A/N - character narrating is a homosexual (its an innocent crush)

When I was near her, I knew I could tell her anything. I knew she would sit quietly, and listen to me without a word. I knew she would try and give me feedback on my feelings, and she would support me through it all. Yet, as I sat next to her now, I couldn't open my heart to her. I loved her so much, yet my body tensed and I kept her out of my head to protect her. Protect her, the only thing I wanted to do since we first met four years ago- and now we are both thirteen and my feelings have never been stronger.

Sophia smiled at me before she stood up, her dress remaining stainless even though we were in the dirtiest part of town. "Come on, Jade. Stop being so stiff! Let's go have some fun!" she jabbed her fingers at my shoulder, causing me to laugh softly. "Come on, Gem!" Gem, I loved it when she called me that. I stood up, hope filling my heart as she playfully continued to poke at me.

"Ok, ok!" I grinned, holding my hands to block her fingers from coming in contact with my shoulder any longer. "Let's go to the park, maybe Maxton will be there to push us on the swings." As soon as I told her my idea, she grabbed onto my hand and tugged me off to the Milberry Park. Milberry Park was the only park in our little slum of a city, and I always felt bad taking Sophia to such a dirty area. Sophia lived in the rich district, that's why she got to wear pretty dresses everyday without worrying to get them dirty; I don't think I even own a dress. She was such a pretty young girl that I never understood why she wasted her time being around me. She wouldn't even come to this side of town if it wasn't for me living here.

When we got to the park, I was almost breathless from the long jog over, but Sophia never seemed to tire when she was excited. Other kids I knew were in the park; swinging on swings, climbing the wooden structures, playing jump rope, and running around as they played tag. Sophia and I stood in the entry gate as we scanned the crowd for Maxton. Maxton was 19 years old, and also Sophia's stable boy at home. He is the one that took her to this side of town every day, and he was one of my biggest heroes for doing such a thing.

Sophia's hand slid out of mine as she left my side to run to Max. I suddenly felt cold as she created distance between us. I never liked being away from her, she was just a bright flame in my opinion, and it was a mystery to me how people could ever hurt her. I watched her as she ran across the yard, and spotted something she couldn't. A boy was ready to grab her as she ran by, and I knew the boy from prior encounters. He was Jeremy Anderson, and his life goal was making sure Sophia felt embarrassed to be my friend.

I suddenly found myself running forward to protect Sophia, following the sight of her golden blonde hair flying behind her as she happily ran to Max's turned back. Just as she crossed Jeremy's path, he reached out and grabbed the cloth of her dress. I watched as Sophia screeched, collapsing to the ground unexpectedly. "Fiona!" I yelled, calling her by my favorite nickname for her. Jeremy had gotten one of her favorite dresses dirty, and as she attempted to sit up, he pushed her back down.

Jeremy then let Sophia sit up on her second attempt so Sophia could see me running over to help her up. "Your princess in armor is coming to help, Sophia," he laughed, knowing just how much I hated it when people thought me and Sophia were dating. Sophia was into boys, not girls, and I was most defiantly a girl no matter how much I wished she would like me as much as I loved her in not just a friendly way.

When I finally arrived over, I shoved Jeremy away from Sophia. "Come on Jeremy! Stop picking on Sophia. We just wanted to play on the swings at the park, not interact with little twats!" My face was turning a light red as I yelled, overworked by the thought of Sophia being hurt. I turned to her and leant out my hand. When she took my hand, I pulled her to her feet and began to dust off her dress for her. I was still blushing as Jeremy laughed and walked off, calling me a starry-eyed lover before he left.

"Don't listen to him, Gem," Sophia had told me sweetly, smiling as I helped her fix herself. "He just doesn't understand what two best friends look like." This was why I loved her so much. She was sweet no matter what happened, and all I wanted to do was protect her as much as I could before the truth came out.

"Yeah, I know. Let's go on the swings," I took her hand, giving her a grin. I tugged her arm lightly to get her to walk by my side to Maxton by the swings. He gave both of us a sweet smile, and I just knew everything would be okay. I have my Sophia still, and she would be safe as long as I had a say in it. As she sat down on one of the open swings, I stood behind her to give her a little push. My heart began to warm as I got to be close to her again, the familiar feeling of my fingers turning numb from her smile, and my love for her grew just a bit stronger as I spent another day with my own little gem.