Lamine was content with how things were, really.

Actually, scratch that—he hated this. He hated that he had to pretend to only think of you as his friend, that he didn't want you all to himself. Need you. He was pretty good at hiding it, all things considered. You never noticed how jealous he got whenever you asked him for advice on one of your crushes, or how he'd constantly stare at you in class instead of paying attention to the teacher's superfluous rambling.

No matter how much he hated this, he knew this was all he could get. Your friendship. So he took what he got, and he swore to himself that he wouldn't ruin it.

Until he did. He couldn't help it. Your perfume was taking over all of his senses, your almost angelic laugh rang through his ears, and his eyes were fixed on you. He had to say something. Something stupid, sure, but the words flowed out of him involuntarily.

"I love you."

Lamine only realized what had come out of his mouth when he saw the look on your face, your eyes widening at the sudden confession. This is it, he thought. He spoiled everything up and there was no going back.