Mattos' reaction to MC locking with a RO

"Hey... would you like to..." You shake your head and clear your throat before trying again. "It's been a couple of months since you and I became neighbors, and our friendship has been great. I was wondering... Ugh!"

You grunt and shake your head again. How many tries is it going to take before you finally find the right words to say to MC? Whoever said that confessing your feelings wasn't hard deserved to be held accountable for perpetuating such lies.

It's been months since MC moved to Lemon, and the two of you have been the best of friends, if not a little more. There were some special moments, some flirting even though you're very bad in that category, and there were even some kisses, which you've been proud of yourself for not messing up. And now... now it's time to come clean and tell MC how you feel and ask if there's a chance for the two of you to move to the next step.

Next step? What would that even look like? One of you moving to the other one's house? Posting a relationship status update on social media? You driving Nugget to soccer practice while the other parents gossip about you and MC being together?

Whatever the next step entails, you're ready for it. But first, you need to know if MC feels the same way because... well, what if MC doesn't feel the same way?

Trying to channel positive thoughts, you take another deep breath and rehearse your line in front of the mirror.

"Hi... I was wondering... oh, sorry, I forgot to say that you look cute today. Is that a new shirt?"

"Woof!"

Raccoon barks at you, and you can't help but giggle.

"You're right, buddy. I need something better," you say, turning to your four-legged friend sitting on the bathroom floor. He's been looking at you rehearsing for the past fifteen minutes, and even he is not impressed by the lines you've blurted so far.

Just as you're about to try again, there's a knock on your door, and Raccoon barks again, but you ask him to calm down as you make your way to see who it is.

The door opens to the bright smile of Monroe, Nugget's teacher, and you smile back at them. "Hey, it's been a while. Can I help you with something?"

"Sorry to bother you like that," Monroe says, their perfect red hair waving with every head movement. "MC told me that I could ask you if you had a garden hose to borrow. We are trying to set up some flowerbeds in MC's backyard, and we could use an extra garden hose. I promise I'll bring it back as soon as we're done with it."

Just a couple of feet away, you spot MC and Nugget carrying some flower pots out from MC's car trunk.

"Of course, you can borrow my garden hose. It's right there," you point at it, resting on the grass in the front yard.

"Thanks," Monroe says, making their way to grab the hose before passing MC and pulling them for a short kiss, and disappearing inside MC's house.

You freeze in place at the sight of the two of them being affectionate. With Monroe and Nugget back inside, MC turns to you and makes their way toward you.

Darn it! Should you run? Should you hide?

You couldn't even if you tried as your legs refuse to move.

"Hey," MC smiles at you. "Thanks again for letting us borrow your garden hose."

"Of course," you nod. "No problem at all."

There's a short silence before MC hesitates before saying, "I... As you can see, Monroe and I, we..."

"We..." you trail off as if hearing that simple word causes a blockage in your mind.

"Yeah," MC slowly nods. "Monroe and I... we kind of... What I'm trying to say is... I value you as a good friend, and..."

"No, please," you fake a smile. "Don't even try to explain. It's totally fine, and I completely understand. Whatever you and I had, or shared, was just... Um... some good time, and.. of course, I'm just happy we're friends."

Oh god, why? A voice in your head screams, but you shut it down by faking another smile.

"Good," MC smiles. "I'm so happy you understand."

No, you don't actually understand. But it's a good thing that they'll never know that all this time, you've been building up your courage to tell them how you feel but apparently, it was for nothing.

MC waves at you and walks back inside their house. You watch them leave before turning around and making your way back inside.

You take a deep breath and look back at Raccoon, who gently barks as if understanding the ache in your heart.

"Well, I guess it's time to bake some muffins and rewatch last year's Olympics on replays."