It was a rainy day while Mrs. Maine was teaching a chemistry lesson outside that I knew. She said that the whether would be perfect for the lab experiment we would be doing. A drop of rain hit his cheek so sweetly that it seemed as though it was attracted to him. He did something with his hair that made me shiver even though it wasn’t particularly cold. He did something to me that day that no one else had ever done without even looking at me. That was the exact moment I knew that I was in love with my best friend.

I was still in love with Justin even five years after that day. I kept thinking to myself, “It’s just Justin, why am I thinking these things;” but, as they say, “the heart wants what the heart wants.” What kind of stupid person would say something like that knowing high school girls would hear it one way or another? I used to think it wasn’t true. I used to think that I could choose whomever I wanted to love; but, then I had a feeling that it wasn’t up to me, and I hated that feeling.

Justin broke up with his girlfriend, Rebecca, about six months after I realized I was in love wit him. Having feelings for him while they were dating just made everything so much worse. I didn’t tell our group of friends so word wouldn’t get around to Rebecca. What hurt the most was that he would text me while they were having a fight, which was fairly often.

“Jen,” he started, “she just doesn’t get me like you get me.” This made me blush. What was he trying to say? However, as always, I had to be the nice one and say, “She’s is beautiful, smart, and funny. Who cares if she doesn’t get you?” He thought about this for a while. “You’re right,” he said, “I’m dating the prettiest girl in school. Why would I mess that up? Thank Jen, you always know what to say,” he said. That just killed me a little.

I thought the situation couldn’t get worse. I was wrong. I was walking to class one day when I saw my best girl friend, Jess, holding hands with Justin and walking hit to class. This hurt because she was the only one that knew my feeling for him. When I confronted her that night she said, “You have been crushing on him for five years Jen. You had to make her move and when you didn’t, I did.” I told her I didn’t want to see her again and went back home.

That night, I thought about what I could do to fix this whole thing. I then thought of the only thing that I could do. I had to tell him how I feel. I needed to give myself a prep talk because Jess wasn’t there for my anymore. After an hour of thinking about what I can say and how I can say it, I wrote him a not confessing my feelings and at the end asking, “Do you feel the same way?” with a “Yes” and “No” box. The next day I slipped it into his locker and waited for his answer.

Then something weird happened. Jason Adams came up to me with my note. I was horrified! I put the note in the wrong locker. He gave me the note and sure enough, the “yes” box was checked. He gave me the note back with the biggest smile he could possibly have. “I’ll come by your house around seven tonight,” he said. I was too shocked to say anything. Then he just left. I went to class bewildered about what just happened.

Jason isn’t the kind of guy you would go out with. He’s the kind of guy you would play video games with or watched movies with. I decided to give him a chance. If the date was really that bad, I would just tell him that it wasn’t working out.

As I just finished getting ready for the date, I heard the doorbell ring and gave myself another pep talk. “If he is that bad, you just won’t go on a second date. You’ll be fine.” As I opened my front door, there he was in a nice button down shirt with the front part of his hair spiked up and his deep blue eyes ready for me to dive in. Funny, I have never noticed his eyes like that before. I was actually excited for this date. We went rollerblading and he held my hand so I wouldn’t fall and when I did, he picked me right back up with no hesitation.

Jason wasn’t particularly good-looking, but he had this boyish charm about him. His blonde hair glistened under the lights and so did his eyes. I seriously look into his eyes all day. His voice soothed me when he talked, and he talked a lot. “So what made you put the note in my locker?” he asked, “You have never shown much interest in me before.” “Oh,” I started nervously, “you just have a way of carrying yourself that I like.” This was true now that I have gone out with him. He gave me a smile that gave me a chill that went down my back. For the first time, I was glad that that note ended up in his locker instead of Justin’s.

He walked me home that night and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I couldn’t believe it. I was actually feeling something for him. “Can I see you again?” he asked. I thought about this. If the date was bad, I could have just said no, but it wasn’t, it was perfect. I said “yes” and he gave me another one of those smiles.

The morning after at school, all I could think about was Jason. He was the perfect date. When I saw Justin walking in the hallway with Jess, I had to stop them and tell them how I felt. “I’m glad you guys are dating,” I said, “You two make a cute couple and I’m happy for you.” Justin gave me a hug. He looked a bit confused because he still didn’t know that I used to have something for him. “You go on ahead,” Jess said to Justin, “I’ll catch up with you later.” After he left, she turned to me and said, “I feel really bad about what I did, but I do really like Justin. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, I found someone else, and I do mean what I said. You guys really are a cute couple,” I said. Jess almost jumped with excitement. “Who is the guy?” she asked. I told her I would text her later and gave her a little wink. Everything went back to normal after that. My friendship with Jess and Justin grew stronger and so did my relationship with Jason.








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Now, twenty years later at my wedding, I have Jess as my maid of honor and Justin is Jason’s best man. Their relationship as friends grew also with all of those double dates. Jess and Justin wedded a year ago and already pregnant with their first baby. I guess you could say everything turned out perfectly.