And that almost-kiss that still makes my stomach twist in regret every time I think about it.
I blink rapidly, but the tears still find their way to the corners of my eyes. My pulse is thunder in my ears.
His voice is all over the place—off-key, breathy—but there's so much honesty in it that it hurts. Every note drags my heart through the past and sets it ablaze all over again.
And just like that—he's walking toward me and with every inch he closes between us, the air gets thinner.
It's like the world's collapsed into this single moment, this single heartbeat—his and mine, out of sync and yet somehow perfectly aligned.
By the time he reaches the first chorus, he's right there—only a few feet away. Close enough that I can see the faint flush across his cheeks, the glint of sweat at his temple, the curve of that stupidly charming grin that always undoes me.
"I can hear it in the silence,
I can feel it on the way home,
I can see it with the lights out,
I am in love...
True love...
I am in love."
My heart isn't beating anymore—it's sprinting, cartwheeling, doing triple axels and landing none of them. My stomach feels like it's hosting a full-blown carnival of butterflies.
He's looking right at me when he singsI am in love,and my entire body goes weightless, like gravity just... gave up.
I try to smile, to breathe, toexist,but it's useless.
Because this—him, this moment—it's everything I once dreamed about and everything I swore I'd stopped wanting, crashing back all at once.
"One night I woke, strange look on my face
Paused, then said, 'You're my best friend,'
But it hit me then—"
His voice cracks again, and someone in the stands actually yells, "IT'S OKAY, BABY, WE STILL LOVE YOU!" which makes the entire student section laugh and cheer.
"As I watched you sleep, heard your heartbeat,
Traced the freckles the sun would find,
That every quiet moment led me here—
It's always been you, all this time.
And I knew what it was—
I am in love."
My lips tremble and something in my chest just... breaks open.
Because I get it now.
This isn't just him singing.
It's him telling me.
