Chapter One:

“I’m just wondering, but when exactly did this little love triangle begin?” Annabelle asked, curious about her friend’s dilemma. The two girls continued to walk to school.

“You already know everything about how Huy and I got together so I’ll skip right on past that story and just tell you about my mysterious secret admirer,” Kaily giggled softly.

“You mean not-so-secret secret admirer?” Annabelle joked. “We both know that sexy Mr. Andrew Thanh has been eyeing you all week.”

“Of course, and that boy’s not only the star of both the track and swimming teams, but also a total cutie,” Kaily said. “Oh, and don’t forget he’s also a total gentleman.”

“And he’s also Huy’s best friend,” Annabelle said bringing the conversation back to reality. “You do understand that if Huy gets word of this that it could, scratch that, would ruin their friendship? Right?”

“Do you always have to ruin all my fun? I was just beginning to think of myself as important. Now I feel like the bad guy, when this is all Andrew’s fault,” Kaily complained as she played with the zipper on her jacket.

“Kaily, it is probably best if you just ignore Andrew. Then this will all go away. He knows better and he will understand that you’re not interested,” Annabelle said, hoping to help Kaily out.

“That’s the problem, I am interested,” Kaily barely muttered. She hid her face from view.

“You do not even dare think about dumping Huy. Yeah, sure he’s not the star of the track team, or the best swimmer around. And he might not be nearly as tall as Andrew, but that boy loves you. He loves you a lot, more than you probably believe. And I’ve come to know that you love him too. You guys are so perfect for each other that you guys must be soul mates,” Annabelle yelled at Kaily, trying to bring her back to her senses. For a second, Kaily just stood there, playing with her jacket’s zipper. The girls continued to walk on.

At 5’7” Huy was a decent height. His medium length brown-black hair was always gelled in a way that made him look like he’d come straight out of an anime. He had the most beautiful deep brown eyes that were the shade of rich molten chocolate, although he commonly hid them behind mesmerizing colored contact lenses. Plus he also had a light tan and a smile that could brighten even the darkest of days. Overall Huy was indeed pretty cute.

“As if I’d ever dump Huy. Actually, truth be told, in his own way, he’s way cuter than Andrew,” Kaily said, hoping her lie wasn’t obvious.

“Don’t lie to me bitch,” Annabelle stated in an icy voice. “You’re a terrible liar, I’m sorry, but it’s true. Now tell me, are you seriously thinking about dumping Huy for Andrew?”

“I’m not sure. I’m totally lost, I have no idea what I should do,” Kaily said, as they almost reached the school grounds.

“Do what you think is right, and I highly suggest you don’t dump Huy. That boy’s been in love with you for as long as I could remember, and if you dump him, sure he might take you back again later, but I highly doubt it if you dumped him for his best friend,” Annabelle stated, “but if you truly believe that Andrew is better than Huy, than go ahead, by all means, go out with Andrew. But remember, Huy loves you for who you are, and we don’t even know if Andrew is even serious about you.”

“I’ll think about it,” Kaily said. “Come on, we have to go meet the guys before school so we can finish putting together our history project,” Kaily added as they entered the gates to the school ground.

Saint John’s Academy was a private Catholic high school, one of few remaining private high schools around. Most kids went to public school because it was free and easier to get transportation to. Also, against popular belief, private schools and public schools didn’t have much of a difference in their education. In either school, students learned the same things. Although, many Catholic schools, like Saint John’s, had classes that public schools didn’t have, many of them related in some way or another to Catholicism or the bible.

Saint John’s Academy wasn’t a very big school, but it did tend to be a bit confusing with all its crisscrossing corridors and random room numbers. But once you realized that the north, east, south, and west halls pointed in their designated direction and all met in a center, which was the library, it was easier to figure out. Kaily and Annabelle were able to get to the library with time to spare. For a few minutes they sat there in silence, but then Huy entered the room.

“Hey girl,” Huy said as he took a seat next to Kaily. “How have you been?” He smiled, and instantly Kaily felt better.

“I’ve been just great,” Kaily giggled, “but as you must know by now, no day feels totally complete without you my dear.” With that said, Huy gently hugged Kaily, calming her a bit.
“I love you,” Huy whispered into her ear, making Kaily remember what Annabelle had told her. Kaily squeezed Huy tightly, absorbing his warmth.

“Break it up you two,” a voice said. The group turned around to see their friend Alex standing near the wall. “Or else I might have to call campus security on you two little love birds.”
“Oh, no need for that Alex,” Huy stated, “we’re not doing anything against campus rules right now. So how about we get started with that history project already?”

Everyone sighed at Huy’s suggestion. “It’s seven in the morning and you want to work Huy? Are you crazy?” Alex and Annabelle said in unison, making them laugh.

“Hey, I don’t want to work either, but if we don’t get this finished by fourth period, Mr. Davis will have our heads. So we might as well hurry up and finish,” Huy explained before they continued to complain.

“Whatever, let’s see what you all got,” Kaily said as she searched through her backpack for her history paper. Everyone quickly pulled out their papers. “Andrew has all the pictures, doesn’t he?” Kaily added. Huy nodded, reassuring that if their friend didn’t get there soon they would end up failing this project.

The group sat at the table and quietly worked on the papers, editing and rewriting things. Every so often they checked the clock, hoping Andrew would get there so they could finish, because he had the pictures that were worth nearly half of the report.

“It’s already past seven-thirty; class is going to start in about another 20 minutes or so. Where in the world is Andrew?” Huy asked, impatiently. “If he doesn’t get his ass over here in the next three minutes, I promise you that I will kill him in the most painful way I can think of.”

“Then I’m pretty sure it won’t be too painful at all then, since you’re too stupid to even look behind you,” Andrew said as he walked toward the group. “So tell me Huy, why exactly were you looking for me?”

Huy stared at Andrew with cobalt blue eyes that were as cold as ice. “You’re late, and we need to finish the history project. And you’re the one who has all of the pictures we need.”

Andrew rolled his eyes and searched through his backpack that was hanging from one shoulder. After finding what he was looking for, he handed Huy a thin stack of papers, each page was covered in vivid pictures, combined together into a complex collage. “Are you happy now?” Andrew asked, sarcastically.

“What took you so long to get here? You’re always here early,” Annabelle questioned, curiosity colored her voice.

“My mom’s sick today, so I couldn’t get a ride from her, and dad had to leave for work early this morning, so I ended up having to take the bus and walk to school. And considering how the bus stop is half a mile from my house and the closest stop to school is about a mile from school, yeah it kind of makes sense how I ended up late today,” Andrew explained.

“You should have run, you would have gotten her at least twice as fast, Mr. Track superstar,” Kaily taunted. “Maybe then we wouldn’t have been freaking out for so long about failing the stupid history assignment.”

“Well, I’m sorry, it’s not like I planned on being late this morning,” Andrew stated. “But at least we’re done now, right?”

“Yes we’re done,” Huy replied sourly. “Not much thanks to you.”

“Come on you two, no fighting,” Annabelle said, hoping to end this before it got too serious. “You guys are best friends, and friends aren’t supposed to fight with each other.”

“Oh, we’re not fighting, Huy here just got a little too worked up over nothing,” Andrew stated, fixing the tie on his uniform. “Besides, Huy, I wasn’t that late, you just got here way too early. I mean, look at yourself, what, did you get in a fight with a lion or something? You’re a complete mess.” Huy looked down at his rumpled jacket, messily buttoned shirt, and half undone tie. “Do you not know how to dress yourself anymore?” Andrew taunted, a sarcastic tone haunted his voice.

“Oh, shut up Andrew,” Huy said as he unbuttoned his shirt, lined the buttons up to the correct holes and buttoned it again. “We’re not kids anymore; I don’t need your help for everything.” Huy smoothed out the wrinkles in his jacket, hoping that if he got them out now he wouldn’t have to iron his jacket again tonight.

“Whatever, I’m out of here, got other things to do,” Andrew said as he exited through the west corridor.

“Huy, you woke up late again, didn’t you?” Kaily asked as she undid Huy’s tie and gently wrapped it around his neck, making sure to tuck it under his collar.

“Yes, I woke up late,” Huy replied.

Kaily continued to work on Huy’s tie. She carefully folded the tie in on itself, wrapping it into the correct shape. She then slid the end through the loop and pulled it down until it was tight. “There we go, now you look half decent,” Kaily joked.

“I take that as an insult you know,” Huy replied. “I don’t have to time to get dressed perfectly like you do.” Huy ran his fingers through his hair.

“Well of course, straightening your hair and putting in your contacts is much more important than making sure that your shirt and jacket are on correctly,” Kaily said sarcastically.

Huy stared at her with bright blue eyes. “I thought you said I look hot when my hair’s straight. And I’ve been lead to believe that you can’t keep your eyes off my mine when I wear my contacts.”

“Whatever,” She replied. “I love you no matter what.”

“I love you too,” He answered.

The bell rang, sending everyone to their first period class.