"What's this?" Sidney asked as she was reading the note that I gave to her. The paper wasn't really special because it was just a simple blue sticky note, but what was written on it was surely special enough for me to get excited about it.

It was already lunch and Sidney and I were eating together in the cafeteria. She decided to have a macaroni soup, which was stupefying because she usually orders something heavy, while I just got meatball spaghetti.

I shrugged after I devoured a fork of the pasta. "Just a little poem." I said with a smile, which I guess I had some meat sauce on my face because Sidney chuckled at me.

I wrote the little poem when I was in one of my classes because I just couldn't stop thinking about her, and well, because I had a blue sticky note and a pen on both of my hands.

She eyed me. "Is this because I told you last night about what I read in To All The Boys I've loved before by Jenny Han?" She asked suspiciously.

"Maybe." I teased, because she was right. Another reason was because last night she told me that the guy on the book gave the girl a note everyday. "Just read it already."

She groaned. "Okay, okay! Jeez." And so, she read the note.

I couldn't stop thinking about you
About your eyes that sparkled like the stars
But also when they cried some tears
Because I knew I gave you those scars

But please just know that I will love you
Through all the obstacles we will pass
You were my best friend, but now you're more
You are my first, and will be my last

She looked at me with a mix of shock and happiness on her face and she hugged the note the way she hugged me. "Ed, you didn't have to."

I smiled at her. "Well, I had to. I just couldn't stop thinking of you." I honestly said. Then, I smirked because I thought of something. "Do you think Apollo will be proud of me?" I asked with a grin.

She chuckled. "Maybe." She shrugged. "Maybe Gunner will be proud of you too."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who?" I asked.

She slapped her forehead. "Oh yeah, I forgot you never read The Selection series." She chuckled and I shook my head at her being a fangirl. I never read the series, because well, it was about a prince and a princess, and as a guy it wasn't just my thing.

A few minutes later, when I finally finished eating my lunch, the bell rung signaling that lunch break was finally over. Sidney and I said our goodbyes as we went to our own classrooms.

The rest of the day passed out like a blur. It was the very first time that I got bored in a class, and that never happened in high school. Maybe I just missed Sidney so much, or the teacher was just really boring. His voice was so low and little than even though I sat on the second row I still couldn't hear it.

After my last class for the day, I went to the Faculty Office to pass a project to Mr. Tames. When I got inside, I bumped the door to someone that all the books she was bringing fell on the floor. At first, I was afraid (I was terrified🎶 kidding) that I had bumped a teacher, because if I had I would've been in so much trouble.

But instead, it was Zoe who I had bumped. Being a gentleman that I was, I kneeled down to help her with the books. "I'm sorry, Zoe." I said to her as I started picking up.

She looked shocked, like she didn't expect me to help her at all. "It's ok....okay." She stuttered and started picking up as well too fast that it was like she was in a hurry.

I tilted my head at her. "I'm not being awkward, am I?" I asked curiously, remembering how she had asked me why I acted awkward towards her a lot of times.

Finally, she bursted out laughing. She shook her head. "No. I was just surprised." She said.

I nodded in understanding. "Oh okay. Good." I said and chuckled. "I was worried that y..."

I was cut by the door slamming on my back which almost knocked me to the floor. I managed to not throw the books from my hand, but my back hurt so bad I groaned. It was like I got bumped by a bulldozer on my back. Don't worry. I was just exaggerating. Or not.

"Zoe, Dylan," Mr. Tames said looking down at both of us. "What the hell are you two doing on the floor?" He asked in confusion.

Zoe and I immediately stood up. "We're sorry sir." She said to him speaking for the both of us. "We bumped each other and the books I was holding fell on the floor." She tilted her head to the books still on the floor.

Mr. Tames nodded his head in understanding. Then, he turned to me. "Dylan, is your project ready? I still have to finish your grade."

I nodded. "Yes, it's in my backpack." I said. I handed the books to Zoe as I took out my project from my backpack. I then stood up handed it to him. He said a thank you and went to his table. Finally, I turned to Zoe and kneeled again to finish picking up the books before another teacher injures me on my back. "What's with the books?" I asked her out of curiosity.

"It's for Ms. Gardener." She muttered. "I passed my research paper late so she said that if I bring all these books back to the library, she'll accept it."

I raised my eyebrow. "Is that even allowed? Or legal?" She only shrugged and chuckled. I took two-thirds of the books she was holding. "Then let me help you."

"Are you sure?" She asked and I nodded. "Okay. Whatever."

On the way to the library, Zoe and I kept talking about important and unimportant things. Honestly, she was fun talk to with. She wasn't like the girls back in high school that would always laugh and nod to everything I say, even though I just said something pretty stupid and plain. Like when they said that my shirt looked good on me and I said, 'Thanks. It's my favorite shirt,' they would laugh so hard and slap my shoulders playfully like I just said the funniest joke in the universe. Then I would walk away from them without saying a word and they would shout to me, 'See you tomorrow!' and I just reply them in my mind, 'Please never talk to me again!'

I regretted acting awkward to Zoe. She would've been a nice friend. I couldn't get any happier that Sidney ended up getting her as a roommate, just like how happy I was that I got Harry. If Sidney and I ended up with different roommates, I couldn't even imagine our life on college.

"Really?" I asked Zoe in shock. We were already on the second floor so the library was just a few rooms away.

She nodded. "Yeah. You should take Sidney there sometimes." She suggested. "The rides are really fun and you wouldn't feel like an adult at all."

I hummed. "Are they open on weekends?" I asked.

"They're open everyday. From one in the afternoon up to ten in the evening." She informed me.

I nodded. "I'm probably going to take her there." I said.

"She's going to love it there." She said as we stepped inside the library. Zoe and I stopped talking once we were inside because, well, it was a library.

Luckily, the librarian wasn't like one those stereotypes in movies and films because she was pretty nice. She was in her late 40's, I know this because I asked her once, but you could think of her being 33 years old or something. She had a long and wavy dark brown hair, her face was a little bit oval-shaped, her eyes were sea-green, and she always wore this dark red lipstick that made her more sophisticated that looking old.

"Hey, Ms. Frazier!" I greeted as we passed by her. She replied with her usual sweet smile and waved at me.

"Do we just give it to Ms. Frazier, or return it to the stacks one by one?" I asked Zoe, referring to the books.

She sighed. "Ms. Gardener said that I should return them to the stacks myself so I wouldn't bother the librarian." She groaned and rolled her eyes. "It's like she's punishing me. I promise to try to pass my paper next time." She snorted.

We both returned our books to their proper stacks, and it was like my eyes spun from all the books I had to look at. The library was so big, I couldn't even think of how many books were there. Of course I knew that there were much bigger libraries in the world, with the British Library as the library with the most number of items, but I had never been there so our own school's library amazed me.

"You look like you would want to live here." Zoe pointed out as I placed the last book at the far end of the library. She finished returning her books so fast, she got it done when I was only halfway through. And then I remembered than I took two-thirds of the books so of course she would've finished it faster than me.

"If given the chance, I would live here." I said. All day access to books? Why not, right?

She placed her finger under her chin and tapped it as if she was thinking. "Even if living here means that you'll be away from Sidney?" She asked, raising her probably newly shaped eyebrow.

I groaned. "Why make it harder?" I complained. "Of course I would rather live in my tiny dorm room with Harry than living in this paradise land of books without Sidney."

She chuckled at me. "Oh hey. Are you auditioning for the play?" She suddenly asked.

I shrugged. "I was thinking about it, but you know, maybe there are other great actors here in Baron that I wouldn't even stand a chance." I said because it was true. Who knew, right? Maybe there were students in my school that dedicated their whole life in acting and were really good with it and will probably be future hollywood actors.

"Oh come on. There's no harm in trying." She said. "And... Didn't you know that the lead actors get extra big points in their final grade?"

I glanced at her warily. "Really?" I asked and she nodded. "That's tempting, really. Extra points would really help me. But I should talk to Sidney about this first."

"Okay. But the points will really help you."

I sighed. "I know."

...

"Wait, you're asking me to act on a play?" Sidney asked with wide eyes.

I nodded. "Yes. Plus, it's Cinderella, and I know you love Cinderella, Sid." I added so she would actually consider it. I knew that if I ever did get a part on the play, we would practice a lot of times, and that would mean less time with her. So maybe if we both get a part in the play, we could still spend some time together during practices.

Her shoulders slouched and she pouted like a cute little kid. "I don't know. I was never really a fan of theatre, Ed." She said.

"I know, I know." I said, but I actually didn't know. When I did theatre back in high school, she would always be there to watch me, and after the show she would tell me how amazing I was and how much she loved the play. I never thought that she hated it. "But please, Sid. For me." I made puppy eyes, because it was the thing that I knew she couldn't resist.

She looked at me for a moment, probably debating with herself if she should say no to me or if she should fall for my cute puppy face. Finally, she groaned. "Fine, fine. I'll audition." She said unhappily. "But don't expect me to be happy while auditioning." She pointed a finger at me.

I rolled my eyes at her. "You'd make a beautiful Cinderella, Sid. Trust me." And with that I took her hand and held them like they were the most precious things I've ever held. "But honestly, you don't need to be Cinderella to have a 'Happily Ever After', because I promise you, Sid, I'll give it to you."

She looked at me with teary eyes, and I noticed that she was breathing fast. And to tell you, so was I.

I didn't say Happy Ending because I hated the word Ending. Saying it was like dying happily. Ending. When a character gets happily married, you can't possibly call it a happy ending, because when the movie ends, they still live a life. Of course they're just characters and they won't live after the movie, but with a person's imagination, they can. It's not supposed to be a Happy Ending. It's supposed to be Happily Ever After, because even when the movie ends, they can still live a happy life after that in a person's mind.

But it's just my point of view.

I know. I'm a guy and I talk about Happy Endings and Happily Ever Afters. I blame Sidney for making me watch fairytales when we were kids and blackmailing me that if I don't watch it she'll pour a pail of water on my head. Of course, I blackmailed her on watching Football games too.

"You're making me blush, Eddy." She said and chuckled. At first, I thought that she chuckled because I made her blush, but then I realized what the reason was.

I grinned. "What if I call you Siddy?" I asked.

She made a thinking face. "I kind of like it." She finally said. "It's like you took out the N to my name. I think I like that my original name."

I raised an eyebrow. "You actually like it?" I asked her.

She smiled at me like she just won. "Yes."

I smirked at her. "Then I'll call you Sidney instead." I said to her and laughed.

She punched my arm playfully and pouted like a kid again. "I hate you."

I laughed and hugged her in my arms. "Yeah, I love you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I actually enjoyed writing this chapter 😂

Riptide by Vance Joy on the Multimedia section. 💕

Z.