“Hey, you wanna hang out after school?” Han Geng asked you at lunch.

“Sure, where are we going?”

“The Meadow” he answered. The Meadow was actually just a grassy hill, but you and Geng spent a lot of time there together when you just wanted to relax and talk. It was the place where you really got to know one another and led you to become best friends. It was a really special place that only you guys went to.

After lunch, you guys split to go to your different classes, but when the final school bell rang, you met up again at his locker. The Meadow was in walking distance from your high school, and as you hiked the way there, Geng casually draped his arm over your shoulder. You reciprocated the gesture by putting your arm around his lower back, and you smiled. You always liked having Geng beside you. But you were often mistaken for being a couple because of the affection you showed one another.

You made it to the Meadow and sat cross-legged next to each other under the only tree there. “Is something wrong?” you asked. There must be something serious he wanted to talk about; he had been so quiet all day.

“Nothing’s wrong…” he started. “But I’ve just been thinking about this girl.”

“Ohhh, a girl, huh?” You smiled and inched a little closer to him, eager at hearing who his crush was now.

“Yeah, I want to tell her how I feel, but…I don’t think I can.”

“Awh, Geng, you can do it! Girls aren’t that intimidating.”

He chuckled a little. “It’s not that she’s intimidating, it’s just…she’s you.”

“What?” Your head turned towards him and you eyes got bigger as you stared him straight in the eyes.

“I like you, ______. A lot. I think I love you.” He said it so seriously, you knew he wasn’t kidding. Which made you worry because you didn’t feel the same way. He waited anxiously for you to say something.

“Geng,” you said gently after a few moments. “I’m sorry. But I don’t like you like that.”

He sighed. “This is what I was afraid of” he murmured. “But can you give me a chance at least?”

“Geng,” you said, trying to think of a way to let him down easy. “We’re like siblings, and I don’t think I could ever see you as more than that. I know we say ‘I love you’ and all that to each other, but I always only meant it as a friend. I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s okay, don’t be sorry. I guess I was just hoping things would be different.” He sat with his knees up and rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. “Frick. I ruined everything” he muttered.

“No you didn’t; you didn’t ruin anything. We’re still friends” you said quickly. But you knew Han Geng was a sensitive guy and a few tears had already dropped from his eyes. 

It was heartbreaking to see your best friend like this; you desperately wanted to hold him and comfort him, but right now, you knew it was best to leave him alone for awhile. You said a few words to try to make him feel a little better and you gave him a quick hug before you left the Meadow. He looked up briefly and watched your figure disappear over the hill, silently wishing that everything would be okay between you two - that he would be okay with being just friends with you - or better yet, that maybe you’d eventually change your mind and would feel the same way towards him that he felt towards you.