Sometimes the things you hold closest to you...

Ty was fuming.  He didn't know how she could've beat him again.  It was just so frustrating.  No matter how hard he worked, she was always better.

Ty slumped further down in his seat and let out a sigh of disappointment.  He just didn't know how much longer he could put up with her.  She was so infuriating.  Axel slid down next to him, his red hair sticking up in all different angles.

"I don't know how you do it man," Axel laughed pulling out a sheet of paper, "but I totally flunked that history test."  Shoving the paper towards Ty, Axel started to tap his fingers against the table.  There it was, in all its glory, the red zero that haunted Ty's every nightmare among other things.

"I don't know how I do it either. Why don't you go ask Julianna?" Ty mumbled the last part bitterly as he glared harshly at the table he was sitting at.

"Not that crap again." Axel moaned, "Is this because she has higher grades than you? Because I really don't understand why-"

"Yes it's about that again!" Ty exclaimed angrily, abruptly interrupting Axel mid-sentence. "She's always better than me!  I work so hard to get the grades I get, but hers are always better.  Do you know how much I sacrifice?!"

Axel weighed his options here.  Either nod his head and agree with whatever his idiot best friend was saying here or tell him off, like he should do.  Axel sighed, indecision hurting his mind mentally.

"I think you both sacrifice equally.  I don't think you should hold it against her though.  I mean, she tries so hard in everything, including trying to be your friend.  But you just shove her off.  I, at least, think you should meet her half way."

"I will never meet her half way!  I give up so much more than her.  I care so much more than her!" Ty bellowed, so, so angry for Axel telling him the truth. "Don't you dare go on about her like that near me. We will never, ever be friends." Axel's eyes widened, not just because of Ty's harsh words, but because that Julianna had heard every word.

Julianna took a step back, almost offended, tears threatening to fall.  She thought.... She thought he didn't care about that anymore, she thought they were friends. She never thought he felt that way.  It never even crossed her mind that he held such resentment for her.  She can't believe that she believed him even for a second.  She was stupid, so stupid.  Stupid and naive.

"Is that how you really feel?" She asked, her voice timid and shy, so fragile that it might actually break.  Both Axel and Ty turned to her, sympathy in Axel's and rage in Ty's. Rage that burned brighter than the raging sun.

"Yes, that's how I really feel.  I can't believe you didn't notice after all this time!  You're annoying and it's hilarious that you try so hard.  Really, sometimes I can't believe how someone like you could ever believe you could be friends with someone like me. I'm so much better, and worth so much more than someone like you."

Each word ran deeper into her heart, confirming every insecurity she ever had about herself.

"I'll just forget about all of it.  Ty...  You're right... You are so much better and deserve so much more. I'm sorry for ever trying to be your friend.  For ever trying to make you happy.  I didn't know it bothered you so much.  Axel, Ty... Just forget about me from now on."

As she ran, tears dripping down her face, she couldn't help but think about how much her heart was breaking into tiny glass shards, that she knew would never be put back together.  But behind her, Axel couldn't help but feel the anger build inside him. And as he punched his best friend in the face, he didn't even think twice.

"Hey! What was that for?" Pain throbbed in Ty's nose, as he glared at the fiery redhead.

"You're such an idiot!" Axel yelled, barely able to contain his anger, "Such an idiot! She's in love with you!" The realization of that fact hit Ty harder than the punch in the face.  It hit him so hard, he felt like he had known it all along.

"Oh," Ty mumbled, tears dripping down his face, not surprising him at all. Deep down he knew, knew all along, and he knew that he loved her all along too. He was stupid for not noticing.  Stupid for brushing it off as foolish whenever his heart would beat faster, or he simply couldn't think of anything else except for her.

It was raining as Ty climbed to where the music was coming from.  He knew it was her playing even before he heard the melody, the melody that was so bittersweet like a long, old forgotten memory.  He knew it was her because nobody else could play that beautifully, nobody else could play that precise, not even him.  She was standing on the edge of the roof, the rain soaking her hair, her deep tan skin illuminating the air with the glow she always seemed to carry.

"Julianna!" He yelled over the roaring wind as he approached her carefully.  The water on her face, he knew was not because of the rain.

"I don't blame you, you know." She whispered, the wind catching her words in the breeze, "I always knew you wouldn't feel the same I felt about you.  That my music was horrendous.  But I always kept trying.  It was because you looked so happy.  With the smug grin whenever you would do better than me.  Sometimes I would throw my tests, just so I could see you smile." She looked to the sky, almost wistfully, "I thought we could be friends.  And I was fine with you never loving me back.  As long as you were happy."

"I am happy! I'm always happy when I'm with you!" Ty promised, "I don't hate you, I swear it!" Julianna turned away from him, her heels teetering off slightly.  She turned her head and smiled at him, her dark hair plastering her face.

"That's good." she said, unable to keep her voice from cracking, "Because I know I can't die knowing I made you unhappy. I love you." Her feet slid forward, and before Ty knew it, he was running and grasping for something that was already gone.

Tears ran uncontrollably down his face as he screamed her name over and over again. Cradled her broken violin bow as he broke down, unable to look at her broken body that lay below him. Cried, and cried until he was sure until he had no tears left.

...are the things that hurt the most.