Fell In Love With My Best Friend

Chapter 1

**1 year later**

"Does everyone understand the assignment?" Erica's math teacher asked everyone in the class. Everyone murmured "yeah" even if they really didn't mean it. The teacher dismissed everyone, and as everyone was making their way out of the room, Erica's math teacher called her name. Erica turned around and walked back to her.
 "Yes, Mrs. Margins?" she said, smiling sweetly as she tried not to laugh at the sound of her name. "Are you doing okay in class? I noticed that you were looking a little frustrated at your work when you were working."
"Yeah. I'm doing fine, but I just didn't get one thing on the homework."
"Oh okay. Well, if you have any questions come and ask me."
"Thanks," Erica said, walking out of the classroom as the next class started coming in. She took a deep breath as she started walking to her next class that she had with Liam. She walked into the classroom before anyone noticed she just showed up, and she walked straight to her seat in the back of the classroom. She had to sit by a black-haired boy named Luke. Luke was the same height as Liam, but his skin was lighter, he had blue eyes and he was very shy. Luke didn't seem to pay attention to the fact that she just got there, so Erica just got her notebook out and waited for the teacher's instructions. She looked up and saw Liam looking at her with a smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes and rested her head on her hand with a bored expression on her face.

*******
 When Erica was about to walk in the house, Liam ran up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Erica turned around and said, "What do you want?"
 "Oh. Is that how it's going to be?"
"Liam, come on. I have homework to do."
"You've been acting weird all day today. What's up?"
"Nothing is 'up'. I just don't feel good."
"Are you sure?"
She quickly nodded and started walking the rest of the way to the house while Liam followed close behind her.
"Are you going to do the science homework?" Liam asked.
"I already did it. I only have math to do," she said as she opened her door. She turned around and asked, "Why weren't you on the bus?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You didn't get off the bus with me."
"Oh, well, I was walking home with somebody."
"Who?"
"Briana."
All she could do was stare at him. "What?"
"Briana."
 "The Briana in science class, the Briana I used to be friends with in 6th grade?" she asked, growing more furious as seconds went by.
"That's the one," Liam said, a little embarrassed.
Erica took a deep breath and decided to ask, "Why were you walking home with her?"
He smirked. "Last time I checked, you weren't my girlfriend. You don't need to know why I was walking home with her."
She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Liam..."
"Okay, okay! I was walking home with her because...she asked me to. She wanted to talk to me alone."
"I don't even want to know," Erica said, starting to close the door, but Liam's foot stopped it. "Are you mad me?"
"Nothing to be mad about. You're right. You can walk home with anyone you want to," she said, starting to grit her teeth. She shut the door quickly before Liam could stop it, and she headed upstairs to her room. Before she had a chance to close her bedroom door, her mom called for her, so she turned back around and ran back downstairs.
"Yes, Mom?" she asked, half-heartedly.
"How was school today? Are you feeling okay?" Erica has been feeling sick for the past few days, and it was starting to get worse. However, she was fighting it so she didn't have to miss a day of school and be without Liam.
"I'm fine. I was better than I was yesterday, but I have a math paper to do..." Erica said, taking a couple steps back.
"Will you be okay enough to go to school tomorrow? You look pretty pale."
"I should. After homework, I'll be back down to do the dishes," she said, starting to walk back upstairs.
"Don't worry about it. I'll do them today. You just do your homework and rest."
Erica was shocked at first. The only time her mom offered to do the dishes was when Erica couldn't get out of bed. This wasn't the case, but Erica wouldn't complain. Erica ran upstairs, and she laid on her bed while getting her math papers and notebook out of her book bag. Math wasn't her best subject, and it was obvious. Midterms were coming up in a couple weeks, and she didn't want to disappoint her parents. She had to really try hard or she was going to get a C or worse, and she didn't want that. She started reading the first problem. It was a story problem, and those were the worst problems that Erica had trouble with. Uh... I don't know how to do this, she thought to herself. Maybe I can ask my dad to help me when he gets home... Erica's dad worked during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00. It was 3:30 now, so Erica decided to wait until her dad got home. She set the work aside, and she got out her phone as she laid down on her bed.
She sighed as she saw 2 missed calls from Liam and 4 messages. She ignored the calls, but she looked at the messages.
Hey.
Are you okay?
Do you want to hang out?
I'm sorry.
All the messages were 3 minutes apart. She rubbed her forehead and sent him a message.
Hey. I'm fine, I told you I'm sick.
She sighed and closed her eyes. She thought she heard her phone start playing 'I Want It That Way' by the Backstreet Boys which was her ringtone to let her know someone's calling, but she dozed off before she could answer it.

Liam was sitting on his porch when he finally got a message from Erica. Once he read it, he dialed her number, and he waited eagerly for her to answer. When she didn't answer, he turned his phone off and frowned. He thought she was probably ignoring him. Should I go to her house and see what's up? Is she really that mad at me? Before he could answer any of these questions, he saw Erica's Dad pull up, but he got confused since he wasn't supposed to be home until 4. Liam stood up and ran to her dad.
"Hey, Mr. Blake. How was work?" he said, walking with him.
 "It was good. Work is always work... How was school?"
"School's school."
Mr. Blake chuckled and looked at the door. "Were you coming to see Erica?"
"I want to, but I think she's mad at me."
"Mad at you? No way! What for?"
"I walked home with one of her ex-friends, so I guess she thinks I'm a traitor or something..." "Ah... Benedict Arnold..."
"My name's Liam."
 This really made Mr. Blake laugh. "Nah boy. Benedict Arnold is someone who was part of George Washington's army back in history, and he betrayed George Washington and joined another army. He's a traitor..."
He looked at him, and it looked like that Liam was listening to him speak German. He shook his head and said, "Nevermind. You'll learn about it next year or high school."
Liam shrugged. "Can I come in to see Erica?"
"Of course. You're always welcome here. We've known you for three years now or more." Liam smiled and nodded as he walked in with Mr. Blake.
"Hey Liam... What are you doing here? Erica never said you were coming over," Erica's mother said.
"Oh, well... I came to see if she was alright."
"Right. She's upstairs doing homework, but she might've fallen asleep by now."
"Fallen asleep? Why?" Liam asked with the attention of Mr. Blake.
"Well. She hasn't been feeling well lately. She threw up last night. I tried to convince her to stay home, but she said she needed to go to school. She didn't want to miss a day to see you, I guess," Mrs. Blake said, shrugging.
 Liam nodded. He excused himself and headed upstairs. He knocked on her door, but there was no answer. Liam had a feeling that this wasn't just ignoring him. She has never been mad at him this long before. However, before it was just small things like not calling her back right away or not being her partner in something at school. He took a deep breath and slowly opened her door. After the door was opened a crack, he glanced into her room, and he saw her laying down with her back towards him. She was quietly breathing and snoring which gave him the message that she was sleeping.
 "So, what do you know? She fell asleep," Liam whispered to himself, smiling as he watched Erica snore peacefully. He walked over to her bed and lightly laid his hand on her forehead, and he noticed her forehead was really hot. He looked at her notebook and math papers. She didn't have any of it done. He bit his lip as he thought about what could possibly be causing her to be so sick, but he couldn't think of anything. Liam closed the door as he left Erica's room, and he ran downstairs to her parents.
"Mr. and Mrs. Blake. I think you should check on Erica."
"Why? What's wrong?" Mr. Blake said, standing up.
"I think she fell asleep as soon as she sat down because she doesn't have any of her math homework done, and I felt her forehead. Her forehead was really hot."
"It shouldn't be that serious," Mrs. Blake said, touching her husband's arm.
 "I don't know. We should go check on her," Mr. Blake said, following Liam back upstairs. Liam opened Erica's door and sat down on her bed beside her as Mr. Blake looked over her. He felt her forehead and arms and face. Liam saw his expression turn from calm to extremely concerned. "Beth!" he called from the room.
 Soon Mrs. Blake was in the room standing by Erica's dad. "What's going on?"
"She's burning up, and she usually is a lighter sleeper than she is right now."
Liam looked down at Erica with concern as he felt a tear come down his cheek. You idiot. Stop crying. You look like a wuss. She'll be okay, he yelled at himself. He ran his fingers through his hair as he looked at her parents.
"Should we wake her up?" Mrs. and Mr. Blake looked at each other, unsure.
"If you think waking her up would be good, you can go ahead," Mrs. Blake said, nodding towards her.
 Liam nodded as he began saying Erica's name as he shook her. She began tossing and turning, and she let out a groan like she's just been shocked. Liam gently laid his hand on her arm as she slowly began to sit up. She wiped her eyes and looked around.
"Mom? Dad? Liam? What are you guys doing in my room?"
"Your buddy was concerned about you and thought it would be best for us to check on you." "I'm fine," she said, yawning.
"There's no need to worry," she said, curling back up on her bed.
"Erica. You're going to have to stay home from school tomorrow so we can take you to the doctor if you don't get better by the morning. If you're not feeling good, we can't force you to tough it out through 7 hours of school," Mrs. Blake said, sighing.
"But, I'm fine," she protested.
"No. You need to listen to your mom. You need to go to the doctor if this doesn't get better," Liam interjected.
 "But, I'm fine!"
"Erica. Calm down. Do you feel good enough to do your math homework?" her dad asked her, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Well actually. I was waiting for you to get home, so you could help me with it. I thought you weren't going to get home until 4, so I decided to take a nap."
 "Okay, but do you feel like doing it?"
"I can do it."
"Okay. Does Liam have the same homework?" he asked, looking at Liam. Liam nodded and sighed.
 "I did it during school earlier. It was pretty easy."
"Easy for you to say."
"Do you want Liam to help you while I help your mom cook dinner?" Mr. Blake asked, secretly winking at his wife.
"I guess," Erica said, grabbing her notebook.
"Great, so good luck Liam."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Erica asked before Liam could say anything.
"Nothing. Calm down," Mr. Blake said, laughing as him and Mrs. Blake walked out of the room. Erica sighed as she laid her head against the wall.
"So, do you need help with that?"
"I guess."
 "Are you still mad at me?"
"I don't know."
"Come on Erica. It was just a walk, it's not like I kissed her."
"Did you?"
"No! Of course not. I would never kiss Briana. She's not my type."
"Mhm... Look, I don't care. Let's just get this homework done, so I can rest."
"I thought you were fine," he said, mocking her voice.
"I am. Just because I want to rest doesn't mean I'm not fine." Liam rolled his eyes as he looked at the homework.
"You guys are still on this one? We're way past this one."
"I'm sorry that I'm a little behind."
"I got this whole thing right, so let's see..." Liam continued helping Erica through the worksheet for the next 20 minutes. During those 20 minutes, Erica tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but she just paid attention to his voice. He has such a beautiful voice, Erica thought as he talked. "Got it?" Liam asked, looking at her.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Liam rolled his eyes and sighed. "Girls. Never listen. I said that this should be ⅔ because if you take this multiplied by this..."
"Okay, Liam. I'm done now," she said, putting it back in her bookbag.
"You're welcome," he said, smirking.
She laughed and laid back down under her covers.
"Comfy?" he asked.
She nodded and started to close her eyes. "Oh, I see. I help you with your homework and you fall asleep on me," he teased.
"I'm sick, you idiot."
"Ha! So you do admit it?"
"Leave me alone."
Liam started to lay down too, and he closed his eyes. "What are you doing? Get off my bed." "Nah... Your bed is really comfy."
"Whatever," she said. The room was silent, and Erica thought it was nice. Erica had a strange feeling that Liam was staring at her, but she wasn't going to open her eyes. If she opened her eyes, then she would be caught in his eyes.
"Erica?" Liam said.
"Yeah?" she replied, not opening her eyes.
 "Why did you get so mad when I told you that I walked home with Briana?"
Erica didn't know what to say. Why was I? Do I like him....? A little more than a friend? "I don't know, why?"
"There must've been a good reason..."
"I can't tell you why."
"Do you like me?"
"Of course I like you. You're my best friend."
"No, I mean, would you date me?"
Erica was shocked that he was so serious when he asked that. She opened her eyes. "Um. Liam, we're only 12."
"I don't care. Answer the question."
 Erica gulped and nodded. "Yes. I think about dating you every day."
 Liam was satisfied with this answer. "You want to know something?"
"What?"
"I've had a crush on you for a year now."
Erica looked at him with shock. "Then, why did you....?"
"I never walked home with Briana. My mom picked me up because I missed the bus."
Erica stared at him. "Are you serious?"
He nodded and smiled.
 "I can't believe you."
"Hey. I got you to tell me that you like me."
"So..?"
"I'm going to do something about it. Wanna go out with me?"
"But we're only..."
"It will be puppy love then. It doesn't matter if this love is real or not, but I like you. I want to be more than friends..."
Erica smiled and nodded. "OK. I'll go out with you."
Liam smiled and propped himself on his elbow. Erica smiled and started to doze off. Before she completely fell asleep, she felt Liam kiss her on the cheek.
 ***
The next day at school, Liam had to ride the bus alone since Erica was home. Her fever didn't get any better. When he arrived at school, someone walked up to him.
"Dude... Where's your girlfriend? You look all... lonesome," Liam's best friend from the football team, Bradley, said.
"Bradley. How many times do I have to tell you? She's not my girlfriend."
Liam decided to lie because if he told Bradley the truth, Bradley would get this "I told you so" look on his face, and Liam didn't feel like dealing with him right now.
"She might as well be. You're with her every chance you get."
"We're good friends."
"Yeah right. So was your mom mad that you 'missed the bus'?" Bradley asked, raising his eyebrows at him.
Liam chuckled and shrugged. "No big deal."
 "You missed the bus on purpose just so you could make up that horrible story to Erica about walking home with Briana...Wait, why did you make that horrible story to her? Wait! Was it because you wanted her to get jealous, then you could ask her out?" Bradley asked, looking so anxious, he was surprised he wasn't pacing.
"Something like that."
"So you want her to be your girlfriend?"
"Bradley... I already explained this to you..." Before he could finish his sentence, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, and it was Briana. She was wearing blue jean shorts and a dark blue tank top with a jeans jacket with it since they weren't allowed to wear just tank tops in school.
"Yes?" Liam asked with annoyance in his voice. "Whoa. Did I catch you at a bad time? You never responded that way to me before."
"Sorry. Just a little sad that my girlfriend isn't here," he said, carefully looking over to Bradley. "You have a girlfriend?" Briana asked, surprised. "Who is it?"
"Who wasn't in science class today?"
"Well... There was Leanna, Alaina..."
"Who normally sits next to Luke?"
 With that, Briana gasped and stepped back as if someone shoved her back. "You're dating Erica Blake? Why her?"
"We've been best friends for 3 years. I just felt like I wanted something more."
"I'm very disappointed..."
"Good for you. Let's go to class buddy," Bradley interrupted as he dragged Liam to Language Arts class. Thank god he dragged me away from that conversation, Liam thought as he sat next to Bradley and a couple of other guys from the football team. "You're welcome," Bradley said. Liam chuckled and sighed as he looked out the classroom window. I really wish Erica was here today.