Chapter 1

"Has he told you yet?" Julia asked, roaming around her room in search of her earphones. "Urgh! I flung that thing somewhere here. How I wish it had a mouth."

"Nope." Gianna frowned at the zits on her face as portrayed by her reflection more than she did about Seth's slow pace.

Julia paused from ransacking a pile of clothes on her bed that has been there from the previous day in her search for clothes to put on for school.

"Are you serious?" She asked, overwhelmed. Gianna, who thought the mirror didn't reflect her actual expression, turned to her friend with a straight face. "Okay, but it's been what? Six months? And he still hasn't said it? Goodness, how do you even cope with that? If you weren't giving him the green light I would've put all blame on you. What is wrong wi—" Julia's eyes widened in realization.

"What?"

The brunette in sleek ponytail settled on a small clothes-free area that was left of her bed. "The new girl offering Maths. She enrolled two months ago," she sounded distant. "I should have known."

"A new girl? In the middle of the term?"

"Yeah. I think her name's Luna. Heard she just moved into the city with her father and that he's quite famous. Oh my, how could I have turned a blind eye to this?"

"Oh, so they're...dating?" Gianna swallowed the bile which tickled her pharynx. Seth didn't owe her a dime. The fault was on her as she had been too susceptible, absorbed, and quick to deduce all that Julia fed her over the months.

"Dating? No!" Julia flung her hands in the air as she vacated the bed in a swoosh. "If at all they were he would've told me. They're just friends. Ordinary friends," she factualized. "I want to believe. But I hate the way she swoons over him. That girl should be a bitch with a huge B," She ranted then studied Gianna's bleak face. "Oh, Gigi I'm so sorry. I don't mean to make you feel sad or anything."

"I'm not sad," She lied. "I'm happy for him in my way."

Julia who had mastered her friend like she did her music classes rushed to Gianna and buried her head on her chest. "Seth is so much into you, I know it. He's the kind of person who doesn't precipitate things, we know that."

"Yeah. And we also know he won't say it for fear of jeopardizing our friendship."

Julia leaned on the dressing table reproducing her friend's mood. Seth was the typical one of a kind who cherished camaraderie at the detriment of his sentiment.

"What's your way forward?"

"Learn to forget. It's probably right we stay this way."

"It is only right. Oh, if I had thought of this ere long you wouldn't have been in such a situation. I'm so sorry," Gianna weakly smiled. "What about the boy next farm?"

Gianna laughed at the reference. "He still hates my guts. I think it's gotten worse over the past months." She didn't want to expatiate on the matter as it would only make her cry. Again.

Tough girls don't cry. Her mum had said when she'd returned home from her second day of freshman year with bloodshot eyes. No one knew what had transpired that day, including herself. It all happened so quickly that the anxiety that rose in her each time she thought about it ceased any further thinking reaction.

"He doesn't know what he's missing. Swears, he's going to come crawling at your feet when he finally realizes that. I proclaim it. And when that happens, make sure to give him merciless hard times." She maliciously grinned, lost in reflection.

Gianna genuinely smiled. "God knows how I have missed you so much, Lia. I wish Cold Spring hadn't a high school."

"Yeah, me too. New York would've been blue and pink by now."

"Nevertheless, when I get my car, I promise you New York will wear those shades."

"Can't wait!" Julia squealed. "And while we wait though, help me out with my earphones." She bent to search beneath the makeup congested dressing table. "Nothing."

"When last did you use it?"

"This morning, before you came in to be precise."

"That explains why it's still dangling around your neck."

She touched the back of her neck to confirm. "Hell nah!"

It was in the confinement of her room that Gianna's phone began ringing. First things first, her favorite yet tight trainers had to vanish from her aching feet. The caller's persistence journeyed all through that process including that of emptying the contents of her bag in search of her AirPods at the sight of the identity.

With a somersaulting heart, Gianna laid in bed on her stomach with her legs tearing the air one after the other.

"Hi, Seth," she managed to sound as cool and nonchalant as always. How not easy to pretend.

"Hey, Anne, how are you?" His mellifluous voice showered her ears and made her shudder. How long will it take to learn to forget? For a childhood crush to diminish?

She remembered when it started. She was only six and ignorant of that word. All she knew was she liked the new kid who offered her his crayon when hers broke and she didn't want to use it, who shared a candy with her on Julia's sixth birthday party because he caught her staring, who adjusted her hair when a lock went astray, who kept telling her that Maths was a very easy-going subject when you put all your mind to it. She could've gone on and on if Seth's words didn't remind her that she hadn't replied.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Same. I'm just super exhausted from babysitting all day. Don't get me wrong, I love Maddie but she's such an energy drainer."

Maddie was Seth's four years old cute baby niece whom Gianna has had the opportunity to meet twice during a visit. She had thick biteable rosy cheeks and was super energetic. His elder sister—Dolly—who was a nurse would deposit her at their parent's virtually every weekend before going on night duty at the hospital.

"She didn't even shut an eye today. How I wish you were here with that powerful 'sleep little Maddie sleep' lullaby. I tried singing it to her twice but she ended up crying."

Gianna laughed, "Dude, you know you're an awful singer, why try that again after what happened in 6th grade?"

"Oh shit! Don't make me think about that embarrassing moment. I regret ever taking that dare."

Seth, as was told, urged his mum who urged the principal to let him sing the Anthem in the intercollege football opening ceremony and as was witnessed, the crowd grumbled and the following day, he became the school's laughing stock for two consecutive weeks. He'd avoided school for four days. Three days in which he was home and one day in which he locked himself up in a toilet stall till the end of classes and of course he got into trouble for that.

"Look at the good side of it. You ended up being part of the football squad."

"After passing through that awful laundry service, yeah."

Gianna scrunched her nose at the thought of being covered with a pile of pungent sweat moist jerseys. She quickly snapped out of it before her eyes began to sting.

"That reminds me," his words were muffled for a short while as if he was eating. "I have training tomorrow evening. Was wondering if you could come spend a bit."

"You know I can't until next weekend." Her mum will never agree to that with the following day being a busy weekday and goddamn school day.

"Yeah I know," the words were muffled. "Was just giving it a benefit of doubt. Lia told me how much fun you both had. I missed not being there."

"What are you eating?" She couldn't help it. Nevertheless, gossiping was the only thing she did with Julia all day. Not much fun compared to when all three of them were gathered.

"Grapes."

There was a pin drop silence after her barely mumbled 'oh' that never happened before as it extended more than regular. Gianna thought it wise to end the call with a goodnight wish when he finally decided to speak,

"I need to see you soon, Anne. There's something I want us to talk about."

The unusual sobriety in his tone brought about a frenzy her little heart couldn't contain. There she went again with the quick conclusion for all she knew he might want to talk about meeting his new friend Luna, or to seek new tips on suppressing an anxiety attack before a class exposé but she knew him too well. Those weren't things he will want them to talk about with such solemnity. There she was yet again boiling down to one thing.

"You can talk about it now, you know. There's no guarantee that I'll make it in town next weekend."

"Please find a way will you? It's not something we can talk about over the phone."

Her throat began to thump. Was it what she was thinking? Or better still, was it what she had concluded six months ago? Why did the situation suddenly feel so eccentric?

"Okay. Goodnight then." After his retort, she clicked off the call only to excitedly call Julia who picked up on the first ring. "This is it, Lia."

"This is what?"

"He'll say it. I bet he's going to say it. Ohh, there's no doubt about that." Her toes curled up.

"How sure are you?"

"He used that manner of talking."

"You mean..."

"Exactly. The same he used as Romeo."

The exhibition which skyrocketed him to popularity. The day she regretted not joining the drama club because it was too uneventful for her liking. The day she began to envy Ivy Boe for playing Juliet. The day he'd looked and sounded completely different that she could swear it wasn't the same Seth Anderson she was used to knowing.

Perhaps, the day she discovered her genuine feelings towards him. The day Seth Anderson had ambushed her heart completely.