Prologue

"Hey you, what's your name?" I looked up to see a young boy approaching me. He is a bit taller than me, with wavy brown hair and a deep set of blue eyes with an icy cold stare. 

“Ari,” I softly said. He moved a little bit closer to me, which forced me to take a step back. He squinted his blue eyes at me, then reached out his hand for me.

"I'm Elliot. I live across from your house. Why are you alone?” He questioned me.

"I-I'm not alone. My parents and my brother are inside. We just moved here.” I stuttered. He is intimidating me. He is looking at me with his deep set of blue eyes and I am becoming a bit scared of the way he talks to me. 

"How old are you?”

“I am seven.”

"Okay, from now on, I'll be your best friend. You'll stay beside me all the time. And I will always have your back. Clear?” How can this tiny boy be so intimidating? He is scaring the hell out of me, but a part of me feels that I can trust him.

“Be-best friend?” I questioned him once again. He raised his eyebrows at me and looked annoyed at me.

“Yes, your best friend. You don't have any friends here, so I'll be your friend and your best friend. After all, we are neighbors. Got it?”

“Ye-yes. How old are you, Elliot?”

“I am turning eight. Anyway, I have to go home first. I'll play with you tomorrow. In the meantime, go help your family unpack. Go get inside now.”

He gave me a once-over before he ran back to the other side of the street. He waved at me and smiled at me. And because of that smile, my heart leaped, and I immediately smiled back. I have a new best friend!

---

Ten years ago we moved into this neighborhood, and ten years ago I met my best friend, Elliot Allister. And now, with the ten years that have passed, I realize that I am falling in love with my best friend.

At seventeen, I know I should not be thinking about falling in love as I am still too young to even talk about that. I don't know if this is an infatuation that I am feeling, but the more I spend time with him, the more I feel deeply for him. I can't help it. He makes me feel things I never knew I could feel for him. He makes my heart skip every time he is near. And when those blue eyes stare at me, I feel drowned and lost.

"Where have you been, Ari?" I looked up to see Elliot glaring at me. "You were supposed to wait for me. I told you I'll pick you up." He is annoyed again. When is he not anyway?

"Our last period professor is absent, El. Was I supposed to wait inside the classroom for you? I texted you that I'll be going to the library with Josh and will meet you after your class. And here I am waiting for you." I quickly returned my gaze to the book I was reading before he so rudely interrupted me.

To be honest, I am trying my best to avoid him. I try my best not to spend as much time with him as we used to because of my developing feelings for him. I know he doesn't feel the same way for me. Why would he? He is one of the most popular boys in school. The girls gushed over him. He is the epitome of the bad boy persona: good looks, a totally hot body, and a killer smile.

But the main reason why I want this feeling to stop is simply that I don't want to ruin the friendship we have. I know what he feels for me is not the same as how I feel for him. He treats me like I am his younger sister, and I so much hate it.

"Why did you go with Josh? Are you avoiding me, Ari?" He was clearly pissed and was trying his best to control his rising temper with me. 

"Of course not, why would I? You're my best friend, El. What made you think that I would avoid you?"

I slipped my arm over his arm, then he hugged me and kissed me on the forehead. This is why it's so hard for me to be with Elliot all the time. As much as I wanted to let go of these feelings for him, it's just so hard with the way he always acts around me. 

Sometimes I wish that we could be together. I am silently hoping that one day he will see me differently. That he would see me as someone he loves and not just a sister that he needs to look after.

A lot of rumors have started in school. Everyone thinks that we are in a relationship. I tried to deny it, but Elliot clearly had no intention of doing so. He says that he likes it that way so that most of the girls gushing over him will stay away.

And this is also one of the reasons he seems to be so possessive of me. He told me that since he wasn't denying that we were together, I should also do the same and stay away from the other guys.

"You really better not be avoiding me, Ari."

"I'm not, okay." I was interrupted by the sound of my phone. I got my phone and saw that it was Josh who had texted. Before I could even read the whole message, Elliot grabbed my phone from me. "Hey, El! What do you think you're doing?" I asked, clearly pissed off by his actions.

"I told you to stay away from Josh. Why does he keep on texting you?" He is unlocking my phone and is about to read my message. I tried to grab the phone back, but he kept it behind his back.

"El, you're pissing me off. Give it back."

"No, you're pissing me off, Ari! I told you to stay away, but clearly you don't listen." He opened the message, read it, and deleted it afterward without giving me the chance to read it.

"Why'd you do that, El?" I raised my voice when I asked him because I was feeling exasperated by his actions.

"No boys, Ari. That's final. Now let's go." He picked up my things and walked towards the school parking lot, not glancing back at me. Well, he is clearly pissed and mad at me again. Way to go, Ari!

---

I dropped Ariella off at her house, then immediately went home. I am pissed and mad at her. She tried talking to me, but I disregarded her.

My head is all over the place. I can not see any reason why she would want to hang out with Josh. And the nerve of Josh to actually ask her out. I have given him a warning several times already, but he, too, didn't listen. I guess I will have to try harder to keep him as far away from Ari as possible.

Another thing that pissed me off is the fact that I know Ari is avoiding me. I can feel it. She's trying to stay away from me. But why? Can she feel that I'm falling for her? I know, I'm not supposed to have these feelings for her, but fuck it, I do!

And the more I think that she is avoiding me, the more annoyed and disappointed I get. Why is she avoiding me? Is it because of Josh? Is he courting her? Are they dating already? A lot of questions I don't want to hear the answers to because one thing I know is that I am falling for her. I am falling in love with my best friend.

Ten years ago, I saw her. Ten years ago, I knew then and there that I would face these feelings because I knew, the moment I saw her, that someday I would fall in love with that girl. And now I'm facing that day when I know deep down that I've fallen, but I'm afraid to admit it because I'm afraid of what her reaction will be. I am afraid of losing her.

---

"Hey, why are you crying?" I looked up to see Elliot walking towards me. I am perched on the packed boxes, waiting for the movers to come.

Yes, we are moving once again. Dad said the new business is slowly starting to pick up, thus the need for us to move away again. I cannot understand why because the last time we moved, he said this would be permanent already. But now here we are, all packed and ready to go. My heart is breaking into pieces as I realize that I will lose Elliot. I would lose the boy I fell in love with.

"I'm going to miss you, El. I don't know if I can make it through college without you. It will be hard to move far away from you."

My tears are falling down my cheeks as if there's no tomorrow. Even if I tried, I couldn't stop it. The hurt I am feeling right now is making me weak in the knees. How am I supposed to get through college life without El? I have become accustomed to having him by my side all the time.

"I know, Ari. It fucking hurts like hell. But I promise you, I'll visit you in Chicago. I'll be there on all the important days and I'll still be there for you all the time." He hugged me tightly. He's putting all the unspoken words into that hug. I hugged him back, afraid that this might be the last time that I would have the chance to hug him.

"El, promise me that you'll always be my best friend. And if you have a girlfriend, will you still find time for me?"

I know making these promises is useless as we don't even know if we can see each other again, but deep in my heart, I want El to promise me. I want him to assure me that wherever I am, he will always be my light and that whatever happens, I will always have him.

"I promise, Ariella. You will always have me and you will always have my heart with you wherever you are."