I Fell in Love with my Best Friend (Alternate Universe)

I hear my annoying alarm yell at me to get up for my first day of senior year.

I reach my arm over and quickly turn off my alarm before I roll out of bed. I thoroughly stretch out my tight limbs as I walk towards my bathroom, with my eyes closed, and take a warm shower.

-

When I'm finished showering and plugging up my curling iron I walk into my closet and pick out an outfit while keeping in mind that the weather is still warm.

You got to love fall weather.

It's still hot, but not too hot.

I decide to wear a white skater skirt with a light blue marble design and a white halter top. For shoes I chose white wedges.

When I'm dressed in the outfit I chose and my brown hair is curled in spirals my phone starts to ring from my nightstand near my bed.

I carefully unplug the curling iron and quickly spray my hair with hairspray before walking towards my phone and answering the call "Hello?" I ask into the phone as I pick up the heart shaped locket, I was given years ago but have no idea who it came from My mom says that Charlotte gave it to me, but I don't remember that event ever happening.

"Aspen, I have amazing news to tell you" I hear Avery's voice yell down the phone causing me to pull the phone away from my ear for a second so I could regain my hearing Avery Knight.

My best friend since fourth grade.

We've always had each other's backs growing up.

"What news?" I ask her as I clasp the locket around my neck and place a triangular ring onto my middle finger This may sound weird but this locket gives me a sense of protection.

"Bellisa is attending our school starting today" she shrieks with excitement as I gasp in shock.

For those of you who don't know, "Bellisa” is currently one of the world’s most famous actresses and singers.

And as you can see, we're big fans of her.

She inspired me to take singing lessons when I was fifteen.

"No way, wait why our school?!" I say as my mind starts to drift off to the multitude of questions I suddenly have "I don't know, but the article says something about her wanting to take a break and find her childhood sweetheart" Avery responds then suddenly gasps making me question her random outburst "Have you ever noticed how similar Bellisa and Charlotte look?" Avery asks me as I grab my purse and head downstairs so that I can eat breakfast She's kidding, right?!

Bellisa and Charlotte look nothing alike.

"I don't know, I haven't seen Charlotte since we were thirteen when she moved away unexpectedly" I say still confused as to why she moved away without informing me Charlotte and I used to tell each other everything, yet when she makes the biggest decision of her life I have to find out from my mom.

"I have to go; I'll see you at school in ten minutes" I say to her as I reach the bottom of the stairs and start walking in the direction of the kitchen "Okay, bye" she says before hanging up I put my phone inside of my purse before walking into the kitchen only to be met with the sight of my mom placing a plate of pancakes on the counter in front of a barstool which makes me smile.

"Thanks mom" I say as I sit in the barstool and drown my pancakes in syrup before digging in and carefully eating it since I'm wearing white My mom clears her throat before she turns to me.

"Guess who's coming back to town?" My mom says with a smile as I stop eating my pancakes to look up at her "I don't know, who?" I ask her as I get up from the chair to get a water bottle out of the fridge "Charlotte Wilder, your girlfriend from when you were young" my mom says as I grab the water bottle and close the fridge. I smile at the name and title that she gave her.

Charlotte and I's mom's always thought that we would end up dating since we were always with each other.

"Mom, we never dated. We were just best friends," I say smiling as I turn around to face her "I can't wait to see her again, when is she coming?" I ask her as I take some gulps out of the water bottle "She'll be at school today" she says making me do a spit take in shock as I stare wide eyed at her Is she serious right now?!

"Why didn't you tell me earlier" I say as I run out of the kitchen, out the front door and towards my car before driving to school.

-

As soon as I arrive at school, I park my car and quickly make my way towards the school entrance.

As I'm making my way towards my locker, I'm greeted with a few hellos from my cheer teammates.

I know what you're thinking.

Oh no, she's a cheerleader, she must be mean.

A lot of people actually think that about us.

But it's not true.

We're actually really nice and hardworking.

"Aspen?" I hear Avery say with a tone of confusion as she slowly waves her hand in front of me "Huh, What?" I ask as my brown eyes focus on her bright blue ones "I asked if you needed help with anything" she repeats Ever since my accident Avery has been helping me with anything that I find difficult or confusing.

"No, but thanks for offering" I say with an appreciative smile as we arrive at my locker.

-

As soon as Avery and I reach homeroom all the chatter is mainly based around Bellisa coming to our school.

Which is expected.

I mean, it's not every day that a celebrity chooses to come to your school.

"I still don't understand why she would choose our school" I say as I take a seat in the back of the class with Avery "According to the article, her childhood sweetheart lives in our district" Avery says but avoids eye contact with me That's weird, I didn't see that part.

I might've just missed it.

"Did you not hear me say the whole childhood sweetheart stuff on the phone?" She asks as she turns to me with a look of confusion.

When I woke up in the hospital, I was quickly diagnosed with short term memory loss.

It's a blessing and a curse.

"Sorry" I say as I silently point to my head We get interrupted by our teacher as he yells at us to get our attention.

"As all of you know, Bellisa is coming to our school," he starts off which causes a group of girls in front of me to squeal Ouch.

My ears.

"They have decided to put her in our homeroom class, so she'll rotate with you guys" he says calmly as Bellisa walks into the room She smiles at all of us as she slowly looks around the class at all of the students. When her bright green eyes land on me my breath instantly hitches as my heart rate speeds up.

What the heck is happening?!

She slyly winks at me before continuing to look around the room at the other students.

"Oh my gosh" I whisper as I continue to stare at her with shock evident on my face I probably look like such a creeper.

But I don't understand how it's possible for someone to look any more perfect in person.

God took his time on her.

"Miss Bellisa, you'll be sitting next to Aspen. Aspen, please raise your hand" he says to me but I'm too entranced on her to realize anything else that's going on around me If this is a dream, I never want to wake up.

Avery suddenly forces my hand off the table and into the air but I'm still too busy staring.

Bad, Aspen.

Your mom has told you a multitude of times that staring is rude.

Bellisa looks towards me but as our eyes meet, I swear I see familiarity and adoration flash in her vision before she quickly makes her way towards the empty seat beside me.

As she sits down, she turns towards me and smiles.

"Did you miss me?" She teases causing me to suddenly become very confused. I may be crazy, but it sounds like there's a hidden meaning in that sentence.

"Do we know each other?" I ask her politely with a tone of confusion I don't want to come off as rude to her.

She's about to say something but her phone vibrates indicating that she has a notification.

She quickly reads it with an emotionless facial expression as she nervously bites her bottom lip.

I look over to Avery only to see her rapidly texting Charlotte.

I guess Charlotte and I aren't in the same homeroom.

I hope that I see her at some point throughout the day.

I miss her so much.

I turn my attention back towards Bellisa who looks up at me with a genuine smile.

"Hi, my name is Bellisa" she says as she holds her hand out for me to shake I smile back at her as I place my hand in hers.

My hand starts to instantly tingle which only becomes more prominent as our hands continue to hold contact.

"My name is, Aspen" I say even though she most likely heard the teacher say it Her grip is soft but firm.

"It's nice to finally meet you" I say honestly "The pleasure is all mine" she says in a slight deeper tone I blush as I realize that we're still holding hands.

I awkwardly clear my throat as I gently remove my hand from hers and place it in my lap.

-

Avery and I walk with Bellisa to our second period.

It sounds simpler than it actually was.

Students kept continuously crowding around her and throwing random questions at her.

Avery and I had to practically make a hole in the crowd for her to squeeze through.

When we finally got Bellisa through the crowd, we quickly scurried towards our second period.

Math.

"I sit in the back of the class so that I don't get in trouble when I talk, sadly math isn't my strongest subject" I explain to Bellisa as we walk into the classroom. I lead her towards the bench reserved for Avery and I Avery and I have sat at this same exact table every year.

Mrs. Harrington teaches all levels of math so she's the only math teacher on this hall There's another math teacher but I think she only teaches honors mathematics if I'm not mistaken.

"I can tutor you, if you want?" She suggests which causes me to smile as I tilt my head down slightly so that my hair covers my blushing cheeks Gosh.

She's made me blush twice and it isn't even lunchtime.

"You don't have to, you're probably busy with movies or writing a new song" I say as I search my backpack for my math textbook.

She reaches over and gently touches my hand causing me to stop searching and look up at her bright green eyes.

Wow.

She has such a beautiful eye color.

"I'd love to tutor you," she says genuinely as she gazes into my eyes "plus, I'm taking a break from the spotlight" she adds with a small smile before she gives me a wink "Yeah, to find your childhood sweetheart," I say "How's that going by the way?" I ask with a tone of genuine interest which causes her to laugh lightly She smiles as she stares down at the table.

"I've found her, but she hasn't noticed me yet" she says causing me to give her a look of confusion Hasn't noticed her?

I'm pretty sure everyone at school has noticed her.

Why does math class go by so slow?

We currently have five minutes until we can leave this horrid classroom.

Not to be dramatic, but these feel like the longest five minutes of my life.

"Hey, babe" Megan casually says with a smile as she stops in front of my table Ever since my diagnosis, Megan has constantly been flirting with me. She tried to pursue me once, but I rejected her since I don't like her in that way.

My heart only belongs to one person.

"Bellisa, this is my friend, Megan" I say as Megan politely reaches her hand out for a handshake Bellisa’s face is emotionless as she gives Megan a single head nod before closing her eyes and leaning her head back.

Megan's eyes widen in realization for a split second before she quickly composes herself and turns towards me.

"Will I see you at cheer tryouts after school?" She asks as she plasters a smile back on her face "Yep, I wouldn't miss it" I say as a smile makes its way onto my face "Great" she says before she retreats back to her desk That was weird.

Does she know Bellisa?

Does Bellisa know her?

I'm so confused.

-

The bell finally rings to release us to lunch.

I practically jump out of my seat with a joyful attitude which causes Avery to laugh at me.

"Someone's happy" She teases as she hands me by backpack "Damn right I am" I state as I grab it from her hand and slip it over my shoulder Oh shit.

I forgot that Bellisa was still here.

I slowly turn around to face her only to see her watching me with an amused facial expression.

"Please, pretend like you didn't hear that" I beg which makes her chuckle She slowly walks up to me and gazes deeply into my eyes as she slowly brings her hand up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"You're cute" She states Great!

I'm blushing again!

"Come on, the hallway is mostly clear" I hear Avery say to us from the doorway When did she get there?!

I silently oblige as I quickly walk out into the hallway and make my way towards my locker. I need to switch out my textbooks so that I won't have to fight my way through the hallway to do it later.

After lunch is when everyone chooses to go to their lockers, well the ones that have lockers.

As I'm in the middle of switching them out I hear someone walk up to me.

"What's on your mind?" Bellisa questions as she stops beside me "I just miss my best friend" I say with a sad smile The more I get to know her, the more Bellisa kind of reminds me of Charlotte.

The way that they both casually stroll when they walk as if they have all the time in the world.

The way that they both care so fondly about others.

Plus, they both have very kind hearts.

"But Avery is in the cafeteria" she says as she points in the direction of the lunchroom I smile with humor as I close my locker and face her.

She towers over me with her five-foot seven-inch frame.

You may be wondering how short I am.

I'm five foot two inches.

"No, my other friend, Charlotte" I say as I lean my body against my locker She nods her head as she also leans against a random locker.

"Do you mind telling me about her?" She asks I smile as a multitude of memories of Charlotte and I's childhood come to mind.

"She's one of the most creative people that I know," I start off as I think about the time her and I tried to bake a cake in fifth grade "Charlotte, what are you doing?" I ask her as I see her pouring a box of cereal inside of our icing "Since we're making a cinnamon roll cake wouldn't it be cool to incorporate cinnamon flavored cereal in the recipe" she says as she faces me with a streak of flour across her face Aww.

She's so cute.

"Good idea" I say as I sit on a barstool across from her and watch her work her magic What isn't this girl talented at?!

She's a true blessing.

"She's very smart but math is her favorite subject," I say with a slight laugh as I reminisce on another memory I still find it funny how she loves math but I can't stand it.

I walk into Charlotte's room while balancing two glasses of water and a plate of nachos.

What?

I got hungry.

"Um, a little help" I say since I'm afraid that I might drop something Most importantly my nachos.

"Really, Aspen, we've been over this" she says as she pushes her math textbook off her lap and walks over to me She's scolded me on multiple occasions about carrying more than I can handle.

I thought that I could handle it.

She grabs a glass of water from my hand and the plate of nachos.

"I know but thank you" I say with an appreciative smile "How can I stay mad at such a cutie" she teases which causes me to blush "She's also amazingly beautiful" I finish with a blush I catch myself staring at my best friend with admiration for the fifth time today.

Her blonde hair is flowing freely thanks to the light breeze.

Her bright green eyes are currently closed as she relaxes on our picnic blanket.

The angle of the sun makes her appear as if she was an angel from above.

She slowly opens her eyes and smiles at me.

"I can feel you staring" she says I blush as I look down at my lap and nervously fidget with my fingers My thoughts are interrupted by Bellisa’s gentle tone.

"She means a lot to you?" she asks causing me to let out a single chuckle as I nod my head "More than anyone would know" I say as I continue to stare up into her eyes and wonder where the hell Charlotte was anyway.

-

The end of the school day came faster than expected.

Not that I'm complaining.

I can finally go to cheer tryouts.

I make sure to quickly stop by my locker so that I can grab my cheer bag before making my way towards the gym.

"Aspen, nice to see you again" my previous cheer coach says with a smile "You too" I reply as I make my way towards the locker rooms I see almost all of the girls from last season changing along with some new girls.

I make my way towards the corner of the bench before I start to strip and change into my cheer clothes.

I replace my skirt with a black pair of Nike pros and I paired my Nike pros with a black T-shirt. I also changed out of my wedges and put on a pair of Infinity cheer shoes.

Since we're required to wear a bow tryout, I quickly brush my hair into a low ponytail before securing it with a hair tie and clipping a black bow onto it.

I exit the locker room and make my way towards the mats where some of the girls were stretching.

"Aspen, over here" Avery says from the middle of the mat I smile as I quickly make my way towards her.

I sit down across from her and start to stretch my legs.

"Did you hear the most recent news about Bellisa?" Avery questions as she goes down into the splits and tries to reach for her back leg "No, I just got here" I say as I go into a straddle stretch She takes a deep breath as she pulls herself up and places her forehead to her front knee.

"I heard that she might be trying out for volleyball" Avery says as she maneuvers her body out of the splits and into a butterfly stretch "Oh, that's interesting" I reply as I maneuver my body into the splits I didn't know that she liked volleyball.

But I guess it'll be cool that we'd cheer at her matches.

Well, if we make the team.

"Okay girls, gather around" our coach says All of us make our way towards her and stand around her.

"I'll be grading you on flexibility, sharpness, and attitude" she announces which causes us to nod "Great, we'll be going by last name" she says before she turns around and makes her way towards her table where she places her clipboard down.

You got this, Aspen.

You've been doing this for years.

Just pretend that you're by yourself.

-

"I'll post the roster online tonight" our coach says with a smile before she stands up from her table and leaves the gym I look over to my left to Avery only to see her yelling at someone on the phone.

Not happily either I walk over to her just as she ends the call with a sad facial expression.

"Is everything alright?" I ask her "I'm sorry, Aspen, I can't drive you home. My mom just told me that as soon as she picks me up, I have to go to this appointment" she says with a tone of frustration She honestly looks like she wants to punch someone.

"It's okay, I'll just call my mom" I say I see her visibly relax, but she still appears frustrated.

"Are you sure?" She questions "Yes, now go" I say with a laugh as I push her towards the locker room I slowly follow her into the locker rooms so that I can grab my bag.

I end up choosing not to change back into my original clothes as I grab my bags and put them over my shoulders.

As I exit the locker room, I pull my phone out of my pocket so that I can quickly text my mom.

Hopefully she hasn't started making lunch yet.

I guess I should've been looking where I was going.

I feel my body collide with someone which causes my bags to fall to the floor as I feel myself start to lose balance.

I prepare myself to hit the floor but it never comes.

I peek my eyes open only for Bellisa’s face to greet me with a bright smile.

"You, okay?" She asks genuinely I gulp as I nod my head nervously.

Why am I so nervous all of a sudden?!

I've basically been talking to her all day.

She slowly helps me up back onto my own two feet. I awkwardly remove my hands from her neck as she removes hers from my hips.

"You should watch where you're going" she teases as she hands me my fallen phone I accidentally take a peek at her current attire only for my breath to violently hitch.

She's wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt which covers her black spandex shorts. Her blonde hair is up in a messy bun but her Nike headband is holding her baby hairs away from her face.

I silently thank her as I nervously look down at my feet.

What is wrong with me, right now?!

"I- Um- I-I have to go" I stutter as I quickly grab my bags and head out of the school Jesus Christ.

Could I have been any dorkier?!

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow" she says with an amused tone of voice How is she so amused by this?!

Shouldn't she feel weirded out or something?

God.

When did my life become so complicated?