"And my heart's gonna fly away, fly away to you," Hayley sang, her voice soft and husky. She played the final chord on her guitar, and then smiled shyly at Spencer. "What did you think?"

"That's great Hayley! I loved it!" Spencer exclaimed, grinning.

Hayley laughed. "You say that about all of my songs." She smiled and lay back on the carpet, and Spencer put his head down right next to hers. Hayley strummed her guitar nonchalantly, and then spoke.

"I have a date tomorrow night."

"Who is it this time?"

"A guy I met at work."

"What does he look like? No, let me guess. He's short and he's got dark hair."

Hayley laughed. "Right. How did you ever know?"

Spencer grinned. He reached over and ruffled Hayley's hair, messing it up as much as possible. This made her laugh even more. "Stop!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand.

After her laughter had subsided, Spencer turned his head to look at her. "What would you do if you didn't end up with a dark haired guy?"

"I would die," Hayley said. "Dark hair is a must."

Spencer laughed, but inside his heart sank. In the three years he had known Hayley, she had gone out with the same types of guys. Spencer had never met anyone so adamant about what type of guy she wanted.

He remembered the conversation he had with her when they first got to know each other. They had somehow gotten on the topic of what they looked for in the opposite sex, and Hayley had described in great detail her ideal guy - short, dark haired, and with brown eyes. At the time, it hadn't really mattered to Spencer.

When he met Hayley, they were both in their last year of college. They hit it off instantly, and from that moment on, they were best friends. When college was over, they moved into apartments right next to each other.

Now, Hayley's preference for guys was something Spencer couldn't forget. He had always had a crush on Hayley, but over the past few months his feelings for her had intensified, and he had fallen in love with her. Hayley, of course, didn't know this.

Hayley had light brown hair streaked with golden blonde, and it hung down past her shoulders to the middle of her back. She had honey brown eyes, almost the color of caramel. She was only 5'2", and her own height was the reason she insisted the guy of her dreams be no taller than 5'6". Anything else was too tall by her standards.

Spencer was 5'11", with sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes. In the past few months, he had become more aware of his looks than ever, reminding himself each time he looked in the mirror that he wasn't what Hayley desired. That and her constant comments about her dream guy kept Spencer from ever telling Hayley how he felt about her.

Beside him, Hayley sat up. "I should go. I've been over here for what? Four hours?"

"Probably," Spencer laughed. He got up and walked her to the door.

"Seeing me out?" Hayley asked.

Spencer nodded. "I want to make sure you get back to your apartment safely."

Hayley grinned, and then walked the five steps from Spencer's door to her own. "I'm safe!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. Then she opened her door. "See you later Spence!"

A while after Hayley had left his apartment, Spencer was sitting on his couch watching TV. It had begun to storm, and he could hear rain pouring outside, with the occasional lightning flashing across the sky. All of a sudden, the TV and all of the lights went out.

Spencer got up off his couch and stumbled to his kitchen. He waited a few minutes and tried to look for a flashlight, but the power didn't come back on. I guess I should go see if Hayley's okay, he thought.

He opened his door, but as he stepped into the hallway, he ran right into something soft. It cried out and he heard a thump as it was knocked to the floor. "Hayley?" he whispered.

"Spencer? Is that you?" she whispered back.

Spencer bent down and helped her up. "Sorry about that. I was just coming to check on you."

"I'm glad. I didn't want to be alone when the power's out."

Spencer led her back into his apartment. "We can sit in the dark together."

Hayley laughed. They made their way over to the couch and sat down. Spencer felt along the couch, and then put his arm around Hayley. She immediately cuddled up to him.

"This is kind of creepy," she said.

"Scared?" he teased.

"No."

At that moment, a huge bolt of lightning flashed outside, cracking open the sky. Spencer felt Hayley jump, and she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Hmm, not scared," he repeated.

"Shut up! I was just startled."

Spencer laughed. "Whatever you say."

They watched the lightning out his window for a while, and then Spencer yawned. "I don't think the power is coming back on tonight. Do you want to go back to your apartment?"

"No way! I want to stay here with you."

"Alright." Spencer got up and felt his way to his bedroom. He grabbed the blanket off his bed and went back to the couch. Putting his arms around Hayley, he lay down with her and put the blanket over them.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks Spence."

When Hayley woke up the next morning, she saw she was in Spencer's apartment, and she remembered the storm from the night before. Spencer was still holding her tight, and Hayley was comforted knowing that he was there. She heard him yawn and turned her head to look at him.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

"Good morning to you too," he replied. "That was quite a storm last night."

"I know. Thanks for keeping me company."

Spencer nodded. Looking towards the end of the couch, he frowned. "Your feet are in my space."

"Are not!" Hayley protested.

"Are too!"

Hayley put her legs on his. "Take that!"

Spencer laughed and pushed her off the couch. As she went over the edge, Hayley grabbed his shirt and pulled him over with her. They landed on the ground with Spencer on top of Hayley.

She pretended to gasp for air. "Get off! You're squashing me!"

Spencer grinned and rolled off of her. "That'll teach you." He pulled her up to her feet.

"I'm going to have to kick you out, because I need to get ready for work."

"That's okay. I have to work today too. And then I have to come home and get ready for my date."

"Well, if I don't see you before then, have a good time. And if he isn't a gentleman, you better tell me."

"I will. Promise."

On his way to work, Spencer wished Hayley hadn't of reminded him about her date. He was jealous of any guy that got to go out with her. It also didn't help that he was discouraged about the fact that he wasn't Hayley's type. He just had to sit back as her best friend and watch her chase after guys that looked the opposite of him.