Ugh.

I could hear his voice yelling my name, telling me to wake up. But I didn't want to wake up. I just wanted to sleep. Couldn't he just leave me alone? Wasn't he getting tired of waking me up every single day of high school? I mean, I get that he was a morning person. But not all of us are. I know that he wanted to wake up early for us to catch the bus to school. That was why he also wakes me up early because I sleep 'til late. I also didn't and couldn't wake up early. I guess he thinks it was his job or something since my parents let me skip school to get some sleep. Didn't my parents rock?

Anyway, we'd been coming to school together since we were kids. After all, we lived next door and we were best friends. And – I don't know – I guessed it became a hobby of his to wake me up every morning if it was a school day. But he couldn't force me forever! He would eventually get tired.

What was more, it was getting way out of hand.

So I just ignored him and went back to sleep. Besides, there was nothing he could do that would surprise me anymore. He'd done literally almost every ploy to make me leave my cozy bed. I got used to every bit of it, and in the long run, I learned to ignore the tricks. Ho ho ho...

I sighed. He stopped yelling. Finally, some peace and quiet... Hmm... Wait a minute... What was that? What was that unsettling loud noise?

"Ugnnnhh..." I murmured. "Shut up," I moaned. "No no no no." Not that song, I thought. I covered my ears with my pillow, unsuccessfully drowning out the sound.

"Stop!" I complained.

But of course he wasn't going to stop playing that unbearable rap song. You see, I hated rap songs. I found rock music comforting; while rap music, I found disturbing. I didn't know why. I just did. And he knew how much I couldn't stand it. As bossy as someone like him, he just wouldn't give up.

All of a sudden, the noise became louder! As if it was in my room! Ugh! Then, I figured he must've had turned on the talkies – talkies were our nickname for walkie-talkies which we plastered on each of our bedroom walls so we can talk to each other non-stop through our windows. I couldn't believe he could think of something like this!

I bolted right up, dizzily grabbing my big square-rimmed glasses on the way. I turned on my talkie by the window and sleepily glared at the 6'2" lean-build seventeen-year-old guy who was wearing nothing but his jogging pants in his room. I can see him through his bedroom window exactly across mine.

"Alright, alright," I yelled through the noise. "I'm awake! You can stop the torture now."

He grinned. "Not until you get ready for school," he said.

Grrr. Could he be any more demanding?

"Wow," I said sarcastically. "I didn't know you could get that bossy, Dad."

"Do I look like an old dude to you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Of course not. You're the most handsome guy I have ever met. But I'm never going to admit that. Not to you, anyway.

"Oh, you're not? Huh. You sure as hell sounded like one," I said scornfully.

He stared at me. "Whose fault do you think it is?" he asked mockingly. "Just hurry up, D. Geez, it's the first day of senior year," he added, shaking his head.

"All the more reason not to wake up," I quickly replied. "Stop the music!"

"C'mon, stop being so melodramatic. It's just school," he shrugged, as though there was nothing wrong with it.

Um, ehem! Just school??? Is he serious? It's like a jungle out there. And aren't his ears bleeding from that racket?

"It's high school, A," I emphasized the word venomously.

"Ah, yes," he said in understanding, as he walked toward his basketball and grabbed it, twirling it with his hands. "The I-hate-high-school-blah-blah is here. You know, that's gotta stop. It's not that bad."

"That's easy for you to say. You're popular," I muttered, looking away.

"Hmmm," he pretended to think. "You may be right about that. I'm just kidding!" He added quickly when he saw my reaction.

"Whatever, jock," I said as I dragged myself to the bathroom. Well, he was a jock. Tell me when a high school varsity basketball player wasn't a jock, and then I wouldn't call him that.

I suddenly stopped walking and went back to scream at the talkie.

"TURN OFF THE FREAKING MUSIC, AARON!"

And thank God he finally did.

Yeah! I knew the rap song would work. Of course it would work. Her reaction was so funny. She didn't even see it coming. Now, this ploy would certainly last 'cause she couldn't ever stand that kind of music. And so, she would never get used to it. I was so smart to come up with that.

I laughed out loud as I brushed my teeth. I pulled the jeans on me and wore my favorite blue three-fourths shirt. I put on my black Nike shoes, glancing through the window.

Where is she? Is she still in the bathroom? I can't see her.

I sighed as I grabbed my gym bag and hooded jacket. I went downstairs into the dining room.

"Hey, mom," I greeted the tall, slim lady with dark brown hair who is enjoying her breakfast.

She looked up at me and smiled sweetly.

"Hi, honey," Mom said. "Are you going to school already? Come here, grab some bacon sandwich."

"Nah, I can't," I said, shaking my head. "I gotta go catch the bus to school."

"But it's still early," said Mom in confusion, frowning a little. Then, her forehead softened. She laughed gently.

"Yes," Dad suddenly said behind his newspaper. "He's going to force Dakota out of bed again. It has become a habit of yours, Aaron, to do that." He lowered his newspaper to give me a meaningful look and a smile.

Which I didn't understand – the look, I mean.

"Well, if only I have a car to school..." I said pointedly at Dad, changing the subject.

"Someday, son," said Dad, and then he returned to reading.

Awe. He kept saying that. I was craving for a car. This was my last year of high school and I was one of the very few guys in the team who didn't have one. I mean, I didn't care if they all have cars. However, it'd be cool not to run all the time to catch the bus. And it would be so convenient for me and Dakota – me and the guys – me and Annabelle, too.

Annabelle's my girlfriend. I hadn't seen her for a while. Well, it doesn't really matter. We were in a time-out over the summer. Long distance was not our thing. And I was pretty much preoccupied throughout the break. But I guessed the time-out was over now that school had started.

"It is really strange," said Mom. "You kids are strange," she corrected, more to herself. When Mom noticed Dad and I looking at her questioningly, she explained, "Honey, you're the one who is supposed to be having the hard time getting up from bed, and Dakota is the one who is supposed to be waking you up. Not the other way around."

I stared at Mom. Man, we were having a weird conversation today. I'd better leave.

"Okay, then. Bye!" I said as I quickly left the house.

It was such a nice day. Good weather for the first day of school.

I rang the Evans' doorbell. I waited for my cue to come in.

"Come in, Aaron," called out Mrs. Evans.

They were used to me coming so early in the morning. I'd been doing this for as long as I can remember. I peeked at the dining room and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Evans, and Jason, Dakota's brother, who was eating his breakfast before finally leaving for college. They greeted me brightly.

"You know," started Jason, "I could never understand how you can't get tired of waking my sister up every morning. I think it's turned into a disease. Better watch out, dude."

"Jason," said Mrs. Evans, as though just saying his name was a scold itself.

"No, it's okay, Mrs. E," I assured her, grinning. I turned to Jason and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I like the challenge of coming up with ploys. It's also fun and amusing almost all the time." My grin turned wider, remembering the different irate expressions of Dakota.

"Hmmm, you should better get up there, Aaron," said Mr. Evans. "I don't think I hear any footsteps from her room."

I listened, and he was right.

"Excuse me," I said as I left the dining room and went upstairs to her bedroom. I opened the door and she wasn't in there. I walked in, looking around. I grew suspicious. Where could she be? I gently dropped my gym bag on the floor. I walked toward the bathroom door. Slowly, I opened it.

Whoa. I shook my head in disbelief.

Dakota was still in her pajamas, a toothbrush in her mouth, and was sitting on the lavatory – the top was closed. And guess what? She was asleep.

Is it possible that there's someone like her in the morning???

I sighed. She was a tough one. There was only one other way to do it. So I ran downstairs, took a very cool glass of water – the Evans family were watching me curiously – and went back to her room. I knelt in front of her, placed the glass on my side, and then I softly removed her huge glasses and toothbrush from her sleeping face. I laid them on the counter. After that, I took the glass of water and stood up. I poured the cold water on her and swiftly stepped back.

She screamed as she jumped up from surprise.

"Aaron!" she yelled my name as though it was some kind of bad word. I laughed. Her eyes turned to slits as she blindly searched for me. She stretched her arms, her hands exploring the air.

"Awesome," I said, nodding impressively. "You quickly knew it was me."

She scoffed. "No other person could be cruel enough to do something like this! Where's my glasses?" she demanded in rage.

"Aren't you freezing?" I asked, ignoring her fury.

As if just noticing it, she shivered. So I grabbed the towel and covered her with it.

"If I get a cold, I'll strangle you!" she threatened.

I laughed. "I'd like to see you try. Now, hurry up. I'm the one who's gonna strangle you if we missed the bus."

"I'll hurry up as soon as you give me back my glasses," she said, holding out her hand.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine," I sighed, placing the glasses on her hand.

She quickly put it on, and when she saw me, she pinched me on the arm.

"Ow," I said, widening my eyes at her. I was amused, at the same time.

She smiled sweetly – which in her case, was a devilish smile. "That's right. 'Ow.' And there's more where that came from. So get the hell out. I'll dress up so you'll stop whining."

"I'm not whining," I said indignantly, as she slammed the bathroom door on my face.

Wow. Pinching him felt good.

Oh, God, I'm turning into a violent person.

Well, it was his fault! Pouring cold water on me wasn't enjoyable. Yeah, maybe it did wake up my senses but hello! It was freaking cold! I was literally shaking.

I sighed. Whatever. I rapidly pulled on my clothes: a Sabrina sweatshirt, jumper, and Converse shoes. I wiped my glasses from moist. I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I didn't even bother to brush my hair with a comb – my fingers would do. I pulled my hair into braids. And then, I was good to go.

I went out to my room. Aaron wasn't there. He must've gone to eat breakfast while waiting for me. As I seized my things, I heard Aaron yell from the bottom of the stairs.

"Dakota, speed up! We're gonna be late!"

Ooh. He only calls me by my full first name when he was serious. And right now, he was seriously pissed.

I grabbed the last of my things and ran downstairs. I dashed by the dining room saying, "Bye, guys! See you later! Take care, Jason."

"See you, Mr. and Mrs. E. Good luck in college, Jase," Aaron hurriedly said.

And then, we ran down the street. But, I had to say, running wasn't really my thing. So half-way to the bus stop, I stopped running to catch my breath.

Aaron looked over his shoulder. When he saw me stop, he turned around and walked towards me. My hands were on my knees and I can barely speak.

"You're such a nerd," he sighed.

It was normal for us to call each other names – Jock and Nerd, mainly.

"Can't help it," I said, panting. "It's in the blood."

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, is it?" he said, and then he laughed sarcastically. Just then, he grabbed my hand to pull me. And we ran again.

I panicked. I didn't know what to do. He was holding my hand, for Pete's sake. Aaron Ford was holding my hand. It was fine; we were best friends, after all. And it was normal – when we were kids. But now, it felt really strange. Okay, maybe it didn't feel any strange back then because I didn't know that I was in love with him yet. But I guessed now that I was fully aware of it, my hormones were kicking everywhere – especially on my hand. Yes, I was in love with my best friend who was a jock, good-looking, and probably one of the most popular guys in school. And as much as I hated to admit it, he already got a girlfriend – who was a cheerleader, by the way. Typical high school love story, I know.

While me? I was not all of those things. I wasn't a cheerleader, beautiful, and popular. I was one of the people at school who were the butt of all jokes. Someone like me can never be popular. But I didn't really care about it at all. Really, I didn't. It was just that every freaking person in school keep reminding me how Aaron and I were way different and how we should never have been best friends in the first place. I know that I should be thankful that Aaron wasn't blowing me off at school. But high school was not the place for two entirely different people from different cliques to become best friends. That was why I hated high school.

"Not everyone has the gift of being athletic," I blabbed. It was my way of hiding my feelings. It's okay, he was used to my I-hate-high-school-blah-blah. "That's why there are cliques in high school. So that people like you can join together. Duh. Of course, it's as if the athletic people have the right to make fun of people who are not as athletic or as cool as them. It's like a rule or something. But I know that it's normal for –"

"You know, if you put your energy into running rather than speaking, we might actually make it to the bus stop in time," said Aaron, panting.

"Fine," I grumbled. What else could I say? I was too distracted by his hand that was firmly holding mine to come up with any witty reply.

We made it to the bus in time. We were out of breath when we sat at our usual seats. It might be uncool for a popular guy like Aaron to ride the bus to school, but he liked it. I didn't know exactly why. He said he liked the kids in the bus. I guess he was right. The kids in here were always smiling at him, giving him all the respect and everything. But seriously, who wouldn't? He was a basketball hero at school.

Although, that was not what I liked about those kids... What I liked about them was that they didn't care about how different Aaron and I were. They simply saw us as normal teenagers and their guides or something. And that was cool.

Unfortunately, it didn't last that long. The ride to school took only several minutes. We got there in no time at all.

"Aaron Ford is here!" yelled someone, the moment Aaron and I climbed out of the bus.

Out of nowhere, Aaron was surrounded by his usual crowd. And I was left alone. I sighed and walked pass them. Aaron didn't see me. Not with that number of people getting his attention.

It was always like this every year. I was used to it. After not seeing Aaron for the whole summer, people at school missed him, and when school starts, they get wild and couldn't control themselves once they see him again. I didn't understand their state of mind. And I didn't intend to. But it was hard not to be annoyed at how they act. I mean, come on! It wasn't as if he was a celebrity. He was just an ordinary male human, too! But they couldn't see that. All they saw was how popular Aaron was. They didn't even know him. They didn't know anything about him. They didn't care because they already liked what they were seeing.

I groaned. My head spinned whenever I tried to understand why they were like that. I didn't even know why I try. But I guessed every person has diff–

"Hey, Dakota!" exclaimed by the only friend I had – besides Aaron.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Alyson catch up beside me. Her complexion was so pretty – being a half-American and half-Latina had its kicks. She had wavy long brown hair and light brown eyes. She was an inch shorter than me, which makes her 5'4".

She looked really excited. I smiled at her. And she beamed.

We walked side by side all the way to our lockers. I felt like I was dragging my legs to go inside the school. But there was no turning back now that I'd stepped inside.

Alyson kept telling me how she had fun in North Carolina for the summer. I mostly listened to what she was saying but it was hard to keep focus. I was nodding my head but my mind was across the hallway, which was where Aaron's locker was located.

"So..." started Alyson as she waited for me to finish putting my books in my locker, "How's your summer with your best friend? Was it fun?" she asked me expectantly.

Alyson was the only one who knew how I truly felt for Aaron. I didn't get it, but she was intrigued by our story – my story. I didn't actually tell her that I was in love with my best friend.

What happened was, when she was on a sleepover at my house, she saw how Aaron and I could be very close to each other without the disruptions of his subjective friends. She observed how I acted around him, and she quickly came up with the idea that I liked Aaron.

I mean, whoa! How can you tell if you like someone just by observing their actions? Okay, that's a stupid question.

Anyway, she confronted me in order to confirm it – I didn't even say anything! – But she got the picture anyway.

Since then, she had this look she gave me when she was trying to tell me something but can't out loud. That means, Annabelle had arrived, about to arrive, or she was in that area already.

"If you could call being forced to wake up early – instead of having a good time sleeping – fun," I shrugged, "then yeah, my summer with my best friend was really fun."

Ooooh. That was heavy sarcasm. But I can't help it.

Alyson gave me a sad smile.

"You can drop the cynical act when you're with me," she said kindly. "You know that."

Yes. I did know that.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Allie." I waited after several seconds before I continued, "I had fun – seriously. I always do whenever I'm with him. The summer felt like old times; before high school, and before the drama. It was just plain fun."

I didn't realize that I was smiling as I said that to Alyson. She obviously noticed it, though, because she beamed at me for a long while.

I looked over my shoulder and glanced at Aaron. He was now alone with his buddies, Ethan and Luke. Aaron caught my eye and he smirked. I stuck my tongue out at him like a kid. He actually laughed, making Ethan stare at him curiously while Luke glanced at my direction. I hastily faced Alyson again. And I was surprised by her reaction.

She was giving me the look.