I kept glancing in his direction though, to make sure I didn't lose him, and to see what his face was going to give away the moment he caught sight of my new and improved body.

Kent wasn't looking around much, but one of the guys he was talking to actually pointed at me. Kent followed the guy's finger towards me. He stared at me for a long moment as if trying to solve the puzzle that was the smokin’ hot me. He blinked a few times and I swear I saw his lips mutter "holy shit" before his lips broke into a warm smile. The guy who had pointed me out elbowed Kent and nodded with his head in my direction. Kent nodded, went to push up the glasses that weren't on his face and ran his hand through his hair instead.

Smooth.

I grinned before looking back to my freshman roommate who was chatting with me about her summer spent in Venice. I was a little jealous hearing about how gorgeous it was but also a little distracted. I was replaying Kent's reaction in my head over and over. Maybe junior year would be my year. Maybe I would finally have the guts to tell him how I felt, how I'd been feeling since middle school. And maybe, just maybe he’d finally see me as a girl, and not just as a pal.

Ever since Jen’s arrival to our little high school four years ago Kent and I had started to drift apart. She’s set her sights on him and he’d gone along with it. Not that I could blame him for wanting the tall, blonde, skinny cheerleader type. She was nice too, to everyone except me, that is.

As Kent broke away from his group of guys Jen intercepted him, intertwining her fingers with his. He gazed lovingly at Jen and offered her a smile. Kent must have been talking about me because he pointed at me near the end of whatever it was he was saying. I quickly looked away and pretended I wasn't watching them. Suddenly I felt extremely self-conscious and the urge to run like a serial killer was on my tail grew stronger.

I forced those feelings away and turned and smiled at them both after saying parting words to my friend. My eyes found, first Kent, my smile not nearly as warm as before, and then Jen.

"Hey guys!", "I barely recognized him without his glasses." I pointed at Kent, but spoke to Jen. I didn't feel comfortable giving Kent a direct compliment, so I had to refer to him in third person, to his girlfriend, right in front of him. Jen had a way of making me feel as if I threatened her relationship that she was going to utterly destroy my entire existence. It was pretty scary in high school, especially with me being the fat girl and her being the rich, popular new girl.