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The reveal had been as gracious as all those before it: with a crescendo of text messages and notifications pinging every person who owned a phone, giving away to the students that a new secret had been revealed. This time, the chorus of pings and beeps were for him and, by the subject of his secret, also his best friend. The moment Trevor called him out was the scariest moment since the passing of his mother. He was scared about how Ara, his best friend since arriving in the small town,  would react to the reveal. What if she didn’t want to see him anymore? What if the knowledge of everyone knowing what they had done meant she couldn’t stand to be around him? Those and many more thoughts ran rampant through Rob’s mind as their secret became public knowledge. 

There was one thought that brought silence to the noise in his mind… Why was he so concerned? They were great friends who had been through a lot together and who knew each other inside and out. She would get over it eventually and they could carry on as if nothing happened...that’s what best friends do. This was different, though. This wasn’t the concern of things becoming awkward with a close friend… This was more.

While his friends tried to talk to him he could only focus on one person. Without so much as an [i]excuse me[/i] he pushed past his friends mid-sentence and approached Ara, taking her by the hands. He leant down ever so slightly so he could see right into her eyes. [color=777777]”Ara, can you please come with me? I don’t want to be in here.”[/color] His expression wasn’t one of sadness, disappointment or even anger. It was one of complete and total clarity.

The young man hurried outside with Ara while being cautious of her ridiculous heels; always with the heels. The cold air hit them both, causing Rob to slow down to a walk. He looked at Ara before taking off his jacket and putting it over her shoulders. [color=777777]”Come with me.”[/color] He took her by the hand once more and the two continued on in the direction of the schools indoor pool. The music of the Homecoming party grew steadily quieter until finally it was nothing more than a murmur. 

Opening the double doors to the pool Rob held the door open for Ara before following her inside. They were both greeted the magical glow that the pools lighting cast across the large space. Rob moved over to one of the bleachers before sitting down, taking a deep breath from the hurried escape they had just made. 

He spent a few moments looking down at his hands in silence, nervously playing with his fingers. He slowly looked up at Ara and locked onto her eyes before he began to speak.

[color=777777]”Do you remember when we first met? You were like a kid with a new toy. I got about three words in before lunch and then another five before the end of the day. I thought that being the long haired fat kid, you were just being polite and the next day i’d be off on my own...but no. There you were again the second I walked into class. I’m pretty sure you dislocated my shoulder when you yanked me across the classroom.”[/color]

The memory etched a smile across Rob’s face with a muffled laugh escaping from between his lips. He turned to the pool and his mind began to go back over all the times they had shared.

[color=777777]“That’s where I knew that i’d have a friend for life. With everything we’ve been through and shared: the asshole ex-boyfriends, sleeping together...my mom...”[/color] Rob’s tone had taken a sudden serious and heart-wrenching tone. He could feel tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes, but he continued on. [color=777777] “
....I had never felt scared or worried about losing you...not once, not ever...that was until tonight.”[/color]

Rob stood up and began to move towards the pool, taking in a deep breath to try and fight back the tears he could feel pooling.  

[color=777777]”The second I realised what secret they were going to reveal for me tonight, I got scared. I haven’t stopped worrying that if I was right, then you’d never want to see me again. Whether it was being uncomfortable around everyone in school, our friends...”[/color]

His eyes looked down into the pool for a moment before turning around to Ara. He took her by the hand once more, the softness of her skin soothing the emotions flooding his body.  

[color=777777]“I couldn’t work out why I was being so unreasonable or so concerned, our friendship goes beyond petty things like people knowing what we’ve done.”[/color] Looking down at his feet for a moment Rob steadied himself and the tone of his voice changed, becoming softer.

[color=777777]“Then with the secret out, everyone talking and staring at us… I came to a realization...”[/color] Rob raised his head and looked straight into her eyes with a look of pure sincerity.  [color=777777]“When I’m with you, nothing else in this world matters. When I wake up, you’re the one thing I think about, and the one thing I go to sleep dreaming about. You’re the one I want with me when I’m happy and the one I one to go to when I’m sad… When it’s all said and done… You’re the one I want to be with. And I don’t care how strong a word it is: I love you Ara… I always have. it’s just taken until now to realise it.”[/color]

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