"Eli, come on we're going to be late for Adam's party!" I was getting ready as fast as possible. I wouldn't care about being late if it weren't for the fact that I had no idea what those two could possibly be doing down there without me being in the room. K.C. and Clare. First of all, what the hell was she doing dating some jock? She hated sports. And out of all of them, she had to pick K.C.? I thought to myself as I started walking down the stairs. A little piece of me died inside when I saw their position. Clare was sitting on his lap, lips on his, his hand slowly moving across her back. I wondered if they even noticed I was there. Probably not, they never noticed me anymore.

I cleared my throat loudly, and they reluctantly broke apart. That didn't stop them from keeping their hands intertwined, or whispering corny love lyrics to each other. Gosh, the two of them made me sick.

Clare has been my best friend since first grade. On the first day of school, I asked her to help me build a graveyard out of blocks. She suggested we build a church instead. We've been best friends ever since. Throughout the year, we've both picked up some new friends. Clare's two best friends were Alli and Jenna, the two ditziest girls I have ever met. I honestly don't know why Clare wastes her time with them. I was never as popular as Clare, I only made two friends. A pretty girl named Julia, who I started seeing in eighth grade before she was killed, and Adam. Adam was basically my best friend I had ever had. Clare liked him too, which meant she didn't mind if we all hung out together.

There was one problem with this story. I don't want to be the loser best friend. I want to be the boy the girl falls in love with, and they live happily ever after. I know, corny. But seriously, I loved Clare so much. She was funny, smart, and of course beautiful. She was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I've always had a thing for her, for as long as I remember. In second grade, she was my girlfriend, but we broke up because I wouldn't share my fruit snacks. Even at the age of seven, Clare Edwards was breaking my heart.

Everything was going fine until he came along. His name? K.C. Gunthrie. He's the starting Quarterback for the football team, has half the power squad drooling over him, and he had to chose Clare. Not that I don't approve of his decision, Clare was the prettiest girl in our school, but most people didn't seem to agree with me. Unfortunately, he was one of the few who did. So, I was forced to spend the past three months they've been dating watching them hold hands, kiss, and whisper silly things in each other's ears.

That one day was when I realized how serious they were. Clare was always a very religious girl, wearing a purity ring, going to church every Sunday, it was just the way she's always been. Little did I know that purity ring was just a charade for her parents. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a little. I didn't walk in on them having sex. I walked in, both wearing no shirt, Clare wearing no bra, and his hands were lower than I was okay with. It was the worst day of my life.

Now I've learned to except the fact that he's gonna be around for awhile, but that didn't mean I liked driving him places, such as Adam's party. I stopped thinking about the past and pulled up to Adam's driveway. It was his seventeenth birthday, and Clare was throwing him a surprise party. The three of us walked up to Adam's door, and knocked. After about thirty seconds, Adam's older brother, Drew, answered the door. He told us Adam would be out until three, just as planned. We started setting up, and Drew started walking off towards his room. God I hated that guy. I don't know why, I just did.

Drew was seeing Clare's friend Alli, Jenna was seeing their other friend Dave, and Adam was seeing Fiona. Aka, at this party, I would be the only single one in attendance. How wonderful. If only I had clare by my side. I watched her laugh to herself as she dropped a balloon, and I went over to help her. "How're the balloons going? Need any help?" She smiled, she always liked when people offered to help her with things, and she handed me a big box of balloons. I rolled my eyes and said, "Aww comeon Clare. I wasn't actually serious about helping, I just know how much you like when people ask." She smiled, she knew I was using my usual sarcasm, and hit me on the arm.

I turned toward her, a look of fake anger on my face, and said, "Clare Edwards, you are dead." I ran across Adam's living room, chasing her, and she was running and screaming. I finally had her about an arms length away from me, so I reached over and lifted her up. She was screaming in protest, but I decided maybe she wanted to go for a little swim. She was laughing and screaming and just having a good time. It was the old clare. The clare I used to know. It was nice to have her back, even if it was only for a moment. I looked over and saw K.C. glaring at me, so I decided to put her down.

She was still laughing as she walked back towards the house, and I jogged to catch up with her. She looked at me and said, "Oh Eli, I cannot believe we're freaking juniors in high school. It's ridiculous. I remember when you requested we build a cemetery out of blocks." She said, smiling. I couldn't help but smile. She remembered the memory just as well as I did. She sighed and wrapped her arms around me. Not in a romantic embrace, just a friendly one, but enough to get K.C. to turn a little more red in the face.

I turned to her and whispered, "Clare, I think your boyfriends getting a little bit jealous. I know I'm irresistible, but you really need to stop hanging all over me. It's getting a bit out of line." She laughed and, once again, hit my arm. I was going to get a permanent bruise there from her. This, I thought, was the way things should always be. Just the two of us, laughing till we cry, it was perfect. At least, our walk was perfect. It was perfect till we walked in the room K.C. was in and she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him. Then I remembered, I'm just the loser best friend. The kind who only get the girl in fairy tales and Disney movies.