At precisely 6:05pm, the famous family restaurant Lynn's Table is completely empty and quiet. The only lights radiating inside come from the kitchen, and two battery powered lights that resemble candlesticks sitting on each table; including the one Liam occupies as he waits patiently for his date. He is wearing a long sleeved, dark green, button down shirt, dark blue jeans, and brown boots. Holding his pants is also a dark brown belt with a large gold buckle.
Lynn Sr, dressed in his usual chef garb, comes out of the kitchen carrying two steamy plates of his famous Lynn-sagna. He sets one plate directly in front of Liam, and the other plate across the table from him.
"Here you are, Liam." He proudly declares.
"Thank you Mr. Loud," Liam graciously accepts. "Say, ya got any last minute advice for my date?"
Lynn Sr smiles. "Honestly, the same thing anybody will tell ya: be yourself and everything will be just fine."
"If you'll excuse me, I'm off to prepare some delicious ice cream sundaes for dessert. If there's anything you or your date need, give me a holler." Lynn Sr departs from the table and goes back into the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Zach stood outside the restaurant on his tiptoes looking in the window, his hands cupped around his eyes to get a better view in the darkness.
There he is, waiting...and looking so handsome as he does so. Zach moves from the window to the door and gives a nice, hearty knock, ready to face his crush once and for all.
Once he catches view of Liam getting up from his table and walking towards the door; Zach's heart pounds in his ears, knowing the grin Liam has on his face will soon disappear.
Since the door has a window on it, Liam is able to see that it's not Charlotte standing there, but Zach. His smile instantly fades as he opens the door.
"Zach? What're you doing here?" Liam asks while quizzically raising a brow.
Zach freezes, now unsure of what to say. His throat begins to dry up as he wearily stares at his friend, beads of sweat forming on his temples.
"Need...to talk... now," He hoarsely stammers.
Without giving Liam a chance to react, Zach walks past him and heads towards the table. He slides the plate of lasagna away from him.
Liam finally sits down. "Whatever this is about, it's gonna have to be quick, my date should be here any minute."
Zach sucks air through his teeth as he slides his index finger across the surface of the table. "I hate to tell you this, but...Charlotte's not coming because... she's not your secret admirer."
Liam's jaw drops, "What? But, if it's not her, then who is it?"
Zach takes his eyes off Liam and tightly grips the table, the bones in his knuckles starting to pop into view. "It's...it's…" His tone shifts to a whisper. "It's me…"
Liam puts his hand next to his ear. "What was that? It's who?"
Unable to take it anymore, and unable to control his actions; Zach's arms start flailing about as his hands clenched into fists, much like a child throwing a tantrum. "It's me alright! It's me, me, me! I'm the one who wrote all those cheesy letters! I'm the one who likes you!" His arms drop, but his hands remain as fists. "And, I meant what I said, I really like you and you really are special to me! And, before you ask, I'm gay! I have been since second grade!" He stops talking and hyperventilates; sweating a storm and his face turning pink, both from exhaustion and from embarrassment.
Liam stares dumbfounded at his friend, pupils constricted to the size of peas and the color of his face draining slightly. "Zach...are you sure? You like me and you're gay?"
"Yes Liam! I'm as sure as...whatever Southern metaphor you would say!"
Liam's mouth hangs open slightly as he places a hand on his cheek, silently taking everything in. All this time, a friend of his is not only homosexual, but has a crush on him. What's he supposed to think? However, as he started thinking about each letter individually, a smile slowly but surely crept onto his face. He remembers the euphoric thrill of someone describing him as "cute", "funny", "hardworking", and "special". He also finally understood what his admirer meant when they said they wanted to spare the two of them from "confusion and pain". He also understood his admirer's desire to be "welcomed with open arms". He looks at Zach, who has both his elbows on the table, both hands on both sides of his head, and is quietly but heavily breathing. Poor guy, this confession must have been too much for him.
"Zach?" The bespectacled redhead looks up, too weary to say anything.
"For what it's worth, I'm incredibly flattered that you have feelings for me." He begins to bashfully touch his index fingers together. "It actually means a lot to me that someone is that caring of me, let alone someone I can call one of my best friends."
Zach gives, to put it mildly, the exact opposite reaction Liam expects: he frowns, his lips quiver, and his eye twitches. "You're flattered?! It means a lot to you?!"
In a state of confusion, Liam cocks an eyebrow. "What's wrong? You look like you're about to cry."
Much to his surprise, Zach slides out of the booth, stands up, and stomps his foot on the floor. "No! You are not supposed to be Ok with this! You're supposed to be freaking out!" A single tear trickles down to his left eye. "This...this doesn't feel right!"
With that, he storms off to a corner on the other side of the restaurant, Liam chasing after him.
When he reaches a wall, he presses his forehead against it, tears pouring out of his eyes as he grits his teeth. "This was a huge mistake! I'm a huge mistake!"
Appalled that his best friend dared to call himself a mistake; Liam gasps, places both hands on both Zach's shoulders, and turns him around so they are face to face. "Zach! Don't ever call yourself or your feelings a mistake! So, you happen to like fellers instead of gals, that's something that can't be helped!"
"But…" Zach's retort was immediately halted when Liam placed his index finger on Zach's lips.
"Let me finish. Listen to me; what you wrote in those letters made me feel things...no, not just 'things', I felt...important, like I mattered to someone and made a difference in their life. You have no idea how happy that makes me."
More tears trickle down Zach's face, as well as a small stream of snot leaking out of his nose, which he sniffles. "But...it wasn't a girl who feels that way about you, and you like girls." He sobs.
Liam smirks and nods. "Yes, girls are definitely beautiful, I won't deny. All my past crushes have been girls, including Tabby and Stella at one point. However, after thinking long and hard about it, it strangely doesn't matter to me that it wasn't a girl."
Zach's eyes widen. "Liam...what're you saying?"
Liam releases his hands from Zach's shoulders and holds Zach's right hand tenderly in both of his. "I'm saying...I think we should give this a try."
Zach's heart pounds in his chest, and his cheeks flash a fluorescent pink color. He has been waiting for this moment ever since that fateful day Lincoln introduced him to the boy that would eventually become his crush. He lifts his left hand and tenderly places it on top of Liam's hands; still cradling his own. The tears start anew, this time of happiness. "Liam...are we...going out now?"
Liam smirks and nods, "Hey, who am I to deny someone who has a crush on me?" With no hesitation, he winks at him, resulting in Zach's blush deepening.
Flashing the biggest smile he has ever made, and that anyone has ever seen, Zach squeezes Liam's hands in excitement. "Oh Liam, I've been dreaming of this!"
Liam smiles with his teeth. "That's the spirit, bud." He looks over his shoulder at the table that still has the two plates of Lynn-sagna on it. "What do you say we start now?"
Zach nods in agreement. "I'd love that."
As they walk back to the table and eventually sit down, Liam has one last thing to say. "Ya know, with you coming out to me and admitting you have feelings for me; that's hands-down the bravest thing you have ever done. I'm mighty proud of you, Zach!"
Zach smiles. "Yeah...it is pretty brave isn't it." The two of them lightly chuckle.
Unbeknownst to the both of them, Lynn Sr listened in on their conversation the whole time. He grabs the two bowls of ice cream in each hand and prepares to take them out to the two boys; but not before giving one final, proud glance at the newly formed couple.
