Because I Like You

I was sprawled out on the couch in my flat, flipping through the pages of a magazine while Liam talked to me about the tour. I was trying to pay attention, but honestly? I have the attention span of a gnat when there are things to read.

"Harley?"

I look up, guilt evident, and feign innocence. "What is it, Liam?"

"Do you mind if I take this? It's Danielle." He explains, pointing to his cell phone.

"Of course." I smile brightly, returning to my magazine once he's disappeared around the corner. Truthfully, I feel a little guilty for zoning out on him. I don't mean to, but it's like I said: once there's something new to read, it's nearly impossible to keep my attention for anything. Particularly when the magazine offers romantic advice, which I happen to be in dire need of.

"Confidence is key," I mumble aloud, as I scan the article on confronting the object of your affections. "a good way to work up your nerve is to imagine that your crush is right there in front of you. Pretend they're in front of you and say what you feel. This exercise works best when done out loud. Please note that each person uses a different approach, such as direct or indirect." I pause, thinking of which approach would work best. "I certainly don't want indirect... I'd lose his attention before I ever got around to it. Hell, I'd even lose my attention." My descion made, I close the magazine and toss it onto the coffee table before sitting up.

I take a deep breath, reminding myself that this is just an exercise and not the real thing. I feel nervous anyway, so I get up and pace over to the window. Watching the cars in the street calms my nerves and I begin to talk aloud, as the article instructed.

"We should date." I blurt out, mentally kicking myself for saying it in such an unsexy, uncool manner. If this was how I acted in a fake confession, how would I act when it was real?

"Why?"

"Because I like you!" I say, louder than necessary and in a rush. I smile to myself as I look out over the streets. It may not have been the smoothest way to say it, but it's only an exercise, right?

"Harley?" A voice asks, shock evident in the tone of their voice.

My skin goes ice-cold to burning, as I jump from going white as a sheet of paper to redder than a stop sign when I realize that someone heard me.

"You like me?"

I feel my eyes go wide as I do a one-eighty, whirling around to face them. They stare at me in shock and I stare back, feeling my face heat up even more. Out of all the people who could've heard me, it had to be him.

"Harley?"

"L-liam."