Word for word

You thought you'd get used to this feeling. That years of friendship were like a reliable shell behind which you could hide everything: the furtive glances, the racing heartbeat, the desire to stretch ordinary friendly embraces into eternity.

But no. You don't get used to it.

You're especially unaccustomed to what's happening now. You're standing by his locker, at the very end of the hallway, where there's almost no one else. The silence weighs on your ears, thick and awkward. You feel a treacherous warmth spread across your cheeks, and you look away, just to keep from giving away the game that's been going on inside you for a thousand years.

And then it all happens at once.

You look up at him and see him looking at you with the same strange, mesmerized expression. And before your brain can even signal "STOP!", your voices, breaking the oppressive silence, sound in perfect sync:

"I like you!"

The world freezes. Your own "I like you!" still hangs in the air, mingling with his own, mirrored. You instinctively cover your mouth with your hand, as if you could force the words back. And Aiden... Aiden just looks at you. His eyes, usually so lively and laughing, are now wide with pure, unadulterated shock. And right before your eyes, the same bright blush spreads across his face, flaming and eloquent.

And in the deafening silence that followed your duet, there was no longer any awkwardness or fear. There was only the stunning, impossible truth hanging between you.