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My heart fluttered with anxiety and excitement. Julia squeezed Sabrina's and my hand. She flashed an encouraging smile.

"Relax, girls. Today is a beautiful day to hang around on the beach." She flicked her long blonde ponytail backwards. "You should be proud to be wearing such cute swimsuits."

I glanced down at my orange shorts and tight t-shirt that exposed my belly button. "I'm not sure about this. I can't believe that you invited all the boys in town."

Julia stated that it was a girl's only date. Apparently, we all just found out that it wasn't the case.

Lanna grinned. "Oh please, Chelsea, if Julia didn't do that, it wouldn't be fun at all, especially if Denny's not there."

Natalie groaned. She folded her arms across her dull grey top. "Oh don't go on about how gorgeous and attractive he is. As you may know, some of us are sick of hearing you ramble on."

"I so do not! It is just that some of you can't see how perfect he is." The pop star flushed.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "If you are searching for perfection, I suggest you see Will." She cupped her cheeks with her hands. "He is so beautiful and rich."

Sabrina shook her head, her silky dark hair flowing over her shoulders. "N-no, Vaughn is t-the best. H0he may be h-hard to approach, but h-he is actually really kind."

Everyone snapped their heads toward her. She received 5 astonished faces.

"What?" Self-conscious crept over her. "It is true."

Natalie snorted. "All of you have horrible taste. Pierre is obviously the best boyfriend to have." She held out her fingers. "You see, he has a dazzling smile, adorable when he blushes, he is the greatest chef in this town and shows such determination for cooking –"

"Look who's rambling now." Lanna teased.

The pink-haired girl growled in embarrassment. "Well, you do it all the time."

"I so do not!" Lanna denied.

"So do!" Natalie retorted.

"Not!"

"Do!"

"Not!"

"Do!"

"Not–"

"Guys!" I pushed in between them. "Do you want to argue all day in the girl's bathroom or enjoy the sun and play on the beach?"

Silence filled the atmosphere. The two trouble makers eyed each other evenly. Then, they released a sigh.

"Alright, let's hurry to the beach and attract some attention from the boys." Lanna's lips cracked into a smile.

Natalie slowly nodded. "I'd rather do that then stay here in this filthy old place."

"Then it's decided." Julia clapped her hands together. "Is everyone ready?"

She received numerous nods from people's head and continued. "Ok, now let's play until we drop dead!"

Her contagious enthusiasm caused all of us to throw our fist into the air as we strode through the door, the sunlight hitting our skin.

White clouds drifted in the blue sky. The scent of salty water swirled through the air. The boys had already arrived by the time we turned up.

I hid behind Sabrina whom hid behind Julia. I wasn't used to the amount of skin I exposed today. I would have worn a baggy outfit if it weren't Julia's insistent on wearing a cute swimsuit. Mayve I shouldn't have listened to her.

"Hi girls, we were just searching for you –" Denny stopped in the middle of his sentence. His chocolate brown eyes slightly widened. "Wow… you guys… look… ah… great."

Lanna giggled. "We try."

Lanna had an adorable blue bikini no that flashed out her smooth legs. Every boy's eyesight lay on Julia, her and Lily. Julia's tight bathers highlighted her carves and huge bust. Lily's flowery shorts contrasted with her unique hairstyle. The boys flushed as they realised that they were staring too much.

As the three beauties stole all the attention from Sabrina, Natalie and me, we stepped to one side and dropped our back packs onto the soft sand.

"Well this sucks," Natalie muttered beside us. "Even Pierre seems attracted to large cup women."

Sabrina threw a glance over to the others. "Vaughn is blushing!" she squeaked. "What should I do?"

"Confess to him and go on a date." I suggested. "After all, your affection for him is so blatant that everyone already knows except him."

Sabrina's face lit up. "Should I really d-do it?"

Natalie chuckled. "No Sabrina, Chelsea's just kidding." She shot a playful smile at me. "You should only confess when you feel like it is the perfect time to."

"Oh ok…" Her head dropped down. I squinted at Natalie.

"Speaking of confession, when are you taking the first step and ask Pierre out?" I raised m voice. She spun around and clasped her hand over my mouth.

"Not so loud! What happens if Pierre hears?" she whispered.

"Hear what?" A familiar voice rang from behind. We turned around to find Pierre and Elliot staring innocently at us.

Natalie blushed furiously. She stomped her feet on the sand. "I'm just saying that your chicken soup was not good enough."

Shock thundered on Pierre. "What?" He jumped on his spot. "It is not? Natalie, please give me some advice!"

He pouted his lips. Clamping his arm around hers, he was completely unaware of what kind of impact it has on Natalie.

Heat steamed up her face. Her eyes darted to his arm. "Alright, I'll explain it in details."

I snickered. She growled at me. Pierre flung himself on her. "Thanks a million, I love you the most!"

Hurt blazed in her eyes. "As a friend right?" she asked.

He tilted his head. "Yes."

That gave her the final blow. I bit my lips as I watched her struggle to stay passive. The worst thing that could happen to anyone was to be stuck in the friendship zone. She loved him, yet he was too stupid to notice it. They seriously needed some expert lovers to push them a step further into their relationship. Just watching Natalie could make any man want to cry.

Speaking of her problems…

I sneaked a peek at Elliot. His long eyelashes fluttered. His pink silky hair drifted subtly in the wind. My heart fastened its pace. He was my best friend... and the person I was currently in love with. At first, I was alright to stay as friends. But as every day passed, it was getting harder to live like this. I felt like the air was suffocating me.

"Uh… hi Elliot." I forced a smile.

His gaze stayed on the sand. "H-hi Chelsea," he murmured.

"Nice day to go swimming huh?"

"Yeah…"

And with that, the conversation was over. I frowned to myself. Why wasn't he looking at me? Did he not notice the different swimsuit I was wearing? The whole purpose of stepping out of my comfort zone was to impress him. Was it all for nothing?

"Um… Elliot… is everything alright?" I tilted my head. "Do… I look fine?"

There was a perceptible pause. It delivered agony and apprehension into my heart.

"You look…" he started out slow and hesitant, "…fine."

A pang of disappointment swept across me. Right… I appeared fine… wasn't that just great?

"Thanks Elliot." I tried not to show any sign of dissatisfaction in my tone.

"You're welcome," he said.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere between us tensed. Awkwardness slicked through the air. None of us spoke or attempted to indulge ourselves in a conversation. Normally we would. Today, it was a bit different.

I didn't like this.

"Hey… Elliot… what–"

Lanna interrupted my sentence when she called out for everyone. "Hey guys, let's play in the water right now."

Hope sparked in my eyes. He loved swimming. We frequently swam together in our normal clothes. This was the perfect time to break the tension.

"Let's play, Elliot." I reached out to grab his hand. As soon as our skin gained contact, he flinched away, as if electricity shocked him.

He stepped a few steps back from me. "I don't feel like it. Y-you c-can go w-without m-me," he stammered.

My chest tightened. "Ok... if this is what you want…"

I hurried to the others, refusing to allow him to witness the pain that erupted in me. Mark rustled my hair as soon as I jumped in.

"Chelsea, you look awesome in that swimsuit," he complimented.

"Thanks. You look smoking hot bare-chested. I bet Julia's all over you by now."

He chuckled. "Not really, she hasn't spoken to me yet."

I arched back, laughing. "You'll win her heart eventually."

"I hope so." He scratched the back of his neck. "Anyway, good luck with your love with the shy kid."

I flushed scarlet red. "H-how did you know?"

He grinned, his emerald eyes twinkling like stars. "I'm not blind. Your affection for him is basically wreaking the place."

Humiliation flooded into me. I gritted my teeth and splashed him with salt water. He fell back, alarmed by the sudden attack and stumbled into the water. Everyone laughed. Some took it as a clue to start a water fight. Drops of ocean water sprayed everywhere in the air. Yelps and laughter chimed out from people's mouths. Soon enough, it became a war with the girls against the boys.

As my arm grew tired, I took a glimpse at Elliot whom was now under the umbrella with Julia. I sparked with happiness as our eyes met. It faltered immediately when he hastily glanced away.

I decided to discuss this strange behaviour. Everyone acted in a certain way because they all had some reasons. His reason was what I needed to find out. Stomping towards him, I froze immediately when Julia hobbled closer to Elliot. She whispered something in his ears…

… And he blushed.

The whole world darkened. Time slowed down as if I was a second away from death. Unwanted jealousy overwhelmed me. What were they discussing about? Why was he blushing? Thousands of questions and possibilities churned in my head. It made me sick. I retreated out of sight, stopping in front of a drinking machine to calm myself down.

The wind blew against my legs. Every strand of hair on my skin pricked up. It was freezing, but I didn't care. The thing that worried me the most was Elliot's feelings towards Julia.

I calculated all the possible answers that could have caused him to blush. The one that stood out the most was him having a crush on her. It could happen. She was the second prettiest girl on the island – with Lanna being the first. He was willing to stare at her in the seducing swimsuit and didn't even bother giving a second glance at me.

I bought a can of coke and gulped it all down with one huge mouthful. I had no chance. An ordinary farm girl versing against a love goddess –the outcome has been decided before the rivalry had even begun. I had two choices; it was either to give up this pathetic love or experience rejection. Ah… giving up sounded like a better option.

I sipped down the last drop and threw the can into the bin. A step around the corner sent me smashing against something sturdy. A silent scream escaped my mouth. The distance between the ground and me closed in. Luckily, a firm hand grabbed on one and pulled me up.

I let out a sigh. "Thanks so much."

"B-be more careful ok?" a sweet voice said.

I snapped my head up and my heart pounded against my rib cage. It was him.

"Hey Elliot…" I said.

His gaze lingered on me for two seconds before it was casted to the ground. Again.

"Hi…" he managed to squeak out. His bangs covered his red flushes on the cheeks. 'Are you buying something?"

"I did. Now I'm going back."

"Oh ok… then… I'll see you l-later." He stumbled past me to the machine. I stayed. He glanced back to see if I went away. I didn't. He spun his head around. I watched as he fumbled with the coins as he inserted them. He has constantly been clumsy. That was what I loved about him.

"Hey, do you need help?" I offered out.

He scanned his eyes at the drinks. "What does Julia like to drink?"

My fingers twitched. He was buying it for Julia? "She loves yoghurt or anything that contains dairy. Buy her the strawberry milk."

"Ok…" he pressed a button. "Thanks."

Kneeling down, he took the drink out. Then he strode towards me, his head kept down all the way.

Without thinking, the question I had been dying to ask tumbled out of my mouth. "Do you like Julia?"

He froze in his spot. His shoulders hunched together. He tentatively turned around, finally locking gazes with me. 'What makes y-you think l-like t-that?"

I shrugged casually. "Well, I saw you blushing when Julia whispered to you just a minute ago."

A blush painted furiously on him. His pale complexion changed to crimson red. 'T-that is not true. I d-don't like her." He paused for a fleeting moment. "I mean, I l-like her as a friend, b-but not as a l-lover."

"Then what were you guys talking about?" I raised an eyebrow.

Steam puffed out of his ears. "Nothing," he said as sweat trickled down his forehead like rain pouring from the sky, "N-nothing important."

Something twinged in my chest. I pondered, "Really? If so, then why can't you tell me what it was about?"

He clamped his jaw shut. Shaking his head, he tightened his fist on his side. "I-I'm sorry Chelsea… I can tell you anything… but…" he studied the floor industriously, "…just not this topic."

Annoyance pricked me. I lifted my shoulders and breathed in deeply. "Fine, then I won't ask any further."

I pushed past him, our elbows grazing against each other. I stomped away. My ears perked up for any sign of call back from him. There was none.

I sighed. What was I suspecting? My suspicion had been confirmed. Perhaps today was the day I'll finally give up on this feeling that I contained for 3 years. I should support him; after all, that is what friends are for.

A flashback played in the back of my mind. It was of the first time Elliot smiled genuinely at me. We were swimming in the sea, our working clothes still on. We splashed each other and had water fights. I laughed and he grinned. We ran along the shore, taking turns to be the tagger. As soon as we were exhausted, we settled down on the sand and watched the sunset. That was the very moment he beamed brightly than anything in the world. That was when my vision illuminated with lights.

Tears threatened to roll down as I reminisced. My sight blurred. I swiftly wiped it off and jogged back to the group. They welcomed me back with warmth. I planned on having fun until I forgot the whole incident. However, Julia dragged me out. So much for the forgetting-everything plan huh?

"Hey, did you see Elliot?" She lowered her voice.

A tight smile curved up my lips. "Yeah… he went to buy some drinks."

Her eyes lit up. "Then did you two talk?"

"Yeah…" I squeezed my arm and shifted uncomfortably, "but for some reason, he doesn't want to be involved with me anymore."

Julia shook her head in dismay. "Chels, this is the perfect time to confess!"

My eyebrows creased into a frown. Confess? I had just found out that my best friend fell in love with a goddess. How was this the time to do that? "Why would you say that?"

She ran a hand through her high ponytail. "Girl, he has been drooling over you all day long."

I didn't comprehend her words. "Julia, please don't give me false hope. I think he has a crush on you," I said.

This time, it was her who was perplexed. "You've got to be joking." Her jaw slammed open. "Can't you see that has been watching you and blushing like a red tomato?"

"Watching me?"

She nodded. "He couldn't take you're his eyes off you. Whenever he tried to, he would always find himself lingering on you again." She grinned, amused. "It was fun to tease him about it while we were under the umbrella."

My whole body immobilized. So that was the reason why he blushed. I had misunderstood and jumped to a conclusion without even trying to find out a bit more. I had doubted him. Guilt flooded over me. I should go back and apologise. He must have been hurt when I purposely bumped him on the elbow.

"Julia, I'll be right back. I need to see Elliot." I bowed. 'Thank you very much."

She smiled. "I think you won't need to, he's coming this way right now."

I twirled around to find him running toward us. He skidded to a half. Then he pulled me along until we were alone once again next to the drinking machine. He paced his breath before he spoke. "Chelsea, I-I am s–"

"I'm sorry Elliot!" I blurted out.

He blinked, "For what?"

I bit my lip. "I'm sorry for thinking that you liked Julia and left you in a negative behaviour." I twiddled my fingers. 'I should have had more trust in your words."

He shook his head, his beautiful pink hair spinning with him. "N-no, I should be the one who is sorry."

"Huh?"

Two blushes tainted on his cheeks. He gulped. "I'm sorry for having impure thoughts about you!"

I staggered back. He continued, his pink eyes darting around the place. "When I saw you wearing that cute outfit, I could not help myself but imagine you n-naked."

Now it was my turn to blush. His whole body shivered. "You were beautiful today. My heart was hammering, and still is, more than usual. I was terrified that you would see me as dirty. That was why I refused to allow my eyesight to meet yours. I'm scared that my eyes will betray me," he breathed in, "but whenever I do that, I would find myself watching you."

"I like you Chelsea!" The words tumbled out. "I have ever since the day we met."

My eyes widened, jaws slacking. Was this a dream? Was this just one of my lustful dreams? I pinched myself to check. It hurt.

"Ouch," I whimpered out.

He panicked. "W-what are you doing? W-why are you pinching yourself?"

My vision blurred with tears. A smile fell on my lips. "T-this is not a dream…" They started to stream down. 'This is actually reality."

"Of course," he said. "Please don't hurt yourself just because you hate my confession."

I shook my head. "No…" I whispered. "I love it."

We gazed into each other's eyes. The words that I held back and yearend to say finally came out. "I love you, Elliot."

Both of us smiled softly. The undeniable attraction drew us together. His hesitant arm curved around my waist, his hands resting on the back of my head. I stroked his gorgeous hair – always wanted to do that. My other hand relaxed on his shoulder. We closed in, our lips gingerly touching. Fireworks exploded in my eyes. He tasted sweet like marshmallows with a hint of fresh carrot. I gently pushed, urged him to open his mouth. He complied. We explored each other's mouths. His soft tongue brushed against my gums and teeth. I felt it moving to up and to the side, then carefully down my throat. I groaned in full pleasure. He did the same.

We parted, catching our breaths. Smiling, we embraced under the sunset and created a unforgettable memory.

Hi again! Phew... i hated typing this up. It felt awkward writing the last part about the kiss... but nevertheless I hope you all like it!