There were only eight students in Mr. Sheppard’s Physics class that early Monday morning; a couple of students matching wits and skills with the teacher in an engrossing video game at one corner of the room and the rest of the occupants seated sparsely around the room, waiting for the bell to ring. The atmosphere was rather monotonous, sleepy and calmingly still, yet for Kara Winston, it felt crowded. The surroundings was excruciatingly suffocating, nearly robbing her of breath at every intake. Glancing at the clock, she sighed at the overly slow movement of the clock hands. There was a test that day too, but the questions in the exam were far from her mind.

“I couldn’t study last night. I had to go to practice after school and there was also my night shift…”

“Me neither. We’re all dead meat…”

“I did, but I don’t think I’ll ace it…”

She barely heard her friends fretting over the exam while she sank deeper into her pensive thoughts. Across the room, Sarah Mitchell, the super ace student in their grade frantically searched her notes and recited definitions and equations in her head – even she was worried.

Just as she should be, but wasn’t. How could she? Not when she dreaded her meeting with the two most important people in her life (outside the family) today, after what’s considered a rough encounter last week. Cringing at the thought, she looked away from her friends and let her gaze sweep the room, and stop cold.

On the doorway stood a very beautiful and slim figure blessed with shimmering chocolate brown tresses that cascaded down her slender back. Danica McDermott was the epitome of perfection in the female category and one only needed to take a look at her profile to make certain of that claim. Aside from her looks however, she was well-respected by her peers, a wonderful role model, and the soul of amiability and kindness. She was too cheerful, always smiling and too friendly for anyone to dislike her, really. And she was Danica’s best friend.

Was, she thought painfully.

“G’morning guys,” Danica greeted with such perfectly feigned enthusiasm. She glowed with the morning sunlight as she entered the room. It was as if her single step illuminated the room because everyone seemed to wake up at her presence.

“About time you get here, princess.” Christopher remarked beside Kara, cringing in guilty pain as the newest occupant stopped in front of her seat.

“Hey,” If Kara didn’t think she could shatter any more, the soft, pained greeting may have convinced her otherwise. She felt the burning under her eyes, tears threatening to pour once again as she struggled to suppress them to smile.

Emotion flickered over Danica’s jade eyes before she averted them and fell into an animated conversation about smoothies and fruit snacks with their friends Chris, Marney and Will. Ever since Kara’s break-up with Rafael last week, the two once very close friends haven’t exchanged a greeting until today. It had been awkward silence between them in chemistry lab, in the hallway, and even during journalism, where they were suppose to communicate. It was empty and painstakingly wary.

Just like she felt now. Perhaps Danica’s inner gut had predicted the atrocious outcome of the relationship, telling her that it wouldn’t last or that it wasn’t a good idea. Perhaps she should have listened and heeded her best friend’s advice. But when she and Rafael started “dating”, things began to change.

She recalled Danica frowning at the wall of the classroom three weeks ago when she told her about the “revenge date operation.”

“I don’t know,” she’d said. “The stakes are high. I know I’ve always been the one to jump at chances, but pseudo anything never go as planned.”

She took in her friend’s worried profile and suppressed a chuckle. “Do you have any idea how un-like you, you sound right now?”

That got her to smile. “I’m serious though. Sure, it’s not my decision. All I’m saying is that my best friend dating my twin brother…that sounds too cliché and strange, I might add. Something’s bound to go wrong.”

All day she had teased Danica about worrying so much like a mother hen when it turns out she was right all along. Kara’s “revenge” to pseudo date Rafael McDermott backfired when her ex-boyfriend only laughed at her face and hooked up with two more girls in a party she’d hoped to show him up in. Her plans were ineffective…at first. That is until she started liking Rafael’s company more and more each day. That was when Aiden (ex-boyfriend) cornered her one day and in one melting confession, brought her back in his arms.

A fool she was to start going out with him and an even bigger idiot when she kissed him back that dreadful afternoon while waiting for Danica and Rafael to finish with practice, breaking off her “relationship” with Rafael the very same day.

Only to find out that Aiden O’Conner wanted her back because he was dumped by one of his groupies during a party the previous night.

She managed to make herself look like the world’s most idiotic jerk, hurt the boy whom she really liked, and cause a rift between Danica and herself all in one day. It hurt even more to know that while Danica only looked at her, Rafael acted as if she wasn’t even there.

So it was hopeful in a way when Danica greeted her. But her optimism died when her friend simply looked away and picked up conversation with their friends like nothing ever happened. Chris and the others knew about the estrangement between the two, but never voiced out their concerns because they knew better than to get involved.

Kara’s control nearly broke when she saw the teacher writing down the date on the white board. February 17; they were all supposed to go out today.

Danica’s movement caught her attention. She was walking out the door and she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to notice her depart. Alarmed, Kara bolted to her feet and chased her outside the hallway.

Someone closed the door when she left and she could only thank that person for the given privacy. Danica’s penetrating gaze searched her hazel eyes when she turned around, looking very blank based on her expression.

Guilt, despair and loss were the emotions that had been plaguing her heart all weekend long. Now it choked her words. “Danni,” she began but stopped painfully when the other girl cringed at the nickname. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Then don’t say anything,” came her instant, candid reply. It was much too sharp, too edgy and bruising but Kara was too hurt to feel the blow. Danica looked remorseful for a moment and when Kara was about to speak, she held up a hand. “Look, I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you in a while, but I think it’s best if we leave things alone the way they are for now. I’d rather not push the subject while it’s still sore…” she caught herself before saying more, but Kara's silence urged her to keep talking. “You really hurt him and I’ve never seen my brother that desolate in my life.”

Something broke inside her. Her heart? No, it shattered the moment she broke up with Rafael last week. Perhaps it was her control because the tears came shimmering down her cheeks.

Danica was still for a moment before disappearing into the staircase. She was left to watch her friend walk away, the little bud of hope she felt earlier, manifesting inside what was left of her broken heart.

“Yeah, I’ll be down there.” The familiar male voice snapped her back to reality in time to meet the same green eyes that knocked down her defenses with his charming smile, and the arms that once embraced her with a stunning force now held her fragile body from collapsing when he accidentally ran into her.

He'd been talking to someone on the phone, she noticed. A new girlfriend?

No way that he could walk away without so much as an apology, Rafael obliged her with one. “Sorry,” he muttered, and when he was about to let her go, she touched his arm with familiar shyness that once intrigued him, now it burned his skin.

“I’m sorry. Oh Rafie, I’m so sorry.” No longer able to suppress the sobs, she collapsed against his chest, her tears dampening his shirtfront. Helpless to the situation, he let his arms encircle her tiny body, noticed that she’d lost weight, and pulled away.

Minutes later when he finally raised his eyes to her, they were gentler than they had been all week. “I’m sorry too. We both messed up. I think it’s part of adolescence that we just can’t get over,” he flashed her a lop-sided grin, pulling it off so effortlessly that she wondered if the hurt he felt and she saw last week had been her imagination.

Good spirits restored, Rafael bounded on his heels and glanced at his watch. “Listen, how about we talk later ‘cause the bell is about to ring. I’ll watch you go in first.”

His smile, the relaxed stance that went so well with his charm alarmed and baffled her, but she didn’t question further. Stopping at the door, she glanced back at him achingly. “Before I go, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yeah?”

Mustering the best apologetic smile, she asked in a hitching voice, “Can we ever be friends again?”

“Someday, sure.” He nodded his head toward the door, urging her to go inside. “Good luck on the test. Heard it was a killer.” Rafael watched her disappear inside the classroom before dropping all pretense of being cheerful.

“That someday…not too soon,” her muttered to himself as he began his descent to the main office on the ground floor. All week long he’d tried to banish her from his frame of mind and whenever he encountered her during passing periods, he simply looked through her as if she didn’t exist, but in the margins of his sanity, she was there haunting him.

Replaying their brief exchange, he sighed, stopping at the bottom of the staircase and glaring at the doors that lead to the main hallway. She cried in his arms and goddamn it, he wanted spare them both the pain and simply beg her to come back to him. She affected him that much, like no other girl before, and he’d let her.

That was his mistake and after being burned once, he wasn’t willing to let his defenses down for any girl again. He won’t give his affections easily because this experience had taught him to be wiser. He wasn’t in love with her and he was only thankful for that for if he was, God knows how his emotional state would be.

Pushing passed the doors, he walked briskly to the main office. Can we ever be friends again? She must think him too forgiving, kind and undaunted by their breakup. Hell, even he’d be fooled into thinking that after acting the way he had earlier. But the harsh reality didn’t leave him feeling entirely victimized by the situation. Not when yesterday he’d decided that Kara Winston couldn’t take anything more away from him than she already had. Not his heart, not his attention, nor his sister and best friend. Kara could walk away from their relationship now and it he’d get over it. What he can’t get over is his sister taking Kara’s side.

So he was going to make sure that never happened. Inside the main office, his parents signed documents releasing Danica and himself from the school, at his request to move to a private academy. He entered the office and signed next to his name, finalizing the discharge form.

He was being infuriatingly unreasonable, but it was necessary because severing all ties with your ex is the final step to a break-up.

Author's Note: I'm not too familiar with one-shots, so this attempt might come off a little rushed, not well-paced and so on. I'm really working on it, but whenever I think of an idea, it never stays short :( So this will definitely be my pet project!