~Andrea~

Junior year was average for the first five minutes.  Micky and I saw each other again and slipped into our comfortable routine and friendship. 

Then he saw her. 

Beautiful, wavy blonde-brown hair.  Tall and slender with tan skin.  She was beautiful.  And she was foreign. 

Carina was the Spanish foreign exchange student that year.  He saw her from behind at first.  I was moments away from betting on how long it would be before she tripped over those heels, but something stopped me.  It wasn’t like Micky was ogling her or anything.  It’s just…I got this feeling.  I’m fairly decent at reading people just by the atmosphere. 

The atmosphere said to shut up and stand back.

Had I made that bet, I would have won bragging rights and a free soda from Micky.  She tripped after five seconds.  Micky, being the gentleman he, oddly, was, took several large steps forward and caught her just before she hit the ground.  Frankly, he should have just let her hit.

I know I sound like some cliché high school girl who fell in love with her best friend and was devoured by jealousy when someone else claimed his attention…

Think outside the box! 

I wasn’t in love.  I didn’t have a crush.  I wasn’t jealous….  And I never lie. 

So he caught her and it was like I was standing back, watching one of those cheesy romantic scenes in a television show or movie.  Her papers fell everywhere and they just stared at each other like lovesick idiots.  . 

At the time, I just smiled to myself and starting picking up some of the papers.  Micky was a great guy and it was about time he found someone. 

He let go of her and helped her pick up her things. 

“You should be careful.  The floors are slippery for the first weeks of school.  They wax all the floors.”  He said, handing her a pink binder.  She smiled brightly at him.  I rolled my eyes.  I had seen Micky in flirt mode before.  He could sweet talk like no one else and actually get away with it.  She extended her hand.

“Thank you.  I’ll remember that next time I choose what shoes to wear.”  She giggled in her accented English.  “My name is Carina.”  Micky flashed her a smooth smile.

“Micky.”  He said before nodding toward me.  “This is Andrea.”  I smiled and handed her a stack of papers. 

“Hi.”  I said.  She smiled and nodded.

“Thank you.”  She turned back to Micky.  “I’ll see you?”  He nodded and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. 

“Probably.”  He said.  She flashed him a winning smiled and he watched her walk away for a few seconds before turning back to me.

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~Micky~

When I turned, Andrea was smirking at me, her eyebrows raised. 

“What?”  I said.  She shook her head and pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile.  She walked down the hall and it took me a few steps to catch up.  “What?”  I repeated with a whine.  She shook her head again.

“She’s blonde.”  She said, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.  I frowned at her.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”  She laughed tossed her pony tail over her shoulder. 

“You have a thing for blondes.”

“I do not!”  She rolled her eyes and shifted her books to one side so she could count with her fingers.

“Beth, Sarah, Christine.  All blondes.” 

“Whatever.”  She smiled.

“See you, Micky.”  She said, stepping into her class. 

So…Carina was pretty.  Not prettier than Andrea…just in a different way.  I learned later that they were almost opposites.  Carina was loud, confident, talkative, bubbly.  She had at least three inches on Andrea, not counting the heels she wore.  Light hair, light brown eyes.  Okay.  She was really pretty. 

But her eyes had nothing over Andrea’s.  And her standards and personality...well, she was pretty and I was seventeen.

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~Andrea~ 

It wasn’t long before mutual interest developed between Micky and Carina.  In a few weeks they were dating. 

I was happy that he was.  He really liked her.  He wasn’t just flirting.  He was happy.

But it’s hard for a guy and girl to stay friends when one starts dating. 

It wasn’t that she got jealous and possessive.  It wasn’t that we hated each other.  Carina and I got along well enough, even if we never became friends.  But things between Micky and I got awkward. 

Admittedly, we flirted a bit before he started dating.  We both knew it.  He was a natural flirt and I just enjoyed teasing him back.  When he and Carina started dating, we developed silent agreement to give each other space.  We were careful around each other.  And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel like a third wheel when Carina was with us.  So he didn’t abandon me for her.  I’m the one who walked the other way. 

That’s how it has always been.