The Royal Love Triangle

Callie’s POV It's crazy how your life can change once you meet one person. Everything about them drives you wild; their laugh, their smile, and the way they look at you. Sometimes you can feel like they know exactly what you're thinking. Even the slightest touch can send shivers up your spine. Everything about them seems absolutely perfect. "Cal? Callie? Hello? Earth to Callie?" Tessa said waving one hand in front of my face and the other on my shoulder. "What were you thinking so hard about?" She smiled. Her smile drove me wild. And when she bit her lip? Forget it. We were in our room. I looked around at the lavender colored room, the positive quotes we had on the walls and twinkling lights hanging around the ceiling. My eyes landed on the photos of the two of us. After we both had graduated, we decided to get our own apartment and live on our own. Getting a one room apartment was way cheaper than a two bedroom, so we decided to just share a room until we could afford something a little bigger. Once we moved in and got settled, we decided to design a photo collage of all of our favorite photos together. Tess wanted to keep the photos we each picked a secret, you know, to surprise each other. The funny thing was when we showed each other what photos we had picked out, they were all the same! Our agreed favorite was the one from 3 summers ago, I was 18 and Tess was 20. I had just graduated, and she insisted on getting a photo together. I have a genuine surprised look on my face and was easily three shades of red, as Tess bent over and placed a kiss on my cheek. Tess was about 5'6, shoulder length blonde hair, gorgeous hazel eyes, that turned green when she was sad, and a little chubby. She was a head turner, and me? Not so much. I was a whopping 5'2, black hair that was about two inches past my shoulders and side bangs hanging to the left, light blue eyes and definitely a little over weight, but not enough to be considered fat. "What? Oh. Sorry Tess... this… uh… project for work has me a little more stressed than I thought." I lied. She knew I was lying. I felt her hand leave my shoulder and she sat down in front of me on the floor as she sighed. She tilted her head to the side and her shoulder length blonde hair fell to the side. It drove me CRAZY when she did this. I could feel her gaze settle on my face and my cheeks must have turned a shade of red because she giggled. I've been in love with Tess for years. I don't think she's realized since she could be pretty blind to those kinds of things, but I could be completely wrong too. Every guy that has ever had a crush on Tess always came and asked me how they could get her attention or how to make her realize that they were into her. Of course, since I was her best friend, I always knew what she was looking for and wanted in someone else. So, even though it completely broke my heart, I told them. When the day came that things didn't work out, I would always be there to help her put her pieces back together. I guess I was always hoping that she would see that I was the one that would always be there for her. That I loved her as more than a friend, and we were meant to be together. "Cal, you know you can talk to me? I mean, we've been friends since you were 4 and I was 6. We've been sharing everything since we were kids..." I could hear her voice trail off. I looked up at her and met her eyes. I bit my bottom lip and sighed. Busted. "What's really going on?" She looked concerned and watched me intently. "Fine. You know I've had a HUGE crush on someone since we were little. Well, I think I might be ready to tell them how I feel... But I don't know how they feel about me... I'm afraid of I say something, it's going to change the friendship we have now...." My voice trailed off and I looked to the floor, still biting my lower lip. I gained a little bit of my courage and looked up to meet her eyes again. We sat there in silence for a few moments, neither one of us breaking eye contact. Tess finally smiled and looked to the floor. "Well, why don't you just tell them?" She looked up at me. Our eyes met and she gave me a weak smile. "Anyone that doesn't like you would be really missing out." She moved so that she was sitting next to me and threw her arm around me. I instinctively leaned into her, resting my head on her shoulder and sighed. She hugged me a little tighter then turned to grab both of my shoulders. "I mean it Cal. Any guy would be lucky to have you! You're smart, gorgeous and have a great sense of humor. You're a total catch!" She smiled at me and watched me expectantly. How do you tell your best friend of 17 years that you were in love with her? That you have been since the day you realized you liked girls too? If I confess my feelings now, it could ruin our entire friendship! I knew I needed Tess in my life, even if it was only as a friend. I sighed and reluctantly stood up, breaking our embrace. I took in a deep breath and turned to face my best friend. "You know Tess, I...." I could feel my voice falter. I turned back around and took in another deep breath. "Tess, I don't have a crush on a guy..." I reluctantly turned around to face my best friend. I had my head down and eyes closed. She quickly scrambled to her feet and pulled me into a big hug. "Cal... I didn't mean to offend you or anything I just didn't... I mean... You've only brought guys home recently... I thought it was just a phase when you told me..." Her voice trails off a little bit. I could see the embarrassment creep onto her face. She held me by the shoulders and looks at me. I can feel her soft fingers under my chin to lift my face up so she could look me in the eyes. "I love you, Cal. It doesn't matter to me who you love, just as long as they don't treat you like trash..." Her voice trailed off again. I turned so that my back was facing Tess. I could feel my shoulders slump and my head hung down as I looked back towards the ground. I took a deep breath in, held it for a few seconds and then let it go. "Tess.... It's you. It's always been you. I'm in love with you..." I turned around to face my friend. "Tess? Tess, please say something.... Anything…"