I'm in love with my best friend's girl. Not the thing you'd want to hear from the guy who was voted most reliable for his entire middle school career. But I can't help it; she is so… so… perfect. Not in the prissy I know everyone loves me because I'm so perfect and charming way, but in the way that they all like her just cause. Emma Mason. The average girl next door, you know the long flowing brown hair and the shiny green eyes that make anyone melt. She's athletic and a trend setter. It's a wonder how we even became friends. We are complete opposites. She's wonderful, popular, and mature. I still occasionally play with my spider-man action figure. How did I get Ryan Hallow to be my best friend? Simple, I am still a kid and he's a mature responsible popular kid. I'm his only gate to the kid world. The world he secretly still loves. Heck, he is the only gate I have to the popular world. I'm the average guy that no one would remember even if I met them two seconds ago. In short, I'm the invisible kid in the back. The only people that know my name is Ryan, Emma, and my teachers, sometimes.
"Jay?" A very soothing and sweet voice uttered my name. I snapped out of my trance and looked up. There she is, Emma.
"Y-y-yeah?" This is it. Go ahead Emma tell me that you don't want to be with Ryan. That you've been thinking about me during your sleepless nights that I'm your wildest dream. Who am I kidding? This is my wildest dream.
"You alright?" She asked.
"Yeah, why do you ask?" Why wouldn't I be alright? The girl of my dreams is here.
"You got knocked out by a football and was sent to the nurse. Don't you remember?" Emma ruffled my pillow.
"Oh yeah. I always knew I hated football." I joked. She laughed, which is a good sign. Girls always love a comedian right?
"What's going on in here?" A deep voice said casually.
"Hey Ryan." Emma and I both said. He was too busy flipping his hair to reply. Ryan loves the way his black hair quickly styles in place. Emma said she loves the way it complements his brown eyes and chiseled features. Right, chiseled. Ryan kissed Emma on the cheek before advancing further to the right. I hate it when they kiss. It's so unclassy and it reminds me that the only girl I ever kissed is my sister's stuffed bear, Katie Bear.
"Jason, you okay?" Ryan asked after what seemed an hour of kissing.
"Yeah never better." I said so my sarcastic tone was hidden. I can't be mad at Ryan for unknown reasons. He'd kill me. So I'm playing it cool. He laughed.
"Out of all my friends only Jason Noah Yates can get conked out by a football." He and Emma began to laugh.
"Ha-ha, well thanks for coming. I should head on back to class." I said trying to get out of the bed. The last thing I want to do is be stuck her with Noah and Allie from The Notebook. As I stumbled to get out of the blue clinic bed, I toppled on the cold hard tile floor. So embarrassing, right?
"Schools out. Need a lift?" Ryan asked while helping me up.
"Uh, yeah thanks." I said trying to regain my balance.
"I guess having a license at sixteen comes in handy." Emma said stroking his black hair. Someone get me a bag. I think I might just barf. I hate being the third wheel. It's so uncomfortable. Awkward, is the better term for it. Ryan, the only sixteen-year-old in our class, who's birthday was last week, September 31st to be exact, parent's bought him a car, a brand new, sleek and shiny, black sports car. Ever since then he's been eager to show it to anyone and everyone, especially his best friend, which was sadly, me. Ryan and Emma hauled me into the leathery seat in the back of the car and sat in the front. Great here comes more making out. I need a distraction. Uh, the sky seems okay. Bunny shaped cloud, bear shaped cloud, girl shaped- oh great… Jason snap out of it. She's taken. Gone and she won't come. I know that but there is just something about her. Maybe it's the way she bites her lip when she's nervous, or the way she makes jokes, or the way she can find the best in even a bank robber. And let's just say she has it going on in all the right places.
"Okay we're here." Ryan said as we stopped at my house. Wow that was fast.
"Thanks man." I said casually as I left the car.
"Bye Jason!" Emma called. Play it cool, Jason, play it cool.
"Later." Ah perfect. Not too shallow and not too deep.
"Jason, Wait!" Emma opened the car door and walked towards me. This is it. This is the time I have always dreamed of. Say it Emma. Say you love me. Say you don't even want to see Ryan again. Go ahead and plant one on me.
"Don't forget your hug." She smiled. This is it. The perfect time, my dreams come true. Did I already mention that?
"Hug?" I asked her.
"Yeah, I give all my friends hugs." There it was the crushing of a boy's dream. Friend, just friends, I was once again reminded.
"Oh thanks." I said, sounding as pleasant as possible.
"Bye." She said once more as she left for the car.
Only a couple of things came to mind after I went into my room. The first is that my love for Emma has gone from a casual stare to fantasies. Two, I'm a sad excuse for a boy, and three, I need a girlfriend. Fast.