1 Chapter 1

I was sitting with a few friends at school. We were talking about a bunch of crazy stuff. Just then, while I was laughing at something Vicky said, I looked up and saw him. He walked right towards us. He was a tall, olive-skinned, well-built young man with a square jaw and dark-brown hair. I was immediately drawn to him. As he got closer, I could perceive the scent of coconut and cherry blossom. "Hey there." He Said. His bass voice was as melodic as that of an angel. "LEXIE!!! I didn't expect to see you here." Shepherd said while walking towards him and stunning us all. "I've told you several times not to call me that you, silly kid." He said ruffling Shepherd's hair. I'm very sure that all the girls around at that time were staring at Alex. I mean, he's absolutely gorgeous. "Shepherd, care to explain to the rest of us who this is?" said Stephanie. "Oh, my bad." Said Shepherd. Turns out, he was friends with Shepherd in high school. So, Shepherd introduced him to us. "okay guys, meet my closest friend from high school, Alex. Alex, meet Alice, Anna, Vicky, Johnson, Mannie, Stephanie and this is Abigail.We call her Abby. We've all become rather close since we literally have the same classes." I instantly fell in love with his voice and calm behavior. He had this amazing aura that just seemed to keep pulling me towards him.

I never understood what love at first sight really meant until I met him. I got to understand the feeling of having butterflies in my tummy whenever I looked in his eyes and whenever he laughed, the melodic sound of his laughter made my head spin. But the sad thing was that he didn't feel the same way at the time or so I thought. Anytime I said something, he would behave like he was irritated by my very existence. He avoided conversations with me and he even friend zoned me. He avoided me like the plague. What made me feel worse was how close he had become with Alice. She had even started visiting his house and every time she came back; she came back with a brand-new story. She talked about how they would go out together, take long walks together, hand in hand. They would take very cute pictures together and whenever she posted them on the gram, she would have one romantic caption or the other and she would tag me in it. They were always doing the newest tiktok trends and their videos would always go viral with people calling them the cutest tiktok couple in the comment section. I recall a time when someone asked in the comment section when they would get married. She would always take screen shots and send them to me.

I don't know if she was doing it purposely to hurt me or not. But when I realized that she was so consumed by the fact that she really liked him and he was paying a lot of attention to her, I couldn't blame her. and I stopped hating her and I focused more on my studies. I mean, who wouldn't want to be associated with such a handsome young man. So, I gave up on him at the time. I concluded that my life was just like the movies. A young girl, stuck in her fantasy, suffering from one-sided love. In fact, my life at the time reminded me of a Korean movie titled Playful Kiss. I could only hope that my life would end up like that of the female protagonist of the movie.

But one day, things started to look up for me. When the rest of the group went to get us some food, he was like, "Yo! Can I get your tens?" "My what?" I asked. He replied, "Your tens. As in your phone number. So, I can hit you up. Seeing as we are friends."" Wait, we are friends?" I asked confused. "Well, yeah. I guess so. I mean, we have a lot of mutual friends." He said. "Why… Why would you think that we were not friends?" He asked while scratching the back of his neck. He looked nervous like a schoolboy on his first day of school. Why does he look so nervous? I wondered. "Oh, let's see. Probably because you hardly ever speak to me and you avoid me like I'm some sort of plague. I just assumed that you didn't want to have anything to do with me. Seeing as I'm the nerd of the group and you're like the coolest dude in the group." I answered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I just thought you wouldn't want to keep company with me. I thought you'd see me as a silly athlete that's just trying to get the ladies. Please forgive me." he said looking extremely sad and hurt. "it's okay. I forgive you." "So, does that mean you'll give me your phone number?" My heart skipped a beat. I thought the world had come to a stand still just for that moment. "He's asking for my number. Eeeee!!!" I screamed internally. I was so excited. I could immediately see our first date, first kiss, meeting his parents, the proposal, our wedding day…

"Hello? Earth to Abby!!" He waved in front or me. "What??" I asked. "The number. If you don't want to give me just say so." "Oh no. That's not what I'm thinking about. I just zoned out for a minute there. Sorry." I gave him the number and we began talking about our hobbies and the things we had in common. "Do you like anime?" I asked. "Are you kidding?" He said. "I'm a weeb. I'm addicted to anime. My favorites are My Hero Academia, Black Clover, Demon Slayer and Naruto. You know, I personally consider myself as All Might, the greatest of all the heroes in My Hero Academia!" He paused to look at me and asked "Am I talking too much?" I laughed and said "Maybe just a little." There and then, at that moment, I felt that was the start of something beautiful. Something unique and something the whole world would be jealous about. Or so I thought. I never imagined in all my days of daydreaming that something so dreamy could happen to me. We continued talking about the characters in our favorite Animes and Mangas for a while which kinda seemed like an hour or two until the rest of the group came back to the classroom. I kinda felt like they were giving us time to get to know each other seeing as everyone except Alice knew that I had a mini crush on him. That girl is so clueless.

When they got back, I realized that something seemed rather off with Alice, so I texted her

Me: Hey girl! Everything okay?

Alice: I just found out that Alex, doesn't like me. Apparently, he told Shepherd that he's in love with someone and that someone sure as hell ain't me!

Me: How do you know that it's not you?

Alice: Because Shepherd said the description of the girl doesn't fit me!

I felt very bad for her. I mean, I know what it feels like to be friend zoned. Trust me… I do.

Me: I'm so sorry about that. Don't worry you'll find someone better who deserves you.

Alice: Yeah, Yeah.

"So, where did you guys go to get lunch?" I asked. "only the best place to get lunch in the area!" Mannie said while wiggling his eyebrows. "MANNIE!!!" they all screamed. "What? She had to know" he replied with a goofy smile. "Don't tell me you guys went to the Krispy Kreme." I said with a sad expression. "We did." Vicky said. "I said not to tell me, you dummy." I replied half yelling, half laughing and threw a pencil at her. "Why are you so violent?" Johnson, Vicky's boyfriend asked. He turned to her and asked "Are you hurt, baby?" "oh no, I'm not. the pencil only hit my arm." "Are you sure? Cuz' I could make you feel better if you are." He said with a suggestive look on his face. "Oh really?" She asks. "Yeah"

At this point I'm beginning to get uncomfortable with their crazy display of affection in public. But in order for me not to look like a kill joy or a jealous person I have to shut my mouth and stomach all this crazy ass nonsense. And they started kissing. "Ugh, you guys! Get a room!" Shepherd said. Apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable because of those guys. "Oh, I almost forgot." Anna said. "Huh? Forgot what?" I asked. "This." She said hand me a Krispy Kreme paper bag. "is this what I think it is?" I asked. "If what you're thinking is your usual order at the Krispy Kreme at lunchtime, then you are in luck" "Oh my gosh!! Thank you so much." So, they got me two donuts, one glazed and one sugar coated, and a coffee to go. I was so excited. They all know how much I loved those donuts. Especially the ones from the Krispy Kreme.

"Wait a minute. Isn't that from the breakfast menu?" asked Alex. "Yup." I answered. "How did you know that? Do you go to the Krispy Kreme often?" I asked. "Well, yea obviously. We go there together every Thursday morning for the chocolate waffles. I have to admit they make the best chocolate waffles ever." This answer came from Alice which was rather surprising because apparently Alice hates junk food and lives on a strict diet because she's tryna avoid bad cholesterol and keep in shape as she is an athlete. We all kinda understood that she was trying to make a good impression on Alex. At this point it was clear to all of us that she had a huge crush on Alex. "You go to the Krispy Kreme?" Mannie asks. Or so I thought. Apparently, Mannie was slow to understand. He's like the Vivek of our group. Except that Mannie is all brawn and no brains. "Well, yeah. I do." She answered. "I thought you hated junk… ow!!" Mannie got interrupted mid-sentence as I elbowed him in the stomach. "Pay no mind to him. He's rambling again. As usual. Aren't you, Mannie?" I said while looking at him with eyes that said "agree to what I'm saying or I'll murder you after we leave this place!"