You won't take a no for an answer right?"

He nodded cheerily and that made me unable to turn him down.

We gradually got out of the house, not creating any disturbances.

We chatted and joked all the way to the bridge.

The breeze was bitterly colder compared to a week ago as the summer was coming to an end.

I had my blue jacket on and he had his grey sweatshirt on.

"Let's go down to the bridge" he suggested as I nodded and followed him.

We had been meeting quite frequently. Some nights biking, watching movies, playing games and some even just talking. The summer was passing by at the speed of the light. I noticed how there was a fresh scar every day but I tried not to push an answer out of him.

We both sat at the riverbank, admiring the turquoise-blue stream wound its merry way through its corridor.

The never-stopping spring flowed even when the pebbles and branches stood on its way to quell it from wafting but it never stopped.

The river never stopped residing no matter what the circumstances, it became the hope for millions of souls battling every day to behold tomorrow.

"How is everything?" I asked.

"Just as usual" his voice held a monotonous tone.

There was a silence, the kind of silence where the only thing I heard was the melodies hymn of the wind stirred with the symphony of the water oozing and my own heart skipping beats times and again when I glanced over him and saw his luxurious eyes gazing at the river.

Oh, how I wished to be the creek flowing by the far.

Suddenly a question arose in my mind.

"Why do you want to keep this a secret? It is a big thing you know and if you talk to some adults about this I'm sure they'll help us"

He didn't speak and that gave rise to me reconsidering the topic.

Was that something that shouldn't have been interrogated?

"No Y/n, I'm scared and you know how Justin is and he also has a lot of connections with a lot of dangerous people and he might do something to you or whoever that's going to help us so I don't... I don't want to take that chance plus who's going to believe that a man who is soon going to be an adult is getting abused by his mother, nobody's gonna believe that" he halted and shifted his gaze from the stream to meet my eyes.

"All I need is one person to believe in me and support me and help me get through this and I want you to be that person, I'm sure I'll be okay"

That somehow put my mind at ease.

He wanted me to be by his side and support him and that was everything I ever wanted.

"The moon looks so big tonight, If feels like we're on a date"

"Wha-What"

I felt my heart race linking up with the pace of the river that mirrored the enormous reflection of the moon that shined from above, witnessing every one of us.

It's like no one could lie to the moon.

"Just kidding," Dan swivelled his body to my direction and leaned up close, whispering in my ear "Or am I?".

My heart fluttered as the heat rose to my face.

I felt the tears creeping into my eyes making my vision blurry.

I was in love with the most incredible soul in the world.

However, it was a horrible thing to do.

I shouldn't be in love with him, he's my friend. I didn't wish to fall for him but why must he make it so difficult for me? Does he not realise what he is doing to my miserable heart? Why was he so cruel, why won't he get out of my heart and just leave me be?

"Thank you, y/n, You don't know how much you're risking for me and I'm so grateful towards you, I'm so grateful to have you...have you by my side in every step of my life. You were there for me when things were the hardest. everybody was there with me when I was at my best but when I failed sometimes and I look back to see who were still supporting me, there only used to be one person and that's you. I am so grateful for that, thank you very much."

His eyes shined like a diamond compared to my e/c orbs.

Those ocean eyes hid the darkest of truth, millions of thoughts unlike me.

I only had one simple truth to hide.

The truth I ached to get it out of me,

I wanted him to hold me and never let me go.

I always wondered how those rosy lips tasted.

The saddest yet the most beautiful truth, that I loved him.

It truly was a sad, beautiful, tragic love story.

"You too dan, you were with me when everything was wrong. nobody talked to me, everybody ignored me saying 'he's such a nerd' but you were there. you pushed through me and showed me what a perfect person was and you've always been like my greatest inspiration and I admire you. you don't need to thank me for being by your side after all that's what friends are for and I chose to be with you, if it's for you then I'll gladly take on any risk."

He pulled me close to him, his hands wrapped around my thin frame.

And just like this, I wanted to dissolve in his grip.

I would destroy myself numerous times just to call him mine.