The silence was deafening.

After our... you know, Esma and I were quiet for the whole ride there.

The pod jolted once again, as the earth beneath us disappeared from under our feet. Small flashes of light flicker in the white space before slowly clearing to the view of the cupid world.

Esma stands, looking outside among the villages and the headquarters as we approach it. Knowing it might be the last time she gets to take it all in, she doesn't dare to look away.

The Cupid HQ grows bigger as we approach it, landing at the docking station level. Cupids gather there, rushing into their pods, trying to catch up on the days of work they had to miss.

The pod door opens. "Welcome back, Everton and Esma." Nevi says.

Esma waits for me to leave to pod first before she follows me out into the crowd. We reach the lift, going up to the matchmaking system level.

"About what happened..." Esma started as we wait for the lift to start. "I want to forget before I read who I have as a match."

I nod. "It would probably be best to wait."

The lift springs up quickly, opening up onto the level.

"Mr Jones." A older female cupid addressed me. "I have an update about Esma's match."

Esma and I both looked at each other nervously before following the lady to one of the computers.

I looked down at the system, instead of showing the countries of earth, it shows the cupid world. And its scanning.

That's when it hit me. I flood of relief almost.

"Her match is here." I whisper looking over at Esma's shocked face.

She looks at me, stunned. Hope sparkles in her eyes, hope that we could be together. But what if it's not me?

"Does it mean I can stay after all? Will I forget?" She asks eager for an answer.

"I'm not sure." I shrug, looking back at the screen.

"It will be finished in a few hours." The lady informs us before leaving.

Esma and I sit down on the two seats in front of the computer.

"I actually wrote myself a diary-"

"People still do those?" I ask surprised.

Esma rolls her eyes. "Well I do anyway. So if I did forget, I can read everything that happened in this last month."

I look at her. "Will you believe yourself though?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. But once I meet my match and he shows me the cupid world again, Then I'll have to believe it."

"The hard this is," she continues, "You'll probably see me around remembering everything still."

"I'll be fine." I lie.

"No you wont." she argues. "Until you find your match. You wont be fine, Everton."

"I'm in the process of finding mine actually. Should be nearly done after yours." I tell her. I click into my Matchmaking process, Esma and I both lean in reading the screen.

"20% mine is at. Yours is on 62%" I lean back.

Esma was right next to my ear, scanning the screen. she eventually leans back too in her chair.

~~~~

My iMatch buzzes on my wrist. I look down from the computer that Is almost complete with Esma's match.

"Hello?" I say as I answer the call.

"Hey, it's me."

"Esma?"

There was a second of silence before she replied. "No, the Easter bunny."

"Ah, definitely Esma then. Your sarcasm gives you away." I say leaning back.

"Ha. Ha. Look I want to let you know I'm literally on the verge of seeing Adam. I'm holding back every atom in me." she says. "I literally locked myself in the bathroom and threw the key under the door."

I raised my Eyebrows. "Pretty impressive, Yates."

"Hold up. Since when do you call me by my last name?" she questions.

"Since now?" I shrug, playing with the pen between my fingers.

"Whatever, I just need to be distracted."

I bit my lip. "Well I do know one way..."

"Everton, not that." I can hear her blush on the other side of the phone.

"Worth a try." I say smiling.

"You are so not funny sometimes." She mumbles.

"But I am sometimes? Thank you." I reply, spinning on my chair.

"You are more exhausting then Noah." Annoyance spins in her voice.

I spin my chair faster making myself dizzy. "Its so easy to make you angry."

"Maybe because you really like to stir the pot."

I stop the chair, letting my head spin. "You make it so easy."

"No, your just really irritating."

"Well its distracting you isn't it?" I ask smiling, regaining sight.

"Well I didn't ask you to annoy me in the process." She huffs.

"Naw, your cute when your angry, did you know?" I tease, looking back up to the computer screen. This time it flashes.

Her match is found.

"Ooh, well get ready, I'm about to be GOREGEOUS THEN." she yells.

I drop the pen in my hand. "You already are, but listen." My voice runs dry.

"Wait, what" She stutters.

"Esma its done. Your match is found." I say pressing print on the computer, not answering to her realising what I called her.

"Hold up, wait, what." She goes back down to quiet voice finally.

Not opening the papers, I put them straight in a folder to deliver to her. She should be the first one to open it if she chooses.

"I'll be there in ten." I say, ending the call and making my way back to the transportation pods.

I hold the folder in my hands wondering if my name is written in there. Wondering who's name is written in there. Once the pod lands outside Esma's house, I see her already walking up to me as I step out.

"Is that it?" She says in a hurry.

I nod.

"Did you read it?"

"No." I say handing it to her.

She stands there with her future in her hands. She doesn't open it. She wants to wait until she has forgotten the cupid world.

"It's crazy wanting to know something for so long, then when you have the chance to finally see it, you don't want to." She says, staring at the yellow folder.

"Tomorrow will be your last day." I tell her. "Then you'll know."

She nods.

I shift my feet, reaching behind rubbing my neck. "I know this is like a really serious moment but how did you get yourself out the bathroom?"

She looks up at me wide eyed, "Oh yeah." I follow after her as she walks quickly back into her house.

Once I catch up to her, I look down at the broken white door laying on the floor of the hallway.

"You kicked it down?" I say with my hands on my hips, raising my eyebrows at her.

"Well yeah." She tells me like I'm stupid, then tilts her head. "I couldn't get out otherwise."

I stare at her confused for a moment before going over to the perfectly working window behind the bath, sliding it open. I look back at her. "There's a window you know."

Her face changes to realisation to the fact that she is a bit... well dumb. Just a little. In a cute way.

"Well I wanted to do it the badass way." She defends herself. "Obviously." She adds.

"I see that. Because now I'll have to fix the door for you." I try not to smile at how cute she is sounding.

She gets her phone from her pocket. "I can get Adam-"

Welp, there goes the cuteness.

"No Adam, remember? You have your match in your hands. You need to hold out for one more day." I say taking her phone out her hands and putting it on the sink bench next to me. "Now come and help me pick up this door."

Five minutes later we were sat in the bathtub eating chocolate chip cookies staring at our makeshift door that was leaning against the frame.

"I mean, who needs a door? I'm the only one who lives here anyway." Esma throws her arms up.

"Go ahead. When I'm over I might cover my eyes." I smirk as she hits me on the shoulder.

"Well I think we have to get someone professional." Esma says, biting into her cookie.

"First you'll have to get a new door. It has broken hinges." I point out.

"You don't have to make excuses just because you couldn't fix it." She laughs.

I sit up straighter, "I am not."

"Sure." She bits down on her bottom lip.

"You literally kicked it and snapped the thingy's on the side." I wave my hand around trying to explain it.

"Thingy's?" She questions.

"Yes, where you screw it to the frame."

"Yeah I know the 'thingy's'. Just your choice of words was interesting." She stuffs another cookie in her mouth. The crumbs fall on her black thin top.

"Well do you know the scientific name?" I challenge.

She looks at me like I'm dumb. "I just kicked a door down instead of going out the open window, so do you think I would know what the 'thingy's' are called?"

"Exactly." I smile at her admitting that she didn't know the window was open in the first place.

Suddenly she shoves the yellow folder in my hands. "I want you to look at it."

I glance at her, thinking she's joking but she has the most serious look on her face.

"I can't, it belongs to you." I push it away.

"Please? Do this one thing for me. Before I forget." She shoves it back, I take it.

"Look at it before you hand it back to me tomorrow night. Please." She looks at me, her eyes tearing holes into mine. I blink.

"Okay." I didn't know what to say.

As much as I don't want to look at the papers, I don't want to turn her one wish down. The folder is cold against my fingers, an energy that I don't agree with. Something tells me my name is not on this folder. But I really hope it is.

Just for once I want to kiss her without worrying about the consequences.

"Only if." I say standing in the bath tub, reaching over to her phone.

My iMatch scans her phone, filling in the password and unlocking it.

"Well so much for security." She mumbles as she watches me.

I tap my way into contacts and click on Adams number. "Call him, tell him you can't see him again and delete his number."

She raises her eyebrows. "Now I know what he means by possessive boyfriends." she rolls her eyes dialling his number.

"Well lucky for him, I'm not your boyfriend. I need to protect you, and your match awaits. You don't need this Squid Brain."

She snorts out a laugh before the other line picks up.

"Hey Esma." Adams voice comes through.

"H-hey, Adam."

I nudge her as I sense the desire taking over.

She clears her throat. "I'm sorry its over, I don't want to see you again." then she hangs up before he replies."

"Oof, way to break a boys heart, Yates." I say as she deletes Adams number.

She takes a deep breath. "I had to do it quickly before I was gonna change my mind." Then she sighs staring at the contacts in her phone.

"Hey. You've got your match right here." I say, holding up the folder. "And he's not yours'."

She nods, taking another cookie from the jar taking a bite.

That night, I laid in bed in my small cottage, looking at the folder across my room. Esma was probably asleep by now at her apartment since it was nearly 1am. But I wondered if she was getting any sleep knowing today is the 30th day.

I wondered how the Desire arrow would work its magic on the last day. If she could handle it.

And if she would forget.

~~~~~~~~

How's everyone in quarantine?

Do you think Esma will forget or remember?

And who do you think is her match?