23rd ♬

The sky was gloomy. Everything about the white clouds, lucent shade of blue covering the firmament, and the staggering sun that came along with the package, made me feel that this day would be as grim as having a funeral in the family while someone was celebrating their birthday. That was exactly how I felt as I picked up my bag, which was grumpily printed with multi-colored flowers, and snuggled it against my shoulders.

Closing the door of my room, I heaved out a sigh. Unwillingness took over me as I remembered that I would see him again. It was a good thing, though—the greater part of it. If before, I wanted to hide from him, now, I felt that absolute want of seeing him again. In the process, I knew that I would be hurt, yet seeing him seemed to be worth the pain. That one thing that could put an end to that longing I felt whenever he was not around.

I was now officially weird. Labeled and proclaimed. Signed and done for.

Welcome, old school one-sided love affair. For the record, you were as true as all other kinds of love. You knew the joy and the ripping pain. That heartbreak that you never thought would feel so literal. Hi, I'd get to meet you again.

"Reese, can you get me a glass of water before you go?" asked Mom, who was sitting on the sofa and watching her favorite TV series.

Just a few days away from her term, she looked rounder than how she had been earlier this month. So many things had changed, and I guess I was dragged along in the process. If I looked at myself back then, I could almost say that the person I was a month ago was someone distant. My life right now was better, almost. But as the saying went, you could never have everything. Eventually, as those things had placed themselves to the rightful spots where they belonged, I lost a thing or two in the process, including the chance of being with him.

It was so sudden. Just when I was thinking about what I was feeling for him, someone came along and snagged my worries away. That was supposed to be a good thing, since the thing that I'd been dreading about was taken from me. But then, as it was removed from my mind, I felt empty. I was devoid to the point that it started to hurt every now and then.

"Sure," I replied as I headed to the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with water.

I overfilled the glass before I'd realized it. There was now a pool of water dripping down my feet. Drying away the mess with a cloth, I continued looking at The Wings of the Mighty Chicken outside, across the street. This one crazy ride was coming to its halt soon, dropping its passenger along, and making way for the newcomers, who were eager to take the ride of their life.

Handing the glass of water to my mom, I noticed Hayley's dog running around the Hamilton's yard. The sight itself added invisible lightning and inconceivable thunders to the current image that I had been seeing ever since yesterday morning.

"What are you looking at?" asked Mom, looking over to the direction where I was staring at. As soon as she saw the object of my attention, she muttered, "Oh, who's that dog?"

"The name's Leandra de Vaulte," I replied, trying to mimic the way Hayley informed me about the name of her dog. I ended up sounding like I was barfing instead.

"I didn't know that they had a new dog," Mom noted, taking a sip of water.

"And you don't want to know to whom that dog belongs to," I told her.

I was not into surprising my mom any moment soon. In fact, I was trying my hardest to be the best daughter she ever had, although the comparison would lead nowhere, since I was her only daughter after all.

"It's all pink," Mom said, laughing a little.

I breathed, twice, even. Before I said anything unnecessary, such as the disclosure of this girl's identity to my mother, I immediately told her, "I'm going now, or I'll be late for the rehearsal. Cad will be back any moment, so don't go around doing everything, okay?"

"Sure, sure. Go ahead and enjoy your night, honey," she answered, still looking at the pink dog rummaging the yard next door. "What time will you be back again?"

"I'm not sure. There's a party after our final rehearsal tonight. Mayor's treat," I informed her.

"Hope your little sister will give way to your performance tomorrow. I feel like she's coming out any moment soon," she said to me, looking apologetic all of a sudden.

"I'm sure she will be kind to me. I've been so good to the both of you. So do you have a name in mind for her?" I suddenly asked.

She opened her mouth a bit, before she composed herself and told me instead, "It's a surprise. But your father and I have something in mind."

"Oh, okay." I shrugged. "But can you please not make it Toblerone since she's a girl? It's weird if I have to call her Tob or Lerone and she's wearing something pink like that dog outside."

She laughed at my suggestion. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Cool," I replied, thinking that little sis would thank me for this later.

I still heard my mom laugh a bit more, before adding volume to the television. Finding my way out the door, Snickers greeted me with his usual licking of my legs. Gross. I told him, "Hi there, Snick. And don't do that to my legs."

Wiping his saliva with my left hand, I bent down and stared at the huge brown dog that was looking at me as if I was his dinner. I did the same, holding his vast dark eyes in my own, but not really thinking about eating him or anything. And after three seconds of nothingness, I blinked and had the grandest idea of all.

"Snickers, kill!" I ordered as I straightened my stand and pointed next door—to the innocent Leandra de Vaulte, who was happily playing with her little ball.

"Arf?" Snickers replied.

"Kill," I firmly said. "You know, eat her up or something."

"Arf?"

I narrowed my eyes in dismay, disappointed with the dog and also with myself. Here I was, thinking that the only way around was to kill her blameless dog. Hayley Collins was now officially my worst nightmare, replacing Brittany in the blink of an eye. And she really appeared in the wrong place and time, announcing to the world that she was here to support Jace in the midsummer concert tomorrow.

Bummer.

"Fine. Well, gotta go now, Snick. Why don't you go ahead play with that dog," I depressingly said to him. As he looked over to the direction where I'd carelessly pointed to, he understood me all of a sudden and started running over to Leandra. He was really running over to her, leaving me behind. Taking a deep breath, I added, "And you know what? You can date her too, for all I care!"

Now this was what I called being delusional. I was starting to treat Snickers as Jace. But how could he? How could he do all those things to me, when he already had a girlfriend back in Creeksburg? And he also invited her to the concert?

Maybe I misunderstood his intentions. I definitely saw wrong, 'cause reality came and made her grand entrance yesterday. And they had been inseparable ever since. He didn't even go to my post at the beach all day, like the way he did in the last few days before she'd arrived. Screw that stupid song that he made for her. It wasn't that good anyway. I sniffed. She could have that, as well as him, and I wouldn't give a single care.

Okay, so maybe that was untrue. I did care. A lot.

Bending my knees, I called over Snickers. He hesitated a bit, still playing with the pink pup. But regardless, when he saw how dead-serious I was, he came over after a while. I held him in the face and gnarled, "And you know, maybe you could make some other girl dog feel better, and then all of a sudden, announce that you already have a girlfriend dog, who is living oceans away. And then make sure to let her appear when that other girl dog is starting to feel something for you... again!" I felt his mouth open a bit, but I held it back and continued, "It's so frustrating that I'll kill you if you ever do that. Do you know how heartbroken that other girl dog is?"

After shaking his head furiously, I realized how insane I was. "This is so weird."

Then Cad appeared in our front yard, holding a bag of grocery in his hand. He disapprovingly asked, "Are you killing Snickers?"

Composing myself, I stood up and replied, "Nope, just telling him that dinner is coming."

"Ahh," replied Cad, walking over to where we were. "Since when did you become so affectionate with him?"

"Just now," I answered back, picking my bag again and sliding it over to my shoulder. In my mind, I thought, 'Since I started thinking of killing the poodle next door.'

"You're supposed to be in the rehearsal, right? Fritz will be mad at you again," Cad reminded me, handing over some food to his beloved dog.

"He's tolerable enough. I'm going now. You take care of Mom. Don't leave her alone," I reminded him, before heading out and walking over to Fritz's house.

A few blocks away from us, I slowed down my steps as much as I could help it. Jace and I had never talked to each other ever since Hayley had arrived. I could just imagine how awkward things would be, especially on my part. Or maybe it would only be awkward with me, and it would be nothing but normal for him.

For all of them.

Holding the door knob, I hesitated a bit. Would Hayley be here? I mean, she wasn't that bad. In fact, she was nice enough to talk to me and babble her life since she'd been here. The only thing that made me resent a little her was the fact that she was Jace's girlfriend. I was certain that if she was not, we would definitely get along well.

Then suddenly, the door abruptly opened, making me jump on my feet. My heart almost leapt from my chest, but was put at ease as soon as I saw who opened it. He was surprised as well, probably with my uncanny reaction. And now that we found ourselves in one familiar scene once more, we both laughed.

"Do you ever think we're meant to be?" Lucas kidded, opening the door for me.

"I don't think so," I answered, shaking my head a little as I stepped in.

"I saw you from the window and wondered what was taking you so long. But yeah, I don't think we're meant to be, either. I am well-informed that you belong to Jace," Lucas said as he closed the door behind me.

"Stop that, he already has a girlfriend," I said tightly. He paused for a while, studying my face. "What?"

He leaned to my ears, and whispered, "You're jealous."

"I'm not," I hissed, pushing him aside. Lowering my voice, I told him, "Why should I? And stop teasing me about it. Hayley might hear what you're saying."

"Oh, she's not around," he said to me.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. I'm not her babysitter or anything." Lucas shrugged with a worn-out smile. "But Jace is here, and he's eager to see you. Ahh, forbidden love is the best kind. And Drake is not here yet, so you're not that late."

The first person that my eyes saw when I entered the practice room was Fritz, much to my relief. We weren't really in good terms, but then he was the better option now. He raised his face and said flatly, "You're late. Two minutes."

I didn't dare look around, or even glance at the grandfather clock. Instead, I found myself taking a seat beside Fritz on the couch. Yes, beside him. I could feel heavy stares coming from that direction, where the clock was, which was also Jace's spot.

"Drake is not even here. We can't start without him. So technically, I'm not that late," I answered with uneasiness.

"Not for long, he's already here," announced Lucas from behind. I turned my head quickly to the hall, catching a glimpse of Jace, who was actually where I thought he was.

"Sorry, got caught up with..." Drake paused, looking back to the direction of the door, "someone."

"Hi guys!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

Of course. Life always went against me, so.

"Whoa! What are you doing here?" asked Fritz, astonishment resounding in his voice.

"Back here again. Feels good. Oh, and there's Reese," Hayley said as soon as she spotted me. For some unknown reason, she was gawkily friendly with me, like we had known each other for years.

Taking a seat beside me, I scooted closer to Fritz. And without even asking, Hayley clasped my hands in hers, eyes sparkling with joy. Now where was that coming from? And somehow, I managed to say, "Hi."

"I'm so excited to see you. Our talk this morning ended too soon, don't you think?" she asked me like she had no clue what was going on inside my head. And did she really mean it? We talked for freaking three hours straight.

I tried to smile, confused how she could be this clueless. Considering the fact that she might be, I had no idea how I should actually deal with her. It was not like I could bluntly tell her that I had some unresolved feelings for her boyfriend, so she better stay away from me as possible.

"Hayley, what are you doing out here?" asked Fritz, cutting off our conversation. And for the first time, I was thankful for his intervention.

"For the concert tomorrow," she immediately answered.

"Why?" Fritz asked again.

Hayley laughed a bit, an awkward one, actually. "I can't?"

"No, I mean, sure you can. After all, you're Jace's—"

"Well, Fritz, I know that you like Hayley, but she's Jace's girlfriend, remember?" Lucas went over to his side and held his mouth to prevent whatever he was supposed to say.

Struggling his way around, Fritz tried removing Lucas' hand from his face. But to no avail, Lucas managed to keep it in place and dragged him without even saying a word. He only smiled, looked at Hayley, and went outside, with him dragging Fritz along. That was really cool, since Lucas was only using his left hand to do all that. Unless he was faking his injury, he surely had superhuman strength like Claire.

"Fritz really liked me ever since he met me at this party a year ago," Hayley explained.

I just nodded.

Then I noticed that her purple beret was still holding a part of her dark locks back, letting only a bit of it fell softly on her face. I guessed that it must be her favorite cap. She never took it off, even though she had already changed her clothes. Dressed in a sleeveless summer dress and pink flip-flops, I wondered if this was the kind of girl Jace was into.

Soon enough, Leandra, her dog, came running around the room. I suddenly remembered what I was thinking about earlier, and how insane my thoughts had been. Waving at the impossibly cute little thing, I smiled and tried calling her by her name. She barked in response, in a not so friendly way. She must have heard my thoughts a while ago, and knew my hidden plans about her.

"How long are you planning to stay here?" I asked Hayley, trying to set aside the thought that I liked her guy. But it was hard, like every word sounded fake.

"Until Sunday, I guess. I think Jace will also leave after the concert, since he also has a lot of things to do back in Creeksburg," Hayley said to me. "It's only three days away. But it's not like he could help it. He really needs to leave in a few days, so he better tidy up things around here."

"Tidy things?" I suddenly asked.

"Um... you know, the concert?"

"Oh," I replied dully.

And then it sunk in. Like Hayley said, Jace would only stick around until Sunday. Which meant, I only had three days left to see him. And then after that, who knew when we would see each other again. Five years from now? Ten? When he got married to Hayley, and I was invited?

I shuddered.

For the first time since I'd arrived in this room, I glanced over to my left and saw Jace Hamilton. Really saw him. And surprising enough, he was looking my way. His gaze was definitely on me, 'cause on that same second I glanced, our eyes locked themselves into each other.

And then, in that same moment, it was as if we were the only ones in the room. His lips formed a smile, a heart-melting one. And together with that smile, his eyes warmed that I felt like a cat got into my throat at the sight.

"Where's Lucas and Fritz? You guys should be practicing," Hayley suddenly said, standing up on her feet and grabbing her dog. She looked around a bit, before she'd finally decided to leave the room and follow the two.

Jace stood up, walking toward my direction. I was telling my mind that he would not sit here. I was convinced that he would also go out and probably catch up with Hayley, until the moment that he had actually filled the empty space on the couch beside me.

Breathe, I reminded myself.

Our sudden—and unexpected—proximity made breathing such a tedious task. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Drake also stood up, eyed us meaningfully, and said flatly, "I don't know what the three of you are up to, but I don't think there was a need for that."

Drake stared at me for a while, as if he was persuading himself. This was the first time that he had directly paid attention to me. All this while, I had been non-existent in his sight, like thin air who knew how to talk. After several ticks of the grandfather clock, Drake nodded his head once, and walked out of the room.

Why did they all leave?

"Reese," Jace said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying to sound chill—not agitated—and calm. But then, that didn't happen. It was more like I squeaked, rather than talked. I would probably chirp the next time I'd open my mouth.

Jace smiled again, probably amused at how I could still be funny in this kind of situation. "It feels like it has been so long since we last talked."

That feeling like I wanted to snap at someone crept over my tongue. Imagining that he was Snickers, I grunted, "Probably because you hadn't talked to me since your girlfriend had arrived."

But really, he had to be in a car accident and hit his face first, before he could even look close to Snicker's face. He was too handsome for that. Just looking at him could take anyone's breath away, exactly like the way he took mine.

"Are you mad about it?"

"No!" I replied. "Of course not. Why should I care if you had a girlfriend back home, and she came here to watch your concert tomorrow?"

Jace had one amused look on his face. "You'll be coming to that party tonight?"

I half-heartedly nodded, thinking why he was making fun of me. Then a very disturbing thought came into mind. Maybe he was laughing because he found my denial so disturbing that he had concluded that I was nothing but hopelessly in love with him. Which I was. And the worse thing was, he had one beautiful girlfriend around here to tell me that we should only stay as friends. I was probably being punished for everything I'd done.

"I want to show you something at the party. Meet me at eleven in the fountain area?" Jace said, waiting for my answer.

I blinked. "What?" It was as if I entered a vacuum and heard nothing. Maybe it was because I was expecting it to be something like, 'What? You thought we could have been more than friends? And we were just a thing of the past. I never loved you anyway. Two truths. One lie. Remember?'

"Is everything okay? You look pale," Jace asked worriedly.

Realizing how stupid I must be looking right now, I gathered up my baffled mind and processed what he had said. From what I could remember, there was something about showing me something at something at something. Sheesh. Except for the something that my mind had recalled, everything else was blank.

"Jace," I started, amazed that I could speak. "Can you repeat what you just said, before asking if I was okay?"

"I said," he told me, "meet me at the fountain at eleven this evening."

"At the fountain. Eleven. This evening." I registered it in my bemused thoughts. It took a while, but it did sink in. Then after I regained sanity, I asked, "Why?"

Jace chuckled.

Then out of the blue, he got up and closed whatever gap our bodies had. And placing his hand gently on mine, he leaned in and his warm lips briefly touched my forehead. It was so sudden that he had caught me off guard. And in turn, it had stunned me in place, my body as still as a rock.

"Ahh! We have so many things to do. We should probably start with the last song. You guys haven't perfected it yet. After that, we will head out to the stage and practice again," I heard Lucas' voice coming from the hall.

After giving my hand a light squeeze, Jace composedly strode back to his usual spot, leaving me as the only one who was dumbfounded. I couldn't even move a single muscle. I tried seeing things as it happened, but nothing made any sense.

Fritz voice echoed from somewhere. "What's the title again? I keep on forgetting it."

"How can you be so dumb?" laughed Lucas. Footsteps fast approached the room, and I still hadn't resolved my mind.

"The Only One," it was Hayley's voice who answered Fritz's question. "A song that he dedicates for the love of his life."

"You mean you?" Drake astonishingly joined in the conversation. It still sounded so unthinkable that he was considering existing now. It must be the three days left to be together feeling that made him talk all of a sudden.

"Could be," Hayley answered.

And soon enough, they all appeared in the room, holding drinks in their hands. Taking their respective spots in the room, Hayley sat next to me. I glanced at her unknowingly, thinking that it had to be her. This was so wrong. She had to be the only one for him. Letting Leandra play around, Hayley turned to her side and faced me. She thoughtfully placed a cold orange juice in my trembling hands. And I couldn't even say a word in response, not even the words thank you escaped my mouth.

Because far beyond what was happening inside the room, with Lucas handing me a guitar and with Fritz holding his drum sticks in hand, my mind was thinking about something else. I heard Drake's fingers touch the keys, and instinctively, my fingers placed themselves on the strings.

And when I heard that strum coming from the lead guitar, I blinked and looked at Jace. As if he was reading my thoughts, he looked at me, too, and started singing the lines of The Only One. But instead of singing the first line, I heard him take a rough jump to the chorus.

Can you tell what I feel,

As I stare into those eyes of yours?

How my heart beats fast,

And nothing else comes close?

And then he grinned, taking his eyes off me. Then he signaled Fritz to start the beat of the first stanza. With that, the song went on. But a single question lingered in my head. Why did he kiss me? With no comprehensible reason why he did that, I only found my thoughts page blank once more, and my face burning like charcoals in an open fire.