The next morning, I woke up feeling like a stranger in my parents' house. Which was weird, considering I didn't feel at home living in California with Aunt Sophie either. She'd been the main reason I loved Berkeley. When I was a little girl, she took me to the campus for different activities. She was my favorite person in the world, with her love for the arts and eclectic tastes, never caring where she was or who to impress. The coolest aunt ever.

She owned a duplex house and offered to move her art studio from the basement, so I could have a space of my own. It was fair to say that my tiny loft was colorful and filled with abstract art, and despite being independent from her house, it still didn't feel like mine. It was my aunt's house. That was as clear as the air we breathe.

Yet, my old room wasn't mine anymore. As soon as I left for college, Haley, one of the twins, had moved to it. Mom had kicked her out for the time I was staying back home, something that my tempestuous little sister didn't appreciate much.

Trying to ignore the uneasiness in my stomach, I made my way towards the kitchen, where a whole batch of burnt microwave brownies were laying on the counter. Don't ask me how my sisters had managed to burn them, and it was a nice gesture, even though they were hardly edible. I swear I heard my teeth crack last night when I tasted one.

The house felt too quiet. I seized the opportunity to grab half of the tray and hide them inside the trash can. Everyone, including my sisters, would thank me for that later. Mom had left a sweet note on the counter for me since the whole family had to leave early in the morning. Dad worked in a construction company and he'd finally gotten the raise he'd always deserved but that meant more work hours, too. Mom was a nurse and was scheduled to do an internship at Boston's Children Hospital for the summer, starting today. Since I had to get ready for the wedding, she'd taken my sisters to work, so I could have the house to myself.

Last night, while we had dinner, I offered to help them out during the week. I was set to drive my sisters to summer school before going to the summer class Mom had signed me up. She'd found out about a photography class and signed me up, knowing that I always wanted to learn more about it. Both my parents expressed their gratitude and it felt nice to do something for them.

After my coffee and toast breakfast, I washed my dishes and went to my parent's room to get the dress Mom was lending me for the wedding, feeling all queasy inside, knowing too well that I couldn't blame the brownies for that one.

Despite it all, I was really excited to see Cassie. Especially since her text this morning. I smiled. We'd been best friends ever since I moved from Colorado to Boston two years ago. I'd been the new girl, and she was the shy, mysterious one. We didn't click immediately, but our friendship was a result of my stubbornness.

For real.

I met her in my first day of school. She was next to the only free seat in English class. I remember taking out my notebook, like the usual geek I've always been, when I glanced at my left, and found this beautiful brown-haired girl who looked like she was more lost than me. She seemed so sad, so lonely, that I decided to befriend her immediately. Granted, it hadn't been easy. I followed after her like a lost puppy for the first two weeks, every day talking about my life to no end, but she eventually warmed up to me.

To this day, I was glad I did. Cassie was one of the sweetest and bravest girls I'd ever met. She went by such a difficult time, but she pulled through and she wasn't scared to share her story with others. Okay. She was. Terrified. She confessed it once, but that just proved how brave she really is.

Today, her father was getting married to one of her Mom's best friends. Which is as hard as it sounds. They started to date a few months after her Mom died, something that took a lot of understanding from her, and everyone else around her, me included. However, Marie was great, they got along pretty well now. Though, Cassie had moved to New York to live with her boyfriend, making it easier for everyone.

Nathan, her boyfriend, had proposed to her this morning, Cassie had texted me an hour ago. Smooth, Nathan. It was a great way to keep her mind off the wedding itself. I swear those two were couple goals. As soon as the thought popped into my head, I frowned.

Didn't Cassie say the same to me once when I was dating Chris?

Sighing, I grabbed the fitted off-the-shoulder beige dress I'd picked through Skype with Mom and walked to the bathroom to get a shower and get ready.

***

I'd barely made it on time for the wedding. It was held on a beautiful garden that overlooked the city. The place was overflowing with elegant white roses bouquets. Cassie asked me to find her in the main building, in the junior suite with Marie since she was her maid of honor. The concierge led the way, and as soon as I knocked on the door, my heart, bursting out of my chest with anticipation of finally seeing my best-friend after so long. As soon as the door opened, the sweet smell of roses assaulted me. There were several bouquets adorning the room, but I hardly paid them attention.

Cassie was glancing outside the window as I came in. I greeted Marie, who was looking stunning in her white sleek dress, and as I was pulling away from her, my best friend tackled me with a bear hug.

"I missed you so much!" she said as we were still holding each other. My eyes brimmed with tears. Me too, Cass. You have no idea.

We skyped and emailed each other constantly, but that couldn't replace having your friend in person. Her blue eyes were teary as we pulled apart, too.

"You guys can't cry or I will too!" Marie quipped us as I sniffed, still smiling like a dork at my friend.

"I don't like California anymore," Cassie grabbed my arm, pulling me to the window. "It stole you away from me."

My heart soared at her words. They felt heavy and true. "I know," I shook my head, "being back home is making me feel like maybe I shouldn't have gone in the first place." Cassie's blue eyes softened as a small grin played on her face. "But you don't really miss me, Cass! I mean, you've got Nathan and all that!"

She chuckled, but couldn't answer me back since the wedding planner poked her head inside the room and announced that it was time for the ceremony to start. As we were heading downstairs, I couldn't miss the chance to tease her about Nathan. She flushed like crazy when I asked her if they still had sex every day, making me stifle a laugh at her face. I didn't really care, I just wanted to mess with her.

After the ceremony, the reception was held in a private area of the garden. She'd mentioned that Chris wasn't going to show up when we sat down our designated table. Something that made my stiff shoulders sag in relief. Seeing him again would be extremely awkward. After that bit of information, I felt more at easy and the conversation flowed effortlessly.

"It's still weird to see you without your glasses," she murmured before taking a sip of the white wine glass in her hands.

Grinning, I glanced at the couples slowly swaying at the soft music's rhythm. "Yeah, my aunt Sophie told me to lose the geek glasses before college." I rolled my eyes at that. I'd always wore thick black glasses since I was ten. Yet, my aunt had pretty much forced me to switch them to contacts. It had been hard to get used to, but now I couldn't live without them.

Cass chuckled. "You look great, Farah."

I did. Mom's beige dress accentuated my waist, diverting the eyes from my nonexistent chest. I'd also styled my hair in soft curves and pinned a white flower to it. "Thank you, but I'm not glowing like you, Cass!"

Her eyes widened for a second, before shaking her head and leaning closer to me, trying to keep this conversation to ourselves. "Gosh, don't say anything like that, or people are going to think that I might be pregnant."

I cracked up at that, trying to bite my tongue and not tease her anymore about Nathan's proposal. I'd been teasing her about it for the last half an hour, telling her that it was super-cheesy and such. Honestly? It was such a cute proposal. He'd made her breakfast and had set up the words marry me with cereal on a tray.

"I'm so happy for you." I meant it. If someone deserved to be happy, it was her.

Her blue eyes sparkled with glee. "Thank you. I do have a request for you. Would you like to be my maid of honor?" She bit her lip as she waited for my answer.

Playfully, I rolled my eyes. "I'd be offended if you hadn't asked!" Her face cracked in a wide smile.

We both held our glasses and toasted over her upcoming wedding. Wait. If I'm Cassie's maid of honor, Chris is bound to be Nathan's best men, right?

My excitement faded as my brows furrowed. "Is Chris Nathan's best-man?" I tried to sound nonchalant, but my stomach was in knots already.

She stayed quiet for a moment, shifting in her seat. Talking about Chris was always uncomfortable, and we almost never mentioned his name. I didn't want to hear about him moving on, and she respected that. It was a unspoken rule.

"He is," she answered in a cautious tone. I nodded, pressing my lips together. I'm going to see him eventually then. My heart clenched. Will I see him tagging along his latest conquest? Probably, and it shouldn't matter. "But who knows? Maybe you two can work things out?" she added in a hopeful tone.

Too darn hopeful.

Cass tried to persuade before I left to not break up with him, but it was pointless. Long-distance relationships were doomed, everybody knew that. Breaking up with him was supposed to make things easier while I was away. It didn't work. It was hard being away from him, but I stood by my decision.

I narrowed my eyes, crossing my arms across my chest. Shrugging, she suppressed a smile. "Neither of you have had seen anyone seriously over the last year. Maybe you're still into each other." Her blue eyes glinted mischievously.

He hasn't dated anyone in a year? The thought surprised me, I didn't expect that. I mean, I hadn't dated anyone because I was swamped with classes, scholarship hours and a job I'd had to find to help my parents financially. But that was me. I was sure that Chris had already found a girlfriend. Or two.

Cass tilted her head, her eyes studying me for a moment as I tried to put a fake smile on my face. Straightening an invisible wrinkle on my dress, I averted my eyes.

"It's been a year, Cass. Plus, I'm leaving at the end of summer, remember?" I so wanted to ask her more details about the fact that Chris hadn't dated, but I bit my lip instead. Don't ask. You really don't need to know.

"Remember that time when you wanted to play cupid with Anne and Jay?" My lips tugged up as I gazed at her. What are you up to, Cassie? She shook her head, smiling mischievously. "You sucked at being cupid." I did. Anne used to be friends with Cassie before I moved to Boston, but they'd grown apart and reconciled while I was there. We would hang out together on recess and after school as well. And Jay was Chris and Nathan's friend as well.

I puffed out my chest and huffed, feigning offense. In my defense, Anne and Jay did look good together. Anne was sort of rocker-style and Jay was extremely nice and fun to hang out with. I always hoped to get them together so we could triple-date. Something that never happened, despite my never-ending efforts.

They both weren't at the wedding, though. Anne was busy immersed in school and working on a bridal shop, while Jay was backpacking through the world. To this day, I still believed they could be a cute couple. "I'm pretty sure you suck at playing cupid, too." I glared at her, raising an eyebrow.

Don't get any silly ideas, Cass!

She giggled like crazy right before Nathan appeared by her side. He extended his hand and mocked a short bow. "Would you like to dance?" I smiled at him. I remembered how he was all serious and daunting when we were back in school, but he was now all smiles. Plus, I had to admit that, love suited him. I'd never seen him happier.

Cassie turned to me, her lips pressed together in a slight grimace. She doesn't want to leave me alone. "Go." I hushed her with my hands, smiling at her. I'm pretty good on my own, I wanted to add. I'd mastered it for a year now, my smile faded as she stood up, glancing at her boyfriend.

I followed them with my eyes and my heart warmed. They are such a great couple. However, seeing them together brought out the memories of high school. I couldn't help but think of all the times I'd spent with Chris. A lump formed in my throat watching Cass lean on her boyfriend's chest, closing her eyes, pretty much lost in the moment.

Chris had always been fun to hang out with. He used to tease me all the time, but he was the sweetest as well. Whenever he let out the geeky side of his, I'd totally swooned over him. He was a fan of sci-fi movies, so much, that the last I heard of him, was that he was going to film school. Which was a side of him that he didn't like to talk about. He had this tough exterior, showing only little snippets of the real him.

Back in school, Nathan, Jay and him were into street-fights and all that, but I always thought he only got into it to have his friend's back. Nothing more. When Nathan and Cassie started to date, he gave up on them, and Chris gladly followed him. Jay, on the other hand, kept at it until I last heard of him.

A part of me always wondered if I'd made the right choice. Being in California would only complicate things for us both, though. Either way, I couldn't go back and make things different. Whether I'd screwed up or not, it didn't matter. I did what I thought was best.

Feeling melancholic is not fun.

I cleared my throat and finished the wine before snatching my phone out of my purse and scrolling through Twitter. I didn't want to leave yet, but to be honest, we were the youngest guests of the party. Everyone else was over fifty, leaving me without much choice for a dancing partner. Yet, they hadn't cut the cake and I had an insane sugar addiction, and the cake looked delicious.

Plus, I really wanted to hang out with Cass a bit more.

I was re-tweeting a silly Gif, when someone pulled back the chair next to me. "Is this seat taken?" I recognized that rough tone of voice instantly. My stomach clenched and my heart accelerated as my eyes slowly trailed across a pair of gray pants up to a sharp jaw, followed by pale pink lips, a straight nose and dark green eyes. For a moment, I couldn't utter a word as I found myself staring at my ex-boyfriend's face. It didn't help that I'd been feeling melancholic minutes ago. Chris face was serious and expressionless as he gazed back.

Swallowing hard, I grabbed my purse from the chair. "It's not," I managed to choke out as he nodded and sat down. Biting my lip, I put away the phone inside my bag. Cassie said that he wasn't going to make it. What the hell is he doing here?

A waiter walked by and he raised his hand. "Red wine, please." He glanced at me. "Do you want some?" I nodded. The whole bottle, please.

The waiter filled both our glasses before he moved away. Chris' eyes trained on the dancing floor; his lips tugged up on a small smile. I followed the line of his eyes, to where Nathan and Cassie were still swaying slowly, lost in each other, dancing through the soft music on the background.

It was funny how they used to tease us, always complaining about how cheesy we were as a couple, and now the roles had reversed. I almost snorted at that.

"You lost your glasses?" he asked suddenly, making me gaze at him. He wasn't looking at me, yet his smile had a faint smirk as he took the glass with his right hand and took a sip of wine. Before I could answer, he glanced at me. "You look great, by the way."

Did he just compliment me? Me? The girl he sent that nasty email where he told me that I didn't believe in us, that I couldn't give him a chance and that I didn't really love him. That one hurt the most, but he'd been angry and hurt. Our break-up had been anything but clean. It had been messy and painful and Chris had been furious with me. I cried for weeks, and in the end, I had to block him out of my life. In the literal and emotional meaning of the word. I deleted him from all my social media accounts and I forced myself not to talk about him.

It hurt too much.

But now here he was, in all his gloriousness, looking more handsome than I ever remembered him. Damn it.

Shifting in my seat, I averted my eyes again. "Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself."

"I know." His tone oozed confidence.

A slight smile played in my lips. I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "Always so modest, huh?"

His green eyes cut to me. "I guess some things never change." His tone was serious and the intense way he was looking at me made my heart clench. We stared at each other for a moment, the air feeling dense. I tried not to notice the soft waves of his hair or those bushy brows I'd adored.

The year we hadn't seen each other favored him. I didn't remember him so handsome.

The music stopped and the band announced it was time for the cake. Thank God. I almost breathed out relived. Especially since Cass and Nathan were walking back to our table.

My friend's eyes glinted with fondness as she glanced at the guy beside me. She opened her arms as she reached us. "You made it, Chris!" They hugged each other before she placed a kiss on his cheek. His whole stance was more relaxed as he smiled warmly at her. Pulling apart, Nathan and him made a complicated boyish fist bump as a way of greeting, both grinning at each other. I couldn't keep my eyes off the whole interaction, feeling slightly left-out since they all shared a deeper bond with each other.

Cassie's arm laced with mine. "Come on! They're cutting the cake!" Her eyes sparkled excitedly while she led me away. The boys were behind when she leaned to me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." No. I don't know. My tone had been clipped, making me frown. There was no one to blame for the awkwardness between Chris and I. "Sorry." I shook my head before smiling at her. "I'm fine."

She didn't look convinced, but she didn't have time to say anything else since her dad and Marie called her over for a picture.

They all lived relatively close to each other, and Chris was Nathan's best friend. They probably met every other day, something that I knew already. Yet, I couldn't help but feel bitter about it all. I was glad they were cutting the cake. I needed something sweet right at that very moment. I was quite aware that I was eating my emotions away, but at that exact moment, I didn't care.

Thankfully, I got my sugar-fix. The vanilla sponge cake filled with raspberry jam melted in my mouth. I almost moaned in pleasure as I took the first bite. I savored it slowly, washing the sweetness with a sip of dark coffee. The perfect combination to calm my stupid heart.

Feeling jealous of my best friend friend's was quite immature. I didn't like it. At all.

However, when Cassie sat next to me and started to gush about the latest gossip from our high school classmates, I forced to concentrate on having fun with her. Nothing more.

We spent the rest of the evening, catching up and talking about her future plans. She told me she was applying for an internship in a small art gallery in New York for the summer, but not after she stayed in Boston with Nathan's mom for a few days. Something that made me utterly happy. We could hang out like the old times.

Okay. Not exactly. I was hoping that we could hang out alone, without boys, which was the opposite from old times.

Studiously, I tried to ignore Chris. Yet, from time to time, I couldn't help myself, and glanced at Chris, just to find him staring back at me, with an unreadable expression on his face.

Definitely not like old times. 

Thank you for reading me!