Freshly graduated from middle school, at 15, you and Daniel were both pumped to finally enter high school. He decided to go over to your house and spend the last day of vacation with you.

"I hope we'll be in the same class again!" You excitedly exclaimed as you and Daniel sat on your living room floor, playing Uno.

"I hope so, too," he smiled as he placed a card on top of the messy pile.

"What should I wear tomorrow? Jeans? A skirt? A dress?" You wondered, scratching your cheek.

"I bet you'd look good in anything," Daniel sincerely commented.

He was right.

When you entered high school, you started to change physically, mentally and emotionally. Your chest grew bigger, bigger than the average size of girls your age. You lost all your baby fat and in the end, you had a slim, to-die-for figure that turned heads wherever you went. Let's not forget your face. Your facial features became more defined, making you look like a teen model fresh out of the magazine pages. Of course, you felt blessed. With your positive physical change came a positive mental change. You became more confident and your self-esteem built up. You knew you were stunningly gorgeous, but you didn't let that get to your head. Emotionally, you were a happy-go-lucky girl who would rarely be caught without a smile on your face. You smiled and laughed and never showed negative emotions. If you were angry, you held it in most of the time unless it was too much to bear. If you were sad, the only person who ever saw your cry was Daniel, your trusty best friend.

Mentioning Daniel, he also changed. He built muscle everywhere, his arms and chest in particular. They would show from his short-sleeved, v-neck t-shirts he frequently wore. He, too, lost his baby fats and had a distinct jaw. He was strong, and he was handsome. His reddish brown hair was one of his main attractive features. His nose was sharp and his eyes defined. Daniel was also more confident and his self-esteem shot up. Like you, he didn't let it get to his head. He remained humble and sweet, remained as the Daniel you knew. He smiled until his eyes couldn't be seen, he laughed until his stomach hurt. He rarely got angry and never cried. Not in front of you, not ever. He replaced his negative emotions with positive ones and was always in a good mood.

All thanks to your good looks and figures and humble personalities, you and Daniel rose to the top of the popularity scale in school. Many asked you two out, many wanted to be your friends. You and Daniel, though, stuck to each other as if you were joined at the hip. Daniel rejected every girl that asked him out for reasons unknown to you. You, too, rejected boys but only because they weren't the type you would go for.

Unknowingly, your school years passed by quickly and now you were in your final and senior year. None of you had dated, although the lines waiting were long and seemingly never-ending.

"Why are you always rejecting girls? They're pretty on the inside and outside," you asked at lunch one day.

Daniel only shrugged and refused to give you a reason.

But what was his reason, really?

Daniel was in love with you. He had been ever since you two were fourteen. Now at eighteen, he had been in love with you for four years. His feelings never wavered and although he tried to let go, he couldn't. He had fallen in too deep and it was difficult for him to get out of it. Of course, he didn't tell you, because he knew you didn't feel the same way. He'd rather keep it at best friend level and hide his feelings than confessing and losing the best friend he ever had.

"What's your reason, then? The guys are so persistent on asking you out and they're not that bad."

"Not my type. Besides, you know I have someone I like," you replied, blush creeping into your cheeks.

He knew. You had told him the moment you realised your feelings. You had a major crush on the captain of the basketball team, Yoon Jaemin. According to you, he was not only handsome and athletic, but he was sweet and gentlemanly. Daniel, being more of an extrovert than you were, knew that wasn't the truth. He knew what kind of guy Jaemin was really like. He changed girls as often as you changed your clothes. He would always pretend to be sweet at the beginning of a relationship, and then he'd break the girl's heart and walk away without a care in the world. Daniel had no idea why you couldn't see that, but as long as Jaemin didn't ask you out, he was okay with you having a crush on him. Daniel was okay, except that he would feel his heart crush a little whenever you talked about Jaemin highly. It didn't matter, though. If you liked Jaemin, he was fine with it, too.

"Of course, you've told me many times. Many, many times. Many, many, ma-"

"I get it. Shut it," you threw a French fry at Daniel.

"Hey, don't waste food! You see, the French fry can't be eaten any more," Daniel said as he stared at the French fry on the floor.

"You're more than welcomed to pick it up and eat it."

Daniel shot you a disgusted look and you burst into giggles at the sight of his facial expression.

"Hey, beautiful."

You stopped giggling and could see Daniel frown. You'd recognise that voice anywhere. You had imagined it calling you all sorts of pet names, telling you the three magical words and telling you jokes to make you laugh.

You turned and looked over your shoulder.

"Hi, Jaemin," you said softly as you fought the blush on your cheeks.

Jaemin took a seat next to you and leaned in close. You could see Daniel turn his gaze away from the corner of your eyes but you could only focus on the close proximity of you and your crush.

"Uh... Why are y-you s-so c-close?" You asked as you did everything in your power to stop yourself from stumbling over your words.

"To see your pretty face up-close. I think I'd never have enough of it," Jaemin whispered in a low voice and lifted a finger to slowly caress your cheek.

Your skin grew warm at the voice and physical contact and you could feel yourself getting red. From your peripheral view, you saw Daniel got up and walk away.

Daniel decided he had to walk away before his heart started breaking. He couldn't stand the sight of you being so close to another man he detested. Scratch that, he couldn't stand the sight of you with any other man at all. He leaned against his locker and let out a heavy sigh, shutting his eyes. Being secretly in love with his best friend was proving to be a more difficult task as each day passed.

Back at the cafeteria, Jaemin had taken Daniel's seat across from you after the latter had left. He was beaming at you, and you let yourself get lost in his twinkling eyes. The both of you just sat and stared at each other for a few minutes before he broke the silence.

"So... I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me on Friday night," Jaemin said, winking subtly.

"Friday night? Where would you take me?" You asked while mentally checking Friday's schedule.

"I was thinking we could get dinner then go for a movie, if that's fine by you."

"That's fine with me. Friday night, then," you agreed with a smile.

"Perfect. I'll come pick you up at eight. Text me your address," Jaemin winked again.

The boy got up and leaned down to peck your cheek, lingering for a moment before walking off. You discreetly fanned yourself, trying to get rid of the heat you were feeling. In the end, you decided you had to tell someone. You threw your half-eaten meal away and ran out of the cafeteria to where you knew Daniel would be. Your cheeks were still burning and you were panting when you came to a stop in front of his locker.

"Woah, what's with the running? Take deep breaths," Daniel said as his eyes landed on you.

"You'll never guess what happened," you squealed.

"I think I know what happened," he answered, expressionless.

"Jaemin asked me out! We're going on a date on Friday night," you beamed, shaking Daniel's arm excitedly.

"I knew it," Daniel replied, still expressionless.

You frowned. Why was he being like this?

"Shouldn't you be happy for me? The guy I liked just asked me out. He probably likes me, right? Why would someone ask a girl out if he didn't like her?"

"I want to, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Jaemin... he's not who you think he is," Daniel started. "He's not the guy who's sweet and lov-"

"Daniel, stop," you raised a hand up, slightly pissed. "Why are you telling me this now? Why not the previous times I've told you about him?"

"Because you weren't going out with him. There's nothing wrong with having a crush on him when there's nothing going on between you two," he explained.

"And why would he not be as who I think he is?"

"He's putting up a façade to score girls, and you're falling for his trap like many other girls have done."

You kept your silence for a while, deep in thought. You decided what Daniel said was ridiculous.

"I'm disappointed in you, Daniel. You're supposed to be happy when I am. Are you like those overprotective best friends who are secretly in love with the girl and get jealous when she goes out with someone else that's not him?" you asked, fuming.

"No, I'm not. I'm just lookin–"

"Don't give me nonsense, Daniel Chae. In case you're lying, be clear I don't like you that way," you snapped, turning on your heel and walking away.

Daniel stared at your retreating figure. He felt his heart drop into an abyss. He couldn't help but feel hurt at your words. He knew you didn't see him that way, but it was more painful when said to his face. Daniel sighed and leaned back against his locker with a loud thud, still looking in the direction which you had left. He ran one hand through his hair while his other clenched into a tight fist.

Control, Daniel Chae, control your emotions, Daniel thought to himself.