Parker's POV:

I still remember the first time I saw her face.

It was the first day of kindergarten and I was late because my mother had forgotten to pack my lunch, so she had to rush to put something together, and then we got a flat tire on the way to school.

Let's just say my mother was not very good with time management, which is why my father normally takes me to school after that.

By the time we arrived, the teacher had already given everyone their seats and I didn't know what to do. I walked in the classroom looking like a lost puppy.

Everyone stared at me and it made me nervous. I didn't like when people paid attention to me, which is ironic thinking back on it.

Anyways, the first moment I saw her was when my teacher gave me my seat. He sat me down right next to her, the only empty seat left. I didn't think anything of it until it was time for recess. All the kids had gathered to play a game of tag and Blaze was sort of the leader of the groups of kids.

Since it was the first day, I remember being really shy and not knowing who to talk to. So, I figured that since we sat next to each other in class that she would let me play with her and her friends.

Boy, was I wrong.

I tried asking her to play, but she shut me down immediately. She claimed that "I was too skinny and couldn't run fast, so I would make the game not fun". That made me really mad, so I picked up a handful of sand, throwing it at her.

It got all over her hair, clothes, and face. When I saw her trying to shake all the sand bits from her hair, I started laughing. She looked like a dog who had just gotten a bath and was trying to dry off.

This didn't go over well with her, because next thing I know, there's a handful of sand flying at my face. There wasn't enough time to dodge, so I got a mouthful of sand (which tasted disgusting by the way.)

And thus began the decade long prank war and bullying phase we went through.

After that day, we never got along. Our teacher had to separate us because we kept fighting so much. It got to the point where they called our parents to the school and almost suspended us, but my parents being rich, they paid off the principal so that wouldn't happen.

That made Blaze think of me as a rich snob that could get away with anything. And I'll admit, I was for a time. But, eventually I realized money couldn't solve everything and stopped being such a stuck-up kid.

We were still very mean to each other, however. We both played sports and did well in school, always trying to out do the other one.

One time when we were in middle school, there was a spelling bee with a $100 prize that we both wanted. Since we were the two smartest in our grade, we made it to the finals where we had to verse each other.

Neither one of us was willing to give up, so after the judges ran out of words, they declared it a tie and we split the prize in half.

There were a bunch of other little instances that kept snowballing our hate for each other, but I won't bore you with the details.

When we got to high school, nothing changed. We kept arguing and fighting over the dumbest things. I'm not sure why we were always arguing, but nevertheless we continued. I remember when Scottie defended her one time after she called me an asshole so I called her a bitch and she slapped me.

I was so mad at him for defending her that I didn't speak to him for a week. Me being me, I got over it pretty quickly. What I failed to realize, however, was why my best friend was defending the girl I've hated since kindergarten.

Maybe if I realized sooner I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in now. That was my first mistake.

Fast forward to senior year and Blaze and I had been paired up to do a history project together. I really didn't want to, but if I wanted to continue doing sports, I had to keep my grades up, and this project was worth 75% of my grade in this class.

Knowing Blaze, she wouldn't want to work with me either, so I made her a deal. That's where I should've stopped, I should've turned around and took back my offer. That was my second mistake.

I only made her the offer because I saw how she was looking at Scottie and figured I could use this to my advantage. And it worked, Blaze agreed, although with much reluctance.

And so began my fall down a very slippery slope.

When I invited her to hangout with my friends and I, I didn't think any harm could come from it. I didn't think any harm would come from us playing truth or dare, I didn't think any harm would come from completing a silly dare.

I really didn't want to kiss her, but I also didn't want to back out on a dare.

When our lips touched, I felt nothing except anger. Anger at my friends for making me do this.

As soon as we pulled apart, I wiped my lips as discreetly as I could and glared at my friends. They knew how I felt about her yet they insisted on doing something like that.

The next couple days, something was off about me. It seemed no matter what I did, Blaze kept popping up everywhere, and it was really annoying me.

Being in my classes was already enough, but now her and her friends were hanging out with my friends as well. Any time I saw them together, I got more annoyed than I was before.

Eventually, she crept into my dreams as well. I dreamed about her getting a job at NASA and leaving to explore Mars, never to be seen again. That dream was actually kind of pleasant.

I'm not sure where along the line it happened, but I started wondering what she was doing, if she was happy, if she was hurting. I tried to squash those ideas because I knew it wouldn't end well for me, but clearly that didn't happen.

Somehow, it got even deeper than that. I developed a crush on her.

I know, I was appalled by the idea at first too. There was no way after hating her for over 10 years that I would suddenly start liking her, it was impossible.

But, once again, my heart proved me wrong. She had already invaded my life and my head, I should've seen this coming. When I realized that I had feelings for her, I wanted to put and end to helping her and Scottie get together, but then I came across a huge piece of information.

Scottie liked her too.

I felt completely helpless, I didn't know what to do. My best friend and I were in love with the same girl. To make matters worse, I couldn't tell anyone because I've been claiming that I hated her all these years.

It would be strange if I suddenly confessed my feelings to her. I tried my best to keep them hidden, but I'm sure a couple of my other friends had figured it out already.

When we all went to the Halloween Festival, I knew there was no way I was getting out of this unscathed. Apparently, Scottie had been in love with Blaze since freshman year, the reason why he defended her when I called her a bitch and she slapped me.

I figured the best course of action would be to ignore my feelings for Blaze and hope and pray to God that they would just magically disappear one day.

It worked for a little bit, my feelings hid in the deepest corner of my mind, away from my prying mind. I was able to be around her without getting jealous or thinking about how pretty she looked in the shirt she was wearing that day.

That didn't last that long, though. A couple days later, I invited her over to my house to finish our project. I had been itching to see her outside of school again, and I figured there's no harm in letting her come over.

I did have to warn my parents before she showed up. I know that they don't exactly get along with her parents, and I didn't want them to get angry at her. It surprisingly took less convincing than I thought it would.

My dad told me that he was tired of holding a grudge against her family for something that happened between their parents and Blaze's grandparent's years ago. He even offered to give Blaze's father a role in the company.

We worked on our project for a little bit, until everything was done and then we decided to take a break from school work. I showed her where our game room was, because I was in the mood to play some games.

When her eyes saw the room, my heart swelled. Blaze looked so genuinely happy in that moment that I couldn't help but stare at her as she walked around the room, exploring all the different games we had.

Her hands trailed behind her as she looked around the room. Quietly, I followed behind her, giving her time to explore. Her feet stopped when she came upon our old Wii system. I don't think I've touched that thing in years.

She asked me if we could play tennis on the Wii and I gladly agreed, anything to keep her happy. I watched as she slid the CD in the slot and waited for the Wii music to start.

While we played, it was really hard to not look at her. The way her smile grew whenever she made a good shot, the way her hair was flying in her face as she jumped around, trying to beat me in tennis.

I had the urge to reach over and pull her hair back using the hair tie on her wrist, but resisted it. She probably would've slapped my hand away and called me some colorful names if I did that.

Anyways, after our game was over, I was about to ask her if she wanted to play another round, when she got a phone call. I knew it was from Scottie from the way her face lit up when she read the caller ID.

I turned away from her, not willing to witness their conversation. Having to see them all couple-y at school was already more than enough for me. While I was turned away, I studied the wall in front of me.

It was a light blue color which, coincidently, was Blaze's favorite color.

It was pretty plain, nothing too interesting to look at. So, I began counting the number of tiles in the area near the snacks.

1,2,3...

There was a tap on my shoulder and Blaze asked if Scottie could come over so he could ask her something. Inside, my head was screaming "NO! NO! NO!", but I ended up telling her yes, because I did not want to be discovered.

I should've said no.

Scottie came over to ask Blaze to be his girlfriend. I should've turned away at that moment, I should've looked away, done something, but I was not that smart.

I kept eavesdropping on their conversation, unable to turn away.

Each moment I listened, a piece of my heart tore off, getting stomped on the ground by my best friend and the girl I love.

When I heard her asking if Scottie could come over, and seeing the look on her face, it mademe realize I truly loved the girl standing in front of me. Before, I was hoping it was just some stupid crush that would disappear eventually.

But, it's not. I love that girl and I don't think anything or anyone is every going to change that. 

When I did realize that, I wanted to shout it out to the entire world. "Hey, look! This is the girl I'm in love with!" but of course I can't do that. Instead, I went to tell Blaze directly. Maybe if she knew, I could start getting over her.

But obviously I never got the chance, seeing how she's currently making out with my best friend.

This was one of the worst pains I had ever felt in my life. My body felt numb, like I had been dunked in a tank of ice water and held under for an hour. No matter how much I wanted to, I could not look away.

Ever since that night, I've been having trouble concentrating on my school work. I know I shouldn't be letting it affect me this much, but I can't help it. I am aware that I need to be focusing on school work and doing anything I can to get over her, but I don't want to.

As much as I'm hurting, a small part of me wanted her to wake up and realize that I've been here all along, that I am the one for her. But, I know that'll never happen.

The week leading up to the Halloween party was torture, but the party was even worse. All our friends were gathered in one room playing drinking games, again (shocker).

I ended up getting super drunk, because every time I looked at Scottie and Blaze, it made me want to forget everything and everyone around me.

There was a lot of things I shouldn't have done that night, getting drunk being one of them.

I shouldn't have gotten angry.

I shouldn't have confessed my feelings to Blaze out of anger.

I shouldn't have stormed out of there.

I shouldn't have gotten in my car.

I shouldn't have been driving drunk.

I should've been watching where I was going on the road.

I should've seen that tree.

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Sorry for leaving it on a cliff hanger!

I wanted this chapter to be a filler chapter where you could see into Parker's mind and how he fell for Blaze.

I hope you guys liked this chapter.

Don't forget to vote and comment!