Teenage Dream

by Lucy Samb

You/ Darren Criss fanfic. The story is about your life with Darren in high school, college and professional life among friendship,love,fights,comings and goings and how you both go through serious stuff such as bullying,suicide,discrimination and life itself. It starts when you meet Darren, a guy of your school in St. Ignatius College Preparatory who never noticed you, a loser.

66. Letting go

A/N: Hi guys! How are you doing today? First off, I wanna apologize because I couldn't update yesterday, truth is I am very busy and tired and I just found a little moment to update. So... I wanna make two announcements. Firstly, I won't be able to update till April, not sure what date of April. As you may know, I'm getting my degree on late March/early April; therefore I have no time for anything else but for my final thesis. Thus, most probably, next time I'll update as an official architect. Thing is, I don't know when I'll be able to update because after my thesis I'm moving to another city very away from mine to live there; so, you know how is this thing of moving... It requires lot of time and it involves saying goodbye to my family, besides I'll start working almost all day long to pay everything, so... I honestly won't have time. Secondly, I'm changing and adjusting some things of the story for different reasons, this means I need time to think how I'll continue developing the story, among other things that require time. All in all, I wanna tell you that I'm very sorry, but you'll have to be very patient! Now, this chapter is dedicated to MeMi83, who reminds me of one song I included; and it is also dedicated to AmritSoomal, who once asked me to add certain song that appears in this chapter. Now... I'll reply your reviews! (Sorry if I make them short, I'm very but very tired!)

santana12226: Hi, Santana! First off, let me thank you for the private message you sent me. That was very sweet of you! Thank you for caring! Now, it makes me smile that you think something positive about Brian! I can tell you felt the love and I'd like to have a Brian as my life companion, too. And it actually makes me glad that you accepted this whole thing between Freckles/Brian. I'm surprised that you like Brian more than Darren, though. But I totally got the point of why you think that. I don't like Valentine's for the same reason you said; when you love someone, you love them every day, not only one day and that day more. You don't need a special day to love someone, love must be there always. And I didn't know the real story of Saint Valentine! I think I'll keep Nuggie! About the last names... I loved Emery! Yes, I kinda love your last name. And I also loved Reegan. I'll probably make it Emery-Reegan. What do you think?

Guest 1: Hi! You're the second person who tells me this! Now, I don't know if you're the same person who sent me an anonymous message on Tumblr or not. Either way, I'll answer something similar! For starters, I wanna thank you for your review and for being honest, and I'm also sorry you started to get bored of it (or at least that is what I understood). I wasn't aware that it was starting to go off course and that for someone it could feel like nothing really happened. You gave me a lot to think about and now I'm trying to do my best to change something, so that way the story will be soon done. Again, thanks for letting me know your opinion; it helps me to improve, because I'm not a writer, just a fan, so I don't really know how the readers may see this.

Guest 2: Why would I kill myself? I suck? Perhaps, but I like my life. And if anything, you don't know anything about me, so how can you be so sure that I suck? I think someone is judging and bullying. Listen, this is not even a joke, and I'm fortunately someone who knows how to handle with these kinds of things, even if it hurts. But a free advice? Your words can actually make someone who has emotional troubles kill themselves, so watch your words before saying them and think if you'd like to be told such a thing. You wouldn't like to be someone who caused someone else's death; and saying 'Go kill yourself' won't make you any better or 'badass'. It just makes you someone cruel. Also, next time, if you're gonna say an unconstructive criticism that has nothing to do with the story but just to do with bullying someone, at least be brave to put your name instead of making it anonymous. That's all... Go love yourself.

alicegursk: You're back Alice! I missed you on here! Nonetheless, I truly understand the reason why you haven't been here lately, so you don't even have to apologize! Your health is way more important! How are you doing now? Are you getting better? I really, but really hope that you're getting better and managing to go through this! Aw! I'm glad you liked the chapters! To be honest, I wasn't expecting you could like the idea of Freckles/Brian! And I'm very surprised that you're confused! Oh my god, Alice! I made you feel confused! There's Darren, there's always be Darren! A Swedish family! hahaha! Okay, okay... Everyone will be happy and shit at the end! Let's see how this is sorted out!

AmritSoomal: You're back! And I am so sorry! I didn't intend to make you feel bad about this whole situation between Freckles/Brian. I promise that you won't be sad for too long! Anyway, isn't jealous Darren like very interesting? Now, about Darren (the real one) answering my question... Feel happy for me! But you can feel jealous if you want, I won't complain because I guess I'd feel the same, too! You're a freaking psychic baby panda! Joey and Mandy, hell yeah! It was true! You already decided how the couples are gonna be? That's very interesting! I can grant you some of them, not gonna tell you which ones! But maybe Jack can go somewhere else and be lonely! hahaha. Wait to know more about Jack in this chapter... And everyone will be happy and be puppy dogs and rainbows, because I really love puppy dogs and rainbows... and unicorns! Don't apologize for not reading the story in a while; what matters is that at the end you did read it! I haven't watched Teen Wolf, but I know lots of people do watch it! Are you ill? I hope you get better soon! YAY! A big massive birthday chocolate cake for me! Oh my god! I love it! Now, return to be the happy panda, please!

Emma: Oh, phones and the damn autocorrects! I hate it! haha, don't worry about that. You're welcome! Every time you need an advice or someone to talk to, you know I'm here! I'm really glad to know that it's getting better, because that means that soon you'll feel better! I really hope you can feel better and everything starts going well for you again! I kinda agree with you, if Brian and Freckles want to have sex, they're free to do it, it's not like they are offending someone or cheating. Just let's see how they really take it! I'm glad you like the idea of them getting together; both of them have been alone for too long and they deserve something, I think. But you said it so damn right, drama is on its way, always! haha.

vicky: Vicky, I'm really happy that you're back! First off, yes! Last chapter was especially dedicated to you, and this is like the second part of the dedication for you! It made me smile to know that you felt happy. And of course I'd add to the story something you suggested! I like doing that. Now, about George... Well, I don't know what to say! Only that I like that character and I really like writing about him (you will get more of him); he has this disease, but he is strong. I agree that probably Brian will break down if his dad happens to die, but maybe his life will stay good among the bad. Yes, I hated Freckles when she said those things to Brian, but at least we now know it is because of her disease, as you knew! Again, you're clever! Mandy is a special character, very different from others, who is just like this girl who says things in a forthright way, just the way they are, but probably not in the best way, she is not subtle at all. And yes, I agree, truth always hurts us, perhaps because we're not used at it or because sometimes we're too proud to hear someone telling us the way things actually are. You also knew about Mandy and Joey! Since that time? Whoa! I'm super glad you like them together! About Jack, you'll know more about him in this chapter! Freckles attempted to commit suicide and Brian is self-harming, you were shocked about it! That's a good thing for me, because it's always good to surprise you! And in this chapter you'll get to read when Brian finds out about Freckles' disease! And aw! It makes me smile that Brian is your favorite character! It is one of my favorites, too; maybe because he's one of the characters I developed more in terms to personality. And will Darren jealous about them being together? Muahaha! Let's see if he's jealous or not! But it's always funny to write about jealous Darren! Thank you very much for saying I have good imagination and I'm a good writer! That has made me feel really good, just when I needed to hear something as nice as that for some reasons. What made me smile, too, is when you told me that I helped my friends through my writing! I actually don't know if I got so, but I hope to. And yes, really, I'm not good at giving advices; at least not in verbal communication; I have like this problem, I'm like shy and it's really hard for me to say out loud what I think or feel, that's why I feel comfortable when I just listen to people, and then I write to them to let them know what I think. So yes, I guess it's really good to write when I wanna help others! It makes me feel good!

Okay, guys! That's all for now! I'll try to update as soon as possible if I find a free time to do it, I promise! And ahhhh! Wish me luck for my final thesis, I will totally need it! (I'm nervous as fuck, trust me!). I wish you the very best, lots of love, smiles and hugs! I will miss you, guys! Thank you for everything, thank you for reading the story, for standing certain things, for sharing with me this, thank you for your reviews and thank you for your constructive criticisms, support and encouragement. I truly appreciate that! Until next time... Warm fuzzies!

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TEENAGE DREAM

Chapter 66

Letting go

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You were sleeping comfortably and happily, something that hasn't happened in months. You were feeling warm, sheltered and peaceful. You weren't so conscious why this felt so good because you were fast asleep, but little by little your senses became keener and you began to picture the situation in your head while still sleeping: you were sensing a pair of arms holding you in a heartwarming way; you were sensing a heartbeat that wasn't yours right in your ear, where you were resting your head, a chest simulating a pillow; you were sensing your legs intertwined with someone else's legs, your toes slightly touching someone else's feet; the palm of your hand touching a very warm and soft skin and your fingers touching few strands of silky hair; you were enthralled by a pleasant smell. You noticed sunlight leaking through the window, pleasantly hitting your face; yet you did not open your eyes. You wanted to remain like this, comfortably snuggled to that warm body that was holding you in a caring way; you wanted to never wake up. However, you heard a loud scream that interrupted your calmness and made you jump; but you couldn't tell if it was part of your dream or not, so you kept your eyes closed but now a slight frown appeared in your smiling face as you snuggled closer to that warm body that was giving you all the peace you were seeking.

"What the fuck?" You heard a very loud scream and that sounded like your sister's voice.

Your sister. Oh damn. You quickly opened your eyes, startled, and lifted your head to look at the direction where the door was. A sudden feeling of fear and embarrassment took over your body when you saw your sister, Darren, February, Joey and Jen peering through the door right to where you and Brian were sleeping. Naked. You gasped and tried to cover your naked body with your hands and legs as you were awkwardly and hurriedly searching for the sheets to cover your and Brian's naked bodies.

"Oh my God." You heard someone whispering. Jen.

You, desperately shifting in bed to find the sheets, finally curled up in a ball and buried your head on Brian's chest in frustration because all the sheets were on the floor, feeling utterly embarrassed. When you buried your head on Brian's chest, he grouched and finally cracked open his eyes to look at you kinda confused and blurred, his eyes still taking a moment to adjust.

"Morning, bro." You heard Joey commenting amused.

Brian's reaction was instantaneous. He widened his eyes in horror and looked at the door; when he saw everybody looking at you two, he moved to extend his arm and take the sheets to finally cover your naked bodies with an nervous exclamation.

"Oh shit." Was all that Brian said before looking away, making sure he was fully covering both of your naked bodies.

"There's an action before entering a bedroom that is called knocking the door, geez!" You complained abashed.

No one answered. You were still curled in a ball and grasping the sheets too tightly, as if they were the only thing that could cover your shame, as if they could make you disappear from this room and this uncomfortable situation. You were literally covering your whole body and even your head so that nobody could see you. You glimpsed at Brian who was sitting and only covering his lower body but who was looking away and feeling just as embarrassed and uncomfortable as you were. Then you peered your head through the sheets and looked at the door again. All of them were still there. Why were they still there? Didn't they respect intimacy or something? Didn't they notice this was beyond uncomfortable? It seemed they didn't; they were just there, observing, perplexed and shocked, not moving a single muscle.

"What are you still doing there, standing like some sort of... statue or something?" You asked in disbelief, your voice trembling because of your nervousness. "Could you, please, close the door?" You asked with eyes wide open and raising eyebrows.

February, Jen, Joey and Darren frowned and looked down, stayed like that for few seconds and left. But Mandy remained there, still looking at you two agape and stunned.

"Amanda, leave!" You practically yelled and she finally made a gesture: she frowned.

"You two..." Mandy said painfully slow, pointing you and Brian. "You owe me an explanation." She demanded.

Brian bit his lips, ran a hand over his face and turned his face to look away and avoid eye contact. You, in the meantime, frowned and looked in the opposite direction that Brian was seeing. Was even there something that could make this less awkward?

"Close the door, Amanda! Just... Leave." You requested in a bossy way.

"I think..."

"Amanda, stop it! Do you have any idea of how creepy this is? You... interrupting... with them... and us... here... in bed... Get out!" You requested firmly due to your tumult.

"Fine... I will go. Yes, this is... creepy. You still owe me the explanation." She said briefly before closing the door and walking away.

You lay on your stomach and buried your head in the pillow as you noticed how Brian, next to you, abruptly dropped his head on the pillow while sighing heavily. Both of you remained extremely silent, perhaps wanting to forget the recent unfortunate situation, both of you too ashamed to do something and too stunned to talk.

"This is certainly not the way I imagined waking up next to you." Brian commented very low.

You turned your face to look at him bewildered, frowning slightly with parted lips. He was staring the ceiling, his gaze lost as though he was deep in thought. Then he turned his face to look at you and when he noticed you were looking at him, he pursed his lips, raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"This was for sure one of the most embarrassing moments in my entire life." You replied and he nodded.

"Same here." He sighed and returned his gaze to the ceiling.

You rolled in bed to lie on your back and stare the ceiling as he was doing. Again, the silence. After a while you noticed he was making a grimace, so you peeped at him and you saw an amused smirk on his face. Why was he smirking? However, you didn't question anything and you returned your gaze to the ceiling until you noticed he was looking at you.

"I guess our plan of keeping this in secret didn't work out." He commented and you frowned.

It was actually your plan; you told him to keep your last night's adventure in secret. But yeah, he had a point: it didn't work. Now everybody knew; the less you wanted. Was he smirking because of that? Because that wasn't funny at all.

"Nonetheless..." He voiced and you shot a quick glance at him. He was still smirking amused while looking fixedly at you. "And given that recently it was Christmas..." He added, his face reflecting even more amusement. "We can always say that nothing at all happened between us." He said and you frowned.

"And how are we supposed to say such a thing if everybody saw us naked in the same bed? And what Christmas has to do with all this? I just don't understand the relation." You asked confused, now turning on your side to look at him in the eye. Brian smirked widely and rolled on his side to move closer to you, his face looking very amused.

"Think about this..." He whispered as a secret so you couldn't help grinning faintly. "What is the first thing you can relate to Christmas?" He asked and you frowned.

"Uh... Is this a real question I have to answer?" You questioned and he nodded, his eyes sparkling with joy. "Umm... I don't know... Plenty of food? Christmas tree? Gifts? Snow?"

"No!" He responded frowning. "Seriously? The first thing you can relate to Christmas is... plenty of food?" He asked in disbelief and you shrugged. "Sunny!" He reproached but amused, so you chuckled softly. "Santa with his bag full of gifts, flying reindeer that pull the sleigh of Santa, and magical elves who are Santa's helpers."

"Alright, fine, you are right. Now... Would you mind to explain what all of this has to do with our plan of saying that nothing at all happened between us?" You asked and he bit his lower lip in amusement.

"Well, I'll explain you as if I were telling you a story." He answered playfully and you grinned slightly, raising your eyebrows and showing him you were willing to listen. "Santa Claus -a portly, joyous, white-bearded man who was used to wear a red coat with white collar and cuffs, white-cuffed red trousers, and black leather belt and boots- lived at the North Pole, with a large number of magical elves, and nine flying reindeer. Before every Christmas, Santa's labor consisted in making a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior -naughty or nice- and to deliver presents, including toys and candy to all of the well-behaved children in the world, and sometimes coal to the naughty children, on the single night of Christmas Eve. He always accomplished this feat with the aid of the elves that made the toys in the workshop and the reindeer who pulled his sleigh. In spite of this nice work of Santa and his helpers, there was a particular person opposed to Christmas time celebrations. This person was devious, with a coarse, greedy attitude and an anti-holiday spirit. He was a cold and heartless furry green recluse living in seclusion on a cliff, away from the cheerful, optimistic, and sunny community." He started telling and you were already too entertained.

"The Grinch!" You exclaimed with a giggle and he chuckled and nodded.

"That was his name. He always scorned the Christmas season and the boisterous festivities customarily celebrated during the holiday, dreading the noise. He was always irritated by the joy and happiness of others and derived pleasure from disturbing the peace and spoiling other people's merriment. Thereby, one particular Christmas, dating November 25, 2006; yeah, you heard well, this last Christmas, The Grinch devised a plot to sabotage it." He commented as a hideous secret.

"How terrible!" You gasped in horror, obviously in a joking way, and he nodded in agreement. "What did he do?"

"He broke into people's homes to steal all children's gifts. Nevertheless, he couldn't make it in only one day, therefore his job was delayed. On Christmas he stole children's gifts, but there were also adults who also had gifts; problem was that adults already opened their gifts, so he had to think about a second plan." He responded with a mischievous smirk. "What was his evil plan?" He asked and you shrugged. "To steal other belongings. Being this his plan, on November 27 at dawn when everybody was sleeping, he broke into a particular house in NYC whose owner was called Jennifer Nedeau."

"Hey, that's here and it happened this dawn!" You exclaimed alarmed and he nodded as a response. "I didn't hear anything at all."

"That's because he's very sneaky." He replied and you nodded, thinking it made sense. "Thing is he had to face the problem that 11 adults were living there. Those were too many adults for his wicked plan. He had to make a decision. All things considered, he decided to carry his plan out with two adults; he thought it'd affect everybody in the house. Those two adults happened to be you and me and it obviously affected everybody as he wanted. Do you know what he did?" He asked and you shook your head. "He sneaked into our bedroom and stole all of our clothes, leaving us completely naked when we were peacefully sleeping in the same bed as two good and simple friends. Now, not only The Grinch left us naked, but he also got to make others believe that we had a love affair last night. And that is the truth of this whole situation, a truth we should let others know, Sunny." He finalized, his eyes sparkling and his face exposing a very mischievous smirk.

You looked at him puzzled, agape, raising your eyebrows with eyes wide open and remained like this until you burst out laughing. It was a boisterous and genuine guffaw, that kind of laughter that comes from your innermost, like a belly laughter, as the only true response to patent absurdity. What Brian said was completely absurd, silly and truly hilarious, what he said struck your funny bone; therefore, you let go with the kind of laughter that had you clutching your belly and gasping for air. It seemed that your laughter was contagious, because Brian responded with laughter on hearing your laughter; it was much like the mystery of spreading a yawn. If what he was trying to do with this short silly story was to make you feel less embarrassed and less worried, he totally got it. You forgot about the fatality which was that everybody knew that you smooched and had sex with your best friend. Brian made this look as something funny and peculiar instead of awkward and mortifying. And he had a plan to make everybody believe that nothing between you two happened; an odd plan, but a plan anyways. When you got to calm your noisy laughter, you looked at Brian and saw his jade green eyes shining with fervor and gaiety as never before.

"That's what we have to tell them indeed if we want to keep our failed secret in secret." You commented and he sniggered. Then you looked at him mischievously. "But what if we just leave things like they are now? This means not telling them the story of how we happened to be naked in the same bed; or better yet, telling them that we, magically, turned into The Grinch and, unaware of this spell, we took off our clothes and just, you know, had sex." You proposed with a very amused smirk, raising an eyebrow. Brian parted his lips and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Well, that changes everything. We should make up that story of how we happened to turn into The Grinch. Seriously, I don't even want to picture you as a furry green person. Really, try to picture both of us as furry green people doing what we did last night. Don't you think it's quite disturbing?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes as you chortled.

"You have a point... I mean..." You answered while placing a hand on his bare chest to run a hand over it as Brian parted his lips and looked at your hand touching his chest. "I wouldn't like to change this very well-toned chest I touched last night into a furry chest. It would screw the good memories." You added with a snicker as Brian looked into your eyes again, his eyes twinkling as a smirk appeared on his face.

"Yeah, well, you are getting my point..." He replied with a naughty smirk as he placed a hand on your stomach to run his fingers very slowly, making you shiver at his touch. "I wouldn't like to change your very soft skin I touched last night into a furry and green skin." He added while running his fingers through your hip bone as you closed your eyes, bit your lower lip and let out a muffled and low moan. You noticed how he moved his face very close to yours. "Right, Sunny?" He whispered in your ear with hoarse voice.

"As far as I remember, that's not the way you called me last night..." You responded.

"Wasn't it, baby girl?" He whispered in your ear, again with that sexy husky voice, while sliding one finger to your mons pubis, so you let out another moan, this time less muffled.

Oh, dear. Brian wasn't being as timid and reserved as he used to be. And you liked him more like this. You liked his playful, flirty, seductive side you didn't know till yesterday night. You loved his self-confident side he never showed before. You loved his dominant position instead of his usual dominated position. And his touch and kisses began to feel somehow addictive to you; he just knew how to do it; he proved it last night. A series of images of what happened last night popped in your mind; his different types of kisses: sweet, mild, tender, deep, sloppy, fervent, passionate, lustful; kisses combined with licking, sucking and nibbling; in the mouth, cheeks, eyes, forehead, earlobe, jaw, neck, collarbone, back, breasts, stomach, legs, pelvis and just all over your body. His hands and fingers wandering your whole body, touching every single part of it, seeking your weak spots, stopping in particular spots like the scar on your jawline and every single freckle. His body rubbing yours, causing permanent friction. Oh yes, it felt really good and you were starting to feel it again, even if currently you weren't doing anything at all.

"Kiss me." You requested and it sounded like an order instead of a petition.

However, Brian didn't do anything. You opened your eyes to look at him and you found him looking at you surprised, his eyes fixed on yours with that particular twinkle. He was no longer touching you, but his face was really close to yours.

"Didn't you want it to be a thing of one night? I mean, you asked me so." He responded in a whisper.

Yes, you remembered it. That conversation popped into your mind now. It was after having sex. Right after sex, you rolled in bed to gasp for air and smile in pleasure and Brian, automatically, snuggled up to you, enfolding his arms firmly around your waist, placing his chin on your shoulder while nuzzling his nose on your neck with the brightest smile and the most sparkly eyes you've ever seen. You looked at him surprised because Ian never did this, he never wanted to cuddle with you after sex because he always said it was too 'sticky', hence disgusting. However, Brian looked at you in the eye and requested something that stunned you.

"Hold me." He requested softly.

You grinned and rolled on your side to wrap your arms around him as he pressed his forehead against yours, the tips of your noses touching and your smiling mouths just few inches away. And in that moment you thought it was easy to take off your clothes and have sex, people do it all the time. But opening your soul to someone, letting them into your spirit, thoughts, fears, future, hopes, dreams... That was being naked. And that was exactly what you and Brian did.

"Cuddling after sex, eh? Ian never wanted to do this." You commented in intimacy.

"Then he was stupid enough to miss the best part." He responded and you looked at him fondly.

"Maybe he just wasn't as adorable as you are." You replied with a sweet smile. He moved one hand to your cheek and brushed his thumb on it.

"I love you so much." He whispered and kissed your lips very tenderly.

Sadly, you couldn't tell him the same because you knew what way he meant that 'I love you' and it wasn't the same as yours. While it was true that you loved him more now that you shared a very intimate moment, you weren't in love with him. And you didn't know what to say; you didn't even know what would happen from that moment on because you haven't thought about it. What if he wanted this to be something regular? What if he wanted to get a committed relationship after this? You lowered your gaze and pursed your lips in nervousness. Brian placed a thumb on your chin and lifted your face very softly.

"What's the matter, baby girl?" He asked looking deeply into your eyes. You couldn't answer. "Hey, it's okay if you don't tell me that you love me back. I'm aware you don't. I just wanted to say it." He said in an understanding way as you looked at him a bit distressed. "Seriously, it's fine."

"I don't want to hurt you." You whispered and he frowned.

"Hurt me? You won't hurt me. You just made my dream come true; so this is far from hurting me. You made and are making me really happy." He answered sweetly with that fond grin. "Look, I have you in my arms right now, and I always wanted this."

"Yes, it's just that... Oh..." You mumbled distressed and troubled. "Bri, I really enjoyed this night with you. But... I think... We should keep this as our secret; something only between me and you."

"Yeah, I get it." He responded while looking down and biting his lower lip.

"And... I think... In the morning... We should just be friends as usual. Like, leaving this as a thing of one night... For now... I think it'll be the best." You requested shyly, feeling bad for saying this. When you looked at him again, he was looking deeply into your eyes with a half-smile.

"If that is what you want, that is what we're gonna do." He assured while fondling your cheek. "And don't feel bad for requesting it, because you already gave more than what I expected experiencing with you." He added and you gave him a faint smile. "Can we just sleep like this tonight? Only for tonight, cuddling, naked. Can we?" He asked, penetrating your eyes with his.

"You want to sleep naked with me?" You asked slowly.

"Yes, is it too creepy?" He asked while frowning slightly, so you smiled and pecked his lips.

"No, it's nice. I never slept naked with someone... Well, except for one time with Darren, but that was dead long ago. I'd love to sleep like this with you." You answered and his face lit up with one bright smile. After that, he snuggled closer to you and gave you a very affectionate good night kiss on the mouth.

"Good night and sweet dreams, baby girl." He whispered in front of your lips. And when he thought you fell asleep, you heard him whispering something else that made you smile. "You, baby girl, are my one and only, my soulmate and the love of my life. You make my world a better place, you complete me. I love you." Then he kissed your lips and you fell asleep with a smile on your face, feeling peaceful and happy.

So, in this precise moment, Brian was reminding you what you asked him last night. And yes, you were aware that you asked so, but you just didn't want to finish what you had last night. You, maybe, felt a little scared when you realized that you actually didn't want to stop being allowed to kiss him and you certainly didn't want him to stop kissing or touching you. Why were you feeling that? It was supposed that you and he should only be best friends; it was supposed that what happened last night wouldn't change anything. But it did change everything; it changed your feelings towards him.

"Maybe..." You started hesitating and Brian frowned. "Maybe our deal of acting as friends should begin as soon as we leave the bedroom, and not just right now." You stated and he grinned softly. "What do you think?" You asked and dared to kiss and nibble slightly his lower lip. Brian pierced your eyes with his strong gaze and then a smirk appeared in his face.

"In that case..." He whispered and placed a firm hand on your jaw.

You noticed how his gaze turned to your mouth before he leaned in to pull you into a very deep kiss, like the way he kissed you last night. He unlocked your sealed lips and the tip of his tongue ran all around your lips before pulling it in to circle your tongue with the tip of his. He thrust his tongue in and out, each time increasing the rhythm, already driving you crazy. When he entangled his hand in your hair, you couldn't resist anymore. Still kissing him, you managed to be on top of him, your genitals touching, causing both of you moan. You leaned in to reach his neck and you started with light, feathery kisses up and down the sides; then you went to the edge of his ear to kiss and lightly nibble along it as he let out a soft moan. Right after this, you kissed his lips and slid your hand to his back. You came close to him and he instinctively came closer to you; now he was sitting and you were feeling how his chest was perfectly positioned to graze your chest every time both of you moved while kissing each other. As you were kissing him, you lifted your chin up and turned sideways slightly, so he could instinctively kiss your chin and neck. Then you moved to kiss the indent in the center of his collarbone which apparently was extra sensitive; you kissed it using your breath to warm the area, because this was something that last night you noticed he adored, maybe it intensified his sensations; his response to that action was a loud groan and his heavy breathing against your face. Then you decided to tease that particular spot that was his sweet spot on his body that you found last night which responded pleasurably to your touch or caress. You parted slightly to teasingly trace circles around the outside of his nipples with your tongue; then, gently, grazed them with your teeth. Brian thrust his hips up and a long, low, inarticulate sound of pleasure was uttered from his mouth. It seemed he got a bang out of that kiss and that made you smirk naughtily as your lips pressed against his and then you tugged and sucked his lower lip while moving your hands away from his back and gently moving them along the contours of his shoulders and chest. It brought both of you closer and gave him the confidence to do the same to you, especially he inched closer to your breasts; so this time it was you the one who moaned. It seemed that your moan in between the kiss turned him on, because he automatically got a hard-on as he placed his hands on your hips and moved his head forward to keep kissing you but more fervently as he began to thrust his hips up.

"No, wait..." He moaned in between the kiss; yet you kept grinding your hips. "Really, wait..." He begged and you stopped for a while.

You examined his flushed cheeks, his lips parted and his eyes half-opened as if they were heavy; features that made his face look as if he was truly aroused and enjoying this way too much. Why did he want you stop? When you guessed, you smirked.

"Condom?" You asked.

"Yeah." He groaned and you smirked naughtily. "I used it last night… I have no other." He grouched.

"I have one." You winked and kissed him again.

You placed one hand on the back of his head and grasped his soft hair and placed the other hand on his groin as he groaned and forced you to grind your thighs up and down by controlling your movements with his hands on your hips. Your hand grasped his cock as he grew into it, you felt his veins pulsating and his tip throbbing; you fondled and enclosed your hand in his cock as you pulled, gently, up and down as Brian's body began to rise and fall with the rhythm as your hand caressed and jostled him. He started letting out a series of constant moans and both you and him whimpered loudly when you moved his dick so the tip of his cock grazed your clitoris. You were already wet. When you noticed this was something that made both of you feel extremely aroused, you began to constantly rub your clitoris with the tip of his dick, alternating slow and fast movements.

"Baby girl, I can no longer resist." He whimpered and panted in front of your lips.

You smirked mischievously when you heard him whimpering in front of your lips as though he was desperately begging in misery because he wanted you and he needed you right now. Last night he got the dominant position and this time it was you the one who got that position, and that felt good. You didn't want to make him feel so miserable, though; so you stopped kissing him. Right when you were about to stand up to look for the condom, someone opened the door of the bedroom and caught you and Brian in action.

"Oh, for fuck's sake! Oh, shit! Dammit, dammit!" You heard Mandy's voice yelling alarmed. "What are you doing? Disturbing, so disturbing!"

"Amanda! Knock the door!" You screamed furious and agitated. You tried to roll off of Brian, but he held your hips tightly not to let you move, so you looked at him and frowned.

"Please, don't move." He pleaded in a whisper.

Of course, if you moved his full erection would show up and be visible from your sister. You sighed and turned your face to look at your sister angry; you found her covering her eyes with a disturbed facial expression and that made you feel a bit amused.

"What do you think we're doing? Could you please leave and not return so we can go all the way in peace?" You asked and you saw how Brian dropped his jaw in astonishment as your sister gasped.

"Oh, Jesus. Bye." Mandy responded in a gasp and closed the door in a bang. When you turned your face to look at Brian again, you found him looking at you stunned.

"You did just not say that to your sister." He whispered and you chuckled softly and shrugged. "What about your plan of pretending that nothing between us happened? You know your sister, she loves gossips, she'll tell everybody about this."

"I don't care." You responded and leaned in to kiss him and return to what you were doing before Mandy interrupted you. But someone opened the door again.

"What's happening in here? Mandy came all hysteric and..." You heard Joey's voice asking worried, but he paused, causing a profound silence. "Oh. Sorry." He exclaimed and quickly closed the door.

You dropped your head downwards with a heavy sigh in frustration as you felt Brian's hands stroking the sides of your upper body. You looked up and saw him smiling warmly at you, so you smiled back. He leaned forward to peck your lips, cupping your cheek with one hand and brushing it with his thumb.

"It seems these are all signs telling us that we're not supposed to do this. Being caught not once but thrice? That beats all records." He joked and you tittered.

"This is unbelievable!" You exclaimed and sighed, finally rolling off of Brian to lie in bed on your back, staring the ceiling.

Brian nestled up to you and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear before stroking your hair very smoothly. You turned your gaze to him and you grinned when you saw him looking at you with a pair of sparkly and sweet jade green eyes. His fingers brushed your cheek and then he gave you a snog.

"What if I prepare you a delicious breakfast?" He proposed and you couldn't help chortling because of your joy.

"That would be great." You responded, leaning in to give him a smacker.

"But we first need to get dressed. And I have an idea to make this more dynamic." He winked and you giggled and looked at him intrigued.

"What is your idea, sir?" You asked and he wiggled his eyebrows, something that made you laugh again.

"I'll pick your outfit and you'll pick mine. Then I'll dress you and you'll dress me. What do you think?" He asked with an amused smirk and you grinned widely.

"I never did something like that and I like trying new things. So I love your idea." You giggled.

"Hmm, good." He whispered hoarsely in front of your lips.

You thought he was gonna kiss you, but the teaser just stood up with a sassy smirk. You saw him walking to the wardrobe and you couldn't help staring, bewitched, his perfect ass. You surely looked like a creep, but he wasn't seeing you, so you didn't care. Almost as if he knew you were checking him out with no shame, he turned his face to wink at you with that playful smirk.

"What? Don't blame me... It's not my fault that your ass looks so squeezable." You defended yourself.

"What?" He asked frowning, apparently a bit confused. Shit, he didn't know you were staring his ass; well, he didn't know till now. Then he smiled amused and bit his lower lip to prevent his laughter. "You can always come and squeeze it. You should take advantage now that we are still in the bedroom, because once we get out, you won't be allowed to do so, baby girl." He teased and you shook your head while chuckling.

"We will see..." You commented amused and he nodded and chuckled before turning his face around.

"You know what I'm realizing right now?" He asked and you shrugged. "I don't have clothes in here. I left them all in the hotel room. So, you'll have to dress me with the clothes I wore yesterday." He commented and you finally got out the bed. You walked towards him and wrapped your arms around his waist from behind him.

"You can always remain naked. I wouldn't mind appreciate your naked body walking around the house, hot stuff." You commented jokingly and he turned his face to look at you amused.

"I see you're not one jealous person." He replied and you hesitated.

"On a second thought, I better dress you up. I wouldn't like seeing how all the ladies want to get you. You're mine, Clerk." You responded amused and you noticed how his eyes twinkled as a smile spread across his face.

"Am I yours?" He asked, now smirking mischievously and raising an eyebrow.

You chortled and shrugged. Then he moved his face close to yours so that now the tips of your noses were slightly touching and your mouths just few inches away. He parted his lips and drifted his gaze to your mouth, something that made you part your own lips due to the strength of his gaze and the mystery of not knowing what his next action would be.

"Watch your words because I could take them in a different way from what you meant." He whispered right in front of your lips, his voice sounding very guttural and sexy. "Very different, baby girl." He whispered hoarsely again, slightly and almost teasingly touching your lips before he bit his own lips and turned around, leaving you there with your desire of kissing him, nearly turned on.

Damn tease. He knew how to play this. He knew how to seduce you and make you think you'd get a kiss or something and then leave you there, with this uncontrollable desire of getting his lips and this need of friction. Since when, though? Brian was one of the most timid, debonair and well-mannered men you knew; he never showed any sign of being flirty, seductive and provocative, he was never this self-confident and you truly never imagined he could be so good at this, implying kissing, caressing, touching and mostly... sexy. Yes, he was for sure very attractive, but his timid personality never made you see him as someone sexy; well, that changed last night. Since last night you faced the truth that he was a lady-killer. You were observing him walking around the bedroom, looking for something you could wear today, exposing his naked body with no shame as though he was intentionally provoking you. It was supposed that you'd be the teaser and he would be the victim of your incitements; but the roles were now inverted. He mystified you. And that astounded you.

"Tell me something..." You stated and he turned his gaze to you. "Since when are you a heartbreaker? Or have you always been one and you've been hiding that side of you all this time?" You asked and he raised his eyebrows before chuckling. Then he shot you a sensual look.

"I've been hiding it all this time to show it in the right moment." He winked seductively and you raised an eyebrow with an amused smile. He narrowed his eyes, his sensual gaze still steady. "Don't tell me you can't handle this." He questioned in a sassy way and you raised your eyebrows in surprise.

What was going on with him? He was acting so different. And what was happening to you? You were speechless, you didn't know what to answer because the strength of his seductive stare was distracting you.

"Or perhaps it's you don't like this side of me..." He hesitated, finally looking away, giving you the chance to think about something. But then he pierced your eyes again and made you lose any kind of answer you formulated in those seconds he shifted his gaze. Geez. "What is it, baby girl? Don't you like me like this?" He asked, his green eyes penetrating your eyes.

"No." You answered roundly and he frowned slightly and nodded. "I love your flirty side. But I just wonder why now. Why have you decided to show it now? Why not earlier? Why not later?" You questioned and now he seemed to be the one speechless.

"Well, because..." He started answering, slowly walking to you. He didn't keep talking until he got to place his hands firmly on your hips. "I wanted to show it right in the moment I could get the chance to have you like this. It only works when I feel like you're mine. That's why I didn't show it before... Same reason why I will no longer show it as soon as we leave this bedroom and we return to be just friends." He responded and you frowned slightly. Well, maybe you didn't like the idea of him not being seductive now that you got to see that side of him. "I mean..." He kept saying and you noticed an amused and sassy grin on his face. "I wouldn't like to make this hard for you. If we'll be just friends... How would you resist my sensuality if I keep showing this side? I don't want to make you suffer, I'm a good guy." He joked and you laughed out loud.

"In the intimacy not only you're seductive and flirty, but you're also silly and sassy. What else are you?" You asked intrigued, perhaps diverted.

"Oh... I've got this side..." He answered and he didn't say anything.

He just cupped your jaw with his hands and his thumbs brushed your cheeks in a very caring way as a pair of shiny pale green eyes were looking fondly into your eyes. He gave you one sweet smile as he leaned in to kiss your lips tenderly. It was a slight kiss but very intimate and soulful. Oh yes, you remembered the way he kissed you last night; he had the power to make you feel things with a simple kiss. He parted and looked deeply into your eyes. Dear, you've never seen his eyes so bright and joyful, except from that moment he snuggled up to you after sex.

"The powerful side?" You asked and he frowned in confusion. "Yes, that very sweet, kind and lovely side; I already knew it. But you also have this powerful side... This side you can make someone feel each part of you so deeply and vividly that you feel that there's no longer a me and you but both of us as one. That's weird, but you totally got to make me feel that way." You explained as he was looking intensely into your eyes, perhaps amazed, perhaps thrilled.

"I had no idea I have that side. It's nice to know that." He responded with a warm grin, fondling your cheek. Then he leaned and pressed his forehead against yours. "Thank you for giving me the chance to show you how I feel about you, baby girl." He whispered as though this was a secret shared only between you and him, very private. Also, it was like a way to say goodbye to this love affair you had.

"Thank you for making me feel like the most loved woman in the world." You whispered with a kind grin. "Now, would you dress me?" You asked and he giggled.

After this unusual morning conversation and interaction with your best friend, Brian dressed you in a very delicate and careful way, taking his time to put on your underwear and the clothes he chose for you. He did not do it in a perverted or creepy way; of course he made some flirty comments but also some sweet comments, always reminding you that you were beautiful. It was actually a very nice experience, the way he treated you with respect and admiration. Then you dressed him, observing and admiring his completely naked body for the last time. When you were already ready, you walked to the door. You didn't even give each other a last kiss. And, to be honest, you didn't want to leave the bedroom. For some odd reason, you didn't want things to return to normal, because, for the first time in a year, you felt truly loved by a guy. Nonetheless, you and Brian headed out the bedroom. Now the suspicious looks and the uncomfortable questions were going to be directed fully towards you and him. And it was indeed like that. As soon as Brian and you entered the dining room where everybody else was having breakfast and chattering, they got silent and looked abruptly at your direction. You felt a bit uncomfortable but Brian, next to you, was smiling as widely as never before with such cheerfulness that it seemed unreal.

"Good morning, everybody!" Brian greeted joyfully and that made you grin. "Who else is craving for bacon and eggs? This is your one chance to say it because I'm in mood to cook for everyone who wants it." He said and all of them smiled, apparently forgetting about the reason why they were initially looking at you two in suspicion.

"I want!" Joey answered excited. And the same thing answered Mandy, Jack, Jen, February, Lucy, Chuck and Darren.

"Dad? You want bacon and eggs?" Brian asked with a merry smile.

"Am I allowed to eat that?" George questioned, frowning and squinting.

"Of course you are! Well, it seems everybody is getting bacon and eggs... Sunny, you want some?" He asked, looking at you with a pair of bright eyes.

Aw, what happened with the 'baby girl'? You liked the way he called you. But right, you were just 'friends' now that you were in public. You hesitated. Maybe you couldn't eat that, it wouldn't be healthy and it was a bad idea due to your peptic ulcer.

"I think I'll just get some cereals." You responded and he nodded.

"Coffee?" He asked politely.

"No, just milk." You answered and he frowned in confusion. Of course, it was weird for you to reject the morning coffee.

"Don't be silly, Brian." Darren snorted and both you and Brian looked at him. Brian in confusion, and you kind of severely. "How can you offer her bacon and eggs accompanied with coffee if she has peptic ulcer?" He asked almost provocatively as you shot him a bit furious look and Brian frowned.

"What?" He asked loudly, his confused voice echoing in the very silent room. He looked around, observing each one of the faces of the present people; then his glare turned to you. "Peptic ulcer?" He questioned kind of harshly because of his concern as you looked down and blushed, a bit uncomfortable because of his intense glare. "Did everybody know about this?" He asked and no one answered, and of course he assumed the silence as an affirmative response. But he repeated the question and this time Darren answered.

"Yes, Brian, everybody here knew about her ulcer... Well, except you, duh." He said and you looked at him upset. Why was he acting like that?

"Why didn't you tell me, Sunny?" He asked kind of afflicted.

"I just found about my ulcer in Christmas and I didn't have the chance to tell you before. I'm sorry." You apologized sincerely.

"Oh, you had the chance to tell him, Freckles. What about yesterday night when you were alone to talk? Oh right, you two were too busy playing pillow war." He commented sarcastically and Brian looked abruptly at Darren and he, fortunately, realized what this all was about.

"It's okay, Sunny. I understand and you're right. We didn't have the chance to talk before." Brian said with a sympathetic grin, squeezing your shoulder. "So! 10 bacons with eggs and one milk with cereals." Brian said and he headed to the kitchen.

Now you didn't know what to do. You didn't want to sit at the table where everybody was suspicious because of what some of them saw earlier in your bedroom and uncomfortable because of Darren's recent inappropriate comments. You thought about joining Brian in the kitchen, where you would feel comfortable and as happy as you were before leaving the bedroom. But Mandy stood up and walked towards you, preventing you from moving. You thought she was gonna demand you an explanation and maybe she was gonna start with the rebukes; but, instead, she smirked amused when she was close to you. She waited until everybody began to chatter and then she spoke.

"So...?" Mandy asked with a very amused facial expression.

"So what?" You asked, narrowing your eyes and frowning; clearly playing dumb.

"Ah, don't act like an evasive bitch. So, don't make me blow my cool, lay it on the line and give me an earful about what's going between you and my hottie." Mandy demanded and, again, you played dumb.

"Your hottie? Nothing's going between me and Joey." You shrugged and Mandy just raised an eyebrow, particularly dangerous.

"Joey's my stud; Brian is my hottie. Clear? Now tell me." She requested in a bossy way as you frowned.

"Brian is your hottie? Your? He is my... I repeat, my hottie. Okay?" You asked, also raising an eyebrow, pretending to sound jealous but actually pretty amused. Of course this made her smile satisfactorily.

"Oh, so Brian's your hottie. That sounds pretty much as if he belongs to you, as if you are his one and only owner. Don't tell me you're one of those jealous bitches." She joked... Well, her usual way to joke which consisted in saying everything in all seriousness with a very dissimulated amused smirk.

"Nah, I am not. I just could dismember you if I find you flirting with him. Just that, nothing too serious." You responded while shrugging indifferently and you did hear Mandy's chuckle.

"Right, you psycho." She answered with her usual mischievous smirk. "Now cut with the shit and tell me... How's sex with him, eh?" She asked bluntly, so you raised your eyebrows in astonishment; but after a while your most naughty smirk appeared on your face.

"Let's just say that hot stuff that seems to be innocent and lovely can turn into a wild beast in bed... It's pretty impressive the considerable change. Not to mention that he's got a huge dick." You whispered while biting your lower lip, still with that naughty smirk. You noticed Mandy had to bit her tongue not to laugh.

"I know. I saw him naked, remember?" She whispered amused.

"Yeah, I remember... Maybe you saw it, but you have no idea... He really knows how to use it. Oh gosh, he really knows how to do it." You winked as Mandy dropped her jaw, but amused, though.

"Did you have an orgasm for the first time in your life or you had to pretend like with Ian?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, no. No, I didn't have an orgasm." You responded and Mandy looked confused. Then you moved closer to her to whisper in her ear. "I achieved multiple orgasms. It was the best that happened in my life."

"You fucking bitch!" She exclaimed while pulling you softly and giggling. "Dammit! But well, with a hot guy like him everybody would have multiple orgasms." She said while looking at Brian's ass while he was cooking in the kitchen. "So, what are you now?"

"Best friends who had a love affair one night." You responded while shrugging and this time your sister shot you a withering look.

"You aren't that fool to let go that hot and sweet guy who loves you and who apparently is a sex god." She said painfully slow, but you did not answer. You just remained looking at Brian and how he was moving. "Seriously? Just best friends? Are you really that jerk and damn idiot?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well, we're just best friends. But who knows? Maybe that could change in any moment." You winked in a mysterious way. "Now, if you excuse me, I really want to be with that hot and sweet guy."

You didn't even wait for her response or some kind of question; you just walked towards Brian with steady gait; you didn't even mind all the looks that were following your way to the kitchen. You decided that nobody and nothing could change the really good mood you had today for having spent one of the best nights and mornings in the last past year, all thanks to Brian. So, once you approached him, you enfolded your arms around his waist, resting your head on his back, smiling widely. Brian, due to the sudden touch, jumped in surprise and then turned his head to find it was you.

"Jesus. One day I'll have a heart attack because of these sudden things you do, Sunny." He joked, making fun of himself, with the most contagious titter.

"Sunny? You returned with Sunny? What happened with baby girl?" You asked while pouting. Oh yeah, you knew he loved when you pouted like this. He drifted his gaze to your mouth and he slightly parted his lips.

"That was before we left the bedroom... Remember the sneaky plan?" He asked, finally looking into your eyes.

"No, I don't remember it... I just remember something about green furry body." You answered while frowning slightly and he laughed out loud. Then you moved closer and bit your lower lip in a seductive way, something that made him stare your lips again. "And I remember what we did after that..." You whispered suggestively, now running one hand over his stomach, underneath his shirt. "I remember the way you touched me, the way you kissed me... The way I touched you right... there..." You whispered while sliding one finger underneath the waistband of his jeans. Brian quickly took your hand to stop you.

"Don't tease me right here." He whispered, his voice sounding husky. However, you slid your free hand underneath his underwear. He held back a moan and then he leaned in to whisper. "Please, don't tempt me." He begged and you took advantage to stand on tiptoe and peck his lips. "Sunny!" He exclaimed alarmed, looking around. "Someone could see us!" He complained in a whisper.

"So what?" You asked mischievously raising an eyebrow. He frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes.

"Didn't you want to keep this as a secret?" He questioned and you hesitated.

"What is what you want, Brian?" You asked and his face reflected perplexity. Surely he wasn't expecting you to ask this.

"Do I have to be completely honest?" He asked and you nodded. "Well, if everything was just up to me, I'd be kissing you right now, I'd hold your hand and I'd just ask you to be my girlfriend. But... Not everything is up to me, because this depends on what both of us want." He answered and returned his gaze to the breakfast he just finished making. You observed him for a while, with a faint but genuine smile.

"Do you really want me to be your girlfriend?" You asked, now not in a provocative or seductive way, but in a soft and perhaps thrilled way. He looked at you straight in the eye and grinned tenderly.

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked in a whisper as his pale green eyes twinkled. "Well, breakfast is ready..." He said loudly and then moved his mouth to your ear. "Baby girl." He whispered with husky voice and then parted and winked at you, so that you grinned widely.

"I'll help you bring it to the table." You offered amiably.

You and Brian brought the breakfast and then you sat at the table next to each other. Everybody started eating the bacon and eggs as you had your milk with cereals. Brian was smiling cheerfully and chattering with animosity; he was in good spirits and his joy was contagious, because now there were no longer suspicious looks or uncomfortable comments, only laughs, jokes and nice comments. You couldn't remember the last time you saw him so lively and this was extremely positive and so nice to see. It was evident that everybody noticed the change of his mood, compared to the last days. At some point, you placed your hand on Brian's thigh, under the table; and he, covertly, held that hand and intertwined his fingers with yours in a very natural way, then his thumb began to brush your hand. Then you finally paid attention to the current conversation.

"Talking about books..." George commented and he looked at his son with a proud smile. "I started reading yours, son."

"Did you?" Brian asked as his eyes sparkled with joy. "What do you think so far?" He asked intrigued, noticeably expecting to get a good review from his dad.

"I just read the first chapter. But I do like what I read so far. I like what the story is about." He answered kindly and Brian's face lit up with a big grin.

"It's beautifully written, the story is very deep and soulful. You'll love it as I did, George." You commented.

A sweet grin appeared on your face while placing a hand on the nape of Brian's neck, twiddling some strands of his hair, looking at him in a tender way as he turned his face to look at you bewildered for the way you were touching and looking at him in front of everybody. Some of them looked at you two in suspicion and intrigued again, others looked a bit confused and others, especially your sister, looked at you with big and cheesy grins. George made a faint gesture, frowning slightly at first, and smiling later.

"You read the entire book already, sweetheart?" George asked politely.

"Yes, I did." You answered proudly, smiling brightly. "It's completely beautiful and I felt each feeling described in the book. In my opinion, this book should be one of the best contemporary books, and Brian, of course, one of the best contemporary authors. Your son is very talented, George, you should be proud." You commented and you noticed how Brian blushed slightly and looked down, with a nervous chuckle because he didn't like being flattered, but with a merry smile because of what you said.

"Trust me, I'm really proud of him." Brian's dad responded with that particular look every parent has when they see their children achieving their dreams.

You looked at Brian and leaned to kiss his cheek, more like the corner of his lips. Therefore, Brian raised his eyebrows and looked at you surprised, then he frowned slightly, evidently not getting why you were acting this way. You noticed curious looks directed at you two again, until one brave person dared to ask and it wasn't Mandy as you expected.

"So, uh, are you guys... something now?" February asked curiously and in a very cautious way, surely not to sound like someone who wanted to meddle between you two or offend you.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Brian asked nervously, looking away. You noticed how everybody frowned.

"Well... I mean... Forget it... It's just that... Nothing." February stammered, also nervous, perhaps feeling that she shouldn't have asked so.

"Hey, February, it's okay." You said with a polite grin to make her feel less embarrassed. "I got what you tried to ask, actually." You added and everybody, including Brian, fixed their gaze to you.

"So, what's the answer for her question?" Mandy asked exasperatedly.

Mandy, Joey, February, Jen and Darren, the ones who saw you in the bedroom, were looking at you expectant and Chuck, Lucy, Jack and George, the ones who didn't see you, were observing this situation and hearing this conversation kind of confused. Brian, in the meantime, was looking at you as though he couldn't understand what was what you wanted so he had no clue what you could answer now.

"Well..." You answered very slowly, now feeling a bit intimidated because of the steady stares towards you. "I... I don't know." You shrugged and played dumb. Yes, that wasn't what you planned answering, but the pressure of their looks made you answer that.

"You don't know? After what we saw this morning in the bedroom?" Mandy questioned incredulous and you just babbled and shrugged. Brian was just looking down, licking and biting his lower lip in nervousness.

"Okay... I think some of us don't get anything of what you're talking about." Chuck finally stated and Lucy and Jack nodded in agreement as George was just silently examining you and his son. "Would you tell us what happened this morning in your bedroom?" He requested gently, looking fixedly at you and Brian.

Brian began to scratch the nape of his neck, evidently unable to talk; so you were the one who was basically forced to answer. Thing was you were already edgy and uncomfortable; something you haven't planned when you told February that it was okay. But... What was wrong with them knowing so? It wasn't like you and Brian did something forbidden and illegal. And you liked what you had with Brian the night before; you enjoyed it and you finally admitted that you wanted to keep doing that with him because you felt something, you felt loved and you felt happy; and not only that, but you made him happy too. You both deserved to fall in love, even if he was already in love with you. You deserved to fall in love with someone again; and Brian was like one of those perfect guys. There was nothing wrong in admitting that you did have feelings for your best friend, despite that those feelings weren't quite clear so far. So you took a deep breath before answering very determined.

"This morning Mandy, Joey, Jen, Darren and February caught me and Brian cuddling and sleeping in the same bed." You responded firmly, no longer feeling embarrassed. 'That sounds pretty normal' was the kind of look you got from them. Well, except from Brian who was looking at you with eyes wide open in astonishment, not believing what you were saying. "And we were naked." You added.

You heard how your voice echoed in the room in the very moment that everybody dropped their jaws and widened their eyes stunned because of your blunt confession. Brian's face reflected puzzlement, he was agape and doe-eyed; now looking away with flushed cheeks. You could feel his embarrassment, perhaps because he was feeling too exposed if front of everybody; perhaps because he wasn't expecting you to say it due to the fact that you were the one who suggested keeping this secret. However, your intentions were never to make him feel bad. You felt a bit nervous again because of the profound and oppressive silence; so you tried to fill the silence by talking.

"You know... We just had sex... Like well..." You mumbled in nervousness.

Shit, you shouldn't have talked. Yeah, in your desperation to fill the silence you ran off at the mouth and you were digging yourself a deeper hole. You heard Brian making a weird sound as if he was out of breath, and when you glanced at him, you noticed he was strongly biting his lips in complete shock for the things you were saying, still looking away and now blushing hard while running his hands over his thighs, noticeably uncomfortable. The rest was just as in shock as Brian was, but they were more surprised than uncomfortable. Then you saw George. Damn, Brian's dad heard this and you realized how misplaced and inappropriate your comment was. He was perplexed, looking intently at his son with his deep blue eyes; but after a while he turned his gaze downwards and you noticed an almost imperceptible grin on his pale face.

"Is that right, man?" Chuck asked very slowly, looking straight into Brian's eyes.

Brian, noticing that Chuck was addressing him, looked up and gulped. He fluttered his eyes everywhere, catching a glimpse of everybody, obviously feeling exposed. You really felt as though he was gonna die of embarrassment. You never saw him blushing that way. You felt guilty, so, as a way to calm him a little, you placed a hand on his knee; he looked at it and gulped again, heavily breathing out. When he looked up again, he directed his glare at Chuck, pursed his lips and shrugged.

"Yes." Brian answered, his voice sounding a bit tremulous. Then, unexpectedly, he looked at you and gave you a faint grin, though his eyes looked a bit confused. "That's right." He added this time with orotund voice.

He was now manifesting his grin and he placed a hand above the hand you had on his knee; presumably feeling more self-confident. You smiled back and then looked at everybody else. They still seemed to be amazed, but now it was as though they were digesting the news, in a positive way. Well, except for Darren who seemed to be a bit discontented, deep in thought and very serious. Why was it like that, though?

"All in all... Does this mean you're dating or something?" Joey asked curiously.

Both Brian and you looked at him abruptly and dropped your mouths, raising eyebrows. Brian mumbled nonsense things as if he really didn't know what to answer or as though he didn't know how to say that you were still best friends. You knew him, so you knew he wasn't going to answer and this was something good for you because you'd be able to say something you really wanted to say since the time you told February that it was okay. You kept the mystery, though. Somehow you really enjoyed seeing how everybody was dying to hear the answer. You remained silent for a while as an abysmal silence invaded all over the place, then you smirked amused and the rest did notice this; therefore, they were even more intrigued. Again, you didn't utter a single word.

"Are you still friends or do you have another relationship now?" George asked curiously.

Yes, that was what you wanted. You wanted Brian's dad to speak; you wanted him to take part of this. Brian looked at his dad abruptly, perhaps feeling a bit uncomfortable. Both Brian and you knew that George always had this wish of seeing you two together, possibly because he loved both of you and he'd feel happy of seeing his son with someone like you, whom he loved as a daughter. Therefore you knew that Brian would feel bad of telling his dad that you were just friends, breaking all his hopes of finally seeing you two together; and you knew that what Brian wanted right now was to make his dad feel happy as much as possible; besides, you knew what Brian really wanted with you because you corroborated it in the conversation you had in the kitchen. So yes, this was the right moment to answer the questions. You looked deeply into George's eyes and grinned kindly.

"I don't know, George." You responded while shrugging, always keeping the grin. Then you looked intensely into Brian's eyes that looked at you as soon as he noticed your eyes on him. "Sadly, your son hasn't asked me if I want to be his girlfriend yet." You added and Brian widened his eyes and parted slightly his lips in amazement. His eyes twinkled and looked piercingly into your eyes.

"Hasn't he?" Brian's dad questioned and you sensed how he looked at his son; yet neither you nor Brian took your eyes off of each other. "Son?"

Brian heard his father, yet he remained looking deeply into your eyes; perhaps trying to search in your eyes the answer to his confusion of why you were doing this, or maybe just trying to make sure he heard well when you said that he hasn't asked you to be his girlfriend. Meanwhile, the rest was looking intently at you two, as though they were watching a thriller, right in that moment when the plot of the movie was about to unfold and end; the moment of greatest suspense that kept everybody hooked. When you raised your eyebrows slightly as a way to let him know that now the end of this movie was up to him, a bright smile appeared on his face at the same time his eyes flashed.

"Would you excuse me?" He asked mysteriously, piercing your eyes with his.

You grinned and nodded as a response. Brian moved closer to you and you were expecting him to hold your hand or something, but no. He just grabbed your bowl of cereals and searched for something. You knitted your brows thinking what the hell he could be doing and you noticed everybody else was looking at him the same way. After a short time, he took something and hid it in his hands before parting to look deeply into your eyes, with bright eyes and a playful simper.

"Sunny..." His voice echoed in the room as the spectators, all of you, made different grimaces to hear his speech very intently. What would he say? You looked at him intrigued, an amused smile on your face. "You, as well as everybody in this room, already know what my feelings towards you are because apparently I'm a sucker at hiding those feelings away." He joked, showing his funny side, and you chortled just as everyone did. "Or perhaps it's because what I feel for you is so deep that hiding it would be in vain, considering it'll always show up one way or another." He said, now showing his sweet side. "The fairest would be to say that it's a balanced combination of the two reasons. I'm a sucker who feels something so deep for you that there's no way to hide it." He added and you bit your tongue, already feeling very amused, still intrigued to know what exactly his point was. "And as the good sucker I am, I did things I said I'd never do, and I did things in a very different way from the way I always imagined doing those things if I ever had the chance. One of those things is what I am doing right now." He stated and you looked at him even more curious. You couldn't tell what he could say in his speech. "For instance, I always imagined telling you my feelings in a completely different way from the way you found them out the very first time." He confessed with a sad grimace and you gave him a half-smile. "I tried to make up for it and I wrote a book that I recently published in which I tried to express my love for you in a more appropriate way. Yet, it wasn't enough." He said while shrugging with a soft grin. You puckered your brows because that book was great and it was actually enough for you. "It wasn't enough because they were simply words and when it comes to love, words are never enough. You need to demonstrate it with actions. I frankly never thought I could ever have the chance to show you all of my love with actions because, although I'm pretty aware that it'd have been the most honest thing to do, I also respected you and I knew where I was standing, so I couldn't do it. However, I had the chance to show you so. It was like a dream for me, it was crazy, I couldn't believe it. Nonetheless, it was not as I always pictured showing you so. Maybe it's because I've watched too many romantic movies thanks to you who wouldn't give up the romantic movie for an action movie. Geez, the things I did." He said kidding as you guffawed and everybody else tittered. Even Darren, who was super serious, giggled.

"Admit it, Brian. When Harry met Sally is way better than Star Wars." You commented amused and you heard some 'what?' from the male people in the room.

"You know? We'll argue for days on about this and I know I'll win you because Star Wars is one of the greatest movies of all times. But that is not the point; we'll have time to argue about this later." Brian responded amused and a bit challenging. "Anyway, I gotta admit that the endless list of romantic movies you forced me to watch made me change my perspective of how I wanted to tell you my feelings. And it didn't happen as I wanted to, something was missing..." He said and you narrowed your eyes, very curious to know what he would say now. "So, we have known each other for years, and we're very good friends. And I ask you... Can men and women ever just be friends?" He asked amused and bit his lower lip.

"Not that Star Wars was better than When Harry met Sally?" You asked, also amused. "But to answer your question... Yes, men and women can be strictly friends without sex... Uh, well... Maybe sometimes the sex part always gets in the way..." You said frowning and Brian just smirked. "Anyway... What's the point of the question?" You asked curiously and everybody looked at Brian, also eagerly to know his answer.

"Because I know this is one of your favorite movies, so it was an introduction to say... I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." Brian responded and you gaped, looking at him amazed.

He knew the lines of the movie perfectly. Well, maybe it was because you forced him to watch it thousands of times, but still. And it was really, but really sweet that he was saying all of this. It was really sweet the way he was choosing to tell you whatever he wanted to tell you. You heard some 'aww' from the girls and a 'man, so romantic, I wanna be Freckles right now' from Joey.

"And please, don't tell me you hate me. Just let's skip that part." Brian joked and you laughed out loud. "But... Before the part we're supposed to kiss, I want to ask you something; in a way I've never imagined asking this, but in the best way it could be..." He said and suddenly you felt your heart beating really fast as an inexplicable feeling of extreme happiness ran throughout your body. Brian took one of your hands and his green eyes twinkled when they fixed on your eyes. "Sunny, you mean so much to me, more than you can imagine, and you make me happy even in my worst days. I want to make you feel just as happy and I want to be worthy of meaning something to you. I am madly in love with you." He whispered with smoky voice while he was looking piercingly and fondly into your eyes.

You got to hear him confessing you so for the very first time in public, so you sensed how your heart skipped a beat as you began to feel nervous, but nervous in a good way, in that way when you know that something great is about to happen. His eyes gleamed when a bright and genuine smile spread across his face as you were lost in his beautiful jade green eyes. Then he showed what he was holding in his free hand, the little something he hid earlier. When you saw what it was, you cackled and covered your mouth. It was a blue ring-shaped cereal. That was original. You heard some giggles from the rest, but you didn't look at them, you were focused on looking intently at Brian, to grasp in your heart every single detail of this perfect moment.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" He asked with shiny eyes full of joy and hopes as you gasped and a wide smile crossed your lips out of the blue.

You didn't even know where that smile came from, but it was one of the truest smiles you've ever had. It was just that the way he asked you so was one of the most original, sweet and lovely ways he could have asked you so; it was probably the best way. You couldn't remember the last time you felt so loved and so full of happiness; you truly felt as though you were in one of those wonderful romantic movies you loved so much. When you noticed the eager and expectant looks directed at you, you realized that you still had to answer.

"Yes! Yes, I want!" You responded with the most cheerful smile as Brian's eyes, automatically, shone like never before and the sound of a merry chuckle came out his mouth.

It seemed as if he was dreaming this, as if he couldn't believe you were saying 'yes' in real life and not in a book or in his imagination. And you were also surprised by the way you were so sure of wanting to be his girlfriend, something you'd have never imagined. You heard squeals and cheers from others, apparently very glad to have heard that response. But Darren didn't squeal, he didn't cheer, he didn't even smile faintly; he was knitting his brows with lips parted and gaze downwards as though he was disturbed and puzzled. Brian placed the blue ring-shaped cereal on your pinky finger, the only finger where it fitted, as you chortled, feeling more lively than ever. Right after this, he leaned in, placed both hands on your cheeks and gave you one of the tenderest kisses someone could have given you. He kissed you in front of everybody and you did not feel uncomfortable, you did not feel as if this was something you shouldn't do; instead, you grinned widely in the kiss just as him.

"You have no idea how damn happy I am right now. I love you so much, baby girl." He whispered in front of your lips before kissing you again.

When you parted, you saw everybody smiling, as if they were truly happy for you two. Brian's dad was the one who seemed to be the happiest; he was looking at his son in a proud way and looking at you in a fond way. Even Darren was smiling now; weakly, but he was smiling. As for you, you were feeling radiant, not less than Brian. You had forgotten how wondrous it felt to feel love again, love to give and receive. And you were glad that the person was your ex- best friend, now boyfriend. Perhaps the reason why you felt insanely jubilant was because this was something that you, deep down, wanted to have with Brian, only that you never dared to admit it out of fear of losing him. And the most beautiful out of all of this was seeing Brian authentically happy after seeing him very sad for over a year.

"I am happy too, darling." You whispered and his mesmerizing green eyes twinkled. You knew he loved being called like that and it felt right.

---

Since the moment I saw Freckles and Brian naked in the bedroom I knew that something between them has changed, undoubtedly, but I never thought it could have ended like this. This seemed unreal, almost viciously dishonest, something that didn't seem right. Freckles wasn't in love with Brian, she didn't love him; I was sure of it. Then why would she accept being Brian's girlfriend? Did she pretend that sudden happiness or was it real? If it was real, I couldn't understand. Days ago she said she hated him, now she was his girlfriend. What if they were pretending this all as they pretended George's positive diagnosis? What if this was a farce? Or what if I wanted to believe this was just another deception because I refused to believe they were now dating? A snowflake that landed on my lashes interrupted my thoughts. At the same time, Jen and Joey walked to the backyard to join me in the bench in front of the pool where I was sitting. They just sat there in silence, leaving me between them. We didn't talk for a while and I wasn't even in mood to act as if I was completely fine. Jen softly placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it; it was a nice gesture but I knew it meant it was time to talk and I certainly didn't want to talk about Freckles and Brian as I knew Jen and Joey wanted.

"We saw your face when he was asking her to be his girlfriend and when they kissed." Joey said oddly calm.

"You aren't happy for them, are you?" Jen asked subtly. I remained staring blankly at the snowy ground and I puckered my brows.

"No, I don't want you to get me wrong." I responded with a heavy sigh. "Both of them are good people and I know they deserve being happy and all, so I am happy for them." I said while shrugging.

"Let me get this straight... You're happy for them, but it's you the one who isn't happy, right?" Jen questioned as I felt her gaze fixed on me.

"Yes." I sighed and pursed my lips. "And please, don't get me wrong... It's not like I'm disgusted for this or something. I do want to feel happy because they're my friends and I know this is such a big deal for Brian, and Freckles is well deserving of being with someone as nice as Brian is... But... I don't know. And I do want to congratulate them, I do want to support them... But to be honest, I know I won't do it because I just can't. Does this make me a bad person?" I asked a bit afflicted.

"No, it doesn't make you a bad person, Darren. It makes you an honest person." Jen answered and I was certainly not expecting that kind of answer; I honestly wasn't expecting her to understand me so quickly. But... An honest person? What did she mean? "I witnessed your relationship with Freckles in high school. I saw it in person and I heard you talk about her all the time."

"And I witnessed your relationship with Freckles since we started college. I witnessed how everything between her and you changed constantly and maybe too quickly." Joey added and I looked at him, maybe a bit surprised by the way he seemed to be so tranquil and patient. "Jen and I both know what Freckles meant to you. And although I always treated you as though you were a moron teen by the way you acted around Freckles, deep down I knew it was the only way you could act around her considering all she meant to you." He added and I puckered my brows as I looked down. "But you chose to let her go, so all I did and all I said was to help you do it for real, not because I thought you were a fucking asshole whose feelings towards her were stupid. I knew you still loved her and I know you still do, even if you're dating February and you do have feelings for her." He stated and I pursed my lips and gulped. I couldn't deny it, but I didn't want to admit it either.

"Joey and I both understand that you won't love anybody the way you loved Freckles. And this doesn't mean that you won't ever fall completely in love with February. Freckles was your first love, she was your first real girlfriend, she was the first person you fell in love with, she was the first person with whom you shared your deepest secrets and feelings, she was the first person with whom you dreamed a future life; and nothing ever is gonna change it." Jen said while looking deeply into my eyes with a half yet warm smile. "We understand how hard it was for you to lose her, then find her again, then let her go and finally having her but not having her at the same time." She said and I clenched my jaw as I began to feel distressed, all of a sudden. "Therefore, we understand your pain, we understand why you can't be happy for all that recently happened when you saw Brian and Freckles kissing and feeling happy." She said and I sighed; I bit my lips and shook my head slowly. They weren't getting this.

"It's not the kiss between them what made me feel bad." I replied almost in a whisper, my gaze focused on the snowy ground as Joey and Jen frowned and narrowed their eyes in confusion. I felt the painful lump in throat, so I cleared my throat and breathed out. "It was the fact of seeing Freckles and Brian as happy as she and I used to be in high school, it was seeing how Brian and Freckles recreated the image of me and her when we were dating and we were in love. What made me feel bad was seeing Brian holding Freckles the way I used to do; and it was seeing Freckles looking fondly at Brian the way she used to look at me, I thought that look was reserved to me but she used it with Brian. What made me feel bad was thinking that I am the one who should have been in that situation with her. Me and not Brian, not because Brian doesn't deserve her because I know he does deserve her; but because in that very moment I realized that one of my biggest mistakes was to let Freckles go when I should have stayed, when I should have fought for her; in that very moment I realized that it was already too late to regret for my decisions." I finally confessed.

My voice sounded brittle as my eyes flooded with sadness and my lips started quivering, feeling how the pent up pain was engulfing me as the cold breeze was hitting my face. Some snowflakes merged with the few tears that silently escaped the corner of my eyes. My tears brought no sense of release or relief. Their flight felt like the lightest, coldest touch of a departing lover that once meant the world to me and who was now away from being what I always imagined: my life partner. I felt one firm hand patting my back softly and one delicate hand squeezing my knee in a reassuring way.

"It's not because of Brian; actually Brian was never the problem, I always blamed on him and said shit about him because I was too proud to admit that the only fool who made a mistake was me, that I was the problem, not Brian. And I feel like a terrible person for not feeling happy for seeing them together." I admitted as my voice cracked and my lashes stuck together in clumps while a pair of tears raced down my cheeks, leaving a wet trace. Joey squeezed my shoulder as I wiped those tears away with the cuff of my hoodie.

"We know, buddy; we know that the reason why you're feeling bad is not because of Brian, not even because of Freckles or for seeing them together. And we also know that you are not the problem." Joey said firmly and in an oddly soft way, as though he could really understand what I was feeling because he didn't even make fun of me saying I was too mushy.

"What Joey means is that there is no blame or blamed. No one is the problem here; not you, not Brian, not Freckles. This all is just part of life and love. It works that way, like a bittersweet melody. And you're not a terrible person for not feeling happy for seeing them together, even if you want to feel happy for their own happiness. It's something understandable." Jen clarified with her usual sweet voice while running her thumb on my knee. I scowled slightly. Understandable? How could this be understandable? Not even I could understand this. "Brian felt the same way you're feeling right now when he saw you for the very first time with Freckles in high school; and Freckles also went through this and felt the same way you're feeling right now when she saw you with February." She added and that made me feel even worse. The idea of me making Freckles, and even Brian, feel the way I was feeling made me feel really bad. "You know why? Because it's always hard to see someone you loved so much with someone else for the first time, after you imagined an entire life with that person and you thought you were meant for each other." She said and again, it made me feel worse. What was the point of saying this? It wasn't helping at all if that was her intention. "When Brian was in high school, he never saw Freckles with someone else until he saw her with you; after Freckles and you grew distant, she never saw you with someone else until she saw you with February; and you never saw Freckles with someone else until you saw her with Brian. And it hurts, and it makes us feel miserable and unable to feel glad for their happiness, even if we truly want to see the person we love happy." She commented sadly, pursing her lips and raising an eyebrow. Yes, I agreed with her on that, this was making me feel kind of miserable. "And trust me, we know it's not because this person is Brian; we know you'd feel like this regardless if this person is your best friend or your worst enemy."

"We understand you, bro. We understand your right to feel bad right now; but we want to see you up, not because you're supposed to feel happy for Brian and Freckles, but because you are our buddy and we want the best for you, man." Joey said while patting the back of my head and ruffling my hair. I bit my lips strongly and I sighed heavily as a way to release this pain within me.

"I just miss Freckles. I miss everything we had; I miss everything we were and everything we will never be now. Do you ever wonder how your life would be like if you'd made different decisions?" I questioned but it was directed more to myself than for them.

I remained silent for a while and so did they while they were looking a bit sadly at me. Then I sighed and ran a hand over my face as February's face popped into my mind: her blue eyes looking fondly at me, her warm smile in my direction, her caring caresses, her sweet words, her mouth pronouncing 'I love you'. And I felt a pressure in my chest while thinking how unfair I was being, how unfair all of this was for her who didn't deserve to suffer for my insecurities and confusion.

"I love February, she makes me happy, she's an extraordinary person and I love being with her... And I want to love her as much as I loved Freckles, I want to fall completely for her, I really want her to be the new person who means everything to me... But it's like I quite never get there... It seems that there's always something missing." I whispered while frowning, with a blank stare. When I felt the lump in throat due to my great feeling of guiltiness, I gulped. "And I feel like I'm cheating on her in my mind when I think about Freckles, when I compare her to Freckles and what we had. It's like I don't know how to love someone who isn't Freckles. And it kinda scares me." I confessed, my voice sounding throaty, like a whisper.

"Don't be scared, Darren. Freckles was your biggest love and it's natural that you feel like you don't know how to love someone who isn't her; but you will figure the way to do so. You'll love someone else and feel as deeply in love as you felt once in your past. Not the same way, not the same person, but you'll feel it all again." Jen said softly while stroking my hair and grinning warmly as if she was super sure of this. "Your fear of thinking that you won't get it is the only reason that is stopping you from getting it." She added and I puckered my brows. Maybe she had a point. "One piece of advice is that you should stop thinking too much about what you want with February; just start giving more importance to the feelings, embrace them, feel them, cherish them and then, when you less expect, you'll find yourself in love with her." She encouraged as I pursed my lips.

"And if it doesn't work with February, it'd be cool; someone else will come in your way and will blow you away." Joey commented while shaking softly my shoulder. "Look at me, man. After what happened with my high school sweetheart, I never thought I could ever fall for another chick; you were witness of it." He said, looking fixedly into my eyes as I nodded as a response. Yes, I knew that. "Then, out of the blue, one person came in my way and blew me away, then she left and right when I was about to stop believing that it was possible to fall for another girl who wasn't my first girlfriend, that person appeared again. Now she's inside the house, probably calling people bitches, criticizing their outfits and saying some sarcastic comments." He said while tittering as I chuckled and shook my head, now feeling a bit amused for the first time in the conversation.

"How did you end up with Mandy, dude? You've got guts." I commented diverted, finally looking at him. He smirked amused.

"Oh, she's supermegafoxyawesomehot, bro. Once you get the way she is, it's impossible not to love her." He answered while winking and I giggled. He was right, Mandy was a special person and not everybody could get her, but she was a good person even if she'd never admit it. "Anyway, point is just because you are no longer with your first girlfriend doesn't mean that you won't fall in love again with someone else. This person could be February or could be someone else, none of us know, but that person will eventually come, pal." He assured while softly punching my arm as I pursed my lips and nodded.

"Joey is right, Darren. You're too young to stop believing in love, you have a long life ahead; stop worrying too much." Jen added while rubbing my back. Then she smiled brightly. "We're young, goddammit! We should enjoy this crappy and amazing life!" She exclaimed loudly and I sniggered.

"You're right. As always, dammit. I hate that, you little shits." I replied amused as Joey and Jen smiled proudly as if this was the greatest compliment. Then I just grinned and looked at them. "But thanks for kicking my ass to make me realize all of this." I said grateful as they ruffled my curls while giggling. Then I looked ahead in a thoughtful way. "I think I could spend more time with Feb."

"Totally, that would be a neat idea, chum." Joey responded and Jen nodded in agreement.

After this, we talked about something else, nothing too important, just plans of what we could do in the following days; until I saw a tall guy with athletic body walking towards us. He was beaming cheerfully. I noticed how Jen and Joey glanced at me, maybe a bit nervous and unsure of what I could do.

"Hey, guys! We're about to see a flick. You wanna join us?" Brian asked merrily looking at the three of us.

"Ah! I haven't seen a flick in a long time, so that would be cool." I answered in a good mood and Joey and Jen looked at me surprised, but they smiled satisfied.

"Same here, I'll join ya." Joey responded while standing up.

"It better be a good movie and not Star Wars." Jen mocked playfully while winking.

"Hey! Star Wars is the best movie ever." Brian exclaimed while chortling.

"Yeah, Jen. If you think the opposite, you better run away because the three of us will kick your ass." Joey joked and Jen laughed.

"Alright, alright! I'll just shut up… For now." Jen replied with a mischievous smirk.

"So… Let's go, shall we? There's even popcorn." Brian winked amused and Joey and Jen squealed excited as if they were little kids.

"Uh, Brian… Could we talk in private first?" I asked and I noticed how Jen and Joey shot me withering looks.

"Sure, man." He answered positively, yet frowning slightly perhaps out of curiosity. Then both Brian and I looked at Jen and Joey.

"We'll be inside, picking the movie." Joey finally said.

He linked his arm with Jen's arm to lead her inside because, seemingly, she didn't want to move because she suspected of me. Once that Brian and I were alone, I looked at him and remained silent for a while, examining his face. I wanted to tell him so many things… I wanted to ask him why, why he was doing all of this, why Freckles, why in front of me. But when I saw his face radiating happiness, I felt like I couldn't do it; not after seeing him so down in the last months, not after knowing this was the only good thing that happened to him among all the crappy things. It'd be unfair, he wasn't guilty of this, he maybe deserved Freckles; at least I was sure he wouldn't hurt her. And how could I berate this to him after all he was doing for all of us with this entire thing of W? No, it'd be wrong.

"Hey, what's the matter, buddy?" Brian asked, placing one hand on my shoulder. I parted my lips and looked down, shaking my head and frowning slightly.

"No, nothing." I answered in a whisper, then I sighed and looked up again. "I just wanted to propose that we choose the movie. We must not let the girls choose one cheesy movie." I lied, but for a good reason. I heard Brian's merry chuckle and I thought he believed this lie.

"Oh, yeah, we can do it. Maybe The Matrix would be cool." He replied and I nodded, grinning faintly.

"Yeah, that movie rocks. So... Let's go?" I asked and I turned around to head inside, but he stopped me.

"Yeah, wait..." He said and I turned my face. When I saw him, I noticed he was looking intently into my eyes. "I know that's actually not what you wanted to tell me." He stated and I looked away, thinking that it was silly to think I could fool him so easily. However, he didn't sound as if he was upset. "Maybe we should sit to talk?" He suggested calmly.

"Uh, no... No, really... It's fine... I didn't really want to... You know, it was only about the movie..." I mumbled while running a hand through my curls, still looking away.

"Darren." He voiced and his rotund voice made me look at him. Again, he didn't seem to be upset or annoyed. He was calm.

"Well, I wanted to tell you something, but I changed my mind now that I thought clearly. So, really, everything is cool." I admitted and he just nodded.

"Alright, but I want to talk to you anyways. I think we need to talk." He said softly and I sighed and nodded.

"Okay, then. Let's sit." I said avoiding his gaze. "Maybe in the screened porch? It's snowing and it's freezing."

"Yeah, we don't wanna catch a cold, take meds and look like crap in the next days." He joked and I laughed softly.

We both walked quietly to the screened porch and we made sure that the sliding glazed doors which connected to the living room were closed. After that, Brian sat on one of the poufs and I sat in front of him. We remained silent for a while, I was just looking down, playing with my shoelaces until I felt Brian's gaze fixed on me.

"I want to apologize." I heard him saying, his voice sounding deep.

"What for?" I asked, finally looking at him.

"For what happened in the breakfast, when I asked Sunny to be my girlfriend." He responded and I frowned.

"I don't understand. Why would you apologize for that?" I questioned in confusion.

"Because I saw your face when I was telling her all of those things before I asked her to be my girlfriend. I don't want to apologize for what I said, because that is what I feel; but I want to apologize for the way I said so. I shouldn't have said so in that moment when you were there and you weren't expecting something like that, only out of respect for you; but it took me by surprise as well. I swear I had no idea something like this could happen." He explained as I was looking deeply into his eyes. He was being honest.

"It's okay, man. If I reacted the way I did, it was only because I was... Astonished. As you said, I wasn't expecting something like that and it took me by surprise; it wasn't because I thought it was inappropriate or something. Why would you say that you shouldn't have said so that way out of respect for me? I don't get it." I replied, still looking fixedly at him. He tilted his head and looked at me as though it was an obvious answer.

"Darren... In high school I was the stalker guy who was after her, remember?" He asked with a short chuckle and I grinned faintly. "I saw everything that happened between you and her. I saw how you met, how you started talking, how you started hanging out and being friends, then how you treated her as though she was special, always standing by her side, defending her, protecting her, caring about her; I saw how your relationship started developing and I know how much you loved each other. It wasn't a simple and random relationship; your relationship with her was one of the greatest things I got to see, and this is coming from a guy who didn't believe in love for all the things I had to live in my past; so picture how extraordinary it was that it even made me think that to love and be loved back was possible and maybe someday I'd get to feel it." He said with a half-smile, still looking straight into my eyes.

This time I turned my gaze downwards as I pursed my lips and smiled weakly. It was weird, yet good, to see what the point of view of my worst enemy in high school was about my relationship with Freckles. I was even surer not to tell him how I felt about this whole situation between him and Freckles after hearing this he said.

"I know what she meant to you. And I also know that you were still in love with her when you saw her again; after a year of not seeing her, you were still in love with her. I don't know how long it took you to stop being in love with her to finally be able to start something with someone else; but I'm sure it was something hard." He added and it sounded like he really could understand me; I knew he could understand me, my feelings and my situation. I didn't know how the hell he got to know it, but he knew. And somehow, I was glad to know he knew. "So, yes, I do think that I shouldn't have asked her to be my girlfriend in front of you, in front of everybody, not like this, not before giving you some kind of hint or before talking to you. Because, for me, you are my friend; and it made me feel kinda bad when I saw your face and how confused and sad you looked. And I meant out of respect because you were her biggest love, she was your biggest love and you are my friend. And all of this situation between you, her and me it's kind of particular for all that happened, all we were and all we are now; therefore, we're not random people, we're in a particular situation and all of this should have been said and done in a particular way, not the way I said so, so ordinarily, as though this was an ordinary situation. For all of this I owe you an apology." He said mildly, looking straight in my eye.

"Apologies accepted." I finally responded, giving him a small smile. "Listen, buddy, I wanna be honest with you." I sighed and he frowned slightly, but nodded like a signal to elaborate. "I was totally shocked when I saw you with Freckles in the bedroom, then I was surprised and astonished when you asked her to be your girlfriend, I didn't like it; it made me feel like shit." I admitted as Brian parted his lips and looked down, still frowning slightly but with a sad face. "I went outside because truth is I couldn't stand seeing you and Freckles together, kissing and, you know, caressing and all that. I just couldn't stand it." I added and Brian pursed his lips. Perhaps he wasn't expecting to hear this. "I went outside and it helped me to clear my mind, with help from Jen and Joey. I couldn't stand seeing you two together but it wasn't because it was you." I said and he glanced at me, frowning in confusion. "It is because this is the very first time I see Freckles with someone else that isn't me. Judging by what you said, I assume that you understand what she meant to me and how much I loved her; as you mentioned so rightly, she was my biggest love and she'll always be my first love. That's why I felt so fucking weird when I saw you two together, because she was the world to me and now she is the world to someone else. Seeing you two together was like finally letting her go for real, so it hurt somehow. Yeah, it hurt me, but because it's always hurtful when you let go one person who meant everything to you, regardless if that person no longer means everything to you and regardless if you started a new kind of life with someone else and you both moved on. It still hurts." I explained and Brian nodded with a certain facial expression that made me feel as if he could understand what I was talking about. "I guess it's the same feeling when you saw her with me for the first time in high school, or when she saw me with Feb for the first time. It feels weird, as if you have to face this new reality in which you have to accept that you two are no longer meant to be as in your dreams, right?" I asked while looking intently into his eyes and he pursed his lips, pointed his brows downwards and nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I can relate to the feeling." He simply answered. "It hurts, I know."

"Yes. When I had her was the best time of my life and I'll always remember and cherish it. But just as I got to feel this whole thing of loving and being loved by someone else, she deserves to feel the same." I said with a faint grin and then I placed a hand on Brian's shoulder, so he looked at me. "Therefore, although it feels weird right now, I'm happy to know that you are the one person with whom she will get to feel that all over again, buddy. Because I know you, I know that you truly love her, you always gave her your best and you're willing to do everything for her. I know you won't hurt her and I know you'll always make sure to make her happy. I would never say this to someone else, but you're very deserving of her, man." I said in all honesty.

Holy shit, it was one of the hardest things to say but it was the truth. Since that moment he saved my life in that encounter with the asshole of Jim, after all the things he did for others, and after hearing his conversation with Jen days ago, I changed my mind about him. He was a good person and he deserved all of this, he deserved something good.

"Thank you, Darren." He responded with a genuine smile and looking at me as though all he wanted was to, somehow, get my approval. I just nodded.

"It's your job to take care of her and make her happy now, buddy." I said while patting his shoulder and he smiled more widely.

"I will definitely do my best." He replied and I grinned.

"I know, Brian; you always did. I'm happy for you, man." I replied and then I looked down and tittered while shaking my head. "Do you know what's funny?" I asked, again looking at him as he shrugged with no clue. "I always thought I'd totally hate the guy who dared to be with Freckles and I always planned to make his life miserable for wanting to be with her. But then that guy happened to be you and you fucked up my plans. There's no chance I can hate you, buddy; and there's no way I can make your life miserable for wanting to be with her. See what you've done? Now I gotta think about second plans." I joked and he laughed. I jokingly punched his arm and he reciprocated. "Congrats on your relationship with Freckles, pal." I winked while ruffling his hair as he chortled genuinely.

I thought I wasn't gonna be able to do and say it, but I did. And I felt proud of myself. If Freckles was gonna be in a relationship with someone, I was glad it was with Brian; even if it hurt at the same time. But then I remembered something that made me pucker my brows and narrow my eyes in suspicion. It was evident that Brian always wanted to be Freckles' boyfriend... But Freckles never wanted to be Brian's girlfriend; she was very disgusted and sad when she found out Brian's feelings towards her... And now she wanted to be his girlfriend, right when Brian was in one of his lowest points, when he was feeling totally devastated for all that was happening to him.

"What's the matter, man?" Brian asked and I finally looked up to find his confused facial expression.

"Why do you think that Freckles, all of a sudden, wanted to be your girlfriend?" I wondered, again deep in thought.

"Uh... I... I don't know... Maybe... Maybe because she feels something for me... Why do you ask?" He questioned curiously and maybe a bit suspiciously.

"Could she really feel something for you? Because all this time she didn't seem to be happy for the fact of knowing your feelings towards her." I wondered, not even aware that I was saying this in front of him.

"Uh... Maybe... Maybe that changed. What are you thinking?" He asked and I noticed his voice sounded trembling as if he was very confused and suspicious and also eager to know.

"What if she's doing this because she feels pity for you and she doesn't know what other way she can make you forget about all the bad?" I wondered but to myself, even if I said it out loud without realizing.

"I... I... I..." He stuttered and I finally looked at him. He seemed to be troubled and disturbed, looking down and frowning. "No, she wouldn't do that..." He whispered but his face looked hesitant now. Then he looked up at me. "Do you think she could have done it out of pity?" He asked and his eyes reflected deep distress and when I saw it I automatically regretted all the things I said.

"No, buddy." I responded, trying to make up for what I said. He didn't deserve to feel bad about something else. "No way. I think she really has feelings for you and that's why she wants to be with you."

"I don't know... What if she is really doing this because she feels pity for me? It'd make so much sense. I mean... She never sympathized with my feelings for her; since she found out my feelings for her, nothing between us was the same and it changed for bad and not for good. And then... At Christmas, she told me all of those things and she didn't know how to apologize... What if this is some sort of way to apologize and not because she really wants to be with me? Then, after hearing the diagnosis of my dad... What if she's doing this because she thinks this is the only way I won't feel alone? Then she asked me to keep in secret what happened between us last night; why would she change her mind now? Because she noticed that made me feel kinda bad... She... She never had feelings for me. Why would she want to be my girlfriend?" He asked at full speed, deep in thought, and it was as if he was actually having a conversation with himself. It made me feel really bad the way he seemed to be so anguished and dejected. I squeezed his shoulder to make him look at me.

"Buddy, that's not right. She did have feelings for you, but she never told you." I stated and he shook his head. "Yes, I know it because once she confessed me so. The same day your aunt posed as your mother, the first day you saw her; that day you left my apartment and Freckles looked for you; but then she returned to my apartment and when we were alone, she told me that she was feeling confused and that she might be falling in love with you. I never said it, because in that moment you weren't one of my greatest friends as you are now. But she had feelings for you and I think she never told you because she was scared of admitting it; she just played dumb all this time because she wasn't ready to fall in love with someone else and less with her best friend." I said softly and he parted his lips in astonishment. "I think she loves you and that's why she's with you. Perhaps she's not ready to admit she's in love with you; but she loves you and everybody could tell that when we saw how her eyes shone when you asked her to be your girlfriend. She felt happy, for real. So forget about what I just said. She is not with you out of pity; she's with you because that is what she wants, buddy." I said while looking fixedly into his puzzled green eyes, before squeezing his shoulder.

"Really?" He asked unsure.

"Yes, really." I confirmed and he nodded and looked away.

Something changed in that moment and I knew he wouldn't forget what I said, I knew that now it'd be hard to make him think that Freckles wasn't with him out of pity. I sure had my suspicions, but he shouldn't suspect this, that guy truly deserved to feel happy for having the person he loved. I didn't want to screw his recent happiness after all the months he spent being sad.

"Man, Freckles is not the kind of person who is capable of doing something like that. She knows she can hurt you if she does something like being with you out of pity and trust me, the least she wants is to hurt you." I stated roundly and Brian sighed but then he grinned.

"Yes, maybe you're right. She's not that kind of person. Maybe... Maybe she indeed feels something for me." He replied and I nodded. Then, after a while, he looked at me and pursed his lips. "I'm sorry I'm talking to you about this… You're surely feeling weird and bad… Sorry." He apologized and I just grinned slightly as I patted the back of his head.

"Not at all, buddy; it's absolutely fine. Now, it'd be totally awesome if you take your girlfriend to a double date with me and my girlfriend, we could have so much fun." I suggested with a goofy grin as trying to make him feel less awkward and less troubled for what I said earlier. It worked because a smile spread across his face.

"Yes, that would be great. Geez, it's weird to talk about going on a date." He chuckled softly, shaking his head. Then I remembered the conversation he had with Jen: He never went on a date.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you'll have tons of them now; so get used, buddy." I replied with a wink and he responded with a titter. "Of course we will go on a double date after you take your girlfriend on a date, alone. Freckles would like it."

"I was thinking about taking her out tonight somewhere she likes." He commented with a silly grin, but then he frowned. "But I just don't want to leave my dad alone." He added and I looked at him intently.

"You totally should take the car we rented and spend the night with Freckles. I can take care of your dad, don't worry about it, man." I said and he grinned thankfully. Then I narrowed my eyes and looked straight in his eye. "Speaking of your dad..." I started and Brian looked at me a bit uncomfortable and then looked away. "You recently mentioned something about the diagnosis of your dad and how Freckles could be with you for that, which I don't think, and then you just mentioned that you couldn't leave your dad alone; moreover, you said your dad's condition was more than well." I reminded and he looked down and didn't utter a single word. "Why would you want to make all of us believe that your dad's diagnosis was completely good?" I asked and he raised his eyebrows.

"Because... That is... That is the truth..." He muttered while scratching the nape of his neck.

"Don't lie." I replied but not in an upset way as he looked at me in an astonished and afflicted way. "I know the diagnosis was anything but." I stated, even if I wasn't absolutely sure, I knew it was the most probable. He parted his lips and looked down again, rubbing his knees.

"Sunny told you this?" He asked in a whisper. So what Jen thought was right: Brian's dad's condition wasn't good at all.

"No, she didn't mention a single word. She's just like you, pretending he is fine, perhaps to support your decision. Jen and I just realized it by ourselves, no one else knows and we aren't planning to tell anybody if that's your will." I answered and he sighed heavily while running his hand through his hair. "Why would you do that? Why would you lie about it?" I asked curiously as he pointed his eyebrows downwards creating a sad facial expression.

"I don't mean to lie, at least not in a malicious way. I hate lying, but I thought this could be the best for my dad." He responded again in a whisper, his voice sounding brittle. "The only person supposed to know about this lie was Sunny, only because she was there when the doctor told me the diagnosis. And if I lied to the rest of you, it wasn't because I wanted to hide you the truth or because I didn't trust you; it was because I was afraid that some of you might, accidentally, mention something that would cause my dad finds the truth." Brian added with wobbly voice, then he cleared his throat and sighed as I was just looking at him very fixedly and silently. "And I don't want him to know the real diagnosis, I just want him to forget about the disease and all the bad things, I want him to enjoy these days; I want him to do all the things he always wanted to do but he wasn't able to do before because of the meds, treatments, surgeries and among other things. I want him to believe that he is fine, that all the bad is gone and now he won't need all of those things he before needed to spend one day without pain, things that caused him sorrow; that way he'll feel better. I want him to have a normal life after years of having this crappy and limited life he's been having since the doctors found out he had this damn disease." He exclaimed frustrated, clenching his jaw and frowning as his eyes went moist because of the anguish. What he was saying together with his sad facial expression made me look down as I felt a pain in the chest very different from being a good feeling. "The diagnosis was the worst you can get. There are no surgeries left to do, there are no meds enough to be taken, there are no therapy nor treatment that could help improve his condition. They have already done all that was medically possible and the only remaining thing I can do is to give him the best last days of life." He said and his voice cracked as his eyes were flooded in tears. I couldn't help but feel the lump in my throat as the chest pain increased, feeling profound sadness for him. "Taking this into consideration, I lied for the sole purpose of enjoying my last days with him, both of us forgetting about taking care of stupid things that don't matter at this point of his health's condition. I spent years of my life trying to find something that could improve his health, forcing him to undergo surgeries and trying new treatments, scolding him when he didn't take the stupid meds or when he didn't go to the damn therapy, forbidding him to do certain activities he loved to do but which were bad to his health, asking him only about his medical appointments and diagnosis." He said while shaking his head with distressed eyes, as though he regretted all of that. "All in all, I spent years of my life just worrying too much about his health that I forgot to fully enjoy my time with him while I still had the chance. I just realized it now that I was forced to admit this fact and I can't go back in time, therefore I'm just trying to make the best as possible now that he is still here, before he passes away." Brian added with choked voice and he pouted as his lips started quivering.

He shut his eyes, covered his face with his hands and I saw few tears dripping from his wobbly chin. I felt terribly distressed when I saw him crying in that very silent way, those were the worst kinds of crying. For some reason, nothing came out from my mouth, I felt absolutely unable to talk or say some comforting words he needed. I finally understood the real reason why he wouldn't say the truth and I decided to support him because now I knew his real intentions. As a way to reassure my friend, and considering that I wasn't able to speak, I placed a hand on his back and I rubbed it. Then I placed that hand on the back of his head and I embraced him while softly patting his head.

"You'll give him his best last days; and just know that all of your friends are here for you, pal." I finally said trying to control the thick voice.

"Thank you, buddy." Brian uttered while parting to wipe the last tears he shed. I rubbed his shoulder and squeezed it as we both remained silent.

"How long?" I asked and he understood what I meant was how long his dad had before passing away. His blank and sad gaze fixed on the floor and it expressed nothing but resignation and forced acceptance.

"One week." His throaty voice echoed in the silent room as I felt a chill running throughout my body.

One week. Not half a year, not months, just days. That was so little time for someone who got the news just days ago. I was aware there were no comforting words for a friend who was about to lose the only family he had; and if there were some, they were few and I knew they wouldn't work right in this moment. At a point I noticed he looked at me and when I turned my gaze to him, a sad half-smile appeared on his face.

"At least I have the chance to say goodbye. Many people don't even get the chance." He voiced and I looked straight in his eye in a very afflicted way as I gulped to try to make the lump in throat disappear.

"That's right, bud." I whispered, forcing a smile before patting the back of his head as he nodded and grinned. "You know?" I asked with a slight smile as he looked at me curiously. "We could plan something for your dad. I was thinking that maybe we could surprise him. You're the best when it comes to writing and I can sing and play the guitar or piano. Maybe we could compose a song for your dad together. What do you say?" I suggested as he looked at me amazed and maybe a bit thrilled.

"Would you really do that?" He asked in a whisper as I grinned widely and squeezed his shoulder.

"Of course, buddy. How about we start composing it tomorrow? I'd start right now but we have a movie to watch and tonight you'll take Freckles on a date, so... What do you think?" I asked and he smiled so grateful that I felt as if I've done one of the greatest things ever, even if it wasn't so like that.

"That would mean a lot. Yeah, we could start composing it tomorrow." He responded and I winked.

"Now, let's go watch the movie, eh?" I asked and he grinned and nodded before we both stood up to head to the living room. Before we left, I squeezed his shoulder and he looked at me. "Thanks, dude, for wanting to talk to me about Freckles and you and for telling me all about your dad."

"And thank you for supporting me, buddy." He responded.

When Brian and I walked into the living room, everybody looked in our direction with suspicious glares, possibly thinking that he and I had an argument over his recent relationship with Freckles, most likely thinking that I was the one who cursed him for this. Brian noticed this, so he smiled, squeezed my shoulder and winked at me as letting everybody know, in a surreptitious way, that we were totally fine and they should not look at me that way. It worked because everybody started chattering and watching the TV as if nothing weird happened until he and I got to sit on the couches. I sat right next to Feb and I wrapped an arm around her as she looked at me curiously but smiled at me. I leaned over and pecked her lips with a soft grin before winking at her. She rested her head on my shoulder as the movie started; however, I didn't watch it, I just glanced at Brian and Freckles over Feb's head. Brian was clasping her in his arms as Freckles was snuggled up to him, enfolding her arms around him. Then I saw how she lifted her chin and kissed Brian's lips as he smiled tenderly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. I looked away, now with a distressed expression that I tried to conceal to avoid suspicion. Yeah, maybe I thought that Brian was so worthy of Freckles' love and he was a good guy for her; yes, maybe it was just the feeling for seeing her with a guy that wasn't me for the first time; yes, both Freckles and Brian deserved to fall in love and all that jazz; but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt to see them together. It came a point I could no longer stand being in the same room than them because even though they were watching the movie, they wouldn't stop fondling and kissing each other as if they've been dating for ages. It seemed that for the rest it was pretty normal and completely fine but it wasn't for me, I was feeling kind of uncomfortable. The worst was when I heard Brian whispering something in Freckles' ear and among unclear mumbles I got to hear 'baby girl'; that kinda pierced my chest, getting that awful pressure. I used to call Freckles 'baby' and I never used that pet name with anyone else. To avoid doing something stupid, I kissed Feb's temple and whispered in her ear.

"I need to use the bathroom. Be right back."

Of course it was a lie. I just needed to be away for a while until getting to stop the pain in chest. And this little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone. Silently and trying not to draw attention, I stood up and headed to the bedroom. Once there I took from my suitcase something I always used to bring with me, something I made sure to hide it well not to cause pointless arguments. First of all I grabbed the teddy bear named Mr. Fluffy that Freckles once gave me, and I sat in bed with it in my hands. It still smelled like her. I placed the teddy bear beside me to be able to grab probably one of the best things I had of Freckles: A photo of me and her in high school, the day after we started dating, right after I sang her 'The coolest girl'. I looked intently at both of our faces, particularly our eyes and smiles. We both were smiling so brightly and so widely that it made our faces lit up and made our eyes have that particular twinkle in the sunlight. We were hugging each other and I had my head rested on hers. We were so young. We were so happy. We were so in love. And it was all gone now. I couldn't help feeling so hollow and nostalgic. Also, I couldn't help feeling remorseful because I couldn't love February the way I loved Freckles; with February I couldn't be as happy as I was in that photo with Freckles. I couldn't help feeling pained because I really wanted my friend Brian to be happy for once and for all, because I knew he deserved good things in his life and because I knew this was like his dream coming true; but at the same time I wasn't able to see them cuddling and kissing. But above all, I was feeling sad; like this sadness that came within me that was growing and was taking over my body; this sadness of the soul. I couldn't even cry, I couldn't shed any single tear for it was so great the sadness that I felt empty. Why did I let her go? I lay in bed, clasped the photo and pressed it against my chest as I stared the ceiling with this empty feeling. I closed my eyes and I saw her; I saw us in high school, just being together, being happy despite everything. When I saw her fond eyes looking into mine was the moment that a silent tear escaped the corner of my eye and left a wet track on my cheek to finally end in the corner of my quivering lips. I didn't even notice that someone was there next to me until that person spoke.

"That's a nice photo." My brother said softly.

I jumped when I heard his voice out of the blue, then I opened my eyes and saw him grinning warmly while seeing the photo. I stared at him as my lips, inevitably, began to quiver again and my eyes filled with tears. I couldn't pretend I was fine, not in this moment. When Chuck noticed this, he just pulled me into one of those brothers' hugs and in that very moment I gave myself permission to cry.

"I miss her so much." I uttered with teary voice as he just rubbed my back.

"I know, little bro." He responded in an understanding way.

"I don't understand how it ever crossed my mind let her go." I sobbed in a muffled way because I was basically burying my head on his shoulder.

"Because you had to move on and so did she. Life is not all that beautiful, we have to learn to let go when it's time and the moment you let her go was because it was the best decision the two of you could have taken due to the then circumstances." He answered and I just pouted and sobbed a little more, so that my bro ruffled my curls. "I know your heart is shackled to the memory of her; but in that moment you had reasons to let her go, so don't regret it now."

"It was my biggest mistake. Now look at me! Look to what that decision led! I am not happy without her, Chuck!" I exclaimed in frustration and sorrow, finally looking at him exasperatedly. He just pursed his lips and gave me a half-smile.

"I don't think it's like that..." He started saying but I cut him off.

"Don't tell me how it's like because I am the only one who's going through this, so I exactly know how it's like!" I exclaimed loudly, upset, distressed and frustrated.

Chuck just remained looking at me tranquilly and mildly, so that I realized it was wrong to kinda yell at him if the only he was trying to do was to help me; therefore, I looked away out of shame and repentance. I couldn't even apologize.

"Alright, the only way we could understand each other in these kinds of situations was always through a song. So I'll try to explain you what I think with a song. Do you have your guitar here?" Chuck asked and I nodded and pointed with my chin where my guitar was.

He stood up, grabbed my guitar and sat in bed beside me. I was again lying down in bed, staring the ceiling, clasping the photo of me and Freckles when Chuck began to play the guitar.

Well you only need the light when it's burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low

Only hate the road when you're missin' home

Only know you love her when you let her go

And you let her go

Staring at the bottom of your glass

Hoping one day you'll make a dream last

But dreams come slow and they go so fast

You see her when you close your eyes

Maybe one day you'll understand why

Everything you touch surely dies

He sang and I frowned and parted my lips in astonishment. That part of the song was so accurate; I could totally relate to the feeling and that was exactly what I did before Chuck arrived. I never listened to this song before, so I paid attention to it.

But you only need the light when it's burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low

Only hate the road when you're missin' home

Only know you love her when you let her go

Staring at the ceiling in the dark

Same old empty feeling in your heart

'Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast

Well you see her when you fall asleep

But never to touch and never to keep

'Cause you loved her too much

And you dived too deep

He sang and now I was completely dumbfounded. How could a song fit so perfectly to what I was feeling? Yes, sure there were specific songs for each kind of situation, but this one... How could it express not only what I was feeling but also what I used to do ever since I let her go?

Well you only need the light when it's burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low

Only hate the road when you're missin' home

Only know you love her when you let her go

And you let her go oh, oh, ooh, oh no

And you let her go oh, oh, ooh, oh no

Will you let her go?

'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low

Only hate the road when you're missin' home

Only know you love her when you let her go

'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low

Only miss the sun when it starts to snow

Only know you love her when you let her go

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low

Only hate the road when you're missin' home

Only know you love her when you let her go

And you let her go.

He finished singing almost in a whisper and I remained silent for a long time, still puzzled and feeling totally identified with the song. I finally understood what Chuck was trying to tell me when he said it wasn't so like as I thought; as he said, we could understand each other through songs in these kinds of situations and this time it wasn't the exception. Maybe he was right. Maybe I just missed Freckles so freaking much now that I didn't have her and she was with Brian. Maybe I missed – and so enhanced – everything we used to be, how happy we were, how much I loved her now that Freckles was no longer mine; I just disregarded that not everything between Freckles and me was so perfect, we had our arguments and disagreements, there were things I didn't like of her just as there were things of me she didn't like, we had lots of ups and downs and comings and goings; we not always were as happy as we were in the photo; but it seemed I couldn't remember those moments now, that was why I felt like I needed her in order to live happily. Sure I loved her so freaking much, I wouldn't deny it; but if I let her go was for a reason and I couldn't regret it because if I hadn't done it, we probably wouldn't even have been friends by now. I noticed Chuck was looking at me, so I looked at him as well and I smiled.

"I want you to know that if you love her, you gotta let her go, for if she returns, she was always yours. If she doesn't, she never was." He said and I nodded.

"Thanks, bro. It helped to clear up everything." I said and he nodded and patted the back of my head.

Freckles was with Brian now and they could even be happy; I was with Feb now and I was kind of happy... But one fine day Freckles would be mine again just as I'd be hers; because, in spite of the current situation, despite absolutely everything, I was sure that both Freckles and I knew that we were meant to be together. Perhaps.

---

After watching the movie and hours later after you all had lunch together, Brian went to the bedroom to write something and then have a shower, as you stayed in the screened porch, just having a snack and talking about random stuff. Everybody was there, except George who decided to take a nap after lunch. You were talking about your plans for New Year's Eve and Jen proposed going to the celebration held in Times Square to see the ball drop, but then Chuck mentioned something about the Webster Hall NYE Ball which was a classic for New Year's partying and it consisted basically in a venue with four floors, plus fire displays, aerial acts, the obligatory Champagne toast, and nobody kicking you out until 8 a.m. The only thing was that the Advance General Admission and Silver tickets were sold out and there were a limited supply of General Admission tickets but which would be available for purchase at the door for $125 and a government issued photo ID was required. However, and after discussing for a while, you all decided to go to that venue being that it'd be a blowout party. After the agreement, Joey said he wanted to go on a boat ride, particularly the Staten Island ferry, and Jack, Chuck and Darren joined him as Jen commented she wanted to go shopping and of course Mandy wanted to join her right away, so did Lucy and February. They asked you if you wanted to join them and you said that this time you'd pass because truth was that you wanted to spend time alone with Brian and feel as great as he made you feel lately. So, when everybody left the screened porch to get ready for their respective activities, you also stood up but to go to the bedroom where Brian was. But Darren played dumb only to wait till everybody was gone to stop you. He just closed the sliding glass doors and turned around to look at you as you just frowned and narrowed your eyes curiously.

"Is this some sort of kidnapping?" You joked and he laughed cheerfully.

"Maybe it is. But I'd like to think it's a consensual kidnapping. And if anything, I prefer the term 'surprise adoption'." He responded and you grinned amused. "Both parties agree?"

"Both parties agree." You answered and he smiled and walked towards you. "So, what's the purpose of this kidnapping, sorry, surprise adoption?" You asked looking fixedly at him, raising an eyebrow.

He smirked and walked even closer to you, never breaking eye contact. Once near, he slid one hand on your waist and placed it firmly on your lower back. If you didn't know him the enough, you'd think he was flirting; but you knew he was just trying to keep the mystery and just fool around a little. When he moved his head forward was when you felt a bit uncomfortable, perhaps nervous, so you slightly moved your head back. Nonetheless, he managed to move his lips to your ear.

"The purpose is talking." He whispered and you flinched. Then he stepped back and looked at you with that amused and satisfied smirk that was soon turned into a friendly grin. "That's all. You're surely aware that Brian and I had a little talk before watching the movie." He said and you narrowed your eyes. So your suspicions were correct.

"Did you guys argue?" You asked a bit afraid as Darren frowned.

"Why would you think that? No, we didn't argue." He answered and that made you feel relieved. "We just talked. Actually, he was the one who wanted to talk to me, oddly enough, about your recent relationship with him."

"Why would he be the one who wanted to talk to you?" You asked but not in a demanding way, just in a curious way.

"He wanted to apologize, not because of your relationship, that would be silly considering this is what he always wanted; he just wanted to apologize because he wanted to tell me about this before asking you to be his girlfriend considering he is aware about what he had in high school. It was a cool talk and I'm grateful he kinda forced me to talk inasmuch as this whole situation is super weird for me. Not bad, just weird." He confessed and you stopped frowning to look at him a bit sadly.

This was very typical of Brian, and you should have talked to Darren about this too due to the fact that he'd never be a random person for you, so you considered that you should have showed him some kind of respect instead of giving this surprise he was certainly not expecting.

"Alright, point is that I... I... I am glad... Just..." He stammered and you grinned faintly and squeezed his shoulder as a way to calm him. "Brian is a good guy for you just as you're a good girl for him. So, I want to congratulate you as I already did with Brian. I think you both can be happy." He said very softly.

He looked down while running his fingers through his bushy curly hair. Oh, you knew his little habits and gestures: he was kind of uncomfortable; perhaps this was something 'weird' for him to say. You looked at him amazed; then, although he wasn't looking at you, you gave him one of your sweetest smiles and twiddled one of his curls, so that he looked at you with a shy grin.

"Thank you, Dare. I hope we can be as happy as you're with Feb." You voiced with a tender smile and he grinned, looked down and ran his fingers through his hair again.

"Yeah." He replied in a whisper. "Freckles... I just want to make sure that you aren't with Brian out of pity for all that is happening to him, cause you could hurt him..." He started saying while frowning slightly. You narrowed your eyes and when he noticed this change, he felt even more nervous. "I mean, I know you're not like that... But... Well... I just wanted to know that you... You know." He mumbled, then sighed.

"No, I'm not with Brian out of pity. I'm with him because I want to." You answered and he nodded. "Why? Brian thinks I'm with him out of pity?" You asked in suspicion as Darren raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Not at all!" He responded loudly. "Just forget it, Freckles. It's just that Brian is my bro and too many shitty stuff are happening to him lately and I just don't want to see him hurt, just as I don't wanna see you hurt cause you're like... Well, you know what you mean to me." He added and you parted your lips and frowned in confusion.

"What do I mean to you?" You asked and he fixed his marvelous hazel eyes on you, something that made you feel a tickling on your belly.

"You're my soulmate, Freckles. Lifelong friends, remember?" He asked with that goofy and bright smile of his that you couldn't help letting out a chortle.

"That's right, Darebear. Soulmates and lifelong friends." You replied with the same silly titter.

"Darebear?" He asked and his eyes twinkled as a lovely smile crossed his lips.

"Yes, Darebear." You winked before leaning to give him a buss on the cheek.

He automatically held one of your hands and pierced your eyes with his steady gaze. You remained looking deeply into each other's eyes as the tension between you two was increasing. You could hear his heavy breathing just few inches away as you could feel your heart beating fast. He moved his face closer as you shuddered, you closed your eyes and he just pressed his lips on your forehead for several seconds. Then he parted and with his free hand he fondled your cheek.

"I love Darebear. It's cute." He articulated and you let out a short and maybe jittery chuckle.

"Darren? Where are you? We're already leaving." Both of you suddenly heard Feb's voice asking in the distance. Darren bit his lower lip and lowered his gaze. Then he looked at you and grinned warmly.

"Gotta go. See you later, Freckles." He whispered.

Instead of waiting for your response, he slightly kissed the corner of your lips and quickly turned around and left, not even giving you the chance to react to this, leaving you there, confused and astonished, with your heart beating absurdly fast and your legs slightly trembling. What was this about? Maybe he just tried to kiss your cheek and failed; well, that was the most convenient for you to think.

"I hate you, Darren." You whispered to yourself.

Of course that wasn't true. You sighed and finally headed out of the screened porch. By this time everybody was already gone, so you headed to the bedroom as your initial plans were. When you entered the bedroom, you heard the sound of the shower. You just remained steady in the bedroom, thinking about that conversation with Darren, particularly thinking about the way you felt about him, so… weird. And you felt bad when you suddenly thought that perhaps, and without even knowing, you were with Brian out of pity and not because you really thought he was for you. That was unfair. One word or one action that Darren did and everything changed. He always managed to do that to you. Darren would always be your weakness and you were aware of this, no matter how hard you tried to deny it. Why did he always have to do something to turn your world upside down? As a way to dispel those thoughts, you walked to the nightstand where Brian left a paper in which he wrote something, probably that thing he wanted to write before having a shower. You took it and, without permission, you read it.

He puts his boat in the water for the last time

The rain drops from the sky

Like feathers from your wings

As a tear falls one last time.

More than oceans will separate us

More than continents themselves

But in my thoughts you will remain

Along with everything about ourselves.

My one true rock

A shoulder in which I could rely

For whenever I was angry

Or when I needed a good cry.

Those were the only lines which were well written, the other lines consisted of single words, words crossed out, annotations, question marks and arrows, parentheses and brackets. You wondered what this was about. You thought it was some sort of poem, but in certain part you read 'chorus'; nevertheless, below it, there was nothing but words crossed out. Maybe later he'll comment you about it. You left the paper and walked to the door of the bathroom. You pressed your ear against the door and you bit your tongue not to laugh. Brian, while having the shower, was singing with his usual tuneless voice. At first it was funny to know he was one of those normal people who used to sing in the shower, considering he always hated singing; but then you paid attention to the lyrics and you grinned sadly, but also sweetly.

I've been working hard so long

Seems like pain has been my only friend

My fragile heart's been done so wrong

I wondered if I'd ever heal again

Oh just like all the seasons never stay the same

All around me I can feel a change

I will break these chains that bind me, happiness will find me

Leave the past behind me, today my life begins

A whole new world is waiting it's mine for the taking

I know I can make it today my life begins

Yesterday has come and gone

And I've learn how to leave it where it is

And I see that I was wrong

For ever doubting I could win

Oh just like all the seasons never stay the same

All around me I can feel a change

I will break these chains that bind me, happiness will find me

Leave that past behind me, today my life begins

A whole new world is waiting it's mine for the taking

I know I can make it today my life begins

You, trying not to make any kind of sound, opened the door to surprise him. You distinguished his silhouette through the shower curtains; he wasn't actually taking a shower, he was taking a bath and he was currently washing his hair. You heard his voice clearer now.

Life's too short to have regrets

So I'm learning now to leave it in the past and try to forget

Only have one life to live

So you better make the best of it

You took off your clothes and underwear and left them on the floor next to Brian's. Then, silently, walked to the bath and stood in front of it with an amused smile. You've never done this before, it was kind of exciting to surprise someone like this and it was kind of exciting to have a bath with someone.

I will break these chains that bind me, happiness will find me

Leave the past behind me, today my life begins

A whole new world is waiting it's mine for the taking

I know I can make it today my life begins

He sang and you decided it was time to surprise him, so you bit your lower lip with the same amused smile and then you sang while opening the shower curtain as Brian jumped in fear and looked abruptly at you, his body tensed because of the sudden fear.

I will break these chains that bind me, happiness will find me

Leave the past behind me, today my life begins

A whole new world is waiting it's mine for the taking

I know I can make it today my life begins

You sang and Brian, now more relaxed, chortled. When you finished, he smiled warmly and looked at your from head to toe. You, without saying anything at all and without asking, put a feet in the warm water of the bath. Brian got what you wanted to do very quickly, because he moved his body and separated his legs to let you sit in between them. You finally managed to sit on the bath, resting your back and head on his chest as he enfolded his arms around you.

"You don't mind I want to take a bath with you, do you?" You asked amused, looking up to look into his bright green eyes.

"Oh! What a question!" He exclaimed with a merry chuckle as he rested his chin on your shoulder and gave you a small kiss on your jawline that made you giggle because of the tickle. "I ought to separate the answer in two instances. First instance, the answer is yes I do mind that you came out of the blue to take a bath with me." He said and you pouted pretending to be sad, so he laughed softly. "That's because you..." He said while tickling your tummy so you couldn't help but to chuckle. "Decided to scare the hell out of me when I was absolutely relaxed, enjoying the warm water and the bubbles in solitude. Not only you scared me but you also listened to me singing which is always super embarrassing. Good thing is I didn't bring my rubber duck this time..." He joked and you burst out laughing, throwing your head back on his shoulder. "But then we have the second instance in which I definitely don't mind you're here, taking a bath with me..." He whispered seductively in your ear, his voice sounding smoky, as he began to run his fingertips through your stomach, making you shiver and feel slightly turned on. You closed your eyes and parted your lips. "I've never done this before, and I find this thing of trying new things kind of exciting and more if while trying new things I am with you." He whispered in your ear again as you grinned in pleasure just for hearing his smoky voice in your ear.

"How is it possible that you can be cute, funny and seductive at the same time?" You asked with an amused smile before opening your eyes to look into the pale green eyes which were looking fixedly at you. He shot you a seductive glare as he raised an eyebrow and smirked. Holy shit.

"It is a secret, baby girl." He answered right in front of your lips, slightly touching them with his, as he winked and you looked at him agape.

"I enjoy your flirting in such a way that should be illegal." You replied and he tittered.

"I'll accept your bribe for not reporting your crimes to the police." He responded, piercing your eyes with his naughty glance, so you, over again, parted your lips. You were not expecting such flirting from him and you were certainly not expecting this kind of answer.

"Alright, briber, tell me your price." You replied while raising an eyebrow.

"Be creative and convince me that I shouldn't report your crimes." He challenged you with his steady glance. You grinned amused and bit your lower lip. This side of Brian was definitely attractive.

"Well, then, let's get started." You said also looking at him in a seductive way.

You turned your body to be face to face with him; you kneeled on the bath and placed both hands on his chest as his eyes scanned your upper body to then return to your eyes. You ran your fingers through his collarbone as you placed one hand on the nape of his neck. You leaned in to start sucking his collarbone, leaving a mark on it as he moaned softly. Oh yeah, that was one of his weak spots. You continued sucking his neck as he tilted his head to one side to give you full access to his neck as you ran your fingers from his collarbone to his hipbone, making him moan one second time. When you started sucking his earlobe, you also began to brush your fingers through his V-line abs as he moaned one third time. You moved the hand that was on the nape of his neck to the back of his head, your fingers tangled in his hair as you kissed his mouth fervently while slightly brushing your fingers from the shaft to the tip of his dick, feeling how it was hardening as you were massaging his tongue with yours. You felt his hands wandering your sides until he moved them to your cheeks and nibbled your lower lip before you moved your head away. You looked at him almost lustfully as he looked at you with his heavy eyes, his mouth half opened and his cheeks flushed.

"Consider your bribe paid." He articulated with husky voice as you smirked.

"Don't you want me to continue?" You asked provocatively as he breathed out and you felt it on your face.

"If you continue, I'll not be responsible of my actions." He responded as you shrugged with that naughty look and that same smirk. "There are people out the bedroom..." He said and you shook your head as a response. "Are we alone in the house?" He asked and you nodded and winked. "Well... But in any case we don't have condoms." He added and you pursed your lips.

"There are other birth control measures... The morning-after pill, for instance." You replied and he frowned and paused to think about it.

"Yeah, but that's an emergency contraception and sometimes is not effective... My mother took it before she got pregnant." He answered and you looked down. "Besides, we should finish taking the bath because we have things to do." He added and you looked at him intrigued, narrowing your eyes.

"Do we? May I know what we have to do? Because I know nothing about." You requested as he grinned brightly.

"We have to go on a date." He answered and kissed your lips in a sweet way as a genuine smile spread across your face.

"Are we gonna have a date?" You asked excited while clapping like a little child as Brian chortled.

"Yes..." He said while taking both of your hands, intertwining his fingers with yours and looking at them with a warm grin. "I'll take you on a really long date." He added and when his eyes met yours, they twinkled.

"A real real date?" You asked, still very excited. Naturally, you never had a real date.

"A real real date, with the flowers, the romantic dinner and all." He answered smiling brightly and he chuckled when you squealed. "Just let me clarify something... It'll be a real date provided that you don't start saying you want to pay for something or we should go somewhere less expensive or things related to money. Deal?" He asked as you looked down and bit your lower lip, now hesitating. "Deal, Sunny?" He repeated and you sighed.

"Well, just... I think we shouldn't... I mean, we can do something simple. There's no need to go somewhere expensive and fancy..." You started saying, avoiding his gaze.

"Sunny... Don't start with that, please. Listen..." Brian said and placed his thumb on your chin to lift it and make you look into his eyes. He gave you a tender smile, so you couldn't help smiling back. "This is my first date and it is with the person I love, and I know this will be your first real and official date. Therefore, I want us to enjoy it and I don't want for anything in the world that you worry about how much money I spend. I don't want our date to be limited by money or material stuff. I want to surprise you and make you have a good time with me; I want us to do things we like and then have a perfect moment to remember. Hence the fact that I need you to promise you'll let me do this with no remorse and no suggestions about doing something less expensive or things like that. If you can't promise that, we'll postpone the date until the day you can be able to promise so." He said in a soft way while fondling your cheek with his thumb. You looked deeply into his green eyes and you gave him a fond smile.

"I promise I'll let you do it and I'll not suggest anything related to money and material stuff." You responded and a smile lit up his face. "But I want you to know that you're adorable and wherever we go and whatever we do, I just need you to have a perfect moment to remember." You added and he grinned and nuzzled your nose.

"I love you so much, baby girl." He whispered in front of your lips as you just gulped.

You wished you could tell him 'I love you too' but you couldn't because, although you told him so several times in the past, this time would have a different meaning and you weren't ready to say those three words due to the fact that you didn't want to lie to him. Apparently, Brian got this because he stroked your hair and grinned.

"You don't have to say it back. I just want you to know that I love you so much and that is it all." He added gently before kissing your lips.

"Thank you for understanding, Bri." You whispered shyly, feeling a bit guilty.

"Hey, you don't have to thank me, Sunny." He replied in such a sweet way that it made you give him a half-smile. "Someday maybe you'll be able to say so and I know that day you'll feel it for real and that's what I want, to hear you saying those three words when you feel it and not to hear empty words only to avoid awkwardness. I understand that there's not even a single couple in which both parts fall in love right in the very same moment; couples that say they fell in love with each other at the same time are just lying. So, don't feel guilty for not being able to tell me you love me back, okay?" He requested with a sympathetic grin. He just knew you too much, he knew not only what you were thinking but also what you were feeling.

"You're so precious. Seriously, you are like... the perfect guy." You said while throwing your arms around his neck as he chuckled and rubbed your back. "I adore you." You whispered as he kissed your forehead. "Now, we should get ready for our date. And I have an idea... First, I will wash you, and then you will do the same to me. What do you think?" You suggested with a wink.

"I think no one has bathed me since I was four... But, as I said earlier, it's exciting to try new things. So it's an affirmative answer." He answered also with a wink.

You took the shampoo and poured some into your hand before you started working the shampoo into his hair. You kneaded his scalp with your fingers and you slowly washed his hair. You wondered if he was enjoying this, if he liked this, if he was feeling just as comfortable as you were feeling; and it seemed it was like that because he was looking deeply into your eyes with the particular twinkle and a tender grin. Then you opened the shower and moved his head back under the shower spray, rinsing the shampoo all out of his hair. He looked at you and smiled, then he tilted his head up and kissed the contour of your jaw. You took a bath sponge and rubbed a liquid soap over it. You were first, Brian was at your service, and you approached him from behind and set to passing the sponge over his back; using one free hand to stroke his hip. He was shuddering with excitement. Next you cuddled up to him, your nipples pressed to his back and your hands began soaping his toned chest. Your palms touched his body from the pubis to the neck, but you kept from touching his cock. You were already snuggled up to him tight from behind, you were caressing him so good that it seemed Brian was on his clouds, probably because of your teasing. You were caressing and necking him softly as the soap was running down his belly seeping down there. A groan escaped his mouth when you touched his balls and set to rubbing his cock. Then you passed your fingers along his cock, sliding gently. When you finally finished, he was breathing heavily.

"Now it's your turn! Do it, I'm so dirty!" You teased with a naughty smirk as he chuckled.

You moved your leg and you felt his stiffening cock pressing against your thigh. His hands moved into your hair as his fingers were kneading your scalp, pushing your hair back as it was all slick and wet from the shower. Smiling down at you, he took the shampoo, opening the top and pouring some into his hand. Then his hands started slowly working the shampoo into your hair, his fingers kneading your scalp and scratching your head. You groaned in pleasure and placed your head onto his shoulder to allow him better access. His fingers slowly washed your hair; all the while you were softly kissing his chest and shoulder. He planted gentle kisses on the top of your head as his fingers worked the shampoo into your hair. He moved your head back under the shower spray, rinsing the shampoo all out of your hair and then you shared a slow, wet, sloppy kiss on the lips. Brian watched as the final traces of shampoo trickled down the length of your spine. He began to trail kisses down to the base of your neck and gradually lowered himself to a kneel as he kissed down to the base of your back. The cool kisses on your warm, wet skin caused you to shudder deeply; your skin instantly rose to goosebumps. Smiling back at you with a devilish grin, he took the sponge, added some soap and started sliding it all over your body; up and down your arms, down your chest and then passed it over your breast, his fingers teasing your nipples. You noticed your nipples got hard and appeared between his fingers, when he squeezed them you couldn't help moaning. You closed your eyes and he kissed the side of your neck as he ran his hands over your breasts. Since he was now behind you, you placed your hands behind you on his thighs, being careful not to cause him pain because of his scars, and you slowly ran them up and down as Brian, at the same time, was soaping your stomach. When you started stroking his dick, you felt how, instantly, his cock swelled under your touch, and as he let out a deep groan, his fingers returned to your breasts and tugged at your nips, pulling them out, rolling them, pinching them. This time he left the sponge and put soap on his hands. His slick soapy hands glided down your body, over your hips then around your front to wash the fronts of your thighs. His fingers teased up and down along your inner thighs then down your legs, teasing the backs of your knees, then your calf muscles. His slick fingers glided back up between your legs and started teasing over your pussy lips; you let out a loud moan as you started feeling them swelling and getting wet. He looked down at you and smiled mischievously as you were looking up at him, biting your lip, your eyes closed halfway. With your back to him, he lathered his hands again, but this time he started working them down your back. His fingers kneaded your shoulders then moved down to your middle back firmly massaging your muscles. His strong but slick, soapy hands started gliding over your ass, kneading and rubbing, his fingers dipping down between your thighs to tease your pussy from behind. You whimpered a little bit over the noise of the shower as his hands worked their way down the backs of your legs. He moved you so that the shower spray rinses the soap off where he has just washed. His fingers slid up and gently spread your pussy lips apart as he started teasing around your tight entrance. You gasped, and you leaned your back against his chest as he took advantage to suck your neck. Smiling, he licked your neck as his fingers slowly circled your tight entrance before pushing one finger inside of you, causing you to let out one loud moan of pleasure. When you opened your mouth to moan, he slipped his tongue inside of your mouth to kiss you in a very fervent way. You couldn't help moving your hips against his fingers, grinding your clit into his fingers. Your breathing was becoming ragged as your body was rhythmically bucking back against his two fingers inside you; your movements becoming more and more wild and your gasps and moans becoming more high pitched, echoing throughout the shower. When he slid one third finger inside you and started rubbing your swollen clit with his other fingers, you responded with a deep, guttural growl, as you felt your body tensing up. Geez, this was feeling so good and you could sense yourself coming as his fingers plunged in and out of your wet opening. Suddenly your body tensed up when you felt your climax.

"Oh fuck." You screamed as your body started shaking, and a massive orgasm rippled through your body, your cum almost spraying down his hand.

You turned around to face him and he quickly went to you and kissed you as you wrapped your arms around him and he did the same. You gazed into each other's eyes. He smiled sweetly at you as he stroked your hair and fondled your cheek. Brian really made you feel like you were the strongest, most beautiful woman on the planet. Your foreheads pressed firmly together with what felt like a magnetic force. You occasionally kissed and the situation was filled with a silent intensity that neither of you had experienced for years. He looked directly into your eyes; they were filled with yearning and love. Your warm breath mingled as you exhaled deeply into each other, the hot water still cascading down your bodies.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered softly, his voice sounding husky, with a loving smile that quickly turned into a mischievous smile. You narrowed your eyes due to the sudden change as he leaned in and slightly touched your cheek with his. "You enjoyed the shower, baby girl?" He whispered in your ear, almost provocatively, clearly teasing you.

When he parted and looked at you, he just winked seductively. What a teaser! You couldn't believe it, you still couldn't believe that was Brian talking to you, flirting with you, teasing you. Considering that he was apparently in a playful and teasing way, you were going to take advantage of it and do exactly the same. You looked up while running your fingers through his hair, entangling your fingers with some strands of hair, then you pouted because you knew he loved when you puckered your lips. You indeed noticed his gaze fixed on your mouth as he was firmly holding you by the waist. When you nibbled your lower lip in a painfully slow way and you made sure Brian parted his lips, you decided to answer his question.

"I sure enjoyed the shower. What makes me really, but really sad..." You said with innocent and mellow voice while puffing one lip over the other into a frown. This time you began to rub his well-toned chest from his collarbone to his belly button as you felt how he contracted the stomach. "Is that I was the only one who enjoyed it. Therefore, I was thinking that I could change that..." You whispered sensually in front of his lips as you moved your hand to his crotch and stroked it. Brian gasped and then breathed heavily against your lips.

"You don't have to do it... I really enjoyed the shower as well." He responded weakly, his voice sounding husky as he was staring your mouth as if it had a magnetic force.

"Really?" You questioned provocatively, softly sucking his lower lip as you enclosed your hands on his dick and rolled against it with your hands. He moaned so loudly it was almost a scream.

"Okay..." He whimpered hoarsely.

"Okay what, hottie?" You asked while licking his lips and blowing your breath on it, gliding your hand over his testicles.

"You can..." He groaned and bit strongly his lips as you smirked mischievously.

"I can what?" You asked in his ear before sucking his earlobe as you softly bumped your hand into his erection, which by now, was fully erect and was twitching in anticipation of being gripped.

"You can make me enjoy the shower as well." He responded, his voice sounding throaty. You licked his neck as you went back to his balls and cupped them gently in your delicate hand.

"How that feels?" You asked right in front of the part of his neck you licked. As response, he moaned and shivered. "You like it?"

"Yeah." He whined, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.

You grinned triumphant because it was always great to see someone sinking in pleasure thanks to you. You gently massaged and juggled his balls, and then, because you were feeling adventurous, you slid your middle finger under them and towards his anus. You knew that area between the balls and anus was very erogenous. You listened to his moans, and then he took your hand and placed it on his penis; you smirked because you knew he wanted this so badly. Once you had your fingers wrapped around his hard cock, you slid your hand up and down with a grip that moved the skin with your hand. At first you moved your fist up and down his shaft in a slow, steady motion; but then you started mixing up your speed and pressure as his arousal was growing and his moans were becoming louder. You tried using both hands in tandem, so you formed a ring with your thumb and forefinger at the base of his shaft and gently tugged downward, while simultaneously fondling his testicles with your other hand while sucking his nipples. He let out a loud moan which was followed by constant moans as he was thrusting his hips against your hand. It was time for you to try a new method. You wrapped both hands around his cock and moved them in opposite directions as you worked your way up and down his shaft. The firmness of his dick increased and the head expanded in size, this meant he was about to reach his climax; so you continued stroking his shaft with one hand, while you gently massaged his perineum with the pointer and middle fingers of your other hand. He basically nailed his fingers in you scalp, pulling some strands of your hair as he was gasping and moaning.

"Oh, damn... I... I'm gonna cum..." He whimpered with shortness of breath.

"Hold on, hottie..." You whispered and then you moved away. "Raise your hips." You requested and looked at his dick which was still covered by the water.

When he raised his hips, his erection popped out into the surface, so you smirked. You leaned in and you licked the tip, causing him to gasp. He looked at you with eyes half-opened, apparently in disbelief for what you were doing; however, it seemed this drove him crazy.

"Come on, hottie... Come for me..." You whispered as you licked the tip again while still pumping his shaft up and down.

His fingers clutched your hair tighter as he began to buck his hips up and down; you stroked the root of his cock with your hands and swallowed his shaft again. You made sexual sounds and this excited him even more.

"Oh, I can't hold it much longer." He moaned loudly.

You didn't answer him verbally; you just sucked him faster and made moaning noises as you prepared to finish him off. Your pace and intensity grew with each trip up and down his dick; you made loud slurping and sucking sounds with your mouth. His cock was rock hard and throbbing; you could feel it shaking. You visualized the hot white come loaded up in his balls getting ready to squirt hard.

"Oh! Fuck! Ohhh!" He screamed.

The contractions began, and his erection flexed. You focused the muscles of your mouth and tongue intently on the head of his dick while tightening your grip around his balls. You felt the pre-cum that you had been tasting all throughout the blowjob start to drip out even more. Then the explosion came. It was a very intense rush, maybe because he had a lot of cum built up, but the intensity and amount of come was difficult to handle. You bobbed your head up and down and forced yourself to quickly swallow it up. He grabbed your boobs tightly, but you didn't mind, you knew his orgasm was really intense and he needed something to grip onto. You took your finger and dipped it into a pool of his semen that had dribbled on his stomach. He completely collapsed, spent and drained, shaking and panting. You lovingly stroked his thighs and gave the head of his cock a soft little kiss. Eventually, you sat back up on the bath and looked at him with a satisfied smile after seeing his extremely relaxed face, his head leaning against the wall and his eyes still shut. You leaned in and pecked his lips and this made him open his eyes. When he saw your gaze fixed on his, he grinned weakly.

"So? Was it worth it?" You asked with an amused smile.

"You have no idea." He responded, his voice sounding husky, still trying to catch his breath, while fondling your cheek. "Come here." He requested softly, opening his arms.

You chortled and rested your back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around you and rested his chin on your shoulder. You turned your face to look at him and you found his jade green eyes looking deeply into your eyes, shinning in such a way that was mesmerizing; with a smile so bright that it made him look as though he was overflowing with joy. You never saw him as beautiful and sexy as he looked in that precise moment; actually it was like that ever since that night you asked him to show you his love. He nuzzled your jawline and you chuckled. You forgot how cute and adorable he was after these sexual moments. And you liked it.

"You are my sunshine, baby girl." He whispered sweetly that it made you skip a beat. You looked fondly at him and then you kissed his forehead.

"And you light up my life with all you do." You said in all honesty as his green eyes twinkled.

"Son? Are you here?" Both Brian and you suddenly heard George's voice. You both froze and looked at the direction of the bathroom door.

"I thought we were alone in the house?" Brian questioned in a whisper, looking fixedly at you and frowning.

"Well... Your dad is the only one who stayed. But he was taking a nap." You answered, also in a whisper.

"You should have told me! He could have heard us!" He exclaimed alarmed, always in a whisper.

"Brian?" George repeated. He was in the bedroom, speaking behind the bathroom door. Brian lips his lower lip and sighed.

"Yes, daddy. I'm here, taking a bath." Brian answered.

You covered your mouth not to laugh because of the sudden change of tone; from being exasperated and altered he went to be kind and innocent. He noticed you wanted to laugh, so he shot you a very serious look as a way to ask you to be silent.

"Alright. You know where your new girlfriend is? I've been looking for her too, but I cannot find her." His dad responded. He knew, he totally knew you were there. But Brian apparently didn't think the same as you, because he got nervous and it seemed he was thinking what he could answer. "Son?" His father asked and Brian clenched his jaw and cursed in a whisper.

"I'm right here, George, taking a bath with your son." You answered loudly as Brian looked at you abruptly, shocked and agape; he was probably loathing you right now.

"Why would you say that? Goddammit!" He reproached in a whisper, his eyes wide open and brows raised.

"Come on! It's not like your dad is five and doesn't know that young couples have sex and sensual showers together. Besides, he already knew." You responded in a whisper, tittering. Brian just looked at you incredulous.

"Easy to say! It's not your mom the one who's hearing this kind of response!" He responded, frowning.

"Oh, I see." George voiced and you could hear a soft giggle as Brian breathed out and ran a hand over his face. "You guys want me to prepare a snack? I know that after sex one gets hungry." He joked and you burst out laughing but Brian dropped his jaw as his cheeks flushed.

"That would be really nice, George, but we have to get ready because your son is gonna take me on a date." You squealed excited as Brian was sinking in his own embarrassment.

"Oh, I taught him well. I'm proud of you, son." George commented and even though you couldn't see him, you knew he was smiling amused.

"This conversation is weird and creepy." Brian articulated, blushing even harder as you giggled.

"Okay, then I'll let you have fun." Brian's dad said also with a giggle. "Oh, and son?"

"Yeah, dad?" Brian asked, looking away and clearly uncomfortable.

"Use a condom. You want to have lot of sex but you don't want to get your girlfriend pregnant so soon." His dad responded and Brian's face reddened in shame as you laughed out loud.

"Damn, dad! Go away!" Brian exclaimed loudly, still blushing hard as his dad laughed softly.

"Fine, I've already fulfilled my role as a father, so I'll let you have fun." George announced and then you heard his steps walking away.

"I'll kill you, Sunny. I'll totally kill you." Brian said when he made sure his father was away. You threw your head back, resting it on his shoulder, and laughed your head off. "It's not funny! Damn it. This was one of the most embarrassing moments of my entire life!" He exclaimed, overdramatizing. You turned your face to look at him and you pouted, pretending to be sad, pulling out your cutest gaze. "Oh no, don't you dare to use that face with me right now! It's not gonna work this time!" He clarified and you shrank a shoulder and placed your chin on it, still pouting and looking deeply into his eyes in that innocent way. He parted his lips and then looked away and frowned in order to avoid seeing that face which was one of his weaknesses. "Stop it." He said firmly.

Nonetheless, he glanced at you and you looked down and pretended to be super sad but trying to look adorable at the same time. Apparently it worked because he was no longer frowning and, instead, he pointed his eyebrows downwards, showing with his facial expression that he was totally infatuated with you.

"Crap, I hate you." He said as though he could no longer resist you. He placed both hands on your cheeks and pulled you into a kiss as you chuckled softly in between the kiss. "I hate you. So much." He said while pecking your lips and brushing his thumbs across your cheeks. "You're the cruelest person in the whole wide world." He whispered and pecked your lips again as you were smiling amused. "Why are you so irresistible?" He asked, still pecking your lips over and over again. "You've got the devil in you." He complained while repeatedly pecking your lips. "But, oh damn, you're so gorgeous and so cute and so everything." He exclaimed in frustration while sucking your lower lip. "I love you so much." He said and you couldn't keep holding your laughter back.

"You have serious bipolar disorder." You joked and he stopped kissing you to giggle.

"That's what you do to me, you little evil girl." He answered while tickling your belly, so you began to laugh. Then he stopped and looked at you amused. "Now I gotta get myself out of here before you take my soul to the underworld!" He exclaimed loudly and you raised your eyebrows in amusement as he quickly stood up and got out the bath.

"Hey! Come back here, human! Your soul already belongs to me!" You screamed and also got out the bath.

When Brian saw you were already out the bath, he ran to the bathroom door and you ran behind him, both of you still naked as if nothing mattered. When he entered the bedroom, you saw him looking for something to defend himself and you took advantage that he was distracted to jump to his back, wrapping your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist as he flinched because of this sudden reaction.

"Ah! No! No, get out, devil! Get out of my back! Leave me alone!" He screamed in between the giggles.

"No, you're mine!" You screamed, also laughing like a little child.

"Is everything alright in there, you fools?" Brian and you suddenly heard Mandy's voice from behind the bedroom door; so, again, you both froze.

"Before you open the door, you must know that we are naked, Amanda! So go away!" You responded while laughing and Brian shot you one dangerous look.

"Oh, Jesus... I should have seen this coming. Now all of us will have to stand your sexual games every damn day. So unfair! The fools will make all of us jealous." Mandy joked in her sarcastic way.

"You want a free public demonstration of our very wild sexual games, Amanda? It could be very instructive." Brian joked and you dropped your jaw because of your surprise. Brian was really joking about this in such a sassy way. Another point in favor for him.

"You frigging dickhead. I knew you had a pervert side hidden in your whole sappy person. I worship it." She answered and you guffawed. "Try not to be noisy, you sexual beasts; all of us are here, right out the corridor." She sniggered and then walked away.

"So, I assume you have a sexual fantasy of having sex in public." You mocked while finally standing on the floor.

Brian didn't answer, instead, he took you by surprise. He took you by the waist and pulled you against him, holding you very tightly before giving you a very hot and passionate smacker, making your heart skip a beat and making your legs feel as if they were jelly. Holy hell. That was such a sultry kiss.

"I have lots of sexual fantasies, baby girl." He whispered naughtily in front of your lips before winking and walking away, leaving you there stunned and breathless. Then you smirked.

"I also have a lot of hot and wild sexual fantasies, hottie." You teased, walking in front of him, wiggling your hips in a sensual way. "Maybe later we can try them." You winked and then you looked for a towel. Now you were the one who left him stunned and agape.

"Maybe after our date." He said while enfolding his arms around your waist from your behind. You turned your face as he smiled sweetly and gave you a small kiss on your lips.

You couldn't help smiling tenderly at him. Seriously, his constant changes, from being provocative to being a sweetheart, were fascinating. He walked to the closet and took two towels, one for him and one for you. You though he was gonna give you the towel, but instead, he took the time to dry your hair and body, then you convinced him to do the same for him. You both dressed for the mysterious date he planned; he wouldn't tell you any of his plans, surely to get back at you for all of those times you planned secret outings. When the two of you left the bedroom, he held your hand and walked to the living room like this, as you were just grinning like a fool for this very nice gesture and pleasant feeling of walking holding hands with someone special to you. Once in the living room you saw all of your friends listening to one anecdote told by Brian's dad. Brian looked at his dad and frowned with an amused smile.

"I thought it was weird, so I asked 'Son, why are you home from school so early?' and he answered 'I was the only one who could answer a question.'" George said impersonating his son's voice. You bit your tongue not to laugh and listened to the conversation from the distance. No one noticed you two were there, though. "I remember I felt proud of him in that moment; go figure, my son was the only one who could answer a question, that was a good thing. I was interested in knowing more about it, so I asked 'Oh, really? What was the question?' and he just shrugged indifferently."

"Who threw the eraser at the principal?" Brian voiced loudly, apparently imitating his teacher's voice. Everybody looked at his direction and laughed. "I remember that. And I remember the punishment I got after that. It was tough." He commented amused.

"He just calls a tough punishment the fact I forbid him to watch the TV and play video games for a week." George said also amused, looking at his son.

"That's the cruelest and toughest punishment when you're eleven years old!" Brian exclaimed loudly, raising his eyebrows in a super exaggerated way.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, George, I admire and respect you, but Brian is totally right. I can't picture myself being without video games for a damn whole week, not even now that I'm much older than eleven. That's like outrageous. My life would have been over. How did you survive, bro?" Joey asked in a very troubled way and all of you laughed out loud.

"As any boy that age would. Playing video games sneakily, right when he was sleeping or doing shopping. It was pretty effective." Brian winked and giggled. "Sorry, dad. I never did my punishment."

"Yes, well, I could come up with more punishments now that I know you cheated." George joked.

"May I ask why the two of you look so beautiful?" Lucy asked politely, with a friendly smile.

"We're going on a date!" You responded in excitement with your goofiest grin, squeezing Brian's hand as he looked at you and smiled yearningly. You noticed how Darren looked abruptly at you with his lips parted and then he looked down with a faint and halfhearted smile.

"Yes, I wanted to ask if I can borrow the car we rented." Brian requested gently and he got some sympathetic smiles.

"Yeah, man, totally. None of us will go somewhere, so you can use it as long as you want." Darren was the one who answered in a strangely polite way and apparently you weren't the only one looking at him surprised. However, you smiled at him thankfully. "Make sure to have a blast, guys." He winked and you raised your eyebrows and grinned widely.

"Thank you, buddy. Will try." Brian responded with the same wide smile you had. "Well, now if you excuse us... We should go. Dad, if you need something or..."

"I'll be alright, son." George interrupted him as Brian nodded.

"Besides, you already know our deal, remember?" Darren asked, apparently in conspiracy, so you frowned slightly.

"Yes, I do remember. Thanks, Darren." Brian answered with a nod. "Well, let's go?" He asked looking into your eyes with his bright green eyes.

You and he said goodbye and then you got in the car. The way to wherever he was taking you was quiet, but he made sure to put on your favorite music and when you started singing along the songs, you noticed a grin on his face. After a while, he parked the car and you looked around through the window car. You found nothing special where you were. When you looked at Brian, he was looking at you with an amused smile.

"So, is here where our date takes place?" You asked curiously.

"Do you see something interesting here for this to be the place of where our date takes place?" He asked, narrowing his eyes, always keeping that amused smile.

"Well, we're in NYC. Everything is interesting." You responded, shrugging.

"Oh yeah, you have a point." He replied, nodding. "I'll tell you what. You love games, don't you?" He asked and you frowned slightly, not sure what the point of that question was.

"Yes." You answered slowly, maybe a little cautiously.

"And you love everything related to acting, right?" He asked.

"That's obvious. Why? Are we going to some theater?" You asked a bit excited.

"No, not precisely that. I don't know if you remember... But one time ago we had one of those typical late night conversations. You were talking about how sad you were feeling because you didn't have a romance with someone. I told you that you've got imagination and I've got writing skills, so we could create our own movie and we could have our own romance." He said and you grinned kindly. Of course you remembered that conversation; he helped you a lot to feel better with all he said that time. "We never got the chance to do it. So, I was thinking that maybe we can do it now that we are in the amazing city of New York, like a way to make this date something more entertaining and dynamic." He commented super excited, so you giggled softly.

"That sounds pretty good. But I honestly don't get what we're gonna do." You replied.

"Here's the thing. Ten blocks at your right you can find the Ruby-Red Stairs at the north end of Times Square. You're gonna get out the car and you're gonna go there as I'll go some other place; we'll go separate ways." He explained and you frowned and squinted.

"Is that your idea of a date? Going separate ways?" You questioned, though amused.

"Exactly." He responded with the widest smile as you pursed your lips and muttered one simple 'okay'. "You'll sit in the stair and you will remain there."

"With this snowy weather?" You asked and he just remained looking at you in a weird way.

"The snowy weather is an impediment to something? Where is your sense of adventure? A little reminder that you're 19 not 40." He exclaimed as if he was incredulous, so you chuckled.

"Alright, alright! I changed my mind. What's the plan, then? I'll be there and expect what?" You asked, still chuckling because of Brian's face.

"Patience is a virtue. You won't expect for anything, in the right moment something will get your attention and you'll know what to do." He said and you pursed your lips, frowning. This thing of not knowing anything at all perhaps wasn't so positive and Brian noticed you were thinking this. "Okay, I'll give you a little clue of what we're gonna do. You'll accidentally meet someone there. Who? You'll recognize the person if you see that person holding a bouquet of calla flowers."

"Oh, my favorite flowers!" You exclaimed joyfully as he grinned brightly.

"That's right. Therefore, once we both get out the car, we'll go different ways and we'll be complete strangers. That's all I'm gonna say. Let's just find out what happens next, shall we?" He asked and you shot him a very amused and excited look.

"Okay, let's just find out how our adventure will develop!" You replied in an enthusiastic way.

"Fine, I'll look away and on the count of three I want to see you away from here." He said and you nodded. He looked away with one of his most cheerful grins and he started the count. "One..." He said loudly and you grabbed your purse and coat. "Two..." You heard him and opened the car door, for some reason feeling adrenalin taking over your body. "And..." He said and you finally got out the car and closed the door. "Three." You heard and chuckled.

You saw him looking at the passenger seat and then how he looked through the window at your direction with an amused grin. You waved at him with the silliest smile and finally turned around to walk to the Times Square. It was freezing, but you didn't care; you were feeling like a ball of excitement and adrenalin; and the date hasn't even started and you were alone, but you were already feeling very entertained and cheerful. You thought that Brian could be very creative and mysterious sometimes and that was something positive. Once you arrived, you sat on one step of that glowing ruby-red stairs of TKTS. You didn't even know what you should wait for or what would happen, and that excited you. Yes, this was like a game as he said; perhaps that was why you loved this idea. You waited for minutes on and you suddenly saw a person with a bouquet of calla flowers, but that person wasn't Brian as you thought it would be, it was a very young girl. Maybe this was part of his plan, so you looked fixedly at that girl, but the girl looked at you in suspicion and in a weird way for this, as if she was thinking you were a creep or stalker. Alright, that was awkward. But seriously, what were the chances of someone holding a bouquet of calla flowers in this precise moment and this same place? Then you finally saw a familiar silhouette of someone tall with broad shoulders, small waist, muscular arms and straight hair, holding a bouquet of calla flowers, not so different from the girl's. Brian looked at the girl and frowned curiously, perhaps thinking the same than you: this was too coincidental; then looked at your direction and although you were far away, you gave him a smile. He started walking straight towards you with steady gait, however, the girl with the bouquet of flowers stopped him. You saw her flirting with Brian and for the very first time you felt extremely jealous and rabid for seeing this situation. When the girl had the boldness of twiddling a strand of his hair, you felt anger running through your veins, so you stood up to walk over there and kick that girl off of him. Who the hell did she think she was to flirt with your boyfriend? Fortunately you didn't have to do any of that, because you saw how Brian moved her hand away and stopped her. Now you weren't so far from him, so you could hear what they said.

"Why, don't you wanna go somewhere more private where we can have fun?" The girl flirted, giving him a wink.

"No, not at all. I only go to private places to have fun with my beautiful girlfriend and I don't want anyone but her. But, hey, good luck on finding a guy who isn't devoted to someone else." Brian responded politely but firmly, so you smiled satisfied.

"Argh! Why are all the hot guys already taken?" The girl exclaimed in frustration and he grinned faintly and shrugged. "How about your girlfriend doesn't find out about this we can do?"

"Doesn't change a damn thing because I'm not changing my girlfriend for anything and anyone. I told you already, I only want my girlfriend and I'm not interested in anybody else." He answered roundly, always being gentle. "Have a great day, bye." He said and finally turned around, leaving the girl alone as you grinned widely because of the way he acted even when he wasn't aware you were listening.

Again, Brian walked straight towards you and luckily this time he wasn't stopped by anyone. Once he was close to you, you looked at him in an amused yet seductive way as Brian gave you one of his sexiest smiles.

"So, I think your plan didn't go as well as you expected." You commented and he frowned as though he was confused.

"Sorry, do I know you?" He asked and you narrowed your eyes.

Oh! Right! Since you got out the car you and he were supposed to be strangers. Right. This was what he wanted: to play this game of meeting each other by accident one random day and then turn it into your date. Therefore, you decided to play his game.

"Oh, sorry! I thought you were someone else. I tend to be awkward, my apology." You said politely as he nodded. "Well, I hope you have a good day." You said and then turned around, but he took you by your elbow.

"Wait, I'd like to take advantage of the fact that you've mistaken me for someone else." He said and you looked at him curiously. "Truth is I've been watching you from the distance and I was trying to get your attention somehow to get an excuse to talk to you. I've been drawn to your colorful presence. So, would you give me the chance to talk to you?" He asked with that seductive look, his jade green eyes piercing your own eyes. You pretended to be hesitating.

"I'm not sure. What if you are some kind of criminal?" You questioned and he raised his eyebrows.

"Then give me the chance to prove you that all I want is to get the chance to talk to someone as interesting as you seem to be. As my first act of kindness, let me give you this bouquet of flowers." He said as a gentleman, bowing his head and handing you the bouquet. You grinned softly and accepted it, bringing the flowers to your nose to smell them, so he smiled brightly. "Thank you, lady. My name's Brian and it's very nice to meet you...?" He said, as if asking your name.

"You can call me Sunny. And by the way, thank you so much for the flowers. These are my favorite." You replied with a joyful smile.

"You're welcome, Sunny." He said and winked. "By your accent I can tell you're not a New Yorker. Are you, maybe, from the west coast?" He asked curiously and you laughed softly.

"Is it too obvious? Yes, I'm a San Franciscan." You answered politely.

"Oh, what a coincidence! I'm also a San Franciscan. And what brings you to the great New York city, may I know?" He asked in a friendly way.

"Holidays. So right now I'm just exploring the city. There are too many things to do. Problem is that I get lost too easily, I guess I have no sense of direction and this is a big city." You responded pretending to be a bit troubled.

"Hmm, yeah, that's a problem." He commented, raising an eyebrow and nodding slightly. "But I could give you some instructions on how to get to certain interesting places you can visit." He suggested and you frowned and thought about an answer.

"That would be nice, but you see, I have bad memory and I'd probably forget the instructions." You said, pursing your lips.

"I can write them down on a paper." He replied, shrugging, obviously mocking you. He knew that wasn't the answer you were expecting. So you got closer, with your flirty look.

"Either that option or you can guide me to those places and tour the city with me." You whispered with a sexy grin as his green eyes twinkled when a sassy smile appeared on his face.

"I thought you'd never ask." He winked and pierced your eyes. "I'll take you to some amazing places. But you know, this is a big city and the streets are always crowded, so I'm afraid you could get out of sight..." He commented in a very flirty way and you raised an eyebrow amused.

"Are you trying to say I'm a legit hobbit?" You asked as he raised his eyebrows and burst out laughing.

"Maybe... But actually, I was trying to say that you could get lost in the crowd and then you wouldn't find me... I'm trying to think about some sort of solution to this problem, but for some reason I can't come up with anything at all. Do you have any idea?" He asked while looking mischievously into your eyes.

"Hmm..." You muttered while pursing your lips and narrowing your eyes, trying to pretend to be hesitant in a sensual way; then you walked closer to him and linked your arm with his, so Brian looked at you with a mischievous half-smile. "What if we walk like this? You must hold me tight."

"I think we can make this. And don't worry, I won't let you go." He whispered in your ear very seductively, giving you a flirty wink.

Like this, your date started, perhaps in one of the strangest but greatest ways. Brian and you kept playing your respective role-plays; you two were acting like in real life, only that pretending to be strangers meeting each other with the flirting factor. You forgot how good it felt to flirt with someone and how even better it felt to be flirted. He took you to those places he knew very well you loved.

"I was always very interested in art but I'm not good at it and I never met someone who could explain me a painting, design or sculpture." He commented while you were walking right after you left the red stairs.

"Really? What a coincidence! This is your lucky day because I happen to know a lot about it. I'm actually in college, in the Interarts Performance program." You replied with a wink.

This was the excuse Brian needed to take you to those places; it was as though he knew exactly what you were gonna answer. You went to different museums which exhibited different types of art and crafts and skills: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, the MoMa, the American Museum of Natural History, and the American Museum of the Moving Image. You also went to the Madame Tussaud's New York Wax Museum and of course you fooled around, getting up close and personal with your favorite celebrities and taking lots of pictures. Not only you went to places you liked, but also to places he liked like the New York Public Library and the Morgan Library, he got entertained and excited with the collection of rare books, manuscripts, and drawings as you felt fascinated by the architecture and paintings of those places. It was being one of the best days of your life so far. It wasn't like a romantic date as you thought it would be, but it was one of the funniest and most exciting dates you could have ever had. All in all, you spent around four hours visiting museums and libraries and, without even realizing it, it was 8 pm.

"There's one special place where I'd like to take you." He said and you looked at him curiously.

"The Whitney Museum of American Art?" You asked.

"No, even better." He answered with an amused smile.

"Where?" You asked, feeling very intrigued.

"It's a surprise. At this point, haven't you realized I love surprising you?" He asked and that was all he said, keeping the mystery up.

Without saying anything but random comments and jokes, you two arrived to Broadway. You dropped your jaw and raised your eyebrows when he led you inside and showed his ID because he bought online tickets for a show.

"Broadway! Oh my God! I'm gonna watch a Broadway show! Oh my god, oh jeez! This is my dream! Brian, this is my dream!" You squealed very excited and hyper as he chortled.

"Well, you're not watching any random Broadway show. You're gonna watch Les Misérables." He replied with a sassy smile as you started hyperventilating.

"Oh my god. Oh gosh! Les Misérables! Jesus, I'm gonna have a heart attack!" You squealed, breathing heavily and panting as Brian frowned and laughed out loud.

"Please, try not to have a heart attack or you're gonna miss the show, Sunny." He mocked you and you couldn't help but to hold him very tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Bri!"

And so you watched the first Broadway show and it was amazing. One of the best shows on earth. You both enjoyed it, you enjoyed more the acting, the whole scenery, orchestrations, costumes, sounds and lighting; and Brian enjoyed more how the book by Victor Hugo was turned into a play. When it finished and you left the building, you were a ball of excitement and joyfulness, you couldn't stop commenting about how superb it was, talking at full speed, hopping and squealing like a real fangirl as Brian was just looking at you with a merry smile, more listening to you than commenting about the show. Then he put an arm over your shoulder as you wrapped your arm around his waist.

"I'm glad you liked it, Sunny." He said after you finally shut up, kissing tenderly your forehead.

"You're the best, Bri." You said, giving him a very fond smile.

"No, I'm just trying to give you the very best. Now, aren't you hungry? Because I am. How about we go somewhere to have dinner?" He suggested and you nodded energetically. "I know about a nice place, let's go."

When you saw where he was heading you, you gasped and you attempted to stop him. You couldn't allow him to take you to that restaurant because there was no way he could afford it and less after all the money he spent for the tickets for the show and the museums. It was well known that the Four Seasons restaurant was one of the most expensive and opulent restaurants, not for nothing it was one of the most talked about restaurants in the world. However, he forced you to enter and he asked for the reservation he apparently made for the Pool Room. Now you understood why he made you dress up formally. When one girl was about to guide you to your table, you stopped Brian.

"Bri... I think this place is... I mean..." You babbled like an idiot as he narrowed his eyes and looked at you fixedly and suspiciously.

"This place is what?" He asked painfully slowly. You knew why, though. He made you promise you wouldn't complain about money and all, but this was too much.

"It's just that... Why don't we go somewhere else?" You suggested awkwardly.

"You don't like this place?" He asked as you sighed and looked down.

"No, it's not that. This place is extremely beautiful and fancy; but... You know... We could go somewhere more... modest and less... expensive." You whispered, avoiding his very piercing stare.

"I remember we had a conversation earlier and you promised something." He snapped and you sighed and pursed your lips. He held your hands and brushed his thumbs on them, so you looked up and found him looking at you in a kind way. "Hey, Sunny, this is our first date and I want both of us to enjoy it without worrying about material stuff like money. Can we do that? This place is really lovely and I want to be here with you." He whispered and you grinned softly.

"Okay." You agreed and stood on tiptoe to peck his lips as he smiled lovingly and fondled your cheek.

The girl led you to a table for two, right next to a bubbling white pool. That place was breathtakingly beautiful, airy and romantic, and it had four seasonally-changing trees at each corner. When you sat and saw the menu, you bit your lip because the less expensive dish cost $70 and it was only an appetizer. Due to the fact that he wouldn't let you pay anything, you thought that at least you could order just an appetizer with the excuse that you weren't hungry. But Brian was examining your face when you were taking a look at that menu, and of course he was faster than you. He ordered two dishes of roasted forest mushrooms as appetizer, two dishes of grilled lamb chops, and two fig cakes for dessert and for drinking he ordered a Cabernet Sauvignon. You felt a little bad for this and he didn't even give you the time to check how much each dish he ordered cost because he quickly took the menu you were holding on purpose, so you couldn't do the calculation. When the girl left to get your order, you looked around to see all that luxury that neither Brian nor you could afford; you didn't even know why you were there in a place you didn't belong, in middle of those people whose socioeconomic status was much superior than yours. You did know that Brian's intention was good and he wanted to give you the very best as he mentioned, but you didn't need this, just being with him would be enough for you.

"I realize what you're doing, Sunny." You suddenly heard him saying, so you looked at him, playing dumb. "Please, don't do it. Don't think about the money or how unnecessary it is to be in a place like this." He added and you frowned slightly. How the heck could he always know what you were thinking?

"I know you want me not to think about it, but I want you to know that it doesn't matter where we go, if it is a luxurious or thrift place, all I care about is to be with you. I don't want you to give me the very best gifts, restaurants, clothes or just material things in general; I just want you to give me the very best of you in terms to your personality, your love, your whole being, as I want to give you my very best as well. I want you to understand that just eating a simple cheeseburger of one of those food trucks would make me really happy as long as you're with me. For instance, one of the best moments of my life was when once ago you turned our entire dorm room into a restaurant, a shop, a massage room and a place with a starry sky at the same time and you made it real for me, making me feel happy and special. And it was like that only for the simple fact that you were with me." You replied softly and kindly.

You could see the corner of his eyes crinkling and his green eyes shining in a breathtaking way when a warm smile spread across his face. He took both of your hands and took them to his lips to kiss them before intertwining his fingers with yours.

"You're the most beautiful human being I've ever met." He uttered affectionately and it made you smile right away. "I'll tell you what. We're gonna leave this place and I'll take you somewhere better and by better I don't mean more expensive or fancy; we'll end our day in our own way; just you, me and our imagination. What do you think?" He questioned and you grinned widely.

"I think that's our way and it couldn't be any better. Who needs these silver cutlery and gourmet food when we have got our imagination?" You asked amused and he chortled.

"That's right. Let's do something we're not supposed to do in the eyes of these people here." Brian suggested with a mischievous gaze, so you raised your brows and felt very intrigued for what he was gonna say. Brian suggesting something perhaps imprudent? "Let's escape. Now!" He exclaimed as he quickly stood up, held your hand and forced you to stand up.

You basically ran through the room holding hands and laughing as the refined people there were looking at you two as if you were two ill-mannered and insolent people. You didn't care, though; they didn't know you and you just didn't care what they could think as long as you and Brian were having a good time. When the security sensed something strange was happening, they started following you; so Brian and you gasped, giggled and ran faster.

"You two, stop!" One of them yelled but you didn't stop.

You finally got out the restaurant and you felt the cold breeze hitting your faces and the snowflakes landing on the top of your heads; nonetheless, you kept running on and on. Without noticing, you were five blocks away from the restaurant and you stopped to catch your breath while laughing incessantly. But Brian did not let you catch your breath. He took you by the waist and pulled you to him in a very abrupt way. He placed a hand on the nape of your neck and leaned in to give you a smacker that soon turned into a fervent smooch. When he parted you breathed out and kept your lips parted, feeling a little bit dizzy and shaky. Oh Jesus, that kiss. You looked at him in surprise as he was beaming and his green eyes were gleaming.

"Wow! If kissing me this way is result of doing something imprudent, then we should do it more often." You commented while biting your lips, fulminating him with your passionate gaze.

You walked to one of those food trucks and bought two cheeseburgers and sodas, eating them while walking down the streets of NYC, minding about nothing but on having a good time. You two kept playing the role-plays, joking, talking and flirting a lot; nevertheless, there were certain moments in which neither of you could contain and you kissed each other on the mouth, held hands and gave each other a clinch. The most remarkable moment in which you couldn't contain was in that precise moment in which he did one of the most extraordinary and thrilling things he could have ever done. You were in Brooklyn Promenade, sitting on a bench and enjoying the views of the Lower Manhattan's skyline, the majestic Brooklyn Bridge and the New York Harbor while the sound of cars whizzing by directly below on the BQE provided an oddly soothing soundtrack; you could proclaim this place as one of the most romantic spots in New York City. Brian was wrapping an arm around you and stroking your hair as you were snuggled up to him, resting your head on his shoulder. At one point he kissed your temple and you noticed his gaze fixed on you, so you looked up to see his green eyes. Maybe it was the lighting, but his eyes looked brighter than ever and they reflected anything but fondness. He smiled tenderly and fondled your cheek with his thumb. He wanted to say something, you knew it, but you waited patiently.

"I have something very special for you and I'd like to give it to you right now." He said almost in a whisper as you looked at him curiously.

"What is it?" You asked very interested.

As a response he just simpered and looked for something in the pocket of his jacket. You tried to catch a glimpse of what it was, but he didn't let you. He turned his face to you again and a tender smile appeared on his face; then he took one of your hands and placed on it that thing he was looking for. When his radiant eyes looked into yours and he let out your hand, you looked down to see what it was. You gasped and your heart skipped a beat when you saw a little blue box of Tiffany & Co. You looked at him dumbfounded, with your lips parted and your eyes wide open as your heart was beating really fast and your hands were slightly trembling. He had to be kidding. How on earth could he have given you something like this? In any case, how did he get the money to buy something from Tiffany's? It was a Tiffany's, known for being the world's premier jewelry. You chuckled edgily and then shook your head. You placed the little blue box on Brian's hands again as he puckered his brows.

"I'm sorry, Bri. I can't accept this. This is too much." You stated and looked away to avoid his confused and maybe hurt gaze. He took your hand, placed the box on your hand again and closed his hands on yours to prevent you from giving it back to him.

"It's a gift, Sunny. Please, do not refuse it." He begged looking at you in a sad but tender way at the same time.

"I just can't..."

"Before refusing it, open it and let me explain." He interrupted you, his voice sounding supplicant. You looked away and pursed your lips. "Please."

"Fine." You replied and took the little blue box.

You opened it very carefully, feeling really bad for doing this because perhaps if you opened it, there would be no way it could be refunded. When you saw what there was inside, you dropped your jaw and gasped again. You recognized that jewel. It was a Tiffany Victoria, a bracelet in platinum with marquise and round brilliant diamonds like flowers. You knew that bracelet couldn't cost less than $35,000. You bit your lips and instead of feeling excited as any other girl would feel for being holding a bracelet of diamonds, you felt truly bad. Why would he get you something like this? Seriously, how could he have afforded it?

"Please, let me..." He requested and took the bracelet. You were looking away, not able to look into his eyes. He attempted to take your wrist, but you moved it away. You knew he was looking at you as though he was hurt.

"I don't want it, Brian." You articulated with clear and orotund voice.

"Sunny... Just let me..." He started saying but you interrupted him.

"No." You stated very firmly and it sounded kind of harsh. "I don't know how you got it and I don't even want to know..." You said, perhaps suspecting he got it in an illegal way or something, because there was no way he could have bought it. "But I don't want it."

"You think I stole it?" He asked and you glanced at him surreptitiously.

He was narrowing his eyes and scowling, giving you the feeling that he was kind of disappointed. Nonetheless, you didn't answer; so he sighed, looked down, nodded slightly and pursed his lips. He ran his fingers through the bracelet and examined it with a faint grin.

"It belonged to my mom." He whispered and you dropped your jaw and looked at him, suddenly scolding yourself for thinking he got it in an illegal way. "When my dad and mom got engaged, my mom didn't want an engagement ring, so my dad got her this bracelet; even if she didn't want anything, my dad wanted to give her something." He started explaining while looking at the bracelet as you were silent, looking deeply into his green eyes. "When my mom abandoned us, she left the bracelet with a note; a note that my dad kept in secret until I turned 18." He added and then fumbled for something in his pocket. It was a crumpled paper. That was the note he was talking about. "Dear Brian, if you're reading this note is because you're 18. I want to apologize for having left you, but I need to recover if I want to be the good mother you deserve. I believe someday I'll return and we'll see each other again and I hope it won't be too late to have you back." He read and his voice sounded brittle. You remembered he never saw his mother again and he'd never see her. "If I don't have the chance to be with you for your 18th birthday, I want to give you this gift. This is a special bracelet and I'm sure your dad will explain you the story in detail, but to understand, I'll tell you some things. Your dad gave me this bracelet when we got engaged and I'm more than glad to give it to you now. I want you to keep it with you until you find the love of your life, one person who would mean the world to you, just as your dad was for me. When you find that girl, I want you to give it to her; I'm sure it'll be in safe hands because that girl would surely be someone special, therefore, worthy of this bracelet which is the symbol of your parent's love." He read and you felt a pain in the chest as your eyes filled with tears and your body began to shiver because of the thrill. "I wish someday I can meet this special girl who would steal your heart and make you feel happy. Happy birthday, boogersnot. Mommy loves you." He finished reading and stuffed the note into his pocket.

You were speechless. Brian looked up and his jade green, bright and moist eyes met yours and he stared at them very deeply. You were agape, feeling very thrilled but distressed at the same time. Brian was giving you that bracelet and he was supposed to give it to the love of his life, to that one special person; it was like a heirloom for his family; he was supposed to give it to his future wife or something, not to you. Not to you, you who couldn't even tell him that you loved him; you who weren't even sure if this kind of relationship with him would work or not. You weren't in love with him, you weren't worthy of that bracelet. You looked down and closed your eyes. When you looked at him again, you noticed he was expectant and you felt even more anguished. You gave him half-smile, sad but warm at the same time.

"It's a lovely note and it's really beautiful what you're doing, Bri." You said very gently as he grinned affectionately, what made it even harder to tell him what you had to say. "But I can't accept it." You whispered sadly and he frowned slightly. "You must give it to one special girl who can be able to tell you that she loves you back. And I can't tell you so. Therefore, that bracelet can't belong to me, Bri." You said with difficulty. This was probably one of the hardest things to say, you felt like a bitch.

"I know you don't love me back, at least not the way I love you." He said and, oddly enough, he didn't sound hurt or disappointed. He just sounded extraordinarily understanding. "But the note didn't mention that I have to give it to one person who loves me back. It says that I have to give it to the love of my life, to the person who means the world to me, to someone special, to the girl who stole my heart and makes me feel happy. And that's you, Sunny. I'd never give this to anybody else. I don't know what will happen between us, but you'll always be that girl for me and I'll never regret to give this bracelet to you, not even if in the future we're not together or if for some reason we grow distant. For all you've ever done for me and for all you've ever made me feel, for all the things I learned from you, for everything you gave me, you are the most worthy person to receive this bracelet." He said in a very sweet way, looking profoundly into your eyes as you felt very touched by his lovely words. "It took me long time to finally dare to give this bracelet to you because it means a lot; but you are the girl and I know if I don't give it to you, I'll never give it to anyone else because nobody will ever mean what you mean to me, regardless if we end up being a couple, friends or just strangers." He said very surefire and you couldn't help shedding one silent and slow tear. He softly took your hand and placed the bracelet on your hand once again, then closed your own hand. "I want you to keep it, Sunny. It's a gift, so don't give it back to me."

You opened your hand but to see the bracelet. You began to feel a strange feeling in your chest, you were very moved and you started feeling mushy and sensitive. You felt profound endearment for him and a new kind of closeness. This sentiment was weird, it was something you never thought you could feel for him, but suddenly you realized that he really could be the guy because he really made you feel like the most loved girl on earth and ever since you met him all he always did was to show you the way to be happy even in the darkest days. Something came out from your heart into your throat and then into your eyes. You had waited years for someone to make you feel all of this, and now he was in front of you. Your eyes flooded with happiness, a tear rolled down your cheek and more came down until tears rolled down like a stream. Brian could feel the dampness of your skin as he placed his hand upon your cheek and wiped your tears away. You looked up to find those pale green eyes which wouldn't stop looking at you with great affection; and you felt weak, and you understood in that moment that feeling weak wasn't always a bad thing for being weak in that moment meant that you finally admitted the fact that you were deeply infatuated with him. You gave him a warmhearted smile before throwing your arms around his neck and burying your face on his shoulder as he enfolded his arms firmly around you and rested his head on yours. You wanted to tell him something that before you weren't able to say, but words wouldn't come out for it was too much the emotion you were feeling that your throat was tight. Brian parted, placed both hands on your cheeks, looked intensely into your eyes and leaned in to give you a small kiss on your forehead and that kiss made you feel like you were really special to him, it gave you the feeling like he would never let you go, that he cared for you more than anything in the world. You couldn't take your eyes off him and staring his green eyes was the only you could do. How even could it be the best and most perfect moment of the day for you? He softly took the bracelet and this time when he grabbed your wrist, you let him do it. He put the bracelet on you and then kissed your hand. When he looked up at you with the brightest smile, you were already feeling too charmed. With quivering lips and body, you whispered those three words you wanted to say when you were hugging him.

"I love you." You said shyly as your heart was racing fast. His face transformed. His smile vanished and he parted his lips, his brows puckered slightly and his eyes reflected amazement.

"What?" He asked slowly, piercing your eyes, perhaps to make sure he heard well.

This time you smiled warmly and felt more comfortable. You placed a hand on his cheek and fondled it with your thumb. You moved your face close to his and pressed your forehead against his, still staring his green eyes in a loving way. You could sense his heart beating fast, just as yours. You touched the edge of his mouth with your finger; you drew it as if it were something your hand was sketching. He looked at you closely, each time closer and closer at one another and your eyes got larger, they came closer, they merged into one and, blending as you two breathed, your mouths touched and struggled in gentle warmth. Then his hands went to sink into your hair, to cherish slowly the depth of your hair while you kissed as if your mouths were filled with flowers, with lively movements; and you felt him tremble against you.

"I love you." You breathed into his mouth as you saw how his eyes shone in the dark night and how his face lit up with the fond smile that spread across his face for hearing those three words he was yearning to hear since long time ago.

"I love you too, Sunny." He breathed into your mouth as your lips pressed against each other into a sweet kiss.

---

I saw them when they returned from their date. I sneaked out my bedroom while Feb was fast asleep and I hid in the living room to spy them. I didn't even know why I was doing that, I knew it was stupid and maybe a little bit immature, but I couldn't help it. This whole new relationship between them had me intrigued. Of course I could understand Brian truly wanted to be with Freckles, that was obvious; but I still couldn't understand why Freckles would want to be with Brian and nobody was gonna convince me that Freckles wasn't with him out of pity. Or maybe, deep down, I was trying to find evidence of what I thought just to find an excuse to keep Freckles away from Brian and get her for myself. It sounded terrible, but I just couldn't deal with the fact that Freckles was with someone. They were now between the dining room and the living room, so I had to make sure not to make any kind of sound not to be caught. I saw them kissing and whispering some corny words, both of them seemed to be having a good time and Brian, specifically, seemed to be overflowing with joy. Then I heard something that gave me chills as a result of jealousy, I heard something I was certainly not expecting to ever hear.

"I love you, Bri." Freckles whispered.

She loved him? Seriously? Was she really saying that? That was a lie, I knew it was a lie, it had to be a lie; please, that should be a lie. She couldn't love him; I was here... She was supposed to love me. What if I was wrong? What if she indeed no longer had feelings for me? But when we were in San Francisco, a month ago, she told me she did have feelings for me, she wasn't completely sure, but she felt something. Did she forget about it? Or maybe she just gave up because I was still with Feb. Why was she saying that? It was too soon. Then I started feeling scared; now the possibility of Brian making her fall for him seemed to be more real. Fuck, Brian was my friend, he was like my bro and I'd support him in whatever he wants, but not when it came to Freckles. I already did my part with this thing of saying I was glad, but that was all, I couldn't stand anything else.

"I'm really sleepy. Why don't we go to bed, eh?" Freckles suggested, holding his hands.

"Yes. Go, I'll be there in a minute." He answered and pecked her lips as she giggled.

Freckles shouldn't be so comfortable and merry whenever they kissed. The more time passed, the harder it was to convince myself that Freckles didn't want to be with Brian. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, she appeared to be happier ever since they started dating. Maybe it was just the emotion of dating someone after a long time of being alone, maybe it was that fleeting feeling and in few days everything will return to normal and she would figure out that Brian wasn't for her, that she actually didn't love him. Or maybe it could be the opposite; because, to be honest, Brian was a cool guy and he knew how to make a girl smile and feel good; so maybe he would end up making her be in love with him as days passed. Freckles headed to her bedroom as Brian stayed there, looking at her with a cheerful grin. When Freckles closed the door, Brian looked down and pursed his lips, then he looked at his left, right to the living room. Why was he still there? That was a bit suspicious.

"Darren, you can get out from behind the armchair." He voiced in the silent room.

I gasped and got strained. Holy shit, man. How the fuck did he notice I was there? I closed my eyes, bit my lips and cursed myself for being so damn stupid. What was the point of being hidden now? He already knew I was there and it'd make me look even more idiot if I remained hidden. So I sighed, opened my eyes, and like the biggest idiot and feeling super embarrassed for being caught, I stood up, showing myself. But he wasn't looking at me as though he was upset, he seemed to be amused.

"What were you doing behind the couch?" He asked curiously and smiled as I just looked away and shrugged. No way would I say the truth.

"I couldn't sleep so I came to watch TV. But well, then I realized you arrived and I didn't want to disturb you, so... Yeah, I hid behind the couch." I responded and I cursed myself because that was the lamest excuse I could have ever said. He tittered and shook his head, so I chuckled as well. "Stupid, isn't it?" I asked and I felt more comfortable mocking myself than pretending to be serious; besides, the no derisive laugh of Brian made me cool down.

"No, not stupid. Unusual." He replied and I raised my eyebrows and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, well, thank you for waiting till Freckles left to ask me to show up; in other words, thanks for not making me look like the biggest dumbass in front of her too." I joked and he laughed.

"You're welcome, buddy." He winked and then he took off his jacket and hung it on the hangers as I walked closer to him.

"So... How was the date?" I asked very intrigued, trying to sound friendly. He looked at me and grinned joyfully.

"It was really nice. The kind of dates in which you do things you haven't planned and everything turns unexpected. I can perfectly say it's been the best possible way I could have experienced what it is like to go on a date with someone you love. And I think she also enjoyed it." He answered really merrily as I forced a smile while deep down his response was like a knife stabbing my chest. "Thanks for encouraging me to do this and thanks for taking care of my dad so I could go out with her. I really appreciate that; now I owe you one, buddy." He added, squeezing my shoulder as I forced the widest smile and nodded.

"You don't owe me anything, man. That's what friends are for, right?" I replied, trying hard to feel glad for him for real. Then I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Well, I'll try to get some sleep now…" I said, looking away. I attempted to go, but he stopped me.

"Darren, before you go… I wanna give you something." He said and I turned my face to look at him. "Wait a minute… I have it here…" He was looking for something in his backpack as I was looking at him curiously. "I wasn't planning to give it to you now, but I'll take advantage that you're awake. Oh, here it is!" He exclaimed triumphantly, holding something in his hands as I tried to see what it was. "It's not such a big deal, but well..." He said while giving me an elongated wooden box.

I frowned slightly because of my curiosity and then I grabbed it. The wooden box seemed to be old, but it was well preserved. What was it? I looked up and I saw him grinning brightly as he gestured me to open it, so I did so. I opened it carefully and I found a pair of drumsticks of Vic Firth. I dropped my jaw when I saw them, because Vic Firth was by far the best drumsticks in the world. The curious thing was that they seemed to have been used already, they weren't new. I examined them, their weight, their balance and consistence.

"They belonged to me." He commented and I looked at him very curious, frowning slightly. "I used to play drums when I was a freshman. I was like one of those dudes who always dreamed of having a rock band and all; so my dad gave me them one year for Christmas." He chuckled while looking at the drumsticks. Oh well, I didn't see that coming; I've never imagined that Brian could have ever be interested in something related to music. "Of course I was just interested in playing drums, not singing or doing something else. But I was never good at it, to be honest, I just used to make noise rather than playing them; and I never found someone to form a band, so I just let that dream go. It was a silly thing, after all." He kept saying as I was just looking at him surprised. "Thing is I think they will be more useful for you than for me." He said and I grinned.

"Oh, man. Thank you, this is… amazing. This is the best drumstick brand, you know that, right? And this whole story of you and your dream of having a band and playing drums… I just can't believe it! Seriously, dude, I never thought you liked music that much." I exclaimed amazed and he just tittered. "But, buddy, I can't… I mean… Your dad gave you these drumsticks. I think you should keep them." I said while closing the box.

Although I was very tempted to accept them because I always wanted to have that brand of drumsticks, I strongly thought he should keep all the things which were related to his dad, more considering how his condition was. When I handed the box to him and he refused strongly, I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. It seemed he was trying to get rid of all those things that reminded him of his dad. Could he be doing this to prepare himself to let his dad go? Then I tried to ask him this in a dissimulate way, and of course he got my point.

"No, it's not that." He responded. "It's been years since the last time I used, even saw them. And you are into music, you're good at it and it's obvious it's your passion; so I really think they'll be more useful for you than for me; I'll just keep them as a decoration and that would be such a shame." He added and I just nodded, looking away. I knew that wasn't completely true. "Besides, I just… Man, you helped me a lot, you've done a lot for me, even when you didn't have to, you just did, never expecting anything in return." He said and I pursed my lips, perhaps aware that it wasn't so like that. "You're helping me with this whole investigation about Jim, even if you're aware that you're risking your own safety when you could have perfectly been out of this. When I was living in that horrid place due to my financial situation, you offered me to move to your apartment, even if I didn't mention anything, even when I was too stubborn, maybe too proud to ask for help, you noticed it and even convinced me to accept your offer, even when you wouldn't get anything for yourself out of that. You always noticed when I wasn't feeling good because of what was happening to my dad, and instead of trying to force me to talk or tell me some words of compassion, you noticed I needed some distraction and you always managed to find the way to do it. When I was too busy between college, my exams, my job and controlling my dad's health and I felt like I was about to explode, I knew you were the one who finished for me that hard assignment I had; I perfectly knew I wasn't so crazy that I forgot I finished it before taking a shower as you and Joey told me." He said with a giggle as I chuckled and shook my head, recalling that moment. "Then you acted very nicely when you found out all this thing between Sunny and me, when you could have kicked my ass for being such a douche because I didn't respect you after all you did for me; but it wasn't like that, you even encouraged me to take her on a date and you even said you were glad for us. And I know that's a big deal." He said with a friendly grin as I looked down and ran my fingers through my hair. Dammit, I felt so bad because it wasn't actually so like that. "You're like one of those great guys, and above all, you're a really good friend. I never thought you could be my friend, but you turned out to be one of my few best friends. And these drumsticks are just a way to thank you for everything. They might be the best brand and they can mean a lot, but that's nothing compared to what you deserve for being that friend for me." He said grateful, squeezing my shoulder.

"Thanks, buddy." I said looking at him, then, as a way to show my gratitude, I hugged him and patted his back. He was such a great guy; I couldn't separate him from Freckles, no matter how much I wanted that to happen. "You're my bro, dude." I said while closing my fist to give him a fist bump. "And if you still wanna be part of a band, we can always form our own band and it'd be totally awesome. Now I really wanna see you playing drums." I commented amused as he laughed.

"That's not gonna happen. I'm really, but really bad at it. I honestly don't know what was going on my mind in that moment and I feel bad for my dad who had to stand the annoying noises that I called music by then." He mocked himself and I sniggered.

When I was about to joke about it, he got a text message, so he stopped to read it. As he was reading the text message, his face transformed completely. His amused face gradually turned into a very serious face, perhaps a bit concerned and distressed. Alright, that was suspicious. What was going on? He put his phone down and looked away, not saying anything at all, just biting his lips and frowning slightly, creating a troubled expression.

"What is it?" I asked very intrigued as he just shook his head, avoiding my gaze.

"Nothing." He muttered and his voice sounded wobbly that even he himself noticed that was a big lie. I just had to raise an eyebrow and look at him very fixedly for him to sigh and tell me what that text message was about. "Jim." Was the only thing he said for me to drop my jaw and feel alarmed, maybe a bit frightened.

"Has he been sending you threatening text messages all this time and you didn't tell me?" I asked worried and it sounded as though I was reproaching him, even if that wasn't the intention.

"No, this is the first time he texted me since that day we travelled to San Francisco." He answered with shaky voice.

Judging by his disturbed face I could tell he was being frank. He closed his eyes, clenched his jaw and ran a hand over his face; I could notice his hands were slightly trembling. What the hell has Jim texted him this time for him to feel that way?

"Let me read it." I requested gently but very firmly. He didn't give me his phone, but he didn't do anything either when I tried to take his phone. So, I read the text message that wasn't actually a text message, it was an email.

"Yo, wanker! Guess who's in NYC and saw you smooching the whore? I'm still blown away because the whore had a nice gesture such as being with a deplorable waif wanker like you. I didn't know she was the kind of whores who stand sucking a dick just out of pity. Not only you got the whore's cunt, you also found a way to bring your retarded father to NYC thanks to your suckers 'friends' who are constantly doing things for a disgrace like you out of pity and charity. But I heard the news! The retarded of your father will do the world a favor because we will have one retarded less in the world and that's always a good news, because retarded people are just an ignominy and humiliation for humanity. That's right, the retarded will kick the bucket and perish in hell where he truly belongs. You'll finally be able to get the bete noire out of the way in less than one week. As a way to congratulate you, once the retarded man dies, I'll throw him to a dumpster where his lifeless body will rot, so you won't even have to worry about getting your hands dirty. But, here's the thing, wanker: It makes me really mad the fact that you can't wipe that smile off your nasty face ever since the whore started sucking your limp dick. And it's always a bad thing to make me feel mad, it has its consequences. But, as you know, I'm a merciful man, so I'll make you a deal. You just have to break up with the whore, telling her that her cunt is too dry for your limp dick or something like that to break her heart; you just have to break up with her, wanker. What will I give you in return? I'll assure that I won't shoot your retarded father before he dies for natural causes and I won't maul the whore in pieces causing her death. Besides, if you break up with the whore, I won't hurt any of the fuckers you have as 'friends'. Now, if you don't accept the deal, I swear I'll kill your retarded father, I'll torture the fuckers of your friends, and I'll torture, rape and kill the whore. I know where you're staying, wanker. At Jennifer's place. Just in case you don't believe that I know where the house of that slut is, I'm sending you a picture to prove you wrong. Consider the deal, wanker. If you break up with the whore, everyone will be safe and the whore will be happy to get rid of your piteous existence to run to Criss' cock as she truly wants, and at the same time, you'll make the fucker of Criss happy because what he really wants is to get the whore's cunt away from you. If you are an innocent and benevolent guy as you claim to be, and if you really care about your family, friends and lover, then you'll accept the offer. Or will you be the selfish guy who will put everybody's lives at risk only to have the whore's cunt? Think smart, wanker. I have you in sight."

In the email there was a file attached; it was a photo of the front facade of Jen's house and Brian and Freckles were in the photo, they were getting into the car we rented. The photo was taken this afternoon. I read the email one more time and I felt completely out of myself, feeling how wrath was running through my veins, heating me to my very core. Even my hands and body began to quiver because of this rage I was feeling; and my face contorted in an all, consuming anger. That fucking piece of shit. Who did Jim think he was to threaten Brian that way? I was about to curse out loud, but before doing it, I looked up and saw Brian, then my anger gradually vanished and turned into affliction. He was sitting on the couch arm, resting his elbows on his knees and propping his forehead on his hands, biting his lips and looking down, creating a troubled facial expression, as though he was woesome. Then I saw he slightly puckered his brows and clenched his jaw with that expression that reflected that he was asking to himself 'what am I gonna do now?' I walked towards him and sat on the couch arm next to him, then placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.

"This is bullshit, buddy." I said and I heard a slow, heavy sigh coming out his mouth.

I examined his face and I totally got what he was thinking; he didn't say anything but I knew, judging by his face, that he already made a decision and it wasn't precisely the right one. It was obvious he wouldn't let the douche of Jim hurt us and it was obvious he'd choose the option in which nobody but him would end up hurt. Brian could be very predictable sometimes. And very stubborn, too. So this time I wouldn't beat about the bush.

"Oh, no, man. No..." I stated loudly while shaking my head, so he shifted his gaze to me, still frowning. "I know what you're thinking and this time I won't let you make this decision alone." I said very firmly and he looked away. "At this point I know you very well to know that you're not stupid, but when it comes to these damn threats you're the stupid enough to always make the wrong decision, thinking it is the best for everybody even if it's not the best for you. And you know what? I'll force you to stop thinking so stupidly and thinking that you aren't worth a fig and shit like that. I'm sick of that crap of you and I cannot believe that you're still so idiot to think that you're less important than us. Seriously, man, you can be such a jerk sometimes that it drives me nuts." I exclaimed and Brian looked at me perplexed, frowning and parting his lips as though he was incredulous for what I was saying; but I was sure it worked as a wake-up call for him, just as I wanted. "I want to remind you that we're a team, therefore, we make the decisions together. Clear?" I asked abruptly in a bossy way and this disconcerted him, so he just babbled some incoherent words. "And the decision, in view that it is the most accurate and reasonable decision, is that you'll read that email again and you'll say: Wipe my ass, Jim; I don't give a damn shit of what you say. Come on, repeat after me: Wipe..." I started saying, raising my eyebrows while looking fixedly at Brian who was still puzzled. "Wipe my..."

"No, stop it, Darren." Brian finally said, now serious, frowning and looking away. He let out another long sigh. "You don't get it..."

"Yes, I get it. Don't treat me as a fool, because I get it." I interrupted him in a perhaps harsh way. "You think that you're the only one responsible for keeping us safe from the douche of Jim. Therefore, you think that nobody except you should suffer for this shit because you want the best for us, because you care about us. And it's not like that, buddy. We care about you, we don't want to see you like crap because of Jim. So there's no way I'm letting you do what the asshole of Jim forced you to do."

"Okay, now listen to me." He said looking at me exasperated. "If I don't do what he asks me to do, he'll kill all of you. Do you really think I'm gonna let that happen? No fucking way, Darren." He exclaimed while frowning and it seemed he was upset or maybe just too worried. "Jim is a damn psycho; I know he will do what he said if I don't break up with Sunny. If I break up with her, I'll be the only one who's gonna end up hurt, because, as much as I try to deny it, I know Sunny won't be so sad if we break up, because she loves me, but she's not in love with me. But if I don't break up with her, all of you are gonna end up hurt." He said very serious, his gaze piercing my eyes. "I know you care about me and I'm really, but really thankful for that; but try to understand that the decision I have to make it's obvious, it's just a ratio of how many people will end up hurt whether or not I accept his deal."

"No! You just try to understand that's pure bullshit! First off, if you break up with Freckles, she will indeed feel bad, really bad and sad. Because what you just said is shit, it's something the douche of Jim wants to make you think; she's in love with you, goddammit! She told you so minutes ago before she went to the bedroom!" I exclaimed loudly, already losing my temper because I couldn't believe he was the most stubborn person in world. "Then this crap of ratio and whatever shit crossed your mind... If you don't break up with Freckles, none of us will end up hurt, why is it so hard for you to understand? It's not like you're alone on this..."

"No! No, no, no! Listen to me!" Brian exclaimed, also loudly, also losing his temper.

"No, no, you listen to me very carefully..." I demanded very loudly and firmly and my orotund voice echoed in the room, making Brian shut up and look at me fixedly, raising his eyebrows. Then I decided to soften my voice because my point wasn't to argue with him, and less to make him feel mad or sad.

"You won't break up with Freckles only because the asshole of Jim threatened you. You love her, bro, we all know she's the love of your life. And she loves you. Why would you break up with her only because a certain jackass is threatening you and is forcing you to do so? Can't you see that is what he wants? He's testing you, he's mocking you, he just wants you to destroy yourself." I said while frowning, trying to make him realize this, he needed to realize this. Brian looked down and ran a hand through his hair while biting his lips. "And yeah, he's threatening to killing your dad, to killing Freckles and to killing all of your friends. But that's not gonna happen. Not as long as you have all of us. We won't let that asshole hurt you or any of us. Do you really think Jim can touch us if we stick together? Yes, maybe he has a gun and whatever; yes, maybe he is indeed capable of killing someone, like in that night he murdered Sawyer, the same night you basically saved my life and you were forced to call Freckles to ask her to find that gray box. But in that night you were alone, and now you are no longer alone, and as long as you're not alone on this, he won't be able to hurt any of us." I said while placing my hand on his shoulder again as he was breathing hard, clenching his jaw and looking away with teary eyes. I knew he wasn't mad, I knew he was concerned about us and distressed because of this entire thing; so I squeezed his shoulder. "You just gotta learn to think about yourself too; you gotta understand that just as you don't want us to be hurt, we don't want you to be hurt; you just gotta listen to your friends who want the best for you and not to a jackass who only wants you to be death. Stop trying to manage this whole thing of Jim by your own and start letting me help you, because we agreed to be a team, man, so we gotta do this together. And, as your friend and as a member of the team, I'm telling you that the right thing to do is to not give a fuck about what Jim says; the right thing to do is not to break up with Freckles." I said softly, trying to look into his eyes, but he wouldn't let me do so.

Yes, maybe I wasn't the one who sympathized the most about Freckles and Brian's relationship, but I knew he loved her, I knew he would make her happy and I knew he was truly in love with her; and Brian was my friend; so I wouldn't let Jim win this, I wouldn't let Jim screw what they had, and I wouldn't let Brian break up with Freckles, despite that was what I wanted since they started dating. Now that desire of seeing them apart totally faded away. Now I was gonna support them, because I believed this was the right thing to do and Brian also needed to believe it.

"We'll keep investigating Jim, we'll find all the evidence we need as we agreed, and we're gonna bring Jim down as we said when we agreed to be a team; and we won't get that goal if you prove him that he is superior than you because you broke up with Freckles just as he forced you in that email." I stated very surefire, looking deeply into Brian's eyes as a way to encourage him. It seemed it worked because he pursed his lips and it gradually turned into a faint but grateful grin.

"Why are you hiding me this whole thing about Jim?" A voice suddenly echoed in the silent and dark room.

Brian and I both froze in astonishment and slowly turned our faces to see Freckles standing in the entrance of the corridor. We could see her disappointed and skeptical face in the moonlight; we could distinguish her brows puckered and her arms crossed above her chest. I glanced at Brian and saw his concerned face, his lips parted, his eyes wide open and fluttering everywhere in nervousness. Then I frowned slightly. Freckles seemed to not have any idea of this, as though Brian never told her about Jim. Freckles walked towards us painfully slowly, with that dangerous and steady gaze in our direction. Neither Brian nor I could keep looking at her because of the strength of her stare, so we looked down; perhaps feeling intimidated.

"If I never asked something about Jim and why the hell, out of the blue, he called you that day before we went to San Francisco, and why the heck he mentioned few things I certainly couldn't get, was because of respect, because I didn't want to remind you of that call and that problem due to the fact that you were already going through so many crappy things, Brian." Freckles voiced and it sounded like a reprimand, her voice sounding guttural. So she was just rebuking Brian, not me. When Freckles stood right in front of Brian and looked at him in a dangerously incredulous way, Brian bit his lips and rubbed his thighs. "The only thing I know about Jim is that he appeared when he broke into the dorm room and placed cameras and microphones all over the place, the next thing I know is that he called you before we went to San Fran, but in between those two events, nothing happened... That was what I thought and I was obviously wrong. Not only things happened between those two events, but also things happened after that call. And you never said a damn thing, Brian, and I tried to respect you because maybe it wasn't the right moment to tell me; but now I wanna know." She demanded, her voice now sounding as though she was upset. "And I wanna know because I feel like you don't trust me and you don't want to tell me anything, but Darren..." She said and shot me a dangerous look, so I avoided her gaze right away and gulped. "Darren, seemingly, knows everything about Jim and he's even helping you with an... investigation? And you are... a team?" She asked in disbelief. "I seriously feel excluded and this is not fair at all, because I am also your friend, and I'm even your girlfriend; not only that, but Jim is also a big part of my past, so I am in all my rights to know. How could you have done this?" Freckles asked coldly and highly disappointed, her voice echoing in the room and her face reflecting anger, intensified by the moonlight. Brian scratched the nape of his neck and looked away, evidently feeling remorseful, as I just played dumb because it seemed Freckles was just upset with Brian.

"I believe we're also in all our rights to know about Jim and all he's doing right now. Jim is also a big part of my past." Another voice suddenly stated from the dark, coming from the entrance of the screened porch.

The three of us looked abruptly at that direction. In the darkness we could perceive two silhouettes of women. When they stepped forward, we saw they were Jen and Mandy. Of course, they were in the screened porch because Mandy was helping Jen with an article about fashion she had to write. The one who talked before was Jen. As Freckles, they also seemed to be skeptical and they were looking at us in a very scary way.

"Jim is back and you didn't tell me a damn shit about it, Brian. How could you? You're like my brother, yet you didn't tell me anything about this." Mandy reproached annoyed.

"You should have told us something, because Jim involves all of us in this room, Brian." Jen also reproached.

"We all are disappointed in you, Brian." Freckles suddenly said, raising an eyebrow and shaking her head.

I finally dared to glance at Brian. He was extremely silent, looking down in that distressed way; naturally, he was taking the hardest part, everybody was reproaching him; and he was somehow guilty, but I knew that his intentions of not telling anybody about this weren't bad, even if in my opinion wasn't the best decision, I could get why he was doing this.

"Explain yourself, Brian. Why have you lied to us?" Mandy asked harshly as he pursed his lips and breathed hard.

"Why have you hidden us this?" Jen requested, also sounding a bit tough, oddly enough.

"Why are you always like this? Why are you all the time pretending that everything is fine, pretending that nothing bad is going on? Do you have any idea of how it feels like? You hurt us with this whole thing of hiding the truth about Jim and what's going on." Freckles said just as tough as Mandy and Jen.

I saw how Brian breathed out very slowly and heavily and how he ran a hand over his face while frowning and biting strongly his lower lip as though he was completely troubled and anguished. And I felt terribly bad for him. He didn't deserve to hear those tough questions; he didn't deserve to be pressured this way. Therefore, I decided to intervene.

"Stop with all of these rude interrogations. If Brian didn't say anything, it is for a good reason, and that reason is far from intending to hurt you." I stated and I felt all the gazes directed to me, so I felt uncomfortable; nevertheless, I wouldn't take my words back. I noticed Brian looked at me astounded and a faint grin in my direction appeared on his face.

"You better shut up, Criss, because you're just like him. You knew about this all along and you didn't tell us anything at all." Mandy recriminated, pointing me and looking at me furiously.

"No, Darren has nothing to do with this!" Brian finally spoke and came to my defense. The annoyed and disappointed gazes were fixed on him now. "I made him promise not to say anything and he was just being a good friend. It's not his fault. And yes, you all are right, I didn't want to tell you anything, I wanted to hide you this; but, as Darren said, I have a reason and it's not precisely to hurt you." He said a bit exasperated.

"Why would Darren be the only one who knows about this? Why Darren, eh?" Freckles asked provocatively and Brian looked at her and parted his lips, apparently her gaze made him feel speechless, so I decided to answer for him.

"His intention was never to tell me about this. But I happened to be in a certain situation in which I found out the whole truth. If I know this, it's because Brian and I had an encounter with Jim and he said certain things, and then because I forced Brian to tell me everything after this encounter we had with Jim months ago." I answered and Brian sighed, looked down and nodded as Freckles, Mandy and Jen frowned.

"What encounter are you talking about?" Freckles questioned. Yes, Brian definitely didn't tell Freckles anything at all. Brian, in the meantime, let out a profound sigh.

"Remember the night you saw all those things about you hidden in the gray box and how you saw my face bruised and I told you I had a bad encounter? Well, the bad encounter was with Jim and Darren was there." Brian answered, avoiding Freckles' gaze as she dropped her jaw and puckered her brows. "I was talking to Darren about this whole confusion when you and him thought I was W, we were in a dim venue and Jim showed up with other dudes who lashed and hit us."

"Is this why Darren said you saved his life?" Freckles asked and Brian looked down and nodded. "Jim killed Sawyer? Because you told me a car ran over him. You lied to me?" She asked with wobbly voice and Brian pointed his brows downwards, creating a sad expression. Then he finally nodded and Freckles huffed, looked away, and ran a hand over her forehead while shaking her head. More than upset she seemed to be altered. "And is that true? Is true that Jim was the one who forced you to call me to make me look all the things inside the gray box? Jim was the one who forced you to make me find out about your feelings towards me?" She asked, her voice sounding shrill and pitched.

"Yes, Jim was the one who forced him." I answered for Brian and Freckles' disturbed eyes fixed on me. "Brian had to do it to prevent Jim from shooting me; that's why he saved my life."

"Why would Jim want that?" Jen asked in a whisper, frowning in confusion. Brian was covering his face with his hands, closing his eyes and clenching his jaw, so he wouldn't answer.

"Because he wants to kill Brian but not before hurting all the people he loves." I responded and looked down, glancing at Brian.

"Why does Jim want to kill you?" Mandy asked with trembling voice, apparently scared and thunderstruck.

This time I couldn't answer, because I knew this was going out control and I knew Brian was feeling as though he lost all control of the affair, something he didn't want and never expected. An awkward and profound silence engulfed all of us and no one would talk; I knew Brian wouldn't give anything away and I wouldn't do it either.

"Wait... Hold on..." Freckles suddenly stammered, frowning and parting her lips, as though she was realizing something. Then she looked up at Brian with a very preoccupied face. "Brian, Jim wants to kill you because of the things you know about him that you're not supposed to know?" She asked and I looked at her bewildered. How did she know so? Because I could tell Brian didn't tell her anything. As response, Brian bit his lips. "I remember you once mentioned that... But you didn't want to tell me anything about. And you, Darren... You know about it, don't you?" She asked almost in an hysteric way. I just looked away and didn't say anything. "Brian, I want you to tell me all you know about Jim. Absolutely everything. Right now. No more lies, no more secrets." Freckles demanded very determined, yet her voice trembled a little. Brian, while still looking away, shook his head. "Yes, Brian. Tell me now, tell us everything now. And it's not a petition, it is an order. Have you heard me?" She repeated with the same determination as Mandy and Jen were looking at him intently.

"I'm so sorry, but I'm not gonna say anything." Brian answered in a whisper. Freckles narrowed her eyes and looked at him as though she was very disappointed.

"Thank you for trusting me, Brian." She commented very sarcastically and almost derogatorily and Brian noticed this, so he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, clenching his jaw. He was truly having a bad time. Then her gaze turned to me. Oh no, crap. "If Brian doesn't want to tell us a damn shit, then you'll do it, Darren." She demanded and I gulped, then frowned.

"Yes, Criss. Spit it out." Mandy ordered and I glanced at Brian. He was resigned; he thought I was gonna say it. And no, nothing would come out my mouth.

"I won't say anything." I responded very firmly.

"Don't tell me you are now playing to be friends with Brian... You always hated him, so don't pretend it now." Mandy said in a rude way. I knew it was just because she wanted to know what was going on and when she was exasperated she tended to speak harshly, but it drove me mad anyways.

"That was in high school, Amanda, long time ago. He's my friend now, more like my bro. So, I won't say anything and if you want to know, he'll be the only one saying that when he feels ready." I answered very resolutely.

Although I didn't agree with Brian about keeping this in secret, I was gonna respect him because I knew he had good intentions and I didn't like the way they were treating him. Mandy huffed in annoyance and frustration and walked steadily towards Brian; she took him by his sweater and tugged it, so Brian looked at her puzzled and agape.

"Tell us what the fuck you know about the jackass of Jim right now! Don't make me lose my mind, Brian!" She yelled madly.

"Stop!" Suddenly Jen exclaimed loudly, her firm voice echoing in the room. "Mandy, let go of his sweater and stop yelling at him. Calm down, okay? And Freckles, you also should calm down and stop treating him bad. As for you, Darren, stop answering things that only Brian should answer and stop defending him only to prove you're his friend. You, Brian, stop victimizing yourself and ignoring all the questions. And everybody, please, let keep this quiet!" She added very firmly, scolding everybody; therefore, all of us shut up and looked at her dumbfounded. Mandy let go of his sweater and stepped back, raising eyebrows and parting her lips. "Cannot you see this is exactly what Jim wants?" She reproached and all of us looked down. "Look at you! You are friends and you're treating each other as though you're enemies, as though this is some sort of fight instead of helping each other. What's wrong with you all?" Jen asked in disbelief and we all pursed our lips. "Freckles!" She exclaimed and looked fixedly at Freckles who looked at Jen abruptly and surprised, maybe a bit shocked. "You're Brian's best friend and now his girlfriend and this is the way you treat him? You, more than anyone in this room, should try to understand him and understand that whatever Brian decided, wrong or right, it's with good intentions and not to hurt you. He will never hurt you, I thought you were aware of it already." Jen exclaimed and Freckles glanced at Brian just as him glanced at her, both with remorseful looks. "Mandy!" She voiced and Mandy looked at Jen disconcerted; weird, Mandy wasn't the kind of person who used to be so submissive; but I had to admit that Jen had a strong and bossy personality whenever she was upset. "Brian is like the brother you never had, you said it yourself. Nonetheless, when he makes a mistake the first thing you do is to yell at him and tug his sweater as if you want to slap him, treating him bad and judging him instead of trying to understand why he's doing that, instead of trying to protect him from all the bad things?" She asked nearly provocatively and Mandy looked away with a prideful yet distressed look, as she puffed and pouted. Then Jen's gaze fixed on me. Dammit, it was my turn to be rebuked. "You, Darren..." She said while piercing me with her gaze as I gulped. Fuck, I hated this scary side of Jen because I knew she was gonna make me feel like shit with her totally fair and right reprimands. "You're a damn idiot!" She exclaimed and I raised my eyebrows. Whoa, what the hell. "You knew about this entire thing of Jim and you knew it was something dangerous that could put everybody at risk, especially it could put Brian at risk; however you didn't mention anything. You knew that Brian wasn't going to ask for help and less to accept it, you surely knew he isn't able to handle this all by himself, you knew that probably keeping this in secret wasn't a good idea, yet you did nothing about. And you are now claiming to be a good friend and you're taking this stupid role of defending him and his wrong decision, and I'm pretty sure you know that's not what a good friend would do. A good friend would tell his other friends what's happening to help him too. So, think about it." She said upset and I looked away and huffed, hating the fact that I had to admit she was right. "And this entire reprimand is not only for you three, it's also for myself, because I'm aware I also made a mistake. Because, yes, I knew something weird was going on since the time I heard that phone call before we went to San Francisco; nevertheless, I played dumb because it was easier that way. And as soon as I heard Darren and Brian talking about Jim, I acted as though I was offended, as though I never suspected of this, and I lied just as all of us did." Jen said reproaching herself. Then she looked fixedly at Brian. "And you, Brian!" She voiced, pointing at him, not less mad than in the way she looked and talked to us. Brian looked up at her, his eyes denoting fright, astonishment and remorse. "I don't know what kind of things you know about Jim, Brian; but they're surely a big deal and you must know that you cannot deal with him only by yourself, so you should stop playing the role of hero or whatever crossed your mind. None of us here are heroes but we are friends and if you are our friend, then you should stop with this whole thing of assuming responsibilities and carrying the world upon your shoulders, always refraining help; because that is a very stupid thing to do, therefore, you're acting like a stupid person, regardless if your intentions are good. You're letting us down in terms of friend, because you're acting as though you don't trust us the enough to tell us what's going on and you constantly pull us away when we try to help." She said bluntly, not mincing her words. Thereby, all of us looked down; perplexed by the way Jen said it all. But Brian did keep staring at her.

"It's not like that, Jen." Brian said softly as Jen just raised an eyebrow. The rest of us just glanced at the two of them. "I don't intend to let you down and I swear I'm trying to learn how to ask for help and not refuse it when I need it. I do trust you, all of you in here." He added, always speaking softly and mildly. "I just want you all to understand that the reason why I don't wanna say anything about what I know is because Jim threatened me to torturing and killing all of you if I dared to do it. And you should know that each one of you are the first friends I have, before you, I didn't have friends. And now that for once in my life I have friends, I don't wanna lose them, I don't wanna lose you, I don't wanna see you suffering, and I don't want anyone hurt you. Therefore, I'd rather to deal with this by my own than taking the risk of the possibility of Jim hurting you, because I wouldn't forgive myself for that. It's not that I think I'm some kind of hero, I'm really far from being a hero; I'm a stupid, stubborn and reserved guy who makes lots of mistakes and who refuses help all the time. I don't even wanna be a hero, I just wanna be worthy of being your friend by doing what I think I can do, that is trying to keep you out from Jim's reach." Brian explained while looking at each one of us in a perhaps supplicant way. I think in that moment all of us felt less angry and began to feel more understanding and mild. Freckles walked towards Brian and she held both of his hands and looked at him in a warm way.

"We just want to help you, Bri. Now we know your intentions are the best, as always. But you just need to understand that we don't want to see you suffering and hurt, just as you don't want to see us hurt. And this thing of knowing that Jim wants to kill you, freaks us out just as it freaks you out the thought of Jim killing us. Tell us what you know, not because we deserve to know, but because we want to help you." Freckles said very gently while looking deeply into his eyes as he looked down profoundly distressed.

"I can't." He murmured in frustration, looking deeply anguished into Freckles' eyes. "I can't let Jim hurt you, threaten you, harass you all. He hasn't threatened any of you till now, that's because I kept this in secret. If I do what he says, then I'll make sure you'll be safe. I only have to do what he says until I gather all the evidence I need to imprison him. And in order to get that goal, I need to do it alone, I need to do what he says; it won't last forever, I'm really trying hard to get all I need. Then none of us will have to worry about Jim ever again. It'll be worth it." He said smoothly, always staring at Freckles in the eyes. Then he pulled out his most afflicted facial expression, pointing his eyebrows downwards and looking at Freckles very sadly. Freckles narrowed her eyes in suspicion, just as all of us did. "Sunny... Sunny I have... I have to..." He stammered very troubled and agitated. Freckles frowned and shot him a very severe look. "We have to... We have to break up." He said while looking away as Freckles raised her eyebrows and looked at him in disbelief while I dropped my jaw, also incredulous.

"Listen to me very carefully, Brian Thomas Clerk." Freckles' throaty voice echoed in the room. "There's no way in hell that you're gonna break up with me. I don't care what Jim forced you to do. But you, without question, won't break up with me."

"It will be the best." Brian said while looking away. Not even he himself could believe that.

"It'll be the best for whom? For Jim? Because it won't be the best for you and it will certainly not be the best for me. So, the douchebag of Jim can kiss my ass, but you won't break up with me. Is that clear, Brian Thomas?" Freckles asked roundly, her voice sounding croaky.

"Sunny..." Brian whispered with brittle voice, looking down.

"I asked if that's clear, Thomas." Freckles demanded, now her voice sounded orotund.

"You'll be better off without me, you don't need me... You can be happy for real if you stay away from me and you can even..." Brian started saying desperately but he shut up when Freckles, all of a sudden, slapped him, not hard, but she slapped him and all of us looked at her aghast as Brian looked at her puzzled.

"I'm so sorry for doing that, but you have to shut the fuck up, Brian. Don't you ever say again that I'll be better off without you and much less to say that I don't need you, because it's the opposite." Freckles said loudly, her voice wheezy as her eyes were flashing and her nostrils flaring. "You won't break up with me. Okay?" She asked while panting and pointing him. Brian didn't answer anything and he remained looking down.

"I'm sorry, I don't wanna be with you." Brian said, always avoiding any kind of eye contact as I looked right into Freckles' eyes and I noticed they filled with tears as her mouth started quivering. "I don't wanna tell you anything, I don't want your help, and I just want you to leave me in peace and let me do this my way, alone." He voiced and I frowned and narrowed my eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'm tired of hearing crap coming out your mouth, Brian." I finally spoke as he looked at me frowning and the rest looked at me stunned. "Well, yeah, maybe this is the first time you have friends; and for that same reason you're not used to having friends, and it is for that reason that you think that having friends means to protect them. Well, let me tell you how's the real shit of friendship." I said maybe kind of harshly, but he needed to stop with this entire crap for once and for all. "A real friend doesn't protect you from something or someone who's shitting around, a real friend will help you fight against this something or someone, will stand by you through thick and thin; a real friend doesn't tell you that all you do is right and that you're a genius and so brave, a real friend will kick your ass and make you see that you're not doing the right thing and will tell that you're an idiot until you get to see things straight; a real friend doesn't tell you that you can face the problems by your own because you're great, a real friend will prick your brain till you drop and you admit the fact that they won't leave you in peace until you let them help you. That is a real friend, a real pain in the ass who sometimes will make your life miserable but with the best intentions." I pointed out, my voice sounding calm but really resolute. While I was talking, Freckles, Mandy and Jen were nodding in agreement as Brian was just glancing at everybody. Then, I continued. "And with this all I'm not trying to tell you that you aren't a real friend; I'm just trying to help you see that's what friends are for, because in your past you've had fake friends around you who made you believe that friendship is something very different from what I just said." I clarified so this time he looked down and bit his lips. I placed my hand on his shoulder and I squeezed it, so he looked at me. "Friends act like a team, bro, and in teams there's no one who is more or less important than the other because a team is a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task; they are all equals, they do everything together, because team members operate with a high degree of interdependence and cooperativeness, share authority and responsibility for a common goal." I explained as he was listening to me very intently. I squeezed his shoulder one more time and I grinned softly. "And you and I are team, mate; now Freckles, Jen and Mandy wanna join the team and that's totally fine; and we aren't only a team, we're friends, the real type of friends. So you better understand this and cut with that shit of trying to protect all of your friends, because now you know that none of us will stop being a pain in the ass until you understand that you're just as important as we are for you. You wanted to have friends? Then deal with this shit, buddy, cause this is the truth about friends." I finished saying while raising an eyebrow as Freckles, Mandy and Jen smiled kindly and nodded energetically.

"We won't stop until you agree accepting our help." Jen said, now walking towards Brian and sitting next to him, in the opposite side where I was. She wrapped an arm around him and smiled warmly as I frowned slightly.

"And you undoubtedly chose the worst people to be friends with; because we're the most irritable pain in the ass you can ever meet. So we'll constantly kick your cute ass until you tell us everything to plan something against Jim." Mandy commented, also walking towards Brian, standing in front of him and next to Freckles.

"But most importantly, we'll not let you do this alone. We're together in this and we'll stand by you, because we love you." Freckles said kindly as she leaned to kiss his forehead.

"The five of us are a team, bro. Like in high school, only that cooler and with a greater bond cause this time we are all friends." I added while ruffling his hair. "Jim will not get away with it, buddy. From now on, he won't mess with any of us, and that includes you; so don't give a shit about his threats. We gotta stick together."

"And together we're gonna imprison him. He won't separate us." Freckles added with a sweet smile.

"You just have to tell us all you know and don't be afraid of Jim and what he says he will do. As long as we're together, nothing bad is gonna happen to us." Jen said gently.

Brian looked at each one of us with teary eyes, then he looked down and his lips began to quiver as few slow and silent tears raced down his cheeks. We all gave him a group hug because we understood that he wasn't expecting this, so he felt kinda thrilled; and, adding the factor of the stress he was feeling because of Jim's threats and his dad's condition, he was experiencing an outburst of emotions.

"I'm scared." Brian admitted with brittle voice. For the very first time he was showing his weak side with no shame. And that was a real progress.

"And it's absolutely normal, Bri. But as long as we're with you, you don't have to be scared. We're here for each other." Freckles answered with sweet voice.

Right after this and after we got to reassure him, Brian started telling all he knew about Jim, all that I already knew. It was a long conversation, but it was totally worth it. I was proud of him, he was finally opening himself up and he just proved that he was the real type of friend, one of those friends who are worth it to keep. And I've never felt gladder than now of having a team. The 5 Team. I was sure that together we were going to bring Jim down.

---

Next day you woke up in Brian's arms. You looked at him covertly before letting him know you were awake. You knew he didn't sleep at all last night, his eyes were tired and he had dark circles. It was understandable considering the conversation you, Mandy, Jen and Darren had with him; it was understandable now that you knew all he knew about Jim all along and how harsh he was threatened, it was understandable considering the pressure he was feeling due to Jim's constant harassment. He was staring blankly at nothing in particular while he was stroking your arms very smoothly. You looked down and you saw his thighs. You noticed there were new scars and you felt profoundly sorrowful. He surely cut himself when you were sleeping. You slowly and carefully ran your fingers through his recent scars and he finally realized you were awake. He looked down to see you and when he saw what you were doing, when he noticed you were only touching his recent scars, his face reflected some kind of deep anguish and perhaps shame as his eyes became moist. You pursed your lips when you perceived by your touch that those scars were actually very deep.

"You didn't put rubbing alcohol in these." You whispered softly. "Let me heal them."

Without saying anything and without waiting for an answer, you stood up and walked directly to the bathroom, not even glancing at him. Once there, you let yourself shed those tears you were holding back; you didn't want him to see you crying, you didn't want him to think that you were feeling pity for him, or that you were sad because of him; and much less to think that you were disappointed in him because of this, because it wasn't like that. You didn't know how to handle this situation, you didn't know how to help him with this, how to make him stop with this self-harming that seemingly was getting worse each time. You knew you couldn't tell him that what he was doing was wrong, that he shouldn't do it; because you knew that wasn't something good to say, because you knew why he was doing this and what this mean to him. You knew it was his way to release his pent-up emotions, but you couldn't understand why he would keep self-harming if he had you, he could count on you, you could be his way to release those emotions. You bit your lips strongly, wiped your tears away and washed your face so he wouldn't notice that you'd been crying; then you grabbed the rubbing alcohol and took a deep breath before heading to the bedroom. Brian was sitting on the bed, resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands together, looking down with that same anguished and ashamed expression. He even put on his jeans, maybe not to let you touch his scars. You, slowly, walked towards him to sit by his side and, gently, placed a hand on the nape of his neck to massage it smoothly with your fingertips.

"Darling, drop your pants." You requested softly as Brian's eyes became even moister.

"No, I don't want you to do it." He answered with thick voice.

"I just want to heal them." You replied, trying to sound soft.

"You don't have to heal them. I wasn't expecting you to notice them. I don't want you to see them again." He answered in a whisper and you looked deeply into his sad eyes which were avoiding you. "It embarrasses me." He confessed in a very low voice. You remained looking into his eyes in silence for a while until you leaned and gave him a small kiss on his cheek.

"Don't feel embarrassed, Bri. It's me, and I got you." You said tenderly while stroking his hair. "I understand this is not something you can stop doing all of a sudden because, somehow, it's part of you. But I do want to do something, I want to show you that I am here, that I'm also part of you. So, would you let me heal them?" You requested gently, placing a hand on the waistband of his jeans.

As a response, Brian nodded shyly, still looking away in that ashamed way. You kneeled in front of him and, softly, unbuttoned his jeans as he helped you to drop his jeans to his knees. Then, very carefully, you put rubbing alcohol in each one of his recent scars as Brian let out a series of muffled groans because of the pain. While you were doing this, some big tears hit your hand and Brian's thighs, and they weren't your tears, they were his tears; and they weren't the result of the physical pain, but of the emotional pain. You didn't cry, you had to be strong for him just as all those times he was strong for you when you were feeling weak.

"I'm sorry." Brian's teary voice resounded.

"What for, darling?" You asked softly, still taking care of his scars.

"When you found me doing this for the first time, I made myself a promise and I broke it. I promised I wouldn't do this again because I had you. But this need of doing this was stronger than me, and now I feel like I let you down." He answered with muffled voice as his tears kept hitting your hands. You didn't look at him and you held back your tears, but you did listen to him very intently. "You deserve much more than me. You deserve someone that can you give you the best, someone who can keep his promises, someone who isn't a mess as I am." His choked voice echoed in your ears and this time you looked up to see a pair of green eyes flooded with tears.

Your own eyes now filled with tears as you started deeply into each other's eyes. You knew that part of the reason why he was saying this was because of that threat he received, besides this whole mess of you knowing he was self-harming and all the pain caused by knowing his dad will soon pass away; reasons which were making him feel unworthy.

"Do you love me, Brian?" You asked and a sad and weak smile spread across his face.

"More than anything." He responded and you nodded and gulped.

"I love you too. Then I deserve you and you deserve me, and I don't wanna be with anyone but you." You said with cracked voice.

You put the rubbing alcohol aside to hold both of his hands. Slow desolate tears ran from his unblinking eyes and dripped steadily into your hands. With one soft hand under his chin, you angled his face toward you and kissed away the tears. Then you held his hands again and kissed them. Your eyes met again and you gave him one fond smile.

"I accept you and love you for who you are." You voiced sweetly, brushing your thumbs on his hands. "And these scars are part of who you are; therefore, I'll accept them until you feel no need to do it again because you found the way to feel the same release that now self-harming provide you when you lean on me. I wanna be the one who would replace your need of self-harming, but I don't want it to be something forced. So, in the meantime, I'll be here with you all the time, supporting and comforting you; and I wish you can give me a little room in this side of you, because I wanna love your whole person, the good, the bad and the messy parts of you." You said fondly, looking profoundly into his green eyes full of tears. You leaned in and pecked his lips very tenderly.

"Thank you for understanding me and for being my rock." His brittle voice whispered in front of your lips. Then your wet mouths because of his tears pressed together into a sweet kiss.

Right after this morning conversation, you two joined the rest in breakfast. It was a nice breakfast and none of the members of the new 5 Team mentioned something because, the night before, you decided this would be your thing and you wouldn't worry anyone with no need. When you finished breakfast, Darren and Brian locked in Darren's bedroom and they didn't want to say why they wanted to do it, you thought it was something related to Jim, but Brian told you it was none of that and you saw honesty in his eyes, so you let them do it, even if it was still kind of weird for you. You had lunch and Brian and Darren skipped it; you had the afternoon snack and Darren and Brian weren't here yet, so that was suspicious; however, nobody questioned anything. You were currently in the screened porch, snuggled up to George while he was telling you all the story of how he won his first medal in a polo competition. You wouldn't stop looking at him cheerfully, exploiting your time with him as much as possible, you wouldn't stop admiring how lively he seemed to be and how much he treasured each moment of his life, you thought that Brian's plan of not telling him his real diagnosis was working; and you wished you could have him for more years. But you promised him you wouldn't feel sad for his death, so, instead, you smiled because you knew he had a beautiful life, despite all the troubles and struggles. After a while, Darren and Brian finally showed up and Brian walked directly toward you.

"Sunny, can we talk in private?" He asked and you frowned curiously.

"Sure." You answered.

You kissed George's cheek and stood up to join Brian who walked out the screened porch. When you reached him, he closed the sliding glass doors and looked at you a bit nervous as he was scratching the nape of his neck and fluttering his eyes. You took his hand and he looked at you.

"What's the matter, Bri?" You asked gently. He took a deep breath and, without hesitation, he spoke.

"I'm gonna tell my dad the real diagnosis." He stated and your heart skipped a beat as you dropped your jaw as a response to this. Where did this come from? "I wanted to tell you because you've been supporting me with this sort of lie, so you need to know that I decided that it is fair to tell my dad what the real diagnosis is." He added and you frowned in confusion and astonishment. "And I'll tell him that I was the one who forced you to support me in this, so he will understand that you are not to blame."

"Brian... Why? Why would you do that?" You asked perplexed and he let out a sigh.

"Because I have to learn to deal with this as I should, with the truth. I don't wanna lose my dad knowing that the last thing I did was to lie to him. I want to tell him the truth and I want to spend my last days with him to the fullest but also with the truth. He deserves to know and he doesn't deserve to be lied." He answered and a sad but warm smile appeared on your face as you looked deeply into his eyes, feeling proud of him. "Darren helped me with this." He added and you frowned slightly. Darren helped Brian with this? How did Darren know about this? It wasn't necessary to ask because Brian explained it. "Darren and Jen knew since the beginning that we were lying. They noticed and they didn't tell anybody else about their suspicions. Therefore, Darren helped me." He said and you parted your lips, feeling even more puzzled. "I wanted to tell my dad the truth, but I just didn't know how. So I wrote lyrics for a song and Darren composed it and turned it into music. That's why we stayed in his bedroom all day long. And that's why I wanted to talk to you first, because I wanted you to know about this before everybody else, I didn't want this to take you by surprise. Because, when we enter the screened porch now, Darren is gonna sing the song for me, because, obviously, I suck at singing." He said and his voice trembled, he was nervous. "I… I don't know what will happen after the song… But… But I wanna tell the truth…" He stammered nervously, now looking away. You took his hands and when he looked at you again, you gave him one sweet smile.

"I think everything will be alright, because nothing can go wrong when you tell the truth. Your dad is gonna understand you and will feel just as proud as I am because you're being honest. And it's a really beautiful thing to say it through a song that you wrote for him." You said with the same sweet smile as he grinned softly. "And thank you for telling me this before doing it."

"Thank you, baby girl, for always supporting me in my decisions." He replied with a wide grin, intertwining his fingers with yours. "And also thank you for kicking my ass when those decisions are wrong." He added with a wink, obviously referring to last night, so you laughed. "Just... Thank you for being here with me." He said in a very cute way and leaned to give you a small but tender kiss on the mouth. "Now, let's go there." He said while fondling your cheek as you nodded, giving him one of your most joyful smiles. How come he could make you feel this good?

When Brian and you entered the screened porch, Darren was already sitting on a pouf with his guitar, for the moment playing random songs. When he saw you arrived, he winked at Brian and Brian grinned and nodded before sitting right next to his dad, wrapping an arm around him. You sat next to Brian and placed a hand on his thigh as he placed a hand above yours.

"Well..." Darren voiced loudly, playing open chords on guitar; surely to make some sort of introduction. "Brian?" He asked and everybody shut up to look at Brian intrigued, evidently not getting what was going on.

"Yes." Brian answered and then he looked at his dad with one wide smile. "I wrote the lyrics of a song and Darren helped me and turned it into an actual song." Brian said still looking at his dad as George smiled but frowned slightly, perhaps not getting why his son was looking at him. "The song is for you, dad, because I found no better way than this to tell you something. Besides, I just wanted you to have something that it's only about you." He said and George grinned and placed a hand on Brian's thigh and squeezed it. Brian really managed not to let out any moan because of the pain due to his scars; but he did a weird grimace. "So... I'm not gonna sing because I suck and I don't wanna blow it..." He joked and everybody laughed. "But Darren will. So, I hope you like this song for you, daddy." Brian said with a kind smile as Darren began to play his guitar and you listened very intently, intrigued to know what the lyrics of the song was about.

He puts his boat in the water for the last time

The rain drops from the sky

Like feathers from your wings

As a tear falls one last time.

More than oceans will separate us

More than continents themselves

But in my thoughts you will remain

Along with everything about ourselves.

My one true rock

A shoulder in which I could rely

For whenever I was angry

Or when I needed a good cry.

You frowned because you remembered you read that. Yes, you read it. That was written in a paper that was on Brian's nightstand, when you couldn't understand why he wrote 'chorus' at some point. You didn't know that this poem was for his dad, to make this song. You kept listening to the song very intently.

No matter how far away you seem

Heaven is never too far

So, I'll hold you dear

And close to my heart

Cause the day we meet

I know we'll never be torn apart.

I hope that you're beside me

When I set my lifestyle,

I hope that when it happens

I've made you proud enough to smile.

Even though you may be leaving

You'll still be in my mind

You'll always be real close

Even though we're far apart.

I'm not going to say goodbye

Or that I can't go on

I'll say I love you, and see you later

Even though you're gone.

No matter how far away you seem

Heaven is never too far

So, I'll hold you dear

And close to my heart

Cause the day we meet

I know we'll never be torn apart.

When I feel like breaking down or crashing in,

Who will I turn to, to forgive my sin?

When I cry my lonely tears,

Who will be there to fight my fears?

And when it feels like no one would understand,

Who will be there to hold my hand?

As much as this hurts me

I'm letting you go.

The wake comes off the bow

The anchor is reeled in

Another tear softly falls for you.

And the day we meet

We'll never be torn apart.

Darren finished singing and you glanced at Brian with lips parted and tears in your eyes. That was such a profound and soulful song, perhaps a bit sad. Brian was looking down, pursing his lips, his own eyes were moist and a tear raced down his cheek very slowly, leaving a wet track. Everybody else was very silent, looking fixedly at Brian, trying to understand the real meaning of the song; all of them seemed to be perplexed and maybe a bit confused; except Jen, she was looking at Brian with a distressed expression. Then you dared to look at George. He was also looking down and pursing his lips; but, unlike his son, he wasn't shedding tears and, instead, he was frowning slightly, not in an upset way, but in a confused way, as though he was getting everything. He got it. He got what the point of the song was and what it meant, what Brian wanted to tell him. He looked at his son and, for the very first time in a long, you saw his pale blue eyes filled with tears; but for some odd reason, his eyes did not reflect sadness. He placed his shaky hand on Brian's shoulder and squeezed it as a faint grin spread across his face. Brian turned his gaze to his dad and his lips began to quiver as constant tears streamed down his face before George pulled him into a tight hug. Maybe not everybody got the meaning of the song, but if they didn't, they did in that very moment the father embraced his son that very thrilling way. Then everybody looked down, frowning slightly with parted lips and glossy eyes. Yet no one uttered a single word.

"Thank you for finally telling me the truth. I'm proud of you, son." George said while patting Brian's head which was buried on his dad's shoulder.

"You knew about this?" Brian asked with brittle voice, parting to look into his dad's eyes. George placed his hands on Brian's cheeks and grinned softly.

"Of course I knew. I talked to the doctor as soon as you told me the diagnosis was positive, and he confirmed it was anything but." He replied and you dropped your jaw. He knew it all along... Everybody else, except you, Darren and Jen, looked at Brian and George alarmed, perhaps a bit terrified. "But I was waiting for the time I could hear it coming out of your mouth. I'm glad you told me."

"I'm sorry for lying." Brian wailed in a remorseful way.

"Don't worry, son; I know why you did it." He responded and you bit your lips. "Tell us how long I have left. All of them deserve to know." He requested softly and Brian pouted and shed more tears.

"Less than a week." He responded with teary, shrill voice, hiding his face on his dad's shoulder again as his dad embraced him in a very comforting way.

Everybody was puzzled, looking at them both agape and sorrowful. You let escape few silent tears but you quickly wiped them away. Then you looked at your friends and gestured something as a way to let them know that the best would be leaving Brian and his dad alone, they needed time to be alone, just father and son. They completely understood, so, very quietly, all of you stood up and left the screened porch. You saw each one of their expressions more intently. The most surprising was to see Mandy dissolved into a puddle of tears, considering she hardly cried. She, without saying anything at all and trying to avoid people seeing her crying, headed outside the house and Joey followed her. Jen's boyfriend, who wasn't close to anybody there, had the nice gesture of offering a coffee for all of you to help you go through this hard moment. February, who seemed to be in shock and perplexed, went with Jack; surely to clear her mind. Chuck and Lucy sat on the couches of the living room, also stunned and Jen, who had teary eyes as though she could really feel Brian's sorrow, joined them. You took advantage to look at Darren, who remained standing steadily in front of the sliding glass doors, watching Brian and his dad with a distressed face. You walked closer to him and held his hand, so his gaze turned to you.

"It's truly beautiful what you did for Brian, Dare." You whispered with a warm smile as he grinned faintly and looked down, intertwining his fingers with yours.

"It's the least I can do for a great friend like him." He answered and you grinned before kissing his cheek as his hazel eyes looked into your eyes.

Your eyes, all of a sudden and inexplicably, filled with tears, so he wrapped an arm around you as you rested your head on his shoulder, also wrapping an arm around him. He kissed the top of your head very smoothly.

"You're a good friend, Dare." You whispered.

"So are you, Freckles." He whispered in your ear before kissing your temple.

It was a hard moment, but after hours, everybody got to calm down and digest the news. After a while, you explained them why Brian decided to lie about his dad's diagnosis in first place, so, when they got it, all of you agreed that you should not feel sad and, instead, you should be happy for the sole purpose of giving George his best last days. George and Brian didn't leave the screened porch until it was dinner time, when all of you decided to surprise them by working hard on cooking something tasty. As you supposed, Brian and his dad were alright after the song and after the talk they had. However, you and your friends, before dinner, decided to dedicate a song to Brian to show him that he could always count on you, a song that you sang.

When I see myself, I'm seeing you too

As long as I remember it

I'm feeling like I knew that

My jokes aren't funny

The truth isn't true

If there was no you

If you were my boat in the deep blue sea

I'd probably sink you down

I know I should have thanked you for carrying me

But for you I would happily drown

All along your way

The darkest night, the longest day

I know what to say to make you laugh

And nothing you could do

Could make me turn my back on you

When you're looking for a fight I'm your man

When you need a friend you got my hand

What I really mean, what I'm trying hard to say is that

I'm counting on you and you got me too

My secrets aren't safe, I'm singing out of tune

If there was no you, if there was no you

All along your way

The darkest night, the longest day

I know what to say to make you laugh

And nothing you could do

Could make me turn my back on you

When you're looking for a fight I'm your man

When you need a friend you got my hand

When you need a friend you got my hand

You got my hand

Brian, as expected, thanked all of you wholeheartedly. Then everything returned to normal: everybody would joke, talk a lot, laugh and just have a nice moment as before; only that now no one was lying, this time all of you knew the truth, George knew the truth. You ended the day in bed, snuggling up and holding Brian tightly in your arms, rubbing your chin on the top of his head that was rested on your chest. You held him until he fell asleep with that peaceful facial expression you haven't seen in a while. Then you smiled and fondled his cheek.

"I'm proud of you, Bri. Goodnight, I love you." Your whisper echoed in the silent bedroom.

---

Days passed and, in the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. At night we all were going to Webster Hall NYE Ball; at first Brian decided to stay with his dad but told us that we should go, naturally, he wanted to spend the last New Year's Eve with his dad; then his dad convinced him, he actually kinda forced him, to join us because that was what he wanted, then Brian agreed. That was why we were spending the whole New Year's Eve with George. We all invited him to have lunch at a restaurant at downtown and then we did several things in a very short time, so this day turned out to be one of the best days in NYC so far. I've never felt more comfortable of hanging out with the father of a friend than this time; it was just that George had a way to be that there was no way to feel uncomfortable around him. It was legit to say that all of us grew fond of him and I felt really glad to have had the chance to meet him. Since Brian told him the truth, George seemed to be in a better mood, oddly enough; and we did a lot of things with him, so we all got to know him even more. And now, when George forced Brian to join us at the party we were going, I realized why he was doing that. He just wanted Brian to learn to let go, he was, somehow, preparing his own son for the day he would be gone; but of course that was what I thought and I was almost sure that Brian didn't realize this.

Currently, I was in my bedroom; I just finished changing my clothes, ready to go to the party and waiting for February to leave the bathroom. To be honest, I didn't spend much time with February alone, because truth was I spent most of my time with George because of obvious reasons; then with Mandy, Jen, Freckles and Brian to plan something about how to get more evidence of Jim. I thought she noticed this, but she didn't complain and she didn't recriminate this; instead, she developed some kind of stronger bond with Lucy and Chuck. However, I could notice she wasn't as happy as she used to be and, few times, when she thought nobody was seeing her, I caught her staring blankly and sadly at nothing in particular. And that made me feel bad, because she never treated me wrong, she never made a jealous scene and she never said rough words to me; and I knew the reason why she had that sad look was because of my fault, because, somehow, I kinda left her aside. So I wanted to make up for it. This night I was gonna pay her more attention, this night I'd be all the time with her. I was deep in thought until I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening and then I saw her and a wide smile, inevitably, spread across my face. She looked absolutely gorgeous with that black dress, the whole make-up and her curled hair. She didn't look at my direction, though, she seemed to be looking for her purse; it was next to me, so I took it and stood up to walk towards her. She was too distracted to see me coming, so I placed one hand on her waist and looked at her in a seductive way.

"Looking for this, gorgeous?" I asked, showing her the purse. She didn't look in my eye, but she did look at my hand that was holding her purse and a small grin appeared on her face.

"Oh, yes, thank you." She replied gently, taking the purse as I took advantage to place both hands on her waist and pull her to me.

She looked at me surprised, raising her eyebrows with her lips slightly parted, as though this was something weird for me to do. I didn't think about it and I just rested my forehead on hers, smiling right in front of her lips.

"You look stunning, gorgeous." I whispered in front of her lips as she grinned faintly and looked down. I leaned in to kiss her mouth, but she quickly turned her face to one side, something that made me frown.

"Darren, I already put lipstick on, you'll screw it." She whispered, avoiding my confused look.

"Cannot you, like, re-apply it later?" I asked while looking straight in her eyes which were still looking away. The small grin was no longer on her face.

"Yeah, but you know... I just... I want it to last a little longer." She answered and then pursed her lips. Really?

"Feb... I really wanna kiss you." I said with a short, maybe nervous chuckle.

"Well, maybe... Later." She answered, hunching one shoulder. I parted my lips and puckered my brows. "You can kiss me elsewhere, though." She added, probably because she noticed my face.

"Alright." I replied with a grin before leaning to kiss her forehead. Then I parted and looked at her with a wide smile. "Then remind me that you owe me one great kiss on the mouth... We have all night long to do it." I said while winking.

"Okay." She answered with the same faint, weak grin. "Now better if we hurry up... The guys must be waiting for us." She said quickly, slipping away from me. I tried to hold her hand to stop her, but she walked fast to the door.

I observed her from behind. I knew our relationship seemed to be kinda fucked up, otherwise she wouldn't have acted in such a weird and distant way, so uncomfortable, so elusive to my kisses. In other circumstances, she would not only let me kiss her, but also she would kiss me back and flirt with me. When she opened the door I walked to there and closed it before she could leave; therefore, she looked at me in suspicion.

"Before leaving, could we talk for a minute?" I requested.

"Do we really have to talk right now? Cannot it wait? I mean, the guys..." She started answering, looking away.

"Yes, the guys may be waiting for us... But, Feb... I wanna talk to you." I responded, finally taking one of her hands. Well, at least she let me do so. "I think... I think I've acted like some sort of asshole the last days..."

"Darren, please, let's not talk about this kind of thing right now." She sighed and then her blue eyes looked at me for the first time. "You didn't act like an asshole. Seriously."

"Do you feel, like, uncomfortable around me?" I asked a bit shyly, in a whisper, and she frowned and tilted her head.

"No... No, I don't..." She responded and looked down again as I nodded slightly.

"Feb... You still love me, don't you?" I asked and my voice sounded croaky. She looked up and her eyes reflected confusion and then, for the first time, she gave one true small and kind smile.

"Darren..." She whispered softly as she placed a hand on my cheek to fondle it. "Of course I still love you." She said sweetly as she brushed her thumb on my cheek. "Now, I don't wanna kiss you because I'll leave a lipstick mark on your face, but yes, I love you."

"I don't mind having your lipstick mark on my face." I responded with one fond smile, so she tittered. However, she didn't move, so I was the one who leaned and finally reached her mouth to kiss it softly. "I love you, too." I whispered while stroking her hair. "The curls look fantastic on you, by the way."

"I just wanted to match with you." She joked for the first time, so I laughed out loud. "Now, we should really go to have fun."

"Yeah... Do you think we can dance together all night long? I really wanna do so." I asked with a flirty smile. "Also... I don't want you to stay away from me. I really don't wanna spend the night kicking some asses of the jerks who dare to flirt with you." I clarified and she giggled and shook her head, so I took her by the waist. "Besides, I don't think I could resist being one second away from such a beautiful girl who happens to be my girlfriend. I'm such a lucky dude, don't you think?" I asked with one seductive look and grin.

"Save some of your flirty comments for later, playboy." She joked and I sniggered before pecking her lips again.

"I missed you. Sorry for being kind of distant lately, it's just that..." I started saying but she stopped me.

"Don't apologize, Darren. I get it, and it's fine, really." She said and I nodded. "Now, what if we join the rest so we can start that night in which you won't be away from me?" She asked a bit amused and it was followed by a chortle; however, what made me frown slightly was to see the contradiction between her hearty laugh and her sad eyes.

"Yes, alright, let's go." I answered with a soft grin, still wondering if she was truly merry or if she was just pretending it.

Nevertheless, I decided to leave that conversation there and talk to her another day; thus, she left the bedroom and I followed her, observing her from behind, examining her and being thoughtful. She didn't even give me time to hold her hand. Everybody was in the living room, except Brian's dad who already told us to have a good time before he went to bed, and well, Brian wasn't there either. I observed each one of them and February walked straight to Lucy and Chuck to start chattering as I stayed standing a bit apart from them all, resting my body against a bookshelf. All of them were with their respective partner, except me and... Freckles. My gaze finally fixed on her and I gasped. She was sitting on the armrest of one couch, looking at everybody with a huge and bright smile. She looked flawless, more like dreamy. Such was her outstanding presence in the room that it even seemed that she could totally light up the room, that I couldn't take my eyes off her. She stylized her hair in layered waves which updated a classic '20s profile, she was wearing a simple and short black and golden dress, and she used a super red lipstick, making her lips look irresistible. I was mesmerized looking at her and her catchy cheerfulness, just admiring how damn beautiful she was. At one point she finally drifted her gaze to me and our eyes met and brightened, nobody noticed this but just the two of us. She gave me one wondrous smile and I smiled back at her instantly, looking deeply into her eyes. Immediately afterwards, the bad moment recently experienced with February, the bad thoughts, the sad feelings disappeared and, instead, I felt a profound state of peacefulness; and I just knew it was owing to her smile directed at me; that smile that made me feel as though I was a teen over again. I wondered why after all this time we were apart I was still feeling connected to her. If only the world around us could just fade away, at least for one day, and Freckles and I could be alone, just the two of us without having to worry about what the 'right' thing to do was... I'd just hold her, caress her, and kiss her. But that wouldn't happen and I was with February, she was with Brian, and the rest wouldn't accept us together all things considered. When I thought about it, I stopped smiling and broke the eye contact. I waited too long, I stayed idly too long, I let things reach this point in which the two of us got involved in relationships with other people; and, without even realizing it, the idea of us getting together grew distant as time passed. All of that because I took for granted that she and I would be together eventually instead of doing something to get there. I was about to start another year, again without her. That thought killed me.

"Hey, bro, you just look as if you've seen a ghost or something." Chuck suddenly mocked and I finally came to my senses and realized where I was, with who, and what we were about to do; therefore, I forced a laughter to pretend that I was fine.

"Yeah, for a moment I thought I saw The Ghost of Christmas Past... Oh wait, it's no longer Christmas. Stupid me!" I tried to joke and that just sounded too lame, but it was the first thing I could come up with to make them think I was feeling good. However, some of them laughed; especially Freckles… Her marvelous laughter echoed in my ears. "Anyway!" I exclaimed loudly as way to stop this echo of her laughter in my ear. "What are we waiting for? Why don't we just go?" I asked.

"Brian. He's not ready yet." Freckles responded with mellow voice and a sweet smile. I looked around and yeah, Brian indeed was missing.

"That's your fault, you bitch. The guy basically begged you to let him use the shower before you, because he's aware how damn long it takes for you to get ready for a party. But you wouldn't listen to him. Now, here we are, all the suckers waiting for that guy, and only god knows how long we'll have to wait till the jerk of your boyfriend..." Mandy started complaining really fast.

"Shut up, Amanda." Freckles interrupted her with a giggle.

"Did you call me jerk, Amanda?" A voice that came behind me suddenly questioned.

I turned around and I saw Brian standing behind me, looking straight at Mandy with his head tilted to one side, his brows puckered and his lips pursed, apparently amused. When I turned my face to look at Mandy, I couldn't help burst out laughing; she was babbling and looking away, slightly, just slightly, embarrassed for being caught. My laughter was followed by a massive laughter of everybody who was in the room; perhaps laughing at Mandy's face, who rarely could feel embarrassed. She noticed this, so she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, I called you jerk and that was something nice to say... You are more like this insufferable douche." Mandy voiced, looking away as Brian smirked amused.

"Ouch, that's good to know." He replied jokingly.

Then, surprisingly, he patted my back and greeted me before walking towards Freckles who was looking at him with a merry grin. I observed how he leaned and how she reached his lips to kiss them as he smiled softly. Then Freckles looked at him and laughed loudly.

"Oh! I left a mark of lipstick on your lips. Wait... Let me fix it." She exclaimed amused as she cleaned the lipstick mark on Brian's mouth with her fingers while Brian was grinning amused. "It looks better now." She said and Brian leaned to peck her lips again and Freckles frowned slightly and tittered softly.

"I don't mind the lipstick mark on my lips." I heard Brian whispering and saw him winking. "You look so stunning, baby girl." I heard him saying and I looked down, feeling awkward.

"Thank you, hottie." Freckles chuckled and this time I frowned and bit my lips. Hottie? Ah, I couldn't keep listening to that conversation, but it was inevitable. "So do you, hot stuff." She whispered in a seductive way.

As a way to try to stop myself from listening to them, I shifted my gaze and it fixed on February who was looking at me intently. Nonetheless, she looked away when she noticed I was now looking at her. Instead of trying to figure out what that was about, I walked towards her and once I was next to her, I wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"So, what if we go now?" I asked in general.

"Yes, let's go." Jen responded cheerfully and I saw how Brian and Freckles held hands, smiling very brightly, so I looked away again.

"No, no, no... Hold on a minute..." Jack suddenly said kinda alarmed.

Therefore, all of us looked at him wondering why the heck he would be so alarmed if nothing weird or bad happened. He was looking fixedly at Brian and his face didn't look so friendly; Brian noticed this, so he frowned slightly. I saw how Jack leered at Brian from head to toe with a disgruntled grimace, so then Brian looked at himself, still frowning in confusion.

"You are not planning to go like that, are you?" Jack asked rudely, looking at Brian as though he was some kind of nasty bug. "I mean... You look so... dingy and impoverished with those shabby and cheap clothes." He added and I frowned and dropped my jaw in complete disgust owing to the nasty things that guy was saying. "And where we are going tonight is a super exclusive and high-class place. You're not gonna come with us if you look like that. We'll not make it, they won't let you in." He finished saying and I just narrowed my eyes. "Seriously, are you gonna go like that?"

Brian parted his lips and raised his eyebrows in surprise, then pursed his lips and shrugged, and finally looked down; he was apparently offended, or perhaps humiliated and overwhelmed. In the meantime, the rest of us looked at Jack in astonishment; I couldn't believe what that asshole just said. I never liked him. Now the fraught, uncomfortable silence engulfed the entire room and the awkwardness engulfed each one of us. I glanced at Jen who was next to that lousy guy and I noticed she was looking at him in disbelief and disgusted, perhaps mad and a bit disappointed. Then I glanced at Freckles and noticed her smile completely vanished and she was now very serious, clenching her teeth in anger, looking at him in a withering way.

"Why would you say all of that, Jack?" Jen asked painfully slow. Jack looked at Jen in surprise and his arrogant grimace turned into a perplexed and perhaps frightened grimace due to Jen's steady and furious gaze.

"Because that's the truth, baby. They won't let him in and the night will be totally screwed if he goes like that." The insolent asshole dared to answer.

"Do not call me baby." Jen said very coldly, as never before, so I raised my eyebrows in bewilderment.

"What?" Jack asked with a nervous chuckle. "Come on!" He exclaimed loudly, now looking at Brian in disgust again. "You can't deny that he looks like a criminal!" He exclaimed and all of us dropped our jaws.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Freckles asked in a rage, glaring at him in a fierce way.

All of us looked at her puzzled, maybe a bit scared because we knew the angry side of Freckles and it wasn't something precisely nice to see. She let out Brian's hand and attempted to walk straight to Jack, her eyes blazing with anger; but, fortunately, Brian took Freckles' hand again to stop her.

"Let it go." Brian whispered softly. But Freckles was deaf when mad, so she didn't listen.

"Repeat what you said, asshole!" She yelled madly and all of us widened our eyes.

Freckles rarely insulted people in this rude way. The Jack guy looked at her in shock. Then Freckles managed to let out Brian's hand again and she basically attempted to pounce on Jack, her fury clouding her senses; as Jack stepped back in fright. All of us startled and paralyzed, but Brian was fast and he took her by her back, holding her tightly in his arms to prevent any kind of violent situation; therefore, Freckles harrumphed and roared with indignation and impotence, she struggled to slip away, still looking fiercely into Jack's eyes; but when Brian kissed her temple, she let out one last roar before she breathed in and breathed out to calm down.

"Baby girl, let it go, okay?" Brian whispered gently in her ear and she nodded, still breathing in and breathing out. "Very well. You got it." He said in a soothing way, looking deeply into her eyes and brushing his thumbs in her arms as Freckles let out a long and heavy sigh. "That's very good." He said with a warm grin before kissing her temple again.

Freckles grinned faintly, turned around to be face to face with Brian, and finally wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest as he rubbed her back. She now seemed to be calm. Whoa, he really knew how to reassure someone. I glanced at Jen and I noticed she was still upset, looking at her boyfriend in a cold way, yet not saying anything at all; then I looked at Jack, now that everybody was calm, a cocky smirk appeared on his face.

"As I see it, you just got mad because you know I'm telling the truth. You know your boyfriend looks completely frumpy, like a down-and-out dude. You know he's socially outcast so they won't let him in." Jack stated in a very haughty way. Freckles turned her face, shot him a withering look, and attempted to pounce on him again; but Brian stopped her again.

"What's your problem, douchebag?" Freckles yelled rabidly.

"Stop it, baby girl. I don't care what he says." I heard Brian whispering.

"That's right, sis. Don't waste your precious time with this dickhead." Mandy suddenly spoke, as the rest of us were just too stunned to talk. "I'm sorry, Jen, for calling your boyfriend like that, but that's what he is. Trust me, this has nothing to do with you, you're a lovely person, the antithesis of this ass fuck." She said calmly, looking at Jen with a gentle half-smile. Jen nodded as if she didn't mind hearing what Mandy was saying about Jack. "Yo, fart-knocker!" Mandy called up, looking at Jack in a condescending way. "My sister didn't get mad because she knows you're telling the truth; she got mad because she cannot stand the fact of being in the same room with a jackass who wouldn't stop saying a crock of shit. She got mad because she cannot believe how pathetic, brainless, and thick as pig-shit you are." Mandy said with a practically wicked smirk, as though she was really enjoying humiliating him with her words. I grinned because of that, I was on Mandy's side this time; the jerk deserved this. I looked at Jack and noticed he was clenching his teeth and fist in complete anger.

"Mandy, really, stop..." Brian requested gently.

"No, let me finish, cutie." Mandy responded and Brian let out a sigh and looked down. Apparently, he was feeling guilty, thinking that he was the one who ruined the festive mood. However, Mandy disregarded this and continued talking; now looking at Jack straight in the eye. "Nonetheless, I understand why you said what you said, lame-ass. Everything that comes out of your mouth is booty chatter, you can't help it. The load of codswallop you said about Brian is just because you're jealous of him, you envy him. Oh yeah." Mandy said with a triumphant and nasty smirk, raising an eyebrow.

"Me? Jealous of that broke-dick? Bull stuff!" Jack exclaimed scornfully, laughing archly. I saw Freckles and Jen shooting him withering looks, just as the rest of us did, except Mandy, who kept smirking in a cocky way.

"Yes, you're so full of horse shit!" Mandy answered back, not wiping that smile off her face. "You find lame excuses to mortify and abase him, telling him a bunch of shit, because you're aware that even with his cheap and shabby clothes as you said, he's hotter, sexier and even more classy than you are with the designer clothes you bought with somebody else's money; you look ridiculous, unstylish, and passe because you can be wearing an Armani, but you definitely have no sense for matching clothes and look chic." Mandy sneered, looking contemptuously at Jack from head to toe as he clenched his jaw and looked rabidly at her. "So you, as the biggest wanker in the room, made us experience a crappy moment due to your jealousy scene. And hey, if you're too worried that we won't enter whatever high-class place we're going only because my hot friend is wearing those clothes, you can always get the fuck off of here and go alone, because I'm pretty sure to assume that nobody here wants to spend a night with a sack of shit like you; because, unlike you, we don't give a damn shit if we go to a high-class place or if we go to a dumpster full of garbage and shit to spend the night with true friends." Mandy snarked with a provocative smile and a dramatic sweet voice, being more sarcastic than ever. I smiled at that and so did Freckles as Jack remained looking at her in a wrathful way. Holy shit, I loved Mandy so much right in that moment. "Come on, ding-head, the door is right there. Blow out of here! No one is stopping you!" She exclaimed very loudly. Jack remained still, clenching his jaw and looking defiantly at Mandy, with no intentions of leaving the house; so Mandy raised an eyebrow. "That's what I thought. You won't leave because you have no one." She sneered, sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her head held high, acting in a stuck-up way. "Come with me, Brian. I'm gonna give you clothes of my menswear collection, so that you can make this jackass feel even more jealous of your hotness." Mandy requested in a bossy way, but Brian stood there, speechless and feeling too exposed, guilty and uncomfortable. "Come on, hottie, move your ass!" Mandy insisted and Brian looked away.

"Mandy, this is really not necessary. I could stay here with…" Brian started responding while scratching the nape of his neck.

"Listen, if you don't come with us, we won't go anywhere because we prefer to stay with you rather than going to some stupid high-class place." Mandy interrupted him and all of us nodded in agreement, even Jen, except Jack; therefore, Brian grinned in a thankful way.

"Come on, Bri. Let's go to Mandy's bedroom. I'll help you choose some clothes." Freckles said sweetly, brushing her thumbs on his cheek as he looked fondly into her eyes.

Right after that, Mandy, Freckles and Brian went to Mandy's bedroom and the living room turned into a place with a fraught atmosphere. Chuck and Lucy started whispering and Joey joined me and February. Jack was now looking down, moody; and Jen was looking severely into his eyes, with a steady gaze.

"I want you to leave my house." Jen suddenly spoke and everybody shut up to look at them. Jack, in the meantime, looked at Jen with eyes wide open, raising eyebrows.

"What?" He asked with shaky voice.

"I want you to pack all your stuff and leave my house. Right now." Jen repeated and her orotund voice echoed in the room. Jack's face of anger turned into a face of consternation.

"Why are you requesting me such a thing, baby?" He asked and his voice trembled.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me baby?" She asked irked and Jack frowned.

"I... I'm sorry... I... Why would you ask me to do such a thing?" He asked and Jen didn't answer; she just kept looking at him in that tough way. He dropped his head and sighed. "Listen, Jen... I'm so sorry for what I said earlier. It's just that I wanted us to have a good night in the Webster Hall NYE Ball and I knew that they wouldn't let Brian in if he was wearing those clothes. I knew Amanda had a menswear collection in her bedroom and I just wanted her to offer him her outfits. Maybe I didn't explain myself in a good way, but you know how I am, I can never find the right words." Jack explained with a nervous chuckle, trying to fix this now that Jen was kicking him out. Nevertheless, Jen didn't laugh, she didn't change her severe facial expression. "I'm gonna apologize to him. I promise."

"Don't try to do a snow job on me. I no longer believe in your promises. You always break them. And don't try to fool me, I'm sick of your lies. I'm sick of you." Jen responded with throaty voice, looking fixedly at him as he parted his lips and looked at her frightened. "I don't even know why I'm with you. You're a nasty, arrogant, and self-centered person. In general, you're just exactly as Mandy said. She forgot to say that you're a gambler, a swindler and a cheater." She said in a harsh way as he looked down and bit his lips. I looked intently at Jen, finally seeing how she was respecting herself. "I deserve much more than you and you don't deserve me at all." She added and I smiled softly. Finally she accepted that fact. "You never made me feel loved, because you never loved me. And I never loved you. I was with you just because I had a guy and that way I wouldn't feel alone, because I thought nobody else would want to be with me, but I never liked you and I know there are still so many guys who would love me and who would be worthy of me. And you know? Now I realize that it's much better being single and alone than being with a horrid person as you are." Jen said determined and I grinned again. It was good to hear her saying that, it was time for her to realize that she deserved much better. "So yeah, Jack... I'm breaking up with you and I want you to leave this house and never return. We're done. I want to start the New Year without your unpleasant presence; I want to start the New Year in a good way and that will be impossible as long as you're here. So, leave." She demanded roundly as Jack looked at her annoyed and furious.

"Is that what you want, Jennifer? You want me to leave this house? You want to break up with me?" Jack asked, his voice grating, with a big derisive smirk on his face. Then he stepped closer to Jen while looking at her in a malicious way. However, Jen didn't change her facial expression; she was not scared of him. "What kind of stupid person are you, Jennifer? Do you really think another guy would be interested in a person like you? You're so lucky you got me, and breaking up with me is one of your biggest mistakes, no one else would be able to stand you, Jennifer. You're so naive if you think you deserve much better. Look at you, Jennifer. You're ugly, you're not sexy at all, you're so fucking boring, and you're just so ordinary. Nothing of you is interesting; all you have is just money. And do you still think you'll find someone better than me?" He laughed in a snide way, shaking his head.

"And do you think your words affect me? Oh, please, idiot." Jen responded in a superb way, raising an eyebrow and smirking, completely denigrating and belittling him. "Why don't you just leave? You really don't want to look more stupid than you already are." She asked, looking steadily into his eyes in a scornful way. "And seriously, if you think all of that about me, then go put the moves on some random airhead slut and stop jerking me around. Go away and do us both a favor, would you?" Jen asked with a lovely, sarcastic smile.

"Piss off, Jennifer! Who the fuck do you think you are, you friggin slumpbuster? Do you really think I'll make it that easy?" He asked with a perverse look directed to Jen.

"Hey, you jackass!" I called up in a harsh way. "Get the fuck out of here if you don't want to get banked on." I voiced menacingly as the asshole just laughed contemptuously.

"You? You're gonna punch me? Look at you, lame-ass; the only you'll get is to scratch my face." He sneered. "Come on, pussy-hole, bring it on!" He challenged and I stepped closer to him, clenching my fist and teeth in anger, as he was just looking at me with that cocky, arrogant smirk.

"No, stop, Darren." Jen demanded in an authoritative way and I stopped. "You'll get out of here, Jack, by hook or by crook."

"Make me, cause I'm not leaving, bitch." He responded in a defiant, impertinent way.

And Jen gave him a thumper. All of us looked at her in astonishment and Jack winced and looked at her in a rage, clenching his teeth and wheezing. Then he took advantage of the situation in which we all were stupefied and benumbed to step closer to Jen, ready to attack her. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Jen covered herself with her arms, she blenched, hovered in fear, and shrank, anticipating the situation; Jack raised his arm, closed his fist and directed it to Jen's face; but, all of a sudden, someone stepped between them and clutched Jim's wrist strongly, stopping Jack from striking Jen.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Brian yelled enraged, still clutching Jack's wrist.

Jen fled from Jack and she was now holed up behind Brian, completely spooked. Now Jack's face reflected dismay and fear instead of anger. He was aware that a guy like Brian could knock him down and harm him way too much. Nonetheless, Jack's face of horror didn't stop Brian from clutching Jack's wrist strongly.

"You... You are hurting me..." Jack stammered and winced.

"Oh, this? This is just a soft caress compared to what I'm gonna do to you if you don't get the hell outta here and leave Jen in peace." Brian responded with gruff voice, his eyes blazing in anger. "Shove off. Now." He demanded in a cold, fierce way and Jack nodded in fear.

Brian let out Jack's wrist in a harsh way and the asshole started walking away. Brian turned around to look at Jen and he turned his furious facial expression into a gentle and concerned one before placing a hand on Jen's shoulder, who was still shrunken by fear.

"Jen, are you okay?" He asked softly.

Then, again, everything happened too fast. When Jen and Brian were too distracted as well as the rest of us, Jack took advantage to return and attack Jen by her back. He pulled her hair but that was all he could do, because Brian reacted very fast: He grasped the back collar of Jack's shirt and he pulled Jack, lift him and with a yank, Brian threw him down violently without any physical effort, as though Jack weighed like a feather. Jack tumbled on the floor, hitting his face. He looked up at Brian in a perturbed way.

"You are completely out of your mind, you damn psycho." Jack uttered with wheezy voice and Brian just looked at him in an irate way, he was fuming.

"Get out." Brian ordered very riled.

Jack was completely appalled, filled with horror. He was no longer smirking in that arrogant way, he was now panic-stricken and daunted by Brian's presence. He toppled in the first attempt to stand up, so he trundled and crawled on the floor, then he strove to stand up again, but, due to his exasperation and fright, he tripped and stumbled. He lurched and finally got up to run to the front door and run away from Jen's house, banging the door behind him. Once Jack left the house, all of us could breathe again for it was too much our stupefaction that we were holding our breath. As for Brian, he shut his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, then he opened his eyes again to look at Jen, who was still thunderstruck, with a pair of teary and scared eyes.

"Jen, are you fine?" Brian asked softly and Jen nodded, her lips quivering. "I'm sorry for all of this..." He apologized in general. None of us answered, naturally, we were still stunned; hence, the abysmal silence filled the room, however, it was soon interrupted by Jen's wail.

"Thank you, Brian." Jen voiced with shrill voice. She spoke for all of us. I didn't think what Brian did was wrong, quite the contrary, he did what all of us didn't dare to do.

"You got it, Jen." Brian replied gently and Jen, automatically, threw her arms around Brian's neck. He got strained at first because of his surprise, but then he enfolded his arms around her to rub her back and stroke her hair to reassure her. "Hey, Jen, don't feel bad, everything is fine, that guy won't bother you ever again and if he ever dares to do so, we got your back."

Even though Jen wasn't looking at us because she was practically burying her head on Brian's chest, all of us nodded and grinned faintly but friendly. I saw how Brian looked at Freckles over Jen's shoulder and I saw Freckles smiling fondly at him, as if she was proud of what he was doing. Then Brian parted, looked at Jen and gave her a smile before wiping her tears away and removing with his fingertips the smeared makeup from under her eyes. Jen tittered weakly at this and then looked down with a faint half-smile.

"I have an idea..." Brian suddenly voiced and Jen glanced at him. "I heard you saying that you want to start the new year in a good way, and for that you gotta make a change that will symbolize the beginning of your life without that guy, like a sort of self-pampering..." He started explaining with a jolly smile as Jen frowned slightly. "So, I suggest you to go to your bedroom with the girls who could help you to give you a new look and after that, we all can go out and have fun and celebrate the beginning of your new stage." He finished saying and Jen looked away.

"Yes, I really like this idea. It'd be really good for you, Jen." February was the first to support the idea and I looked at her and smiled before kissing her temple.

"Count me on this. I love doing this kind of stuff and I'd really like to see you pampering yourself, Jen. I can totally do your hair; I think curls would look good on you." Lucy said.

"Then, we should get started! Jen, I can do your makeup! I can do your eye makeup all smoky and stuff and you'd look completely sexy." Freckles exclaimed excited with a bright smile. "Mandy?" She asked and Mandy smiled widely.

"A complete makeover? That's my passion and skill. I have a lot of outfits to give to you and I already know what will look completely flawless on you. Come on! We've got work to do, girls!" Mandy voiced enthusiastically. "Two makeovers in a night. That's the good life." She added and all of us laughed.

"That's so sweet of you, guys. I really appreciate what you're doing. But I just don't feel like going out tonight. But you should totally go and have fun, really." Jen finally responded, looking down.

"Alright, here's the thing..." Brian replied. "We won't go out without you. Either all of us go out, or all of us stay here with you; because the important thing is to spend the night together, no matter the place, as Mandy said earlier. But I really hope we can go out instead of staying here, it'd be good for you." He said and I nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Jen, Brian is right." I finally spoke and she looked at me. "We won't spend the night without you because all that matters to us is to start the New Year together. As Brian, I personally think that the best idea is if we go out and have some fun. Don't let that asshole of Jack ruin your mood, Jenny."

"But it'd feel awkward." She whispered and looked down as I frowned in confusion, not getting what her point was. "All of you are a couple and I'd be like the annoying girl fooling around and messing with you."

"What? That's nonsense, Jenny. We'll go out as friends, not as couple." Chuck said quickly.

"That's right, Jen. But listen... If that is what worries you..." Freckles started saying. "You can always have a date with me and Brian." She said with a wink, laughing joyfully. "I'm pretty sure Brian wouldn't mind at all to have a date with two girls." She added and looked at Brian, who looked at Freckles in surprise and then shook his head and grinned softly, looking at Jen.

"Of course I wouldn't mind. I mean... How would it be possible to complain about it? I'll have a date with two beautiful girls, that's like every guy's dream." Brian said jokingly and Jen giggled softly.

"Alright, fine, all of you convinced me." Jen chuckled while shaking her head.

"I knew you wouldn't resist to Brian's hotness, Jenny, you naughty girl. Hey, bro! Can I have a date with you, too?" Joey joked and all of laughed. "Come on, man, I'm serious! You gotta make my dream come true." He joked again.

"Later we can have an intimate date, buddy." Brian winked in a jokingly way and I raised my eyebrows and burst out laughing. That was the first time Brian joked about that.

"Am I dreaming? Is Brian Clerk accepting to have an intimate date with me? I'm in heaven." Joey exclaimed loudly, fluttering his lashes in a dreamy way.

"You bastard, you better don't change me for the jerk of Brian." Mandy said with a serious facial expression.

"We can always have a threesome, baby." Joey responded with a seductive wink and Mandy sniggered.

"Hey! Do not forget that you're saying all of that in front of his girlfriend!" Freckles voiced loudly and my amused smile faded away. "Well, Jen, what if we get ready?"

"Yes, sure." She answered, now in a better mood.

So that all of the girls went to Jen's bedroom and all of the guys stayed in the living room. We all thanked Brian for what he did for Jen and he said, as usual, that it was what everybody would do. We waited for several minutes until Jen and all the girls returned. Oh well, that was a great job what the girls did. Jen looked indeed flawless. I've never seen her looking as beautiful and bright as that moment.

"Whoa, Jen! You can always have a date with me and Lucy if you don't want it to be with Freckles and Brian." Chuck exclaimed with a merry grin while looking at Jen.

"Yeah, Jenny. You look absolutely stunning." I said with a wide smile and Jen couldn't help to smile brightly.

"Thank you, guys." She responded with a modest grin now. Lucy walked to Chuck and Mandy to Joey as February walked towards me. Then I saw how Freckles walked towards Brian and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss.

"You're adorable, Bri. Thanks for doing this. I love you." I heard Freckles saying as Brian grinned sweetly. And that made me bite my lips and look down.

"So, let's go, shall we?" Brian asked and looked at Jen. She nodded and walked to where he and Freckles were, then Brian linked his arms with the two of them.

"You're a winner, bro." Joey commented once we were heading to the Webster Hall NYE Ball.

"I know right? I'm such a lucky guy." He responded with a wink, looking at Jen and Freckles who laughed out loud.

It was late when we arrived to the Webster Hall; however, we got the last tickets available and we entered with any problem, none of the security officers or crowd management specialist at the nightclub stopped us. As soon as we entered, we got some drinks that only Lucy, Chuck, and Brian were able to get because the rest of us were under 21; nonetheless, they shared their drinks with us. The place was ridiculously crowded and there were dazzling fire displays, thousands of sexy party-freaks and shocking visual displays found nowhere else, mind-blowing Aerial performances, a lot of LCD screens around the club, and special performances such as stilt walkers, snake charmers, trapeze artists, and magicians. The place itself was great and I understood why Jen said that no other nightclub could be better than the nightclubs in NYC. People there seemed to be party animals.

"There are male strippers right there." I heard Freckles screaming due to the loud music; she was stunned, looking at those strippers with her lips parted, basically devouring them with her gaze.

"Hey, don't look at them that way! You're making me feel jealous!" Brian responded with a loud laugh.

"Hottie, you could always go there and join them. You're hotter than them." Freckles replied in a flirty way, winking seductively.

"Oh, wait, look right there! There are also go-go girls! Baby girl, you don't mind if I go there, right?" He joked and Freckles nudged him.

We kept walking and arrived to the Grand Ballroom, which was a truly awe-inspiring example of acoustic engineering and classic theater design; it was truly the mother of all dancefloors. There was a local band jamming some songs on a huge stage. I looked at that band and thought they sounded real good; I was too distracted looking at them that I didn't notice that February was no longer next to me, and I noticed so when I turned to tell her something and then saw she was with Mandy and Joey. I looked at her and then sighed and walked towards Chuck and Lucy who seemed to be enjoying the band as well.

"Hey, bro! After midnight the stage on The Studio room is free to those who want to play a song, I was thinking we could sing something." Chuck said and I grinned widely.

"Seriously? That's totally awesome! I'm sure as hell I'm gonna do so." I answered super excited.

"You gotta save some energy for the rest of the night, bro-in-law. The party goes until 12PM noon!" Lucy exclaimed amused when saw my bewildered face.

What the hell, man? What kind of party was this? This was insane. All of us got together again and this time I held February's hand not to let her get away from me again. We arrived to a cool place of the heart-pounding dancefloor in the Grand Ballroom and got more drinks. And so the night began. We danced all together for 2 hours non-stop, laughing a lot, drinking a lot, joking a lot. This was being the greatest party on Earth so far, I could totally state that this night was the mother of all parties; new yorkers knew how to throw the best parties. At some point of the night, a bartender gave us all a free champagne glass, telling us that soon it'll be midnight. We all got closer and got ready for the toast. We were watching the live broadcast of the Ball Drop in Times Square on a screen of the room, and all the people there started the countdown.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Happy New Year!" Everybody screamed their lungs out as a lot of balloons dropped from the ceiling. Holy shit, that was the largest balloon drop I've ever seen in my entire life!

I took February by her waist and kissed her lips in a passionate way, smiling and whispering 'Happy New Year, gorgeous' in front of her lips. She pecked my lips again and smiled widely at me, but then she quickly walked towards Chuck, Lucy, and Jen, leaving me there alone. I looked around and saw Joey kissing fiercely Mandy's lips. Then I looked to my other side and I saw Brian holding Freckles by her waist and Freckles wrapping her arms around Brian's neck, pressing their foreheads and kissing in a sweet way, with wide smiles on their faces. I didn't know for how long I stared at them, but it was the long enough to feel like crap. I wished I could have started the year kissing Freckles that way, holding her that way, whispering in her lips how fucking much I loved her. But it didn't happen and she was with Brian instead, and I just had to hide my feelings for her in order not to make of this an awkward and crappy situation. And why would February avoid me, though? She was all the time slipping away from me and I couldn't get why. I bit my lips and then Brian and Freckles caught me looking at them, so I looked away feeling slightly ashamed. They walked towards me and Brian ruffled my hair and patted my back.

"Happy New Year, buddy!" He yelled while hugging me, then I smiled. I smiled for real, even if I wasn't in the greatest mood.

"Happy New Year, man." I answered, also patting Brian's back, then we parted and I looked at Freckles. "Happy New Year, Freckles." I said with a kind smile and she gave me one of her brightest smiles before hugging me tightly.

I quickly enfolded my arms around her, rested my cheek on the top of her head and closed my eyes to enjoy this hug as much as possible. I wanted to never part from this hug. Maybe she wasn't mine as I'd have wished, but I was holding her and this was better than the last two New Year celebrations I spent without her. We finally parted and she kissed my cheek, making me feel a warm sensation that ran throughout my whole body.

"Happy New Year, Darebear." She said with a very sweet smile and I stared into her eyes very deeply, with my lips parted.

I noticed Brian was looking at both of us; I noticed how he frowned slightly, looked down and then walked away, leaving me and Freckles alone. I didn't know if that was a good sign or not, but I took advantage of the situation now that we were alone; maybe Brian just wanted to give us some time alone, maybe he was not suspecting anything, maybe he could understand us. I took Freckles' hands in mine and I grinned tenderly at her.

"Do you realize this is our first New Year celebration together? This is the first time we start a new year together. Oh, you have no idea how much I longed for this day to happen." I said while looking deeply into her big, beautiful eyes and I noticed how her eyes brightened and now they were gleaming in a breathtaking way.

"Me too, Dare." She responded with one lovingly smile, her eyes still shimmering and looking piercingly into mine.

The way she was looking at me right now reminded me of the time she and I were dating in high school; she was looking at me the same way, so sweetly, so fondly, so brightly due to the happiness. In that very instant I saw her like the Freckles of high school, that innocent and lovely person with whom I fell in love, the same person I was in love with now; I observed her face lighting up just for being looking into my eyes, just as it always happened in high school. And in that very moment I thought that probably her feelings towards me were the same than my feelings towards hers, despite if she was dating Brian and I was dating February. And I sensed she was thinking exactly the same. For a moment I forgot I was in middle of a crowded place and that our respective partners were right there, and I just rested my forehead on hers and nuzzled her nose.

"I love you." I whispered in front of her lips.

Carried away by my feelings for her, I leaned to kiss her lips; but I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder that made me stop. My heart skipped a beat and my body began to tremble in nervousness when I came back to my senses. I was about to kiss Freckles in front of everybody and that would have been one of the worst things I could do in that moment. I turned around and I noticed it was Joey the one who placed a hand on my shoulder. Freckles looked at me nervously and kind of dumbfounded; I knew she would have allowed me to kiss her if the situation had been given, and that was why she was too puzzled. She quickly walked away from me and I followed her with my sight, partly nervous and partly sad.

"Pal, beware of what you do. February and Brian were right there, glancing at the two of you and both of them looked kinda bad." Joey whispered kind of alarmed and I let out a heavy sigh before looking down.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened right there. Happy New Year, man." I said, forcing a smile.

I saw Freckles enfolding her arms around Brian and I decided to avoid looking at them for the rest of the night if I didn't want to do something inappropriate like what I just did and if I didn't want to feel like shit. Therefore, I walked towards February and took her by the waist, from behind her. I rested my chin on her shoulder and grinned at her when she turned her face to look at me. I leaned and pecked her lips.

"Wanna dance with me, gorgeous?" I asked and she grinned faintly and took her eyes off me. She was acting so weird. "Feb, is there something wrong?"

"No, Darren, everything is fine." She said with a slight grin, but I totally noticed it was a fake one.

"But you really seem to be kind of... I don't know... distant?" I said in an unsure way. She looked at me again and chortled.

"Darren, no! No, I'm not distant! I'm just trying to spend the night with all of you." She responded and I nodded, not fully believing what she was saying. "Oh, I... I'll ask Chuck if he can go get a drink, then we can dance... Be right back." She said really fast and before I could do something, she slipped away and walked towards Chuck, leaving me alone once again.

And she didn't come back after getting the drink, not even after finishing the drink. She stayed with Chuck, Lucy and Jen; so that I joined Mandy and Joey because it was too awkward to join Freckles and Brian. We all went to another room called Marlin Room, which was an art-deco ballroom dancefloor with a pretty cool party atmosphere and seemed to be the heartbeat of the club, even if it was smaller than the Grand Ballroom. February continued ignoring me, even if I was trying to get close to her. Why would she be doing that? She basically didn't talk to me in four hours. Cheerless, I sat on one seat of the room and just observed all of my friends dancing and laughing. I wasn't feeling like dancing, not even feeling like joking or fooling around. I just sat quietly, drinking alone some drinks that Chuck handed me.

"Man, do you want a drink?" Brian suddenly asked, handing me one Captain & Cola drink, which I gladly accepted. I was expecting him to return to where Freckles was, but, instead, he sat next to me. "Why won't you join us?" He asked and I just sipped the drink.

"I'm kind of tired, my feet hurt." I answered, sipping the drink again.

"But you've been sitting here for hours on." He questioned, frowning slightly. "Come on, join us and dance, it'll be fun."

"I just really don't feel like dancing. Maybe later." I replied, shrugging and sipping the drink. "But you totally should join the fun."

"And leave you alone here? No, I don't think so. I'll stay here until your feet stop hurting so we can have fun." He responded and I looked at him amazed.

"Brian!" I suddenly heard Freckles screaming like a crazy, running to where we were. "Brian, listen to this song! It's the song we danced for our tango dance competition! Come on, let's go dance it! Please, please!" She insisted, now tugging Brian's hand to make him stand up.

"No, baby girl, no... I'm here with Darren..." Brian started refusing.

"Pretty please, Brian!" Freckles insisted and I just remained looking at them.

"No, baby girl..." He kept saying.

"It's alright, Brian. Go and dance with her. I'll watch you." I finally meddled.

"Are you sure, buddy?" He asked and I nodded, forcing a smile. He grinned widely and stood up. "Thanks, man. Let's go, baby girl." Then he said, pecking Freckles' lips as I took a long sip of the drink that burned my throat.

Tango competition? Really? What was that shit? Could Brian dance? They used to go to dance competitions? And what the heck was tango? I observed them walking to the dancefloor, holding hands and laughing cheerfully. Then I observed how they took over one particular spot, making their presence noticeable in the eyes of other people who were dancing. They were facing each other and Brian placed his hand on Freckles' lower back; his left arm was extended to the side with the arm bent and his hand holding Freckles' right hand, as Freckles put her left hand on Brian's right shoulder. Once they got in position, Freckles, on the first two beats, stepped straight forward on her left foot with the heel down first, then stepped forward with the right foot on the second beat and moved it past the left, as Brian mirrored this and all other moves. For beats three and four, Freckles stepped forward with the left foot, slid the right foot to the right, brought the left foot slowly to the right, and slightly bend the left leg. For beat five, she shifted her weight to the left foot, and did a quick forward step; she stepped forward quickly, did a half-turn clockwise, and shifted the weight back to the left foot; then, she stepped forward slowly with the right foot. They maintained body contact from the rib cage to the hips at all times. This was actually a very sensual, earthy and dramatic dance and it had some sort of stalking nuance. The movements were sometimes slow and slithery, and other times sharp and stacatto, such as a quick foot flick or a sharp head snap to promenade position. Then they did a totally awesome contra body movement and a footwork, in which Freckles brought her right leg up to Brian's left side, with her left leg extended backwards, then Brian dragged her and they pivoted four times; then, all of a sudden, Freckles began to do some pirouettes with her feet, like passing the right foot over left several times as Brian circled steps around her. Holy shit, that was so fucking awesome, their dance moves were completely remarkable. Of course now everybody in the room formed a circle around Freckles and Brian to see them dance. People were just as stunned and agape as I was. The song finally ended and Brian and Freckles finished the dance, very close to each other, pressing foreheads together, in a very sensual way. Then they laughed and Brian pulled her into a very passionate kiss as people around started clapping and cheering. I looked away and I took another long sip of the drink, emptying it in one shot. I wouldn't deny they were good at it, but I felt jealous by the way they were dancing that, it seemed almost erotic and I didn't like it... Perhaps because I wished I could dance like that with Freckles. After that, Brian whispered something in Freckles' ear and she nodded, then the two of them walked towards me, with wide smiles on their faces. Oh no, please, the least I needed was them to brag about how awesome they were together.

"Darren! What about you dance now?" Brian asked, panting. I looked at him frowning. "She's willing to teach you how to dance this." He said pointing at Freckles, who grinned widely and nodded.

"Uh..." I hesitated, duh, I wasn't expecting this.

"Holy crap, what the hell was that?" I heard Joey screaming. Now Joey, Mandy and Jen were where Brian, Freckles and I were. I glanced further and saw February, Chuck and Lucy still chattering and dancing in the distance.

"That was... mind-blowing!" Mandy exclaimed.

"You weren't lying when you said you knew some dance tricks, were you?" Jen asked, looking at Brian with a merry grin, as he chuckled and shook his head. "You owe me one dance, by the way."

"Oh, that's right. I haven't forgotten so. What about we dance now?" He asked with a wink and Jen nodded energetically. "Let's go, lady." Brian said, offering her his arm as Jen linked her arm with his.

Before Jen and Brian walked to the dancefloor, he winked at Freckles and she tittered. Joey and Mandy followed them, with the excuse they wanted to copy Brian and Jen's dance movements. So now I was alone with Freckles. She looked at me and grinned.

"Dare, do you wanna dance with me? Come on, it'll be fun!" She tried to persuade. This time, I didn't think twice. That was what I wanted to do, after all.

"Provided that you won't laugh at my awkward movements." I said jokingly, now feeling totally excited, all of a sudden.

February was still ignoring me, so I was sure she wouldn't mind this. Freckles and I walked near to where Joey, Mandy, Brian and Jen were and then Freckles started leading me on the dance. She taught me all she could, and it was fucking hard to follow her, but I was definitely enjoying this; I was enjoying this dance with her, holding her, being close to her, looking into her eyes without having to worry about anything, just feeling her with me. And the fact that Brian was too distracted laughing and dancing with Jen to look at us, and February was too distracted dancing with Chuck and Lucy to look at us was amazing. It was just me and Freckles and there wasn't any other place where I'd like to be than in this same place, this right moment. But, unfortunately, the song came to its end. We had to part and we left this room when Chuck proposed to go to The Studio room to be able to sing some songs. When we arrived there, a girl was singing one classic song, then we waited for our turn. In the meantime, Joey and Mandy, Chuck and Lucy, and Brian and Freckles slow danced the song. I walked towards February and took her by the waist.

"Wanna dance, gorgeous?" I asked for the fourth time in the night.

"Oh, Darren, I'm pretty tired right now. I'll just sit and rest a little, then later we can dance." She responded, avoiding my gaze.

Another lame excuse. I should have expected this answer, because she didn't dance with me during the night, but she was in mood to dance with others. Without letting me answer her, she walked away and sat on one seat as I followed her with my sight, biting my lips with a kind of distressed facial expression. I was feeling very rejected by my very own girlfriend. I sighed and then my gaze turned to Freckles and Brian, they seemed to be enjoying the night and they wouldn't stop kissing and caressing each other. After few minutes, I felt a pair of arms wrapping around my waist. It was Jen, who was smiling softly at me. I smiled back and wrapped an arm around her.

"How are you feeling, Jenny?" I asked before kissing her temple.

"Pretty good, actually. It was a good idea coming here, after all." She answered with a cheerful grin. "I don't miss him, not even a little." She winked and I sniggered.

"That's good to know. You finally got rid of that asshole. I'm proud of you, Jenny. You finally respected yourself and accepted the fact that you do deserve much more than that guy." I said while stroking her hair.

"Yes, I think so. Thanks for helping me to see that, Darren." She said with a kind smile. "Where's February, by the way?" She asked, looking around and frowning slightly.

"Away from me just as she's been all night long. I'm the kind of guy who's ignored by his own girlfriend." I joked bitterly and Jen looked at me kind of sadly, but also concerned.

"Is everything fine between you two?" She asked and I sighed.

"I don't know... I thought we were, but she's been acting weird and she wouldn't let me talk to her." I answered, looking down and pursing my lips.

"Hmm... Maybe I could talk to her to see what's going on with her." Jen suggested.

"You don't have to do it, Jen." I answered with another sigh.

"I know, but I'll do it. Be right back, I'm gonna talk to her." She said and gave me a small kiss on the cheek; and, before I could react to this, she walked towards February.

Therefore, once again, I was alone. I observed at Freckles and Brian slow dancing, very close to each other, seemingly enjoying their time together. And I wished I could be Brian; I wished I could have appreciated more the time I was with Freckles, I wished I could have done more things with her when we were together; I wished I could be her man. I looked at the stage and noticed there was no one singing now, so I took advantage to go to there. I sat at the piano, and without even speaking to people and introducing myself as always, I began to play the piano; not minding about what others could say or opine about this song that I was gonna sing to Freckles. I noticed everybody got silent and looked at me, and I began to sing.

Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now

Our song on the radio but it don't sound the same

When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down

'Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name

It all just sounds like oooooh…

Mmm, too young, too dumb to realize

That I should've bought you flowers

And held your hand

Should've gave you all my hours

When I had the chance

Take you to every party

'Cause all you wanted to do was dance

Now my baby's dancing

But she's dancing with another man

My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways

Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life

Now I never, never get to clean up the mess I made, ohh…

And it haunts me every time I close my eyes

I finally dared to look at the audience and I looked around until I found Freckles. She was holding Brian's hand and both of them were looking intently at me; so were Joey, Mandy, Chuck, Lucy, Jen and even February. I didn't give a shit about anything... I looked at Freckles' straight in the eye and sang to her; in this moment I honestly didn't mind if others realized this song was for her.

It all just sounds like oooooh…

Mmm, too young, too dumb to realize

That I should've bought you flowers

And held your hand

Should've gave you all my hours

When I had the chance

Take you to every party

'Cause all you wanted to do was dance

Now my baby's dancing

But she's dancing with another man

Although it hurts

I'll be the first to say that I was wrong

Oh, I know I'm probably much too late

To try and apologize for my mistakes

But I just want you to know

This time I looked at Freckles very distressed, she was looking down and biting her lips. She noticed the song was for her and she was feeling uncomfortable. Brian was looking at me with lips parted, frowning slightly, apparently confused and perhaps a bit sad; perhaps he also realized this song was for his girlfriend. Then I saw February; she was looking at me deeply into my eyes and even in the distance I could notice her eyes were teary. But now it was too late to regret, so I looked at Freckles again.

I hope he buys you flowers

I hope he holds your hand

Give you all his hours

When he has the chance

Take you to every party

'Cause I remember how much you love to dance

Do all the things I should have done

When I was your man

Do all the things I should have done

When I was your man

I finished singing with a sigh. Then, without saying anything else and without looking at the audience, I got out the stage and left the Webster Hall. The cold breeze hit my face, it was snowing and so freaking cold, but I didn't care. I just walked away, heading to Jen's house. I didn't want to spend another single minute in that place in which Freckles was dancing with Brian and kissing and caressing him, and in which February was constantly ignoring me. This was not what I imagined how it'd be like to the start the new year.

---

BRIAN'S POV

---

After of what it was one of the weirdest New Year celebrations, all of us returned to Jen's house, right after Darren, unexpectedly, left the Webster Hall. I couldn't get what that all was about. I thought we all were having a good time and I did notice he wasn't having the greatest time at the party, so I tried to cheer him up somehow; but it seemed it didn't work because then he sang that song... I couldn't get what that song was for, but he sang it in a sad way and for some reason, he was looking at Sunny. I didn't want to think that the song was for her and that he was still in love with her. No, if he'd been feeling that way about her, he'd have told me so when both of us talked about her and my new relationship with her; but he didn't do so and he even encouraged me to be with her. Maybe he was just feeling bad because February didn't spend so much time with him. Anyway, we were now at Jen's house and it seemed Darren wasn't there and when we tried to call him, we found that his phone was off. February locked in her room and Mandy, Joey, Chuck and Lucy did the same. Jen went outside to keep trying to contact Darren and Sunny told me she was gonna go outside as well because she couldn't sleep. Hence, I walked to my room alone. When I was about to take off my clothes, I looked through the window and I saw a shadow behind a tree in the backyard, with sight to where Jen and Sunny were. I frowned slightly and walked closer to the window, worried that it could be Jack stalking Jen. It wasn't Jack. It was Darren and it seemed he was spying them. I decided to go there and talk to him. Therefore, I headed outside and walked to where Darren was, but I couldn't make it. Something stopped me abruptly and made me hide behind a tree when I heard my name in Sunny and Jen's conversation. I know this wasn't right, but I wanted to know what they were talking about me.

"May I ask you something, Freckles?" Jen asked and Sunny nodded. "I don't want you to take it in a bad way, but I really wanna know..." She said and then looked at Sunny deeply into her eyes. "Why are you with Brian?" She asked and that was what made me hide behind the tree. Now I was just waiting for Sunny's response.

"Wow, that's a pretty hard question to answer." She responded with a soft chuckle, looking down. "He makes me happy. He really makes me feel loved, like the prettiest girl in world. He's just this perfect guy who knows what to do to steal me a smile or to make me feel as if everything is beautiful." She answered and a wide smile appeared on my face. "It's as though I couldn't see anything right, then he came with his book and with all of his charm and sweetness and with only one kiss he made me see all the good things. I just feel I can be really happy with him. It's weird, but it's a good feeling for sure. He's just too lovely." She added and I couldn't help feeling very happy at that. "Oh, and the way he kisses me... I just feel like I wouldn't like to kiss anyone else because I can find all the love I need with his kisses." She kept saying and I could see a soft grin on her face and that made my heart skip a beat. I looked at her fondly, always on the sly. "I must admit it's kinda strange to be dating your best friend, but it's a great feeling. I think that I always wanted this, but I never dared to admit this, that's why I haven't tried to be with him before. But now I know I've made the right decision when I accepted being his girlfriend, because I feel extremely happy, and that hasn't happened in months." She said smiling brightly, her face shinning due to her happiness. "That's in short why I'm with him. Because I want to be with him."

Her response made my day, more like my life. I was overflowing with joy now that I knew how I was making her feel. This was for sure one of the best moments of my entire life. I never imagined I could be with her, that I'd be able to kiss, hug, caress, touch, and cuddle with her the way I was now able to do. Days ago, I thought about giving up on her, but then that changed deliberately. Days ago, I thought that my dreams were impossible to come true, but she changed that fact and she was the first one who made it possible to make my dreams come true, when she accepted being my girlfriend. It was legit to say that I've never been happier in my entire life. She made this hard moment for me in which I was losing my dad, a bearable one right in the moment she said 'yes'. I just loved her way too much and it amazed me the fact that she was feeling the same. It was crazy and it was the best feeling in the world. I was finally feeling for the first time how it was like to love and be loved back, how it felt to be kissed and be able to hold someone's hand. And it was with her, with my very first and biggest love. So yes, I was a happy guy, despite the bad things that were happening in the meantime. Sometimes, I just wondered if this was a dream, because it was too good to be true. So now nothing could take my radiant smile off of my face.

"That's nice. But you just told how he makes you feel and how lovely he is with you. Thing is... Do you really love him, Freckles?" Jen asked and I looked intently at them. Sunny looked down and remained silent for a while, apparently thoughtful.

"Yes, I love him." She answered with a soft grin, still looking down.

I couldn't explain the happiness I felt in that moment, it was just as intense as that night when I gave her the bracelet that belonged to my mom and she told me she loved me. It was really nice to know that she admitted in front of others that she loved me; that meant that she really meant those three words that time, and she didn't just say it by mere compromise. She loved me. I remembered these were the desires of my past when it came about her: Tell me I am worthwhile, I want to hear one 'I love you' from your lips, a 'Let's escape' from your look, a 'Touch me' from your touch. Now she was with me, what could I ask? I was no longer afraid of being alone, because she was here, loving me, caressing me, caring about me, she was my everything. I wanted to scream out of jubilance. I wanted to go there and kiss her. But I remained there.

"Freckles... Tell me the truth, please." Jen insisted and I couldn't get why she would insist too hard, did Sunny have some weird expression that was making Jen doubt her answer?

"I love him, Jen. I really do." She responded firmly and I beamed again. She seemed to be very sure and that brought me joy.

"But...?" Jen questioned, looking fixedly at Sunny.

"He's the perfect guy, Jen." Sunny answered and a genuine smile crossed my lips. "He's been my friend since I can remember and he knows me better than what I'd like. He's always been there every time I needed him, but never too close, because he knows that I tend to get easily overwhelmed. He's been able to notice when I needed help, and he's helped me without my request, because pride tends to be a big part of me." She started explaining as I was intently listening to her. She was explaining the reasons why she loved me, so I wanted to fully know the truth. "Even though there was a time when we lived in different states, we talked every week, and usually more than once a week. He cares about me, he asks me all the time how I am and he always listens to me, even when he isn't interested in any of the issues that I tell him. I miss him when we spend a few days without talking and he always answers me as though he really loves when I write or talk to him, I am convinced that it is not a sham but he really likes when I write to him as well as I like when he writes to me." She continued explaining and I was still grinning heartily. It was really nice what she was saying. "He's intelligent and hardworking, but not selfish or competitive. Quite the contrary, he's a very good companion and thanks to him I've approved more than one subject. He's organized and fairly quiet, so he doesn't drive me nuts, unless he wants to do so, because he knows my weaknesses. He knows how to allocate time and although he studies and now works a lot, he's never neglected his friends and his hobbies." She said with a charming smile and a short chuckle and I felt kind of flattered. She was making me feel really good. "We share hobbies and we spend extraordinary and precious moments together. We never get bored of each other and we can talk about anything. There are no topics we cannot talk about and we never have the need to pretend, we can be who we really are because we know each other too well. We go out to the same places and we have the same friends. He knows my family and I know his, we even have the same education. He's chivalrous but never cluttered, because he knows that's never good. It makes me feel good when I'm with him, he gives me confidence and he makes me trust in myself, which is often hard for me to do. He helps me grow as a person." She said and I bit my lips, to try to control this huge smile on my face.

I was feeling just the same; I wanted to tell her so. After that, she made a dramatic pause, so I popped my head to see what was happening. Something changed abruptly: her sweet smile vanished and now her face reflected some kind of distress. Why would she look like that? I just wanted to see her breathtaking smile again; I didn't want to see her sad. She tried to talk again, but her voice cracked and when she uttered a word, her strangled voice didn't let her continue. She cleared her throat and attempted to talk again.

"And it breaks my heart every time he tells me he loves me; even if each time he tells me so less often, because he knows that it leads to some kind of awkward situation for me. I'd love to tell him that I feel the same, but owing to whims of fate, it's not like that. No, he's not a random person or anything like, and I love him, but I just don't love him the same way he loves me. I love him, but I'm not in love with him, even if I try hard to fall in love with him." She said with brittle voice and that hit like a ton of bricks.

That huge smile of happiness that seconds earlier I couldn't hold back was now a faint trace of what was and wasn't anymore. Her words gave a turn, jolted me, tormented me; her words gave my heart a deep twinge that brought me down and made me feel down in the dumps. Now the heartache was almost beyond all bearing. I rested the back of my head on the tree, closed my eyes and bit strongly my lips to prevent any kind of sound; then tears began to flow down my cheeks as I was making a great effort to muffle any kind of whimper. I should have seen this coming; I should have never stopped thinking it was too good to be true. Then I remembered the conversation I had with Darren when Sunny and I started dating: He asked me why I thought that she wanted to be my girlfriend all of a sudden if she never showed any kind of interest in being with me; he told he suspected she was with me out of pity. He already knew; Jen surely also knew, otherwise she wouldn't insist Sunny to tell her the truth; everybody surely knew except me, because I was too dumb and too in love to admit it was in fact like that: Sunny was with me out of pity. That didn't make her a bad person, though; that just made me a complete fool for believing that a stunning person as she was would ever want to be with a waif and outcast like me.

"And..." Sunny spoke again, her voice still strangulated. I tried to control myself to be able to keep listening, even if I knew her words would hurt me even more. "He always treated me in an exceptional way, and I know I'll probably never find a guy as perfect as he is. I know he'll never hurt me or laugh at me, I know he'll always look after me and he'll always treat me as though he was the best man in the world and as though I was the most beautiful woman in the world." She said with chocked voice and I could sense a sad smile on her face, but I couldn't see her because I wouldn't be able to handle that. I propped my forehead on one hand and I nailed my nails on my head to feel any other kind of ache instead of the heartache. "I know that the day he gets married, I'll be at his wedding and I'll think 'Why did I let him go?'. But what I don't know is why the feelings are so whimsical that make hard what could be easy." She added and made a dramatic pause again. "He is the perfect man... but not for me." She finished saying.

I let myself drop on the ground covered with snow and I felt really cold, but I didn't mind so because the desolation I was feeling was more intense. If everybody knew what Sunny was saying, why would nobody let me know so? Why nobody made me see that I was believing in a fantasy made up in my mind? I didn't want to be the perfect man, I just wanted to be perfect for her. Why couldn't I get it? I curled up in a ball and buried my head in my knees to try to muffle my sob again. It was stupid of me to think that something too perfect that was she being in love with me could happen in my stupid life.

"That was honest." Jen spoke. "If he's not the perfect guy for you, then who would be?" She asked and Sunny remained extremely silent. "Darren?" Jen dared to ask.

"Yes." Sunny responded and her response pierced and ripped my heart. I always knew that, but I never wanted to admit it. "I never stopped loving him. And Darren is not as perfect as Brian is, but I love Darren's imperfections; his imperfections are perfect for me. With Darren I believed that it was possible to meet someone who is exactly right for you. Not because he was perfect, or because I was, but because our combined flaws were arranged in a way that allowed two separate beings to hinge together. Sometimes the perfect guy is not perfect for you, but the imperfect guy is perfect for you; it just happens." She added and the pain in my chest increased. I shouldn't keep listening; it was too hurtful to hear. "But Darren is with February, he chose her. And Brian makes me happy, and I know that if I keep trying, I'll eventually fall in love with him and that day I'll be truly happy. I know I can be happy with him. Who knows? Maybe someday Brian will turn into the perfect man for me."

"Freckles, you cannot force yourself to feel something you don't feel. You won't get it. You can't force yourself to fall in love with someone, if you fall for someone, you'll just feel it and when you less expect. You can't force love, I realized. It's there or it isn't. If it's not there, you've got to be able to admit it. If it is there, you've got to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love. Love cannot be forced, because that way it won't last, it won't work and someone always ends up hurt when it is forced." Jen said softly, her voice sounding dismal. I hated to admit she was right.

"What are you trying to say? That I cannot try to fall in love with Brian as I want? Because I want to love him." Sunny answered, her voice sounding wretched.

"No, Freckles, not at the cost of him suffering because he cannot get your whole you and you suffering because you cannot love him the way he loves you. If you keep doing that, if you aren't honest with him and with yourself, both of you will end up hurt and it'll come to a point that it'll be devastating. Don't do that, don't let it happen. Brian is madly in love with you, and if he finds out that you're pretending to feel something you don't feel only to find the way to feel it for real, he will collapse and fall apart. I know you, then I know you don't want it to happen." Jen answered. If they only knew I already found it out.

"I don't want it to happen, but I honestly want to fall in love with him. After Darren, Brian is the only guy who got to make me feel emotionally fulfilled. He gives me everything and I want to give him everything, I just didn't get there yet, but I know someday I will. I just need some time. I know I'll fall for him, and I want so. We deserve to be happy together. And I try and try and I just don't know how to fall in love with him because Darren keeps popping up into my mind." Sunny finally broke into tears.

When she admitted this in that frustrated way, I dissolved into a puddle of tears. And I didn't know how to make her fall in love with me, and if anything, that wouldn't be the right thing to do; because as Jen said, unfortunately, we cannot force something that should be natural that is love.

"Just think about it, Freckles. I can help you if you want, but I cannot tell you what to do. Nonetheless, I do hope you find the way to do what you think is the best for everybody. Maybe you should talk to Brian about this, maybe he'd understand, and maybe together you'd figure out what to do." Jen suggested gently. I should have never listened to them.

"Yes, maybe." Sunny replied weakly.

"I'll tell you what. We'll forget about this for today and tomorrow, when we're rested, we'll think what to do. You should get some sleep now. So, let's go inside." Jen proposed, perhaps trying to cheer her up.

"Yes, okay. I just... I just want to be here alone a little longer." Sunny answered, her voice still brittle.

"Fine. Goodnight, Freckles." I heard Jen saying and then I heard steps walking away.

Right after that, I wiped my tears away and I stood up; yet I remained hiding behind the tree. I poked my head out the trunk of the tree to peep at Sunny. She was hugging herself and it seemed she was shedding tears. It broke my heart seeing her like that, even when I thought it was not possible for my heart to break into more pieces. What would I do now? I loved her with all my being and I didn't want to let her go now that I had her, because I knew I wouldn't get her back again; but I couldn't make her be with me if she was unhappy. I wished that my fantasy of her loving me could be true. Life would be much happier that way. We'd be happy together and nothing would separate us; but we weren't in my world of fantasy and in real world she didn't love me and she was unhappy. I was about to leave, but something stopped me. Darren appeared all of a sudden and walked straight to Sunny.

"Darren!" She exclaimed scared. "Where were you?"

"Hiding behind that tree, listening to you and Jen." He answered and stepped closer to her.

"You were listening to a private conversation?" Sunny asked in a severe way, now crossing her arms on her chest and narrowing her eyes.

"I didn't mean to listen. I was behind the tree even before you went outside. And well, you just started talking. Whatever, that's not the point, Freckles. None of that matter right now, whatever happened, happened." He responded with a sigh. "I repeat, I heard your conversation with Jen."

"Yes, I heard you, Darren. What do you want me to do? To throw a party in your honor because you did so?" She responded, apparently annoyed, but more frightened and jittery than annoyed.

"Freckles, cut with the sarcasm." Darren requested in a gentle way. "Is that true? All of what you told to Jen, is that true?" He asked while looking intently into Sunny's eyes, but she was looking down with no intentions to answer. "Freckles! Answer me!" He pressured.

"Yes, it's true, Darren!" Sunny replied loudly, in an exasperated way. Darren stepped even closer to her.

"You aren't in love with Brian?" He asked and she did not answer. "Are you still in love with me?" He asked and, over again, she remained silent. Darren took one step forward and held Sunny's hands. "Tell me if you're still in love with me." He requested and then rested his forehead on hers, as both of them closed their eyes and nuzzled their noses. I was frozen, observing this situation in the distance, not even being able to blink. "Because I am still in love with you, Freckles. Because I never stopped loving you, even if I constantly denied it." He whispered in front of her lips.

Then I saw how they leaned to kiss each other. I saw how Darren placed both hands on Sunny's jaw and how she placed her hands on his chest. I saw how they deepened the kiss, how Darren moved one hand to her waist and how Sunny ran her fingers through his hair. And I saw how an almost imperceptible smile spread across their faces when they were tenderly kissing. And I felt how my entire world fell apart and how my heavy heart broke into million pieces as the heartache was mirrored in a physical tear that slid down from my eye, rolled down my cheek and finally dripped from my wobbly chin. And that slow, desolate tear was followed by another one, and another one, until a steady stream of tears flowed its way down my cheeks, releasing the sadness and sorrow that has been held inside of me since I heard that conversation; yet I didn't make a sound. They continued kissing, each time increasing the passion; I had to close my eyes to avoid looking at them because I could no longer take it. I breathed in and breathed out to control my emotions, to try to make the pain disappear. By the time I opened my eyes, they were looking deeply into each other's eyes, their smiling mouths slightly touching, their eyes reflecting fondness. The immense happiness I was feeling the last days when I had her faded away when I saw her kissing Darren, the person she was really in love with. Any little hope I had of her falling in love with me trailed off when I realized that she would never love me the way she loved Darren. And such was the twinkle in her eyes due to her happiness that allowed me to realize that she was not even close to fall in love with me, she was not happy with me, because her eyes never looked at me that way, her smile directed at me was never as bright and genuine as the one she was now directing at Darren. To have realized this devastated me. And I thought that when two hearts are happy, there is always a third one that is broken; in this case this broken heart was mine, the one of the unrequited love. And I felt how I sank down to the bottom.

"Darren, this is not right." Sunny voiced, her voice slightly trembling.

"But we love each other, Freckles. It should be right." Darren replied.

"No, Darren. You are with February and I am with Brian. And that's it all." She answered back.

"You're in love with me, not with Brian."

"I am with Brian, Darren. Not with you."

"Freckles, look into my eyes and tell me that you don't love me. If you do that, then I'll stop. I dare you to look into my eyes and tell me that you aren't in love with me." Darren requested, placing both of his hands firmly on her cheeks. She looked down and didn't move. "Look into my eyes and tell me that you didn't enjoy the kiss. Tell me that it wasn't what you've been wanting since long time ago." He said and, again, she didn't look up. I bit my lips as more tears streamed down my face. "Look into my eyes and tell me that you don't think we should be together because we love each other."

"No!" Sunny screamed with teary voice, breaking into tears. "I'm not gonna do that because you know I never stopped loving you, you know I'm still in love with you, you know that I liked the kiss and that was all I wanted to do since I saw you again, you know that you'll always be the only person with whom I want to be, the one and only person with whom I'd spend the rest of my life. You know it, Darren; you always knew it!" She yelled in tears, completely exasperated and bereaved. I closed my eyes, closed my hand into a fist and moved it to my mouth to bite it and be able to muffle the sound of my crying again. "You always knew it, yet when you had the chance, you chose to be with February; so don't ever tell me that you wanna be with me, that you think that we should be together, that you love me; because you already made your choice. And I chose to be with Brian now and it'll keep being like that, even if I'm not in love with him yet. So stop this, Darren. Just stop this."

"But you won't be happy with him, Freckles; as well as I won't be happy with February. They are extraordinary people, that's out of question, but we aren't in love with them and, just as Jen said it, we cannot force love. You and I could be happy together, Freckles." Darren said, his voice sounding wheezy.

"You don't know! Right now, I wanna be with Brian. I don't care if not gonna be as happy as I would be if I actually were in love with him; I'm with him and that's all I want. And I hate you for making me cheat on him, he doesn't deserve it! And February doesn't deserve it either! So you better forget about this, Darren, because I don't wanna hurt anyone and I'm sure you don't want it either." She demanded harshly, still weeping. "Happy New Year, Darren." She voiced sarcastically with strangulated voice.

Those were her last words before she turned around and headed inside. Darren remained there, his head pointing downwards and, after a while, he sighed, shook his head and went inside. Once I made sure they were inside, I allowed myself to cry my eyes out, now making all the sounds I was trying to muffle before. It was such the pain and grief I was feeling that I felt as though I'd never stop crying in abject misery. I fell on my knees, held my face in hands and scratched my face with my nails. I couldn't understand why all the good things of my life always went by so fast; I couldn't understand why I couldn't make the good things last at least a little longer: My happiness, my dad, my love. I was losing a love that was never mine, and that hurt too much. Lovesick. That was what I was feeling. And I was aware that it doesn't heal easily. There are no medicines, nor are remedies. No one knows when it will end, not even how much it hurts. Only time cures it. Long time. Because the greater has been the intensity of love, the longer is suffering when it is over. It was like mathematics: it's all about directly proportional magnitudes.

"I'm sorry for what you had to hear and see, Brian." I suddenly heard a teary voice that made me gasp in fear.

I looked up and through my blurry sight due to the tears I could see February, also behind a tree, not so far from me. She apparently witnessed the same as me. I didn't notice she was there. She didn't walk towards me, but I could see she was also crying.

"You know? I always suspected that Darren was still in love with Freckles, but I tried to deny it. I wanted to think that he loved me for real. I didn't want to lose him. And now I was forced to finally admit it and it hurts too much, so I know how you're feeling, Brian." She tried to articulate with her brittle and strangulated voice, in between a seemingly endless flow of tears and great heaving sobs. "I wish someday she gets to fall in love with you, I really wish so. You deserve it." She sobbed and then she took a deep breath and tried to wipe her tears away. "It gets better, I guess..." She wailed and sniffled, then she let out a heavy sigh. "Happy New Year, Brian."

With this last thing told, she walked away and entered the house. Once I was alone, I cried a little more until my eyes ran out of tears to shed. I couldn't be with Sunny, not if I knew she wouldn't be happy with me, not if I knew she'd only be happy with Darren, not if I knew they loved each other. I didn't want to be the guy who stopped them from being happy. I truly loved her, and no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much this was breaking me, I needed to let her go in order to see her happy. It was like tearing off a part of me, but I had to let her go. I couldn't hold onto her and prevent her from being with somebody she really loved. But I was too afraid, too weak, too hurt, that I was feeling like I'd fall apart and feel even more heartbroken; and I didn't even know if this time I'd be able to get out of my depression. I felt how the scars in my thighs were burning and itching, I began to feel this enormous need to cut my thighs to let escape these hurtful emotions, to disconnect from the emotional pain, to calm down. I needed to do it, I needed to feel good again, I needed to feel a kind of pain that could outdo the emotional pain, so that I'd feel better and no one would find out that I was feeling bad. But I made a promise to myself, only for Sunny, and I didn't want to break it. Therefore, I took one of the hardest decisions: not to succumb to self-harming in order to feel better. It took all my willpower to stand up, wipe my tears away and enter the house, keeping in mind the promise I made. I didn't go to the bedroom I shared with Sunny, though; instead, I swallowed my pride and shame and I knocked Jen's bedroom door. It wasn't long till she opened the door, with sleepy eyes.

"Brian?" She asked and I couldn't stop the tears forming in the corner of my eyes. I felt how my throat tightened, yet I spoke.

"Do you remember when you told me I shouldn't feel ashamed to ask for help?" I asked with strangled voice and she tilted her head to examine me, frowned slightly and nodded. "Well, I need your help right now." I tried to articulate as I broke into tears, disconsolately. She looked at me agape and apparently afflicted.

"What for, Brian?" She asked very kindly as the tears were dripping into my mouth.

"I need you not to let me fall off the edge and break down when my whole world falls apart." I responded with shrill voice owing to the lump in my throat as my noisy sobs echoed through the silent bedroom. Jen looked at me distressed and then she gave me one warm, comforting hug, rubbing my back to reassure me as I cried heartbreakingly on her shoulder. "I need you to help me let Sunny go because I don't know how to do it. I need help to let her go."