the LED lights painted everything in Kiara’s room a soft pink, and the sound of the movie in the background mixed with the hum of the ceiling fan, but neither of you were paying attention to the movie. you were both sprawled out on her bed, the smell of weed lingered in the air from the joint in the ashtray on her dresser. Kiara was on her side, her head rested on her hand as she reached for popcorn from the bowl between you. she looked over at you with that familiar smile that always made your heart stutter. “your bad at picking movies,” she teased, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.


you rolled your eyes laughing softly. “you said you didn’t care what we watched. don’t blame me for your lack of input.”


her laughter bubbled up, the sound filled the room, but then she went quiet, her eyes lingered on you a second too long. you could feel her gaze and it made your stomach twist in a nervous way. *it always did when she looked at you like that. like you were the only thing in the room that mattered.
*

“can I tell you something?” she asked, her voice quiet, almost hesitant.


you glanced over at her, her bottom lip was between her teeth. a sign that she was nervous. “yeah.” you replied, your voice steady, despite the flutter of your heartbeat.


Kiara took a deep breath, her gaze moved away for a moment before finding yours again. “ive been trying to figure out how to say this for, like. forever,” she began, her voice wavering slightly. “and maybe it’s just the weed talking, but I dont wanna act like I dont feel this way-"

your chest tightened as her words sunk in, your mind raced as a million possibilities filled the silence. “feel what way?” you asked softly.


her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t look away this time. “about you,” she admitted, her lips fell into a nervous smile. “i— look, i don’t know if this is gonna freak you out, it kinda freaks me out, honestly. but.. i like you. like, really like you. and not in the ‘we’re best friends’ way.”