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"I still refuse to believe you did that," Jade berates, drawing her eyes to Kinsey's side profile. The definition in her jawline is oddly attractive, making Jade feel more attracted to the blonde.

"Well believe it, buttercup," Kinsey responds flatly with her chin resting in the palm of her hand. Her eyes affix to the regular-season college football game playing on the television. Her eyes bind to the screen like gorilla glue as if she'll miss a play if she even looks away for a second.

Jade rolls her eyes before squinting at the blonde. "That's what you called me when you still hated me," Jade states sardonically with a dull expression cemented onto her face.

"I never hated you, asshole."

"Right," Jade drags on, sarcasm dripping in her crisp, light voice. "With the way you talk to me, I wonder how I could've come to that conclusion."

Kinsey subtly nods, refusing to repudiate the claim. She did kind of dislike Jade at first, but she didn't hate her. Her initial attraction to Jade didn't allow her to do so. Once she started thinking about what was under Jade's clothes at school, hating her went completely out of the window.

But that's something Kinsey wouldn't admit to Jade. She only disliked Jade at first because of how much she started thinking about her. Kinsey had started to become annoyed with her own thoughts of Jade. Of course, the blonde was too anxious to step up to Jade at first. Feeling that insecure and nervous made Kinsey truly uncomfortable. Jade represented new territory for Kinsey. New scary, unpredictable territory.

Kinsey continues to hold her stare at the television screen with her lips squared and her brows furrowing inwards. Her lips go from a tight-lipped position to a pout, repeatedly. Her unconscious behaviors stand out to the brunette at her side, who is watching her every move, almost fascinated by Kinsey doing absolutely nothing but ignoring her.

With the lack of response, Jade nuzzles further into Kinsey's side as the blonde's left arm wraps protectively around her, holding her shoulders in place. Kinsey's right knee hikes up, supporting the arm that is holding up her chin. The position may appear uncomfortable, but Kinsey savors the pressure of Jade's body against hers. The weight pressed up against her body bears a natural warmth that is more comforting than any throw blanket could bring.

Kinsey shuffles in her position slightly, nudging Jade's body closer into hers. Her eyes don't even glance down at the brunette to convey an inkling as to how much her warmth means to her.

Jade's wide, doe eyes look up hoping to find Kinsey's. She doesn't want to meet the blonde's side profile again. She wants to look into those eyes and melt all over again. Jade pulls her head forward to get a better view of Kinsey's face. Her wide eyes flicker across the blonde's stone features like a puppy hoping to garner its owner's attention.

Kinsey notices the quite obvious struggle in the corner of her eye but she doesn't give in. The corner of her lip rises into a smirk as she keeps a steady look ahead at the television with a wild Jade Hill looking up at her. She's cute.

Jade gives up, evidently disgruntled, plopping herself back into Kinsey's embrace. Now, she crosses her arms to express her dissatisfaction. "I still can't believe you did that in front of the whole school."

"It wasn't that big of a deal, okay. I can't go up and hug my girlfriend in the middle of the hallway?" Kinsey voices defensively as the thought of someone thinking they could stop her from doing so makes her blood boil. "I wish someone would have done something stupid," Kinsey low-key threatens, imagining if someone would have had the guts to say some shit to her face.

Jade swears her chest may have exploded into a string of confetti. She appears unmoved by Kinsey's words on the outside, but her stomach is doing backflips on the inside. If she didn't logically know better, she would believe that her heart was about to explode with how fast it has started beating. She's never been one to take much pride in using labels to classify her relationships with others, but... but to be called Kinsey's girlfriend... feels astronomical. Jade lightly scratches her brow with her fingernails as an attempt at masking the wide grin developing across her face.

Kinsey finally glances down at the girl cuddled into her chest as they lounge on the Scott's living room sofa. She removes her hand from under her chin to push away a stray strand of Jade's hair falling directly in front of the brunette's eyes. She slips the sliver of hair behind Jade's ear, giving the blonde a better view of the tantalizing girl in her arms. "You're not as stealthy as you think you are," Kinsey remarks, smiling down at Jade.

A visible blush fills out Jade's cheeks, even more, evident with the lack of make-up on her face.

A hazy smile adheres to Kinsey's face as she averts her attention back to the television.

I said I'd make her mine.

"Not in front of my Dino nuggets. Get a room," Tracy commands while sitting crisscross on the plush, silver-gray carpet at the center of the living room. Her hand rests in the plastic neon green bowl that is holding her seven dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. Her scrunched-up facial expression is directed more at Jade than at her older sister, causing the brunette to wither beneath the nine-year-old's gaze. Jade shuffles in her seat, awkwardly averting her gaze after being reprimanded by a child.

"Trace, leave them alone. You're just mad that Billy from school didn't trade you for his Gushers gummy snacks," Blaze speaks up, crossing his arms. He sinks back into his seat right next to his mother, Mrs. Scott. The two sit on a smaller two-seated sofa that borders the living room from the right.

"As I should. There is something wrong with someone who refuses to trade food in the fourth grade. I mean, come on, I had Fruit Roll-Ups," Tracy pleads, with a dramatic crack in her voice as she wipes a fake tear from the corner of her left eye.

Blaze rolls his eyes at her dramatics, completely over it.

"Trace, honey. You can't keep hounding people just because they won't give in to you," Mrs. Scott intervenes in a soft, considerate voice. One of her arms rests on the top of the sofa behind Blaze's head as she crosses her outstretched legs.

Tracy responds with a sudden pout of her lips.

"Why not?" Mr. Scott chimes in, "Let the girl fight for what she wants. There's no harm." He is sitting directly across from his wife and son on the other side of the living space in his huge reclining armchair. The one that disrupts the aesthetic of the living room with its worn and torn condition and faded cedar brown leather material. His large body lounges back in the chair while his prominent belly protrudes even more due to the tight dress shirt he still has on from work.

"If you say so, but when she becomes as stubborn as you, I won't forgive you," Mrs. Scott remarks, literally and figuratively pointing a strong index finger at her husband.

"Ay, at least I did something right?" The richness of his deep voice bellows, "I ended up with you. Now, that's what happens when you fight for what you want. I'd like to believe that it's worked out just fine for me."

Mr. Scott finishes off his argument with a cunning smile as he stares so endearingly at his wife across the room with the most fondness anyone could possess in their eyes. The natural crinkles in his eyes adding to the authenticity of his tone.

Mrs. Scott simply rolls her eyes behind the square leopard print prescription eyeglasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. The corner of her lips rises as her eyes look over the lens to eye Mr. Scott, whose eyes seem to hold so much mischief in them. The mischief she continues to fall for even after being together for twenty-two years.

Kinsey and Jade are quite obviously not alone. Usually, when Jade comes over to spend time with Kinsey, the entire Scott family has a front-row seat to the show. The show consisting of Kinsey and Jade consistently bickering and flirting cringely.

"Jade's right though. That was the most badass way of coming out," Blaze remarks, sitting up from the couch.

"Language," Mrs. Scott warns.

"Hon, Kinsey lives here. There's no way language can be regulated around here," Mr. Scott punctuates, drawing his eyes over his wife, giving her a knowing look with his singular brow raised.

Jade snickers while Kinsey shrugs knowingly, unfazed by the fact.

Kinsey draws her eyes over to her younger brother sitting with his legs now intertwined in a criss-cross on the couch.

"Why do you make it sound like you were actually there?" Kinsey smiles loosely, taken aback by Blaze's sudden interest in her "coming out".

"You don't know?" Blaze interrogates, scrunching his brows together.

"Know what?" Kinsey squints back, sitting up straighter in her seat making Jade move along with her.

"You guys are trending locally. I found someone's video of you guys smooching on my "For You" page on TikTok."

"No fu- way," Jade has enough control to stop herself from cursing. Her eyes widen and she swears her heart skips a beat for five straight seconds before beating again.

"You serious, Blaze?" Kinsey inquires.

"Yes, ma'am. That was clearly my sister and her girlfriend in that video," Blaze states firmly, nodding his head proudly.

"What's a "for you", hon?" Mrs. Scott attempts to get clarification. Hesitantly asking the question, knowing that her confusion is most likely due to her age and lack of investment in what this newer generation is up to.

She's given up on trying to keep up with them after Kinsey tried explaining Instagram to her that one time. Those were four solid hours she couldn't get back from her life.

Blaze chuckles at his mother's confusion but ends up taking the time to explain it to her.

As Blaze starts an exclusive conversation as to how TikTok works with his wide-eyed mother, Kinsey looks down at her girlfriend with raised brows. The tension in her eyes placates upon locking eyes with Jade. Jade gazes up at her girlfriend and exchanges a similar expression of 'what the actual fuck'.

"You always get us into trouble," Jade asserts,

"Well, I most definitely didn't plan for that to happen. And what trouble are you talking about? Your mom already knows and there's nothing wrong with people knowing that you're mine."

"You're making me sound like a bottom again. You're mine, too. You're Jade's girl," Jade emphasizes in her best imitation of Kinsey's demanding voice.

"I can't complain about that." Kinsey half-smiles as it becomes her turn to blush and feel her heart almost explode. The blonde tries to be more subtle with it, masking her internal implosion by covering her face with her hand.

"Well, I'm curious," Jade speaks up, "What went through your mind before you decided to send the Bible clutchers of Kingsman Bounty into a frenzy."

"I was only thinking about how I couldn't let you go to class looking that good without showing you how much I care."

Jade's face drops, "You show that you care by making us TikTok famous?"

Kinsey chuckles, "No, idiot. I show that I care by letting you know that I feel the same way about you. I don't want your insane ability to jump to conclusions to be faster than me, not this time. I don't want you to ever think that I don't care because I do," Kinsey cuts off as warmth fills her cheeks and her throat suddenly runs dry.

The words carry a weight so substantial that Jade feels the weight sit on her chest, forcing her heart into a beating fit. This may seem to be an exaggeration to anyone else, but it's not to her. With her entire persona, that she built for herself, revolving around the simple fact that no one cared, it brings solace to know that someone does care.

To believe you're truly cared for is truly different. It's real. It has become real to Jade that people may actually care for her.

Jade smiles gingerly. She gets lost in Kinsey's undeniably attractive aura, being fed by the image of Kinsey alone. To be able to look up in Kinsey's eyes without a sense of fear or shame propels her to reflect on how far they've come, how far she's come.

If she didn't meet Kinsey Scott, would she have come out? Would she have built up the strength to oppose her mother? Would she have ever felt comfortable enough to open up to someone else again?

The alternatives of how her story could have played out run around in her mind simultaneously. Oddly enough, with all the possibilities of certain events in her life playing out differently, Jade finds that none of them compare to her reality. For the first time, it seems like reality is much better than fantasy.

"Is there something on my face?" Kinsey asks, wiping at the corner of her lips with her hand, noticing how long Jade has been staring at her.

Jade smiles, "Yeah, there's something... right there." Jade points at the middle of Kinsey's upper lip before rising up and swiftly planting her lips on the exact area. Her lips suck on Kinsey's top lip once before planting a peck and drawing herself away.

Once Jade pulls away, Kinsey pushes her tongue up against the inside of her cheek with a half-smile. Her eyes widen in astonishment. The blonde bites her bottom lip while she looks down at the mischievous brunette smiling like a crackhead who just got away with something.

Kinsey leans down, eyeing Jade's lips.

"I said, not in front of my Dino nuggets," Tracy interrupts sternly.

Instead of Kinsey leaning in and connecting their lips, the blonde swoops by Jade's ear and whispers, "I swear if we weren't in this living room," Kinsey stops at that, allowing the thought to linger in Jade's wild imagination.

"Elaborate?" Jade insists, crossing her arms, "You know I can't read minds," Jade teases, fully aware of how much power her puppy dog eyes hold over Kinsey.

The blonde's heart melts. Her eyes narrow down and scan Jade's features, allowing her light eyes to linger from one facial feature to the other. From Jade's eyes to her nose, and then to her lips. Kinsey's eyes glaze over the temptation before her. Her breathing slows as her mind corrupts.

Jade basks in Kinsey's full attention, utterly enjoying every second of it. Feeling the heat of Kinsey's gaze warm her, forcing her features to soften.

"You drive me insane, but I like it, "Kinsey whispers.

"You need a little bit of insanity to do great things."

"Is that a quote from some old, sixteenth-century white guy?"

Jade squares her lips, "More like an old, twentieth-century white guy with tats," Jade responds with a gentle shrug of her shoulders.

"Fair enou-"

Kinsey's words are cut short by vibrations ruminating up and down her leg. Her hand goes for the phone in her front pocket. The phone that usually stayed silent since Kinsey refused to torture herself by hearing it constantly abuzz with people trying to hit her up for anything and everything useless.

She draws the phone out from the front pocket of her thick navy cotton sweatpants. Low grunts expel from Kinsey as she brings the phone screen up to her face. She is prepared to see an insignificant notification from either some dude sliding in her DMs or a random message from someone on the team trying to kiss ass by asking to "hang some time".

Fortunately, that's not the case.

Instead, the notification on the screen forces her eyes to widen larger than they've ever before. It forces her hand to go numb and her mouth to gape open.

Jade squints up and pulls away to catch a better view of the blonde's features. Her eyes assess the situation displayed on Kinsey's face and her heart sinks, more like capsizes.

"What?" Jade demands a little too aggressively as the fear and anxiety begin to build up in her chest.

"It's Alabama," Kinsey merely mutters.

Silence conquers all. Everyone in the living room has their words stolen from them and their conversations halted. Ten pairs of eyes glue onto Kinsey now. Eyes filled with a jumble of varying emotions. Eyes Kinsey refuses to look into, maintaining her gaze at the phone.

She is paralyzed in place, staring at the email notification stating, "Check Application Status". The seconds turn into minutes as panic starts to take hold of Kinsey's central nervous system. Panic only affected Kinsey when she felt out of control, when she knew that there was a chance that things could go horribly wrong and she couldn't do anything about it.

Fuck it.

Kinsey gently pulls her arm from around Jade's shoulder. She uses both of her hands to log into her account to access her application. Her fingers float over the keyboard as she inserts the username and password she had committed to memory. She sits up from the sofa, resting her elbows on her knees as the page loads with the phone snuggled in her hands. The circular loading sign instantly enhances her nerves by a million. The delay isn't making her feel any better.

This can go so wrong. I might not get in. I shouldn't get so excited. If I don't get in...

The scanned document reveals itself. Kinsey's heart drops. You can hear a pin drop in the room as the spectators observe Kinsey's every move. The slight, but swift breathe she takes in. The shakiness of her hand as she brings it up to cover her mouth. The scrunch forming in between her eyes.

Kinsey's eyes re-read the first line of the document again. And again. And again. Her eyes scatter in every direction, left, right, up, down. Until she decides to read the words for the last time.

The words: "We are pleased to inform you, Kinsey W. Scott, that you have been admitted to the University of Alabama. We are pleased to offer you a full-ride scholarship for the next four years of your undergraduate journey. After evaluating numerous athletes from around the country, your exceptional athletic ability, leadership, and character have made you stand out from the rest."

"Holy shit, I-I, I got in," Kinsey exasperates, sliding her phone onto the small coffee table at the center of the living room.

Kinsey first looks to her side, meeting eyes with Jade. She laughs dryly at the sight of Jade's beaming grin, still in disbelief.

Kinsey turns to her family and sees the tears already forming in her father's eyes with the reddening of his chronically baggy under eyes. Kinsey smiles at the man who looks so proud of her. As the tears fill his eyes, he smiles. He smiles so gently.

"S-Somebody please read it so I know I'm not seeing things," Kinsey requests, folding her hands together, pressing them up against her forehead.

"I will!" Tracy volunteers enthusiastically.

Tracy snatches the phone off the table. Her small hands encase the large phone surrounded in a literal bulletproof case. The case consists of thick rubber and plastic covering every corner of the phone. Kinsey didn't want to take any chances. With Kinsey's catching skill, one would assume she isn't as clumsy as the next person, but she has had her moment, several actually.

Tracy sits back on her legs, bottom sitting atop her ankles. She clears out her throat with her tiny fist covering her mouth in the process for dramatic effect. Her eyes glaze over the screen, finding her place through the mumble and jumble of really big words.

She sighs relieved to find the first sentence. She narrows her eyes and starts, "We are pl-easss-ed to i-i-inform you," she hisses as she pronounces each letter independently.

"Okay, hon. I think we got it. What a wonderful job!" Mrs. Scott commends, smiling at her youngest daughter. The mother made sudden plans to intervene once she noticed the vein in Tracy's neck starting to protrude violently.

Kinsey's heart slows, allowing herself to feel all that has to come with the waning of her rapid high. The blood thrusting in her veins decelerates in speed. Her brain becomes a static mess as dizziness takes over.

She did it. I did that shit.

Kinsey turns to Jade with a huge smile on her face. Jade mirrors Kinsey with the prominent, glowing hazel in her eyes lighting up all of her features.

"I-I have to tell James," Kinsey exasperates as if running out of breath. She looks to her parents and their approving smiles are enough. Their smiles maintain their prominence at the mention of James, Kinsey's lifelong best friend.

While Jade's smile deflates, gradually. She holds a semblance of what looks to be a smile, but it's nowhere near as bright as it once was seconds ago. Maybe her reaction is only because she was caught off guard by the sudden mention, or maybe because she has developed this annoyance for James that can only be summed up by the expression: Ugh.

Jade isn't fully aware why the mention makes her stomach churn, but it does.

For fuck's sake, the guy hates her and has treated her like a dog since she and Kinsey have gotten close.

But, who is Jade to voice that? Who is she to question Kinsey's insistence on being with her childhood best friend at such a monumental moment? She can swallow her pride the same way she's been for the last decade.

"Um... yeah! You, go do that," Jade apprehensively encourages, weakly nudging on Kinsey's shoulder.

Please stay.

"Yeah," Kinsey agrees, nodding her head in affirmation. "Yeah, I should go."

Kinsey rises from the sofa, leaving a warm, empty space. The dent in the sofa that marks Kinsey's swift absence almost engulfs Jade like a black hole. A black hole characterizing how much she's allowed Kinsey to become a part of her life. To become a part of her. How did this happen? How did Kinsey come to mean so much more to Jade?

The space forces the brunette to straighten up her body. She watches closely as Kinsey struggles to slip her tattered white Reebok's on with her shaky hands.

The brunette watches silently and crosses her arms.

Kinsey finally gets the damned shoes on and leans over the coffee table to snatch her phone back from Tracy, who decided this would be a great opportunity to start playing Candy Crush on her sister's phone. The phone releases from Tracy's little fingers and ends up wrapped in Kinsey's larger hand.

Kinsey walks back over to the large sofa and bends down to Jade's face. Barely a few inches apart, she gazes into her girlfriend's eyes before planting a small kiss on her jaw. The kiss is gentle but so very sweet. If being sun-kissed was a real thing, this was it. Jade feels as if the warmth of the Sun quite literally made contact with her skin, that is of course with Kinsey being the Sun and all.

The affection forces Jade's eyes shut as if that will allow her to savor the feeling even more. To savor the buzzing sensations accumulating across her skin.

"I'll be back, Jadeypoo," Kinsey sings, swiftly strolling away and smiling to herself.

"Okay, that's not flattering at all. Did Lucia tell you about that?" Jade chides, drawing her brows closer together and pouting her bottom lip out as her eyes open reluctantly, disrupting her mood.

__________

"What in the world made you think it would be a good idea to squat 210 without a spotter," Kinsey reprimands from behind the man. He expels a steady grunt as he gradually rises from his low, squatted position. The weightlifting bar stretching across his trap muscles. His cheeks puff out with the tension building in almost every muscle in his body.

He lets out a final grunt as he gets himself completely upright with the additional 210 pounds on his shoulders. Kinsey stretches her arms out and secures them around James' waist to ensure that he makes it to the rack in front of him. Her arms tentatively waver a couple of inches away from his waist, not touching him but close enough to give him a hand if he can no longer take the weight.

The blonde doesn't give much mind to the proximity of their bodies, but of course, James does. How can he not? Even when their bodies aren't touching, James can feel the electricity lighting between them. As the taller brunet places the weight carefully down onto the hooks of the rack, an awkward grimace consumes his features. He missed Kinsey's warmth and that embarrasses him. How could he be so pathetic? But, he misses how close they were. He, especially, misses her.

James slips himself out from under the bar and swiftly turns to face Kinsey. His height makes him tower over her, forcing him to crane his neck down to face the woman he's missed so damn much.

Kinsey smiles restrictively at her best friend. Even though their relationship hasn't been the same as of late, Kinsey will never deny that James Henderson is her best friend. It was her fault that they have gradually grown apart and she cannot find it in herself to place that blame on him. Her conscience could never allow her to do so.

"There's that goofy-ass smile," James mocks, fondly staring at his best friend.

"Cut the sap, Twinkle Toes"

James squints his eyes at the nickname.

"I saw your feet stumbling like hell under that weight. Almost like you were fucking tap dancing. Promise me you won't do that stupid shit again. Trust me, no one in here cares what weight you're lifting," Kinsey remarks, tilting her head at him.

"Kins, you know damn well I can handle myself. Why do you worry about me so much?"

"Because you're still the pain in my ass that I have to carry around and... and if anything were to happen to you I'd be pissed."

"Oh?"James raises his brows, "you would be pissed?" James snarks.

"Shut up." Kinsey instinctively raises her hand to lightly smack him in the shoulder.

James lightly snickers as the touch reignites memories. The touch not only reminds him of the several times in which Kinsey has hit him before, but it also reminds him of all the fun they had and how he may be losing the only solid friend he has ever had.

Kinsey doesn't know why she feels so shy around James now. There is rust in her normally, comfortable actions. She can't tell if it's because of the way James refuses to take his eyes off of her or the way he is smiling at her like a bumbling idiot.

Maybe he already knows what I have to tell him.

"Anyways, I have something to tell you." The blonde looks up into James' eyes and smiles brightly.

"Alright, lay it out on me," James shrugs, smiling before he takes back a swig of what is most likely a  pre-workout mix in his hot pink plastic water bottle. His broad back leans on the rack for support.

Kinsey takes a look around, observing the many people in the gym. She rather not do this in front of these strangers.

She simply takes hold of James' free hand and yanks it with no explanation. She single-handedly hulls the six-foot-one, one hundred seventy-pound man across the gym. James' face has confusion written all over it but he doesn't say anything more since it doesn't take too long for them to be out the doors of the small gym and in the parking lot.

Kinsey pulls him across the street, thankfully with no incoming traffic.

She pulls James into the quaint space between her car and someone else's. She leans back against her car with her legs stretching out until the tips of her sneakers touch the solid white line indicating the boundary of her parking spot.

James stands opposite of her, outstretching his legs farther than hers to somehow match her height. "So, what's up, Kins?"

"I got in."

That's all Kinsey has to say.

James blinks back, jerking his head back. "Y-You got in?"

Kinsey nods aggressively with a smile growing on her face.

"Oh, my gosh, Kins," James falters a bit in his tone as he takes in the gravity of the statement. He knows that his best friend of almost eleven years just got into her dream school. The school she's been hauling ass to get into. The reason why she would wake up with him at the crack of dawn almost every weekend to head to the gym and fit in additional workouts. It was all worth it.

"Th-That's amazing! Oh my gosh," James breathes out with his eyes widening at Kinsey. His mouth curls into a wide smile, before he starts chuckling, "Oh my fucking gosh, you did it!"

Kinsey grins back, lightly laughing and nodding. She forms a fist with her hands, almost reliving the initial excitement she experienced barely an hour ago with Jade and the rest of her family.

"You fucking did it!" James hollers again with his deep, booming voice. His arms stretch out before him, emphasizing Kinsey's presence in front of him. "You did it, you did that."

He waves his arms at Kinsey before bending down to meet the blonde at eye level. His arms wrap around Kinsey's waist, fully embracing the blonde before lifting her off of her feet and into the air.

In the quiet parking lot, a man is hollering while lifting a woman in his arms. Both look extremely ecstatic and jovial as if nothing could be remotely important enough to bring them down from this high.

James places Kinsey down but that doesn't remove the excitement in his body. A smile remains on his face as he takes in the sight of the woman he's become so proud of. The woman that has been with him every step of the way. Who's been there for him even when he did act like a little bitch sometimes.

Soon enough, James lowers Kinsey back down to Earth. The blonde descends with her hair flipped every which way and the hem of her shirt slightly ridden up. Kinsey runs her hand through her hair and adjusts her shirt.

"I came here as soon as I found out. I had to let you know ASAP," Kinsey informs, holding James' eyes as she leans back against her car. Her shoulders hunch once she crosses her arms tightly.

"You remembered sophomore year?" James reckons, raising his eyes questioningly at Kinsey.

"When you threatened that you would give me a pixie cut in my sleep if I didn't tell you first?"

"To be clear, that was after you threatened to castrate my fucking dick. That's not even fair. You were pretty intense back then. How would you respond to someone threatening to destroy one of your most valuable possessions," James reasons, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kinsey looks down at the pavement, shaking her head as the memories fill her conscience, "I don't know why I was so intense back then," Kinsey reminisces, shaking her head in shame.

"It was your charm.

"I guess so."

"You were also charming when you had those orange and green braces and that Margot Robbie bob thing goin' on."

"Fuck off. You said it made me look badass." Kinsey tightly squints her brows, looking up at her best friend, befuddled by his lie. I thought he really liked it.

"Mhmm," James hums softly into a smile. "That's what best friends do."

"It's crazy how fast everything's moving. We made it through our senior year and now we're thinking about college. Dude, we're old."

"Yeah, we are." James smiles gingerly, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes glimmer up at the unusually solid blue sky. The prominence in his smile dims as he brings his focus back down to Kinsey.

"What's wrong?" Kinsey imposes, tilting her head. Her best friend spidey senses have been activated.

James avoids Kinsey's gaze, squinting off to the side as if the sun is bright enough to elicit such a reaction. Kinsey peers at the faint Adam's apple bobbing in his neck after he swallows strenuously.

"Kins... when's the last time we talked. I mean, I appreciate you coming here and telling me this, but we can't act all kumbaya after we haven't spoken for weeks."

"I... I don't know what to tell you." Kinsey shrugs off. Her body recoils instantaneously as she feels more vulnerable by the second. What can she say to someone whom she's failed? She's failed so horribly at being a friend and she is ashamed to admit that.

"You can't always act like you don't give a shit, y'know?" James insists, sending a slightly displeased look Kinsey's way.

Kinsey rolls her eyes away from the disappointment filling James' eyes and bites the corner of her lip as she sits in her thoughts. Kinsey knows he is right, but what does she have to say for herself? She's got nothing to say that won't break his heart. Kinsey knows how sensitive he is even though he'd never admit to being so.

Kinsey simply shrugs, appearing mute with her eyes doing all of the talking. There is a narrowing in her brows that creates wrinkles on her eyelids. She can only speak with her eyes, conveying how much guilt she feels.

James sighs, "Kins, I miss you. I miss you a shit ton. I miss the way you laugh at my unfunny jokes. I miss the way you used to be there for me. I miss the times when we only had each other."

"I'm scared," Kinsey blurts, interrupting James' pace, "I'm scared because right now I can't say I'm sure that we can have that anymore. I'm scared that I might be starting to grow apart from my best friend. James, I have things going for me. No matter how much I love that you've been there for me, I can't see us being the same duo we've been throughout middle and high school. You were my person."

James winces as the dagger pieces through his heart mercilessly.

"Were," James mutters weakly under his breathe.

"What?" Kinsey questions.

"You said were."

Kinsey sighs out, "That's not exactly what I meant."

"You mean that we are history. I...," James bites his bottom lip harshly as he feels heat flood his cheeks, "I have been trying to mentally prepare myself for this. The day my best friend decides that she is done with me because I'm not enough."

"Don't do that. You know that's not the case," Kinsey sternly remarks, knowing James' history with feeling out of place because he was adopted. He shared those struggles with Kinsey and only Kinsey. For him to believe she is proving his point, cementing his persisting belief that he wasn't enough for his biological parents to want to keep him, disturbs Kinsey.

"Then, what is it Kins? Tell me that I'm not enough for you. Tell me that you've found a replacement, so," he pauses, catching his breath, "so maybe I could stop being in love with you," he exasperates.

Kinsey's face drops, her lips slipping into a slight frown. Did he just say that?

"Yes, I stupidly admitted that I have been in love with you, Kinsey," James clarifies as if reading Kinsey's mind, or being able to see the obvious dismay etched across her face.

"James, what the fuck does that even mean?" Kinsey snaps, shutting her eyes tightly. Her hands harshly run through her hair, creating more of a mess in the process. Her loosely hanging hair gets muddled and disheveled.

How does James think he loves her? What the fuck does love even feel like? Even though Kinsey can't explain the phenomenon, she knows, for damn sure, she doesn't feel that way about James.

"I love you, Kinsey. I love you because you're the only person that looks at me instead of through me. You make me feel like-"

"I can't love you, James." Kinsey interrupts with a stolid expression. "I can't love you at all, James. I don't understand what that shit is. I don't feel that way about anyone and I most likely never will. I can't love people," she explains with a mixture of discomfort and pain in her expression.

James nods slowly as the weight of the pain starts piling up against his chest like boulders, threatening to suffocate him right here. He bites his tongue back and tightens his lips before uttering, "I understand."

The strangled voice in which James replies sends Kinsey's soul into a frenzy. Her mind into a battle. She is trying to fight how horrible she feels, but she knows that she isn't capable of love. She didn't deserve it and she, sure as hell, doesn't know how to give it.

Kinsey spaces out almost, her gaze isn't directed at anything in particular as she starts ruminating on her thoughts.

She unexpectedly speaks up, "At one point I thought I had everything perfect. Football, great parents who tolerated my bull, and an amazing best friend. I thought everything was fine. I refused to rock the fucking boat. I thought if I did, I and everyone else around me would drown. That was until I got to know Jade... I know you're gonna be pissed that I bring her up, but you need to know that she isn't here to replace anyone. You're not competing with anyone. James, I appreciate you a lot, but we're both fucked up. You can't just push "love" onto me just because you can't seem to find it anywhere else."

James starts breathing heavily. His jaw tightens and he straightens up his body. "I hope you and Jade are happy." The tightness in his small voice leaves a heavy feeling in the air. There is no malice, but pure pain in his words.

That's all he says before cowering his head and strolling away from the quaint space in the parking lot. He swiftly saunters through the maze of cars, disappearing into the crowds of everyday people going about their days.

Kinsey is left alone, paralyzed by the loss of her only friend.

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I've been trying to keep these chapters shorter, but it seems to be impossible with how much I like to edit these chapters and add things. I can never publish a chapter without feeling like it's the best it'll ever be, which is an error in my programming lol. Being a perfectionist is a blessing and one hell of a curse.

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Anygays, what do you make of this chapter? What moments with any particular characters stood out to you the most?

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Alright, I've really missed you guys. This book is about to reach its climax and resolution so I hope y'all will hang in there. I appreciate all the love and support that this story still has. It's insane. I love you guys for loving this world that I've created. It means so much to my little creative heart.

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See y'all gays in the next chapter. Love you, babes! Don't forget to vote, comment, and give me a follow if you feel like it! ❤️