"I did NOT."

I nodded. "One of the most traumatizing moments of my Life."

Waving her hand, Belle said dismissively, “I'm pretty sure I was just overreacting to something. I never would've actually wanted you to stop coming over. You were my Matty."

"Perhaps." I shrugged. "The point is: I never cared about any other girls. All I wanted back then was you."

“And now you get to have me. Well, not exactly have me," she clarified quickly. "I do Love you, Matty, but I'm not breaking up the BTC for us.

I've always enjoyed the teasing and flirting and messing around, but we're not gonna start dating. I couldn't take you away from the other girls. But I'm getting sidetracked. What I don't understand is: If you really felt this way, why the hell have you kept me at arm's Length all this time?"

"I'm... I'm..." I started twice, thinking that if I just started talking the words would come out on their own. But they didn't, and I rubbed my forehead while shaking my head.

“I don't know exactly. I know the reason I've told myself for all these years, but right now I'm starting to think I've just been lying to myself to cover up the pain.”

“What are you talking about?"

I shrugged. "I couldn't have you back then. You were all I thought about, and not even in a remotely sexual way. Even today I can't quite put my finger on it. You were best friends with Mari and you hung out with a bunch of cute tween girls. I was best friends with Alice and we played sports and card games like Magic. Our two social circles did not intersect in the slightest, but every day I got to come home and hang out with you, and spending those few hours with you between the end of school and dinnertime was always the highlight of my day.”

Belle glanced around her room, a smile on her face as she reminisced about those days. "Yeah, we had fun back then."

"You'd been my playmate since we were little. Building pillow forts out of the couch cushions," I said with a small chuckle.

“Playing make-believe with our LEGOs,“ she giggled.

“Your pirates always wanted to attack my princess castles for some reason."

“Just running around the backyard with nothing but our imaginations."

“Teaching you to bake chocolate chip cookies." Belle shook her head.

“You never did catch on very well."

“I always wanted to follow the measurements on the box precisely."

“When a true baker knows how to tweak things a Little to make it just right."

I rolled my eyes and waved my hand.

“There was nothing remotely hormonal or sexual about it, but I was in Love with you back then. I wanted to spend every waking moment possible with you. I dreamed we'd fall in love and get married one day after we both grew up, the classic girl-next-door romance from the movies, you know? But then in... eighth grade... I think? You started crushing on Taylor Guazelli.”

“Who?

“You seriously don't remember Taylor Guazelli?" I shook my head. "You didn't care whether or not I was around - I was the invisible brother at that point. You whined and complained to Mari and your other little girlfriends about how he walked past you in the hallway and didn't even look at you. You thought you were gonna die. You described in great detail how he was such a hunk, defining qualities that did not resemble me in the slightest. And I convinced myself then and there that I would never get to be with you. Mari even said one time that I was getting pretty cute, but you dismissed her comment immediately saying that -I- was like a brother to you.”

Belle frowned and gave me a strange look. I had paused, so she led me with a somewhat impatient, "And then what?"

I wasn't a hundred percent sure myself, but I thought back to the way