The remembrance of simple days, as a teenage girl who would sit on the grass and pull off flower petals, deciding absent-mindedly whether or not her crush likes her back or not. It was one of the moments where you didn't know what to do and fall hopelessly in despair.

He likes me, he likes not. Snow did that in her early days from her boy problems.

At the end of each flower petals, as she thought there was her answer, she became torn again. The possibility of whether or not a boy likes her back was abnormal to her, and she decided to start all over again. Leaving a lot of petals fallen from the pistil and wasted away, dying.

The answer was never clear to her, and she became sad at the end of each day.

Since back then, Snow hadn't pulled off flower petals and hoped to herself that she wouldn't find herself crushing on someone to save her from that awful stage of infatuation and the risk of just crushing herself in the process.

Looking at the flowers now, she was about to feel sorry for a few of them. When she saw Casey coming by, she straightened up her back as he plopped down on the grass from across Snow. He forcibly slung off his backpack on the shoulder and left it on the spot next to him.

He quickly checked where they were, and other students looked far in the distance. She imagined a swoosh sound effect went by him as he then looked back at her. "So what are we doing?" he questioned.

"We," Snow emphasized, "are going to express ourselves."

Casey lifted an eyebrow perplexedly at her, and so she reached a nearby flower, snapping it off from the ground. She held it and twirled it around in her fingers. "Have you ever pull off the flower petals one by one?"

"No."

"Well, we're doing that right now." Her mouth made a straight line across her countenance as she handed him a flower and grasped another one for her. "Here, we're each going to say out loud about our inner desire to one another as we take each petal off. I thought this could be a great exercise to release everything out in the open without needing to go too deep with our problems."

She paused. "We don't have to question each other either. We're just going to hear them out."

"So we're going to say our problems?" he asked.

"You can say anything. The point is to express each of our little thoughts, concerns, or whatever you want to let out. This is an alternative way of screaming out on the cliff. Get anything off your chest." Snow touched the petals delicately.

"Like... I wish we can solve world hunger. I can't think of all the poor children that must be dying," she fussed then picked one petal off, watching as it floated down to the bottom.

"World Hunger?"

"Statistics are pretty high. Talk about 8.9 percent globally," she reported. "It's sad, isn't it?" Snow cast her eyes down, a bleak expression making its way on her face.

"Okay?" Casey said with a look that he had no idea how to respond.

After a few seconds, she quickly looked back up and nodded. "Just like that."

He observed at the yellow petals of his flower and then was onto thinking. What could he want to express first?

Oh boy, he's really taking his time. Snow tilted her head at him, wondering to herself. I hope he knows he can say anything, right?

When he looked back at her, he said slowly, "I thought about what's it like to be Harry Potter under the stairs..."

"Okay." Snow nodded. "That's a start," she said as he picked off a petal.

She wondered what Harry Potter house he was in; it's so mysterious. Her eyes moved up to the sky curiously while thinking on what to say out loud next. Then she took the petal.

"One of my favorite words is honey... it's a cute endearing name to be called, and just think of all the cute bumblebees," she exclaimed with glee.

Snow smiled, a finger poking her cheek where a dimple would've been. "A reminder to thank all the bees for pollinating for our food."

"So full of life." She heard Casey muttered. Although she would have said do you think to him, she kept it to herself.

"All right," he said as he took a petal out. "I used to want to be an astronaut growing up, but then... going up to space realistically now? I don't think that's it anymore."

"Haha," Snow laughed softly. "Space, huh? That's interesting."

"I'm good with breathing the oxygen right here," Casey said.

"Yeah, same."

It was like this for the first round. They casually admit the smallest things or even some silly ones about themselves to express their individuality. When all the petals escaped, they started over again with the new flowers.

"So, that was our warm-up, nothing too much. Now, let's try to be a little bit more... true to ourselves." Snow stared at the flower, admiring its prettiness.

"You get the drift, but only let's not just say anything, but let's say something about our observation or theories about something we can't describe. It could be to ourselves or others." She glanced at him then began, "Okay, so... I always thought I could be a Disney princess and live in some fairy tale, but that hope slowly and gradually fades away when I realized, this reality isn't a fairy tale."

She chuckled. "It's silly, isn't it? A prince charming just won't come out of the blue."

So much of her childhood involved watching so many classic films, reading about them, and thinking that everything could just end in a happy ending.

She saw her parents, grandparents, and other people around her expressing love and comfortableness with each other. They would just talk to each other, look at each other, and treat each other with niceness and respect, and it made her wonder what it would be like to have that. She was told that if she ever meets a boy who would look at her like she's a whole star in the universe, he'll definitely treat her right.

It was like a Christmas miracle. Only you'd get to have it every day.

Snow gently tore apart the petal and looked at it as it simply landed on the spot beside her. What if she was one of the petals fallen, not meant to last forever? 

"Don't sell yourself too short, or you'll cause wrinkles right there." Casey pointed his finger at her.

"What?" She quickly slapped her forehead to where he pointed. "It's showing?"

"Nope, fool you," he said with an impish look in his eyes.

"Hey," she warned. "I almost thought I was already aging."

Wait, I'm supposed to cheer him up, not the other way around.

He rolled his eyes funny, and maybe it's a sign he's loosening up just a little bit. Just a little, emphasize a little.

"Before, I didn't care why people want to get into relationships and shit, but you know... it's not bad to have someone give you their support and tell you things that you need to hear when you couldn't tell yourself the same," Casey said as his voice was slow and quiet.

She looked at him so helpless. Puppy ears were popping out on top of his head like she imagined how a cartoon would look like if she could put that way.

He was more capable of being soft and tenderhearted; she knows it's true. The way he was expressing about what he liked about love was someone giving their heart to him, and in hopes that they were able to be a strong pillar that keeps him steady and secure.

Everyone could have someone like that in their lives.

As she picked a petal slowly, Snow confessed, "I had a few crushes before, and I fantasized what it's like being with them, but the feeling sucks when none of them wants you back. There were about four boys."

Four boys too many, and none of them were close enough to reciprocate the same feelings to her. She could name them off the top of her head.

First, there was Joel, her first crush when she was twelve years old. Dark brown hair and the most interesting pair of green eyes she had seen; he was the seventh-grade class president, and he had looked so cool to her. She would regularly sign up to do the tasks assigned and stay after school just to be near him.

But he took things too seriously than needed. Joel was so demanding and uptight about his duties, and darn right meticulous even in the tiniest details. Snow had come up with so many ideas for their class, but there were all too bland for him to consider when he shook his head and disapproved.

Then there was Christopher, a total dreamboat. The boy could give her so many cavities. He was favorable amongst girls in their freshman year high school. She hadn't noticed until girls kept bombarding him one by one like there was a front sign on him display "Please admire me."

Christopher would most of the time have a girl right next to him, and it was so hard for her to get a little bit of time alone. She had to monitor at every corner at the hall and make sure none of them were walking towards him. A few occasions that he was alone and she met him by chance, she stumbled on her words and said the dumbest things that made her wish she didn't speak.

The third one came sweeping her off her feet and heart fluttering whenever she thought about Antonio. There's a sweet accent sound to his name if you could pronounce it in Spanish. He had curly hair and glasses, and his face was well-sculpted. You would never see him without a book in his hand, and that's because he's always reading poetry. He even writes them too.

Snow would study poetry and talk to him about lines, stanzas, and all the other elements. She even wrote a poem about him, but he was clueless. Later on, she was glad he didn't get it because he had a girlfriend that she didn't know. Just when Snow was about to hint him her feelings, she came for him and clung her arm around Antonio that she didn't have the heart anymore.

Last but not least, Alessandro. Whenever she heard him speak Italian, and usually when he's on the phone with someone, she just—she could melt to a puddle right there if she could. His voice was deep and low, and something about his voice was bewitching to her.

Snow had befriended him and was sure she would end up with Alessandro. They hung out together more often than the other boys she liked, and heck, he even complimented her a lot. The shirt she wore was cool, the necklace she had on had a cute design, or when she smiled, her pearly white teeth were beautiful. What was she supposed to do?

On the last day before winter break, when she finally had confessed her feelings toward him, he told her the words that anyone else didn't want to hear, "I can't accept your feelings."

Thinking back about all the boys, she thought she might not have tried her best as she hoped she would've. It could be something about the way she looked or the way she talked. It was killing her not knowing what kind of things she should've done to better herself without having to impose on anything.

Snow and Casey continued to express their little thoughts and confessions. They went on thinking about future love, wishes, ambitions, and what they hope to do better when they find the next one they like or if things work out in favor, it will.

There were some things Casey said that involved about how love looks blind at first until it becomes clear later. He didn't understand that at first, but it was clear to him with her, whom he may refer to about his ex-girlfriend.

Casey spoke. "I wonder if time can heal everything, or if time can bring back the way things once were. The way that you can find it again with the same person."

"We don't know," she said with a puzzled look.

Time, would time ever let them know anything? Time was like an hourglass, and finding and chasing for the time in their ephemeral lives was almost a whole labyrinth of the unknown and secrets. When you hear, your time hasn't come yet or you will know in time, was that supposed to make one feel better? Maybe they could be true, but the time, when would it signal a green light that this is your moment to come?

You could think it could be two years, five years, or maybe even ten years from now. Time could be deceptive.

"Time is tricky. I think Father Time could be watching all of us, seeing if we succeed or mess up on our mistakes... I sometimes think about time too, like I wonder if I'll ever get to hold the world in my hands. Can you have two worlds? The whole world is your other half, your other piece of you, and the other world is a world for yourself and all the things that are made for you," Snow said thoughtfully.

"It's too early to tell, but I think I've fallen in a rabbit hole," he declared.

When the last petal dropped from his touch, she didn't expect he'd be so deeply intuitive about this one as he heavily stated these words that anchored the atmosphere. "I miss her."

He looked at Snow deeply with his crestfallen eyes. "A lot." She heard Casey sighed as he continued, "I don't know what I should do."

Casey looked away from her. Snow's eyes immediately fell in dismay, and she wanted to reach out and comfort him. His head lowered as his eyes floored to the ground.

He really cares about her... She had no words to express this moment other than his thoughts might have resurfaced the things he pushed back.

It was too sad for her to bear this sight and for him to carry that burden alone. There must be something she could do than to have to sit here.

After having to go through a moment of silence on her own, perhaps a comfort of touch could help him. She was questioning it. Slowly, Snow moved her hand forward for the top of Casey's head. She was inches away as her hand was suspended in midair, questioning if that was okay or not.

He looked like he could need it, but her conflicting thinking didn't know what to make of the situation. She was close enough to touch him, and her job was to be there for him. So it's appropriate to do things like this sometimes, right? 

Almost there, a little bit further now. She almost had it until Casey made a sudden movement, and she flinched, jerking her hand back. He grasped his backpack over his shoulder and stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't do this here. I'm a get going now," he said suddenly before turning his back and started walking away.

Snow watched in disbelief, not knowing what to process from this. He took it to heart when he was expressing how he felt, and now it punched him when saying them out loud. She didn't think it would turn out like this, not at all.

There was still a bridge between them.

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When Snow mentions about world hunger, it brings me back to this scene. I just thought it fits right along, aha. She's caring though so it makes sense 😂

I originally was gonna end things on a lighter note and make it much cuter, but then towards the end, my mind decided to be a little dark and twisted and made him do this to her. I'm sorry, don't shoot me. 

I hope I did an okay job in trying to convey each of their loneliness inside. It's not all of it yet.

The next chapter will be more fun! I think. So it might be a little bit more lighthearted there. Look out for it! 

Please vote and comment as it means the world to me!