A/N: I was going to make a punny joke of olive(r) branch, but idk, not my best work XD

Ollie's POV

If someone had asked what had happened in the last hour or two, I would've blanked out, probably even passed out. I don't even know, but it did feel exhilarating. And scary, and probably a hundred different emotions that I could not even begin to describe.

Janice did show up around eight to open the store, catching the two of us at the table. She didn't scold Haruto for not finishing his morning shift duties; instead, she was almost relieved to see the two of us sitting at our table.

I remembered the coffee cups he doodled remaining on the table as we mindlessly talked about anything and everything. And I remember when the store got busy, and Janice needed his help to make the drinks.

Yet, everything else felt like a blur since he dropped that info this morning, the events leading up to it replaying over and over in my head. I was still surprised that I hadn't melted into a puddle or woke up from this dream.

The smile Haruto flashed throughout his shift was enough to remind me that it was real and that, yes, Haruto did like me.

And I liked Haruto.

Somehow, even admitting that in my head made the blush creep onto my cheeks again.

By his lunch break, the girls were demanding to see me, so I reluctantly told him that I'd meet up with them for lunch after his break. He didn't mind, nearly insisting I should go if they believed he had kidnapped me again.

I ignored the many messages from Courtney, hitting the call button instead. It rang once.

"Hey Court," I greeted, pulling the phone away from my ear when she squealed over the line.

"You slept over at his house, holy shit!"

"Straight to it, huh?" I said, crossing the street to her toward the bus stop. "Yes, I did. No, nothing happened there, okay?"

"Yes, but I can't believe you actually agreed to!"

I sat at the bus stop, surprised it wasn't crowded for this time of day. "I know, and that's not all."

She scoffed. "Excuse me? There's more?"

I couldn't help but grin, the butterflies in my stomach growing as I replayed the scene of Haruto showing the writings on the cups. I had sneaked a picture of it while he was helping customers earlier.

"Yes," I told her. "Where'd you want to meet for lunch? I'll tell you there. I'm still a bit in shock."

"Oh my god, it was that good?" She shouted something to Mahealani in the background. "What about that sandwich shop across the mall? We should be there in fifteen minutes."

"Sure," I said, just as the bus turned the corner. "I'll text you when I get there. Bus is almost here."

Courtney let out an exciting sound. "I can't wait! See you there."

She hung up as I fumbled for the bus pass in my pocket and waited for it to arrive. I found a window seat. Once the bus started moving, I pulled up the photo of the cups on my phone. I bit back a grin as I helped the phone close to my chest, fearing someone would see.

Not that anyone on the bus would even be able to read the writing on the photo, but I couldn't help but gush over it again. I pinched myself at least three times on the ride to the mall, just narrowly missing the stop.

The girls were already at the shop when I walked across the intersection, flagging me down from one of the outdoor seats. If most of the staff weren't already used to the three of us hanging out there, they'd probably ask her to leave with how loud she gets. Luckily for them, we always knew to tip them at least forty percent, even though it was more of a take-out place than a restaurant.

I headed to the table, seeing they'd already placed an order for me. "Thanks. Hope you weren't waiting long."

"We're still waiting on the fries. They're making a fresh batch."

Courtney, however, was quick to the point. "So, you going to keep us on edge about you and prince charming?"

I sighed, before recalling the night I spent at Haruto's, from the drinking and the food. I left out the part about the YouTube recommendations, but they were more fascinated at how I hadn't had a complete meltdown at being that close to Haruto. I didn't blame them; I was certain I would freak out over being at any guy's place in general, let alone the person who I had a crush on.

After one of the staff brought out our order of fries—an obscene amount the girls had ordered— I dove in, taking three or four at a time as they waited impatiently for the latter half of the story. The better half, as they hyped up.

Once I got to the confessions, I showed them the picture of the cups, to which Courtney went feral over. Mahealani clamped her hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming at my phone.

She then sent the picture to her and Mahealani's phone before handing it back to me. "I can't believe it, holy shit, Ollie. What a catch."

"I still can't believe it, either."

Courtney pressed her palms together, setting her chin on her thumbs. "You like him, and he likes you. I don't see why you'd be so nervous like this."

"It's a nervous excitement, I promise." Though, I couldn't tell where the nerves and excitement drew the line. Was it one or the other, or was it really both combined? "It all just happened so suddenly and—"

"I'm going to have to stop you right there," Courtney said with a raised hand. "It did not just happen suddenly. You've been crushing on him since you found that coffee place in the first place. And both, Mahealani and I agree that Haruto must've liked you fairly early into all of this."

"You think?"

Mahealani sat her hand atop mine. "Ollie, it's clear that he's liked you early on. I mean, he gave you so many free drinks and food. He doesn't do that for us, not to mention spending his lunch breaks sitting with you."

"That could easily just be a friend thing. I'm sure if either of us visited each other at work, we'd hook each other up with freebies."

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Well, he admitted it and has been taking you on all these "friend" dates you like to call. So, say what you will, but he'd definitely into you as much as you are into him."

"I guess," I said. "I just don't want things to turn weird now that our feelings are out in the open. I didn't think I'd be able to say that I liked him back."

"I would've slapped you silly if you didn't," Courtney said. "Will you go on official dates now that you've confessed?"

I opened and then closed my mouth. Would we? I wouldn't mind, but I couldn't imagine it—well, I could, but would we? "Maybe?"

"You better."

"That would be the next step, right?"

Courtney scoffed. "Yes, Ollie. Dating is a thing. And then soon enough, you'll be boyfriends."

"Boyfriends," I sputtered. "Let's just focus on the dating first."

"It's obvious that you'll start dating. It wouldn't be much different from what you two normally do anyway. "

"Go for it." Mahealani smiled. "Isn't this everything you could've wanted with Haruto?"

I bit the corner of my lip, her question leaving me without words. The simple answer was yes; the more convoluted one was the buts and fears attached to it that made this way more complicated than it probably should.

Dating meant the possibility of it all ending, a riskier venture than just remaining as friends. Dating meant new sides of Haruto and sides of me that Haruto was bound to explore. And if he wanted it all to end, where would that eventually lead me?

Back at square one, exactly how I felt when I had to transfer schools because Benjamin and Mason couldn't stand the sight of me anymore?

"Ollie?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is," I finally managed, chiding myself even thinking that Haruto would act like those idiots.

"Then just date him. If it's the label that scares you, don't use it. But just know that we will continually call them dates because they are," Courtney said. "Maybe not to you, but us—and Haruto—they are dates."

I sighed. "But wouldn't you say that going on dates is going a little too fast? I mean, we just confessed our feelings this morning."

Courtney scoffed, but Mahealani spoke first. "We're not saying tonight, but don't leave the poor guy on read after all the effort he put in to confess to you. It might get a bit awkward if you leave it out too long."

"That's if you haven't already."

"Court—"

"What?" She looked at Mahealani innocently. "We both know that Ollie didn't react to his confession as we did to each other. I didn't even need to hear him talk about it to know that."

Mahealani shook her head. "Don't listen to her. Confessions are almost ninety percent of the time a little awkward. He should be used to it by now; probably thinks it's adorable."

I blinked. "He did call me that at some point."

"Yeah, an adorable idiot. He's told us before."

Narrowing my eyes at her, I remembered what Haruto said. "I still can't believe you stole his number. Were you just insulting me to him behind my back?"

"Woah, insult is a strong word. Call them playful banter," Courtney held her hands up in the form of surrender. I could look at her disapprovingly for so long before she stuck her tongue out at me. She laughed it off before directing the fries in her fingers at me. "Look, we just want you to live your life with the man of your dreams. He's extended his hand out to you with this confession like a damned olive brance. Take it, Ollie."

"That's not what olive branches mean—" Mahealani interjected.

"Shush, babe."

Pursing my lips, I stared at the pile of half-eaten fries between us. They were right, that Haruto quite literally was someone I had never thought I could be with, and that with his confession this morning, it meant he felt the same way—even if it was mild in comparison. I'd be a fool not to at least try, but dating was scary. Going on dates was scary; being in relationships was scary and mostly fleeting from what I've seen.

I didn't want this end between us—whatever you could call this.

But not trying meant that it might never be more than this in the first place, right?

"Okay," I told them, my hands reaching for more fries to distract me. "I'll take it."