Okay so I started writing this a few days ago and I fucking love this idea and now I'm dumping it upon y'all to enjoy okay BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Can't tell I had way too much caffeine, can you? lol

For as long as I can remember, Claire, Toby, and I have been best friends.

We first all met one another by pure accident. Toby and I were just playing in the park in the heart of downtown on swinging around the monkey bars.

Well. More like I was swinging around as Toby just watched before struggling to get up on the bars himself. Nonetheless, though, it all started with a thing of monkey bars and me being an idiot.

All I remember from that day was landing face-first into the ground and two new voices coming up to help a crying Toby as he panicked over me. Those two voices being a concerned bystander and her daughter.

"Jim!" I smiled as I closed my locker door before turning to the familiar voice. My mind mentally tying the beautiful girl running up to me with the smaller one I met all those years ago. She had changed quite a bit from the small pink-wearing girl with pigtails. Her purple and black blazer was coving a sweater she found of her favorite band somehow matched her navy blue skirt and black leggings. Her combat boots made small thumps against the tiled floor as she ran up to me only to come to a halt a few inches before me.

Well if there was one thing that has stayed the same between us,

I felt like I was going to melt into a puddle as she smiled at me.

It would be the fact that her smile still makes me a fool.

"Hi Claire." I gave her a sloppy smile as slipped my hands into my jacket. "You look happier than normal. What's got you all hyped up?" Her smile just widened as the punk bounced on her heels a little.

"Auditions are today!" Her hands went up to take her backpack straps into her grasp before curling her fingers around them into a tight grip. "I can't believe we're actually doing Romeo and Juliet! It's one of my favorite plays!" I felt my smile widen a little more as it was obvious just how excited she truly was.

"But you would love it more if it was Hamlet, wouldn't you?" Her smile just widened before dropping her hands to her sides.

"You know me too well, Lake." Her smile dimmed a little before her most commons question fell from her lips. "Still can't get you to audition with me, huh?" I shrugged a little bit as I looked down to the floor tiles between us.

"You and I both know I can barely speak normally, Claire. I doubt I'll be able to pull off Shakespearian English as well as you do." I brought my eyes slowly back up to see Claire giving me a knowing smile as she just crossed her arms across her chest.

"Well, I tutored you in everything else, what's the difference with Shakespeare?" I gave her a sheepish smile as I just shrugged once more.

Ever since we were in elementary school, Claire was able to blow me and Toby out of the water on the intelligence scale. She was in honor's math for as long as I can remember and everything she ever wrote since middle school was praised as publish worthy. So, when she saw that Toby and I were slacking in comparison, she made it her mission to be our go-to tutor. I never minded it, honestly. Especially when it gave middle school me more time with her as my developing crush was growing as the days went on.

I will admit though, I knew how to long divide, but I joyfully acted as if I had no clue what I was doing so she could stay a few more hours.

"Claire, unless you have all the time in the world, I doubt that would be a good idea." As we both turned so that we could head toward our history class together, I thought I was going to get one of her usual responses of "Well it was worth a try" or something else along those lines. But I was greeted instead with a soft voice speaking yet even softer words.

"I would still spend it with you if I did." I felt my face blush as I tried my best to keep my attention on the hallway ahead of us.

Did- Did she mean for that to be as soft as it was? Am I hearing things? She can't mean what she just said, right?

Right?

"Morning, Jimmy Jam and Claire Bear!" I cringed a little at the nicknames Toby gave us as he joined to the right of Claire and me as we all now walked together toward our class. "Ready to take on the day?" I glanced over toward Claire out of the corner of my eye as the soft tone of her voice still echoed within my mind.

"As ready as ever."

For as long as I could remember, I looked toward Jim as if he was my slightly older big brother. He and Toby were like that to me for years, honestly. My two best friends that I saw myself taking a bullet for without question since we were five.

But since I was twelve, I started to think about Jim a little bit differently.

I turned my head just slightly as I glanced back to where the blue-eyed boy was sitting in the back by the windowsill. His eyes shining gently as he stared out the window as Mr. Strickler took attendance. His skin pale, but not sickly as the sun seemed to embrace him like a long-lost friend. His dark hair lightening just the slightest so that the brown origins of it were given a spotlight. His hand cradling his chin had his index finger tapping lightly against his cheek as he seemed to think about something. My heart skipping a beat as I thought for a second how it could have been the words I muttered to him this morning before whipping my head so my attention was brought back to our teacher.

Differently as in instead of thinking of him as a big brother, I was starting to feel as if I wanted to get with my best friend's big brother where Toby is my best friend and Jim is the big brother that has been called "off-limits" for as long as I can remember.

I shook my head a little as I opened up my notebook and readied myself for note-taking.

It wasn't something to be bothered by though, right? Jim and I are just friends. That's how we've always been. That's how we work.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard Jim's faint laugh in the back of the room as Strickler gave his normal daily glare in Jim's direction.

Oh god, I can even mentally see the boy shrinking into his desk I have a problem.

"The fact that your best friend's laugh even gets you all bothered is worrisome, C-Bomb." I gave Mary a glare as the knowing tone in her voice made it obvious what exactly the girl was teasing me over.

"Shush and listen to the lecture."

"Why don't the three of you sit together anyway? You guys spend every other moment together, what's different with classes?"

"I actually like to pay attention to my lessons," I said as I wrote a header for my notes for the day. "And to quote Jim on why he refused to sit in front with me in freshman year English, 'If I'm gonna fail, it's gonna be while being able to stare at the morning sun and question why I even bother.'"

"Is there something interesting between the two of you the rest of the class should know, Miss Nuñez?" I turned my head and gave Strickler a large smile before giving him an innocent shake of my head. The actress within me coming out full steam to cover both mine and Mary's asses.

"Oh no, sir. I was just answering a question Mary asked me about our last assignment. That's all." He seemed skeptical about my answer before turning back to the rest of the class and went back to the lesson in hand. After he took his eyes away from me, I shot Mary a glare as the girl beside me just giggled in reply.

"Hey, at least I got you something to talk to Jim about later." I rolled my eyes at her as I already knew the slightly older boy would tease me as it is.

"Whatever you say, Wang. Whatever you say."

"So the classroom princess got caught talking, huh?" Jim kept an easy smile on his face as Toby swung an arm around his shoulders. "Never thought our boredom of classrooms would rub off on you, Nuñez." I rolled my eyes at the two of them as they giggled like stereotypical school girls. Which, I knew any other set of guys would get offended by, but I knew the two better than that.

"Alright, ladies, I get it. I got in trouble. What's the big deal?"

"I'm the pretty one, right?" Toby perked up before slapping his right hand onto Jim's chest. "And Jim's the carries a first aid kit at all times kinda mom friend then."

"I don't need to be a girl to be that friend cause I already am, fucker."

"Even though you're the one that oftentimes needs it." I smirked as I saw a slight tint of pink coat Jim's cheeks as he shot me a half-hearted glare. My smirk almost fell off my face as my heart nearly burst at how adorable the taller boy was when he was embarrassed.

"Not cool, Nuñez."

"Hey, if it wasn't true though, we would have never met and I don't think ei-any of us would have liked that." I felt my face flush a little as my left hand fidgeted with my backpack strap. My right one twitching ever so often as I felt it bump against the back of Jim's hand ever so often. His glaring expression quickly turned joyful though as my words didn't seem to overly showcase how truly sentimental I got as I first thought them.

"Yeah. Totally. Couldn't imagine my life without you." I felt myself internally scream as I gave him a soft smile in return. His right arm now looping around Toby as he brought his other best friend close into his side. "Just like how I couldn't imagine life without you two, ya buttsnack."

"Okay, you've been getting harassed by Steve way too often and now I'm worried for the safety of your brain cells." Jim just laughed wholeheartedly at Toby's reply as he ruffled the redhead's hair with a pure look of joy spreading across the boy's face.

If only I could read your mind, Lake. Maybe then I could just use my acting skills to be cool and confident and ask you out in some way. Or at least be a bit calmer when you look at me like that.

As if one queue, he glanced over toward me and wrapped his free arm over my shoulders so that he could pull me into the makeshift hug he was creating. I couldn't help but smile like a fool as I wrapped my right arm around his back in reply.

Or maybe it's better this way. Just being friends.

I looked up toward the slightly taller boy as we both shared a smile with one another. His hand seemingly accidentally covering mine before he abruptly looked over toward Toby for something the other boy said.

But to paraphrase Shakespeare,

I glanced down toward Jim's and I's hands. His not leaving mine despite him now whacking at the other boy with his right for something he said.

Because I swear if my heart doesn't know what love is now,

I smiled like a fool as I put my attention ahead of me once more. My eyes taking shift and quick glances at the two boys so I could enjoy the look of a pure smile upon the oldest's lips.

Then I may never know.