The tension right now is like an onion. It just keeps on layering and layering and layering. A plastic butter knife can cut it right now. I was contemplating what to say, but now that I'm approaching her right now, I feel like I forget everything that I was worrying about. It feels like swift amnesia when I see her face again.

When I see Sophia's face and focus on it, I realize that I missed her more than I admit. I thought that I just wanted to make things up and let us be happy. Those thoughts were so wrong.

I never realized how much I craved her throughout those two weeks. I missed her brown eyes that warmed me up like a gentle log fire. I missed her soft skin against mine when I put my arms around her. I missed the rosy lips that I used to crash mine against and devour. I just wanted to embrace her and just forget everything that happened. But, I couldn't. Self control was key. A lot more than anyone could handle.

"What did you want to talk about, Ray?" she asks. I gulp.

"Sophia, I know you said you wanted space, but I just had to do this. I don't even think the word 'sorry,' can make up for anything that I did. Gosh, no amount of 'sorrys,' can make up for the words I said and what I did. I felt like absolute horse crap when I realized the severity of my words. I know you want space, and I'm willing to give you as much of it as you want, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm so sorry for everything that I've done. I really am sorry, and I hope you know that," I say, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

I did it. I expressed my carefully chosen words to her, to let her know of how sorry I was. Sophia gulps a little bit, and her hand flies up to tuck a dark lock behind her ear.

"Ray, I hope you realize how much you hurt me inside with your words. You said some things that you shouldn't have. I'm so confused," she says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you confused?" I ask. She sighs. "I was so confused over these three weeks. I didn't know whether to go talk to you, or to just let you cool off a little bit more. You were so angry that day, and I didn't want to anger you any more," she tells me.

"Bel- Sophia, I'd never get mad at you to hurt you. If I ever get mad at you, then you can slap me. You would have never angered me that way. I actually wanted to talk to you," I say. She sighs.

"I know, but I needed some space. I was such a wreck after the fight. Rob, Henry, Vince, and Sonia all had to calm me down. It was nasty," she says, and I sigh.

Well, that just tears me up a little bit more inside.

"Ray, can I ask you a question?" she asks me. She looks like she's itching to ask me a question. She really wants to get it off of her chest because it's been bugging her so much.

"I'm an open book, Sophia. What is it?" I ask. Sophia gulps a little bit.

"Did you cheat on me?" she asks. My eyes widen to the size of saucers. If I ever do that, tie me to a chair, slap me, and interrogate me until you find out who sold me weed. Cheating on Sophia is the last thing I would ever do. Even if I consider it, I mentally slap myself to get back into my senses.

"Of course not! Cheating on you is something that I would never even think of. Why do you say that?" I ask. Sophia's hand dives into her pocket, and she pulls out what looks to be a piece of crumpled paper.

"Rob and Henry got this from Randy, who found it in one of your pockets. Care to explain?" she asks. I unfold the note, and I read what appears to be hastily scribbled on it. When I read the contents, shock stings the insides of me. I couldn't believe someone had written me this kind of note. I was shocked, but rather angry as well. Someone had the nerve to do that when I was clearly taken.

"Bel- Sophia, I would never do this to you. I don't know who wrote this, but I'd never do it to you. Just know that," I say. Sophia raises an eyebrow at me.

"Ray, since the first few notes, how long have you been getting love notes?" she asks. I bite my bottom lip when she poses that question. It's not something that I'm too keen on answering, because I don't want her to worry or get upset. It's the last thing I want her to do at this moment.

"It's been going on for a month or two," I tell her honestly. I feel Sophia gasp a little bit.

"A month or two? I thought it was just a few love notes. I thought they had stopped, because you had stopped telling me about them," she says. I shrugged.

"They just kept on coming. I thought you knew," I tell her. She shakes her head.

"Nope. Clearly not. Ray, you have to be honest with me. You can't just assume that I know everything, even though I wish that was reality. Honesty is one of the number one things that has to be present in order for us to work. I'm on your side. I wasn't going to get too mad. I just wanted you to be honest with me," she says, with hurt running through her voice. I sigh.

"I know. I'm sorry, Sophia," I tell her. Sophia rubs the back of her neck with her hand.

"I'll think about it, Ray. I'll definitely give you an answer on your apology," she says, and she swiftly walks back to an impatient Sonia. Well, I guess this is a start. Now, here comes the worst part. Waiting for an answer.

When I get home, the first thing I'm greeted with is Randy's face. I stop straight in my tracks, and I look at him.

"Are you okay? Why are you guarding the door like you're the FBI wanting to question me about an armed robbery?" I ask. Randy raises an eyebrow.

"I really hope you talked to Sophia," he says. I hold up my hands.

"Wow, okay. You're really keen on that. Yes, I talked to Sophia. Why are you so concerned about that?" I ask, putting my things down. He sighs.

"Because it's Sophia. I saw how hurt she was on that day. I was hoping your doofus of a self would finally fix things. Thankfully, you did, so that's great," he says. I scoff.

"Yeah, thanks. In the meantime, I have to wait for her reply," I say.

For the next hour or two, I'm just doing homework and doing some last minute coordination. I want prom to be the most memorable night of our lives, because this is the night of eternal memories for all of us.

While I'm jotting down some notes, the familiar ring of our doorbell echoes throughout the house. No one really visits our house around this time. Either it's a businessman trying to sell us something, Anthony has come to beat my face in, or Sophia came with an answer.

I really hope it's the latter. We already have everything we need in the house, and my face is too beautiful to be bashed in.

I sit up, and I strut my way to the door. I open it, and surely enough, Sophia is standing there, with a happy look on her face. I smile.

"Hey, Sophia. Come in," I say, and Sophia enters our house. My mom comes out of the kitchen, with her oven mitts on and her hair pulled up into a loose ponytail.

"Hi, Sophia. How are you?" she asks. Sophia shrugs.

"Better than usual. How are you?" she asks. My mom shrugs, as she dusts the spices off of her clothes.

"Things are a bit unusual, to say the least. But at least everything's a bit better," she says, and before Sophia can reply, my mom hurries back into the kitchen. I look back at Sophia.

"Everything okay?" I ask. Sophia hands me her phone, and there's a voice message open on it.

"Listen to it," she commands, and I press the "play" button. When it starts to play, two familiar voices start to speak.

"Come on, Mom. Say it," the voice of Anna says. I can hear my aunt Basia sigh.

"Fine. Sophia, I'm sorry for insulting your brother and you in general. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Ray has a wonderful girlfriend. I'm also sorry for being the cause of your fight. He deserves a person like you, and I hope you're happy with him," she says. When she says that, the voice recording stops, and I look back at Sophia. Sophia is standing with a satisfied look on her face, and she starts to laugh a little bit.

"This is great, Sophia! I'm glad," I say, and Sophia smiles even more.

"I also have an answer. I realized that I shouldn't hold a grudge on you for this. Even though I was kind of reluctant to do it, I realized that fights happen. Relationships get messy sometimes. Sonia talked me into the fact that the grudges are unnecessary, Ray," she says. Hope fills me up quicker than a bathtub.

"Am I forgiven?" I ask. She nods.

"Yes, you're forgiven," she says. Without any further comment, I crash my lips onto hers, and I melt into her once again. Oh man, it feels so good to have her back. I was an idiot and I almost let her get away from me so many times. Now, I have her back and I can embrace her again.

"Ray, just don't ever say those things to me again," she says. I nod.

"Of course. Of course," I say, and she smiles.

"Also, we're nominated for Prom King and Queen. What do you think?" she asks. I smile.

"All I know is that prom is going to be something special," I say, while I continue to let happiness swell up inside of me.

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Yay! They made up! Do you think Sophia should've accepted Ray's apology? Let me know in the comments.

Hey everyone! How are you all? Also, happy pride month! June is Pride Month, and I'm excited.

Also, heads up, the Q&A chapter will be published right before the last chapter. I thought I should let you guys know.

That's pretty much it. Hope you all liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/ message/ follow if you like my work! See you all next Sunday with a new chapter of I Never Imagined! Have a great week!

Love you guys,

Shree