Jasen

            You mean nothing to me. . .

            As soon as the words had left my mouth, I knew I had fucked up. I couldn't believe I actually said that to Ariana. Finding out she had been in love with me since basically the beginning of our knowing each other scared me. I also used to have feelings for Ariana but didn't want to admit so as not to ruin our friendship. And then I found out I was going to be moving away for an opportunity anyway, so I took it as a sign that things wasn't meant to be for us.

            The world of fame wasn't for everyone. I could admit I had gotten myself wrapped up in a lot of not-so-positive circumstances. I didn't want Ariana to see what I had become. My conscience had concluded that pushing her away altogether was the answer. I realized over time this had been a shitty thing to do, but I was already in too deep. And then Celestial came into my life like an angel. She was just so sweet and supportive of everything. Plus, having been a childhood star herself, she understood my struggle personally, and from there, things just expanded in my heart for her, making me forget about the feelings I did still carry for Ari.

              So, I had not expected her to suddenly admit to me that she had been in love with me as well. There was a lot of pain I had caused her. I knew this, and she knew this. And now I had just made everything ten times worse. When she ran away from me, I should have gone after her. But I figured she just needed time away. So, instead, I turned around and headed back to the buses.

            Chase was already waiting at the door of the bus we shared. I narrowed my eyes at him. I had heard he had let Ariana know about his feelings for her. I knew about them back in high school as well. But he ended up never doing anything about it. So, I figured he had moved on from the entire thing, concluding it was just a crush. Ariana was a beautiful girl.

            Chase's eyes seemed to widen in relief for a second, but once his noticed I was alone, his whole demeanor switched to a state of shock.

            "Where the hell is Ariana?!" He demanded, looking around rapidly. "How could you come back here without her? It's snowing!"

            After Chase had said that, the realization that it was snowing washed over me. I had been so deep in my feelings of self-disgust at how I had handled things with Ariana. I didn't even notice snow had started to fall.

            "She wanted to get away from me," was all I could mutter in return.

             With a hard glare, Chase didn't even waste any time running down the steps from the bus doorway and running off in whatever direction he thought he could find Ari. I trudged up the steps into the bus to find my sister and Rylan sitting on the couch in the front room. When they saw me, they immediately got to their feet.

            "Where is Celestial?" I asked quietly, utterly drained.

            "She's in your guy's room." Elizabeth was the one to answer. "Where is Ariana?"

             I looked down at my feet. I knew how much my sister loved Ari. I didn't believe she would take too kindly to finding out I had left her behind in the snow. The guilt of the whole thing was starting to set in more and more.

            "She didn't come back with me," I muttered, scratching the back of my head. "She was still upset..."

            "Wait." Rylan cut in this time, raising a hand and shaking his head. "You...came back without her?"

            Elizabeth just raised her fingers to her lips, seemingly speechless.

            "Look guys," I growled, growing impatient. "Ariana is grown and made her decision! I on the other hand are going to bed!"

            I stalked off toward my room. I hadn't meant to lose my temper, but there was more pressure I could take being placed on me in this situation than I wanted to admit. I knew already I should have run after Ari, but I didn't. Of course, I was starting to regret my choice but believed Ariana would be back in no time once having cooled down.

             Celestial was lying in bed reading a book. When she noticed me come into the room, she placed the book she held on the bedside table and sat up. She had an unreadable expression on her face that made me a little uneasy. I began taking off my clothes, down to my t-shirt and boxer shorts, and climbed into bed next to her.

               "Did you find Ari?" she asked me, jumping into a conversation before I had a chance to turn off the lamp on my side. "Is everything okay between you two now?"

             "Yes, I found her." I sighed deeply and rubbed my hands across my face. "She didn't come back with me, though."

              Celestial glanced outside the window in our room which showed snow coming down much heavier than before. I started to get a not-so-easy feeling in my stomach but ignored it. She's just fine and probably on her back with Chase as we speak.

            "The weather is not good out there, Jasen," Celestial stated in a concerned tone. "What made you come back without her?"

            "Why do you all care?" I snapped defensively. I didn't want to get into all the details of what had really happened out there. I wanted to forget it ever happened. "I'm here with you. Isn't that all that matters?"

             "I'm not that kind of girlfriend that disregards the well-being of others just because they embody another female." Celestial narrowed her eyes at me. "She is your childhood friend after all."

              "Yes. I am very well aware!" I growled. "Why does this matter so much to you?!"

             "Why doesn't it seem to matter at all to you?"

             Celestial's question caught me off guard for sure. My ridged shoulders began to droop. It was as if I was trying to erase Ari from my life...what I once felt for her. It didn't occur to me just how much of an ass I was behaving to her overall. I hadn't seen her in so long, and she used to be my best friend. How I could suddenly start just treating her so poorly was beyond me. The next time I saw her, I would try my best to make it up to her.

             "You're right, Cel." I sighed heavily. "I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I will make things right."

             Celestial smiled at me. "There is the Jas I really know."

            "I am really lucky to have you." I reached across and kissed her passionately. "Thank you for being in my life as well."

            She said nothing in reply and just smiled at me. I frowned slightly but let it go. Soon, we both turned in for the night.

             We both were in a very deep sleep when someone busted into our room at what time I didn't even really know.

            "Jasen!" What sounded like Chase's voice yelled? "You have to get up!"

             I groaned and turned over slowly to face the doorway where his voice was coming from. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

            "What?" was all I could get out.

            "It's Ariana!" He sobbed tearfully. "I couldn't find her! And there is now a blizzard going on out there! There are huge piles of snow everywhere!"

            In that moment, my heart stopped. . .