Juliet sat on her bed, deleting all the photos of Ethan and herself from her phone. She wondered when she had suddenly become so unlucky. Every time she got her hopes of regaining the lost happiness high, something happened to crush that hope. The worst thing was that she didn't have anyone to confide in except Gavin who was a little too much like Octavio. She needed to avoid those kinds of people before they ruined her life. She looked at his number and debated deleting it but could not bring herself to do so. He had told her to kill Ethan but there was no way she was ending anyone's life. She could never live with the guilt. What was the point anyway? Killing them would not bring her happiness but more suffering instead. The idea was absurd and Juliet decided not to think about it. She scrolled through her contacts and found Cooper's number. Wondering how he was, she decided to call Tania.

"Hey Julie," Tania said. "What's up?"

"I'm alright, Tania." Juliet said, getting up from the bed. She opened the balcony door and stepped out for fresh air. "How is Cooper doing?"

"He's feeling better now," her best friend said. "I'm trying to make him go out more so he can meet other girls. How is Ethan? I swear he's so hot, Juliet. If you ever get tired of him, pass him to me."

"Ha ha," Juliet said, not appreciating the joke. She leaned on the railings.

"Just kidding," Tania said with a laugh. "Like I would want your leftovers."

"Okay, Tania." Juliet sighed, running a hand through her hair. She was not in the mood for useless banter. "I just wanted to inquire about Cooper. Say hi to him on my behalf."

"Why don't you call him?" Tania asked. "You need to talk to him."

"Alright, I will." Juliet hang up and dialled Cooper's number. He picked after two rings.

"Juliet," he said. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," she replied, making eye contact with a boy who was staring at her from his balcony. Annoyed, Juliet went back inside and slumped onto her bed. "Can we meet tomorrow?"

They made an appointment and Juliet thought it would open a door for a possibility of a relationship between them. Maybe the best option is to move on, Juliet thought, putting the phone under her pillow. She had known Cooper all her life and he was not the kind of person to play with anyone's feelings. Juliet thought that if she spent more time with him, she might develop feelings for him. She decided to give it a try.

After the day's classes, they met at the park. Juliet found him seated on a metallic bench. He smiled when she approached and standing up, hugged her so tight she almost failed to breathe. It was as if his whole life depended on it.

"How are you doing, Cooper?" She asked, sitting next to him. His hair was a mess and there were bags under his eyes.

"I'm okay, kind of. I miss you so much."

"I've missed you, too." She said, looking at two little girls who were chasing each other. After pausing for a while, she started speaking again. "We used to have so much fun together when we were little. I miss those days when we used to call you Coops."

Juliet smiled and continued, "I wish we hadn't drifted apart when we went to high school."

"We drifted apart because I fell in love with you and you were crazy about James," he said. "I just couldn't stand it so I decided to avoid you."

"It's weird how I never noticed anything."

"Right."

"Yeah, anyway that's in the past. I think we should start afresh, open a new page and forget all that. What do you think?"

"I'll never be able to stop loving you. I wish you could try to love me."

He put his arm around her and she didn't resist the closeness. Juliet noticed that she didn't feel the things she felt when Ethan did it. She knew she couldn't love Cooper however much she tried. She couldn't see him as anything except a good friend who is always there for you.

"We can make this work if you try," he said.

"No, that's impossible." Throughout the night, Juliet had thought a lot. She'd realised that it was impossible for her to fall in love with Cooper. You could not force love or try to make yourself feel it. "Love is supposed to be spontaneous. With love, there's no need to try and make it work because you either feel it or you don't. I really wished I loved you, Cooper. You're super amazing."

"Don't say that," he said. "It just makes it more painful for me. How about we just sit here and say nothing?"

"Works for me," Juliet said, placing her head at the crook of his shoulder. She felt at peace for the first time in so long.

Life would have been perfect if she had fallen for Cooper as there would be no complications. Sitting there with him made her feel worse about everything that was going on.

"I have a confession to make," he said after a while.

Juliet regarded him silently and so he went on.

"James had asked me to help him get to you and I refused. After a few days, he decided to ask you out and I felt so heartbroken when you accepted. I knew right then that he was going to be your first love, meaning you can never forget him and how he made you feel. First loves are supposed to be special and yours was. Unfortunately, mine has been terrible because I fell in love with someone who will never love me back. I know I should give up already but I can't stop hoping that one day you'll feel something for me."

"Cooper-"

"I'm sorry, Juliet. I know you don't want to hear all this but what can I do?"

"It's alright," she said. "Listening to this makes me feel better. At least I know I'm lovable."

"Of course you are. Why would you think otherwise?"

"Ethan cheated on me," she said, eyes becoming moist.

"What?" Cooper stood up and paced about. "I'm going to kill that scumbug. How dare he do something like that to you?"

"You don't understand," she said. "It's partly my fault."

"No Juliet, I refuse to believe that. You are the sweetest person I know."

She stood up. "I have to go. I don't want to talk about this right now."