It was the beginning of September, and already you were so far away from me. You stopped coming over, and I started wondering if you had even cared for me the way you said you did.

Sure, I would often see you around. You would say hello and flash me that killer smile you were known for. We would make small talk, but then you'd quickly end the conversation. I used to be so lively and talkative around you, but then I stopped.

You asked me if I was okay, so I lied and said I was. But that was far from the truth. In fact, I missed you so much I could barely stand it. You were always in my thoughts. Even if I tried thinking of something else, my thoughts would always drift back to you. It was silly for me to pine over you the way I did, but it's not like I could control my feelings. I had loved you since the day I saw you, and my mind was made up. I wanted nobody else but you. I was convinced you were the only one for me.

I remember back when I first met you, on that warm summer day. You smiled and shook my hand, which made me blush incredibly. From there on, we had formed a strange friendship. At first I just thought of you as my brother's best friend, but as I began to mature, my feelings changed. Little by little I began to understand love. Or what I had thought was love.

And even though you keep convincing yourself that you'll never see me that way, I still held on to that tiny bit of hope that maybe one day your feelings towards me would change.

You squeezed my hand and smiled at me, your eyes softly crinkling around the corners. Then you told me that we may not see each other for a long time. I nodded innocently and said I understood. But I didn't. I couldn't. Because you were the one my heart ached for, as cliché as that sounds.

You told me not to get my hopes up, and then after a small hug, you left.

And I still had hearts in my eyes.