On the Monday following that weekend, Amy found herself sitting with Karma at the same bus stop bench. There was an uneasy tension, which was a new territory for the pair. Karma had arrived there earlier, occupying the far right spot. Her earphones were in, saving Amy from greeting her as she took the seat to the far left.

This silence carried on for the rest of the week. Amy spent her lunch hours with Oliver in his secret room at the school, observing the rest of the Hester High student body on his surveillance monitors. He was amusing, and for a few moments he eased away the pain of Karma's absence. Amy saw that Karma had begun to associate with Liam's friends. So she had found a new circle. Amy rationed her spare time at school between Shane and Oliver. In class, it was no longer Karma that Amy was texting. It was Brandy.

That past Saturday night, when Liam had drove Amy and Shane back to Austin from Six Flags, Shane had dreamily recounted his Disney-esque day with Declan. The two had decided to continue their budding romance, with Declan agreeing to drive down from Grand Prairie the following weekend to visit.

Shane had turned to Amy and asked her about Brandy. Amy divulged that Brandy was "a really cool girl" and although a spark had been there, it was not enough to fuel a long-distance relationship. They had agreed to stay in touch through social media.

A week later, Amy didn't see Karma at the bus stop. By that time, the entire school had heard about Karma and Amy's break-up, and that it was for real this time. There was some backlash on the fresh romance between Liam and Karma, but not enough to deter the two from holding hands in public.

Three days after that, when Amy arrived at school, she saw Karma's parents drop her off. So that solved the mystery to that. Oddly enough, this piece of knowledge stung her.

A month went by. It was strange, that a span of four weeks could separate two best friends of ten years to the point of nothing at all. There were times, many a times, when something would happen with Amy and the only person who she felt could genuinely relate was Karma. But Karma existed in another world now.

And then one day, on a Wednesday afternoon, Amy shut her locker and came face-to-face with Karma. Amy blinked, holding tighter to her binder and textbook.

"Yes?"

"Listen, I know you probably don't want to talk to me," Karma ranted. "But I want to be friends. I mean, maybe it's not the best idea, maybe you're still mad at me but I feel like I need you in my life and –"

Amy put a finger to Karma's lips.

"I do too," Amy said as she drew her finger away from Karma's mouth.

"Really?"

"Of course. But it's going to take some time to get over you, so that this cold war doesn't happen again."

"What about that girl?"

"What girl?"

"That girl you kissed at Six Flags."

Amy's eyes furrowed in confusion. "How'd you know about that?"

"Liam called me that weekend you went to Six Flags. I was in Fort Worth because Zen was temporarily stationed there. He's done his time volunteering in Africa. That's why I left your room the night we fought. I'd gotten a text from my parents and we drove up there in the early morning so we could spend as much time with my brother as we could before the Peace Corps assigned him elsewhere."

Amy listened intently.

"Anyways," Karma continued, "Liam told me that you needed me and so he drove me and I saw you at Six Flags. You were with that girl, and you two were holding hands. And I figured I had pulled you into enough of my schemes that you deserved to have a chance at happiness without my interfering. So Liam drove me back to Fort Worth before returning to you guys."

"Brandy was chill, but we aren't dating."

"I hope it's not because…" Karma trailed off.

"I don't know," Amy replied.

"You're more important to me than any boy, including Liam Booker. I wish I loved you the way you wanted me to."

They stared at each other for a long time.

"Me too," Amy finally said,

"I don't know if we'll ever be best friends the way we were, but I guess people change and that's not always a bad thing. Just know I want you in my life, Ames, forever."

"And I'll always feel the same way," Amy smiled.

Karma took a step closer to Amy. For a moment, Karma's perfume cast a dizzy spell on her. And then they hugged for several long seconds, until Karma parted from her with a kiss on the cheek.

"You'll always be the Serena to my Blair."

"And you'll always be the Summer to my Marissa."

Karma took both of Amy's hands in hers, and grinned. They laughed, a laughter that released the tension, frustration, and complications that had arisen since the day they'd decided to become Hester High's first open lesbian couple.

"I'll come over after school. Let's have a movie night - Elvis and Anabelle?" Karma raised an eyebrow in question as the first period warning bell rang.

"Blake Lively at her finest. Sounds like a date … you know what I meant."

And with that, Karma walked off to class. Amy watched her go. Maybe, someday down the line, Karma would turn around and tell her the words she'd been longing to hear. But Amy wouldn't wait for that. Right now, she'd settle with having her best friend back in her life. Brandy was right - there must be a thousand other people in this world that could fill the void in her love life, magically. It was all a matter of time and place.

A/N: Wow. I haven't written for this site in six years, back when Nick Jonas and Selena Gomez were an item and Sonny with a Chance was a hit TV show. I want to vocalize that like the rest of y'all in the Faking It fandom, I do support Karmy whole-heartedly. I ended this story as I did because even though unrequited love is always the unfavourable option, there's something more haunting in its quality because it mirrors reality. Any reviews or comments about Karmy or this story would be heavily appreciated, constructive criticism too. Thank you for reading this.