Avoiding the inevitable always seemed like the best way to go for John. But he couldn't always escape his problems, one being how he was in love with his best friend. He had known you for years and never once thought of you anything more than that, his best friend. But the past school year had made him start feeling different. You had your first s/o, and he wasn't sure how to take it. For sure he was proud of you, but another part of him felt annoyed at the prospect. Even though he comforted you when you were sad, he was happy when you broke up. It quickly became the reality he had to hold up, he was in love with you and couldn't do anything about it. How could he risk the best (and only) friendship he had over a crush? He was pretty good at ignoring the childish feelings but every once and a while you'd do something that would make his heart skip a beat. Even your smile was enough to get him through a bad day.

•••

'Get ahold of yourself, Bender.'