Disclaimer: You know how it goes.

Chapter One

I glared enviously as I watched the couple laugh together across the room. Seeing them so happy together completely broke my heart.

Now don't get me wrong. Aisha Campbell and Adam Park are my two best friends in the world, but I hate the idea of them dating. You're probably thinking, "What's wrong with you?" Even I ask myself that sometimes. I mean, I should be happy that they're going out, right?

Wrong. Adam wasn't the only one who fell in love with Aisha.

I don't even know when I started feeling that way about her. She's been my best friend for years, ever since we still lived in Stone Canyon, and it definitely wasn't love at first sight. We were even friends long before Adam came into the picture. (Aisha and I had met in kindergarten; we didn't meet Adam until we were in second grade.) As far as I was concerned when I was five, girls had "cooties." But one day when we were coloring, Aisha's yellow crayon broke, and I, being the nice, sharing person that I am, gave her mine. That petty, childish incident was the basis of our close friendship. Then, a couple years later, we met Adam. I remember, on the first day of school, seeing him sitting by himself at lunch. Of course, without flinching, I walked right over to the table he was sitting at, sat across from him, and just started talking. Aisha followed my example and sat next to him, although she didn't get to do much talking that day because I wouldn't shut up. But ever since that day, Adam, Aisha, and I have been best friends. The three of us were like peas in a pod; we did everything together. In high school, we even competed as a team in a ninja competition in Angel Grove. We were awesome; we ended up winning the championship. Not long after that, we transferred to Angel Grove. A couple of weeks later, we were chosen to be Power Rangers. Needless to say, we've been through a lot together, and somewhere in between all of that, I started becoming attracted to Aisha romantically.

Maybe becoming a Power Ranger was a sort of wake up call for me, forcing me to admit my true feelings for Aisha. Or maybe it was knowing that we could die in battle at any time and we might never see each other again. Or maybe I just took our friendship for granted. Or maybe I had loved her ever since we were kids, but my feelings were just hidden and didn't start to develop until recently.

Well, whatever it was, it put my hormones into overdrive, and now I've got feelings for the girl that's been my best friend for years that I've never had for any other girl before. And seeing her with Adam doesn't help much. For some strange reason, it just makes me like her more, and sometimes, I feel like such an idiot that I wish I could just kick myself. (I actually tried to once, but all that happened was that I lost my balance and busted my ass. Maybe I should tape a "Kick Me" sign to my back.) I mean, come on. How did Adam, of all people, ever muster up enough courage to tell Aisha he liked her while I stood on the sidelines watching Aisha slip right through my fingers?

Don't take that the wrong way. Adam's a good guy, and he's still my best friend. But it was kind of like we switched personalities somehow. Usually, I'm the one whose mouth is yapping away, and Adam is the one who just quietly watches what everyone else is doing. He shocked me the day he asked her out; he shocked all of our friends, really, but I was absolutely dumbfounded. I couldn't even eat for the rest of the day. And not just because he did something totally unexpected and asked Aisha out; it's because he asked my Aisha out.

Shallow, I know. But I really think that sometimes.

Since they started going out, things have changed drastically. Well, okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit. But things have definitely changed. Everything went from the trio that did everything together to the couple that left their best friend on the side. It's weird; I feel so left out because they hang out together all the time, but if they ask me to do something with them, I refuse to go because I'd feel like I was imposing. Or maybe I'm just afraid that it would hurt too much.

It's my own fault, really, that I hurt so much. I could have said something sooner. Nothing had ever stopped me from opening my mouth before, but something, don't ask me what it was, but something held me back from telling Aisha how I felt. I wasn't exactly afraid that she wouldn't feel the same way about me. And it's not like I didn't have an opportunity to say something; I'd had plenty of chances to say something. But for some reason, I just couldn't say anything. And now, I have to face the pain of knowing she'll never be mine.

Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I was the one who said something first. I could have made Aisha just as happy as Adam made her. I could have given her everything Adam gave her, and maybe even more. But if I did open my mouth first and Aisha did like me back, Adam would be in the same position I'm in now. But you know what? I honestly don't care.

Selfish and mean, I know. People who know me know that's extremely uncharacteristic of me. But ever since the dreadful day when Adam asked Aisha out, I haven't really been my old self.

And there's nothing I can do about it now.

A/N: Please r/r. This is the first fic that I've written in first person, so please tell me if there's anything I need to work on. There will be other chapters to this, I just don't know when I'll get time to write and submit them.