"It's just not fair", Elliott whispered and looked down on her boots. Her warm chestnut eyes were filled with tears Will noticed.
"I know", he said and put an arm around her shoulders. Elliott couldn't hold her tears back anymore. They streamed down her cheeks leaving wet trails on her pale face. Her body was shaking and she lifted her hands to her face trying to hide it. "It's alright", Will said and hugged her even harder. Elliott took her hands away from her face and let her head rest against his shoulder as he whispered softly in her ear "Just ignore them. You are beautiful Elliott. They're either jealous of you, or they're simply blind."
They sat there quietly for a few minutes until Elliott had calmed down a little. "Thanks, but you're just saying that to make me feel better, don't you?" she said quietly with a sad smile.
"No I'm not! Hey, look me in the eyes", Elliott lifted her head to look him into his kind blue eyes and saw he was close to crying, "I do think you're the most beautiful thing in the world. And I know you know it's true", he said and smiled a little. She blushed and looked down on her boots again. It wasn't like her at all to act this unsure and childish, and she was ashamed over herself who hadn't even been able to hold back her tears in front of the person she respected more than anyone. Latest time she cried in front of someone else was probably more than five years ago. She had always represented herself as cold and hard to reach, never showing any emotions. Now this protecting wall that she had built up for years were damaged. But suddenly she realised that she didn't even care right now. She just wanted to feel small and loved again. She didn't want to pretend being brave and indestructible anymore. She just wanted the person she loved the most to love her back. As if Will had read her thoughts he wrapped his strong arms around her and hugged her tight. She felt like a warm, fuzzy wave of joy rushing through her body as she did the same and shut her eyes hard. Suddenly Elliott realised that this was the perfect moment for her to tell him how she really felt. She opened her eyes wide and whispered in his ear: "I love you", and then she held her breath waiting frightened for his reaction. For one second she hoped that he hadn't heard her whisper but then Will pushed her away. He looked Elliott deep into her scared eyes with a wide smile on his face. Then he hugged her again, so tight that it almost hurt.
"I love you too", he said and the very moment those words leaved his chest Will realised how true they were. He felt like a heavy stone which had been pushing him down for months, without him realising it had been released from his stomach. Elliott smiled wide and hugged him back even tighter. "Of course I love you", Will mumbled into her soft black hair. Then the two teenagers reluctantly but excited pushed away from each other to let their lips meet in a careful, soft kiss.