By the next week, I had just about settled into my new routine. I knew where to go and when to be there, and I had a pretty good idea of who I'd meet along the way (although each day was never quite the same). Today, I had entered the school and was on my way to my locker when I saw Chris, who smiled at me and started walking beside me.

"Hey, Julia. I was wondering when you'd get here." Curious, I replied "Why? Did something happen?"

"Not really...I just wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Well, as you know, all candidates for student body president are required to give a big, formal speech in front of the entire school. I have all the basic ideas prepared, and I was just wondering if you could maybe listen to what I have so far and give it some criticism."

"...You want me to criticize you?"

"As harshly as you can." Chris answered, jokingly. "And don't ever let up. I want you to make me cry." I couldn't help but laugh.

"Wow, okay! ….But why me? I'm not exactly the best at public speaking, you know...or politics..."

Chuckling, he said "That's fine. I don't need you to be an expert on any of this. This speech is for the students – my friends and classmates – and that includes you. The way I see it, your opinion represents many opinions, so I would really appreciate your input. Plus, it's more fun to be ripped apart by a good friend than some random acquaintance."

"Thanks, I...really appreciate it!" Geez...what does this guy think I'm gonna do to him? X'D

"Haha...So, all jokes aside, how about we meet up after school? We could go to the study hall classroom; no one's ever in there after school hours."

"Why does that matter? Are you embarrassed?" I teased. He looked away for a moment before responding.

"Yes...no...well, kinda. I haven't done a speech in front of the whole school before, and I want to make sure I'm 100% prepared before I do. Well, that and I don't want to risk someone overhearing me and stealing my ideas. I know you won't, so there's nothing to worry about there."

I smirked. "Are you sure~?"

He just looked at me and said, "Of course I'm sure. I know you too well, and besides, you just admitted yourself that you're "not the best" at public speaking." I froze for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"Well...what if I lied?"

"You're a terrible liar."

"Ack! O.O" I exclaimed, frustrated by my lack of a good comeback. I knew he was right; anyone who knew me knew that I was a natural-born truth teller. So I hung my head in shame and silently accepted my defeat.

"Heh. Like I said, I know you too well."

By then, we had finally reached my locker, so I took out the book I needed and then turned towards Chris to say goodbye to him.

"Yeah...well anyway, I gotta go to class now and I'm sure you do too, so I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure thing. See ya later."

Then he left, and I started towards Algebra II. It was not fun.

I tried my best to pay attention through the rest of my morning classes, but my mind was constantly dying to go anywhere else. So, it did. I daydreamed a lot, thought about the things I had to do that day, and when I wasn't doing either of those, I thought about my conversation with Chris. He wanted me to critique his speech? How was I supposed to do that? I'd never "critiqued" anything before, let alone a speech that'd be delivered in front of the entire school. Needless to say, I was nervous. I could tell this would bother me for the rest of the day, but my worries would have to wait because at that moment, the dismissal bell for my English class rang, letting us know that it was time for lunch.

I decided to join Lucy in the cafeteria today. Other than the brief encounter I had with her last week, I hadn't really spoken to her much at all, and we hadn't hung out in forever. I had barely even reached the table before she burst into conversation.

"Hey, Julia!" She smiled at me as I sat down. I smiled back.

"Hey Lucy, how are you?"

"I'm doing great, thank you!" She pulled out her phone and browsed the internet. "Hey, check out these clothes. I've been looking through this fashion website all day, and almost everything here is just gorgeous. Like this one." She pointed to a light yellow, somewhat frilly summer dress that cuts off right above the knees. "I bet that would look super cute on you~"

"Um...I don't think so," I objected. "I don't really do dresses...and I really don't do yellow. It might look good on you though."

"Maybe...but so would everything else~. We do have to find something for you though. No offense, girl, but that t-shirt-'n-jeans thing you've got goin' on is getting old." She scrolled further through the page. "I wonder if they sell clothes like these at the mall..."

"Not with those prices, they won't," I scoffed. "This is a small town, and those clothes cost over a thousand dollars a piece!"

Lucy just sighed and said, "Yeah, maybe not...but I am gonna take you clothes shopping one of these days. Don't even think for one second that you're getting out of it!" I giggled at that.

"Of course not! I know better than that."

"Good!"

We both laughed for a moment, and then I remembered something I wanted to ask her since our last discussion.

"So...how was your month-iversary?"

The smile disappeared from Lucy's face, her happiness quickly replaced with sorrow.

Uh-oh...

"Our month-iversary...never happened."

"What? What do you–?"

"That jerk! I can't believe he forgot our special day!"

Frustrated and heartbroken, she burst into tears. Everyone within 30 feet of us turned to look at her, but I somewhat-aggressively gestured for them to look away, as I usually did when this sort of thing would happen. I felt awful for Lucy. Despite the silliness of a "month-iversary," I was really proud of her for committing to a relationship for that long. I thought she might've actually had something real this time, but here she was, crying her heart out once again. Poor girl...

"And things were going so well, too! I totally thought I was gonna marry this one..."

Okay...that might be a little TOO much...

"Aww, I'm so sorry things didn't work out for you guys. But hey, it's like we always say; there's another one waiting right around the corner...right?"

"I don't even want to think about that right now..." Lucy trailed off, staring blankly at her food.

Nothing I could've said at that moment would make anything better, so I just sat there in awkward silence and finished my lunch. I knew in my heart Lucy would be fine – she usually recovered quickly – but that didn't stop me from worrying about her. One of these days, the pain would be too much for her to handle, and who knows what she would do then? I could only hope that her knight in shining armor would come for her someday, and someday soon. Until then, all I could do was support her. It was partially my fault for bringing it up, anyway.

After lunch, I continued through my afternoon classes. I tried desperately not to copy Jasmine in floral design (but I did wonder where she kept getting those bows and ribbons from...), then we met up with Chris in physics. Afterwards, Jasmine and I sang some stuff in choir, and finally, I forced myself to at least jog the laps in gym. Although it was a bit hard to focus considering Lucy and her cold, emotionless face were right next to me the whole time. I couldn't wait to get out of there. Once that class had finally ended, school was officially over, and it was time for me to meet up with Chris.

I nearly ran through the hallways on my way to the study hall room. Chris never mentioned exactly when he'd be there, and I certainly didn't want to keep him waiting. I was nervous and excited all at the same time, and my goofy smile proved it. I really hoped that whatever I ended up saying would make Chris proud of me, and that it would help him make our school better, but I had no way of knowing what would happen just yet. For all I knew, I could end up letting him down, and for as much as I hated that thought, I realized it was a very real possibility. Getting through the halls at this time of day was generally easy, since most of the students were piled up at the entrance by now, so I was already almost there in less than a minute. However, just after I turned the very last corner, I immediately froze. Standing there, at the end of the hallway, was...

"...At long last, I've finally found you...Darling."

Those unique clothes, that soft, chilling voice, that devilish smile...

Oh...My...Freaking...God.

"Hello...Lysander."

"I've been looking everywhere for you." he said as he walked towards me. In that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to turn around and run away as fast as I could, but my feet remained securely attached to the ground. I couldn't move.

"I've searched countless towns and cities for you, even some in other countries, longing for the day I'd see you again. And now that that day has finally come..."

Before I knew it, Lysander was standing right in front of me.

"...I'll never let you out of my sight again."

He reached his hand out to touch my cheek, but I turned my head away. It was the only part of my body that hadn't gone numb yet. With a sad and disappointed expression on his face, he pulled his hand back. "I...didn't know you were that scared of me. Your lack of trust hurts me deeply, Darling, but I can't say I blame you. I know I've done terrible things to you in the past, and I've hurt you very badly. That's why I decided that perhaps I deserved a punishment of my own..."

He rolled up his left sleeve to reveal a long scar running from his wrist to his elbow. It looked healed, but just the size of it made me shudder. To think what kind of pain he must have put himself through to get it was very frightening. As I was now completely paralyzed in fear, Lysander rolled his sleeve back down and continued.

"This scar serves as a reminder of the pain that I've caused you, and symbolizes the promise that I will never be violent towards you again. I'm ashamed I ever was..." He inched closer, resting his hand on the side of my face. "...but I know we can be happy together, Julia. I'm still very much in love with you, after all."

He leaned in slowly, closer and closer until his lips locked with mine. My eyes widened, my heart was racing, and I could feel myself blushing. I hadn't felt anything like this for a long time now, and unfortunately, my heart had gotten the better of me. Having decided there was nothing else I could do (or perhaps just didn't want to do), I simply relaxed, closed my eyes, and enjoyed the kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, but it was wonderful nonetheless.

"It's funny though..." Lysander said, a few seconds later.

"What is?" I replied, finally regaining the ability to speak.

"You've been hiding in plain sight this entire time. If I had known you were only one town away, I would have been here quite a bit sooner..."

"...O-One town away...?"

He looked at me, confused. "Darling...didn't you know? Sweet Amoris is only a few miles away from here..."

"..."

"...and this town is called Sweet Adoreis..."

"..."

"...Surely you must have known..."

"..."

"...Oh, Darling...your naïveté truly astonishes me...but I certainly won't complain. Your adorably ignorant mind is what brought us together, after all."

I couldn't argue with him; this "small" mishap was on me. I was only one town away? And it was called Sweet Adoreis? I thought for sure I moved further than that! How could I not know where I've been living this whole time...? Lysander wasn't the only one amazed by my stupidity; I was completely and utterly dumbfounded. So much so, in fact, that I almost didn't hear Lysander talking.

"Oh...I hadn't realized it had gotten so late. We should really be going now. Here, let me walk you home." He smiled and held his hand out to me, but I just stood there and shook my head.

"Sorry Lysander, but I have somewhere else to be."

"Oh? Where, pray tell?"

"...To see a friend. I was supposed to meet them after school today." I didn't dare mention Chris's name. The very thought of another guy in my life would set him off for sure.

"...Very well. I'll see you tomorrow." Lysander turned and started walking away. I was just about to do the same when suddenly, the door at the end of the hall opened, and out walked Chris.

"Oh, there you are! I was starting to think you forgot about me." He said as he pulled me towards him and ruffled my hair.

"Never! And cut that out!" I replied with a cheerful giggle.

"Never~!" Chris mocked, refusing to stop his nonsense. We laughed and had fun like that for a few seconds, but then we calmed down again. We had an actual reason for being there, after all, and we didn't want to get too distracted.

"Well... we should probably go back to the study hall room now." Chris said. "I wouldn't want you to miss out on my speech rehearsal, especially considering you're the only one I invited to listen."

I smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've been waiting to hear it all day!"

"Awesome!"

He started towards the study hall room, and I followed. However… a nagging feeling caused me to stop and look behind me. Not entirely to my surprise, Lysander was still standing there. He had a blank expression on his face, which I reflected immediately. We just stared at each other like that for a moment, until he scowled and walked away. That wasn't good. At all.

"Hey, over here! This way! You're 20 feet from the door, how lost can you be...?" Chris called out from the doorway.

"Hold on a second, I'll be right there!" I shouted at him as I headed his way. "And I'll get as lost as I want, thank you very much!" Upon reaching the door, I glanced back one more time, and entered the room. I sat down at the frontmost desk and waited patiently for Chris to begin his speech.

"Alright, let's begin." he said to me before proceeding to clear his throat. "Classmates, teachers, cafeteria ladies, and everyone in-between, might I just say, good job. You've all worked very hard to give this school a good name, and based on our glowing reputation, I'd say that effort more than paid off. Go ahead and give yourselves a big round of applause!" He paused for a moment, then continued. "However, with that being said, we're not finished just yet. There are still many areas in our school system that require some attention. For example…"

So far, so good, I thought. Getting the audience on your good side certainly isn't a bad idea, especially if your audience is mostly comprised of high school students, whose hormones and insecurities are constantly reaching an all-time high. I would have loved nothing more than to hear the kinds of school issues Chris was planning to fix, but unfortunately, the details never reached my ears. Instead, my mind decided to play a cruel trick on me and wandered off to the last thing I wanted to think about in that moment – Lysander. Lysander...he was one of the boys I met a couple years ago, when I still lived in Sweet Amoris. I met him in the town park through his best friend...well, his former best friend now...and he'd been infatuated with me ever since. No, infatuated was putting it lightly. He was obsessed with me. Just two days after I'd met him, he'd transferred to my school, started following me home, and stalked me absolutely everywhere I went; he even chased me through the pouring rain and threatened to do unspeakable things to me as "punishment" just because I ignored his calls! And that nickname he gave me – "Darling"...such a beautiful term of endearment, ruined by his twisted sense of entitlement. Hearing it again today gave me chills to the point where I was completely frozen in place.

Here I thought my past was behind me, that I had finally moved on, and hopefully he did too, but here he was. He found me. He finally found me. Almost two years had gone by, and he never stopped searching. I couldn't believe it. Well...that wasn't entirely true; this was Lysander after all. If old habits die hard, then Lysander's are immortal. I knew first-hand the kinds of things he'd do to get what he wanted. And what he wanted...was me. I've been his target since the day we met, and nothing could have frightened me more. So then, why? Why did I not run away? Why did I let him come close to me? And why in the world did I let him kiss me? Was there something more that I just wasn't remembering? Did all of those nightmarish memories block out the nicer times I had with him? The gentleness he displayed earlier did seem rather familiar, and although I remembered him being a bit rough at times, he never once hit me. Was our relationship really as bad as I thought? Was there really never a time when I was happy with him? I couldn't help but wonder...did I actually used to love him?

"...And so, my team and I have put together an approved budget for an arcade machine in each classroom and free ice cream after naptime."

"...Wait, what?" I snapped out of…. Whatever that was… right away.

"Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you'd come back. How was outer space?"

"Err...sorry...I really didn't mean to space out like that...no pun intended... ._."

"That's a shame; it would've been a great pun. Anyways, I don't mind. You tend to do this quite a lot. I just didn't expect you to be out of it for so long. I finished my speech ten minutes ago."

"Really? Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I really meant to listen, I promise! It's just that I was thinking about...um...well..."

"About that...What were you thinking about? From the look on your face, I could tell this wasn't your usual happy-go-lucky adventure...Are you okay?"

"Of course! I'm fine, don't worry. It was nothing important. Anyways, it's really late now. If we don't go soon, they're gonna lock us in, and I for one don't wanna spend the night at school! So yeah, I'm gonna head home now. Again, I'm really sorry for zoning out like that, but I would love to listen to your speech another time. See you tomorrow!"

"Wait! Before you go, there's something I wanna ask you."

"Yes?"

"Who was that weird guy I saw you with earlier? Do you know him?"

"Uh...nope! Not at all!"

"Are you sure...? Because when I came to get you, you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"I don't think so...you must be imagining things."

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure I saw him staring at you the entire time we were talking, too."

"It's really no big deal. Don't worry about it."

"Nice try, but I'm not buying it. You've been acting really weird since that guy showed up, and it's starting to worry me. What's going on? Who was that?"

"...Someone I knew a long time ago."

"Who?"

"His name is Lysander. He's...a friend from my last school. We were just catching up."

"Well, from what I saw, he seems really suspicious. I wouldn't trust him if I were you."

"Thanks Chris, but I promise I'll be alright. You trust me, right?"

"Of course I do, but...please be careful, okay? If you ever feel like you're in trouble, don't hesitate to get help. And remember, I'm always here if you need me."

"Okay. Thank you, Chris."

"No problem, Julia. Anyway, it's been a long day. Let's go home."

"I agree. Let's go."

And with that, Chris and I walked side by side out of the school. He walked me all the way to my apartment building, where we said our goodbyes and separated for the day. I spent the rest of the night relaxing, for the most part, making sure to only do the homework that was due the next day. Everything else would have to wait, as I was terribly exhausted and bound to pass out any moment now.

What a day... I thought to myself as I collapsed onto my bed. To say it was hectic was an understatement; it was absolutely chaotic. School in and of itself was problematic, but now Lucy and Chris were going crazy with their problems, and now it seemed I had one as well. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that Lysander was here. He was here...for good! And he didn't look too happy about seeing me with Chris earlier...

Oh god...what am I gonna do?

Thankfully, I didn't have to think about it for long. Before I knew it, I was out like a light and well on my way to the dream world. Whatever might happen with Lysander would just have to wait, because nothing was getting in the way of my precious sleep. I wouldn't stand for it.

…...But that wasn't exactly up to me anymore.