I wake to the alarm, the damn alarm to tell me I have to wake up. I can't wait til school is over. , n't get me wrong, I liked school, I was a straight-A student, popular, and captain of the cheerleading squad. I also do gymnastics every Wednesday and dance every Thursday. I always had something to do it seemed.


I drag myself out of bed and make my way to my bathroom. I take my shower, and brush my long blonde hair, putting it up into a high ponytail. I start to apply my make-up, as my best friend Andy walks into my bedroom. I know it is him because it's an every morning visit.


I walk out of the bathroom, having put on my orange and blanket cheerleading outfit. My lips were a pale pink. My eyelids were coated with a pale orange to match my uniform. My chocolate-colored eyes stood out with the color of my lids.


As always, there sat Andy on my bed. He was wearing his signature black skinny jeans, a white T-shirt, and black shoes. His black hair combed but, was messy. Nobody could understand how we were best friends. We were complete opposites. They just didn't understand what we had.


We grew up together. His parents and my parents were best friends their whole lives. They found out they were expecting the same day. Andy was born two hours before I was. It was like fate wanted us to be together as friends forever.


"Look who finally decided to come out of hiding. You know you don't need all that make-up. You have natural beauty." Andy stood up and grabbed his bag from the floor. He always said that whenever I wore make-up. So every morning. It didn't bother me. He was a good-looking guy. He was just my best friend.


Andy was 6 ft 1 and 150 pounds. He didn't participate in any school activities. He did have a band that he was the lead vocals of. He was bullied in school, unlike me. He always wore black skinny jeans and some form of T-shirt with black Converse.


"Morning Andy." I smile as I grab my white shoes. "I know, but it makes me feel better about myself." He shook his head in disbelief and sighed. I never felt very pretty even though I was always told how beautiful I was.


We grabbed our stuff and headed downstairs. My brother Mark was in the kitchen making eggs and bacon.


"You going to eat this morning Ari or am I wasting food?" He asked, handing Andy a plate of food as he sat at the table. Andy always ate here. His mom was an amazing cook, yet he preferred my brother's shitty cooking. I preferred Amy's food, but it may have been because I didn't have a mom to make home-cooked meals every day.


"Not wasting, Andy will eat it." I looked at my friend who was shoveling the food as fast as he could down his throat. I took a banana off the counter and unpeeleunpeeled it, taking a bite as the bus pulled up and honked.

Andy took a last bite and put the now-empty plate in the sink. He thanked Mark through a mouthful of food and we rushed out the door, throwing our bags over our shoulders.

Andy and I took our usual seats at the back of the bus as it pulled away. Our high school was big but not too big. We had about a hundred kids in our class. Andy and I were both straight-A students, though looking at him, you'd never tell.

When the bus pulled up to the front of the large brick building, we got up and headed inside.


"Okay, guys, big game on Saturday, so we have to be ready. We can't mess this up." I tell my squad of cheerleaders at the end of practice. We had the best high school football team in Ohio State. Our cheerleading squad was the best as well. We won nationals 5 years running. I was there for 4 of them. I hoped to bring them another trophy before graduating at the end of the year.

"Loverboy is here." I felt my friend, Trinity nudge me in the side with her elbow. I shook my head and chuckled a little. She knew Andy wasn't my boyfriend, but she always joked about it.

Trinity was my best girlfriend. She had long black hair, and piercing green eyes, and was a few inches taller than me. We had become friends as freshmen when we both tried out for the squad.

Andy was standing a few feet away, looking down at his feet as he waited for me. We always rode the late bus together. He stayed after for band practice while I cheered.

"He could never be my boyfriend. We are too close for that. I'd be lost if we broke up and hated each other." I loved Andy in ways more than a friend, but the risk of losing him would be too much. "Besides, he sees me as a sister or something." she shook her head and laughed.

"Girl you are so blind. He is obsessed with you. He wants to tear your pants off and hit that." She smacked my ass to make a point and continued, "I'm telling you, you guys are soulmates."

With that, she left me and walked towards her mom's car, leaving me to wonder if she was right about Andy.

Did he have feelings for me? Were we meant to be?

I walked to Andy and smiled slightly as we headed towards the big yellow bus. Thoughts now clouding my mind.