A/N: Originally posted on my wordpress blog on Valentine's Day.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

“We used to be close, weren’t we? What happened to us?”

~•~•~•~

**Valentine’s Day, two years ago**

The past few months passed by in a chaotic blur. Ever since answering that fateful call from my agent at that Halloween party a few months ago, my life had been unbelievably hectic, all my time and effort dedicated to putting out our first album and promoting it.

However, even on the most packed and tiring of days, I never failed to think of her – and my unsuccessful confession. Selia’s almost daily reminders didn’t help matters either. I regretted telling Selia my plans to confess, but I had to admit that her nagging, combined with chats with Rainie in my spare time kept the desire to tell her my feelings burning.

There were a lot of doubts though. The fear of being rejected was at the forefront, of course, but I was most afraid of ruining our friendship. In fact, that was one of the main reasons that I held back for so long. But no more. Each passing day I seemed to fall for her more and more and just thinking about seeing her with someone else convinced me that I had to let her know how I felt, regardless of the consequences.

Our first album was scheduled to be released in a fortnight, but since we had finished preparing, Chris and I were given a few days off before things started to get even more busy for us. Both of us returned home to spend time with our family and friends as once we officially dropped the album, we wouldn’t be able to come back for a while.

More importantly, I came back with a goal in mind. It was Valentine’s Day, coincidentally, and I couldn’t think of a better time to ask her to be my girlfriend. For some reason, I wanted to tell her before I officially became a celebrity. Perhaps I wanted to do this before I started a new chapter in my life, or maybe I just didn’t want her to date me because I was famous. I didn’t know why, I only knew that it had to be today.

She hadn’t taken over the restaurant yet; her father was still showing her the reins. But I knew she would be at the cooking school where she signed up for cooking classes with that cold and aloof teacher.

So that was where I was headed, with a huge bouquet of sunflowers in my hand. Her favourite, fitting her sunny and outgoing personality. I got closer to the school, my stomach filled with butterflies as I willed myself not to turn and run. I had to do this!

I saw several students walking away from the direction of the school, heading to different destinations. Classes must have been over for the day. Perfect timing. My pace quickened, the last thing I wanted was to miss her as I wasn’t sure where she would be headed after class.

I was rounding the corner about a block from the school when I glimpsed her in a small alleyway. She was not alone. They seemed to be unaware of any onlookers, so she and Charles didn’t bother to keep their voices down. Instinctively I ducked behind a wall. Even though I felt guilty about eavesdropping, I couldn’t help myself from straining to hear their conversation.

“Is it appropriate? You’re my teacher,” her tone was hesitant, but unless I was imagining it, there seemed to be an underlying eagerness in her voice.

“Today was your last class, wasn’t it?” Charles countered. “There’s no harm in giving it a try. Will you be my girlfriend?”

My pulse started to race and my grip around the bouquet tightened when I finally realised what the conversation was about. No. No way. No way this is happening, I tried to convince myself, but still I peeked around the corner to see her and waited to hear her response.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and when she started to nod, my heart pounded so loudly that it filled my ears, muffling out her answer. But there was no mistaking the “Okay,” that her lips formed.

I fell back against the wall and my heart stopped pounding. In fact, it simply stopped. I couldn’t believe this. After falling in love with her for years, years, I finally gathered the courage to confess – only to be beaten by another man by just a few minutes. My hold on the bouquet slacked and my heart clenched so hard at the realisation, I could barely breathe.

I heard movements from their direction and knew I couldn’t dawdle. I couldn’t bear to see her face, knowing that at the end of that day she wasn’t mine, but another man who she had only known for a few months. Quick steps guided me away from the scene, and the big, beautiful bouquet ended up in the nearest trash can instead of in her arms.

~•~•~•~

**Present Day**

“Ah, that,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. “I heard from Selia that you got a boyfriend, and I didn’t want to make him jealous so early on in the relationship so I thought I should give you some space. I guess I gave you too much without realising and it became awkward for me to call you.” I grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

It was a weak excuse, but I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t tell her the truth. I looked at her nervously as she tried to accept my explanation. “Oh,” she said, nodding slowly. “You’re such an idiot Gabriel. You’re my friend first, and that shouldn’t change no matter what. If my boyfriend doesn’t like it, then he doesn’t like it. I wish we had kept in contact the past year, but there’s no use regretting the past. We can always keep in contact from now on, right?”

You’re my friend. Just a friend. I smiled weakly at her. “Right. Of course.”