"What would you like me to do?" His blue eyes scanned her face, searching for answers.

"I want you to not be the only thing I think about." Her voice broke and she was whispering. "I want to see you and not have my breath catch or my heart beat speed up."

She bit her bottom lip and glanced up at him, hurriedly brushing a stray lock of brown hair out of her eyes. A nervous breath passed her lips and hands started to shake.

"I think we both know I can't control how you feel." They shared a look between them that was full of sadness and regret.

"How I feel?" Anger at the injustice of what he was saying caused the level of her voice to rise. "I feel like my world is crashing down around me. Like a child who just built the biggest block tower only to have it smashed before their eyes."

She balled up her hands into fists and showed them into her pockets. "I hate seeing you and smiling instantly. I hate laughing at the crazy things you do. I hate how you're the only guy that makes me tongue tied and out there. But most of all I hate how much I want you."

He started to say something but her look of sadness mixed with regret had melted into a withering one.

"Save it!" She watched as pain passed over the features of his face before he put up his usual mask. He was a blank slate, no sign of emotion. Then he cracked his usual goofy smile and shrugged.

"Guess it was never meant to be..." A small laugh escaped from him and he looked around them at the houses lining the street.

Suddenly the feeling that they were the only two people in the world slipped away and she could hear the faint rustling of the breeze passing through the trees. The chill of night air hit her hard and she shivered.

Looking back at each other she said, "We were never meant to be..."