★ kee speaks uhh this is a mortal au. if another person says they thought y/n liked her cousin i will cry IM SORRY I DIDNT CLEAR THAT UP

I weaved through the crowd and pushed past relatives in the room, just wanting to be alone for a while. Two hours of being bombarded by questions and greetings was starting to be too much. Music blasted through the air and chatter filled it. The sun had already set and so the lights were turned on, yellow light casting shadows on the decorated walls. If you have a big family, at least one person's bound to have a big house. And oh, did the parties use up your social battery.

"Yeah, I'll just check the baby," I said, making up an excuse. I caught one last glimpse of my cousin's confused expression before slipping into another hallway.

I remembered someone saying they had a guest room somewhere? I mean, they had a lot of rooms in general and I knew where they were, but all doors were closed and I didn't know which were occupied.

There was one at the end of the hall, and the door didn't have any label or stickers on it, just like before. I quietly ran to it, turned the knob and entered.

I basically made a fool of myself trying to close the door as quiet as I possibly could. When I turned around, there was a boy sitting on a bean bag and scrolling on his phone. At the sound I made when I leaned against the door, he looked up.

A lot of things were going in my mind when he looked at me straight in the eye. I felt my face burning up at how he looked at me; he was very attractive.

As cheesy as it sounds, it was like a crush was blooming right there in the pit of my stomach. The boy stood up and immediately I dropped my gaze and glued it to the floor.

I seemed to catch his attention. No, I had his attention. After all, I was the only other person in the room. The lamp was the only light source, with the bed made and the nightstand empty. Everything else was blank except for the boy who sat with one leg over another.

"Uh..." He stepped closer and cocked his head. I glanced up at him and he stared back at me with a little smile on his face and I wanted to straight up melt.

"Hey," He smiled.

"Hi—uh, hello," I answered.

"I didn't—I don't know your name, sorry. Can I ask...?"

It was a bad day to be interactive with humans. I froze up, seeming to forget basic vocabulary. I wanted to answer, of course, but my voice wouldn't work.

My eyes were still glued to the floor. When I finally looked up he was still smiling at me, grin almost contagious. Time seemed to go too slowly and too fast at the same time. Finally I mustered up the courage to answer.

"Yeah, uh, sorry. My name's Y/N. And you're...you're not my cousin, aren't you?"

"No," he laughed. "I'm his friend. I stayed over then they got invited to this party so I tagged along," he shrugged.

I nodded and studied him. "So what are you doing up here? You don't look like the type to hide from crowds."

"I'm not good with kids, and there are a lot downstairs."

"Oh," I laughed. "So do you mind if I stay? It's okay if you don't, there are a lot of other—"

"No, it's fine, stay with me."

We stayed there in the room, asking questions about each other and exchanging stories. Connor's presence was familiar and comforting, even though I never met him. He was easy to talk to, and I don't think there was a moment where I wanted to stop or turn away.

"And there was a red telephone in every room—"

Our conversation was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. "Y/N? Y/N, they're looking for you."

Both me and Connor reached for the door but my cousin opened it first.

"The baby, huh?" My cousin smirked.

"I...I went here after," I stuttered.

His eyes darted from me to Connor. "Y/N, we don't have a baby in the family right now," he grinned.

"Aw, man," I muttered, looking away with a red face.

And that's how we met. At the end of the night, we exchanged numbers and went our separate ways.

It started off as two strangers alone in a room together, then late night texts. Then we became close enough to call each other every day just to say "good morning" and then finally going to places together. Arcades, parks, my cousin's house to prank him.

I was falling in love, was I not? Just high school sweethearts, maybe? We grew closer each day and it just felt right. If we were two puzzle pieces we'd fit together. If we were objects we would have been paper and pen. If we were flavors we would have been sweet and salty.

We were like orange juice and toothpaste, too. Just kidding.

Whenever I saw him, it was like my day got brighter and my spirits were lifted. I could see that he felt the same way, too. The crush I was talking about was growing and I had no complaints about it doing so.

It almost sounded like something out of a short love story. But hey, we should savor the moment, right?

I didn't think I'd fall in love at this time. But I kind of got myself into it on purpose, if you think about it. I chose to stay in the room with Connor and now, months later, I had a new friend. He was great company and in all honesty I felt like I could tell him anything with the way he looked at me.

This could have happened with anyone else. In another universe, my cousin could have brought another friend to the party and I would have met someone else. I would have made friends with someone else or stayed with my family and I wouldn't have gone to one of their guest rooms. Maybe, in another universe I wouldn't even have gone at all. But in this one, I was content with Connor and everything we had done.

Another thing was how he managed to knock my socks off and make me blush like crazy. He'd say something sweet or quick-witted in response to something I said and butterflies would just appear in my stomach to the point where I had to laugh to cover it up. No one made me feel that way before.

"Yeah, watch this, princess," Connor said as we walked down the street.

"Watch what?" I asked.

He picked a plastic water bottle off the ground and tossed it into a trash can. It landed perfectly in the middle of the mouth without bouncing off the edge.

I laughed. "Let me try." I pulled my own empty water bottle out and threw it into the trash can, too.

He chuckled, sweeping my hair back behind my ear. "Good job."

I bumped his shoulder. "Thanks."

One day, when me and my friend group went to an amusement park, I went up to Connor and asked him a question I wanted to ask for a long time.

"Hey there, lover boy."

"Hello, princess."

"I just...I have to know, do you feel the same way...?"

He stared at me and I was sure he knew what I was talking about. "Yes. I was scared of how you'd react, so I didn't..." He trailed off.

I guess it was nice to know that. Feelings were reciprocated, time was spent and memories were made. We never actually got together, though, but that was fine with me. I guess. Connor and I stayed friends, and we never talked about our feelings for each other ever again.

I wish we still had, though.