Presentation day week for the students’ game projects began. Naomi arrived fifteen minutes early to class to ask our professor if we could start first. I didn’t get the news until I saw her standing at the front of the class, leaning over a chair. Her laptop was connected to an HDMI port on the classroom computer. The computer projected our game on the projector. It was at the home screen where the player would have to hit the start button to play.

“Oh god,” I said. My heart rate went through the roof.

“It’ll be over quickly,” Naomi said. “Present and we can walk out.”

“Really?” Our professor nodded his head. It didn’t help decrease my anxiety but a least I didn’t have to suffer the anticipation of waiting my turn. “Are you doing all the talking?”

“Of course!” She rolled out the chair for me. “All you got to do is show and I’ll tell,” she said, pushing me under the desk once I sat in the chair. “Plus, I don’t want us to be around you know who any longer than needed,” she whispered over my right ear.

“Yosefin?” I said the second Yosefin walked in. I slapped my hand over my mouth, thinking she heard me. She didn’t look back or pause. She took her seat next to her partner and put down her head behind her crossed arms.

“God,” she said under her breath. “She’s lost it. Just look at her.” I tried to see what she saw. Was it Yosefin’s lack of simple fashion? Was it her body language?

“What do you see?”

“A girl who wants to make you see that what you’re doing is wrong.”

Naomi’s explanation resonated perfectly with Yosefin’s attitude. All I wanted was for us to be happy with someone we could fall in love with and not force ourselves into a half-baked relationship.

“It’s sad, isn’t it?” I said. “I wish she would see I’m not for her.”

“Trust me. She’ll see,” Naomi said, soothing my shoulders by gliding her fingers down them and rubbing the back with her thumbs. “Are we ready to go, professor?”

“Ready when you are,” he said.

“Hello everyone! My name is Naomi! And this,” she said and paused for a grandiose tension. “Is my lovely partner, Joshua!”

“Lovely?” I said, screaming in my head. Yosefin’s head shot up as if someone yelled her name.

“We got a nice little platformer for you guys today.”

While Noami talked about our game in detail, I played through the game, showing all the interesting yet basic things we did. The presentation lasted ten minutes, and we got a grade afterward. Our professor gave us a B+ for the game, an A- for the presentation, and extra credit points for being willing participants to go first. He called Yosefin and her partner after I walked outside. I felt like I should stay for a bit to see what they made. Naomi convinced me to not give Yosefin an inch of attention.

“Is that what I must do?” I said. “Ignore her until she’s not interested?”

“Correct.”

“What if she throws a fit or something of the sort?”

“Come on here,” she said on took me away from the door by my hand. “Forget her.”

“But,” I said, stuttering on the first letter.

“She’s a lost cause, Joshua. It’s time for you to focus more on me from now on.” She placed my hands on her hips and slid them up her waist before putting them above her ass.

“Not here,” I said, moving my hands to the middle of her back. “There’s people around.”

“Boy oh boy,” she said, chuckling while turning her head from side to side. “Is this what taking the lead looks like?”

“No...” My voice sounded like I answered it in a question. It crescendoed.

“You better chase me before I’m long gone,” she said, strutting down the hallway. Her hips popped out with each step she took, making her ass bounce. “Or would you rather have an ungrateful toxic girl like her?”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Ungrateful?” That word felt inaccurate. She looked over her shoulder and smirked. That look gave me a mixed bag of signals. I felt offended for Yosefin. I walked after Naomi, doubling my speed. Naomi stopped before I could grab her to get her attention. My crotch bumped into her ass. I wrapped my hands around her stomach to prevent us from falling over.

“Whoa there,” she said with a snicker. “There’s people around.”

“Why did you say she was ungrateful?”

“Is that a serious question?” I nodded. “Joshua,” she said after scoffing. “You’re an amazing guy.” She put up her right hand and lifted each finger to list what made me amazing. “Good intentions, adorable, easygoing, yet dumb in an understandable way.”

“Dumb?” I squinted and scrunched my lips.

“You need to get off her hook. Let her go.”

“But,” I said, looking at our classroom door. “That’s my friend you’re talking about.”

“After what she’s done to you since we’ve known each other, she is not your friend. Let her go.”

I repeated the last three words in my head a million times. A life without Yosefin sounded wrong. I couldn’t ignore her sudden attitude change and lack of communication for good. A part of me wanted to hold on to finding a solution so we could return to the great days of our special friendship that would benefit us both.

“Ok... I’ll let her go,” I said.

“Perfect!” Noami said. “Now we can move on.”

“So, about that date,” I said to keep her from noticing how sad I felt from my disgusting lie. “What do you want to do?”

“Surprise me.”

“Damn. Really?”

“You got until Saturday to figure it out so make it good, honey.”

I searched all over the internet, looking for something interesting a man could do for his date. There were a couple of nice restaurants I found close to where I lived. I also found a mega arcade that was a roller coaster deep within our city that Naomi and I could try. I consulted with my sister to see what she would choose if her boyfriend asked as we sat around the dining room table.

“Both,” Vanessa said. “But, I would go with the arcade first.”

“Both?” I said and sighed as I thought about how much money it would cost me. “That’s gonna cost me a lot.”

“Then choose one.”

“But I need to impress her.”

“Can I ask you a question?” It took her five seconds to ask after I told her to go ahead. She hesitated on the first word but spoke everything else clearly. “What... happened with you and Yosefin?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I saw her walk out of you’re room, crying. She left the front door wide open.”

“Damn,” I said before I tucked my face in my hands to hide my shame.

“What happened?”

“You know I’ve been seeing Noami for the past few months, right?”

“I know.”

“Yosefin believes she should’ve been the one.”

“Well, you should’ve chosen her.” She took me by surprise with that comment. I put my hands in my lap but kept my head down. The shame added another layer that was more of a gut-wrenching feeling.

“I don’t like her like that.”

“But she’s so cool and beautiful.” She made me chuckle while she rambled on about how she viewed my close friendship with Yosefin. “I thought it would be a matter of time but then you suddenly switched on her.”

“I didn’t switch. I... just wasn’t into her like that.”

“Okay then,” she said after she sighed. “It just seemed like you were. I could be mistaken.”

Our conversation replayed in my head over and over again throughout the day. It followed for several hours the next day. I began having second thoughts on whether I should ultimately win Noami’s love. She was a good choice for me, but I was scared I would lose Yosefin in the process of seeking a relationship. I called Kat and asked her what I should do. All I got out of our conversation was to screw Yosefin’s feelings and ask Naomi out. Her opinion felt like she had beefed with what happened last year. I disregarded all advice from her and sought Kaga’s point of view over the phone as a last-ditch effort.

“You’re in a little pickle here,” Kaga said.

“Please, help me,” I said. “How do I resolve this without losing my best friend?”

“There’s no way this’ll end happily I’m afraid.”

“Fuck!” I said through my teeth. I wanted to throw my phone as hard as I could on the floor.

“Who do you value being with the most?”

“I value both!”

“Easy,” said, repeating the word multiple times. “Go on your date and talk with Naomi about your thoughts on it, kay?”

I didn’t do what Kaga suggested and chose to take Vanessa’s recommendation to take Naomi to the two places. Everything went smoothly. We spent hours on the arcade machines, then ate at a restaurant until our bellies were full. The thoughts of what I struggled with, trying to figure out a solution crept in on the drive to Naomi’s apartment. I tried to suppress it with random shit I could think of, but Yosefin’s beautiful gaze kept shining through. I reminisced about all the wonderful things we did and remembered each bad occasion we had.

“Goddamnit,” I said.

“What?!” Noami said in a panic.

“I... need to go clean my... toilet when I get home.”

“Oh...” She held her heart and laughed out of breath. “You scared me.”

“So, did you have fun?” I said to keep her mind off me and what I previously said. “Did I prove I’m worthy?”

“Yes! You will be an excellent boyfriend!”

As the days went on my relationship with Naomi flourished while my friendship with Yosefin withered away. I found myself constantly glancing at her, hoping she would at least sneak a peek at me. And when she did, she would snarl, scoff, or indirectly mutter something negative under her breath. She gave me no glimpse, no spark; no hope of ever returning to what I cherished.

The sadness, guilt, and questions tortured me for a month. It began taking a turn for the worse when I started to ignore Naomi so I could be alone. She threatened a breakup if I didn’t stop feeling sorry for Yosefin. I said enough was enough. I decided to pay Yosefin a visit to her house on the eve of Christmas to find a solution that would end our fix our separation.