Will He Confess? A Good Friend’s Dilemma in a Character-Driven YA Romance

Katrina Era/Shutterstock.com

In my new YA romance “What Happens After You Confess Your Feelings to Someone?”, Chloe is a high school sophomore in the middle of a teen love triangle. She loves Mordecai, a junior at her school who’s prone to erratic behavior and moody ways. But he knows how to make her feel special—you know, when he’s not being insensitive to her feelings or doing things to leave her in tears.

At the same time, Chloe has a good friend named Simon who’s in love with her. But he struggles to tell her how he feels, partly because she’s so lost on Mordecai.

Since we’re dealing with a love triangle, Chloe will eventually have to make a decision about who she wants to date when she’s finally allowed to. (Her parents say she can’t date until she becomes a senior.) So, one of the big questions you might ask yourself is, who will Chloe pick when she can date? This is a question I go into more here.

But another important question to ask is, will Simon ever find the courage to confess his feelings to Chloe?

Unpacking Simon’s Secret Crush

From the moment that Simon first meets Chloe, his love for her is evident—to the reader, at least. While Chloe does eventually suspect that Simon has special feelings for her, she manages to stay in denial about them because he refuses to confess.

Simon has numerous opportunities to tell her how he feels, though. Since he and Chloe are good friends, he could come clean essentially anytime they’re alone together. But it seems like something always prevents him from doing so—or someone.

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 15 to show you what I’m talking about. For some context, Chloe has been feeling stressed about the future, and Simon suggested they go somewhere she can still feel like a kid. So, they agreed to go to Chloe’s elementary school playground. This is a snippet of a conversation they have while they’re there. Chloe is narrating.

“You don’t have to grow up if you don’t want to. That is, you don’t have to ever lose the kid in you,” he [Simon] says. Then he rushes up the slippery slide, slipping once, and sits beside me.

I laugh. “How do I do that and still mature?”

“It’s all about balance. Be a grown-up when you have to be one, but take advantage of every opportunity to play.”

“It’s not so easy for me. When I come here, I sense my childhood in my spirit, but I still feel distant from it. Like I said, this is where my childhood lives. I feel grown everywhere else, and I think I’ve forgotten how to play—except maybe when playing board games. But then the feeling fades again.”

“You know, Chloe,” he says, taking my hand, “there are some perks to being a grown-up.”

“Are there?” I ask. He nods and inches his face closer to mine. But the moment before our lips touch, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I jump back and say, “Sorry,” as I pull it out. Mordecai is calling. “It’s Mordecai,” I say apologetically.

Simon sighs. “So answer it.”

“No, I shouldn’t,” I say. “We were in the middle of something.”

“Just answer it, Chloe. I know you want to. I’ll go hang out on the monkey bars,” he says, sliding down and walking over to a different jungle gym—one that’s bright yellow and green.

I feel awful interrupting our moment this way, but Mordecai is calling. That means he needs me, and I can’t let him down.

Simon could have still taken this opportunity to confess his feelings to Chloe, but he chooses to stay silent. I explore that idea more here.

In this scene, Mordecai is definitely a big factor in why Simon doesn’t come clean. And it’s understandable that he might be reluctant to confess his feelings to Chloe while she’s so deeply in love with Mordecai. Her attachment to him is almost as strong as if they were dating.

Even so, not confessing means Simon is stuck in the friend zone. And when you have a big crush on someone—especially someone you would like to date—that’s not the most fun place to be.

Love or Friendship—Simon’s Toughest Battle

Simon does his best to be a good friend to Chloe. He’s kind to her, he’s always there when she needs him to be, he comforts her when she’s in tears (usually because of Mordecai), and he enjoys spending time with her. Not only that, but once he learns that he has to accept her attachment to Mordecai if he wants to continue being her friend, he does his best to respect that.

But even after learning the lesson that leads him to respect that, it doesn’t stop him from trying to help Chloe see the reality of her situation. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 12 that shows part of an IM (instant messaging) chat Chloe and Simon have after Chloe has just had to deal with some of Mordecai’s insensitive behavior. (Chloe’s IM name is Simplesnowflake, and Simon’s is Simonsayz32.)

Simonsayz32: this is the guy ur in love with?
Simplesnowflake: don’t try to use reason to understand matters of the heart
Simonsayz32: chloe be serious
Simonsayz32: the guy’s a jerk
Simonsayz32: how can u not c that?
Simplesnowflake: he made a mistake, simon
Simplesnowflake: that’s all
Simplesnowflake: and he apologized
Simonsayz32: is this what u meant when u said he doesn’t torment u?
Simonsayz32: cuz it seems like torment to me
Simonsayz32: playing with ur feelings like that
Simplesnowflake: i’ll admit that he could have handled the situation better
Simplesnowflake: but it’s over now
Simplesnowflake: and i forgive him
Simonsayz32: chloe…
Simplesnowflake: don’t u want me to forgive ur mistakes?
Simonsayz32: i would never hurt u on purpose
Simplesnowflake: mordecai didn’t intend to hurt me either
Simonsayz32: o really?

Even if Simon has to respect Chloe’s strong feelings for Mordecai, he can still give Chloe things to think about when it comes to her relationship with him.

A Character-Driven YA Romance

This YA romance is a character-driven story. It’s the characters who are really steering the forward motion of it—especially Chloe, who’s narrating and who shares her thoughts and emotions as the story progresses. In addition, this teen romance uses different forms of communication to show how the characters talk to each other, like IM chats and phone calls. And when Chloe finally gets her first cellphone, texting gets thrown into the mix. (The story takes place in the mid-2000s.)

It’s because of the character-driven nature of this story that the big questions are about feelings and choosing a partner. But, really, confessing your feelings to another person is no small task. So, wondering whether that will happen can create a certain kind of suspense.

And that brings up another question you might want to consider: Will Mordecai ever come clean about his feelings for Chloe?

While Simon’s feelings are clear and consistent throughout the story, Mordecai’s feelings aren’t so clear. Sometimes it seems like he might like Chloe as more than a friend, but then he does or says something that confuses her.

The thing is, Mordecai is dealing with secrets—secrets that help explain his erratic behavior and moody ways. And he only feels comfortable sharing these secrets with Chloe. I talk about that more in this post. But while it takes him some time to share those secrets with her, that seems to be easier than coming clean about his feelings.

So, will Mordecai finally reveal his real feelings? You’ll just have to read the story to find out. And you’ll also have to read it to discover whether or not Simon will finally confess.

Final Thoughts

I find character-driven stories to be a lot of fun because you get an inside look at the characters’ inner worlds, especially the main character if the story is written in the first person as this one is. And while you may not get the action-filled scenes of a plot-driven story, just wondering whether someone will find the courage to confess how they feel to another person—especially a good friend—can keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you’re ready for the roller coaster ride of emotions that comes with an intense crush and the potential for love confessions, don’t wait another second to dive into “What Happens After You Confess Your Feelings to Someone?” You can click here to learn more about the story or here to start reading Chapter 1 on Medium.

(The first three chapters are free and you don’t need an account to read them. But you’ll need a Medium account to read the rest. And you may also need to become a Medium member.)

~ Ashley C.

P.S. If you would like to sample more of my story-writing style, feel free to click here to read some stories that are currently available.