DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the plot.

Gael Raven E. Vargas.

My best friend since I was 4.

The guy could practically pass up as my twin since we've fairly shared a lot of hobbies, likes and dislikes, and because of the fact that we've been inseparable all our lives. We practically grew up together!

We were neighbors.

He was the oldest son who had a younger brother, Mikhail Renzo, who was practically a spoiled brat. But they got along despite their differences and all; he'd even admit that he loved the little guy to bits!

His parents have always approved of me in so many weird ways I cannot fathom. Probably because our families had good relations with each other, or some other factors I cannot claim to say.

As a kid, he had always been one hell of a skinny athlete. Even when he was a skilled Arnis fighter, he was super skinny. And when I came for his competitions, I swore that he looked like a dancing stick while fighting.

Gael has this boy-next door of a common Filipino boy image – average height, normal build, dark skin tone, thick eyebrows, straight nose, straight black hair and identically innocent pair of hazel eyes hidden behind his black hipster glasses. The guy's like the smartest guy I've ever known. He's also one of the sweetest and most considerate people I know.

When I and my brothers moved to a dormitory, Gael was crushed and practically depressed that we lived miles from each other, that our communication together would be impossible and that we would never be friends again. I thought that too, but miraculously, we stayed stuck to each other like glue.

We practically went to the same school together and have been in the same class for years! And oftentimes, when my brothers aren't around, he'd be their replacement in escorting me home and ensuring me of my safety. He always saw that as an opportunity to act as my gallant knight in shining aluminum armour.

But then, high school came, which became the rockiest of our friendship.

And it's hilarious as to how puberty changed his perspective.

That, or that I was just a painfully dense person. My brothers' words, not mine.

But anyways, during our sophomore year, which was the awkwardest year ever. I've had like…suitors? I don't know. And Gael, who was trying out for basketball that year, became far too protective of me. Just like my brothers. When I'd wait for him after his practices, some of his friends would engage into a friendly chat with me and when Gael approached, he'd glare daggers at them. His friends would give him friendly pats on his back and leave. Then, Gael would carry my things for me more often, no matter how light they were.

But what really shook our friendship, which had almost torn us apart, was on the 1st of December at approximately twelve noon - his confession.

And during our school festival to boot!

If I recall, he had been acting really weird that day and when we had come across the quietest corner of our school, he suddenly blurted it out when I noticed him avoiding my look, shriveling and turning beet red.

"I like you Lia Ellen Santiago Dela Rosa."

Those words took me by surprise. Never have I expected him to say those words to my face, much less, expected him to feel that way towards me.

For a few years, he's been keeping it to himself of what he truly feels about me. And for months, he's been meaning just say those words to my face. He's been feeling that way for as long as he can remember and he's just dying to let me know.

But sadly, the feeling was not mutual.

He's always been a brother to me, an overprotective, smart and considerate brother. That and that alone, I can never think of him more than that. So I flatly rejected him and told him of my honest feelings, that I was sorry I couldn't return his feelings and obviously, he was crushed.

For a few months, he was downright depressed. He just couldn't get over me. And who wouldn't be when your first love who happens to be your best friend had rejected you? It left me a guilty conscience really, that I had hurt Gael's feelings. But can you blame me for not feeling the same? Gael knew that, he wasn't smart for nothing, but he just couldn't shake the painful feeling away.

But even with that awkward event in our history of friendship, he still remained my best friend.

Always and has been.

Even after Sendong, he was the first to reach out to me and offered to be a shoulder to cry on. He gave me a lot of encouragements and kind words just so I could overcome the sadness Sendong gave to me. He was there to listen to my parental needs whenever I longed for my folks. Has seen my utmost ups and downs, and was even strong enough to let me go when I was told to live with my parents in Burgess.

Overall, he's been my best friend ever since.

Which is one of the reasons why Jack is highly jealous of him.

After a long, hard and excruciating day at school, I freely toss my body on Jack's soft downy bed. Sprawling myself across Jack's bed wearing Gael's hoodie, shorts and socks, I grin to myself that just a few moments ago I was just told by my parents that we were spending summer back at Cagayan de Oro for a full month. I was excited to go back. A lot has changed since I left, and I can't wait to get back.

Jack Snow's room isn't the cleanest or messiest room around, but it's so cozy and speaks a great deal of his characters. Cobalt blue colored walls, white furniture set consisting of his bed, his mini-bookshelf, and his study desk. His shelves are crammed with books, magazines and some century old looking encyclopedia. The walls are hung by movie adaptations of his favorite books: Narnia, Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. On top of his study table is a rather large bulletin board, studded with a myriad of photographs, notes and ticket stubs. The four poster bed stood by the wall where the window is adjacent to my own room, on the bedside table stands a lamp that looked like it was fresh out from a junkyard sale. And in the corner is a modern picture frame shaped like a tree, photos of him and his friends, with his family, with his sister and of a recent photo of me and him taken last Christmas. I smile at the photo, the memory of that day clear in my head. It was one of my favorite memories of him.

Directing my attention to the owner of the room, I find Jack, who's sitting beside my sprawled body, glaring acidly at me.

It had taken me two minutes to realize that he's looking at something other than my curious hazel eyes. It had taken him another full minute for me meet his eyes and he does not look satisfied.

A full-blown staring contest ensues before it hits me.

Hoodie.

Gael's hoodie.

"May I help you Jackson?" I ask innocently, my voice playful as I emphasized 'Jackson'. Only I was given the special privileged to call him that.

He only glares harder.

So now you're wondering, why am I in Jack's lovely abode? Well, that's because nobody's home right now. Lola Carrie went somewhere with her friends, and she brought the keys with her. Knowing this, Tito Lito had arranged that I and my cousin drop by the Snow's place until Lola Carrie comes home. Bobby is currently with Emma downstairs doing their homework, while Miss Snow is arranging dinner. I'd help, but she declined my offer and insisted that I take the load off. Luckily for us, we don't have homework to be done other than an easy breezy quiz for Chemistry tomorrow. So there.

Anyways, back to the situation at hand.

A firm line forms on Jack's lips, his dark amber eyes glowering at the navy blue hoodie I'm wearing. I roll my eyes, of all things.

"It's just a hoodie Jack," I remind him, quickly sitting up on crossed legs to look at him, our eyes at level.

Almost immediately, he looks away with another glint in his eyes. I swore that I detect jealousy in there, it's so cute. He mumbles something I don't hear and I inch closer. "Hmm?"

Jack mumbles again, cheeks flaring up. I only inch closer. "Hmm?"

He sighs and meets my gaze, our noses almost touching, hazel eyes locking with dark amber.

"I said, are you making me jealous on purpose?"

"No, why?" I cock my head to the side in question. Confused as to why he would think that.

"T-Then, why do you still have that?"

"That?"

"The jacket."

"Gael's jacket?"

He flinches at the name and pouts, some effect my best friend has on my errant boyfriend.

"Yes."

I sigh. "Jack, I already told you. He gave it to me as a remembrance so that I would never forget him. The proudest thing I'm always proud of was him being of the varsity team, so knowing that he gave me his hoodie." I explain, searching for his eyes.

He's quiet for a while; I assume he lets the topic slide. I relax and lean against his bedpost and stare out the window; I can see my room from here and the tree's leaves beginning to turn into a lovely shade of green.

Spring is coming soon, how I want to see it with my own eyes. It'll only be a few months until it'll officially be a year of my stay here in Burgess. Just as the memory flashes through my mind, Jack surprises me with a question.

"He kissed you didn't he?"

"Ha?" I look back at him, his legs are equally crossed and he's looking at me in the eye. Dark amber eyes almost sullen and curious, the playfulness glint long lost.

I ransack through my brain for any possible- oh wait.

"Y-Yeah, he kinda did…" I say softly, scrunching my face at the memory.

Ah, that memory is new…

Lumbia Airport, Cagayan de Oro City.

February 8, 4:07 PM.

I'm standing at the departing area ready to board to my plane with my ticket in hand and my friends surrounding me and in tears. Gael tries to keep his tears at bay, but I knew better. We've been taking photos after photos since we arrived at the airport and my friends have never meant so much to me than before. A few days back, my friends and classmates had arranged a farewell party for me and non-stop invites to sleepovers and final hang-outs. During the farewell party, everyone had given me their gifts and best wishes, all except for Gael.

Out of the blue, he hands me his hoodie, saying a few parting words before I realized that I was spilling tears. He was so annoying when it came to emotional occurrences. As the PA announces the last call for my flight, Gael leans down and gently kisses my forehead. It took everyone by surprise, even me. He told me he'd miss me and gave me one last hug before I finally left my beloved hometown.

As if reading my mind, Jack brushes away my bangs to leave a gentle kiss on my forehead, at the exact area where Gael had kissed me. All the blood rose to my face at the feel of his soft lips pressed against my forehead. I unconsciously reached for his hand and rest my other hand on his arm, gripping his hand tightly by our knees.

When he pulled away, he presses his forehead against mine and looks down on me. I tried looking away, but damn, those dark amber eyes got me. The usual effect they have on me.

I had expected him to go on about Gael, ranting even of why I shouldn't be in his clothes or something, but instead with a heaving sigh he says "I'm going to miss you."

Oh, he's referring to our upcoming vacation. I smile timidly.

"I'm missing you already Li."

I roll my eyes at him.

"It's only for a month."

"Then it's gonna be a month of full misery. Remember, I hate the heat."

"I'm sure you'll live." He groans and I giggle.

Without warning, he brings himself forward and kisses me. I giggle in surprise, my back lands against the comforts of his bed. I try to pry him off, but he's just too strong. He has his hands pinning me down, his legs straddling my sides as he's busy kissing me, savoring the feel of our lips against each other. I find myself giving in and kissing him back.

This never gets old, kissing him.

Though it was embarrassing and downright awkward at first, I never stop finding kissing as one of the sweetest things Jack can do. He'd kiss me anywhere – head, hand, fingers, shoulder and knees - for as long as it cheers me up. We don't kiss a lot, much less make-out, since we spend every moment getting to know each other better, playing and cuddling.

Other than kissing, Jack would hold my hand when I seek for comfort, when he seeks for assurance, when he needs a grip of something, when he wants something to play with, or just when he feels like it. But whenever my family, most especially my parents, catches us doing this, I'd always blush beet red and hide behind my boyfriend to avoid their gazes. It's embarrassing enough that they approve of him and how they're silently teasing me in the process.

When I told my family that I and Jack were together, they were obviously pleased. Lola Carrie and Tita Helen were in hysterics, stating how they always knew, Bobby was jumping up and down, Tito Lito offering me a proud smile, while my parents were shell-shocked but came to after sometime. Jack had to endure New Year, since our families celebrated together at our place, being bombarded by threats and words of advices from my Dad, Tito Lito and surprisingly, from Bobby. The guys touched me, since they all reminded me of how my brothers would react to me having a boyfriend and how they'd warn him off with words of advice or threats.

Jack pulls away a moment later, a playful smirk on his face as he fans my face with his hot breathe. The familiar scent of minty soda is there. He strokes his nose against mine, I giggle.

"You have one of the cutest laughs in the world;" I smile shyly at him. "all the more reasons for me to miss you even more."

"You'll live." I repeat, humoring him a little.

"I don't think I can."

My mouth dries, I try to look away, but it only gives Jack's ego another boost. Instead, I frown up at him.

"You can be too sweet sometimes, you know that?"

He's smiling down at me, releasing one hand to tuck a strand of hair from my face. His expression is soft and gentle, the look in his eyes reads the adoration he has me; it's confirmed from when he sighs in content. "You are so beautiful Lia."

I snort "And you can be amazingly sweet sometimes Jackson."

"I'm being truthful here Li," he frowns discontentedly.

"I know you are, just-"my face flares, I discontinue what I'm about to say. Me being speechless should be enough for him to get the idea, but eventually a word formulates in my head. "…an honestly annoying but ever so sweet boyfriend. Continue with that and you'll end up giving me diabetes."

"Diabetes?" he laughs.

"Yes, stop being too sweet, for Pete's sake."

"Who's Pete? Someone I should know about?" he asks, frowning down at me.

Mischievously, I play with him a little. "Oh, someone I know. Someone who's-" I think up of words while he keeps his eyes on mine "smart and funny and nice and amazing and everything you're not."

"What?!" he screeches, alarmed.

I smile triumphantly. I wanted to repeat what I've said, but stop as I'm tackled by Jack's sneaky fingers, a full-blown laugh breaks from my mouth. Jack has his hands flailing to my sides, poking and torturing as much as he can.

"Jack, stop!" I try, prying his hands away, laughter breaking in the air.

But his agility and strength and fast reflexes are preventing me to do just that, allowing him to do as he pleases. I'm thrashing beneath him, his legs and weight trapping me, preventing me to go anywhere. Tickling is absolute torture.

"Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaack, stoooooooop!" I said in between laughs.

"Whyyyyy? This is so much fuuuuun!" he whines above me.

I reach up to punch his face, lightly. I throw my head back as another laugh breaks out; it feels cathartic to laugh this much. When was the last time I laughed this hard? And when was the last time when someone tickled me? Above me, I hear Jack laughing along. He's amused at my helpless state.

Before my face had turned into blue and I possibly die from laughter, he stops, allowing me to take a breather and touch my sides. When I finally feel like myself again, and I feel my lungs once more, I look up at Jack, who's smiling innocently at me, and glare.

"Jackson Snow, I'm gonna kill you-"he doesn't let me finish as he kisses me once again, a bit tenderly this time.

He's being freakishly tender that I lose myself into it. I bring my hands up to his hair, bringing him closer to me, running my fingers through his silky brown hair, twisting bits of his hair. Slowly, I feel his hands around my waist, wrapping themselves around me in a protective manner. As if I was a precious china doll or a fragile flower that needs to be attended with full care. His arms enfolding me closer, our body heat mixing as his hands move up and down my back.

He bites my lower lip and deftly slides his tongue into my mouth, I silently moan deep in my throat. He tastes me everywhere. And at the same time, he tastes of that soda and mint he had earlier. His slimy wet tongue eventually meets mine, teasing and coaxing me until both our tongues engage in a slow dance. I moan into his mouth whereas he groans in mine.

I was the first to break away from him; the feel of the heated moment might overwhelm me. When I look at him, I find the softest smile from him. His eyes shine in understanding, after all, when we first engaged into this kind of kissing he swore that we would never go past that. Ever.

If a guy truly loves you, he'd have to understand the boundaries. And Jack is just the definition of that.

I hear him sigh above him, a deep sigh. His lips press against my forehead once again, a bit longer this time, but this time he doesn't stop. He trails light kisses down to my eyes, my nose, my temple and leaves a sweet gentle kiss to my lips.

He doesn't feel like his usual jolly and mischievous self and it's gotten me worried. In an attempt to gauge his attention, I cup both hands to his face and lower his face down to mine; my heart automatically drops at the sight of his sullen dark amber orbs.

"Jack?"

He doesn't say anything, but eventually he looks right back at me. A myriad of emotions cross his face – uncertainty, sadness and worry, and I know where it all goes down with.

He's missing me too much already.

"Jack, it's-"

"I miss you already Lia."

…

"It's still on May you know, it's still January."

He shifts above me, resting his elbows on either side of my head.

"So you have me for two months Jack, chin up. Make every moment last," I try to encourage him; my arms wrapped around his neck so our foreheads rest against each other. Very slowly, he retrieves his elbows and wraps them around their usual place on my waist. And at the same time, we shut our eyes and relish the moment we have together.

I sigh contentedly, he does the same.

"This feels nice…" I had whispered my thoughts unknowingly.

"Yeah…" Jack whispers above me, holding me tight.

Momentary silence follows.

It's not every day we get to do these kinds of things. Moments like these are usually so rare. Well, we've only started dating for about 2 months; so technically, this is something new to us both. And it feels nice. Just in his bed holding each other like our life depended on it, feeling secure in each other's arms.

"I'm not leaving for good you know." I whisper after a moment of silence, my eyes still closed.

"I know," he breathes "it's just, I'm really, really going to miss you Li."

I snort "A full month of me being gone is going to kill you?"

"…You could say that."

"You have the guys, the kids to keep you occupied."

"…Yeah, but…it's not the same."

"Please, you're just being overreacting. You could last a day without me."

His hold tightens, "summer would be hell without you." He explains.

"We've spent one summer together Jack." I remind him the plain obvious.

"But it's been one of the best summers I've ever had, especially with you around."

My heart practically leaps out my mouth when he said that; seriously, can't he be any sweeter than this? He's going to kill me with diabetes I swear.

"Are you worried that I might see Gael again?" I tease him; my best friend always has an effect on him. It's so cute seeing him jealous. I slowly open my eyes to look up at him, he frowns down at me. Jack fumbles with words, breathing abnormally. His dark amber orbs glaring down at me, trapping me in place.

"Isn't that obvious?" I roll my eyes and lean up to kiss his nose.

"It's gonna be alright Jack; he already knows that I have an errant, childish and loving boyfriend here in Burgess. He isn't exactly happy, but, he's hell as excited to see me again."

His frown deepens, if that's even possible. And I swear, it's the cutest thing I have ever seen. I mentally take a moment to remember this face of his.

"All the more reason I don't want you to go back." He growls, I laugh at him, kissing the corner of his mouth to calm him down. His frown quickly fades a soft smile surfacing. The other corner of his mouth twitches and I kiss it as well.

"Jack, I'm not only going back for Gael. I have other friends waiting for me back home. And sights and places me and my family are planning to see, especially that new mall. My hometown's developing and I gotta see that."

He groans and rolls his eyes at me.

"Just promise me this, once you arrive in Cagayan de Oro that you'll give me chat every night. I'll be online every night waiting for you." Jack says in an authorative tone, his face serious. I laugh at this.

"Yeah, yeah, I promise."

He breathes a sigh of relief "Good." He takes a hand from my waist and starts to stroke my hair, his fingers massaging my scalp. I sigh contentedly.

"You are really so pretty Lia."

"Hmm."

He stops massaging and stares, his eyes showing a glint of playful mischief. Those dark amber orbs are as alluring and hypnotizing as ever, always giving me an effect. I wonder if mine does the same. I gaze up at him curiously, his eyes crinkling in mild amusement.

"GAH! You're too cute sometimes Lia!" I was right; I do have that effect on him.

Just as he swoops down to seal our lips, Emma and Bobby chooses this moment to barge in unannounced but stop and stare at the sight of us. Two 7-year old kids stand immobilized and staring, their faces flushing beet red.

Jack hovering over me in a predatory-like manner, while I'm beneath him completely vulnerable.

Bobby and Emma stand right at the door clearly shell-shocked and flustered.

An on-going staring contest going between us.

Eventually, Emma announces that dinner is really and Bobby immediately shuts the door. Their rapid footsteps sound off behind the closed door before disappearing entirely.

Jack and I stare at the door dumbfoundedly, then at each other. Smiles form on our faces, and before we know it, we're laughing like mad. After our laughter had died out, I start to realize how hungry I am and slowly slip away from him.

"We should probably go now," I say pushing him away, but he barely moves a muscle. I raise a warning brow at him before he eventually gets up, taking me with him. I fix myself once I'm on my feet, running my fingers through my long black hair. Then I head towards the door, my stomach growling in excitement of food.

Jack's fingers slip into mine, stopping me dead in my tracks. I turn to him; a glint of mischief crosses his face. And before I know it, my back is against his door. And without warning, he grabs my chin and swoops down to kiss me. My hunger is momentarily forgotten as I kiss him back, much to his delight. He pins our intertwined hands to the side and his one hand circling my waist, ensuring that I'm not going anywhere as our kiss deepens.

"Jack, Lia, dinner's ready!" Miss Snow calls, disrupting our moment.

We part with a smack, light giggles escaping our mouths.

He leans for one last kiss, but I stop him with my finger. "No," I warn him, he pouts and does a puppy-eye. I almost give in. "nice try, but the answer's still no. You've had enough kisses for one day."

He groans. Dejectedly, he goes along with what I've said. "Fine." And turns to open the door for me, we walk out; our hands locked together and turn to descend down the stairs. We're halfway down when he suddenly stops; I look at him in interest. He looks uncharacteristically shy for once. "Err…Lia, you are going to the Spring dance right?" I nod. With new found confidence, he looks me in the eye and asks "Can you be my date?"

This idiot…

Instead of giving him an answer, I reach up to him on tiptoe and kiss him. A silent yes.

"Of course I'll go with you Jack." I verbally state.

He sighs in relief. He should already know that I'd go with him and only him.

My stomach growls again, signaling Jack away from his thoughts. "Earth to Ja-a-ck, dinner awaits!" I say impatiently. He breaks from him reverie and leads us downstairs and into their kitchen where a heaping bowl of mushroom carbonara with garlic bread on the side awaits us.

Mmm, I love pasta.

Emma and Bobby avoid our faces with reddening cheeks, while Miss Snow looks at us knowingly.

"Come, come, eat while it's hot Lia, I know how much you love pasta."

I grin childishly.

"That I do, that I do." From beside me, Jack's face falls into a childish pout. I laugh inwardly and give him a light squeeze, reassuring him. He gets the message and squeezes my hand back.

Being the gentleman that he was, Jack pulls out the chair for me. I feel my cheeks flush and move in front of the chair. Jack pushes the chair underneath me and turns to sit beside me, we silently bless the food before we dig in.

As we eat, Bobby and Emma are talking to us animatedly of how their day at school went. The two clearly forgot that awkward encounter earlier much to my relief. I sneak a glance at Jack who doesn't seem the slightest bit relieved, instead, he laughs at something Bobby had said.

Deciding to let that encounter die down, I return my attention to the kids before us. Underneath the table, Jack places his hand on mine, holding it tightly. When I'd give it a light squeeze, he'd squeeze it back.

Oh how I love pasta, but not as much as I love Jack Snow.

A/N:

HA! Thought I was done? TOUGH LUCK! xD *laughs and points at your faces*

Yeah, you have noticed that I've made an Image for this. I don't any of them, I had to google each and every one for it. Thought it was accurate and gave me more reasons for keeping me occupied. HAHAHAHA.

So, I was pretty much bored and all. Yes, I did swear that I'm off the writing zone for a while. But then, that annoying urge got to me. So since these two were bugging my mind, and my mind was screaming: EXTRAEXTRAEXTRAEXTRA. So yeah, here you go :) I'm terribly sorry for the randomness I've written down here. ECK, most especially the dinner scene. Dang, I'm craving for pasta.

A little explanation for their relationship: Yeah, they're going out, but they don't stop being best friends. Typically, this relationship is based loosely on how I've perceived a relationship with Jack would be. A little bit like this. If it's OOC, I apologize. I was thinking too much. My Christian Humanism teacher once said that if a man really loves you, he's kiss you and wouldn't go beyond your neck. The rest is saved for marriage.

No mentions of any guardians other than Jack, sorry!

Consider this as my pre-Valentine's gift to y'all :D hihhihihihihi~