A/N: This is my first attempt at writing a story narrated in a guy's point of view, so I'm not quite sure how I did... But I hope you'll like it all the same.

I saw her the moment I reached school. A gust of wind swept her wavy auburn hair up, which she desperately tried to hold it down. I grinned silently to myself as I watched her silly moves. The last thing she liked was her hair getting messed up – by anyone or anything.

“Hey Cass!” I called out to her. She turned around and gave me the sweetest smile ever, and I felt myself turn scarlet. Great move, Scott, I sighed as I ran up to her. “As stylish as ever, I see. Been up late to study?”

“Thanks, you don’t look too shabby yourself.” She giggled. “How’d you know I’ve been burying my head in the books again?”

“You have your glasses on, duh.” I laughed.

At first glance, no one would ever expect Cassandra to be the top scorer of the school. Her bespectacled face was a rare view to see, which only appears right before the exams. On the other days, she looks like a model on the runway, strutting the most amazing combination of clothes you’d ever see. At least, that’s what I think.

I’ve been friends with her since I was young. Our moms were childhood friends, and they passed the tradition on to us. But sometimes, I feel frustrated that we’re only friends. There’s been so many instances that I want us go a step further from the boundaries of friendship, but it seems that I could only dream on.

Why? She’s out of my league and I know it. I mean, look at her. She’s smokin’ hot. She’s smart. In short, she’s everything I’m not. Well, it’s not like my looks are that bad – I have several girls on my tail, but I know there are guys out there that would make me keep my lid shut about my long-lived crush on her.

There have been so many instances where I’ve been linked with her – oh how I wish it was true. But we’ve always waved it off with a laugh, albeit fully reluctantly on my part. It’s a wonder how she managed not to realise that I’m crazy for her. And I thought that the countless times that she caught me in a trance-like state for getting warped in her beautiful hazel eyes would’ve tipped her off. Then again, she’s probably too dense to notice my feelings, or rather, the feelings that the other guys have for her. I’m the one who always told her which guy has been eyeing her, and never fail to get “Really?! I didn’t know that!” as a reply.

For being her best friend in the whole wide world – that’s what she proclaimed – it’s natural that I would’ve seen her go through all her relationships and break-ups. Seeing her start a relationship with guys hurts me like hell, but comforting her after a break-up is a hundred times worse. All the wailing... all the tears... they always make me feel like hugging her tightly and whisper “Please, don’t torture yourself like this anymore. Be with me, and I’ll make sure you’ll never shed another tear.” in her ears, but I always tell myself to get real. There’s no way that she’d think of me in that kind of light... is there?

It really baffles me sometimes. Why does such a great girl like Cassandra always end up with the worst guys all the time? Believe me; I’ve had a tough time trying to suppress my impulses to kick their sorry asses for hurting Cassandra like that. Why can’t they just appreciate what they have – the one person that I want so much but could never get her to set her eyes on me, to see me as a potential boyfriend?

And there are just so many times I want to kick myself in the head for pairing them up and get her hurt so badly in the end.

There was this guy who seemed so sincere to her while he was in the process of courting her. She would be laden with flowers day after day, just to find another small gift perched neatly in her locker. Not long after, she was completely smitten with him. She wasn’t so sure at first, but I gave her a little push and they ended up together. And then he just decides to throw her aside and ignore her for long periods of time after he succeeded in getting her to be his girlfriend. Her ending up at my doorstep teary-eyed was a common scene throughout the entire duration of her relationship – they’d argue every time he called her up. And I had to be the one to comfort her and ask her to keep holding on and who knows, a day might come where he’d treat her the way he used to. But the day never came.

And then she started off another relationship with the Casanova of the school a couple of weeks after her last break-up. Wait; don’t look at me like that. I strongly opposed her involvement with him, but somehow, she was already head-over-heels for him. She always tells me that she had no idea what attracted her to him. But seriously, which girl wouldn’t fall for insanely good-looking guys? I understand what made her fall for him – she was in need of comfort after her break-up, and he gave her just that in her time of need. Sure, it’s frustrating that I’ve been sticking by her side all the time after her break-up but she never fell for me, but I guess that she just couldn’t change her perception of me as her best friend. All I could do was pray that she wouldn’t get hurt by him, but my prayers weren’t answered.

I digressed. Back to my conversation with Cassandra, I know that she was wearing her spectacles not because she stayed up late to study. It’s nowhere near the finals nor any exams that I can think of. Like I said, she’s dense. She didn’t realise that I was just testing her.

Currently, she’s in a relationship with another guy. I’m actually rather relieved that he’s treating her differently from the other two jerks, but I have a nagging suspicion that things were not all that rosy between them at all. What can I say? They hardly ever meet up with each other because they’re living in different countries. Her friend hooked them up, and the rest was history. I wished she could tell me more about her relationship with him, but that’s just plain wishful thinking on my part. She hardly spills the details to me, because like she once said, “Even though you’re my best friend in the whole world, you’re still a guy. I wouldn’t know what I can do if you get jealous and upset if I tell you everything, and you decide to ignore me, right?”

She never knew how true her sentence was, fortunately and unfortunately. So yeah, here I am, all clueless about what’s happening between them. And it’s bad enough that I’m not concentrating in class, with the thoughts of her swimming busily in my head. No matter how I try to shake my doubts off, I couldn’t. If only she could tell me just a little bit of the development between them, I wouldn’t be this restless... or would I still?

My heart was getting even more restless by the time school was over. I couldn’t see her anywhere – which was near impossible because I would always walk her home. I gave up after waiting for her for an hour at the school gate, and walked home alone, with the uneasiness still shrouding my heart.

What is it that’s making me feel this way?

--

That night, she showed up at my doorstep.

“Hey,” she smiled weakly. I knew something was wrong.

“Hey, come on in.” I tried to keep my voice as natural as possible. The moment I closed the door behind us, she hugged me in a tight embrace and I blushed. That was until I felt that my shirt was getting wet.

She was crying.

“Something happened, right?”

“He...”

“What is it?”

“He’s a two-timing bastard!” she suddenly screamed, which nearly made me jump. I sighed, and I think she heard me.

“You don’t have to tell me... that you expected this would happen...” she sobbed, “I knew very well... that there was a chance of this happening... yet I still went on with it...”

See, I told you she was a smart girl.

“Cass, sometimes people make mistakes. That’s what makes us human.” I tried to console her.

“But why?! Why does this have to happen to me all the time?! All I wanted was to have a normal relationship!” her frustration was getting stronger by the moment, and I could hear it all through her voice.

“Everyone wants the same thing, Cass. Just keep on believing that you’ll have a perfect relationship someday, and keep on searching.”

“But I have no faith anymore! Not after what all these guys did to me!” she cried even harder. After listening to what she had to say, I couldn’t restrain myself any longer, and hugged her tightly in my arms. She was like a fragile porcelain doll, cracked at several places. If there were more blunt forces striking at her heart, she’ll break for sure. I just want to be the one who protects her from them right now.

“Cass, you don’t have to suffer like this. You seriously don’t deserve to get such treatment from guys.”

Silence on her part. Only sobs.

“If... if you don’t mind... I want to be the one to be by your side; not as your best friend in the whole world, but as the one who shares every moment of your life.”

She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. “What do you mean...?”

“I don’t know how you managed to miss my feelings... or rather, I know how... but...” I laughed nervously, “I’ve always liked you Cass, for as long as I could remember.” It feels so good to let out something that I’ve kept in my heart for all these years.

Cassandra looked bewildered the moment I told her those words. I suppose she really didn’t notice them at all. Well, not that I didn’t expect it anyway.

“Oh my God, Scott... I... I really didn’t know...”

“I know... And I know this isn’t really a great time to be asking you this, but is there a chance for me to be the one?” God that sounded so cheesy, but what the heck.

“I’m sorry... I’ve only thought of you as my best friend... I don’t think... I can see you in a different light... I’m sorry...” she clasped her mouth, and ran out through my door with tears starting to reform on the corner of her eyes.

I looked at her as she ran, with my heart getting weighed down by a stone. Why did I tell her that I liked her even though I knew that she didn’t see me as a potential boyfriend, at a time where she needed a company most, not more things to screw around with her already-confused mind? I’m such an idiot...

Now all I can do is hope that she’ll still talk to me, and that we’ll still be as close as before. I could only hope...