Darryl's Pov:

Ever since I had that chat with Eiza, I've been trying my best to avoid Zak. Even though I feel guilty from doing so, I just can't help it. What Eiza said really got me thinking. I just can't face Zak about it for the moment. Zak has definitely noticed something is wrong now. I know from the fact that right now as we are in Social Studies, he keeps trying to get my attention. I have only given him a couple of quick glances. I hope he doesn't notice them. I'm trying my best pretend that I don't notice him.

Once class ends, I quickly collect my stuff and leave. Even though I got out of the classroom before Zak, I can tell that he is right behind me as I'm running. But Zak is just faster than me, so he ends up catching up. Once he does, he grabs my hand to stop me. We stand in silence as we quickly catch our breath. I look up at Zak who has a concerned expression on his face. He grabs my other hand, making me fully face him. He then says, "Darryl what's wrong... why are you avoiding me?"

He genuinely sounds so concerned. I stay silent for a moment. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. For some reason I can't get myself to speak. I shut my mouth and look down. Zak gets closer to me and lifts up my chin to make me look at him, not caring if we are in the middle of the hallway. He says, "Darryl... you know, if you ever need anything you can talk to me. I'll always be here for you. You can trust me."

He smiles warmly at me. The look he is giving me looks like how he always looks at me, with a look of reassurance as well. Of course. He always has to look at me with that look that I have never seen him have with anyone else but me. That look that always makes my heart flutter, and ever since we started dating, it also makes me slightly blush. So, it's only natural for the same thing to happen right now that he is looking at me like that. I finally speak up and say, "Can we go somewhere private...?"

"Sure."

We go to the boy's locker room again. Once we are inside, and we make sure nobody else is there, Zak turns to me and says, "So, what's wrong?"

I fiddle with my hands a bit from nervousness before saying, "It's just that, I've been thinking and..."

I trail off. Zak looks at me, waiting patiently for me to continue. It almost looks like he knows what I'm about to say. I then continue by saying, "I'm starting to wonder if your feelings for me are genuine, considering the fact that you're..."

I didn't even bother finishing my sentence. Zak knows exactly what I wanted to say. He doesn't look too shocked, as if he was expecting this, and yet he looks sad at the fact I'm doubting our relationship. He gets close to me and grabs my waist and cups my cheek. He stares into my eyes and says, "Darryl, I promise you that my feelings for you are genuine. I really am in love with you. You make me unbelievably happy in so many ways. I've never felt this way for anyone else. I feel lucky by the fact that you even considered dating me, and I'm even more happy that you decided to date me. I don't blame you for doubting our relationship and for having second thoughts. I probably would too if I was you. But if I'm being honest, the moment I found out that I loved you, it didn't really feel the same as before to play with other people's feelings. Why do you think I stopped kissing, flirting, and going out with other people? Because I wanted to do all of those things with you. Only you. That's how much I love you. You can be skeptical if you want to, but please give me a chance to prove my love for you. So that you can trust me. I'll do everything right with you. I'll do things with you that I've never done for anyone else."

He said a lot of words to process, and yet I catched all of it. Every word of his made me feel all tingly inside. I could feel my face heat up. He obviously couldn't have planned to say all of that. So all of that must have come from his heart. All which makes it even better. Zak grabs my hand while still holding onto my waist. He places my hand on his face and leans on it. He then says, "So tell me Darryl..."

He cuts himself off by slightly turning his face to kiss the palm of my hand. The action makes me blush and my heart flutter. He then turns to look at me again, with my hand still on his cheek. He then continues by saying, "What do you want me to do so that you can trust me? I'll be willing to do anything to prove my love for you."

I think hard upon hearing his words. What do I say to that? He said he's willing to do anything for me. I can technically get him to do anything I want, and yet I don't know what he could possibly do to prove himself to me. Then something occurs to me. The first thing that he asked when we started dating is if we could keep it a secret. It seemed a bit off to me that he said that, since whenever he would go out with or date someone officially, he would always be very open about it. So, to fill my curiosity, I asked, "Why did you ask for our relationship to be a secret?"

He seemed a bit surprised, not expecting what I said. He then responds, "Well, if word got out that I was dating you, basically everyone would end up knowing since I'm so popular. I knew that if everyone knew about us dating, rumors would quickly spread, and we would both be questioned. I didn't want all of that to overwhelm you. I figured that you already dealt with enough rumors just from the fact that you were my best friend. I was simply looking out for you. Plus, I wanted to keep you to myself a little longer."

He smirks when he says the last sentence. I roll my eyes a bit at that comment. But I can't deny that what he said made me my heart flutter. He was being considerate of my feelings. I smile a bit at that. He then says, "Why do you ask? Do you want to be open about our relationship? I'll gladly do it if your prepared for that. But I respect any decision you make."

I actually am considering being open to the public about us dating. Not only will we be free to act as a couple whenever we want without having to hold our feelings back from doing what we feel is right with each other. But it would also test how committed Zak is to our relationship. He will either be unbothered by the public's opinions and rumors and just stay with me, or the public opinion and rumors will get to him, and he will end up breaking up with me or try to break my heart. Since he would always immediately cheat on or break someone's heart after a day or two that they are dating. Even though I can get quite scared by someone's actions towards me, considering I used to be bullied, words won't affect me from doing something that I know will make me happy. I look up at Zak and say, "We don't have to straight up say that we're dating, but can we not pretend that we're not dating? So that we don't have to constantly watch our actions and just do what we feel like doing?"

Zak smiles softly at me and says, "Of course. Whatever you want."

He then gives me a quick hug. When he breaks it, he still stays close to me by grabbing my waist. He then says, "So... does this mean that you trust me or...?"

I smile at Zak and give him a gentle kiss on his lips. Though it's quick, it still feels amazing. I thought that it would feel different after our previous kiss since only then did we just confess and start dating. But it feels exactly the same as last time. When we kiss, it feels like time has stopped, and nothing else matters but us. When I break the kiss, I say, "What do you think? Of course I trust you."

Zak's eyes light up as he smiles. He then kisses me passionately. This time it lasts longer as I wrap my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Now that we will be open about our relationship to the public, we can have more moments like this without worrying that someone will catch us. Zak holds me close as we kiss, both of us not wanting it to end. Once we finally break the kiss, we're both gasping for air and slightly blushing. We smile at each other and then leave the room together. We hold hands as we leave the school, but there is barely anyone in school right now since most of the students already left. The only ones that stayed are because they have clubs. So, the hallways are pretty empty as we walk, so nobody sees us. And if they do, they most likely wouldn't be paying attention. Everyone will get to know the truth tomorrow, but right now, I could care less.