From the beginning, all she had to do was ask me and she would have it.  Most of the time she didn't even know it was me who gave it to her, she just knew someone loved her.  And I did love her, alot.  In secret.

It was never my intention to be a burden to her and inform her of my feelings.  She would never return them; who would love someone like me?  Not her, not someone so beautiful.  So I faked like I was happy to just be her friend and in a way, I was.  No, happy might be too vibrant of a word for this case, it was more like content.  Being Lee Changmin, _____'s friend wasn't as good as taking the title of her boyfriend but atleast it was something.

Everytime she brought home a new boyfriend, my heart felt like it would shatter into tiny little pieces that would be impossible to put back together.  When the relationships ended, as they all eventually did, and I made her smile again after she cried her heart out, that little bit of hope patched my ticker right back together.  Her most recent relationship seemed to be dragging on forever, and the longer they stayed together, the more I hurt.

She'd liked Yoochun for almost as long as I'd liked her.  He'd liked her back, of course, but he also liked so many other girls she never thought about giving him a chance.  Until one day he changed for her, or so he said.  It was possible, any man would be an idiot to chase nickles while he had a treasure waiting back at home with his name on it.

I knew better though, I saw things that he wouldn't dare show _____.  If she knew, he would lose her.  But if she knew, it would also break her heart.  It was a good situation just as much as it was bad;  I'd always cherished her happiness over mine, and splitting them up wouldn't mean she would suddenly come running into my arms.  So I decided to keep my mouth shut.

I threatened him but he blew it off as cheap talk.  If I decided to one day run my fist through him, _____ would find out anyway and she'd be twice as hurt.  But if she should have ever happened to ask me about Yoochun, I swore to myself that  I would spill everything.  I couldn't lie right to her face.

It never came to that though, one day when we were just hanging out, we ran into Yoochun.  Another girl was with him.  The look on ____'s face broke my heart into two.  She cursed him out and dumped him on the spot, before turning on her heel and darting off.  I chased after her and in the end, she stopped at her favorite diner. 

I sat her down in one of the cracked, vinyl seats and ordered her a handspun chocolate shake and a bowl of peach cobbler.  We sat in Scottie's for over an hour while she cried her eyes out, the shake melting into thick, overly sweet chocolate milk, the tall old-fashioned glass. 

"I didn't know him as well as I thought I did." She choked out a laugh and stirred the untouched cobbler. "I should have known."

She must have known me more than I gave her credit for, because once her tears had dried and she could meet my gaze, she was able to conclude that I knew about Yoochun in under ten minutes.  Her hair flicked behind her as she stormed out of the diner, and that was the last I saw of her for some weeks.

My heart ached each day we were apart; she didn't answer my phone calls or texts and I respected her enough to stay away from her house.  I found myself sulking in the same booth at Scottie's night after night, wishing for some kind of miracle, hoping that I could catch her there by chance. 

I always knew she was an angel in disguise, because one day she actually walked in.  I expected her to ignore me and walk past or slap me and curse me out, but she did neither.  She smiled and sat across from me, folding her hands on the table while I stared at her cluelessly.

"HaeMi told me you've been scaring off the customers." She nodded towards the cashier that leaned lazily against the counter.  "I'm sorry for ignoring you."

"No, no." I waved my hands infront of me. "I deserved it, it was my fault."

She grabbed my hand and pulled it down to the table, keeping her fingers over mine. "It wasn't.  I overreacted.  I know you were doing it to protect me, I was just angry."

"I should have told you."

"You should have." _____ agreed. "But you did what you thought was best.  I appreciate it.  You're a good friend."

I flushed, pleased and frustrated at the same time. "...What if I don't wanna be?"

"What?" Her pretty eyes blinked at me in confusion.

"What if I don't want to be your friend?"

She let go of my hand, taken aback. "Was it something I did?  Is this because I didn't answer your calls?"

"No," I grabbed her hand and flipped it over, pressing a soft kiss to the underside of her wrist. "I don't want to be your friend because I want to be your boyfriend."

_____ gaped at me in disbelief. "You... like me?"

"I do." I nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, lacing my finger with hers in a bold move. "I didn't think I was good enough.  I still don't, I'm working off a high here.  Blame the cobbler."

She frowned at me, her nose crinkling. "You disgust me, Lee Changmin."

"I'm sorry." My heart dropped and I went to pull back my hand, but she clung to it.  She pushed herself forward and pressed her free hand against my cheek, laying a kiss on the other side.

"How dare you say you're not good enough?  Are you saying I would pick a loser for my boyfriend?"

"Boy... friend?" I gaped at her.

She smiled and nodded and I yanked her over the table and into my arms.  My girlfriend.