Ernesto watches his friend walk away from him, a stiffness in Héctor's shoulders that doesn't belong. Imelda is nowhere in sight, but while Ernesto doesn't see her anywhere, he knows she's somewhere.

Why did you have to choose Héctor?

And why did Héctor let Imelda choose him?

There are plenty of people that Imelda could pick to be her amigo.

What did she see in Ernesto's best friend? People will be poking fun at the two of them for a long time.

They've already started. The teasing can only get worse from here.

Ernesto stands up and charges after Héctor, a familiar rage filling his mind.

Héctor turns and starts to smile. "What is it, Superhero?"

His smile fades when Ernesto pushes him down.

Héctor stares at him, surprised. "What'd you do that for?"

"Why do you think Imelda chose you?" Ernesto makes his voice really low to let the question sink in.

Héctor stands up and looks at him. "What do you mean?"

Ernesto crosses his arms. "You do know that she has plenty of other boys to choose from, right?"

"Um... yeah?"

Ernesto sighs. "And everyone hates you."

"Not everyone." Héctor points at him and grins. "You don't."

"Sure." Ernesto places his hands on Héctor's shoulders. He gets an idea.

"Think about it," he says. "She beat me up, remember? Then she took so long to apologize to you. And now look." Ernesto waves his hand around. "See her anywhere?"

Héctor slowly shakes his head. Then he looks back at Ernesto and says, "but that doesn't mean anything. You hang around different people all the time."

"But did she seem genuinly sorry when she apologized to you?"

"Not at first."

"What about you trying to teach her to be less physical? Not working, is it?"

"No. Wait. What're you saying?"

Ernesto huffs and rolls his eyes. "Imelda doesn't really want to be your amigo. That's what I'm saying."

Héctor widens his eyes as they start to fill with tears. "You really think that's the case?"

Ernesto puts an arm around him. "But I will always be here for you. I'm your superhero, right?"

Héctor nods. "You're my Ernesto."

Ernesto ruffles his hair. "Whatever. Just remember. Girls like Imelda are the reason hearts get broken."

Héctor sighs and leans against Ernesto. "Is that how your relationship ended? Because someone hurt you?"

Ernesto closes his eyes. He can feel the sting of Héctor's stare on his face. Suddenly he feels empty, the same feeling that he had when he went to his parents' funeral.

When he opens his eyes, Héctor's eyes are strangley blank. "Imelda doesn't like me."

Ernesto feels a cold dread seep into him. Héctor doesn't seem to be taking this well. Ernesto hadn't planned for this reaction. He brushes it off and finds his words.

"She fooled you. I'm sorry, amigo."