"Just look at that." I groaned, moving around the blockade of hugging freshman. "They've been hugging each other since we turned into this hallway. How can anyone stand giving each other twenty second hugs?"

My best friend cocked an eyebrow at me. "What's wrong with hugs? A bit anti-social, are we?"

I scowled at him, punching him lightly in the arm as I pulled out my keys. "You know what I mean. Seriously, we're in school. You see your friends just about every single day. Is it necessary to make a road block in the middle of an already congested hall? Think about it; it's completely common sense."

"You're just cynical." He retorted, holding open the door for me as the cool spring air hit us both. I glanced at him quickly to see him smiling down at me.

I blushed and turned away. See, he's been one of my best friends for three years, and I've liked him for the past year alone. It was honestly getting more and more difficult to hide my feelings as he continuously treated me with such tender loving care. But now with the school year coming to a close, I almost felt an obligation to tell him.

Obviously, there was no way he felt that way about me. For one thing, he actually straight out told me I wasn't the girl for him during our sophomore year. Secondly, he had established this odd rule during junior year of never dating a girl he was good friends with. So all in all, I was royally screwed in the love department.

"I'm not a cynic. I'm a realist." I replied, waving to some of my friends running on the school track next to the parking lot. From besides me, I heard him grunt as he shook his head in disdain.

"How are you a realist?" he said, stepping in front of me. His hands grasped my arms, not allowing me to move anywhere. "You display no feelings of affection to anyone. Everyone needs a bit of love in their lives, it's reality. You can't ignore it."

I tried to tear my arms out of his grasp, but he did not budge. Of all the people in the world, he was the last person I wished to speak with about love and reality. As long as he unknowingly held my heart, there was no such thing as reality.

"I do show love and affection." I mustered out, refusing to meet his eyes. "My parents, my friends…" Even you, but you just don't realize it.

"Family doesn't count." he said dryly, pulling me closer to his body. His mouth was a mere millimeter from my ear as his words came out as a soft whisper. "How often have you actually shown your love for another person?"

I sunk into his hold, his arms enveloping me. "I show my love for my friends differently." I sighed, tilting up to face him. "I laugh with them, talk with them, comfort them and love them for who they are. Love is an unspoken agreement; friends who truly love me know this without any words."

His arms tightened around me, his warmth radiating towards me. My heart began pounding, his breath lightly hitting me. He said nothing, even while his teammates from the lacrosse team were shouting out his name. Then, he began to mutter incoherent words in my ear, his lips brushing against it every so often.

I strained to hear the words over the outside noise, but to no avail. Instead, I chose to stand silently and relax in his arms, allowing his voice to soothe me.

"…nineteen… twenty." The last two words finally hit me as he pulled away. His hands no longer touched me, though his eyes remained focused on me. "Twenty second hugs. Only the people I truly love would ever have those moments with me."

With that said, his lips brushed softly against my own for one second. Just as quickly, he pulled away, a small smile on his lips. "Never forget that."