A/N: Hello guys! How are you doing this Saturday? Well, as for me I wanted to let you know that I'm good! I read all of your reviews and I must say...wow! Thank you a lot for those! I don't know, I guess I like the fact of knowing that you like this story, despite all the drama I write sometimes, more like too often! I like the variety of thoughts you guys have, like one review from another are very different, so that way I can know how I'm going with the development of the story! I appreciate each one of them. And I really like when you say funny things that make laugh, or sweet things that make me feel like very touched, or when you seem to be eager to read the next chapter! I guess I can't believe that I actually make you feel things with my writing, for me that is one of the best things that someone can tell me, for several reasons; and well, it's almost impossible to believe, but it's something good for sure. Thank you a lot guys, I'll never get tired to thank you, so get used at it. Well, well, this chapter... well, I don't know how you'll take this chapter, but I hope you can enjoy it! I'll figure it out later, I guess! So just I'm gonna let you read this one now. With these words, I'm telling you...Until next Saturday! :)

TEENAGE DREAM

Chapter 12

Brainwashing

"Finally you're here! I was thinking that maybe you got lost!" Brian exclaimed when you finally arrived to the cafeteria.

"I'm sorry; something didn't allow me to come here earlier." You answered monotonically.

You sat at the table where Brian was waiting for you, already with your lunch. You didn't know how you were going to manage to pretend everything was fine after you saw Darren so very downhearted because of your fault and after you received that harsh text message from W. You were like a big damn mess and anything was helping, it seemed you were doing everything wrong.

"May I ask you what happened?" Brian asked curious, but not in a recriminatory way.

"Girls stuff..." You lied but you sounded honest. Wow, now you were an expert on lying. What was wrong with you?

"Got it." Brian said understanding and he smiled sympathetically. "It explains your sudden change of mood. That's a mystery for boys, why girls can change their mood so abruptly when they're on their period, like you, girls, seem to be bipolar."

"Trust me; it's a mystery for us too. And do not be surprised if I suddenly start crying for nothing in particular, we tend to be ridiculously sensitive." You tried to joke and it worked because Brian was now laughing.

"That's why we, boys, love and hate women at the same time. Because you're a big mystery to discover and that's amazing, but we get tired too fast when we can't get what's going on with you. It's like... Dude, am I doing something wrong?" Brian said amused and you giggled because of his confession.

"Well, at least we don't make the routine so routinely. It'd be boring otherwise, don't you think?" You said now cheering up and trying to forget all the shit that happened to you earlier.

"You have a point there. I'm gonna start appreciating more your backflips." Brian said smiling gently.

"Hey, dude. How are you doing?" A boy interrupted your conversation. You recognized him.

"Hey there, Jim." Brian greeted and suddenly he stopped smiled. Well, you thought they were friends; after all they were in the same football team. "Hi, Dean." Brian greeted the tall, blonde and skinny boy who was next to Jim.

"Hello, Brian." Dean greeted looking at you and Brian very intently.

"Do you mind if we sit over here?" Jim asked and you noticed how Brian huffed before shaking his head.

Then Jim sat at the table next to Brian and Dean sat next to you. Well, now this wasn't so comfortable and it was even more uncomfortable when Jim started staring at you in a weird way.

"Hey dude, is this the girl you've talked about?" Jim asked Brian.

"Yeah." Brian answered curtly, looking away, very serious.

"It's very nice to meet you, gurl." Jim said looking at you with a cocky smile. There was something about him you didn't like, but anyway you smiled trying to be polite. "Brian told us that you are in drama class, that's great. Dean, the boy who's next to you, also goes to that class."

"Really?" You asked trying to be interested in the conversation. "That's good to know." You said smiling at Dean but he didn't smile back. Wow, that guy was just so cold. "Anyway, I'm gonna tell the teacher I won't take those classes any longer." You said shrugging and munching your sandwich.

"Why not?" Dean asked with eyes wide open. Why was that guy looking at you as if he was terrified about knowing that?

"Theatre is not my thing." You answered shrugging, pretending to be indifferent, but now you were intrigued to know why Dean looked at you that way.

"No, you must keep going. You're the best in the class." Dean said supplicant. What? That had to be a sort of a joke. You've never been in a drama class and you didn't even know what it was about.

"Dean, I thought you said that the Darren Criss guy was the best one." Jim questioned, frowning and apparently confused as you choked with your food.

"Is that Darren guy in that class too?" You asked with eyes wide open because of your surprise.

"Yes, you and he are the best ones. We need the both of you for the final show." Dean said supplicant again and apparently worried.

"Well, I'm sorry. But now that you told me that the Darren guy is in that class too, I'm more than sure to stop going to that drama class." You said moody, taking a sip of your soda.

"Why?" Jim asked curious and frowning.

"Because the guy is a creep." You answered curtly and coldly, looking away.

"Brian, I think we should tell her..." Jim said with a tone of conspiracy.

"Yeah, whatever..." Brian responded indifferent and bad tempered, looking away.

"Tell me what?" You asked intrigued and suspicious.

"Well, your father told us that you have memory loss, so we thought that maybe you could have forgotten all that has been happening lately... Something really serious, but we weren't sure if you remembered that or not; and apparently you don't remember. Anyway, we didn't want to push you to remember this terrible thing..." Jim started saying almost in a whisper, as if what he was saying was a secret. "Maybe it's not time yet for you to remember, but this is something hideous and you need to know just in case something bad comes to happen..."

"Alright, get straight to the point." You demanded in a bossy and impatient way as all of the guys at the table looked at you in surprise.

"You've been receiving rough text messages from W, haven't you?" Jim asked looking at you intently.

"Yes, who is that W person?" You asked eagerly, trying to get any kind of answer.

"We still don't know, but we have our suspicions." Jim said thoughtful and you were now very intrigued to know why Jim was talking about W if you were talking about Darren seconds ago. "What we know is that W is a terrible person who wants to hurt you, we don't know why. Point is W has been threatening you since a long time ago and things were getting worse with time. We also started receiving harassing text messages from this W person, only because we were helping you. But screw W, we weren't going to leave you alone on this."

"I don't get it. Why would someone want to hurt us?" You asked confused and disturbed.

"Because, sadly, there are mean people." Jim said looking down sadly and you nodded in agreement. "Point is we think that this Darren Criss guy is W."

"How come?" You asked frowning and not believing him fully because, although you didn't want to be around this guy, he didn't seem to be a bad person.

"Because the guy never noticed you until one particular day..." Jim said as a mystery.

"The day you started going to the drama class." Dean said.

"Exactly. And since that day you started receiving those text messages. Dean and I came to the conclusion that Darren Criss is W because he was jealous of you. You see, Darren was the best one in the drama class until you arrived and you changed it. Now you're the favorite one and Criss is an ambitious and selfish guy and he couldn't stand it." Jim said self-confident and Dean nodded, while Brian was just looking away in silence and very serious, as though he didn't want to be part of this conversation.

"That cannot be possible. I mean, the guy is a creep but once he helped me when I was in danger." You said frowning and confused.

"Do you mean that time when Peter, your old friend, took you?" Jim asked and you looked at him amazed. How would he know that? Anyway, you nodded. "Well, that's the way he acts. He's a perverse guy. He pretended to be your friend all this time and he has this ability to distort reality. What Peter has done to you was a plan of Criss. They are allies. Do you know why? Because all this time Criss tried to make you think that he is a good guy who cares about you, only to then attack you. You know what people say, keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

"I can't believe it..." You whispered disturbed. This all was too much information.

"Well, yes. That's because you're a good person and you can't understand why people gotta be so mean sometimes." Jim said smiling sadly. "Why do you think that Criss is bugging you all the time? Why do you think that he's nice to you all the time? And the worst is that he's a good actor, so you'd never believe that he can be a cruel person. Surely he already told you that he cares about you, that you are important to him; surely he also pretended to be crying and all that shit."

"The Criss show." Dean said in disgust.

"Oh my God..." You exclaimed in disbelief because that was what actually happened.

"Yes, it's terrible." Jim said shaking his head in disgust. "Point is, when we realized what was happening, we planned something to win him. If he wanted to play that way, then we also needed to play like that. Keep us close, but keep Criss closer. So, days before your accident and before your memory loss, we planned that you were going to pretend to be his friend. That way we'd be able to figure out what he wanted. That's why everybody was surely telling you that you and Criss used to be friends, because that's what we planned."

"And that's why we were worried when you said you wouldn't keep going to drama class. You must keep going and you must pretend you're his friend so then we'll get more information about Darren's plans." Dean said and Jim nodded in agreement.

"I see. Yes, that's a good plan. But it's too late, I already screwed it." You said now feeling guilty.

"What do you mean?" Jim asked frowning.

"I treated him like shit before coming here. I hardly think he'd want to keep talking to me now." You answered looking down.

"That's not a problem at all. Use your charm to convince him you're sorry. He'd forgive you, I'm sure." Jim said encouragingly.

"After all, you're a good actress as well." Dean said also encouragingly. "Tell him that you'd do whatever it takes if he only forgives you, he'd fall."

"Yes, I guess it could work. I should give it a try." You said shrugging.

"That's the attitude!" Jim said smiling proudly as you grinned flattered. "But remember, you must tell us everything that is happening. We don't want you to end up hurt because of that asshole. Deal?"

"Yes, deal." You nodded in agreement, feeling brave for the first time. You knew you could do this, somehow you were feeling self-confident.

You kept talking for a long and they encouraged you to do this, so you were feeling really self-confident now. They gave you some advises, telling you what you could say to Darren to get his forgiveness and they warned more things about him and his macabre game. This Darren Criss guy wouldn't hurt you, you were going to do whatever it takes not to let this happen; and Jim, Dean and Brian were going to help you. They were true friends, they really cared about you; and with them you didn't have those awful flashbacks, which were making you feel sick. That was going well. When the lunch time finished, Jim and Dean said goodbye and now you were alone with Brian, who remained silent during all the lunch time.

"I can't believe what this Criss guy is doing. It's so perverse." You finally said thoughtful and frowning in disbelief.

"Well, do not take this to heart. Do not forget that all of this is only a suspicion. We're not really sure if Darren is W." Brian whispered serious, very different from when you were with him alone before Jim and Dean arrived. "If you're a wise girl, you won't tell Jim and Dean everything that is happening. Yes, maybe they want to help you, but they're sure that Darren is the asshole, so they'd do anything to hurt him in revenge for the harassing text messages. To be honest, I don't think Criss is W. And you wouldn't want to hurt an innocent person, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't want it." You said frowning and confused, because maybe Brian was right. He made you see another point of view. "So then, what's your advice for me?"

"I don't know. Maybe you should pretend to be his friend, but you shouldn't tell anyone what's happening if you aren't sure if he's the real bully. Maybe you could find out that Darren actually cares about you, that he isn't pretending. Or maybe not; I have no idea." Brian said shrugging.

"I don't know what to do, Brian. I don't know if I'm going to be able to keep this as a secret. I need someone to tell everything that is happening, I don't know if I can do it alone. And I'm scared." You said anguished.

"Don't be scared. You're a good person and I won't let anything bad happen to you." Brian whispered, smiling kindly. Why was he whispering? "Listen, you can count on me for this. I could help you, in our own way. Do not listen to Jim and Dean. I'll help you to figure out if Darren is W or not. For now, I think he isn't. He doesn't seem to be a bad person, and this W person is someone perverse."

"But do not forget that Darren is a good actor, as Jim and Dean said." You reminded him.

"Yes, that's right. But I'm gonna tell you something that Jim and Dean haven't told you." Brian whispered looking at you intensely. "Once you told me that Darren Criss was also receiving those text messages because he was helping you, not only him but also his friend called Jennifer. Once you told me that this Darren Criss was the only guy who helped you when someone was hitting you, while nobody else has done it for you, not even Jim, not even Dean... Not even me." Brian whispered sadly and you took his hand to make him feel that it was okay, that he shouldn't feel bad about it. "You know, I think that this Darren Criss is your true friend. But it's only my opinion and please, do not tell anybody I told you this, because they'd think I'm on Darren's team, and it's not like that. I don't like him, even if I think he's a good influence on you." Brian whispered kinda worried.

"You can trust me. I won't tell anybody." You said smiling gently. "Thank you, Brian, for being honest with me and for making me see that not always everything is what it seems, while the others only tried to make me see what they thought."

"Yes, the last thing you said is so wise. Remember it always." Brian whispered and smiled. You saw honesty in his eyes, you knew he was the only one on whom you could trust for now.

"Dar, she's only confused, that's why she said all that. Soon she's gonna remember everything." Jen said rubbing my back.

"Yeah..." I sighed looking down, feeling very downhearted. "Stop saying that, Jen. I'm tired of always hearing the same old story, that soon she's gonna get better and all. I don't want to hear those words of compassion."

"I know, Dar. But hey, don't feel down because of what she said, she's only scared." Jen said reassuringly, still rubbing my back.

"Jen, she told me I make her sick. She told me she's ashamed of me, that she feels pity for me; that I mean nothing to her and she said I'm a bothersome and pathetic guy for her. How do you expect me not to feel down if she...she...she means..." I started babbling because the lump in my throat wouldn't allow me to keep talking.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Jen said sweetly hugging me when I was about to cry, again. "I know she's important to you and her words were rough. But give her time; she needs to settle down what's happening. Picture it; she's here, not understanding what's going on because for her everything is different from what she remembered. Do not let this make you feel crestfallen because maybe that's what W wants."

"I'm sick of W. I don't care about it, I only want Freckles to be with me as she used to be because...she... I need... she changed my..." I stammered, feeling troubled with my own feelings for her and with what was happening.

"Don't talk like that, Dar. If you really love her, no matter in which way you love her, you'll be strong for her. She needs you, even if she is now saying those terrible things, we don't have to leave her alone because you know they're going to hurt her." Jen said smoothly.

"I know, Jen. But sometimes it's hard. I guess soon it's gonna end, I don't know." I said frustrated, looking away.

"Hey there, guys!" Someone greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Dean. How are you?" Jen greeted politely smiling to one of our friends and I greeted him only with a slight grin. Let's say I wasn't in a good mood.

"I'm pretty excited about today. We're gonna practice our final show. I'm sure you're gonna be the main character, Darren." Dean said excited and I smiled faintly because I couldn't be excited right now, even if I really wanted to practice our final show.

We were in the drama classroom, waiting for our teacher to arrive and tell us what the final show would be about. I was waiting for this day to come since a long time because acting was one of my favorite things to do, so this was very important to me; but somehow now it didn't seem important, now I didn't care about it. I understood there were more important things, like Freckles in this case. If Teddy would choose me as the main character of the play, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it. Lately, I couldn't focus on school stuff and that was bad. Jen and Dean kept talking about the play and I just stood up to walk away from them because I honestly wanted to be alone. I sat on the farthest seat to think about Freckles and the words she told me. I haven't even realized that our teacher already arrived and was talking to the class.

"Darren, would you mind to join the class? I have important announcements to say." Teddy requested gently. I was always amazed by the way he treated his students as if we were his friends.

"Yes, sorry, Teddy." I apologized, standing up to walk near where the whole class was sitting, looking down.

When I was walking I decided to look up and I saw Freckles there, sitting in silence next to Dean. She was looking at me fixedly, but she wasn't smiling as usual. Anyway, my heart skipped a beat when I saw her; I wasn't expecting her to come to this class after her memory loss. I needed to stop looking at her because all of her rough words popped in my mind again. So I finally sat near where the whole class was, but anyway I was far from everybody.

"I know you all are excited to know what the final show is going to be about and I know you're excited to know who the main characters are gonna be. But this year, we're gonna do something different." Teddy said mysteriously, but I really didn't mind. I heard how the whole class babbled in excitement.

"Are we gonna perform Batman?" Dean asked excited. I giggled softly because I knew he wanted to perform Batman since we started coming to this class but Teddy never agreed.

"No, not Batman, Dean." Teddy answered frowning in disbelief and I saw how Dean huffed in frustration. "This year, we're gonna write our own story. And it's gonna be a collection of short and different stories which are gonna be connected at the end. This way, all of you are going to be the main characters." Teddy said excited and the whole class cheered in excitement. Well, this was very different and it was a good idea because no one was going to be excluded. "The only condition is that I'm gonna pair you. I'll pair a boy and a girl and you'll have to write your story together. At the end, we're gonna see what the stories are about and then all together we're gonna write the final, when all the stories are connected. So, what do you think?"

"It's an awesome idea, Teddy!" Jen exclaimed excited and the whole class agreed. I didn't say anything at all; I only smiled faintly.

"Good, good! Well, I'm gonna start pairing you." Teddy said looking for a paper. "Grace with Toby. Linda with Hugo. Jen with Dean. Tania with Jackson. Melissa with Jack. Holly with Zach. Emma with Oliver. And... Darren with the new girl." Teddy said excited. Yes, I didn't know why I was so sure he was going to pair us. I looked at Freckles who was looking down and then I looked away. "Alright guys, go each one of you with your new partner you'll have until the end of the year. We have a lot of work to do! Let's get started!" Teddy exclaimed ablaze and smiling brightly and everybody started walking to go right where their partners were.

Neither Freckles nor I moved from where we were. I knew she didn't want to be with me and I didn't want to walk to her as always to be treated like shit. So I just stayed where I was, looking down, without saying anything at all. Teddy would surely ask me why the hell I wasn't with my partner, and then I'd be forced to explain him that I didn't want to make this with her because of personal reasons. And I was going to do this only for her, because she was the one who didn't want to see me; because if it was up to me, I'd be with her all excited and happy already planning what to do together. Then I sensed how someone stood behind me. So now was surely the time that Teddy would ask me such a thing.

"Can I sit here?" I heard a very nice voice, which made my heart skip a beat. For sure, it wasn't Teddy.

"Yes, you can." I shrugged trying to pretend I was indifferent but truth was I wanted to hug her tight.

Freckles grinned faintly and sat next to me in silence while I tried to avoid her gaze. It was an uncomfortable situation in which none of us wanted to talk first. Everybody was already talking excited about what they could do, but we were in silence. Well, I was the first to start talking.

"I'll tell Teddy that we won't do this together, so don't worry. You won't have to be near me." I said curtly, standing up, decided to do this for her. But then she took my hand, she took my hand and I felt how everything that was around me vanished; she took my hand and I felt a pressure in my heart, and I felt mild and meek.

"No, wait. I think we can do this; after all, I'm with the best in the class. Anyway, it's just writing a story, not big deal." Freckles said shrugging and indifferent.

Well then, for a moment I thought she took my hand and stopped me to say sorry or something. I thought that maybe she would tell me that she really wanted to do this with me because she was sorry for her words after she had a little time to think about it. But no, I was wrong. She said she could do this only because she was thinking I was the best in the class, as if she was interested and as if she wanted to use me to get her own benefit; at least she sounded like that.

"You're the best in the class. I'm sure you'll be able to do it by yourself as a monologue and you'll do it amazing. You don't need me at all." I said looking away and looking for Teddy, still letting her hold my hand because, although I felt bad for her answer, I liked the fact that she was holding my hand.

"But the condition was..."

"It doesn't matter; I could make Teddy change his mind." I said trying to avoid her gaze, I just couldn't look at her in the eye otherwise I was going to stay with her and I knew it wasn't the best for now.

"Oh, come on." She said kinda annoyed and tugged my hand. "Sit over here, we're gonna do this because this is about the final show and I want it to be more than amazing. We have to write a stupid story, nothing else. And I already have some ideas."

"Alright." I said sitting next to her but still looking away. "Tell me what your idea is about."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could write about a surreal story, a metaphorical one but with a hint of realism with the macabre. I was thinking that maybe it could about this girl who sees a guy's soul living in her apartment, and the soul cannot rest in peace because he has some unfinished business to do. I don't know why I thought about The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde. I still don't know how the story could develop, but it's an idea." Freckles said kind of excited and I just looked at her intently without uttering a word and without telling her my opinion. "What about you? Do you have some ideas or not?"

"Yes, actually yes. I have an idea." I said frowning and thoughtful. "I do not agree about writing a surreal story. I think we should write a very realistic one, I think this is our chance to show everybody what we think, like an opportunity to make them see the everyday problems that sometimes people have to suffer. I think we should write a story with a message, a really good message; because this is the best way people can get how people feel sometimes, maybe this way we can touch people's hearts."

"Well, that's the opposite of what I thought. But well, I don't know, maybe it could be a good idea. Have you thought what the story could be about?" She asked curiously and frowning because she knew we wouldn't agree on this story. But this was my chance to tell her how I felt when she treated me in that rough way.

"Yes, I thought about something." I started saying still thoughtful and now looking at her straight into her eyes. "I've been thinking about this story since a long time, like sometimes I like to write stuff. We can take it or not, then you tell me."

"Fine, I'm listening." She replied, crossing her legs and propping her head up with her hand, looking intensely into my eyes. She looked adorable, but I needed to focus on the alleged story I've been thinking since a long time ago.

"The story starts with a high school girl who has a normal life, just one of those girls who are very smart but so shy. Well then, the girl doesn't have many friends because she is very introverted and because her extreme intelligence isn't appreciated by many people; but she is a damn hell of amazing person. It is sad, because people can't see that because they are all the time judging the girl. And sometimes people can be rude, selfish and jealous; so the bullying starts to happen. People start bullying the girl and they hurt her on so many ways, because that's what bullying produces: it's not only about the physical abuse; it's also about the emotional and psychological abuse. They manage to make her feel alone and hopeless. They manage to make her think that she isn't worth it, they manage to hurt her to a point that she thinks nothing could be good in her life because nobody cares about her." I said looking at her very intently, actually telling her own story. She was listening to me and she was frowning; maybe she noticed I was talking about her, or maybe not; I didn't know. "But that isn't true. There is this boy who really cares about her, because the girl shows him the way she truly is. It takes a long time for the girl to trust on the boy, because she is used to being treated like shit; but after a while, the girl trusts on him and he feels really happy. The girl just has this power to make him feel happy, the girl changes the boy's life and they become good friends. The boy is amazed with this girl and he cannot understand why people can hate her if she is one of the most good-hearted girls. So the boy sets a goal: he would make her feel that she isn't alone because she has him now and he wouldn't let that anything bad comes to happen to her. So the bullying starts getting worse: both of them are being harassed and this is getting very serious. They try to bring the boy and the girl down, but the boy and the girl don't fall apart because they have something that the bullies don't have, and they know that this something is the weapon to finish with the bullying thing. And it is love and real friendship. And love is the strongest thing someone can have, love can defeat everything; love is what gives us the strength to go against every tough thing, even when things seem impossible. This is why the boy and the girl never give up hope, because they have each other now and that is all they need. Love against all the material and superficial things in life, something that the bullies can't understand." I said smiling faintly and looking away, lost in my thoughts, remembering that time when she and I were happy together despite all the shit that was happening. "But sometimes things don't go as expected. The girl has an accident and she and the boy are forced to walk away for different reasons. The boy tries his best to keep her in his life, because once the boy isn't allowed to see her again, he realizes that she is the best that happened in his life, that now he can't live without her; because he needs her, because he loves her. But after the accident, the girl isn't the same person and the boy sees how she walks away and he feels desperate because he can't do anything to stop it. The amazing friendship they used to have is now dying away. The boy doesn't want to give up until one day she breaks his heart, making him feel terrible. The most important person to the boy is now telling him that she doesn't want to see him again because he is making her feel sick. And the boy never had the chance to let her know how much he loves her and he regrets not to have showed this to her when he still had the chance. But now it is late, because the girl said that the only thing that could make her feel good was if the boy was away from her; and the only thing the boy wants is to see her happy; it is the only thing that matters to him." I said looking down in a gloomy way. I never thought that saying this could make me feel this distressed. "The girl breaks his heart and the boy loses his hopes; but he needs to be strong for her because he knows that it doesn't matter the kind of person the girl is after the accident; he knows that she is still the same awesome person he has met and she would always be this awesome person, no matter what." I finished telling the story, still looking down.

"But... How does the story finish?" Freckles asked and I finally looked up at her. She had teary eyes and it made me feel bad, seeing her sad.

"I don't know. I haven't written it yet, I still don't want to finish it." I said with choked voice and looking away, trying my best not to shed those stupid tears I wanted to shed.

"I think the girl needs to get back with the boy. I mean, the boy really loves her in a way that not so many people can love someone. The girl is a stupid, how could she break his heart after he was the one who made her feel she wasn't alone? She's stupid." Freckles said kinda disgusted and upset.

"No, she isn't stupid." I said shaking my head and she looked at me frowning. "She had an accident, it wasn't her fault she was feeling confused and the boy understood this. It's just that it was hard for the guy to see her like that; that was what broke his heart. She isn't stupid; she's the bravest and most warm-hearted girl."

"But this story cannot end like that. What kind of message do you want to give? That all the good things in life would be gone sooner or later for different reasons?" She asked in disbelief.

"No, not at all. Tell me, how would you end this story?" I asked looking at her deeply into her eyes, expectant to know her answer. Obviously, she didn't realize this story was about her and me.

"The girl stops being confused because she realizes how much this boy loves her, because she realizes that something is missing her, something that isn't allowing her to be completely happy. The message must be that no matter how many bad things can come to happen to you and no matter how hard and impossible it seems for things to improve; because if there's love, things will work out naturally and love is all that human beings need to be happy, simple as that. I think that the girl must realize that the boy is always there even when she thought she was alone; because the message must be that sometimes we can feel completely alone but it's because we're blinded, because there's always someone but it's just that we sometimes can't see it. I think that the girl must admit the mistakes she has made and apologize for that; because the message must be that we learn from mistakes, that we don't have to stuck regretting what we've done, we need to apologize and admit all the bad things we've done because that's the way we can grow and keep going, always learning new things. I do think that the girl should get back with the boy; because the message must be that it's never too late to fight for that thing that once we wanted or loved, that we shouldn't let anything stop us from doing that what our heart wants; because I'm sure the girl also loves the guy, but she's confused because other things are stopping her from doing what her heart wants. They were meant to be together since the beginning and it doesn't matter how many bad things could happen in between, they would be together as they always thought; because you said it, love can defeat everything even when things seem impossible. I do think they need to be friends again. That would be the end for me; the end of the story but not the end for them." Freckles said fervently and I just looked at her with teary eyes because I was touched by her wonderful words. That was the Freckles I knew; I knew she was still that awesome person I met. If only she knew that the story was about us...

"I wish I could write it. I wish that could be the end of the story but not the end for them. Trust me; I'd be really happy to be able to write that good end for the boy and the girl." I said with choked voice, trying to control my feelings.

"So why don't you just write that end?" Freckles asked confused, frowning.

"Because sometimes, the end of a story doesn't end as the writer would like; sometimes the end also depends on the readers. As a writer, I'd really love to end this story that way, but I depend on one person who will decide which the real end is gonna be; this goes beyond me and my wishes." I responded, now shedding a tear but quickly wiping it away; looking deeply at Freckles, the one who was going to decide what the end for us would be; because if it was up only to me, I'd have written this end long time ago.

"Oh..." Freckles suddenly exclaimed, looking down nervously with parted lips. "This isn't a fictional story, is it? This is a true-life story, isn't it?" She asked now looking at me bemused and I only nodded. "You're the boy, aren't you? And I'm the girl, aren't I?"

"Yeah..." I answered looking intensely into her eyes and then she avoided my gaze, apparently feeling uncomfortable.

"I...I..." She stammered and I looked down, feeling kinda sad because of her discomfort.

"Listen, you don't have to say anything; I shouldn't have said this. Let's forget this." I said anguished, looking at my lap. "We... we should write your story about the soul and The Canterville Ghost or whatever."

"I'm sorry." Freckles mumbled downcast.

"No, it's okay. Really, let's forget this." I replied shaking my head and making a gesture with my hand, trying to avoid her gaze because now she seemed to be down and I wouldn't stand seeing her sad because of my fault.

"No, I mean... I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I... it wasn't my intention to break your heart." She apologized regretted and now I couldn't help looking at her, I couldn't believe she was saying that. I didn't want her to feel guilty.

"I know. I know you the enough to know that you never have bad intentions." I whispered meekly, smiling sadly at her. And that was the truth, I really thought so, it was just that anyway I couldn't avoid this awful feeling on my chest.

"I'm sorry, I'd really like to...but, you know, I can't... Geez, I'm a terrible person. I can't..." Freckles spluttered unsettled, frowning and apparently displeased with herself.

"You can't trust me, I understand. But it doesn't make you a terrible person. Please, don't say it again because you're a really good person." I said smoothly, making her look at me in the eyes. She needed to understand that she was an incredible person; she couldn't feel lowered because I knew she was feeling like this because of W's fault and that was bad. It didn't matter she didn't want to be with me, despite it made me feel disheartened; I couldn't let W hurt her.

"How can you still be so nice to me after I treated you like crap? How?" She asked looking at me in despair with eyes wide open, and apparently feeling confused.

"Because I know what kind of person you are, and you deserve to be treated nicely. Because, dammit, I'd never be able to be mad at you; even if this situation is breaking me." I admitted looking at her deeply into her eyes and feeling this affliction on my chest. "I do understand you, Freckles; I know you're confused and I won't push you to be my friend again even if that is what I want the most." I said softening my voice and smiling sadly at her. "If you ask me to be away from you because that is what is going to make you happy, then I'll do it only to see you smiling again, even if I won't be there with you anymore to share those smiles as before." I said softly with such honesty.

Suddenly her marvelous laugh popped in my mind and I closed my eyes, only because I thought that in that way maybe I was going to be able to grasp the sound of her laughter with me. When I opened my eyes again, she was looking at me distressed and there wasn't her beautiful smile that I wanted to see.

"Why? Why would you want to see me happy without considering your feelings? Why would you resign what you want only because of me?" She asked troubled.

"Because you're important to me. And because I love you. I'd do everything for you." I said frankly and sweetly.

"No, you shouldn't..." She said shaking her head and looking away.

"No, hey, listen." I said getting closer to her and then I took her hands. I knew this was a risky thing to do considering how our relationship was now; but I needed to do it and, surprisingly, she let me do so. "I made this decision to see you happy, so please don't feel guilty and don't feel sad; because then, I wouldn't know what else to do to see you smiling again. This is a hard decision for me, so please, smile; please, let me know that I'm doing the right thing. Please, smile." I whispered with choked voice feeling that lump in my throat, looking deeply into her eyes with teary eyes.

"But I want to see you smiling too." She whispered afflicted.

"As long as you smile, I'll smile; because whenever you smile I have a reason to smile." I assured with a faint but kind smile.

"Why can't I remember you?" She suddenly asked frustrated and dismayed, moving her hands away from mine.

"I don't know." I whispered looking down and feeling how the grief was piercing my chest. Maybe because I wasn't important to her, as her father told me.

"I don't know what to do! I don't know who to trust! Everything is so different now, and I don't know why, I don't know what happened to me because I can't remember and I'm disappointing everybody and I just can't stop it!" She exclaimed stricken and exasperated, now with tears in her eyes.

"Hey, hey! No, don't say that." I said smoothly, getting closer to her and taking her hands again. It was breaking my heart to see her so troubled and distressed. "You aren't disappointing anyone, we understand you. Don't push yourself, sooner or later you'll remember everything, I'm sure." I said trying to sound surefire, even if I couldn't be sure any longer about anything; but I knew she needed to hear those things.

"But it's gonna be late, because maybe now I'm pushing away all the good things once I had. Maybe when I get to remember everything, all those good things won't be there any longer." She said with brittle voice, afflicted.

"It'll never be late, you won't lose anything." I assured, squeezing her hands softly.

"Would you still be there with me when I get to remember everything despite now I'm being a bitch with you?" She asked looking deeply and desperately into my eyes and I felt how my heart kinda melted. If only she knew how much I loved her no matter what…

"Always, Freckles. I'll always be there with you as long as you want; I'll always be there for you whenever you need me." I replied with a reassuringly smile on my face, holding her hands firmly. And that was something she needed to know, I was going to stand by her because that was what I really wanted, no matter how long it was going to take to be with her again.

"Thank you." Freckles whispered with choked voice, shedding a tear.

I was about to answer her, but then I felt how she pulled me into a hug and everything around me faded away. She was hugging me and it was such the thrill I was feeling that my body started trembling, I was now feeling mild and now I was feeling peaceful. Of course I hugged her back and I closed my eyes because I didn't know when I was going to be able to hug her again; because I wanted to grasp this feeling because this feeling was the one I needed to feel strong for her whenever I was feeling weak to keep going when things sucked. I tried to hold on to me this entire situation: the hug, her smell, her soft skin, the warmth of her body, and her heart beating against my chest. I noticed how she was shedding her tears on my shoulder and I stroked reassuringly her long and soft hair. Geez, I wanted this moment to last forever, but I wished we could be hugging each other both of us smiling and laughing instead of crying. I wanted to feel that happiness I used to feel when I was with her before and then I regretted because I never appreciated those moments the enough, when I had the chance. I wished I could have told her how much I loved being with her when I had the chance; and now that I was losing her, I was regretting having been coward and not having admitted my feelings for her. Damn, I missed her like hell.

"You're trembling." She whispered near my ear while we were still hugging, and I gulped.

"I...I'm just..." I started babbling because I couldn't really talk, I only hugged her tighter and my heart started beating faster. "I miss you."

Then Freckles moved away softly to look into my eyes. That was an intense look, she was frowning and she seemed to be faraway, thinking about something else. Could she be remembering something? Could she have remembered me? We were really close now and she was still looking at me as if she was faraway, and when she was about to say something, I felt a buzz. Her phone has buzzed and now she looked away, breaking the eye contact to look at her phone. She checked her phone but didn't read the text message; she only put her phone away, frowning and now apparently disgusted.

"Freckles..."

"It's a withheld number, it must be this W. I'm tired of it, I don't know who W is." She said annoyed and bewildered. So W was still harassing her despite her memory loss.

"Do you mind if I read it?" I asked, knowing that probably she was going to curse me for being such a meddlesome.

"Excuse me?" She asked looking at me frowning and suspiciously.

"I only want to know what W says. I've been... We've have been trying to find out who W is to stop this shit and... Everything could be a clue. So I was wondering if I could read that text message, but if you don't want..." I started rambling nervously now. Her gaze was making me feel nervous. I shouldn't have asked such a thing.

"Alright, alright. Here you have my stupid phone." She said annoyed, but handing me her phone. Wow, I couldn't believe she was actually letting me read her text messages.

I grabbed her phone and I stared at it for a while. I wasn't sure if I should read it or not, I had no idea what W could be telling her, but when I thought about it again, I knew I needed to read it because maybe this way I was going to be able to help her. So, I just read it.

"Congratulations, you're a really good actress. Darren Criss has fallen in the trap you've planned with your new friends. He even believed that you cared about him. The fake hug and tears? Priceless. Poor Criss, so naive. Cheers! -W-"

A trap? Fake? What did all of that mean? I stared at the phone for a while, trying to find out what was going on; I was really confused and bewildered, but I was also hurt and upset. I was feeling like a real idiot. Was she really being like this with me only because she planned this with Brian and who knows with whom else? Was she really pretending this while I was feeling stupidly happy for having her back with me? Could I be that fool? I looked up to see her looking away; I stared at her for a while until she noticed I was looking at her. I handed her the phone in silence, looking fixedly into her eyes and now she noticed something weird was happening because she frowned suspiciously before she grabbed her phone. How could she have done this to me?

"What the hell is that?" I asked.