Chapter 2

                                    

                                          
"He's my star player," my friend said. 
                          
"Snap out of it," I complained, crossing my legs as I watched how the guys play on the field under the clear skies. Vanessa and I were sitting on the bleachers. This time, I glanced at her. "This won't be the last day you'll see Jaime's face." 
                          
"But this is the last day I see him play."
                          
"No, it isn't." 
                          
"Yes, it is! Just look at the way he looks. He's perfect."
                          
"Aren't you tired of staring at his face and stating his name?" 
                          
She grinned. "I always get that feeling whenever you tell me how Adam and you are doing. Every single day."
                          
Oops. 
                          
I shielded my eyes from the glaring sun as I narrowed my eyes to examine his physical looks. Maybe she was right, or maybe not. He was like any other athlete. He had a good face, though, but the way he looked was the common face. For me. I rolled my eyes in contradiction. "I'd rather choose Lucas Cooper." 
                          
She gave a different look to me. "Are you kidding me?" 
                          
"No, I'm not! I'm just telling the truth," I answered.
                          
"But do you think I'm his type? Jaime?" She abruptly asked to me. Yes, who wouldn't want to try Vanessa? If I was a boy, I would absolutely do everything just to make her mine. She had it all—the intelligence, the good personality, and the most noticeable gifted beauty. 
                          
I returned the same look she gave me previously. "Now, are you kidding me? I've been reminding you, take care of your heart. Didn't you learn during those bad times?" 
                          
I might be the luckiest student to be the closest friend of Vanessa. She was the most famous chic in school. Because of that, there was a queue of guys who actually like her. She tried, and as her closest friend, I didn't notice any mistake that she committed that made the line be cut. 
                          
"You had three lovers, Vanessa. Three foolish lovers."
                          
"What if he's different?" She raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. 
                          
"What if he's not?" I asked. Maybe I couldn't handle the feeling inside that I said: "What if it's simply just him?" I was already giving a clue. Seven years of friendship between me, Vanessa, and Lucas. Between that long time, I knew that he secretly loved her. 
                          
"Who the heck is that 'him'?" 
                          
I preferred to give no answer. I highly believed that there was a perfect time for everything. Just like in those Disney movies, where the princesses had their own princes. I felt it within me. 
                          
I smiled as I swore that she and Lucas would soon be a perfect couple. 
                          
*=*=*
"How was the party?" I asked Alex when we got home. 
                          
"Hmm?" Alex glanced at me, as if he just heard, literally, a wind howl. 
                          
I looked at the other direction as if nothing happened. You weren't like this before, Alex. 
                          
"You know, Rissa, we had a game where we made a large circle of partygoers, well, maybe an oval. We put a bottle on the floor and try to spin it. And whoever the bottle points at, he'll get to pick whether to tell a secret in front of us or be commanded a dare."
                          
"And if he loses?" I asked as I poured a tea from the kettle.
                          
"Well, he'd be forced to take a sip of one of their beers." 
                          
"Take a sip only? That's a bit unfair," I shared him a cup of the same drink.
                          
"He could drink the whole thing if he wants to. But the bottle was way too in love with me. It didn't pick me." 
                          
He was currently included in the fame list in school. All of his friends were in the list, making Alex influenced by their dirty works. The things that most of them were doing with the girls who even seemed to like it made him do it, too. For months and seemingly years, the feeling with each other entirely changed. Because ever since he became friends with them, his time being with me decreased. 
                          
He was always present at every wild party. Based on his cleft chin, long eyelashes, basically good-looking face that had a damn hot body, it was never impossible for him to fuck girls. 
                          
"Wrong. If it was really in love with you, then it should've picked you."
                          
It made him cold since high-school, actually the time when we moved. Until I nearly got depressed, because I was a newbie. And usually newbies had no friends. And then until a guy that was close to Alex came into my life and alighted my gloomy soul. His name was Adam. He was someone special to me.
                          
"I bet you kissed another girl last night," I rolled my eyes to emphasize my annoyingness at the same time blowin' the hot tea. Like all the way from looking the other side to the other corner of my eye.
                          
"You care?" He smiled a wicked smile. The exact smile of a bad boy. 
                          
I took a tiny sip first before reacting. "Of course I care." I frowned at him.
                          
"Of course she cares. She is my friend. Of course she cares," he wrapped one arm around me and moved closer. 
                          
I looked at the arm, at the awkwardness. "You are sweating," he said matter-of-factly.
                          
"I normally sweat. But to remind you, tomorrow's our grad. Just in case you don't know. Since partying seems ceaseless to you," I put my cup on the table. Since I've had enough of you.
                          
His smiled was turned to a regretful sad one instantly. "I abused. I did terrible things. I don't even know how to apologize properly. I'll try to avoid parties from now on. As much parties as I could." 
                          
I was a bit taken aback. "That's not what I meant, Alex. I'm not telling or commanding you to sacrifice your time just for an ordinary girl like me." I sighed taking his hands and held it. "I do admit that I'm jealous. Alex, we weren't like this when we were kids. We used to explore as much places as we could, do you remember? We barely even had time to go home." 
                          
"Of course I do remember that. Every part of our old lives. We mean the world to each other," his normal deep voice said and hugged me very tightly. 
                          
"We both know that. I'm sorry. We're living our new lives now, and that means we should probably leave the past behind. Because that's what we really came for, right?" I felt tears falling upon my cheek. "You're not my property. I shouldn't have complained about you going to parties."
                          
"No. I'm going to make a way for us. Just trust the process," he said as he gazed for a long long moment.