I awoke the next morning with a pounding headache; I could literally feel my heart beat in my head.

Ugh.

I hope I didn't do anything stupid.

I opened my eyes to find myself not in my bedroom, but in Jared's. Why was I in Jared's room? Did I...sleep with him last night? Oh no. The pit of my stomach felt endless as the list of possible events filled my brain.

I turned around to find Jared next to me, arm wrapped around me as it always was when we slept together. It was so sweet, and probably one of the cutest things he had done; but right now, I was worried about the actions of last night, which were unavailable to me right now. For some reason, I couldn't remember anything.

"Jared," I pushed his arm lightly in hopes of waking him up. After saying his name a few times, Jared's eyes opened, and he smiled towards me. 

"Hey," he whispered softly as he closed his eyes again and held onto me tightly, pulling my body closer to his. 

"What am I doing here?" I panicked. I really hope I didn't do anything stupid. Please God, tell me I didn't do anything stupid.

"What do you mean?" Jared asked, bringing his head up. "You don't remember?"

I shock my head. I couldn't remember anything, and I felt my chest closing in. I'm not sure why, but the idea of not remembering anything was terrifying me. So much so that I felt myself having a panic attack. My breath quickened involuntarily as my chest felt like it was closing in.

Jared quickly sat up and moved himself closer to me. He placed his hand on my back, rubbing it softly, to help me calm down, but nothing seemed to be working. My throat felt like it was also closing in.

"Valerie, look at me." I turned my attention to him and looked into his eyes. The color of his eyes were beautiful; they reminded me of the stars. 

"Hold your breath for a bit, and then let out a deep breath." I followed his instructions as I felt my body begin to calm down. My chest began to relax as I repeated his instruction a few times. Jared continued to hold onto my back, and soon enough, he took a hold of my face, cupping it so perfectly in his hand.

My heart was beating intensely, but my breath had become more normal.

I then took hold of my phone, which was placed on the cabinet next to me, and turned on my phone to find a picture of someone's...butt?

"Um..." I uttered in shock. Why was there a picture of someone's butt on my phone?

"Yeah, that's Brandon's butt." Jared laughed next to me. "I don't know what you guys were doing yesterday, but your prize for a drinking game was a picture of his butt." Jared placed his hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer to him; it was sincerely adorable, and I placed my head on his shoulder.

"Can I talk to you?" Jared asked. I looked at his face to find him staring at a wall in his room. 

"Oh no, did I do something yesterday?" The pain in my chest returned as worried filled my body. I tried to take some deep breaths to calm myself down. 

"No, no, um. It's something else." Jared murmured. 

"Something else?" I asked.

Jared turned his body towards me and looked at me; he looked like he about to hurl, even though I'm pretty sure I'm the one who was actually going to hurl. 

"Okay," he stated, avoiding my eye sight. He was clearly trying to figure out a way to break some type of news to me. I really hope I didn't do anything last night. I didn't want to lose him as a friend because of something ignorant.

"Valerie." He breathed. Jared took hold of my hands in his, placing his gaze on me again. "Valerie." He uttered again. He was clearly flustered.

"Just tell me. You're stressing me out," I stated, trying to keep myself calm as I waited for the news.

"Valerie, I'm in love with you." The moment the words exited his mouth, my heart dropped; it felt like it had dropped a thousand miles down, but then it also felt like it had leaped. His words hit me like a blade; a sharp blade that could have ended my life, but somehow it was able to enrich it. Confusion scattered my head.

Jared was in love with me. 

Jared was...in love with me?

With me?

In love...

With me?

Was I dreaming? Was this a dream? A cruel dream? A perfect dream? An unbelievable dream? 

Jared waited for a response from me, but I couldn't find any words to say. In love... with me?

"Jared..." I breathed. I couldn't find any words to say. 

"Look, you don't have to say anything but Valerie. I'm truly in love with you. Okay? Every time I see you, my heart feels like it's going to leap out of my chest at your sight. I love seeing you, I love hanging with you, I love being with you. I just love you. And I know this is a lot, but I want you to know that for the first time ever, I am in love. And it's with you." 

"I-"

Panic filled my body as I realized what this meant. Jared was in love with me. 

How could I let this happen?

"I need to go," I stated as I quickly stood up and walked out of his room. I could hear Jared shouting for me out of his room, but I ran down the stairs and hastily opened the front door. Once I got outside, I tried to get into my car, but I left the keys in the house, and I was not about to go back in there. I knew that within moments, Jared would probably be outside, wondering why I had ran away. So, instead of waiting for him to pop up, I ran down the street, bare-foot and, apparently, pants-less until I reached the end of the street. 

I stopped there and waited for my body to catch a breath; god, I hated running. My heart was beating a thousand miles per minute, and my head felt even more worse than when I woke up. 

How could I let Jared fall in love with me?

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Chapter 22 is done!

Hmmm, why do you guys think Valerie ran away after Jared confessed his feelings?

Do you think she's overwhelmed by her feelings? Or do you think something else is at play?

Vote if you enjoyed the chapter :P