Monday, Atlantean Royal Palace

Ow! Amelia is stepping on my toes!

"Sorry, Mike. Anyway, I'd like to know you better," she said, moving forward to kiss me on the lips wile snatching the rose in my hand. I stepped away just in time, and she fell onto the floor.

"Hey!" Mitchell stood up from the front row. He helped Amelia up. "You sucker! I'll teach you…"

I ignored him and ran after Lia. Can I make it in time. Maybe not. I mean, Lia's a great athlete. I have muscles the size of a peanut on my calves. No way could I catch up with her. Huffing, puffing, and limping, I dragged myself to Lia's suite in a minute.

I opened the unlocked door. Lia's not inside. Her closet is empty. I quickly went out to the corridor. No one there either. Pollo appeared beside me.

"Are you OK, your Highness? I'm sorry about the rejection. What can I do?" he asked.

"Order the gatekeepers to bar exit to Lia!" I cried. Pollo nodded and spoke into his walkie-talkie.

Zzzzzoooom! We looked up and saw an airflyer zooming through the air. The bright blue one I gave to Lia's for saving my life in the coronation sports competition! "Lia!" I shouted. "I'm really sorry! Come back, won't you?"
Lia either didn't hear me or ignore me. Either way, she flew up and was gone.

I'm not letting her go that easily. I mean, just when I've discovered that I love her, not a mere crush, and she was GETTING AWAY! I hopped onto my silver airflyer and geared up. This feels like when you see a motor race and how cool it is to drive one. I chased after her, 100 miles an hour. I mean, air resistance, drag, and gravity are forces to be reckoned with. I don't want to die too.

From what I could see, Lia was also taking the forces seriously. It's like, may the forces be with us, making flight difficult. So we're even.

"Lia!" I shouted. "I'm sorry! But I really love you! I'm sorry I don't believe about Amelia. She's a two-faced witch, and I don't want her. I don't want a magazine-cover model, you're all that I've ever wanted. Nobody can ever take my heart and breath and soul away except for you. You're my soul reason for living, and you're The One. My Soulmate. Perfection. You're—"

Ahem. Sorry about all the cheesy phrases and whatnot. I mean, isn't that cliché? Lia seems to think so too, since she didn't ease up on her speed. And I doubt the pretending-to-fall-off-the-airflyer trick is

going to work this time. I mean, Lia's so tough she probably won't care. Oh, what to do? It's so hard to woo a girl!

"Lia, what do you want me to do? I'd do anything for you!" I shouted.

"Well, stop chasing me! I'm going to America to publish my stories. Oh, and one word of advice: your lines suck. They're like, written by a third-rate playwright. And pretending to fall off your airflyer's not going to help, either. I'm not saving you."

See? Lia is my soul mate! I mean, we even think about the same things!

"I shall never be thirsty, for you shall be my wine. My candle will never burn out, for you shall light it always. I—" seeing no reaction whatsoever, I gave up on that. "Fine. I'm not chasing you because of all of these! I'm after you because I LOVE YOU!" I yelled, shocken by the amount of decibels I manage to bring out. It must at least have been 98 d.

Lia's airflyer suddenly stopped in midair. I'm not shocked. I mean, airflyers can stop in midair. Maybe Lia's so moved by my speech that she's stopping.

Fat chance. There's a problem with her airflyer. No more fuel! The headlights are dimming! The sun is setting too! The airflyer is slowly sinking!

"Help!" she shouted in her deep voice. "Cal, help me!"

I zoomed forward, feeling brave and macho and all. I mean, here comes Superman, saving the damsel in distress. I easily reached her in five minutes and reached for her hand. Just when our fingertips were about to touch…

Whooosh! Lia's airflyer stopped gradually sinking and decided to make it straight to the ground, sixty feet in the air! My reaction was too slow and there's no way the airflyer can go downwards that fast.

"Aaaaarrrrrrrrggggh!" Lia shouted.