25th ♬

I stared at Drake, for a good long while, in utter disbelief. I probably had the most laughable expression in history, because as I was doing so, Drake, of all people, had that pleased grin on his face. Repeating his words, I slowly echoed, "You mean, she's Jace cousin?"

"Uh-huh." Drake nodded. "Got that right."

"But how... why..."

He briefly held a hand up. "Don't ask me anything more than that. I have no idea why she suddenly said that she was Jace's girlfriend."

Although the fact that he was saying more than one sentence to me was surprising enough, my amazement was instantly replaced by confusion. Well, at least I was sure that Drake was saying the truth. I just knew that, with all those things that he had revealed to me, without even blinking. Drake was definitely telling me the real deal.

But, why? Why did they all pretend that Hayley was Jace's girlfriend?

There must be some cosmic reason for this whole thing. It couldn't be something that they did for fun, unless they all studied in Brittany's School of Making Reese's Life Miserable. There must be one good reason why Hayley came over—all the way from where she lived—and went here to pretend to be Jace's girl.

First emotion, checked—I was frustrated. For two days, I had been dreading about my sudden unrequited feelings and out of the blue revelation of a girl in his life. Standing from my seat, I stomped my foot in annoyance as I got down the high chair.

Alarmed with my sudden reaction, Drake instantly asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see Jace," I told him, slamming my hands on the table as I tried getting my heels out of the odd space between the wooden floor. It really had to be stuck now. After another attempt, which almost cost me to owe Claire a pair of boots, I somehow managed to snag the heel out.

"Maybe you don't want to ruin the surprise. It's only a little after ten in the evening. I'm sure that they're only halfway through with whatever they're doing," Drake reminded me, pointing to the wall clock above the back bar.

The fountain area. At eleven.

But could I really wait that long? I mean, after everything I'd learned just now, surely, I couldn't afford sitting here and not knowing the answer for all of it. Not now. And definitely not today. With such a little time I had, three days might pass in the blink of an eye.

"No, I don't think I can wait that long. And thanks for telling me all that," I said, smiling at him.

Although I was feeling frustrated, somehow, those frustrations were driven away by the thought that there might still be a chance for us. I suddenly remembered the way he had been acting toward me. It wasn't just because. He didn't seem to be the type that would play games, like Mason told me. Maybe all along it was because of that same reason, that Jace was feeling the same way, too. And with no Hayley in the picture, everything was starting to make sense.

"No prob," Drake casually replied.

As soon as I emptied the seat, another girl took it and started a conversation with him. Well, she did try to start it. For the rest, anyone who knew Drake could tell what had happened after. Shaking my head, amused at him, I started asking where the fountain area was.

"It's on the left side. Just take that door right ahead," said the waitress.

"Oh, okay. Thanks," I replied.

Bumping into someone here and there, I found my way past the hovering crowd. The loud music hadn't done anything good in my attempts to think over things. And I wasn't sure if the loud throbbing of my heart was due to the huge speaker banging at my right, or my response to the overwhelming feeling rushing over me.

Opening the door, the cool winds blew softly on my face. I inhaled a mouthful of air. True enough, I was nervous. In just a while, the moment I had been waiting for would finally happen. I could only place my hopes that everything would turn out well. Just for this single night, I wanted things to be perfect.

But then, with me dropping by at the fountain area an hour before that surprise, would that really be a good idea? Something was telling me that maybe it wasn't. And I was about to heed to my intuition, when someone grabbed me from my side.

"What are you doing here?" a shrieking voice asked.

Looking to my right, I saw Hayley in another set of clothes, gorgeous may I add, astonished by my sudden appearance around the place. With a perplexed voice, I replied, "I'm here to see Jace?"

"Not now!" Hayley exclaimed. "Can't you wait just a little while? Please?"

The apprehensiveness in her voice started to sink in. I should really wait for whatever that surprise was. They were all convinced that I was supposed to meet him at eleven, not earlier of course. Talk about ruining someone else's plan.

Blinking twice, I suddenly remembered the scheme that they had all been playing. "You pretended to be his girlfriend!"

She seemed surprised. Clearly, this was not what she was expecting. Then she said slowly, while trying to perfect a smile on her face, "Wh...at?"

"Drake told me everything. He said that you're Jace's cousin," I said to her.

"Drake?" I heard her say back his name. And she stayed silent for a while, unable to say a word. Then slowly, her lips formed into a smile once more. This time it was more relaxed. In another moment, she was laughing, hard.

I anxiously smiled myself, and also tried to laugh. But it wasn't until I realized that I shouldn't be laughing at all. I was actually here to confront them! "So it's true?"

Hayley held my arm with her shaking left hand as she composed herself. I could tell that she was having a good time, a good laugh. "Sorry," she mouthed, catching my eyes. Although she sounded contrite, Hayley didn't stop laughing, though.

"But why?" I asked her. A good and solid reason was everything I was asking for. They should have one if they wanted me to go easy on them.

Hayley led me to the sides, and I took a seat beside her in one of the empty benches around. Scooting closer to me, she held my hand as she told me, "I'm really sorry for posing as his girlfriend. It's true that he's my cousin. And that's also why I'm staying with them."

I felt relieved to hear the words from her. Not only did she proclaim that she was his girl, she was also staying next door—at the Hamilton's residence. And those things drove me, well, aside from some other things that they did. Come on, they cuddled at the beach—in front of my eyes—and they held hands and such. It was funny to think about it now, since they were indeed related. I mean, wasn't it supposed to be awkward or anything?

"So the holding hands and..." I carefully asked.

"They were fake. Jace just went along with our plan," Hayley answered. "We grew up together for the most part. He's like my brother, a close one. And we used to live in one house before, at our grandmother's place. I lived with her ever since my parents died in an accident. And swear, ever since Jace moved here, he always talked about you."

"He talked about me? Wait, so you're Collins?" I doubtfully asked. Jace mentioned her before—the cousin who grew up with him at their grandmother's place before.

"He calls me that most of the time. And yes, I even feel like I know you so much. He usually asked me for advice. So when Lucas called me, saying that you haven't made up your mind yet, I told him that I'll be coming over to help out," she spoke with so much enthusiasm that I felt like forgiving her right there and then.

"So by helping out, you mean..." I uttered.

"Yes, pretending. You know, I am a girl. And if a guy I like, and sort of liking me back, suddenly goes out with some other girl, I will freak out," Hayley paused. "You did, right?"

"Did what?" I repeated.

"Got jealous about it?"

"Well, sort of. I mean, I didn't expect it at all."

She wildly smiled when I said that. Then she muttered, "Then our plan was a success."

"Wait," I hushed her. "What do you mean by that?"

"By now, I'm almost sure that you already realized how much you really like him," Hayley said confidently. I wasn't sure how to respond so I didn't answer. Then she added, "Don't tell me that you're still thinking about it."

"No," I hurriedly replied. "I'm just nervous about this."

"Why? It's Jace. It's not like you don't know him enough. And besides, he really likes you," she said to me. "There's no need to worry about anything. I know you've been through a lot. But you can trust him. I'll give you my word on that."

Nodding a bit, I found myself smiling as well. "But you still won't let me see him until eleven?"

She checked her cellphone and answered, "It's only several minutes away."

"So what is he planning to do?" I tried asking her.

"It's a surprise! If I tell you, you won't be surprised anymore. It's really a good idea that I stood here on guard. I must admit that Lucas sure knows a lot of things."

"Right." Then suddenly, my phone started ringing. Seeing who the caller was, I looked at her and said, "I'll just answer this. It's from my brother."

"Sure," Hayley nonchalantly replied.

I stood up and walked a bit away from Hayley, just in case my brother would say something funny and I had to raise my voice. Answering the call, I said, "What's going on?"

"What took you so long to answer? Mom's in the ambulance," Cad said quickly.

"What happened?" I hurriedly asked.

"She's in labor. Dad's still stuck in traffic. Reese, I don't know what to do. Can you hurry over to the hospital?" he said to me with a shaking voice.

"Just calm down. It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be fine. I'll be there in a minute," I told him. This was the first time I heard him sound so desperate for me to be there with him. It must have scared him a lot for him to act this way.

I looked back to Hayley who gave me a worried look in response. "Is there something wrong?"

"My mom's in labor. I have to go to the hospital. I..." I gave it a thought. "And please tell Jace that I'm so sorry. I'll talk to him later."

Hayley nodded a bit, understanding what I'd meant. Without waiting for another second, I was running out of the place. And luckily, there was a cab that passed the same second that I came out.

On my way to the hospital, I tried calling Claire, but my hands were badly shaking and I couldn't even hold my phone steadily. Clutching my phone in my hand instead, I silently prayed for my mom to be all right.

When I got to the hospital, I went to the information and asked if my mother was already brought in. They pointed me to the emergency room. With aching feet, I started running to the emergency room. Taking off my heels, my eyes scanned the room. And soon after, I spotted my mom in one corner, a nurse attending to her.

"Mom!" I called out, rushing over to her side.

"What's with that worried face? I'm okay. It's not like I'm dying. I'm just in labor, Reese," Mom said wearily.

"I got worried. Cad sounded so shocked that I thought maybe something bad had happened," I said.

"Save it for later. It's just starting, but I'll be admitted soon. And I think your dad will be here any moment now." She was taking deep breaths.

"Okay. I'll call him. Where's Cad, by the way?" I asked, looking around and starting to wonder where my brother was.

"He's outside. I told him to cool his thoughts. He really freaked out a while ago. I feel sorry for him. Maybe you could help him clear his head," Mom suggested.

"You're going to be fine here?" I asked.

"Of course," she said.

I headed out of the emergency room. I looked around the place, but Cad wasn't around. I tried calling him. As soon as he picked up, I asked, "Where are you?"

"Up here," Cad replied.

"Where?"

"At the rooftop," he said.

"What are you doing there?" I snapped. "You're not supposed to be there."

"Just come up, okay?" Cad told me, before hanging up.

I sighed, making my way toward the elevator. I pressed the seventh button. I couldn't believe that he was really up there, when Mom was down there in the first floor. In labor.

Soon enough, the door opened. Getting out of the elevator, I headed to the stairs, looking around the place. It was kind of creepy since the steps were dimly lit and no one was around. Well, time check, it was a little before eleven. This wasn't the time to be loitering around the place.

And the abrupt realization of the time reminded me of Jace's surprise. I suddenly felt like crying. Why was fate so cruel to me? I mean, the conflict was finally resolved, and then all of a sudden, this?

Opening the steel door, I stepped out in the open area. The place was empty actually. No one was allowed to go in here in the first place. There was no sign of Cad around, either. I was about to dial his number, when my phone started ringing instead. And the caller ID showed his name, and of course, there was the freakish ringtone that I still wasn't able to change.

"Hello?" I hesitantly answered.

"Hi there," Jace said on the other line. I swear, my heart almost jumped out of my chest when I heard his voice. "I called Cad and asked if he could make you go to the rooftop. He's back with your mom now, so you don't need to worry about him."

"You did?"

"I was planning to tell you something tonight, but I guess the timing was off," Jace said lightly. I could almost picture him in my mind, as he was walking around the fountain area. He sounded disappointed, too. But it wasn't like we could help it, either.

"I'm so sorry for ruining your surprise," I apologized.

"It's not your fault, so don't feel sorry about it. And you haven't missed it yet, maybe a bit of it but not everything. I really want to say it to you right now, but I'm thinking that maybe it's better if you hear it in person," Jace said to me.

"I haven't missed it? Did I get that right?" I repeated, thinking why he said that. Surely, I wasn't at the fountain area right now.

"Yes, the party is not that far from the hospital, so you can still see it from there."

"What am I..." I was about to ask him what I was supposed to see, when all of a sudden, the skies lit up with sparks of light. The different colors traced the dark horizon, giving light, just enough to make someone's breath uneven by the sight.

It was beautiful.

I found myself walking closer toward it, only to be stopped by the railing. Placing my hand on the cold railing, I stared at the display of fireworks in front of me. With every sound it made and all those glints it displayed, it took my breath away. So this was what he was planning to show me. I wondered how perfect it could have been if I was there with him right now.

"Reese, are you looking at it?" Jace asked. I could almost hear the sound of the fireworks from the other line.

"Yeah, how could I miss it? It's, like, in front of me. So amazing," I breathed.

"Wish you were here," Jace suddenly said.

"Metoo," I murmured, but it was loud enough for him to hear what my heart had beensaying all along. "Jace, me too."