Friends with Benefits [m.c.]

New York

A/N: This isn't really relevant to the story but the student teacher in my English class is a tall redhead and I freaked when I met her because it made me think of Alyssa, haha. Just a fun coincidence for you all :)

Alyssa's POV  

"What do you mean, Lyss?" James asks me. "What happened?"

"I've loved Michael this whole time," I sob into the phone. "How could this happen?"

He stays silent as I cry and mumble incoherently. How could he have known? How could Calum have seen it, too? Did everyone see this except us?

I have so many questions running through my head, I'm surprised that I haven't exploded. My mind is still a bit foggy from the champagne, but I'm mostly sober from the events of the evening.

How could I do this to Calum? I chose him. I wanted to be with him. 

But did I really?

As my sobs finally turn to sniffles, my mind goes through my two-month relationship for the second time tonight. All the kisses, laughs, smiles, romance. It was utterly perfect. Calum was the best boyfriend I could've asked for, but I still rejected him. Why?

I think back to my childhood with Michael and the things we used to do together.

It's almost like a montage in a movie. I shut my eyes and take it all in.

I stood in my bright purple room with Michael, who's painting his toenails with a gross green color.

"Mikey!" I whined. "I wanna go outside! Come play with me!"

He looked up, his thick blonde hair spiking up around his head. "Wait a minute, Lyssie! I'm almost done."

When he finally finished, I remembered thinking that it didn't look all that bad. He was already a natural with his hands. This was just part of the big picture.

"Race you to the swings!" he called as he ran out of my room, his bare feet echoing against the hardwood floors of my house.

I ran after him as fast as my pink crocs would allow me. Blisters were already forming on my heels, but I ignored them as I passed my mum in the garden behind my childhood home. Her dark brown ponytail fell over her shoulder as she watered some tomatoes. She saw me run past her to the swings, and her laugh carried through the wind.

"Be careful, kids!" she called with a smile.

I plopped down on a swing as Michael did, signalling that we tied.

"You lose!" I yelled with a toothy smile. He scowled.

"No!" Michael protested. "I didn't lose! Boys always win!"

I stomped my foot on the ground. "No, girls rule!"

He turned away from me as he crossed his arms over his chest. I turned to face the other way, mad that he would say something like that.

After a few minutes of silence, I turned around to see Mikey looking at me.

"You know you're my best friend, right?" he asks as he swings back and forth slightly.

I nod. "Forever and always."

It feels like everything fast-forwards. Next thing I know, my memory fades to the schoolyard at lunch when we were 11.

"Play it again!" I said with a smile.

He smiled and shook his head, his green eyes sparkling in the sunlight. He hadn't changed a bit since we met, and I prayed that he would be the same musical weirdo that I called my best friend.