It's been two days since I found out Ally likes me. I've been really distant, but no one's really noticed. No one, except for Kira.

Yesterday, when we were hanging out, she picked up on my quietness. She didn't actually mention it to me, but she thought it. Why's he acting so weird?

Now I'm sitting at the edge of my in-ground pool in my backyard, swirling my feet around in the cool water, thinking about it all. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. My best friend likes me. But she isn't supposed to. What happened? What changed? Has she always liked me, and just realized it now?

You could say the same thing about yourself, you know.

I glanced around, but no one was there. So who's thoughts was that? Was it my own? It was getting harder and harder to tell these days, since I'd been reading everyone else's. I couldn't distinguish mine anymore. But if that was my own thoughts, then that meant...

"Austin! Dez is here!" My mom's voice came faintly through the backyard.

A moment later, Dez came out into the backyard and sat next to me. "Hey buddy." He smiled.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" I asked. Dez didn't usually come over during the week. He was usually hanging out with his recent girlfriend.

"Me and Ariel broke up." Dez's normal happy smile was gone.

My eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, Dez, I'm so sorry. What happened?"

Dez shrugged. "It just wasn't working. Neither of us felt it. Plus, Trish has been extra mean to me since we started dating."

If only you knew, Dez.

"I'm really sorry, Dez." I patted him on the back. He nodded. "Thanks, man." We were silent for a minute. "So how's Kira?" Dez asked. I shrugged. "She's good." Another awkward silence. "Hey, Dez, do you know, hypothetically, if I were to break up with Kira, what would be the simplest way to do it without hurting her feelings?"

Dez looked at me, confused. "Well, you'd just tell her. That's a really strange question, considering all you went through to get her to like you."

It was true. It was a strange question. I had learned Ally liked me, but why was my initial reaction to break up with Kira? That would again mean that I actually-

"Wanna play video games at my house?" Dez asked.

I nodded quickly. "Let's."

The next day I learned just how happy Trish was that Dez was once again single. Outwardly, she simply said, "That girl finally came to her senses, I see." But inwardly, she was extremely happy. I hated that girl. What kind of girl's name is the same as a mermaid?

That got me thinking. After class, I ran over to Ally.

"Ally!" I called to her.

Ally turned around, and when she saw me I could immediately see the nervousness in her eyes. "Hey, Austin."

I smiled. "Hey Ally. So I was wondering, wanna hang out later? I had a great idea, and I want to talk to you about it."

Ally nodded slowly. "Ok then." What does he want? Is it a song? Did he break up with Kira and want to get out his feelings about the breakup? Like that would ever happen.

"So what's up?" Ally turned to face me, handing me my requested soda. We were in the practice room, and I was sitting on a beanbag chair while she sat on the piano bench. I smiled. "We are going to play matchmakers."

Ally stared at me, confused. "What?"

"Trish and Dez. We're going to get them to date."

Ally huffed out a laugh. "Good luck with that."

"Trish likes Dez."

"She'll never admit it." Ally's eyes widened. "How'd you know?"

I avoided the question. "It's simple. We just change Dez's look, and get Trish to wear a dress, and bam! They're dating."

Ally smiled. "Ok. I'll give it a shot." I'll be the only one who isn't dating anyone.

I blinked. She was right. She'd be all by herself, while we were on a double date or something. That was going to be other project. Find Ally a boy.

The next day, I began Operation Get Ally a Boyfriend. Well, find her one anyways. I decided to do it the same way I found a backup dancer. Auditions.

"Welcome everybody, and thanks for coming. Just so you know, if you do happen to be the chosen one, I will let you know tomorrow and you'll begin phase two. You'll learn more about that if you succeed. Let's begin."

"So do you know Ally?"

The kid, whose name is Greg, nodded. "Yes, we have science together. We did a project together in seventh grade on the digestive system. She gave me a balloon for my birthday, and we used it to model natural gas."

I wrinkled my nose. Even Ally wouldn't want to date this kid. Moving on.

"So what do you do in your spare time?"

The leather clad boy leaned back in his chair. "I like to ride the open road, wind in my hair. It's refreshing."

I tapped my pencil on the desk in front of me. "So you ride your motorcycle?"

He stared at me. "No, I like to live life to the fullest."

Next.

"So what are your grades?" Ally probably wants a really smart boyfriend.

The kid blinked. "Um... I don't know. I never really check."

Nope.

"What is your favorite food?"

The boy with glasses began. "Well, I hesitate to articulate in fear I may deviate upon the highest degree of accuracy."

Okay, maybe not that smart.

"What do you know about music?"

He shrugged. "If it ain't loud, you should'aint be proud."

Definately not.

"Who writes my songs?"

The boy stared at me, confused. "What does this have to do with Ally?"

I exhaled deeply. "Nevermind. Do you like school?"

He nodded. "Yes, I do. It's the best part of my day."

He could be a possibility. "Ok, cool. What's your name again?"

"Seth."

I wrote down his name. "Cool."

After an hour of listening to the strangest kids I've ever met in my life, I'd finally narrowed it down to two boys; Seth and another boy named Tyler. I couldn't really decide, so I chose to begin phase two; introduce the boys to Ally. I