Before Zoey Hanson, Odd had felt tired and almost emotionless his whole life as a 15 year old teenager. His parents constantly yelled at him, so did his teachers. He couldn't understand Geography and other subjects properly, so he barely managed to get normal grades.
Sometimes, he is driven into deep thoughts while walking down the street to think if he deserves this. Strict parents, low self-esteem, minimum support coming from his relatives, no siblings, several pets... it all had felt like a nightmare.
However, that one, particular day had changed his life. He met Zoey Hanson, who was going to the House of Mirrors. They had introduced each other and gone there together. Both had lots of fun, but shortly after went their seperate ways. He thought, maybe there's a chance they might run into each other again sometime.
Hadn't been long 'till they bumped into each other again, adding themselves a mental note that they should be more careful next time. Odd was shy, but asked: ''Hello, Zoey Hanson. I was thinking if you could come to the cinema with me.''
''Oh, hi! Yeah, I'd love to!''
''Don't worry, I'll sponsor the money.''
(They started hanging out a few times, but only for a little while, since his parents wanted him to come back as soon as class was over.)
After school, both had finally gone to the cinema. The chosen movie was ''Ruby Red'', they liked the fantasy genre. Quite the mysterious one, may I add. After watching, they took a stroll through the park.
''Hey, we haven't even known much about each other and we're already hanging out! Doesn't that, um, seem a little strange, so sudden?'' Zoey Hanson questioned, looking at the blond banana-looking-haired boy beside her.
Odd had fallen into a small, small panic. He didn't know what to say. Perhaps, he just wanted a friend so badly that he went straight-forward. The boy replied, ''I suppose it does. I'm sorry, it's just that, I've never had any friends due to my poor socializing. I went too quickly, haven't I?''
They laugh it out, Zoey Hanson shaking her head as an answer to his question. ''It's alright,'' she assured, ''I don't have many friends myself.'' Odd had felt a bit of relief from his shoulders, at least she didn't judge him for that. Others might just bring him down because of how dumb he is that can't even talk to people.
Before they once again had to take seperate ways, Zoey Hanson began humming a song, something unfamiliar to Odd. He didn't want to interrupt, so he just listened like it was music to his ears. Later on bid each other goodbye and went home.
At the end of the day, Odd had felt... quite happy for once in his life. Butterflies in his stomach, even. His pets comforted, played with him, but he felt like it wasn't enough with adorable, fuzzy pets. He needed a human friend and, luckily for the boy, Zoey Hanson was his first one in, well, forever. Odd wanted to spend a lot of time with her, but his only fear is getting carried away with the friendliness. Oh, how his parents oughta be surprised seeing him happy.
Ever since the stroll through the park, Odd had invited Zoey Hanson to his home a few times while his parents were at work. They played several German board games, watched TV, allowed Zoey Hanson to play with his pets, everything went alright. She went home early before the parents returned after a long day of working.
About 4 weeks have passed since they've spent time together. Surprisingly, his support from Zoey Hanson gave him good grades! Not perfect, but normal enough for his parents to be satisfied. His mood had also increased, thanks to her. Usually, he just had a resting bitch face at school, barely any laughter or smile what-so-ever. Some classmates had reccommended talking to a counsellor. However, he refused due to his fear of getting snitched on, since it's a school counsellor.
They had also made several hits around Germany and the whole world, such as ''Was ist dein Lieblingsfach?'', ''Das ist meine Familie'', ''Wann hast du Geburtstag?'' , ''Hallo aus Berlin'' and many others.
A few months passed, they hung out almost every day, until... one night, Odd was unable to sleep. Poor boy couldn't understand why, he assumed it was due to the excitement and energy from having someone by his side to do something together. He got out of bed, grabbed something to eat, went back into his room, finished eating warm food, and tried falling asleep a second time. Surprise, surprise, it did not work. Truly a sad news™ moment
Suddenly, Odd's brain went from confusion to Zoey Hanson.
He couldn't stop thinking about her. Not to mention, he had seen her in his dreams about 10 times. Yowza!
Then, he felt heat rising all around his face and his heart began to race a little. The boy became worried. What's happening? Had he caught a cold and the body temperature's rising? That couldn't be it. He was oh, so confused now... but don't think that stopped him from slowly realizing, that...
Odd had fallen in love with Zoey Hanson I'm crying and shaking please share like follow before I die of brain damage
Now he really felt like he didn't exist. Currently in downfall confusion. He loved Zoey Hanson, but only as a best friend, since he had no other than her. What was Odd to do? He had known nothing about crushes and love on it's own. Not even a year had passed and they're already really close.
Odd tried to forget all about it and hoped that there was a possibility to finally fall asleep.
He'll figure out what to do tomorrow.
For about 3 days, Odd hadn't gone to school. He managed to somehow fake nausea to the parents, making them believe. There was a test due next week and 2 days included important studying, but that didn't matter to his mind. All he could think about was how to tell Zoey Hanson why he didn't come to school.
On the 3rd day, the boy assumed that he shouldn't lay in bed all day, skipping school. Otherwise, he'd fail the test BIG BANG TIME. So, he got out of bed to do something. However, he was unable to, since he was afraid of looking at his best friend, Zoey Hanson, in the eyes without accidentally splurting something embarrassing.
Uh oh, today was the Super Unlucky day ® for Odd. After school, Zoey Hanson came to visit. As soon as he heard his mom shouting her arrival, it was time to start panicking. How was he going to pretend he's sick? Zoey Hanson's a fast lil' bitch, meaning she'll be opening his door at any second now. As soon as he jumped back into bed, the door was open, slowly creaking, the girl's head popping out.
''Hello, Odd,'' greeted Zoey Hanson with a soft smile on her face, ''how are you feeling?''
He became startled a bit, but answered to her question immediately. ''Ah, hello, Zoey Hanson. I'm doing better,'' he continued, ''but that's just how I think it is, not sure how in reality.''
''That's great to hear!'' Zoey Hanson exclaimed. ''I've brought you some tomato soup, since I've heard you say it's your favorite.'' Trust me, it's canon. he actually likes tomato soup 3
''Thank you, but,'' Odd questioned, ''why do this for me? Shouldn't you be at home? Your mom could be worried sick...'' He didn't mean to waste his only friends time, since he's afraid of losing her. Not to mention his interest is developing.
She thought for a moment, until finally spoke up. ''Well, wouldn't it be wrong to leave a friend behind while they're at home, sick,'' she continued, ''and you're at school at the same time? It would be fair to come visit at least once.
''Plus,'' the black-haired girl added, ''I had told my mom in the morning that I'll come visit you after school, so no need to worry.''
Even if Zoey Hanson assured Odd that everything was alright, he still felt guilty about being absent these 3 days. He never knew she would be this caring, thinking it was a good idea to come over.
He wanted to say something, anything, but his mind felt like it went off into the void without a single word.
Silence passed for about... half a minute, until Odd finally said something that came out of the box. ''What do you think of me? ?''
He realized what was asked a second late, then he REALLY began to panic, wrapping himself up like a cocoon, no face visible, nothing. Just plain embarrassment.
Zoey Hanson had to process the given question, until she let out a small chuckle before responding: ''I must admit; you're a pretty awesome guy,'' the girl confessed, ''most boys in my class could be either annoying or pushy. Somehow, you're different. I feel comfortable when hanging out with you, plus a spark of joy!'' She hugged the little blanket cocoon next to her for comfort.
Poor guy was screaming on the inside from the sudden move. Slowly revealing his bright red face, he began carefully turning his boneless head to Zoey Hanson. She gave the guy a soft smile, but immediately burst into laughing at the tomato in front of her.
''What's wrong, got that embarrassed from my thoughts about you?'' she couldn't stop giggling to herself, not helping the boy.
''Oh, come on,'' Odd tried to stop her, ''it's not funny :'('' He thought to himself, hopefully he doesn't reveal more clues about his liking for her.
Zoey Hanson slowly stopped, apologizing to him, ''Okay, okay, but I will ask, why were you blushing?''
ZOINKS! Man, as a narrator, I could say something about that, but I'm tryna read the kids a lil' love story, no commentary.
''I suppose it's nothing,'' he, obviously, lied, ''probably because nobody had ever complimented me before. I've always thought I was just boring, meaning I couldn't fit in.''
The girl found that pretty sad, because in her Point of View, he was a really cool boy, not looking at the embarrassed, shy personality traits. Odd was understanding, too, as well as shared past memories with her.
She tried her best to make him feel better by saying: ''Well, you've been finally complimented, that coming as completely honest.''
''...I'm glad.''
''My, would you look at the time!'' Zoey Hanson exclaimed after a few minutes, looking at the clock by Odd's bed. ''I suppose it's time for me to go. It was really nice to talk it out with you. I'll obviously be telling mom about our conversation.''
At this point, he didn't even try to deny everything, because it was true about his embarrassment. ''Go ahead,'' he motivated with a soft smile on his lips, ''Take care!''
''I will!'' she hugged him once more before bidding him goodbye.
After this, he felt fully relieved. He considered returning to school tomorrow after feeling a whole lot better, thanks to Zoey Hanson. So, he returned to take a nap.
On the next day, the boy finally made an appearance at school. As predicted, his teacher yelled at him, being pushy with questions as to why he was absent. Odd responded with the fact that his parents have already sent a letter, and that possibly he hasn't recieved it yet. At this point, he's started to ignore his teacher's pointless yelling, like, seriously, he should go sing in choir instead or something.
After leaving the boy alone, he returned back to his desk. Not believing the statement, he was about to mark Odd's absence on a large notebook, until SURPRISE the postman arrived and handed a letter from Odd's parents. The teacher opened the letter containing the excuse. His notebook was put back into the drawer. The boy felt a bit of relief from his shoulders.
While studying, his mind felt empty, barely hearing the teacher. He was talking about Geography stuff. The others were writing everything down, while all he could do is sit in boredom and start thinking about Zoey Hanson. Surprisingly, Herr Kocker didn't notice him doing absolutely nothing and just kept winding his mouth.
Once Herr Kocker dismissed the class, Odd left, and guess who arrived... He was surprised by the sudden tackle that made him fall to the tiled floor. Thankfully, he didn't hit his head hardly and just let out a laugh. ''Zoey Hanson! It's nice seeing you at school again!''
''Same goes to you, banana hair.''
Both got up immediately, dusting themselves off before people give weird looks and assumptions to their minds.
''Hey,'' Zoey Hanson noticed him not getting dizzy after getting tackled, ''surprisingly after my visit, you immediately felt better that you came to school the very next day!'' she ended the sentence with a smug-kind of face. ''Could it be, that my dear friend, Odd Schmidt, was lying all along?''
He stood silent for a few moments, before he admitted, ''Well, you know me, I'm sometimes good at faking things. I just wanted my teacher to leave me alone, since I got tired of his pointless yelling.''
''Ah, I see. Did you want to see me that badly so you could have the motivation to come back, or...?'' Zoey Hanson questioned, now quite curious.
''I suppose, since I missed you while you were at school,'' that one was true, ''it felt boring. My pets played with me, but it didn't do much for the atmosphere.''
The girl beside him just smiled without a word. The bell rang, and when they seperated, she said: ''Let's meet after school.'' He took that in mind.
As scheduled, after class, they met by the school's entrance. Odd decided to escort his friend home. While walking down the street, he once again drifted into thoughts about deciding if it was the right time to tell how he really feels about the person walking next to him. Both were silent until Zoey Hanson asked: ''You don't look really happy, something on your mind?''
Then it hit him. He was almost about to spit out what's bothering him, but suddenly remembered about the house. ''N-no, I'm alright,'' sounding assuring, ''I just remembered about house-cleaning and the pets, since my parents are away on a buisness trip for about 2 days, and I've gotta make it look nice, so that they don't yell...''
''Ah, well...'' Zoey Hanson thought if it would be helpful, ''perhaps I can help?''
Odd thought for a moment, perhaps it could be a proper time for confession after they clean the house and take care of the pets.
''You know what,'' preparing the final answer, ''why not? It'll motivate me, plus things will be done faster!''
The girl felt excitement over her body. ''Let's go! But first, I need to empty my backpack before we go to your place.''
After an hour, they finally arrive at Odd's. They change shoes and immediately start working, no relaxation needed. Zoey Hanson began with the kitchen, Odd with the hallway and most rooms, except his own. He decided to get to that last.
After she finished the kitchen, the living room, dusting counters and feeding the pets, her last cleaning spot was Odd's room. She carefully walked up the stairs, since he'd mopped them. Once arrived, she began cleaning, vaccuming. It wasn't so bad in here, felt quite cozy.
While vaccuming the carpet since her best friend was off to the garage, she noticed some drawings on his desk. She didn't want to invade privacy, but still took a small peek, and she couldn't believe her own eyes... those drawings were reflects of them at the cinema, the funhouse and many other places they've been hanging out. Looks like he's found happiness for once.
What she didn't hear was Odd's footsteps to his room for tidying, since the garage was clean. He stood right behind her without a word. Once Zoey Hanson felt something behind her back, she slowly turned to see the banana-haired boy.
''H-hey, Odd...'' she greeted with a fake smile, ''I swore to myself not to peek, but i just noticed them while vaccuming your room, so please don't be mad.''
''Ah, no, I'm not mad,'' he said it like snapping out of daydreams, ''just a little embarrassed of my own doodles. I forgot to hide them before going to the garage.''
Zoey Hanson really thought he would be angry for looking at them, since they're seemingly personal, but since he wasn't, she felt relieved.
Odd, I think it's about time to speak up. A small, echoing voice played in his mind, since he wanted this himself. All this time it felt like it was straightforward to suddenly confess, but many months had passed since they've hung out, and surely she hasn't gotten clues that he likes her, right?
Without realization, he gently grabbed Zoey Hanson's hand, asking: ''Could we sit on the bed? We need to talk,'' having a soft smile on his lips. She nodded in response.
''So,'' they both stood silent and felt awkward, ''what's up? Something bothering ya?''
Odd bit his lip since the mind was racing with stress, having no words to say. After one big sigh, he began.
''Zoey Hanson, ever since I met you, I've felt really happy and confident, since during my life nobody wanted to be friends with me because i couldn't understand seemingly easy subjects. But you've helped understand them! My teach still bugs me, but i think it's because he hates me or something. It's alright, though.
''Well, I've been acting weird lately because something really was stuck on my mind for a long time. One night, I woke up feeling tingly all over. Then I felt heat rising through my face, I assumed i had a fever, but it turned out that...it was something completely different.''
He didn't want to continue. Zoey Hanson questioned, ''Well, what was it? Take your time.''
''I... oh, how to not make this awkward,'' he so badly regretted the sudden confession, ''I began to like you, in a more-than-friend way.''
It was the girl's turn to become speechless. She didn't know what to think nor say.
''I've wanted to ask you...can you be my girlfriend?''
Zoey Hanson still didn't know how to react. Such a wholehearted confession coming from her best friend, it felt unreal. Short after, she responded...
''Odd, I sincerely apologize, but... I just am unable to accept your confession. We're still teens, and our current position in our relationship is best friends. When we get older, I suppose then we could take the next step. But for now, we're gonna have to stay as best friends.''
After that polite rejection, the 15-year-old kind of wanted to cry, yet refused. ''Ah, I-I see...it's alright, Zoey Hanson,'' he tried to pull a little smile, but it turned out to be a tired one, ''I understand. You're right, I went straight-forward.''
''Hm... well, I suppose we can change something in our friendship, like... um.. hand holding?'' she suggested.
''I'd love that!''
''Then that's settled. Don't worry, I like ya the same way, but I think it's a little too soon.'' Zoey Hanson tried comforting him.
''Don't worry, I wasn't gonna kiss you or anything, that'd be weird...''
''Agreed.''
Since Odd's feelings were finally free, but recieved with rejection, that didn't bother him at all! It hurt a little, but fully understood why it was deserved. Thankfully, their friendship wasn't ruined. During walks, they sometimes held hands. In a platonic way, that is. Both felt happy and continued their project with ''Hallo aus Berlin''.
Moral of the story: If you have a crush on your best friend, don't go straight-forward. It can cause a ruined friendship, sometimes not. It's best to just wait for the right time to let out those feels. For now, you've gotta be careful with your steps in a developing friendship.