Best Friends For Life

(This is for my own best friend for life and my first fan. I love you, Dan. <3)

It's the Spring of Brooke's last year of high school. It's a nice day out. Not too hot, not too cold. The sun is high in the sky. There's not a cloud to be seen.

Brooke spends her lunch break out on the quad with her best friend, Skye, who sits by her side on a bench. Skye has such good vibes. She's bright and full of joy, much like a dog.

She has a short bob of blonde hair and bangs. Her eyes are a light blue, like the sky. Hence her name. She has a cute gold star look that day. Two are in her ears. One hangs off her neck. More shoot through the dark blue night sky on her shirt. She wears a jean skirt, black tights with half moons and blue flats to match.

Next to Skye, Brooke feels like such a slob in her PINK sweats and white tank top. Her long black hair is tied up in a bun that is a huge mess on top of her head. It looks like a rat's nest. Skye is not one to judge, though.

Brooke's crush, Jay, is the same as Skye in that way. He stands with a group of his friends on the other side of the quad. Jay is on the tall side. He has short, brown hair and light brown eyes. He has a cool look of his own. He wears a black and white skull tee. His black jeans are ripped, his black boots worn. At a glance, he may look cold, but that is just a front to keep those who might pick on him at bay. When Brooke got to know him, she saw that he was a warm, kind guy.

"So," Brooke starts. She drags out the O. Her gaze drifts from Jay back to Skye. "I think I will tell him how I feel."

"Yay!" Skye cheers. She hops in her seat and claps her hands.

"And then, I will ask him if he wants to go to prom with me." Brooke says.

"That's great!" Skye says. "You two would make such a cute pair."

"You think so?" Brookes asks, her face warm with a blush.

"I know so." Skye grins. "I thought of a good ship name for you guys: Bay. You know, like a sea bay, 'cept you will be his bae and he will be your bae. Get it?"

Brooke laughs and nods. "I got it, Skye." She eyes Jay. "You think I should tell him now?"

Skye shrugs. "If you want."

Brooke stands. "I think I will."

"Sweet! Go for it, girl. I will be right here."

If she knew she would do this, Brooke would have worn her hair down. She would have worn that cute jean dress she wore last week. "Nice dress," Jay told her then. "Looks good on you." But it was too late for that. She does not have to tell him now, but she wants to. Prom is at the end of the month and if he does say yes, she wants his suit to match her dress.

Brooke takes the tie out of her hair. She combs her hands through the knots and mess and then ties her hair back in a neat tail. "Does this look good?" she asks. "Do I look good?"

"You look great, Brooke." Skye rolls her eyes. "Now go get 'im." Skye gives her a light push, not to shove, but to coax.

Brooke takes a deep breath in, then a deep breath out. "Here I go." With her heart in her throat, Brooke walks to him. His back is to her. "Hey, Jay," she greets.

Jay turns to her.

Her heart twirls with joy.

"Hey, Brooke," he greets in his deep, smooth voice. "What's up?"

"Is it cool if I talk to you for a sec?" she asks, then eyes his friends. "Just you?"

"Sure," he says. "Be right back, guys." He waves a hand at them.

Some wave back. Some nod.

Brooke leads him off to the side.

"So, what did you want to say?" he asks.

Brooke can't quite meet his eye. She wrings her hands. "Well, I, uh..." When did her throat get so dry? She gulps. "I know it might not be your thing, so feel free to say no, but I just thought I would ask...I mean, prom is soon and...I like you, Jay. Like, I like like you. Would you like to go to prom with me?"

"Oh," he says.

That is not a good 'oh'. Brooke's heart drops. She looks at him at last. He frowns. His eyes are wide. He shifts from his right foot to his left and back once more. His right hand rubs his neck. The thumb of his left is hooked through one of his belt loops.

"Look, Brooke," he starts. "I think you're cool and all, but I don't think of you that way." Her heart breaks. Her eyes fill with tears. She blinks them back. "I just see you as a friend. I hope we could still be, you know, friends." He laughs. The sound is full of nerves. "My bad. I'm so cringe."

Brooke does not know what to say. Her mind is blank.

The bell rings.

She jumps.

"I will text you," Jay tells her, then jogs to meet up with his friends.

Skye sees this and skips to her side. "How did it go?"

Brooke cries.

"Oh, Brooke." Skye frowns and moves to hug her. Brooke hugs her back. "I feel so bad. I should not have pushed you to tell him."

Brooke shakes her head. "Don't feel bad," she says through her tears. "I told him for me. It's not like you made me tell him."

"I know, but still..." Skye trails off, but rubs Brooke's back.

They're late for their next class.

Jay texts her when she gets home. Skye is with her. They go to her room and Brooke works it out with Jay through text. Skye helps her through her tears.

'do u think we could still be friends?' he asks once more.

As much as it hurts, Brooke knows that it would hurt that much more if he was not in her life at all. So, she texts back, 'yeah.'

'cool c u @ school.'

Jay turns her down in a soft, kind way. It still hurts, though.

Skye is there to hug her once more. She stays to eat. They watch a fun chick flick when they're done. They eat ice cream. They laugh and joke and get brain freeze.

When it's time for Skye to leave, Brooke hugs her and says. "Thank you. You cheered me up big time."

"You don't need to thank me," Skye says. "That's what friends are for."

"Best friends," Brooke adds.

"For life," Skye says.

This will not be the first time a guy turns Brooke down. She will date young men in the next stage of her life. They will come and go. But through it all, Brooke knows that Skye will stay. Skye will be there for her. Brooke will be there for her, too. That is what it means to be best friends for life.