What You Mean to Me

Frank.

"Frank, tell me something…"

I was laying on the roof of Lena's house staring at the stars that were glowing in the dark night sky, with my best friend. This was how we usually spent our late Saturday nights if we weren't doing something important. We would climb up onto either my roof or hers, and just lie there stargazing. It was something we had been doing together since we were kids.

I sighed, my arms resting behind my head comfortably. "It's a really nice night."

Lena turned on her side, propping herself up slightly on her arm so she could look at me. "So…" she looked a bit nervous as she bit don on her lip. "Mikey told me that you and Nora had another fight…"

I kept my gaze on the sky above me, forcing myself not to look at Lena. Damnit, Mikey told her.

Mikey is my good friend, and I tell him everything-- well, almost everything. I have never told him that I love Lena. But when it comes to everything else, he's always there to listen to me.
I go to Mikey when there's something I need to get off my chest, but I can't tell Lena. Mostly it's stuff concerning Nora. I mean, yeah, I tell Lena about what's going on, but the more important stuff-- like our major fights-- I never tell Lena.

I tell Mikey instead of Lena because I know that if Lena heard that me and Nora got in a fight, she would go break Nora's face in if she got even the slightest idea that Nora was causing me any kind of pain.

Mikey knew that, and that was why he promised he'd be there to listen to me, and never tell Lena anything I had ever said to him. Except until now.

"What did Mikey tell you?" I asked hesitantly looking over at Lena.

She shrugged, her eyes glancing downwards. "Not a lot… just that you two got in a really big fight, and that was why I haven't seen her around for the past few days at school…" she looked back at me. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, fine." I bit my lip, remembering what had happened last weekend, about what had caused another really big fight between me and Nora-- again.

**FLASHBACK**

Saturday, One Week Ago.

"Frankie, why didn't you call me back?"

I was sitting on the edge of Nora's bed, watching her pace back and forth in front of me. She had been calling my house nonstop, which was really pissing my mom off, and had left twenty-five thousand text and voice messages on my cell, none of these which I had responded to.

Then I finally felt bad, and stopped dodging her calls, finally answering. She demanded that I come over to her house right away because she needed to talk to me. One hour later, she was still pacing back and forth in front of me, bitching and complaining.

I sighed. "I was busy."

I know, lame-ass excuse, but what was I supposed to tell her?

Oh, sorry Nora, I was just dodging your phone calls because I was wanting to forget all about you and spend time with me best friend, the girl I am in love with?

Hell no.

"Busy? Busy with what?" Nora shrieked, clearly annoyed.

"I was with Lena!" I shouted standing up.

She was really starting to piss me off now. Nora looked a bit shocked, taking step back in surprise.

"You were with Lena?" She echoed. "You're always with Lena! That is all I ever hear! Lena, Lena, Lena! Lena this, Lena that! It's like you're attached to her, and can't live without her by your side! Grow up Frank! I'm your girlfriend! You're supposed to spend time with me! She's only your best friend! You don't care about her that much!"

I gritted my teeth, breathing slowly, trying to calm myself down. Nora was going too far.

"Yes I do!" I yelled back. "I care about Lena a lot! She's my best friend! She hurt her ankle and couldn't walk, Nora! I needed to help her! She needed me!"

I turned away, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Nora slunk down, sitting on the edge of her bed, and I turned around to see her beginning to cry. I sighed again, going over and kneeling in front of her, taking her hand in mine.

"Nora, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you," I apologized.

"Frankie…" she sobbed. "What's happening to us? We're always fighting… and it's always about something incredibly stupid with no real value or importance."

I tried to not let her see me roll my eyes.

Yeah, it was true, we were always fighting, but she was the one who always started it. Nora always started complaining about something that concerned Lena. That as the core of all our fights: Lena.

Nora is so threatened by Lena that I find it very pathetic. Nora is pathetic sometimes. Why can't she just be confident enough in her own skin? Why does she have to worry about Lena all the time, and what's going on with her?

I'm Nora's boyfriend, not Lena's. Lena is my best friend. She knows that. Why can't she just chill out and not worry so much?

"Nora, don't cry," I said, not sure of what else to say.

"Frankie, we're always fighting," she said. "That seems o be the only thing we do… I … I'm not sure I can take this anymore."

What was she talking about?

"Frankie, do you like me?" she asked.

I looked at her face, watching as her eyeliner ran down her face, then down at her hands that were in mine.

"Yes," I answered.

That was the truth. I wasn't lying. I did like Nora. She was pretty, a nice girl-- she was likeable. If I didn't like Nora, I wouldn't be going out with her. She was my girlfriend. I liked her.

Nora let out a sigh of relief, pulling me into a hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shirt which I knew would be smeared with her makeup. I hugged her back lightly, not wanting to offend her, rubbing her back.

"Frankie, I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm so sorry I've been so difficult… But now know that you're mine. That nothing can take you away from me. And that you're mine too. You belong to me."

You belong to me.

Those four words still rang in my head as I stared at the night sky. That honestly scared me. Nora though I belonged to her? No. I didn't belong to her. Not even in her wildest dreams would that ever happen. I only belonged to one person. That person was the one who had control over me entirely; my heart, my soul, everything. And that person was only Lena.