The first day of school was always awkward. The first day of high school even more so. New surroundings to get used to. New classmates. New schoolmates. New teachers. New everything.

It was even worse when the day started with your girlfriend very publicly breaking up with you.

"It's over! I can't take it anymore! We just aren't compatible!"

I barely registered her words.

To be honest, I'd been intending to break up with her for a while myself. She was right. We weren't really compatible. The whole situation was a mess. I mean, it was my fault, really. I'd chosen her. Yeah, she'd confessed to me first, but so had a few other girls.

Oh, right. I guess I should explain that.

You see, I'd lived one of those classic rom-com scenarios. I was a loner in middle school, but my childhood friend had harbored feelings for me since we were little. Then the popular girl in my class partnered with me for a project and, for some reason, started to like me. Then there was the transfer student. And there was also the girl who hated me, but then didn't hate me, and then started liking me. And then even the popular girl's friend was interested in me, too.

Anyway, you get the idea. Loner guy. Bunch of cute girls. I was a light novel protagonist. It was glorious. At least, until I had to choose. And you know, I did have to choose. I couldn't string these girls along and middle school was coming to an end.

Now, the usual ending to these scenarios is that it comes down to the popular girl in class that the protagonist bonds with, and the childhood friend. The other girls are usually side characters overall. I mean, they're important to the story and have their own arcs and everything, but everyone knows who the choice is coming down to. And really, everyone knows the childhood friend is going to have her heart broken worst of all. It's always that popular girl that gets chosen. Or some version of her. The girl the protagonist has his eye on in the first chapter, or meets first, or shows her feelings first or whatever. She's usually on the cover of the first volume, too.

This isn't to say I picked my childhood friend. I didn't. I just didn't pick the popular girl. I mean, just because she was cute and liked me, didn't mean I felt that way about her, too. She was cool, but I just…didn't feel the spark. As I stood there on that first day of high school, though, I wondered if that was just me trying to be different. And to be honest…I think it was.

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And to make matters worse, my childhood friend stopped hanging out with me, too. She was very gracious when I didn't choose her, and we both said we still wanted to be friends. But you know how it is. You can't go back from that. At least we couldn't.

Well, anyway, the girl I ended up choosing was the best friend of the popular girl. The girl who had the least screen time in our little story. All the girls who were interested in me were great. Let me be clear about that. I'd like to think that I chose her because I felt we were the best match.

I think, in reality, I chose her because we weren't. Like I said…I was trying to be different. And not only did that hurt her, her friend and the others, but it hurt me as well. Maybe there's a reason those tropes get played out over and over again.

Maybe it's better to be loved than lost.

"Whoa! That dude's getting dumped!"

"Probably deserves it. Look how plain he looks!"

"She's probably too good for him anyway."

You guys are right, I thought, closing my eyes as the girl in front of me continued to detail why our short lived romance was doomed. I'm no good.

"We just…never should've gotten together. I'm sorry."

"It's fine…"

My soft mutter was met with silence, and I slowly looked up, opening my eyes as I saw the girl in front of me looking further dejected. She pouted at me, almost as though she was hoping I'd argue with her. Fight for our relationship. I couldn't do that, though. I couldn't lie to her. I couldn't lie to myself anymore.

With that, she sighed, turned away and stormed off, the crowd that had gathered around us oohing and ahhing in response. Many of them stared at me, expecting some kind of reaction now that she had gone, but I simply stayed still. When I did, they began to disperse. They would forget about me soon enough.

Eventually, I was left alone, the time for classes to begin soon approaching. Admittedly, I was in shock. And yes, I was a little heartbroken, even if it was for the best. Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. That was the saying, right? At this point, I felt it would've been better to have never loved or been loved.

Yes, I suppose that's a dark thought. Perhaps it's fair to say that this wasn't love, though. It was merely a fleeting infatuation. A silly adventure in the realm of romance that I'd foolishly brushed off as tropes from my favorite light novels.

Sigh.

It was truly a shame. I'd had my chance to experience love. Now, I was back to being a loner.

A lone cherry blossom floated down from a tree branch above me. It was almost like it was accentuating the point. What a way to start the year. What a way to start high school.

Sighing once more, I turned and headed inside towards my first class.

Little did I know, that hidden in the crowd, and watching, unseen, was a girl. A girl who had seen the whole thing. A girl who, like me, had wanted the tropes to end. A girl who simply wanted to be loved, but was lost.

The girl I would one day marry.