Theirs was a story of adoration. From the first day Nikolas' eyes stumbled upon those belonging to Kristi, he always knew that those eyes would be the most beautiful he would see while he had still sight. Deep, dark pools that perfectly matched the stranger's hair, which shone with shades of chocolate and coffee. The first time they spoke, each stumbling over their words and stealing quiet glances at the other, they realised that they would never meet anyone the same again. A friendship blossomed along with the cherry trees of spring, which the two would spend hours simply sitting underneath, talking about whatever was on their minds, amazed at the honesty they could produce in the other's company. And so they developed, each person discovering and exploring newfound interests as they slowly became more and more confident and at ease with themselves due to their bond. The pair were rarely seen apart; they did everything together, went everywhere together, talked about any and everything.
But underneath the calm, happy facade of their friendship, Kristi and Nikolas' minds were in torment. Kristi was the last thing Nikolas thought of when he went to sleep, and the very first thing he thought of when he rose again to find a text from his best friend saying endearing things like, "Good morning birds! Sounds like you slept well!" And, "The sun's out today, must be feeling generous this morning." Just the thought of Kristi's smiling face was enough to make him smile too. The two would walk into school together every day, but some days neither could make eye contact and conversation came in small doses. These days became more and more frequent as Nikolas began to think more about what their friendship might become, but was afraid to ask in fear of offending his friend. One day, as he lay in bed, he fretted over something that didn't bother him normally. Kristi had been friends with another guy before Nikolas came, and the two caught the same bus every day. Nikolas often saw them walking from the bus stop to the school gates together, where they would part and Nikolas would meet Kristi. The morning before, Nikolas had seen these two walking up together, discussing something closely rather than joking around. He had asked Kristi what they were talking about, but the response he got was a hurried, almost snappy, "Nothing!"
This bothered him throughout the day, and as he lay in bed he wondered what Kristi was hiding from him. They were best friends, weren't they? They told each other everything, big and small. A wave of horror broke over Nikolas as he realised he was getting jealous. He didn't want the other guy to be with Kristi. He didn't want to let Kristi keep secrets with him. He didn't want the other guy to take Kristi from him. He slowly, carefully, re evaluated his feelings for Kristi. And he came to a conclusion quickly. He wanted Kristi. He wanted Kristi for himself. He loved his best friend.
Weeks passed in this way, Nikolas falling deeper and deeper in love with Kristi every day. Every time they were alone, what he wanted to say would get stuck, and he would pass it off as something else. This frustration continued for two agonising months, until one day Kristi wasn't walking up to greet him at the gate. He started to become worried, so went inside to search for his precious friend. He looked all over school, but to no avail. He was panicked, and ran back towards the main entrance. As he passed the trees, he heard a soft noise. He stopped dead, turning to listen. The noise came again, an unmistakable sob. He walked over to the source of the noise; it seemed to be coming from behind a large bush. He peeked around the side of the foliage to find al snivelling Kristii, knees drawn up and held to chest. Nikolas crouched down and gently pulled Kristi's head up to look at him. The beautiful eyes were glossy with fresh tears, and Nikolas instantly pulled his friend into a hug, feeling Kristi collapse into his arms. They stayed like this for a minute or two, until Kristi pushed Nikolas away to wipe the tears off. They walked to their favourite place beneath the trees, where Nikolas asked what was wrong. Kristi choked on words, trying and failing to tell him the problem. Nikolas was torn over what to do, his friend was in so much distress and there was seemingly nothing he could do. Kristi looked up at him again, brown eyes welling up again, and suddenly Nikolas' instincts took over. Taking Kristi's face in his hands, he leant down and kissed his object of long adoration. Instead of pulling away, Kristi kissed back enthusiastically, and the two were finally relieved of the tension and confusion that had haunted them for months.
That was their first kiss. From there, their friendship bloomed into love as summer opened itself in front of them. Every day they seemed to be happier, growing closer and closer with every word, movement and action. They were always happiest together, and made the utmost of summer's opportunities to treat each other. By the time September rolled around again, they were nowhere to bee seen alone, and they returned to their school routine with extra zest every morning.
On their three-months anniversary, Nikolas took Kristi to the beach a few miles out of town. They splashed and played in the sea, chasing each other up and down the coastline. Once they were tired, they changed and huddled together under a blanket on the sand, staring at the sea painted orange by the sunset. Nikolas adored the feeling of Kristi's head resting on his shoulder. As the sun drowned below the horizon, Nikolas turned to face Kristi. Their eyes locked, ice blue meeting mocha brown. "You know, you never told me...," Nikolas said softly, kissing Kristi's forehead. "Is Kristi short for anything?"
Kristi leaned up and kissed Nikolas lovingly. "Yeah... Kristian."
