"How could you?" she said to Nicole. "How could you go behind my back with Isaac, when you know how much I like him? I thought you were my friend!" Nicole stood slowly, stunned.

"H.....how did you know about me and Isaac?" she asked shakily.

"Mandy Carpenter was riding to my house to drop off some homework assignments that I missed at school last week, and she saw the two of you making out on your doorstep!"

"Casey," Nicole said, taking her friend by the arm, "I am so sorry. Isaac and I, we didn't mean for this to happen. We didn't even know we liked each other until a few days ago. I swear I was going to tell you when the time was right." Casey spun away from Nicole, pulling her arm from Nicole's grasp.

"Oh, and why should I believe that? You two have probably been going out all along. I don't trust one word that you're saying, you little....you backstabber. I'm never going to forgive you for this!" Nicole felt her own face flush as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Casey, please! You have to understand! I didn't want to hurt you. You're my friend. You- -," Nicole was cut off by the ringing of the telephone. She picked it up.

"Hello?" she said, trying to sound calm.

"Nic?" Isaac's voice came over the line. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Casey's here," she stated flatly, hoping that he would understand the meaning of her words.

"Oh man....I'll be right over," he said, and Nicole heard the dial tone in her ear. She replaced the phone into its cradle, and turned back to face Casey, who was glaring at her again, her hands on her hips. Moments later, Isaac stepped through the door, soaking wet from the rain.

"Wonderful," Casey said. "Just who I wanted to see."

"Casey....." Isaac started, but she cut him off.

"NO! Don't even talk to me. I don't care what you have to say." She turned to face Nicole too. "Either of you. You two make me sick."

"Don't do this," Nicole said, her voice breaking. "Casey, you know that you're my friend. I would never purposely go after Isaac, knowing that you liked him. I swear!"

"But you did!" Casey shreiked. "You DID go after him! And you got him! Lucky you. You two deserve each other!"

"What?" Isaac asked. "Casey, you aren't making any sense! Nicole and I haven't done anything that is as horrible as you're making it out to be! All we did was like each other, and if that's so wrong, then why does it feel so right? Don't be upset with Nicole.....I kissed her first. I asked her out. Blame me. Say anything you want to me, but don't ruin your friendship with Nicole. I'm not worth that."

Isaac put his arm around Nicole's shoulder. She was just standing there, staring back and forth between Casey and him, sobbing so hard that her whole body convulsed. Isaac drew her close to his side. Casey had began to cry again too, and she lowered her gaze to the floor, unable to look Isaac in the eye. It seemed as if she were considering forgiving them.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Don't try to turn this around Isaac! This is between me and Nicole, not you. We were friends, but I found out what a back-stabbing liar she is. As far as I'm concerned, this friendship is over!" She flipped her wavy hair behind her shoulder and crossed the room quickly. Moments later, they heard the door slam loudly as she left. Isaac wrapped his arms around Nicole, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"Ssshhhh...," he whispered, trying to calm her down. "She's gone. It's just you and me now. We'll get through this Nicole." Nicole tried her best to force a smile up at him, but all she could manage was a fresh set of tears.

"Nicole," Taylor said one day, "you really should talk about this with Isaac. You should see him! He just mopes around the house and says about four words per day. He's so upset by you ignoring him. Why are you doing this?"

"Taylor, you know why. I feel horrible about ruining my friendship with Casey. And I feel like the same thing could happen with Ike, if I'm not careful. And I don't know if I could deal with losing him."

"But Nic......," he started, then he was interrupted by the opening of her bedroom door. Nicole's dad stepped in.

"Nic, there's someone here to see you," he said. Isaac stepped through the door then, walking towards the bed where she and Taylor sat. Nicole's dad quietly left the room.

"I better go," Taylor said, following him out the door and shutting it. Isaac took Taylor's empty place on the edge of the bed. His wavy hair hung limply in his face, and his face was a pale color. He was dressed sloppily, in a pair of worn-out jeans and a navy tee shirt. He looked sadly into her eyes.

"So.....," he began, searching her face for any sign of love that she had once had for him. "I'm sorry I didn't come by yesterday, but you've been so distant Nic. We have to work this out. I don't want to lose you." He reached out and brushed her cheek with his hand.

"I don't know what's happening Isaac," Nicole whispered. My whole life is falling apart. And it's because of you and me. I know that this sounds horrible, but I can't help the way that I feel. I really like you Isaac, but I don't know if anything will ever be the same."

"Nic, don't say that," Isaac whispered. "It's not your fault that Casey got mad. She went a little too far with her idea of us together, and she made the mistake of saying that you two couldn't be friends. You can't help that Nicole."

"But Ike, I lied to her, and I took away the only guy that she had ever liked. You. I'm a horrible person! What do you see in me?" Nicole asked, slightly raising her voice.

"I used to see a beautiful girl with a great personality and a caring soul," Isaac said sweetly. "But lately, you've built this emotional wall around yourself, and not even I can see inside. You have to tell me what you're feeling Nicole," he told her.

"I...I can't," she said quickly. "I don't know if what I'm feeling is right or not."

"Just tell me what you're thinking," he said, looking deep into her eyes.

There was a long silence as Nicole lowered her eyes and looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. She took several deep breaths before answering him.

"I think," she said, "that we should give this relationship another try. I want that more than anything. But if it doesn't work, if our feelings have changed, then we shouldn't keep living a lie. We can't pretend to love each other if we don't feel it in our hearts."

Isaac looked at her, and felt his whole world crumble around him. They fell into another long silence. Nicole had began to cry again, and Isaac leaned over and began to kiss away her tears. Nicole sat there, acting barely aware that he was in the room. Isaac dejectedly leaned back and stared at her.

Nicole felt Isaac's eyes on her, so she gazed up into his chocolate-colored eyes. As she did, he saw his eyes fill with tears. Nicole had never seen a guy cry before, and she didn't have any idea what to say to him. As his tears spilled over and ran down his cheeks, Isaac wiped at them with his hands. He opened his mouth for a few moments, and then began to speak.

"So this is how it's going to be?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion. "We're just going to walk away?"

"I don't know," she said. "That would be the easiest thing to do, but it would also be the most complicated." She looked down again. "I'm just babbling now, and I'm not making any sense. Sorry." She looked into his eyes again.

Isaac looked at her and shook his head sadly. He couldn't believe that this was happening; he couldn't believe that their relationship was deteriorating, right before his eyes. He cared so deeply for Nicole that he felt as if his heart was being ripped from his chest. He reached out and took her hand as he spoke.

"Well, if this is going to happen, then I guess we can't stop it," he said. Nicole took his other hand, pulling him toward her in what seemed to be their final embrace. "I'll never stop caring about you Nicole," Isaac said. "We'll always be friends."

"Friends," she repeated. They stayed in their hug for what seemed like forever, and then Isaac silently left. Nicole felt a weight fall on her heart, and as she leaned back onto her bed, she fell into a restless sleep, dreaming that she, Isaac, and Taylor, for some reason, were trapped on a never-ending roller coaster. The coaster had no seat belts, no means of protection, and she could see loops and hills in the distance. The thing that scared her the most was that they only seemed to be at the beginning of the track.