From the Beginning

"Al, you ok?" Sam whispered in my ear. After being hugged several times, I had stayed in the middle of the crowd. I had barely hugged back, since I was still in shock.
"Umm yeah. We need to talk, privately." I had to tell someone, I felt like I was about to explode if I didn't. Sam nodded, looking worried. She took my hand and led me to Joeys bedroom, where she closed the door before starting to ramble.
"This is about Darren isn't it? Oh god. I knew you were mad, but are you guys like enemies now? What happened? I'll kick him in the balls if he s-"
"We kissed"
Her eyes bugged out, but didn't say anything. She just stood there with her mouth hanging wide open, looking very confused.
"Sam..."
"Like mouth to mouth?"
"Yeah."
It was like in a split second, everything hit her and she swooped me up, jumping up and down. "Holy shit!" She let go, flashing a beautiful smile towards me. "Oh Al, when Joey and I saw you guys that close, we thought that you guys were about to rip each other's heads off. That's why we separated you guys so quickly. Damn it! We ruined the moment! But this is great!!!! So what now? Are you guys together?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Well we didn't get to talk since you guys separated us."
"Sorry about that but how were we supposed to know that you guys had kissed? Your head was about to explode with jealousy the last time I had see-"
"Shut up!"
"Al, it was so obvious. And then you using Matt. Genius!"
"I knew he would catch on and help me."
"Was Darren jealous?"
"Yup"
"So you were heated and jealous and so was he...Wait, is that how the kiss happened?"
"Kinda, well...yeah. We were both yelling and he kissed me in the middle of one of my raging sentences."
"Damn... that's intense. If that's how you start kissing I can't imagine how you guys would start get-"
"Sam!!!!"
"I'm just saying, anyway, relationship status?"
"I mean I want to be with him, really badly. But I'm still scared. You know my reasons. Plus, I don't know what he wants."
"Al, the guy has been following you around like a puppy dog from the beginning. It's Darren. You know him enough to know that he isn't that type of guy. Give him a chance."
"I know, I'm just scared."
"You both like like each other, go for it. If you don't take risks, you might be missing out big time."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Yay! Now let's go find him!" She grabbed my hand and then reached for the door. I immediately stopped her. "Sam, PLEASE don't be so obvious."
"Relax, I won't!"
When we opened the door, we found everyone chilling out, some letting the alcohol sink in. When we spotted Darren in the corner, Sam dragged me across the living room towards them. Darren had his back towards me, talking to Joey and Steph.
"Hey guys!" Sam said, sounding a bit to excited. Oh god, here we go... At that moment Darren turned around, locking his eyes with mine. His eyes lit up and gave me a smile, which made me blush. Damn my fair skin!
"Hey! Happy New Year!" Joey said, eyeing me then Darren. Yup, he knew. Joey and Sam just stood there, smiling like idiots. Looking at us, then to each other to giggle,then back at us. And just to think that these are our best friends... At one point, Joey caught my eye and wagged his eyebrows up and down which made me burst out in laughter.
"Well, you guys can keep doing your weird telepathic shit... Al, would you like to go to the patio?" Darren asked, turning to me.
I nodded eagerly and he looked down at my hand before taking ahold of it. I let him lead me to the patio, ignoring the comments and awes that were being made from Joey and Sam.
Once we were outside, I looked through the glass door to find Joey giving me two thumbs up. Great. They were going to watch the whole thing. It had to be a glass door. Ugh, at least they can't hear us...
"Sooo... You wanna talk about it?" Darren said, making me shift my attention towards him.
"Sure... I mean if you want to."
"I do." He said, a little to fast. He smiled uncomfortably and immediately looked down, putting is hands in his pant pockets. Ugh, can he be any cuter?
"You know that I like you... Well I hope you do.." He began, " and if you didn't, I like you Al. A lot."
"I like you too."
"Really?" His head shot up, looking surprised.
"Yeah"
"I just thought, after Tahoe and our conversation and you sai-"
"It was bullshit."
"What?"
"Look Dare... I really like you. I just said all that friends crap because I was... I am scared."
"Scared of what?"
"Falling for someone." I said.
He got closer and grabbed my hands, "Why? I mean, yes it's scary, but at the same time it's a beautiful feeling."
"Because it eventually turns ugly and then they can't handle it. They leave, they all do." It was my turn to avoid his eyes. I looked down at our intertwined hands.
"What do you mean?"
"All my past relationships have ended due to my illness. After seeing how sick I got, the toll it takes on my body, and the affect it has on my surroundings, they leave. When I start falling for someone, I distance myself. I wanted to distance you from me, so you could move on. Why would you be with me when there is millions of beautiful healthy girls who won't hold you back?"
I was trying so hard to hold my tears back.
"Al, please look at me." I took a deep breath and looked up. We just look at each other for a it, looking into each other's eyes. He let go of one of my hands and rested his free hand on my cheek, caressing it with his thumb.
"Al, from the moment I met you, I knew you were something special. I just wanted to know more and more about you. And I was never disappointed with what I learned. You amaze me Al. All the things you do, all the things you aspire to do, all the things we have in common. When you told me your story, it didn't change anything. The only thing that did change was my perspective on your strength. I knew that you were strong, independent, with your own opinion that was always going to be heard, and I loved that about you. But knowing your story and then seeing how happy, hard working, and hopeful you are is unbelievable. I don't care what you have. Yeah you have a condition, but that doesn't define who you are. I don't see a ill person, I see someone who lights up my day every time they walk into the room and smile. I would never do that to you. I want to be there for you."
At this point, my face was completely covered in tears. He gently wiped my tears and pulled me in closer to kiss my forehead. Then he pulled me into a hug. This man was worth it. Yeah, I might fall, crash, burn. I might also get love, kindness, and caring. Why not give it a chance? I needed to face this fear. We pulled apart a bit, still holding each other. He started to lean in slightly but stopped, seeming hesitant. I just smiled at him and took initiative, closing the gap between our lips and kissed him.