the talking dead had finally closed.

lights had begun to dim and tears dry as the cast had finished saying their goodbyes to steven and michael. the crew was shifting things around on the set and packing things up. the first episode of season seven had inevitably aired and twitter was predictably in a frenzy with the news.

as katelyn had only made a guess appearance on the show, madison had clung to lauren most of the night. she had walked the carpet with her best friend and done countless interviews with her, but the talking dead was only reserved for characters of a higher importance.

madison yawned as she spotted her father making conversation with norman across the way. it had begun to drizzle lightly outside and although it was barely noticeable, she tuned into it rather than the buzz around her. madison has offered her final hug to steven minutes ago as he had to reluctantly head home to his fiancée. it had been tearful, but she knew that she would be seeing him later that week, so she kept her remaining tears at bay once he left.

"tired?"

a voice came from beside her.

he had snuck up on her. he had since they were children. technically they still were, but madison has not thought of him as a child as he grew taller each day it seemed. she could hear the underlying exhaustion in his voice, as well.

"yeah," madison mumbled back as she raked a hair through her wavy hair, "it's been a long night. physically and emotionally."

"don't i know it," he replied with a chuckle that beckoned a smile on the girl's face.

"how come you always know how to make me smile, chandler?"

her mouth had quirked into a perfect smile, chandler thought. her lips were dusted pink, and he could not tell if the rosy color painted on her cheeks was makeup or the natural blush she always seemed to attain around him, but he ultimately figured the latter.

"i guess that's what five years of being friends does to you," he acknowledged with a small smile of his own, wrapping an arm around madison's shoulders and guiding her to a bench a few feet away at a slow pace.

madison's heart, which had leapt into her throat at the contact, plummeted into her stomach at the mere mention of the word friend. for madison was forever grateful that she had found a friend in chandler and would never take for granted their effortless friendship, but her heart had a secret wish that whatever was cherished between them would steer away from its platonic edge.

"yeah," she muttered quietly as she mustered the quiet courage to dip her head into chandler's shoulder.

with her hair over her shoulders and her head on his shoulder, madison thought that she should have been relaxed, but the trepidation in her heart caused it to beat faster than it had taken to fall for chandler in the first place.

"everything okay?" chandler's words were hushed as he saw the sleepy state in the girl's eyes. "you seem off."

madison lincoln was most certainly off. the small action chandler begun after his words finished their replay in the girl's head of brushing back a spare lock of her hair behind her ear only verified it. the butterflies in her stomach ached for freedom.

"no."

madison's response surprised even herself as she blinked slowly, bashfully casting her eyes upwards to meet chandler's. she could feel his heartbeat against her own through his suit jacket. with each beat, her's only leapt farther forward into the night.

"no." the repetition was unhurried. "everything isn't okay."

chandler's lips parted as a confused look filled his face in the pale moonlight beginning to cast over the two teenagers. he began to muster a response when the girl beside him, whose hand nearing his caused fireworks to go off in his mind, brilliant blue fireworks the color of her eyes, cut him off.

"chandler i, i." maddie stopped her words short and laughed lightly, casting her gaze to the sky. "you've stolen my words just like you've stolen my heart."

as her eyes fell back down like waves crashing to sea, her panic ebbed. the feeling in the bottom of chandler's stomach, though, refused to quell. he bit his lip softly as he stared at the girl that he had loved since he was twelve years old. the girl that reminded him everyday of bright sunlight filling the air on a warm georgia day.

"maddie," he began, awestruck.

"it's okay," she told him with tears clouding her vision, threatening to slip down her face like gems, "you don't have to feel it back. i understand."

"madison, i love you," chandler declared into the air, "i told you that you were the prettiest girl i had ever seen at twelve years old and i meant it!"

suddenly, he extended his hand and clutched onto madison's. it was as warm and soft as he had always imagined it to be. swiftly, he brought it up to his chest, right above his heart.

"feel that?" chandler questioned, chuckling, "that's my heart beating crazy fast because of you, maddie."

madison thought that in that very moment the ground had slipped beneath her and that gravity had left her. she felt as if she had floated right up to the clouds.

"that's all you," he finished softly, taking his other hand and resting it on her cheek gently, not breaking eye contact as his breath lightly fanned her face.

the sole streetlight flickered as the two teenagers froze, capturing the memory. timidly, they both leaned in under the stars that had finally begun to shine through.

"i feel it, too," madison whispered as she closed the gap.

the kiss was simple and sweet. madison could not claim that it was all she had expected it to be because she was unsure of what she had expected in the first place. his lips were soft but slightly chapped as she placed hers on his. his hand that had rested on her cheek now cupped her jaw softly. chandler's thumb rubbed her cheek as she slowly pulled away, letting her forehead fall on his.

it had not been their first kiss. as they played pretend every year and filled the role of characters on television, they had shared several moments, but none had fared quite like this. madison smiled into the next kiss she placed on his lips as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall into the feeling of his love.

a/n;
I'M SCREAMING IT'S OFFICIAL 😤🤤😫🤑 it may have taken 36 chapters, but i hope it was worth the wait!! i did not place a single edit (except grammar lol) on this after writing it because i feel as though it came from the heart the first time and why tamper with that? i really want to start doing more real life chapters because i loved writing this!!