Haha honestly it's so dramatic I don't know what you're going to think of it. I don't even know what to make of it.

Also this is the link between Best Friend Life (parts 1&2) and The Truth Comes Out

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Harrison tried not to think about the fact that he was seconds away from throwing up. He took a sip of his coffee, trying to tell his body that the nauseous feeling wasn't actually nausea, only nerves. But his nerves made his stomach clench and he had to set his coffee cup back down.

Sitting at a table by the coffee shop window, he could see the whole world passing by. He shouldn't have sat there because it meant he latched onto every face wanting it to be her and not wanting it to be her. He wanted time to speed up while never moving forward. Taking in a breath, he dragged his hand roughly through his hair making it disheveled.

The door to the coffee shop opened and Harrison jerked his head up then froze. Layla walked in. Suddenly, Harrison felt as his palms began to sweat and his heart kicked it up a notch. She crossed over to him and he stood up.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked before she could lean in and kiss him.

"No, I'm good."

She sat and Harrison took a second longer to follow, part of him wanting to run away. But when she looked up at him, he forced his knees to bend and he sat back down.

Layla watched him and that nauseous feeling doubled. He had to tell her. He had to admit it because he wasn't being fair to her. He could see that now and the truth of it ate at him.

"So," he started but stopped when his voice tightened.

He ran a hand through his hair again and didn't want to picture how crazy he might look right then.

"Here's the thing-"

Layla held up her hand, her face sober. "It's Kennedy, isn't it?"

"What?" Harrison said. "It's...No...I...

Layla pressed her lips together but nodded. "You said you were friends and had been since you were little. I thought that meant you might have already thought about dating but realized you didn't have feelings for each other." She looked at him and Harrison felt about an inch tall at seeing her eyes turn glassy. "But there's something the two of you have that you and I have never had."

"Layla, I'm sorry. I-"

"Did you always known you were in love with her or is it new?"

"I didn't think I was. I only thought she was my best friend and that's how everyone felt about their best friend. But lately..."

"It's changed."

Harrison nodded and found he couldn't look at her. He cared for her, a lot. She was kind, funny, and beautiful. She deserved someone who wasn't in love with someone else. She deserved a lot better than him.

"Can you do me a favor?" she asked.

"Anything," Harrison said, needing to somehow make up for hurting her.

"Can you not give me some speech you planned?"

Harrison could feel everything he'd planned to say about how amazing she was and he was an idiot halt in his head.

"Okay."

Layla stood but paused. "Also if you could not talk to me for awhile. I really liked you and I..." She swallowed and Harrison felt like a jerk when he heard that catch in her throat. "I need space."

"Okay."

Harrison watched as she left and found he couldn't move. He'd been in relationships before this. Majority had ended when the other person broke up with him. Some simply ended because they stopped putting in the effort. This had been the first time Harrison was the one ending it.

He didn't think of Kennedy as he sat there staring out the window. Instead, he thought of Layla and how she'd been a better girlfriend than anyone deserved, least of all him.

She'd accepted his friendship with Kennedy, something previous girlfriends had struggled with. She'd made an effort to connect with Kennedy even though they had vastly different personalities.

Harrison buried his face in his hands. He hoped she found someone as loving as herself. He hoped a million good things for her because even when she could have gotten mad at him, yelled at him, acted out because of the breakup, she didn't. She was a better person than he'd ever be.

With the shift in the light outside, Harrison registered how late it was and left the coffee shop. As he headed home, he found his mind turning to Kennedy. His best friend. The girl he'd played with since he was a little kid. The girl that punched him when mad. Or when excited. The girl who could brighten his day no matter what mood he was in.

The girl who... The girl who meant more to him than anything else in the world.

Harrison felt a small smile tug at his mouth.

How he hadn't seen... Or maybe it was that he hadn't want to.

She was his safe space. When life went overwhelming or he wanted to get away from something, he ran to her.

And he knew, he was her safe space.

When she wanted to lash out at the world, he was the one able to hold her back.

If she felt down, he could pick her up.

He was the boy who could block her punches.

The boy that didn't run away when she took a swing at him.

There might have been guys she dated but Harrison knew they hadn't been to her what he was to her. Looking back at it, he knew it was because no girl was what Kennedy was to him.

They were both idiots for fooling themselves into thinking that at the end of it all it wouldn't always have been them two.

They were best friends. They were each other's balance.

When he thought of the word love, it held a million different meanings to him because of Kennedy.

He loved her.

Harrison couldn't fight his grin as he pressed the button to call the elevator. He loved Kennedy. He loved her and knew without a doubt that she loved him to.

It was them. There was no one else.

Harrison knocked at the Keller apartment door, his heart beating faster.

When it opened and he saw Kennedy, he found he lost his breath.

"Come in," she said. "I'm just finishing getting ready and you can have the privilege of telling me how pretty I look."

Kennedy hurried back into the apartment but Harrison found all he could do was stay frozen in the doorway. Kennedy. Kennedy in a dress. Kennedy looking stunning in a dress.

"Okay!" Kennedy said, returning and twirling once, showing how the sleek dress had a slit up one side. "Tell me I'm pretty."

Harrison snapped out of his stunned state. "What are you doing?"

Kennedy gave him a puzzled look. "I'm going to Blake Fletcher's dinner party. I told you about this. He asked me yesterday." She stared at him with the look she used when she thought he was being stupid. "How are you so shocked at this?"

She turned away from him and walked to the kitchen counter, snatching up a clutch purse sitting there.

She was going to a party. With someone else. But them? The two of them?

He'd broken up with Layla. But she didn't know that. He hadn't told her he planned to do it.

Harrison took in a breath. It made sense to him now, she didn't know that. She still played the same game they had been playing for years now, where they pretended that they didn't love each other.

"I broke up with Layla," Harrison said.

"Oh really? Why? I was starting to like her."

Why? Why had he broken up with Layla? Was she seriously going to keep acting ignorant?

"If you're upset about it," Kennedy said. "I think there is ice cream in the freezer. We can share some when I get back and you can tell me all about your broken heart."

She stepped towards the doorway but Harrison cut in front of her path.

"Are you serious right now?" he said. "I broke up with Layla because of you."

"Why? Because I didn't like her all that much? I don't see how that made a difference to you, there were other people I didn't care for and you still dated them. Maybe the next girl I'll help you pick so you don't have to break up."

"Kennedy, stop playing with me."

Kennedy took a step back and scrutinized Harrison, her blue-eyed gaze piercing him. He loved her eyes but right then they were looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

He hadn't! He'd finally come to see life clearly and she was messing with him.

"Okay," Kennedy said slowly. "I don't know what you think I'm doing but I'm not and I have to go. Blake is waiting down stairs with the car."

As she made to move around him, Harrison grabbed her arm, needing to stop her.

"Don't go," he said. "Don't do this."

Kennedy jerked her arm out of his hold and stared him down. "I don't know what's gotten into you but you need to get it out."

"Are you seriously going to go off with some other guy?"

"Umm, yeah. It's called a date."

Right then Harrison wanted to yell and shake her.

"But it's some guy you barely know. Do your parents even know about this?"

Kennedy crossed her arms, her entire body becoming defensive and he knew her too well not to be able to see the storm building. But he didn't care because he was a tornado at that moment. He'd come to her, ready to stop pretending and now she planned to go off with someone else.

"First off, yes they do and so do your parents. My parents will be home tonight and they said to be home before them. Besides it's a fancy dinner, not some sketchy club I'm going to. Why are you making such a big deal about this?"

"Because you don't even know this Blake guy all that well."

"Ah, yes but that's why people go on dates, to get to know others better."

"Well I don't like it and I don't think you should go."

The moment Harrison said the words he knew how stupid and wrong they had been. Kennedy turned from defensive to calmly livid. It was a lethal mixture that somehow only she possessed.

"I shouldn't go because you don't approve?" she asked, her tone deadly.

No, he didn't and he didn't care if he was going to die because of it but right then all he wanted was for her to stay with him. He couldn't bear the thought of her leaving looking so beautiful that no guy in their right mind would ever let go. If she left he somehow feared he would never get her back.

"No, I don't think you should go. Don't go. Stay here. With me," he confessed.

Kennedy stared at him and for what felt like the first time in his life he didn't know what was going through her head. He wanted to ask her to say something but he found he wasn't even breathing anymore.

Kennedy's phone rang and she answered it, still looking at Harrison.

"Yeah," she said. "I'll be right down."

She turned away from Harrison and strode out of the apartment without a single word. Harrison felt like she'd punched him. At this point he thought he'd be used to the sensation but this one was new. When he heard the dig of the elevator, he raced into the hall as Kennedy climbed on.

"This is a mistake," he said, feeling his heart sinking to the floor. "Don't go, Kennedy."

Holding his gaze with icy eyes, she hit a button and the doors closed.

"Don't go!" Harrison yelled.

The door to his family's apartment opened and his father poked his head out.

"Harrison, is something wrong?" he asked.

Harrison nodded and felt like his heart had been stabbed.

"Yeah, everything is wrong."

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*GASPS*😱 THIS IS GOING TO END TERRIBLY! I can just feel it even if that feeling is coming from knowing with full certainty that it is because I already wrote the next chapter... still! *swoons* (gracefully, obviously)

Oh dear me! Don't let me be alone with this overwhelming feeling is dread! Do share your thoughts! 💭💬🗯

Not gonna lie I wrote  this chapter for you. Stop! Don't you dare roll your eyes in a 'yeah-Joy-of-course-you-did-because-you-write-all-of-these-for-us-because-we-own-you' sort of way!

If it's just a general eye roll well then that's okay, that's less abrasive.

No I wrote it for you because so many of you pointed out the obvious detail of Harrison being a terrible person for dating whatshername while loving Kenny so I had to set the record so you didn't want to stab Harrison.

Well... after this chapter you still might want to but hopefully the next one will make you feel less violent.

So go! Dash off! Skidattle! Begone with you reader! Soar to the next chapter!

Real quick vote, comment, follow

Funny enough I don't even know why I always add this detail because I don't even care about the ranking anymore. I think it's just habit at this point.

Also new feature! Shout out comments! I'm going to post comments from the last update that made me smile!

It's a way to feature you and also let you know that even if I can't answer all the comments I still read them all!

These are from Elevator
(Wow what an absolutely boring title, bleh! What was I thinking? Whatever)

💁‍♀️ this is about my return so oblivious I had to add it... or was it the fact that Carter is back... 🥺

Yup, who hasn't felt that why before

The perfect summary of Carter and Mason!

😁😁

I was going to do two fighting animals but found this and wanted to most this instead cause 😂😂😂 so cute!