Who We'll Be

I really thought Sky was serious, but he started to chuckle, so I just rolled my eyes and told him goodnight again, and I watched him as he made his way to his own house.

Sigh...if only you knew...

* * *

“Now don’t be like that, Symmery. Today’s gonna be fun.”

Jane and I were sitting on the bleachers, watching the basketball game and arguing about why Valentines Day should even be celebrated.

Eric’s team was winning, and I saw him flash a smile at me when he spotted me watching, which made me feel a little less guilty about what I did to him.

Jane and I kept on talking, when I caught sight of Sky walking on the other side of the bleachers.

I was about to walk towards him...

...when I realized that he wasn’t alone.

He was with Rowena.

But when I decided to walk away...

...my feet suddenly felt glued on the ground...

...when I saw him smiling at her.

I don’t know why, but something stopped me from running, like I was being forced to know what Sky and Rowena were doing.

Why is he smiling?

He was holding something in his hands, and it took me a moment to realize that it was an expensive looking chocolate...

...and Sky was giving it to her.

She happily took it, and I saw her mouth a ‘thank you’ as Sky beamed that heart-melting smile of his.

Aw, they look so happy together.

So happy, that just looking at them made my heart suddenly felt like it got hit by a storm, got thrown into the ocean, got knocked off by a gigantic tidal wave, got swept it into the bottomless blue sea, drowning all alone...

...and my mind was also telling me to mix a chocolate with a really hot and spicy sauce and give it to her…

…while I’m secretly laughing an evil laugh…

…muhahahaha…

…okay, that was really mean…and selfish…and inconsiderate…

Okay, I really felt guilty about even thinking that.

I mean, Rowena is so nice…

…and I don’t know why I even thought of putting a hot sauce on a chocolate...

…and I don’t know if Rowena will even accept it because we’re not really that close…

“Symmy...are you alright? Jane asked, looking worried.

I faked a smile.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

* * *

“I told you, I don’t feel like going to the beach today…”

“C’mon...please?”

It was dismissal time and we were at the school corridors, and Sky had been asking me to go to the beach with him in the past few hours like a broken radio, just because he said he doesn’t want to stay in the house and he got nothing to do. I kept on rejecting his invitation, because I’m not in the mood to play and joke around with him, because I’m studying Calculus.

Well, not really, but I was still depressed about what he did, you see.

“I’m not in the mood…”

“Please?” he begged.

Ha. Not those puppy-dog eyes again. I won’t fall for that anymore.

“Hmm, what’s the word I’m looking for? I think it has two letters. Oh yeah...NO.”

* * *

I hesitantly sat on the sand, and Sky sat next to me. We were quiet.

It was already afternoon, and it was just the two of us sitting on the coast. The beach exhibited its tranquil light, and beyond the shoreline was the sea and its waves overflowing like earth stars, with sparks of white and violet clouds hanging overhead, and a few dots in the sky were already revealing their glow.

“So...you gave chocolates to Rowena, huh?” I said without thinking, desperate to break the awkward silence.

Sky looked puzzled.

“Yeah...” he said casually. “Not that it meant anything.”

“You gave her a chocolate on Valentines Day. Of course that meant something.”

He gave me a stern look.

“I just happened to buy too many chocolates the other day, and since its Valentines Day I decided to give it to her, as thanks. I also gave some to other girls too.”

“Oh.”

Oh...

…so you gave some to other girls too...

…so…

…WHAT ABOUT ME, YOUR BESTFRIEND?!

I just bit my lip.

“But you like her...right?”

I think my question irritated him a bit.

“What are you talking about...?”

I glanced back him, aggravated.

“Ugh! Why do you always say that?! Just tell me, do you like her or not?!”

“Why…? Are really you jealous...over Rowena...?”

“I mean, you gave her chocolates—“

“God, Symmery...what are you so jealous about?!” Sky interrupted my ranting, looking completely annoyed.

He gazed at me with a serious expression on his face.

“Rowena’s like my sister.”

His words didn’t make any sense.

“What…?”

“I gave her chocolates as thanks, because she’s really helpful to me ever since were kids, and she always gives me advice about—“

Sky suddenly stopped and blushed, as if he had said too much.

“About...?” I waited for him to continue.

He blushed even more.

Aw, I like it when his cheeks does that…

”About...stuff.”

What...?

What ‘STUFF’?!

I coupled my eyebrows together.

“What stuff?! You ask advice from her and she’s not even your best friend! Or is she?! I think she is! I really think she is!” I raved. “Am I really that useless to you, that you can’t even ask advice from me, your best fri—“

“God, Symmery! Will you shut up for just one freaking second, please?!”

“Why?! Because I’m right?!”

He so looked annoyed right now, but I couldn’t stop myself. I really want to tell him everything I feel, but can’t.

Sky just let out a sigh.

“Want to know the truth? I don’t really want us to be best friends.”

I glanced at him.

What did he just say?

What he said was even worse than what I felt when I saw her with Rowena this morning. It's like my heart just smashed into a million pieces.

Tears were really about to run down my cheeks, but I was trying my very best to stop them.

“You don’t...want to...?”

He ignored what I said, and started to pick up something from his pocket.

And I opened my mouth in surprise…

…because the thing from his pocket which was now in his hand was something I had not—and by that I mean NEVER—expected to be there.

It was a lollipop.

A lollipop with a pink ribbon.

The lollipop like the one he had given me the first time we met.

My lollipop.

I looked at him with my mouth half-opened, astounded.

“No, I don’t want us to be best friends,” he said.

A smile slid on his lips.

“I want us to be more than that.”

Sky lifted his hands to give me the lollipop. I slowly took it without any complaint.

I seriously felt like I was about to cry, but not the harsh tears I’ve been trying to stop. It was the sheer opposite of that.

He moved closer, so that his eyes were on the same level, like I could kiss him if I move even a little. Like I could breathe him in. My stomach twirled crazily.

And I could feel him moving even closer.

So close…

...until his lips began to caress mine.

It was a very gentle but heartfelt kiss, filled with something I-don't-know-what about to outburst.

Sky then held my face with both hands, leaving me no choice but to look in his lovely eyes, my heart falling deep into them and making it arise at the same time.

He gazed back. I was still completely unfamiliar about the reason why he was doing this...

...until he smiled sincerely, and said...

“I love you, Symmery."