It was Wednesday and I had already started my shift at The Arcade when I decided I needed to talk to someone.

I found Jean in the break room and decided to take advantage.

"Hey, Jean. Do you have a minute?" I fidgeted with my fingers as I awaited his response. I couldn't talk to Natalie anymore, for obvious reasons, and definitely couldn't talk to Malcom about this, so Jean was my last resort. 

Jean's hazel green eyes—a perfect contrast to his dark complexion—looked me up and down, as if assessing my situation before I even said anything. 

"Sure, what's up, Man?"

I took a seat across from Jean at the old chipping table that was probably older than Jean and I both combined. Resting my still fidgeting hands on the surface, I sighed. 

"I think. . .I think I like Malcom Shoney." Jean blinked. And then he blinked again, "Obviously."

Obviously? "Obviously? What is that supposed to mean?" I huffed, raking a hand through my shaggy black and blonde hair. 

"I mean, it's pretty obvious ya like each other. Y'all dating, yet?" I blanched. Jean was acting as if what he said was normal, like this conversation was casual and not something to be taken seriously. 

"Never mind, I shouldn't have said anything." I whispered, getting ready to leave, thinking I had made a mistake talking to Jean.

"Wait up." Jean surprised me by grabbing my wrist and dragging me back to the table that creaked underneath us as we took our previous seats. 

"What? No, we're not dating, Jean. If we were, I wouldn't be asking to talk to you right now." I huffed. This whole situation was frustrating. Of course, right after I'm outed to the entire school do I then realize I have feelings for my best friend. Just my luck. 

"Right. Well, just tell him you like him, then. I wasn't lying when I said its obvious you both like each other. He'd be over the moon." Jean took a bite out of his PB&J sandwich, talking with a mouth full of food. Ew.

"You really think so?" I scratched the side of my face, thinking over Jean's words. 

"Sure I do. Haven't you noticed how overprotective he is?" Jean's coil-y hair swished with the cocking of his head, looking at me in disbelief. 

"Overprotective? I mean, sure, he gives me lectures a lot about making stupid decisions that I never listen to, but he never forces me to not do something." Jean hummed, swallowing his bite of sandwich before replying. 

"Yeah, duh. I said overprotective, Dummy. He's not an asshole." 

Yet again, I found myself thinking over his words, realizing that he actually had a point. Maybe I should just tell him. Besides, if he rejected me, I'd at least have closure. And, Malcom didn't strike me as the type of guy who would end a friendship over a little crush, right?

"Thanks, Jean. This was actually. . .helpful. I appreciate it." Giving Jean a genuine smile, I left him to finish his food and got back to work. 

"Sure, Man. Anytime."

Thursday was the day I was going to confess to Malcom Shoney, my best friend of 11 years. I couldn't believe it had actually been that long, but we met in first grade and have been inseparable ever since. I just hoped confessing to him wouldn't be what might finally break the two of us apart. 

Instead of having a peaceful morning to ourselves, though, I spotted Malcom talking to none other than Natalie Vasquez. And, it didn't look like a friendly conversation either. 

I wasn't too proud to admit that I got myself closer to the two of them to eavesdrop, but could I really be blamed? I was curious. 

"How could you hurt Luca like that? He trusted you, Natalie." My heart broke at the crack in Mal's voice. It was hard to remember sometimes that Natalie wasn't only my friend. She was Malcom's, too. 

I wanted to drag Natalie back by her perfectly done up ponytail when I saw her shrug and start to walk away, but I refrained. 

"ANSWER ME! Were you just pretending this whole time?" I gasped. Up until that moment, I had never heard Malcom raise his voice like that. 

"Yes. You didn't really think I liked spending time with you two, did you?" I always thought Natalie's voice was a bit annoying, but that was nothing compared to how it sounded now. Nasally, cold, and just outright mean. 

Malcom was frozen in his spot as our peers whispered to each other about the drama that had just unfolded before their eyes. Teenagers only cared about gossip these days, didn't they?

When I decided to approach Mal, Natalie was long gone and enveloped him into a hug. 

"Hey, thanks for doing that." I whispered, so that only he and I could hear. 

"I didn't do anything. I couldn't stop her from outing you to the whole school without your knowledge. I couldn't stop those kids from picking on you. Luca, I hate this. I just want everyone to see you the way I do. A bubbly boy with split ends and easily distracted. Why am I the only one who acts like they care?" I wanted to cry, so I hugged Malcom tighter. 

"Hey, just breathe okay? This wasn't your fault. You know that, right?" Malcom's head nodded against my shoulder and a small smile stretched my lips. He can be so cute. 

After stepping away from the public eyes of our school, we both took a minute to recoup in the men's bathroom. 

"Are you feeling better?" I asked, rubbing Malcom's shoulder comfortingly as he sniffled. He really got worked up over this. 

"Yeah." He gave me a smile and that was all the reassurance I needed. 

"Hey, what do you say you hang out with Lena and I this weekend? She wants to go to the arcade."

My smile grew as I drew a laugh out of Malcom, "Of course she does, she's addicted to that place."

"Yeah she is. So, will you? She misses you, you know."

"Of course I will." And he smiled.