❝Sometimes we don't need to kiss or hold hands to have the time of our lives with the one we love. If it's real, all that matters is that we'll always be there for each other no matter what happens. Personally, I think one look or a simple touch can speak just as loud as a passionate kiss.❞

Just A Crush

Once upon the 21st century, two young teenagers, helplessly crushing on each other, were talking on the phone late at night.

"No, I'm not hanging up first, I hate hanging up," Jane whined in a whisper into the phone.

"But, I can't hang up. I'll feel bad," Tom replied on the other end, whispering as well.

Everyone else in the two houses were fast asleep.

"Tooooom," Jane dragged out his name between her lips, the sound of it sending heat to her cheeks and a flutter to her stomach. She really didn't want to hang up - she didn't even want him to hang up. She wished they could talk forever like this.

"Okay, I'm hanging up," Tom lied, smirking into the darkness of his room. He often did this kind of thing to try and get a reaction out of her. He didn't know what he hoped to expect, but something in him just wanted her to protest and make him stay. It couldn't be helped, guys really liked having their ego fed, as Jane would often say.

They've managed to be friends for so long, but Tom knew what friends were and how he felt for his friends - Jane was something more than just a friend. For some insane reason, Tom placed his trust in Jane with anything and everything. She was like his best-est best friend, above all his other mates and girls-who-are-friends.

"No!"

The word slipped her lips without her full intention, but there was nothing she could do to change it. She only hoped she could patch up a good excuse and deflate Tom's ego as it was sure to have grown massive by then.

"No?" Tom echoed her response, grinning from ear to ear. His heart swelled and it was a miracle he was still keeping his cool. If this was the usual day-time conversation, he'd be teasing her like crazy until she eventually slapped him, but there was something about their nightly calls that made him turn into a huge softie - like he was a whole new person and so was she, their guards let down solely during that last call of the day.

If only she knew how much of an effect that one word had had on him.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel his heart swell with pride and fondness for the girl on the other end of the line.

Sometimes, he wanted to blurt out all his feelings and just tell her, but something always held him back. Usually it was his own excuses and doubtfulness that got him to hold his tongue, but other times it was simply the refusal to do it. It was just: no, I shouldn't do it... And that was it.

"Er... Yeah! I'm bored right now and if you leave, I'll end up doing something crazy instead of going to sleep," Jane rambled, trying her best to make up an excuse for wanting him to stay on the line. "I might end up jumping out the window, Tom. You won't mind if I do that?"

She mentally face-palmed at her silly words, taking a moment to retrieve her dignity before focusing back on the sound of her crush's addicting voice.

"Well, not really," Tom answered nonchalantly, forgetting about biting back comments that aren't going to be taken well by his crush. He was too caught up in his own moment, dwelling on how cute it was that Jane was so hung up on keeping him on the line. "I mean, I would mind. Of course, I would!"

He was suddenly very self-conscious as to the possibility of him sounding as if he liked her. Didn't he, though, every time they talked at the end of the night? The truth was, he did like her. At least, he realised that it was a possibility yesterday at a party when he thought of her as 'beautiful'. However, she shouldn't get to know of it. She's Jane, after all - she'd never like a boy who bunked class and flunked tests.

But, he couldn't help his mind wandering to her beautiful black hair and her bright smile. Would it hurt to try and make a move? No, but although the chances of her liking him back were unpredictable, he felt like if she'd gotten this far without deeming him as a pain in the arse, then surely she wouldn't mind testing deeper waters. They could always go back to the way they were... Right? Sure, opposites attract, but how could a smart girl like, much less love, a boy who wasn't smart?

And, what if, if they do get together as officially 'more than just friends', would they ever be able to go back to being...

Tom suddenly realised that, right now, he wasn't quite sure what they were.

"Fine."

And before Tom had the chance to speak, she had cut the line and left a deafening beep ringing in his ear.

He couldn't even remember how he got her angry, but he felt bad nonetheless.

"I like you," he whispered into the cold, night air that rushed in through his open window. "I think."

Well, from the way she had ended the call, she obviously wasn't falling in love with him anytime soon. He must have sounded like a pretty big asshole for her to get so angry.

Or maybe his words effected her more than they should?

Her words did that to him. If she said 'bye' instead of 'goodnight' when she finally hung up to go to sleep on other nights, he'd feel slightly hurt and then bully himself afterward for feeling that way over such a small thing.

Maybe he did like her more than just a friend, after all. And maybe, just maybe, she felt the same?

He glanced up at his open window and suddenly, an idea came to him.

Back on the other end of the just-ended conversation, Jane sat sulking in bed. His lack of adorable responses were at their largest, but at least then, she had been hoping for something different.

It was simple, right? They just weren't meant to be.

Neither of them had made a clear move so far, which was starting to annoy Jane. She was the kind of girl who expected the boy to make the first move and if he didn't, then he obviously didn't like her enough to bother making an attempt. She wasn't sure why she expected so much of a silly boy, but as it seemed Jane thought Tom was different.

And now, she was deciding to come to terms with the fact that all of them were the same; oblivious and ignorant idiots.

She sighed helplessly and snuggled into her covers, hoping for a better day ahead.

Only minutes had passed when there was a loud knock on her window. She jolted awake. She had probably imagined it. She stared at the window for a long minute and decided to check - just in case.

She padded toward the window and peered down at the street through the tinted glass.

There, parked in front of her house, was Tom's scooter.

She saw a shadowed figure waving at her from her front porch and smiled at the familiar, bronze-coloured locks.

Somehow, she managed to sneak out through the back door without waking anyone. The perks of having a backdoor that never creaked, she thought to herself.

"What are you doing here, Tom?" Jane asked, disbelief clear in her voice when she approached the boy she had just been fuming over.

She always wanted her crush to visit her in the middle of the night and throw rocks at her window. However, she had dreamed of a slightly different sort of boy, possibly one with jet black hair who had an obsession with black leather and owned a loud, black motorbike rather than a clear-skinned brunet who rode a three-year-old scooter and didn't know the first thing about romance.

"C'mon," he whispered, grabbing her hand before she could protest.

"I'm still mad at you," she grumbled behind him, but her cheeks were flushing more than they had ever done before that they practically burned. She was glad it was still dark out.

Being the goofball he was, he usually let her ride the scooter while he controlled it, but something about this time made the close proximity unbearable for him. As much as he liked it, he felt terribly self-conscious of the fact that he was practically burning up in the inside.

"Where exactly are we going? If you hadn't noticed, we practically live in the smallest town on Earth," she said and heard him chuckle behind her. She could feel the slight brush of his chest against her back when he did so, sending her completely out of this world unlike any other time they'd ever brushed arms or shoulders. She could drop dead for how beautiful his laugh was to her ears, too.

Soon, they arrived at the playground where all the little kids went.

"Are you serious?" Jane asked bluntly, out of shock more than mockery.

When his tall frame dropped off the scooter, it was as if there was an eternal burn down her back where he had barely made contact with her.

She got off the scooter when he finished parking it against the fence.

"Yeah...?" he replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. He was reading the tone in her voice completely wrong, and Jane could sense it.

"Let's go on the swing first!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm for the sake of feeling his touch again. And also to reassure him that she wasn't mocking his idea, of course.

They didn't confess their feelings, but Tom decided that things were better that way. They could just be themselves without needing to prove anything to the other. They didn't need a label to know that they were closer than just friends, but they didn't need to kiss to be more than just friends, either.

Jane was simply happy with how things were with him. He always knew exactly what to do to mend a mistake he made, or simply to lift her spirits. All that mattered to her was that he never let her go despite all her tantrums and high expectations - that was enough to make her stay by his side.

Who knew, anyway? Maybe one day, they'd both get over it and it'd have turned out as just a crush, after all. Then, it would appear all the better that they never did anything more than what Jane and Tom were used to doing. One thing was for sure, though, they'd never break apart no matter what was to happen.

- the end -