Juliet woke up with a start and immediately jumped out of bed. Removing her phone from the table, she checked the time and ran to the bathroom. She was late, again. The sleep deprivation had already started affecting her.
She didn't bother with breakfast as she had already become used to skipping it.

Despite everything, she managed to get into class before the professor arrived. She pulled out her notebook and pamphlet then started reading the notes which had already been explained by the professor. The professor arrived twenty minutes late.

For the first time since they'd met, Juliet and Ethan didn't sit next to each other. Juliet felt a pang of jealousy when she glimpsed at the back and saw him next to Kana. She turned to the pamphlet on her desk and listened to the professor.

"Did something happen between you two?" Mikki whispered when the professor was writing something on the white board. Juliet was startled because she had always thought Ethan told Mikki everything since they were best friends.

"Nothing happened," Juliet lied, knowing that Mikki wouldn't believe her. She continued looking at her pamphlet.

"Then why is he with her," she insisted.

"He's your best friend," Juliet snapped. "Why don't you ask him?"

That shut Mikki up. For the rest of the lecture, the two girls didn't speak to each other. When the lecture ended, Juliet stood up and left without saying a word. It was a good thing that Mikki didn't try to stop her. She sauntered to the Library and asked for two books that she had to read for one of her classes. Since she didn't have another lecture that day, she went straight to her apartment and cooked pasta for lunch. When she was eating, someone knocked on the front door. She froze when she saw who it was.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him. "Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend? Last time I checked I was Juliet not Kana."

"I'm sorry, Juliet." He said. "I've realised Kana is too much for me to handle. She's so demanding and quite controlling unlike you, my dear. I want you back."

"Is this another of your stupid jokes?" Juliet asked, narrowing her eyes. "I don't have time for this nonsense so will you please go away."

"No, I swear it isn't a joke. I'm very serious."

"Wow!" Juliet sneered. She tried to eat some pasta but it was too cold. She pushed the food away. "That's even worse. You're a selfish bastard who only cares about himself. You can't handle my mess and now you can't handle Kana's. You want everything to be easy for you. This is just a game to you. It's all about how comfortable you feel, right? How can you live your life like this?"

Ethan came and sat next to her.

"You make me seem like a cold hearted person."

"Aren't you?" Juliet raised her brows. She got the plate and stood up, taking it with her to the kitchen.

"I love you, Juliet." He followed her to the kitchen.

"And what about Kana?" She asked, pouring the food into the trash can. She placed the plate in the sink and faced him. "How can you love two people at the same time? Don't try to fool me, Ethan because I don't believe anything you say anymore."

"She was just a distraction but you're the one I truly want," he said, putting his hand around her. She moved away and ambled to the small living room. Sitting on the couch, she turned the television on.

"Juliet," he said, sitting next to her.

Juliet shook her head and focused her eyes on the TV. "You're the most horrible person I know. How can you just say she's a distraction like it's the most normal thing ever?"

"Does she know that she's a distraction?" She asked when he failed to reply.

"No, but I broke off things with her. Told her I wanted to be with you."

"Why should I believe you?" She inquired.

"I don't know how to make you believe me but that's the truth."

"You want to be with me?"

"Yes," he held her hand. "Will you accept my apology? I won't go near Kana if you want. I'm willing to help you because I understand what you're going through. I was so immature and stupid but now I have realized that one of the purposes of a relationship is for emotional support. All I thought about before was having fun but I have changed. Will you accept me and forget what happened?"

"You should understand that no one is perfect," she pulled her hand away. She didn't want to make decisions based on what his touch made her feel. "You have to learn to deal with people's weaknesses because every one had them. If you dump people because they're not perfect, you'll end up alone. Don't forget you also have weaknesses."

He was quiet for a while, pondering on what she said.

"I know and I thank you for teaching me all these. Putting that aside, will you forgive me?"

"I have to think about this, Ethan." How could he think it would be easy for her to forgive him for what he'd done. No, she had to think.

He cupped her face and everything was forgotten.

Juliet glanced at his lips, hoping he'd take the hint which he did a few seconds later. He lowered and tilted his head, bringing his soft lips to hers. Their lips met in a steamy kiss. She felt a cloud of emotions that made her senses reel. Wrapping her hands around his neck, she stroked it, wanting to touch every part of him. The world around them ceased to exist at that moment. It almost felt right.

Then everything seemed to come back and Juliet gently tried to push him away. He continued to kiss her and she tried to ignore her mind which was telling her that she was making a very big mistake.