After Laxus and his three friends left the hallway, Jasmine turned around to face Cobra and pushed him away from her rather roughly.

"Why did you do that!?" She shouted, visibly angry.

"What do you mean?" Cobra asked, gesturing to the students who dumped the ice cold water on the blond. "They did it, not me."

Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, showing that she was not buying the story. "You had a part in it, didn't you?" She asked.

Cobra groaned with an eye roll, "Whether I did or didn't, he deserved it."

"No, he didn't." Jasmine replied sternly, "No one deserves to be publicly humiliated like that."

"Why are you defending him? He's been bugging you for years! Haven't you had enough?"

"That doesn't mean I would do this? That was just plain mean!"

"Mean?" Cobra scoffed, "Jasmine, he tried to kiss you twice. He got what he deserved."

"Yeah, but-" Jasmine stopped herself as Cobra's words sunk in. "How did you know that Laxus tried to -- no, he actually kissed me. How do you know when I haven't even told you yet?"

Busted.

Cobra stood there silently, realizing that he had just made a fatal mistake.

"How do you know?" Jasmine asked again since he didn't answer yet, her teeth gritted as she glared at the boy across from her.

Cobra knew it was over. His brain couldn't even come up with a lie that quickly and if he did, it would be unbelievable. He sighed, giving up. "I've been having Racer follow him for a while." He confessed, mumbling his words since the lovers quarrel was gaining a crowd.

Jasmine was most definitely surprised by his words. "You-You've been following us!" She shrieked, her anger boiling over, "Did you not trust me?"

"It wasn't you!" Cobra defended himself, raising his voice. "It was him I didn't trust! He was trying to take you away from me!"

"So . . So you already knew about the first kiss before I even told you." She was breathing heavy from shouting so much and her heart rate increased from trying to fuel her rage. Realization hit her like a truck. "And you did assault Laxus! You lied straight to my face and told me you didn't do it, didn't you?"

By now, tears were already running down her cheeks as she fumed with anger and betrayal. Cobra turned his gaze to his shoes, suddenly finding them interesting to look at.

"ANSWER ME!" Jasmine yelled, making him and every one else who was watching flinch.

"Yes." He admitted in a low, and almost shy, voice.

Jasmine growled and tried to call herself down, but it wasn't working. "You . . You jerk!" She spat, "I never want to see you again! We're so over!"

"Jas-" Cobra tried to call out to her, but she was already running away and there at the end of the hall was Mr. Dreyar and the school's principal, Mr. Fiore.

"Erik, would you mind coming with us?" The principal said, though it was obviously not a request but a demand.

_________________

"I'm stupid." Laxus growled to himself, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

"Laxus, it's not your fault." Freed reasoned.

"Yeah!" Evergreen agreed, "If anything, it's Cobra's fault."

The trio tried to lift Laxus' spirits,  but it didn't seem to be working. Laxus couldn't help, but feel like an idiot.

How naive could he be?

He made advances toward a girl who was already taken by another guy. She had told him repeatedly that her heart belonged to Cobra, but he still persisted.

He was a fool to think that she would actually develop feelings for him when she was already in love with someone else.

"Laxus!"

Laxus, Freed, Evergreen,and Bickslow turned slightly at the sound of the voice. Jasmine was running toward them, stopping in front of them. She put a hand on her frantic heart -- the sudden running catching up with her.

"I'm . . I'm really sorry." She said, not looking at the group. Her eyes were fixated on the ground. Her voice trembled as if she was going to cry at any moment. "I'm sorry about Erik." She continued, "I had no idea what was going on, but that's no excuse. I should've paid more attention . . . I'm sorry . ."

Laxus saw that Jasmine was trying desparetly to hold in her emotions and not cry, but she finally broke down.

He wanted, so badly, to reach out and touch her -- comfort her and tell her that she was forgiven.

But he resisted the urge.

Not wanting to cry and break down in front of others, Jasmine ran off in the opposite direction.

She ran back into the school building, her eyes filling with tears that were waiting to fall. She still couldn't believe it. It was unreal. Her boyfriend, who she dated since middle school, practically broke her heart by revealing his true self.

She knew that he had anger issues.

She knew that he didn't care for Laxus.

She knew that he got jealous easily.

But she never imagined that he would scheme behind her back and lie directly to her face.

Her love for him was real, but was his? Jasmine began wondering if Erik truly loved her. Doubt filled her thoughts as anger, guilt, and a strong ashamed feeling coursed through her veins.

She spent the rest of the class change period, what was left of it, crying in a bathroom stall.

Thankfully, she didn't see Cobra for the rest of the day and she probably wouldn't see him for at least a month (assuming that Cobra is suspended for his actions).

When Jasmine arrived in her bedroom, she removed and/or hid anything that reminded her of Cobra -- photos, gifts, etc.

She didn't want to think about him, yet he was all she could think about.

How he lied to her.

How he destroyed their relationship.

And she was blind to it all.

She hastily threw various items into her opened closet, opting to bury all memories of Cobra in there. She halted, however, when she came across an old photo.

"Guess who?"

She mentally rolled her eyes at the silly question. Obviously, she knew who it was.

She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"I don't know . ." She played along, humming as if she was thinking. "Racer?"

She smirked when she heard him suck his teeth in annoyance. He came into her field of view with an annoyed look on his face.

"Out of all the people you know, you pick that sharp-nosed guy?" Cobra grumbled, "You could poke an eye out with that nose of his. I don't even compare to that pale, motorcycle obsessed weirdo."

She chuckled at his antics, which made him stop and internally admire her laugh.

Young love is amazing, isn't it?

"I was only kidding." She assured him, "Calm down."

In return, he grumbled a, "whatever," and changed the subject. "So, you ready to go?"

She nodded in response as he held out a hand, waiting for her to slide her hand in his (which she did).

After walking for some time, she asked, "Where exactly are we going?"

"I'm sure you can guess." He grinned at his plan, which was unknown to Jasmine. "We're going to get a better view of the fireworks."

Having said that, he led her to a hill top where they could look down at the town and its people. There was lots of conversations going on that seemed to merge together into one big discussion.

Or, at least, that's what it sounded like.

There was a festive atmosphere in the downtown region with lots of food, drinks, people, vendors, laughter, talking, games, and music.

BOOM!

There it was -- the first firework.

Several more followed, lighting up the nighttime sky with a series of different colors. Jasmine and Cobra lifted their heads up to view the fireworks together.

And Cobra bit his bottom lip in anticipation.

"Jasmine."

He called her name to get her attention, and she turned her attention toward him. They both faced each other and Cobra gently placed a hand on her cheek.

Then she realized what he was doing, but it all happened in the blink of an eye.

The next thing she knew, his lips were making contact with hers.

There were two flashes of light, the booming and popping of fireworks in the background, and the abundant amount of butterflies in her stomach.

This was her first kiss.

Remembering such a moment made her all the more angry, upset, and hurt. Her legs gave out and she fell onto her bed, curling up into a ball.

The photo drifted to the floor as Jasmine essentially cried herself to sleep.