Friend rivalry

Dan's pov

Natalie smiled at Jessica and me. I smiled back but Jessica didn't. I knew their friendship had worsened. I wanted to get them back together. Jessica headed in with a poker face. I wished that she was not angry with me. I had done so many things to make her angry. They didn't talk for another five minutes. Natalie broke the silence by saying that she liked me. Jessica's head shot up at Natalie's words. I had the same reaction. I wondered if they were fighting over me. I told myself that it couldn't be true. Jessica would never like me. Natalie sat there waiting for my answer. Jessica put her down and continued reading the menu card. I told Natalie that I didn't have any feelings for her and only thought of her as a friend. I told her that I liked someone else. Her eyes bulged out as she asked me who that lucky girl was. My heart wanted to say Jessica but instead I told her a made up name. I told her that I liked Bianca. I didn't want to get embarrassed in front of Natalie when Jessica rejected me. Unfortunately Jessica got up from the chair and left. I was sure that she was angry with me. She told me that she was going to the washroom. I sighed in relief.

Jessica's pov

I walked to the washroom and locked the door. I put my hands on the cold counter as tears dropped one by one from my eyes. They fell onto the counter. I held myself and splashed water on my face. I couldn't bear the pain. I didn't know who Bianca was. I was happy that Dan liked somebody but it was too much for me to bear. I stared at the white wall for a minute. I wiped my face and headed out. When I reached my table, I noticed Natalie looking down at her lap. Dan stared at the menu card. I walked over and got seated. Dan smiled and pushed over the menu to me. Natalie looked up and smiled. I sat there in surprise. I wondered how they could act normal after what had happened. I noticed a tear dropped down from Natalie's face. She quickly wiped it away. We ordered food. After sitting for another hour silently, I glanced at my watch. I patted Dan on the shoulder and showed him my watch. We got up and headed out of the restaurant. Natalie left. Dan and I got in his car and headed back to the university. We had to submit the project the next day so we talked about who was gonna do the presentation. Dan said that he was gonna take care of it. I nodded my head. I bid him goodnight after reaching the university and walked back to the dorm. I opened the door to see Natalie crying. Suzy and Joy surrounded her and patted her back. She sobbed like her whole world had collapsed. I was angry. I didn't act that much although I was going through a lot more troubles than her. I quietly got changed and walked back to my bed. Joy whispered in my ear that Dan liked another girl. I nodded my head and got on my bed. I turned my face the other way around to avoid seeing Natalie sob. I was burning with anger. Tears rolled down my face. The next morning I got up with my eyes swollen. I followed my morning routine and headed out of the dorm. I walked to the lecture room and covered my face with my palms. I cried. All the emotions I had been battling came rushing out. I didn't care if the world saw me cry. I felt as if I was the only person alive. I saw Dan come in and rush over to my side. He put his hand on my head. I pushed it away. He sat beside me patting my head. He pulled me near him. His strong perfume filled my nose. I hugged him and cried. He asked me what the matter was. I was tired of hiding it. I blurted out everything I had been bottling up. I told him that I liked him from the first time I had seen him. He stopped patting my head. He looked at me shocked. I put my hand on his. I felt a lot better after doing that. I sighed in relief. Dan was about to say something when some of the other students came in. I wiped my tears and got my books out. I didn't want his answer. I couldn't bear being rejected. I sat there looking at others' projects. It was finally our chance. Dan walked to the front and started the presentation. After he finished it, he walked back to his seat. I smiled at him and continued watching other's projects. At the end of the lecture, we were graded. We were ranked second in the whole class. I was sad but not because we were ranked second but because Dan didn't like me. I sat there as all the emotions came back. I wondered who Bianca was. My eyes bulged out when a thought flashed through my brain. I wondered if Bianca was the same Bianca I knew. I had always thought why Dan always asked Bianca to call me from the dorm. I smiled a sad smile. After the class was over, everybody headed out. I was about to head out too but Dan stopped me. He asked me to let everybody leave first and that he needed to talk to me about something. I gathered all my courage and sat back down. I sighed and was ready to get rejected when Dan said that he liked me too. I couldn't believe my ears. I asked myself if I had heard that right.