I Want Someone to Love Me for Who I Am

Days passed and Cameron didn't say anything more to me about his crush. And I didn't talk to him about mine. I wanted to. I realised that I did want Cameron to know how I felt about him. But I was scared. What if Cameron didn't feel the same way? I would be crushed. Not only would my heart break, but I would lose the only friend I'd ever had. I didn't want that to happen. I wasn't ready to risk my friendship with Cameron. He meant too much to me.

It was about 1 week later when we were at my house again – we were always at mine, never his – and watching x-men, when the conversation arose again. I decided to just go for it. I mean, what if he did feel the same. Then it would all be okay. It was just a risk I had to take. "Cam, I want to tell you something," I said hesitantly. Cameron frowned and turned to me.
"What's wrong?" he asked, a worried frown on his face.
"Nothing's wrong...I just...need you to know something," I said.
"Okay..." he said. I looked down, biting my lip. I didn't know how to do this. It hit me then, that I didn't feel old enough to do this, to have these feelings for someone. But I did, and so I had to do something about them. "You know the other day...what we were talking about...?" I asked him hesitantly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him tense.
"Y-Yeah," he said.
"Well, um, I've decided I want to tell you...who my crush is..." I said and saw Cameron relax slightly, but not completely.
"Will...will you want me to tell you who mine is?" he asked me worriedly.
"No, not if you don’t want to," I said and he nodded. I raised my head and looked into his eyes. "Cam...it's you," I whispered, scared to say the words any louder. I watched as his eyes widened and I quickly went on, trying to reassure him and explain myself and my feelings. "You...you are my best friend, the only friend I've ever had. And I realised that...I care about you. And I don’t really understand it, and I can't put it into words. But I-" I stopped midsentence when I received my very first kiss.

Cameron's lips were soft and warm. The kiss wasn't deep or passionate. It was simple and gentle, a slow meeting of ours lips. It lasted only a few seconds before Cameron pulled away, his cheeks a bright red. A smile slowly worked its way onto my lips, and stayed there. "Cam?" I asked gently, my voice cracking due to the emotion I felt inside.
"I-I like you, too," he said and I grinned. "You were the only one...who accepted me when I got here. Everyone else just ignored me or laughed at me. But not you. You have a kind heart, Andrew. And...you're my best friend, too. But you're also so much more."

I then leapt forward, embracing him in a tight hug, burying my face in his neck. Cameron laughed as I pushed him onto his back and hugged him tighter. He wrapped his arms around me as he continued to laugh. It was then that I realised that I'd never heard his laugh before. It was rare enough that he smiled, but a laugh... I felt a sudden warmth spread through me as I realised that I had done that. I had cheered him up, made him happy for once. I pulled back, away from Cameron and looked down at him. I gently brushed his brown curls away from his face. He smiled tenderly up at me while a blush gathered on his cheeks. I smiled back and then leant down and pressed my lips against his. This kiss was deeper than the first, there was no tongue, but our mouths opened slightly. And although it wasn't the perfect kiss, it was for us. I know I should have felt awkward or embarrassed because I knew I couldn’t have been kissing him properly, but at that second, I didn't care. All that mattered to me was keeping my lips pressed against Cameron's. Keeping that contact with him.