heart of gold

Lyra continued to stare at him for a few moments, letting his request sink in.

Slowly, she grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. Though, she still didn’t want to look at him just yet. ” .. No, I took it a bit far with being jealous. I’m sorry. I never .. wanted to break up. I was just being .. a dummy.”

Her tone got much more quieter, almost at a whisper now.

"Forgive me?"

Her words gave him relief. They've only been dating for a few weeks and just the thought of breaking up now... well, he wouldn't know what to do. He's had a crush on Lyra for years.

Ethan leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips, resting his forehead against hers. "Of course," he spoke in the same tone as her, with a small smile on his face. "So don't cry, okay?"

She looked at him incredulously. “They do not! What’re you talking about?!”

Lyra lowered her own voice at his last comment. ” .. I mean, I guess .. so .. ” She kicked her foot at the ground, eyes averting from his. Now she was beginning to feel a bit bad.

He frowned, staying silent for a while. Ethan wasn't quite sure what to say now. What else was there left to say after that?

In that whole silence, Ethan did something he never really considers: thinking before he spoke. He thought really hard to think of the words he wanted Lyra to hear from him so maybe she'd understand what he's been trying to say to her this whole time.

"I also..." he started softly. "I also don't wanna break up... If that's okay." His eyes shifted away from her. "And I'm sorry if I took things too far and hurt your feelings. I was only teasing you."

"I wouldn’t be jealous in the first place if you weren’t such a feelings stealer!"

"Y-you don’t notice, but a lot of girls look at you funny! And I notice! And it makes me feel annoyed!"

He was blown away from Lyra's words, starting to pout at her.

"Well... Well guys do the same to you! How do you think it makes me feel?!" Then his tone became softer, still hinting that he was irritated. "... And why you think it made me want to confess to you in the first place..."

”.. F-fine, you .. you .. big, mean, smelly jerk face FEELINGS STEALER.”

"Feelings stealer?!" Although he sound offended, Ethan had no idea what that was supposed to mean. Whatever she meant by it, it didn't sound good. "Am not!"

"N-not anymore!"

She all but shrieked, punching, shoving and slapping his chest. “You jerk! Doofus! Dweeb! Meanie! Bully! Poop face! Stinky!”

"O-ow, hey, Lyra! Stop that, it hurts!" He let her go, taking in all the childish insults she could come up with.

"Calm down, I was only messing with you...!" Maybe he did push her too far.

MORE ANGRY NOISES.

"H-hey! S-stop that!" She tried pushing against his chest, but to no avail. Lyra could feel her face growing hotter and felt more embarrassed than before. His words weren’t helping at all!

"W-who do you think you are?!"

"I can't, you're just so cute when you're angry like that.~" He wrapped her arms around her waist, properly hugging her this time.

"I'm your boyfriend, that's who!"

Lyra turned around, hitting Ethan’s chest. “I-I .. okay, maybe I’m a little jealous - just a little bit though!”

Lyra's hits didn't really affect him, just made him grin wider at her. He knew it. "You don't have to feel embarrassed about it, Lyra..."

He took her hands into his own and pulled her closer for a hug. "I love you and only you! Honest."

"I-I’m not! I’m not!"

Lyra stomped her foot on the ground, huffing again. Her arms uncrossed and her hands balled into fists, resting at her sides.

"W-who would be jealous over you?!"

"I don't know... My own girlfriend, perhaps?

SPUTTERS

"N-NO. NO. NO, I’M NOT JEALOUS."

She huffed, crossed her arms and turned around. “I’m not jealous, I’m just not happy!”

He blinked at first from the reaction he got, then started to smile a bit, trying not to chuckle at her.

"You are, aren't you? You're jealous!"

Angry noises.

"Y-you know that.. really.. unhappy.. angry feeling you get sometimes?"

She was struggling with how to explain herself.

"Like.. when you see someone.. you know! Being too friendly to your boyfriend?”