Well, now that all the pieces on several other things are starting to fall into place, let's check back in with a brand new perspective! This chapter takes place a couple days after Natalie told (or exploded at) Claire about Diego's crush on her. Hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

(Claire's POV)

Oh for fuck's sake, it's YOU!

"Claire! Ball!"

It's YOU!

"Claire! PASS! I'm open!"

You, you, YOU is all he's ever talked to me about for YEARS!

"CLAIRE! PASS THE FUCKING BALL!" My friend Britney called out to me as I somehow got brought back to the reality of our practice basketball scrimmage before the big game on Friday night only to immediately have the ball stolen out of my hands.

But, coach stopped the scrimmage with a whistle blow as she called out, "Hey, watch the language Callahan. But, are you okay there Watson? I know you took a pretty good charge and hit the floor hard earlier on, but you seem… out of it. Do you feel dizzy?"

I had no idea what to do, but all I could see was my entire team staring at me since I'm not acting like 'me' right now… and even I know that right now.

Because I don't feel like 'me' right now.

My head feels like its too clouded and full of just A LOT right now for me to even function.

All I know is that I just wanted to have everyone stop staring at me as I tried to pass it off as me just feeling 'shaken up' from the charge like coach said as I shook my head (part acting and part to try and clear my jammed up mind) as I said, "No, sorry, I'm good. I just think I need to sit out and stretch and then I should be good."

Coach looked like she wasn't buying it as she responded, sounding really skeptical and kind of concerned, "Okay but… sure you don't want to head down the hall to the athletic trainer and get looked at? I just want to make sure you're not concussed here."

Yeah, I feel like I have a concussion… but not because of the charge.

But, I was determined as I brushed it off and assured, "No, seriously, I'm okay. I just need to sit out for a bit."

Finally coach seemed to let it go but still kept giving me worried looks… and I don't blame her.

Even though I know I'm not acting like it either more than anyone right now. Ever since the fundraiser when I talked to Natalie 4 days ago, my mind has felt like it hasn't stopped working.

I can't even focus.

I haven't retained any information from any of my classes the past 2 days as my brain just couldn't stop thinking about everything Natalie said about Diego…

Diego…

I decided to try and keep ignoring it again as I started stretching.

8 hours later

I was just laying in bed in the dark staring at the ceiling in my room.

I just… I have no idea what to think right now?

Up until now I didn't really have a lot that really seemed to just get to me. I mean, I'm not uncomfortable or upset or anything like that but… I'm just confused.

My life just never really felt that complicated and I thought everything was just normal and I had it all figured out… yeah, that's a lie.

But... why?

Why is this getting to me so much? Why does Natalie telling me about Diego make me feel this confused?

But… maybe that's because I thought I knew everything when it came to 'us'… and him.

Diego's been in my life since birth since we're only a month apart and we practically grew up together. Sure we only see each other a few times a year, but it's like the distance didn't matter with us being friends.

Yeah, Diego has always been… well, Diego.

Okay, I'm not going to lie since I know him probably better than anyone that he can be kind of a high maintenance, overconfident, slightly dramatic, and a little full of himself kind of guy… but he's also someone I always knew that I could trust and we always got along really well.

Yeah I have my friends at school, but none of them are like Diego to me.

Even though we have an entire ocean between us, it's like that barrier never seemed to matter with how much we call and video chat.

He really is my best friend and in all seriousness and as cliché as it sounds… but I can always talk to him about anything and I knew he felt the same way with me.

Well, at least I thought he could always 'tell me anything' since it seemed like when Natalie was having her 'frustration eruption' at me that it seemed like Diego has felt like that about me for 'awhile'.

And that was whole other hot mess going on in my mind, but also… I just didn't understand why Natalie was making it sound like he was in deep with how he felt about me but didn't want to tell me because he was 'scared' or something?

Like, I'm not trying to underrate myself here or anything, but it was like I was trying to figure out just why he liked me of all people?

Sure Diego and I come from pretty similar backgrounds and my dad and his mom have known each other since they were kids, but Diego and I also live VERY different lives and have different things going on.

Because I know who I am and compared to Diego… I am very 'boring' and a lot less glamorous in how I live than he is.

I'm just a girl from suburban Toronto that likes to play sports and hang out with my friends and also doesn't really want to do anything too crazy with my life.

My dad owns a financial advisement company and always told both me and my brother Matt that we could both be a part of the company if we wanted to be.

But, unlike my brother… I just have no interest in going into finance.

Even now, all I want to do is go into something like athletic training or personal training so I can still do something related to sports and exercise for a living or something? Go to university, get my degree, and maybe live downtown with some friends for a few years after that. Then maybe get married someday and have some kids if I meet someone? At this point, I don't really have anything more I want to do with my life.

Attention?

Fame?

I never really wanted anything like that honestly. Even all that aside, Diego is a completely different person than me.

I mean… look at him!

He's the son of a world famous talk show host and the Prime Minister of SPAIN! He's an Olympian! He has girls (most of them being a bunch of weirdos from his fan club or at his school that mostly make him uncomfortable and one of which still terrify him and I'm glad she's in police custody after her last 'stunt' on Diego's mom's show) practically and almost literally throwing themselves at him!

So… why 'me'?

And… am I that stupid?

I've known Diego FOREVER so how did I not even notice he felt like that?

Ugh, and then… I'm just… confused.

Like, do I… like him like that?

Last week I had NONE of this going on, but it's like Natalie telling me all that stuff has started messing with my head and I have no idea what to think about anything anymore?

And last night also didn't help since I had a dream where I thought I was just making out with just some guy until I woke up right when I saw that it was Diego I was making out with.

I mean, do I like him too?

It's like I've been friends with Diego for so long that I just never really 'let myself' see him as anything else. Like I don't find him 'unattractive', but… am I attracted to him?

I looked over at my night stand at the picture I printed out and framed that Diego and I took together from when we went to that street festival in Madrid last summer and couldn't stop myself from smiling a little as I thought back to it.

Since Diego is pretty well recognized in Spain especially, he put on some sunglasses and a baseball hat before we left his house to go a bit more incognito (even though his parents house is literally twice as big as my parents' house and I should just call it a mansion or an estate, but whatever) and my brother Matt kind of poked fun at him and called him 'Dee-ie-bro' before turning his hat backwards on his head, since that's just Matt being Matt.

Sure that really wasn't really that funny but I just kept teasing Diego the rest of the night calling him that.

But, we always tease and joke around with each other.

It's just us, ya know?

Kind of like when I figured out I needed glasses when I was 15 (even though I wear contacts now mostly) and I showed Diego my glasses over one of our usual video chats and asked him jokingly 'how I looked' and he responded in a slightly flirty tone that I looked 'sexy'. At the time I laughed about it thinking he was just messing around like usual… well until now I thought that.

I kept looking at the picture and then all I kept thinking about was when this street band was playing near us in the square that that festival and Diego and I were dancing bachata.

Honestly… the few times Diego and I see each other in person every year, I always love it when we are able to dance together.

I still meant it when I said Diego is the best dance partner I ever had… and that if he ever told my friend Quinton about it that I would kill him.

Sure we always have fun, but dancing with Diego just always feels so… easy and just natural.

His movements are always so fluid and I always have that level of 'trust' with him whenever we dance together. And honestly not just with 'dancing' too, like I just trust when he's with me because I know despite everything… I know he wouldn't do anything against me.

It was like my mind was fogging up again as I kept thinking back to when his hands were leading me during our dancing last summer.

My own hands had almost a mind of their own and I didn't realize I was practically touching myself on my waist and shoulder at this point and felt this rush of warmth go through me and my face flush slightly as I just kept… thinking.

Well, not so much 'thinking' anymore as I started thinking about other places I kept wondering what it would feel like if he touched me there.

My eyes closed as I started smoothing my hands over myself, slowly smoothing my hand over my neck and my other hand slowly and mindlessly smoothing down from my waist to the side of my hip and down my leg as I kept picturing Diego.

It was like I almost forgot I was in my bedroom by myself at 2 am in Canada feeling sleep deprived over conflicting feelings over my best friend to now not even caring and getting caught up in everything as I started now just embracing the fact that I was now full on fantasizing about my best friend and not even feeling weird about it right now.

If anything I was just embracing it as I started almost mentally picking up where my dream left off from the other night and started imagining him kissing me down my neck as he kept smoothing his hands over any and every part of body.

It wasn't until my mind almost made it so vivid that I thought I lost my mind when I swore I could feel him put his lips near my left ear and whisper my name through a heavy sigh as my eyes snapped open and my whole body snapped up right in my bed almost simultaneously.

It wasn't until I looked around for a second to confirm that I really was alone and also that I just had almost a full on fantasy about Diego pretty much 'feeling me up'.

And… I liked it.

Ugh, I really liked it.

My fingers gripped into my hair as I was still trying to sort everything out until I just fell back on my bed and looked up at the ceiling contemplating my sanity.

But, whether I'm insane or not at this point… I think I'm into my best friend.

So… looks like the feeling ended up did becoming mutual… after a little 'hot heavy daydreaming' it seems on Claire's end. But hey! A little personal sexual exploration of yourself to figure things out for yourself is a perfectly natural and healthy thing to do, especially in your teens and young adult years. :) Also, keep in mind that for Claire, this is ALL new to her. Sure Diego may have had a deep crush on her for years, but Claire only just discovered all this now and is trying to understand everything. Along with the fact that she now too has deeper feelings for Diego beyond friendship it seems, at least now that she's 'allowed herself' to see Diego that way. ;) And hey, girl, I get it! At least for me that was one of my first steps to realizing I was Demisexual Heteromantic. Even though I was a girl always drawn to boys, I just never felt that 'sexually driven' like a lot of other teens and only felt interested in sex when I realized I had a crush on one of my close friends who was guy. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't mutual for us, but that was a big step toward me realizing that part of who I am and none of you should feel weird or ashamed about your journeys either to finding out what you want from life. Because when you pretend to be someone you're not … the person you're really and truly lying to is just you alone. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now. Haha. Anyway, I hope you liked this introduction to Claire's perspective and constructive feedback is always very much appreciated.

Take care and stay classy all!

Dexter1995