Pretend

Face to face and heart to heart
We're so close, yet so far apart
I close my eyes, I look away
That's just because I'm not okay

But I hold on, I stay strong
Wondering if we still belong

Will we ever say the words we're feeling
Reach down underneath and tear down all the walls
Will we ever have a happy ending
Or will we forever only be pretending

Will we always, always, always be pretending?

- Pretending - Glee Cast

How long… had she felt this way around him?

When did she start to have those feelings?

Was it when…

"Look who's in trouble again."

A cheeky sneer was on the youth as Miko looked up and was face to face with Jack's mocking expression. The Asian girl just about wanted to slug his shoulder to wipe that smug off his face.

"As if you didn't want to see them, too!" groaned Miko. "They were going to fight more robot zombies…! Zombies! The first time we didn't enjoy the moment and just about died. Now if we find ourselves some seats and bring some snacks while were at it, we'd have some serious entertainment."

More chuckles came from Jack.

"You'd be all by yourself… and dead before you can even know it, you'd be a zombie, too."

A deathly leer gleamed through Miko's eyes.

"And then I come back as a ghost and haunt you for the rest of your life."

Jack was still trying to hold back muffles of laughter, a hand around his mouth as if he was about to choke.

"The way Optimus was on your case and the look on your face… oh, something that money can't get…!"

Each remark Jack made at her words only made her more and more frustrated at him. Her guitar as a melee weapon plus his head as target practice would make a very good equation. It was clear who was the victor of this verbal spar.

And she didn't like the odds.

Jack could get on her nerves at times. He probably thought the same of hers, which made them both want to gag each other to death.

A hand was soon on her shoulder, and speak of the devil to who that limb belonged to, a genuine -how was that possible- smile replaced the ridicule and mockery he had on earlier.

As her insides just about rapidly fluttered like a flock of butterflies, she had no idea why she felt her face go hot so suddenly.

Why and how… could he make her feel this way? Why him of all people?

"Cheer up… It's going to be alright."

That thought confirmed it.

It was official.

She had feelings for Jack Darby.

Who was her friend.

Did she always felt this way around him but didn't noticed until that moment? Miko was grateful for their friendship and that Jack tolerated her impulsive nature now and then. Somehow… she knew the feelings she had wouldn't be returned.

"Hey, Jack…!"

A hand was raised in the air to get his attention as she closed her locker. The shadow of his silhouette cast mild shades on the floor in a blare of sunlight through the doors.

She and Jack fought and argued a lot, like brother and sister, but they always seemed to stay good friends despite the magnitude of the tension between them.

The Japanese girl could feel the hairs on her neck rise in mild pleasure, little waves of sensual joys running through her system. His eyes gleamed with a kindness that she could just get lost in, and a smile so just she didn't know why her knees wouldn't collapsed every time she saw him smile.

If those things were always there from the start when she first met him... why did she realize all this about him now?

"Hey, Miko, what's-"

Another figure walked through the corridors of the school campus, and the two teenagers immediately acted shy after their eyes made brief contact. Something told Miko deep down inside she was more than just a female friend.

"Hi, Sierra...!"

"Hey, Jack, how you doing?" the redhead nervously chuckled. "Good luck at the race tonight...!"

"Yeah, the race... thanks. It means a lot. ... and I'm good, thanks for asking! Yourself?"

Miko's insides began to feel hallow as she continued to listen on to their conversation. Her ears took in the words, but she didn't knew her brain had a fast forward button.

The air suddenly made her sick.

She just wanted to get out of the conversation. The conversation that she had no part in to begin with.

Now.

"See you, Jack...!"

She didn't even bother to check and see if Jack waved back.

From what Miko heard of Jack's relation to Sierra, they knew each other since elementary school. The way that Jack reacted when someone mentioned her name... It sounded like he had feelings for her for a long time. What she saw in the corridor as she awkwardly witnessed their conversation, Sierra could feel the same way.

And there was Miko. Holding no victory, but emptiness. Her feelings forever in the dark.

She didn't knew Jack long enough as Sierra. They weren't as close enough as what Jack and Sierra have.

Miko was in a different country when Jack and Sierra first met. And it frustrated her that she couldn't have what Sierra had.

But what was greater? A broken friendship if Jack knew how Miko really felt? Or they would still be friends? Carrying on the laughter, the smiles, the jokes... and pile on the years.

Perhaps... silence was the best thing for the both of them and if their friendship was to be protected. She never told this to anyone. Not even Bulkhead.

And no one will ever know.

"Raf? Uh... is there anyway I could borrow Bumblebee for an hour?"

"Jack, you know racing is against the rules. What if Optimus found out?"

'Notice me… I'm right here! Can't you see that you're more than a friend to me?'

"But, Raf! He's got to get the girl! ... and beat the bully?"

If she just pretended she didn't have feelings for him… it would stop herself from making her face damp every night she tried to sleep.

Note*~

Love triangle: Jack/Sierra/Miko

An idea that came into my mind awhile ago… haha ^^

I like the idea of Jack and Miko maybe getting together, but it's not exactly canon in the series, and they did make him hook up with Sierra, buttttt she's just a minor character with nothing that stands out about her character… yet. Very slowly. Kinda see them as a brother-sister friendship with Jack and Miko, but hey. This is fanfiction. ANYTHING can happen. Anything.

I was thinking of picking a love triangle song, and now that it comes down to it, I titled it 'Pretend'. Makes me think of Glee's song 'Pretending'. And that's how I included it in the story. XD

XOXO

lovelove!