It's Friday now, and Zak has been ignoring me all day. Everyone has noticed now. I have been hearing people making theories while gossiping. Some think that we got in a fight, while others think that Zak asked me to date him since he's a player and that I rejected him. But the way that others have seen me try to get Zak's attention, that theory has been dying down, and their instead starting to think that Zak just lost interest in me, and is trying to give me that hint but that I'm oblivious to it. Some think that Zak has been using me somehow, and since he got what he wanted, he stopped hanging out with me.

     Only one of those theories are partly true. Zak confessed to me, which would normally lead to him asking me to date him, but I never really rejected him. He just thinks that I don't like him. And all day, I've been trying to clear up the misunderstanding. I try to call out his name, whisper to him, pass him notes, or even nudge his arm. But no matter what I do, he doesn't even look at me in the face. When we've had a class together, he's the first to leave the classroom just to avoid me.

     I hate this. It aches my heart the way that he has been treating me. But I have to get him to listen to me, in case there is any chance for us to work out. It pains me even more the look on his face whenever I'm near him, trying to get his attention. He just looks so sad, like he's disappointed. He seems to constantly be holding back from doing something, and it looks like that pains him.

     It is now lunch, and I'm sitting with my friends. I keep glacing at Zak at his table with his group. The others seem to have noticed me constantly looking towards Zak's direction. Ant then asks, "You bummed out that Zak is ignoring you?"

     I sigh and say, "Yeah..."

     Karl then says, "I get it. It must be hard, you know? Being ignored by your best friend and all. I feel bad for you. I know I would feel pretty sad if Nick ignored me. We're basically best friends now."

     Eiza scoffs and says, "You shouldn't beat yourself up about it, Darryl. I, for one, think that this is just proof that Zak never really cared about you. He obviously sees that what he's doing is hurting you, so why does he keep being selfish and ignore you? I bet that he was just using you or wanted to make you fall for him. Once he realized that he didn't need you anymore, he just didn't see any reason in still talking to you."

     I furrowed my eyebrows. If only she knew. But I didn't respond to her, I just stayed quiet and continued eating my food and occasionally glancing towards Zak.

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     It was now Social Studies, the last class of the day. I still haven't spoken to Zak, but this time, I'm ready. Class is almost over, so I have most of my stuff ready before we leave because Zak leaves the moment that class ends. I'm determined to speak to him today, even if it's going to be after school. Once class ends, as expected, Zak immediately runs to leave the room. I quickly get my stuff and run to catch up to him. After we turn a corner, Zak slows down, not expecting that this time I followed him. I catch up to him, and before he gets to run off again after noticing me, I grab his hand to stop him. I then say, "Zak! Please... talk to me..."

     Zak looks down at the floor, not looking at me. I feel myself close to crying from frustration. I say, "Please, Zak. Stop ignoring me. We need to talk. I don't want our relationship to end like this..."

     Zak, for the first time today, looks at me. He looks like he's close to crying as well. I haven't let go of his hand yet. He then says, "Fine..."

     His voice sounds so broken. It aches my heart, seeing and hearing him like this. I then say, "Let's go somewhere more private."

     He just nods. I tug at his hand, and he follows me. As we start walking, we get some stares from students getting ready to leave school, but I ignore them. I then notice the door to the boy's locker room. Right now, it seems like the only place where we can talk privately. I quietly open the door and look around to check if anyone's around. Once I make sure that nobody is inside, I take Zak to the spot where he confessed to me. We put our stuff down on a nearby bench. I turn to look at Zak. He looks down at me expressionless. He then asks coldly, "So, what did you want to say?"

     His tone hurts me a bit and kills some hope of us working out. But I put those thoughts away and step closer to Zak. Then I really start to take in our surroundings. This is the spot where Zak kissed me for the first time. I smile a bit at the memory. But the smile quickly fades away once I remember that Zak quickly ran away after that because of me. And now, we are in this situation right here, right now, because of me. I better make this count. I look up at Zak, who has an eyebrow raised out of curiosity and is silently waiting for me to start speaking.

     I open my mouth to say something, but I quickly close it. It is at this moment that I can really look at his face and admire his beauty. Then I am suddenly given the urge to do something. I battle with my thoughts whether to do it or not. But I decide to give it a shot and just let my body do what feels right. As I get even closer to Zak and lift my head up, I say, "Zak..."

     I then cup his face with both my hands and press our lips together. His eyes widen in shock for a moment, but then he relaxes, puts his hands on my waist, and kisses back. The kiss is soft, gentle, and slow. But you can feel the love in the kiss. Only now do I get to really enjoy the taste of his lips on mine. Since last time, I was too much in shock to even properly enjoy the kiss or even remember how it felt. And gosh... it feels amazing. He really is a great kisser. It would make sense from all the people he has kissed before.

     I was enjoying the kiss so much that I immediately went in for another after we broke the kiss. He gladly kissed back. This time, we kissed more passionately. Zak leaned more into the kiss and tilted his head slightly to the side to deepen it. We held the kiss for a few moments before slowly pulling away. We gasped for air as soon as we broke it. I put my hands on Zak's chest and said, "I'm in love with you too, Zak..."

     Zak eyes seemed to light up at my words. He then says, "Really?"

     I nod and smile shyly. He holds my hand and gives me a kiss on the forehead. He then asks, "Darryl, would you like to be my boyfriend?"

     I smile brightly and say, "Yes!"

     We share a quick kiss again. Zak then pulls me into a hug, burying his face in my neck, and I lay my head on his chest. As we keep the hug, Zak whispers, "Can we keep this between us for now...?"

     I smile and say, "Sure."

     We then grab our stuff and leave the school together with smiles on our faces.