As a little girl, Serena Hastings fell for the boy who crashed his bike outside her house. His warm brown eyes and that cheeky smile, it stayed with her. At five years old, she didn't know what it meant to be in love, but she knew that he made her feel happy.

Loving him wasn't easy, especially when he didn't know. Years went by and he just become the boy next door. Her neighbour. He was so close to her, yet so far.

Without knowing, somehow her happiness had become intertwined with his. She loved him. She only saw him...until he saw her.

After someone new had walked into his life, Serena's reality shifted.

Yearning for someone who didn't want you the same, it was difficult. However, Serena accepted it. She had to let go of the boy-next-door, knowing he couldn't be hers. He didn't love her...at least not like she wanted him to. But she held no contempt for him, instead, she remained his support.

She loved him, even if it remain unrequited.

***

Feelings are always hard to sift through. It's never easy to understand them, especially when they are a jumbled mess. It's always easier to deny then to accept sometimes, which is what Serena did, unconsciously.

Of course, denial doesn't get you too far. When she saw the boy she once loved, propose to 'his girl', it became abundantly clear, it wasn't going to happen.

Realising that she needed to focus on herself, she moved away, starting a new life. She didn't want to be stuck anymore or crying over what may never be.

Even if, at one point, he was the love of her life, she wasn't his.

Vacillated between her heart and her mind, Serena chose to always go with her mind. She assumed it would be the one to make the right decisions, as opposed to what just 'felt right'.

Every now and then, her heart would sometimes hurt, that lonely feeling that would remain. She knew she didn't need someone, but there was a part of her that felt like something was missing...

Reality is a lot different to what once was, now that time has gone by. But will it stay the same? Or will it change to something new. To something, she had never expected...