Kierra's Pov:

OMG, OMG, OMG, I'm so dead right now! Xander hardly gets mad at me, but when he does, he's a force to be reckoned with. But Maya wouldn't dare tell Xander about the note, right? It could be any note she was holding right now, and she could simply be smiling because something amazing happened. She knows me too well—that I would kill her if she dared tell him.

"Umm, hey Xander..." I said, as he stared at me, still furious, tightening his fists more.

"Explain to me why you didn't tell me Kate was assaulting you," he said, as I gulped down.

"Kate?"

"Yes, Kate—the one who dared to insult you," Xander said.

"Xander, I..." I seethed.

"What, Kierra? I've told you many times to tell me when these things happen, but no, you prefer to keep it to yourself and get hurt in the process. And you know what? I'll do whatever it takes so you don't get hurt, Kierra. Yet you still keep everything to yourself. You know perfectly well I would have dumped her sorry ass long ago if you had told me. But you had other plans, right? And besides, it's just notes—what if it gets physical, Kierra? So she'll start hitting you, all because of me? And you expect me to be okay with it? Why didn't you tell me? We're best friends, Kierra—we're supposed to tell each other everything. There are no secrets between us, right? So why keep this one?" he said, as I looked away.

"You aren't hiding anything else, right?" he said.

"Yes, Kierra, tell him what else you're hiding..." Maya said behind him.

"Xander... Umm... You're hiding something, aren't you? What is it, Kierra? Because sooner or later, I will find out, and then it won't be so funny. So, Kierra, spill now: what are you hiding?"

"The fact that I'm hopelessly in love with you," I said to myself, nearly screaming it to his face.

"Nothing, Xander. I'm not hiding anything from you. So what if your flings pick on me? So what if they abuse me? So what if they leave stupid notes for me? Xander, you know you can't always get whatever you want. It hurts like hell, I know. It hurts really, really badly. I know, but guess what, Xander? That's life. Sometimes the things you love hurt you the most, but you just have to deal with it because it's life."

"Kierra, you know how much I care about you. You know that, so please don't hide anything from me. Please, we're besties; never forget that," he said.

"I can't, Xander. You mean too much to me, and the reason I didn't tell you was because you were going to break up with her soon. You never stay with a girl for more than a week, right? All your flings do that to me—they pick up on it, but they're too heartbroken to get close to me when you leave them. So Kate wouldn't be an exception, right? So I saw no reason to even speak about it."

"Still, Kierra, I deserved to know about it. You should have just told me."

"Told you what? What difference would it make, Xander?"

"A lot, in fact. I'll show you. Just watch..." He said, pointing behind me, as I saw Kate walk in, strutting like she was in a beauty pageant.

"Take a seat, Kierra..." He said, pointing to the seat beside him, where Kate usually sat.

"But...?"

"Trust me, Bes. Sit..." He said, grinning, as I took my seat.

"Hey, boo..." Kate said, pecking his cheeks lightly, as he pulled her away.

"What's wrong, boo? And more importantly, what's she doing in my seat?" Kate said, glaring at me.

"It's not your seat anymore, Kate. And more importantly, I'm not your boo because we're over..." He said, like it was nothing.

"Wait, what? You can't be serious, Xander. You said you loved me, and I love you, Xander. Please, you can't do this."

"And you can't call my best friend a whore, Kate. So we're over. If you don't get it, I'll spell it out for you.... Xander, you can't be serious. Am I beautiful? Am I sexy? Guys would do anything to go on one date with me."

"Kate, you're really ugly, you're dumb, and not to mention, you hurt my bestie. So Kate, we are OVER. And the next time you ever dare try to hurt her again, I'll make sure Evergreen really knows who their so-called queen is. You can go now. I have to enjoy lunch with people who actually matter."

"Xander..." She gasped.

"What, Kate? I'm a player. What did you expect? Would I go on one knee and propose to you? We'll live in a mansion and live happily ever after? Or what, Kate? Late Kate, stupid little Kate—that doesn't happen in dreams, not reality. And even if you were the last lady on earth, I would rather let the human race go extinct than marry you. I think I'll be doing them a favor, that's for sure..." He finished, smirking.

"Xander, I swear it: you'll come begging, and when you do, I won't take you back. I swear it. You'll remember this day because I'll make sure you pay for hurting me—and you..." She said, pointing towards me.

"You might have broken us up, but no matter what, Xander's would never be yours. No matter how much we all know you want him and how much you desire him, he'll never be yours. He'll never love you. At least I got a chance to hug him, caress him, and love him, but those things only happen in your imagination because Xander Thompson would only see you as just a friend and nothing more..." She said before storming out of the cafeteria.

Leaving me stunned, with my heart torn into pieces once more, as her words couldn't be any more true. I could barely eat during lunch; as usual, the guys would talk about football, and Maya kept glancing at me, silently apologizing. I wasn't even mad at her at this moment; I understood that she was just looking out for my interest, which is why she had to tell Xander. But what was tearing me apart was the fact that, no matter how I looked at it, she was right. She got a chance to have a feeling of what it was like to have him in her arms, to love him, caress him, kiss him, maybe even more, while I simply dreamed and dreamed, and yet it's not reality. It doesn't happen; nothing happens. My stupid, unrequited love for him would get me nowhere, yet I still love him, yet I can't stop, yet I still keep hoping, yet I keep crying, and yet it still hurts badly, but yet, I love him so, so fucking much.

After lunch, it was simply classes and more classes. Xander seemed to be over Kate pretty quickly; little did he know, she left a scar in my heart, as her words hit me pretty deep. Frankly, I couldn't wait to head home and sleep over the pain.

Just like always, I would have to stick around and wait up for Xander while he grabs his things or flirts with girls, both of which I avoid at all costs, mostly because his football teammates would always try to hit on me, and the other, well, I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my day crying, would I?

"Hey, Bes..." I heard him say behind me. Surprisingly, he was early for once, which means he didn't hit on any girl or was actually sober about breaking up with Kate, which was even more weird. Nevertheless, he would save me from the pain of having to watch him make out with girls.

Over the years, I've had to go through a lot being so close to him, watching him go out with different girls, pretending like I don't care, but that didn't hurt as much as when his little flings would make out right in front of me, simply to rile me up or make me jealous, which worked perfectly because I would have to excuse myself just to break down in tears, and then I'll cry my eyes out every single freaking time. Still, yet I couldn't get used to the hurt; it just seems to hurt more every time.

"Bes, let's go. Usually, you're the one hurrying me. What's wrong? Did Kate...?"

"No, of course not, Xander. I'm just tired, that's all."

"In that case, then I know what would make you feel much, much better."

"Oh, really? And what could that be?" I asked curiously.

"ICE CREAM!" He said, as I squealed.

Xander knew for a fact how much I simply loved ice cream. They were my absolute favorite treat. He'd often use it to placate me whenever I was mad at him or whenever he wanted to get something from me. Nevertheless, we would always come here together; it was kinda like our place to just chill.

"Wow, so mature..." He joked, as I licked my Popsicle.

"Shut up, you..." I said, smacking him.

"Ouch..." He groaned.

"Wow, he's so, so, so mature..." I mocked.

"Argg, anyways, I need to ask you a very, very big favor, Kierra..." He said, as I dropped my Popsicle.

"And to think I thought this was free..." I joked.

"Sure, ask me anything..." I added, grinning.

"How do you ask a girl out?" He said, as I choked on my snack.

"What now?" I nearly screamed. "We had a deal, remember? You'll try and make your next relationship last longer, and I'll date someone. You were gonna try it with Kate, but since she was mean to you, I can't even dream of making it work with her or keep dating her."

"If it's not Kate, then who?" I said, gulping.

"JENNIFER!" He said, dropping the one word that made tears well up in my eyes once again.