Just A Crush
Welp guess I was bullied into posting this fic I wrote for the @lureofthegallowsgame discord. Hope you enjoy!
“Tell me again how a crush should feel.”
Ashton stopped and stared at Eli in surprise. The two of them had been walking home in silence, enjoying the twinkling stars and cool night air. That it was Eli of all people to break the silence was as much of a surprise as the statement itself.
“I… well..,” Ashton stopped and took a breath, hoping that the street lamps were dim enough to hide the blush on their cheeks. “There’s not just some universal feeling. We all feel things differently and-“
“I know that! I just-“ Eli let out a frustrated huff before looking into Ashton’s eyes. Why did these feelings always get more complicated whenever she looked into those soft hazel eyes? “Isn’t there some general feeling? Like butterflies in your stomach! Isn’t that a thing?” Ashton laughed at that.
“Feelings are.. weird, Eli. They’re scary and conflicting and confusing. I don’t think they’re meant to fit into neat little boxes.”
“Ok…” Eli’s brow scrunched up as if she was working a problem, “So what do your crushes feel like?”
Ashton’s eyes widened. God, surely she realized how red they were turning? “I guess I just feel.. Shit I don’t know how to describe it,” they looked down at their feet, “I feel warm when I’m near them, but there’s this cold nugget of doubt. ‘What if they don’t like me back?’ But then I think about how it feels when they hold my hand or when we catch each other staring and a part of me knows that they feel the same way, at least just a little bit.”
“But how do you know? How do you know it’s not just infatuation?”
“You just do. I don’t know how to describe it; you just look at them and know ‘That’s them. That’s who I want to give my all to.’”
Eli gave Ashton an incredulous look, “That sounds risky.”
Ashton let out a soft laugh and smiled, “Life is about risk, Eli! And I think… I think love is the biggest risk of all.”
