...
Silence. Godforsaken, unholy silence.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
Hope's soul felt like it had been taken from his body and was now floating above him, chastising him for his foolishness. Right now, the floorboards between his shoes were the most fascinating sight he'd ever seen. He didn't have anywhere near enough courage to look at Lightning, to say nothing of mustering the strength to speak. Oh how he wished the sofa could swallow him alive!
...
Still more silence. Uncomfortable, awkward silence.
What have I done? Only managed to completely ruin the relationship with the one woman that I care more about than anything else in the world. Maybe it's not too late - I could still fix this but I've gotta backtrack.
"W-well… I mean, well, w-what I mean to say is that, um, I don't really know what l-love is. I mean, I'm only 14, right? I'm n-not even sure how it feels, b-but there's just something that's changed between you and me. Th-that's what I'm asking - is if there's any new feelings there. I mean ones that weren't there before. Right?"
Real smooth genius. Now she thinks you're a bumbling oaf who doesn't know his own mind. One step forward, two steps back.
Hope's gaze hadn't bugged an inch. If he stared at the floor any harder it's probably burst into flames, but he just couldn't bring himself to look at Lightning. She was probably gawking at him, completely dumbstruck that he'd even hinted at the very concept of love between the two of them. That would be a look that could easily haunt Hope until the end of days.
...
Still more silence. Damned, unending silence.
Well she clearly isn't speaking to me. Man, this is screwed up royally. I should just work damage control here. I couldn't dig myself deeper if I wanted to.
"Lightning I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have said anything. Now I've just humiliated myself and embarrassed you…..I'll get out of your way now."
Hope couldn't leave quickly enough. He shot up straight and immediately headed straight for the door. But not before feeling a gloved hand on his arm that shouldn't have been there.