“Riley—”
“Nathan—”
We both stop and laugh. Omg, this is awkward. I have to get the words out now before they’re lodged in my throat forever.
“I’m totally crazy about you,” I blurt out, and lean back to gauge his expression. His eyes crinkle at the corners and he doesn’t try to stop me, so I push on. “I have been for…I don’t even know how long. You’re going to homecoming with Sophia, and I don’t know what that means for us, but I need you to know that I’m out of my mind over you.”
The last sentence comes out in a rush and I swallow hard, my nerves about to snap and unravel.
Nathan cocks his head. “You stole my speech. I’m out of my mind over you.”
After that, the earth was filled with a mad rush of life, as if to make up for lost time. All the different species struggled to survive, fighting and eating each other. And there were two reasons why the paradise of the leaf creatures failed and the hell of many creatures killing each other succeeded: diversity and competition. In the absence of diversity, they had gone extinct for just one single reason: without competition, a superior creature better suited to the environment would not emerge.
You have to understand...If you knew the effect you had on me, how often I think about you, the things I would do for you...I wouldn't stand a chance against you ever again. You would have taken everything from me," he goes on in a rush, like the words are burning him from within, like he has to get it out before the pain becomes overwhelming. "Not just a debating championship or some points for a test or a fancy award or a spot in a competition—but my whole heart. My pride. God, my sanity. It would all be over. You would annihilate me.
This was the day of truth. There was no longer any reason to hide anything from him. In a heady rush of release, she spoke what was in her hearth.
Bugün gerçeğin günüydü. Ondan bir şey saklamaya gerek yoktu. Yoğun bir rahatlama hissiyle, içinden geçenleri dile getirdi.