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One month had passed now and Wally had been through several types of emotional torture. Kuki had gotten out of her room just after the first month but she hadn't talked to Wally much. When he wasn't around, she was the usual Kuki, energetic and fun. But whenever he arrived, she would suddenly stop her laughs and keep quiet until he leaves. For two months, he has heard nothing from her but coughs or sneezes or grunts. Not once had he heard a single laugh nor had he seen a single smile. It was hurtful for him. He missed her old optimism. As those weeks went by the strangest questions roamed his mind and he didn't like it one bit. Does he like Kuki? Does she like him? Is he really prone to jealousy around her? Should he talk to her? Or maybe he should talk should talk to the gang first? After those weeks and weeks of painful pondering, Wally had come to several conclusions. First there was thought of him liking her. He still didn't know for sure. But he knew he wanted her to like him as well. After all, it pained him so much to know that she hated him. And as for his thoughts about his own jealousy, he figured that he'd talk to the gang about that. And as for his "confession" to her, he decided not to do that unless he's sure about his own emotions.

One morning after summing up all his thoughts, Wally made his way to Abby's house where the rest of the gang was waiting.

"So, is Kuki here yet?" He said as he made himself comfortable on an armchair.

"She's not coming" Nigel said, "She said she didn't feel good"

"Boy, you really broke that girl's heart" Abby said.

"…I know" Wally admitted his defeat for once.

"I don't get it, Wally. You've known her for more than six years. Six years! Why is it that up to now, you still don't see how sensitive she is?"

"I guess it's because…" He sighed, "I use my aggressiveness as a cover up…"

"A cover up for what?" Hoagie asked him.

"I guess I just didn't want her to know…h-how much I cared…"

"Wait, are you saying-"

"Yes…I am"

All three of his friends lit up with smiles on their faces.

"I know I said that I was just in a bad mood that time but…I guess I can also say that my anger is just something I used to avoid showing how much I liked her"

"Like her? What do you mean like her?" Nigel repeated.

"Well I do, don't I? That's what you guys said"

"Wally, you don't like her," Hoagie said to him, "You love her"

Wally sat up, "Isn't that too much?"

"No" Abby said, "You fell in love with that girl the moment you laid eyes on her!"

"I was a kid back then, Abby"

"So what? That didn't stop you from loving her"

Wally sat still for a moment thinking. He reminisced about his childhood memories with Kuki, from the times he criticized her all the way to times he fought the guys who flirted with her.

"I don't understand…why would you guys say I love her? I mean, isn't it just a crush or something?"

"Wally," Abby said in a sweet tone, "When you risk almost everything for a girl, it means you're willing to devote everything to her. When you think about her all the time, you miss her. When you are brave enough to tell us that you 'like' her despite your hard effort not to, it means you care more about her than you care about yourself"

"What about…when I think of her every night…?"

"It's love" Abby smiled.

"Or when I get so jealous when she's with someone else?"

"It's love" Hoagie smiled.

"Or when I am willing to do anything just to make her like me again?"

"It's love" Nigel smiled.

Wally looked down and smiled. As he ran through his history of sleepless nights of thinking about her, or endless workouts to try and forget about some guy he saw her with, he became no longer afraid to say it. He loved her.