"Excuse me?" Adeline laughed as she took a few steps back.
"Do you like me?" Nicholas smirked as he went closer.
"That's absurd. I just met you today."
"Oh really?"
As soon as Adeline noticed that Nicholas kept getting closer, she instantly got the dark gray jacket that she wore from school and covered her face.
"Please don't look at me. I feel uncomfortable," Adeline said as tears started falling from her eyes.
"Why are you covering your face?"
"I know I look terrible, so please—"
Without letting her finish what she has to say, Nicholas suddenly removed her jacket which showed her red puffy eyes. She then sniffled quietly as tears started falling down her cheeks.
"You-You... Did I do anything wrong?" Nicholas asked.
Adeline got a pillow and covered her face. "Don't look at me. I know I'm ugly when I cry."
Nicholas got the pillow from her and used his right thumb to wipe her tears. "Who told you that?"
"Wh-What are you doing?"
Nicholas gave her a broad smile. "You've always been beautiful in my eyes."
As soon as Adeline heard that, her heart skipped a beat. Why would a person like him tell her that she was beautiful? Who was she in his life? Why did she care when he called her beautiful? For the past thirteen years, there were tons of boys who told her how beautiful she was, but she felt different towards Nicholas.
Adeline looked away. "What are you talking about? How could you say that to a girl you don't like?"
"Look, I don't know what you've gone through in the past, but I just wanted to say that I'm always here when you need someone to talk to." Nicholas touched her hand.
Adeline laughed. "What a speech."
"You look pretty when you smile."
Adeline blushed. "It's not my first time hearing that."
Nicholas winked. "Friends?"
Adeline nodded. "You're the only person who's actually had the guts to talk to me in school. Of course you'll be."
From that day on, their friendship grew stronger. As years passed by, they became inseparable. The two would always hang out together and were often branded as a couple. Each day, Adeline would always ride on Nicholas' bike on the way to school which made a lot of girls envious.
Five years had passed and she started developing feelings for him, but she never had the confidence to tell him. Each day, there were tons of girls who would give him snacks and drinks, but he never accepted them because he didn't want Adeline to feel like she didn't deserve to be his best friend.
"Have you decided what course you're gonna take?" Adeline asked as she gave Nicholas a cup of yogurt.
Nicholas scratched his head. "No idea."
"We're already in the last year of high school, shouldn't your course be decided by now?"
"What are you going to take?"
"Me? Well, I plan on taking business manage—"
"Then I'm taking that too. I'll also go to the same college as you."
Adeline flicked his forehead. "Are you crazy? This isn't the time to be frivolous."
Nicholas brought his face closer. "I'm not following you, stupid. I just like it."
"You should've have—"
Before Adeline was able to finish what she was saying, a guy holding a basketball came asking Adeline if he could talk to her.
Without hesitation, Adeline followed him to the rooftop. Since they were heading to a place where no one usually stayed, she felt agitated. She wanted to go back, but instead of doing that, she decided to stay calm and trust that he wouldn't do anything.
"I like you," said the guy.
Adeline sighed, "William, you already know my answer. You've confessed to me more than seven times and my answer will still be the same."
"What do you even not like about me? I can still wait until—"
"I'm sorry, please don't waste your time on me."
William grabbed her wrist. "Why? Is it because of Nicholas again? How many times do I have to tell you that he only treats you as his best friend?"
"Let me go."
William tightened his grip. "Stop beating around the bush. Answer me! Why can't it be me?"
Before Adeline was even able to answer, Nicholas suddenly showed up and ferociously punched William straight in the face. William's nose then started bleeding as he tried to fight back, but all his punches were dodged by Nicholas.
Nicholas grabbed Adeline's hand. "Don't you ever go near her or I'll—"
"You'll what? You're only her best friend. What can you do, team captain?" William laughed.
"I choose to play basketball because of you, William, but I never knew that you had this habit of clinging to my girlfriend."
"You what?"
Nicholas smiled. "You heard me."