Rebecca slid her hand into her boyfriend’s unresponsive one. He stared blankly at the pristine white walls of the hospital. The sign atop the doors to the surgery room hadn’t stop blinking red since they came, a sign that the surgery was ongoing. 

“Logan?” She said, afraid of his stillness, his silence. She squeezed his hand when he said nothing.

He seemed to realize that he wasn’t alone then.  He turned to her, his eyes full of anger or disappointment, she couldn’t tell. She could, however, tell that whatever he was feeling, was because of her. Her and her stupid plan to lock him in. Technically it wasn’t her idea. But she could still feel the snakes of guilt wriggling at the pit of her stomach.

“Where’d Chace and Trent go?” He asked. He straightened in his seat. She chose to ignore the fact that he pulled his hand away from hers. 

“They went to get some coffee,” she replied. He nodded, but didn’t say anything after that and continued to stare at the door, almost as if he was willing the doctor to come out. 

“Logan, I’m—” She didn’t get to finish her sentence as the double doors opened to reveal the surgeon. Half of his face was covered by his mask but she could tell that the surgery had been a success. Or so she hoped.

Logan stood up like the chair was on fire. His face revealed nothing.

“Your father’s surgery was a success,” the surgeon said, smiling at Logan. It was all Rebecca could do not to hug him. “We managed to get all of the cancerous cells in one go. But we’ll need to do treatments every few months to be sure. Is your mother here?”

“Shes on her way back. I’ll tell her what you said,” Logan said, nodding seriously. “Thank you.” They shook hands, Logan’s face robbed of all emotions all the while.

The doctor smiled and walked away hurriedly. 

“That’s great news, Logan,” Rebecca said, pushing away her own insecure thoughts. 

He turned to her and finally betrayed his emotions in the form of a smile. “Yeah it is.”

“So you’re not mad at me right?” she asked, afraid of the answer. “For…you know locking you out.”

“It was my own fault,” he replied, placing an arm around her shoulder. “I should’ve just told you. Where the hell is Chace and Trent?”

“They’re probably feeling too guilty to face you.”

He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Let’s go find them.”

“You don’t wanna see your dad?”

“Nah, he needs his rest.”

He smiled reassuringly, but Rebecca felt it was anything but.

*****

While all the students in the lecture theater were filing out, Sienna had purposely dropped her stuff to delay her exit. Judging from the fact that James hadn’t moved from his chair, it seemed pretty likely that he wanted to talk to her, as well. At least, she hoped, he did. Fortunately Alicia Cunningham had followed the other students as well. When the last student had gone out, Sienna walked slowly and gracefully down, not even glancing in his direction. She wanted to see if she meant anything to him that he’d want to justify the picture in the magazine.

One more step, and I’m gone, she thought.

“Sienna,” he called. She hid her smile as she turned to him, donning on her best expectant but surprised expression at having been called.

“Yes?” She asked. She wanted nothing more but to grin from ear to ear in satisfaction. She meant something to him. He cared about what she thought!

“I’ve got an extra ticket for this matchstick exhibition tonight. I was wondering if you would like to go?” he asked, flashing her the same smile he gave to reporters and interviewers. 

She would’ve liked to tell him exactly where to put those matchsticks. She would’ve loved to slap him coolly across the face. How dare he two-time her! But instead of letting out her anger, she swallowed them down and smiled sweetly back at him. “I’d love to.”

*****

Alicia tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear, annoyed at how loose her ponytail was. She was just contemplating of going to the toilet to fix that up, when she caught sight of Jason walking towards her. It was too late for her to run and hide as his eyes fell on her. So she just stood there, rooted to the spot.

“Hey,” he said, when he finally reached her. He shoved a hand that wasn’t carrying textbooks into his jeans. A gesture that Alicia knew meant that he was nervous. 

“Hey.”

He opened his mouth to speak but shut it back as a group of rowdy boys raced down the hallways, igniting echoes of raucous laughter in their wake. “Um…can we talk?” He looked sideways at the group of students filing out from their class. “In private?”

Alicia swallowed the guilt forming in her throat. “Yeah…sure. Where, when?”

“How about tonight?” he asked, taking a step towards her so as to avoid being caught in a stampede of teenagers eager to return home. “Dinner at 7?”

It was all Alicia could do to nod silently as she fought her guilt back down. 

Nina found Jason at the lecture theater, bent over his work. He seemed to be oblivious to her presence, so she let him dwell in his ignorance, quietly sitting at the farthest row.

“Hi, Nina,” he said, not looking up from his work.

“I should’ve known that you’d see through my stealth,”  Nina said, migrating to the seat at the very front.

“You call letting the door behind you slam, stealth?” Jason asked skeptically, looking up at her from his mound of paperwork.

“Duly noted.”

He shook his head incredulously and returned his attention to the paper before him.

“So, are you gonna make me ask?” Nina said, after a long moment of silence.

“Ask what?”

“You’re gonna make me ask.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Alright, then. I guess you don’t wanna talk about it.” Nina stood up, smoothing her coal pencil skirt.

She was halfway up the isle, when he said, “We broke up. Leesh and I broke up. I can’t do it anymore, Nina. It seemed like the right decision at the time. But I guess I reacted out of anger more than rationality. Do you think—”

“Yes, I think you made a mistake,” Nina said, staring down at him from the top of the lecture theater. “Yes, you reacted out of anger and yes, you can do it. Think of all the good times? When you think about it, the good outweighs the bad. And that’s what matters most. Not that there are gray clouds, but that there will always be a sunny weather to overcome them.”

“How philosophical,” Jason replied.

“Shut up.”

“Really insightful,” he continued, “Maybe you should get a degree in psychology.”

“Shut up now,” Nina said, but smiling all the same.

“Is that based on your observation, Dr. Broderick? What do you suggest I do to rectify this problem of mine?”

“Ha, ha, very funny. You’ll thank me, later though,” Nina said. “With that I shall leave you to be your normal brooding self. Goodbye.”

“Hey, Nina,” she stopped, one foot out the door, “thanks.”

“They don’t pay me a hundred dollars an hour for nothing,” she quipped, playing along with his teasing.

“Clearly.”

*****

“Last night never happened,” Alicia hissed, patting down her obstinate ginger hair. “Do you hear me? It never happened.”

“Trust me, I want to forget last night as much as you do,” James said, pushing the double doors of the lecture theater open. His eyes immediately fell on Sienna, unaware that he had just entered due to the distracting magazine in front of her. Funny, he seemed to recognize the person on the cover. In fact, it looked a lot like…

“Us?” Alicia hissed, gripping his forearm. “Is that…us?”

James squinted hard on the cover and confirmed his nightmare: he was on the cover of a gossip magazine, escorting a girl into his SUV. 

“Calm down, they can’t see you, your face is covered,” James said to the panic-stricken Alicia.

“You gonna tell us who she was?” a boy on his left said, waving another magazine with the same cover in the air. He grinned at James and winked knowingly.

At the corner of his eyes, he saw Sienna set the magazine down. How did she look? Was she furious? She must’ve known the girl he left with…wasn’t the same as the girl he came with. He didn’t turn to look for fear of seeing a disappointed expression on her face.

Suddenly, the whole room exploded with questions on the identity of his date.

“Was it a Victoria’s Secret angel?” a boy shouted.

There was a sudden bang and everyone’s voice died down. “Shut up!” Alicia snapped, her hands atop the thick Economics textbook she had apparently used to cause the huge bang. “Enough with the personal questions. You aren’t here to train to be gossip journalists, you’re here to learn about business. If any of you have had a sudden change of heart, get the hell out.”

The room was quiet. Until, of course, a boy whistled, breaking the awkward silence. “We were just having some fun. Chill.”

Her fingers gripped the textbook so tightly, her knuckles turned white. As if she was ready to fling the thick book to the offender.

James leaned in and whispered, “Are you okay?”

She waved a dismissive hand. “I’m fine. Excuse me.” Ignoring the pairs of eyes that bore into her back, Alicia pushed the double doors open and headed straight for the toilet. She splashed cold water on her face, as if to shake herself awake from the nightmare that was her life. How could she have done what she did?

“No, get a grip, you didn’t do anything wrong. You and Jason had broken up,” she said to herself, wiping her hands dry. But she knew, even as she said it, that it was wrong and that Jason would never forgive her. How could he, when even she couldn’t?

Sienna was wearing her favourite lemon chiffon Grecian dress by Oscar de la Renta with beautifully cut diamonds embedded around her waist. Her platinum blonde hair was curled and blow dried to perfection, all thanks to her personal hair dresser, Lamina. If she was honest with herself(like she always was), she would have to say that she looked utterly gorgeous tonight.

Judging by James’ slow grin, he thought the same way. Not that she needed reassurance of how hot she looked, but another pair of eyes never hurt. Especially if the owner of those eyes belonged to a handsome 6-foot tall guy. But you know, whatever.

“So, where are we going?” she asked, as he opened the passenger door for her.

“Hey now, where’s the fun in that?” he said, giving her a sly wink.

She didn’t betray any hint of giddiness as he closed the door. But as he was making his way to the driver’s seat, her feet bounced with excitement and her stomach made fluttering sensations. As soon as he got in his silver Lexus, her feet went still, and her face returned back to being expressionless.

She had controlled every part of her body from not betraying too much. But however much she tried, she just couldn’t restrain the butterflies from multiplying.

*****

It was 8pm and Alicia was dressed comfortably in her over-sized gray hoodie and red track-pants. Her ginger hair was piled messily atop her head for what was probably meant to be a bun.

Her eyes stared intently at her Apple Macbook, her finger hovering over the mouse which was lingering over the refresh icon. She held her breath and clicked refresh. The page went blank and reappeared a second later. She scrolled down, holding her breath all the while and then, she stopped and just gaped at the screen, disbelieving her sight.

It wasn’t until the phone calls and messages came that the truth finally sank in: her company had won the deal with NuStar Enterprise, an independent film agency famous for their indie movies and celebrity stars.

She flipped open her cellphone to call Jason, but he had walked inside just as she was about to dial his number.

“WE WON! WE’RE MERGING WITH NUSTAR!” She yelled, excitedly running into him for a hug. But his hands remained at his sides. Until her slowly placed them on her shoulder and gently pushed her away.

“That’s great,” he said, deadpanned. “Congratulations.”

Her bubble of excitement burst in an instant, replaced with sheer anger. “Could you at least act happy? Jeez.”

“Could you at least pretend to remember what tonight was?” he immediately snapped back, as if the words were already on his tongue.

She kept quiet, knowing tonight was something important but she just couldn’t remember what exactly it was.

“It was our anniversary,” he said quietly, trying to control his anger.

“Oh god, Jas—”

“You’re sorry, I know,” he said, without any trace of kindness. “I know you love working. And I love you, so I let you work. I let you slip further and further away from me, hoping that tonight would bring us closer. Didn’t you even wonder where I was?”

Alicia remained silent, clutching her stupid cellphone that she now wanted to throw away.

“I’m tired, Leesh,” he said, and for the first time that night his cold facade broke away, and she hurt in his eyes.

“It won’t happen again.”

He shook his head and took a step back when she tried to approach him. “No. Let’s just end it.”

Her phone rang but the sound seemed far away.

“You should answer that,” he said and, without another word, left.

And she couldn’t do anything about it.

*****

James Anderson had been on lots of dates, too many to count and too short for them to matter. And they always ended up the same; a brief conversation, multiple drinks and they’d go back to his hotel. Then, when the sun rose bright and early, he would have already disappeared. The memory of last night was just that; a memory.

But here he was now; only half of his champagne gone and the conversation waterfall still flowing rapidly. Sienna was bright and charming and knew what to say at the right time with the right attitude. He knew she was putting on her A-game and it intrigued him, wanting her to slip up just once, to show her true colors, just once. But she remained calm and collected. And exciting. It became a game then. He would say something to trip her up but she answered vaguely and coyly.

“How many boyfriends have you had?” he asked.

She smiled into her champagne flute. “None.”

“You’re lying,” he said, grinning. “A pretty girl like you?

“None that mattered,” she answered.

They continued with their flirtatious banter until she called it a night, giving the excuse of school in the morning. But he knew she was teasing him, cutting the date short to make him want more. He smirked at her plan.

“I had a good time,” he said, opening the cab door for her.

She smiled. But not the kind she used throughout the night. It was…genuine. She was caught off-guard by his comment. And her smile caught him off-guard.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

He walked back to the restaurant, heading straight for the bar. The bartender had saw him a few times before this and silently slid a shot-glass across the counter. He saluted the man with the small glass and downed it in one gulp.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar ginger-haired girl walk in. She was clad in a black trenchcoat over what seemed to be a green mini dress. She sat at the far end of the bar, unaware of his presence. He watched her gulp down glass after glass of martini, no expression present on her face.

He walked over to her as she set down her 6th glass.

“Alicia,” he said, sitting down on the leather stool next to her.

She turned to him and he saw streaks of mascara running down on her face. She was a mess.

“James,” she said, and proceeded to down her 7th glass.

“Ease up on the liquor,” he said, softly.

She shook her head. “Can’t make me.”

“What’s up?” he asked.

He was surprised at how easy it took for her to answer him. “Jason broke up with me.”

“What happened?”

“Who cares?”

“You.”

“I don’t.”

“Go apologise.”

“What makes you think it’s my fault?”

“Because you wouldn’t be crying if it wasn’t.”

“I’m not crying.”

“Tell that to your face.”

“Shut up.”

“Apologise.”

“No.”

“Have fun getting drunk.” He stood up, about to leave but she stopped him, holding on to his sleeve.

“Please don’t go.” Her voice broke and for once since he’s known her, Alicia looked vulnerable. He sat back down and she let go of her hold on him, continuing drinking. He sat and watched until she finally got drowsy and helped her get to the hotel.

Cameras flashed as soon as he stepped out. It was all he could do to to cover both him and Alicia with his coat.

His bodyguards made an impenetrable wall between him and the reporters who were shouting personal questions that he successfully tuned out.

He got Alicia in his tinted black SUV and exhale tiredly.

“Are you alright? he asked her.

She cupped his face and kissed him before he knew what was happening. He pushed her away gently.

“You’re drunk, Leesh,” he said.

“So what?”

She kissed him again. And this time, he didn’t stop her.

Ash felt excellent.

Truth be told, she had never felt this pumped in a while. Not even when she had nailed a particularly difficult scene with Brandon.

The Drama Club members were incredibly talented and she felt like she was making a change in their lives, like she was helping them achieve something just by sharing a bit of her knowledge.

She shed her Burberry twill trench coat and hung it over one of the blue seats. “Morning!” She greeted, exuberantly. “So, I read the script, and I found this one scene which I think we should act out first.”

“We’re practicing today?” A blond boy whose name Ash couldn’t remember—something with a P?— spoke up.

“Yup,” she answered, “You can only listen so much. I think you’re ready. It’s Act 2, Scene 5?”

She hopped off the stage and sat down on one of the seats, watching them rifle through their scripts to find the page they were looking for.

“This is the part where Rebecca and I….kiss,” Riley said, looking up from the script to Ash’s deadpanned face.

“Yes, it is,” she said. She saw Riley exchange worried glances with Rebecca. “Is there a problem?”

“No!” They both said in unison, shaking their heads more violently than they intended to.

“Well, then, action!”

The next 30 minutes wasn’t really perfect, but it had quality. Ash watched with increasing enthusiasm as they executed their lines better and better each time. But when Rebecca and Riley’s kissing scene came up, it fell short. It was too painful to watch. 

“Okay, stop,” she said, getting up from her seat. Riley and Rebecca broke apart with Rebecca wiping her lips vehemently, her face as red as a ripe tomato. “That was…incredibly awkward. And cold. What’s going on?”

“Well…we used to like each other,” Rebecca answered.

“Oh that’s perfect then! Maybe you can tap into that ‘fondness’ and badabing badaboom, you both will just feel it, you know?”

“She rejected me,” Riley answered, “Harshly.”

“I did not!” Rebecca retorted, “It was mutual!”

“Yes, it was, but she still did it harshly.”

Ash bit her lip, thoughtfully. “Okay well…this is good! Maybe you can both act as friends. It’ll be a challenge!”

Rebecca glanced at Riley warily. “It’s worth a shot.”

But try as they might to make the kiss and the conversation seem real, it looked to stilted and stiff.

“Okay, take five everyone!” Ash said, getting up from her seat. “Rebecca, can I talk to you?”

“I’ll try harder. I’m so sorry,” she said, tightening her fiery ponytail as she spewed more apologies.

“No, I don’t want you to look at it as a job that must be done, I want you to put yourself in Kayla’s shoes and feel what she feels, think what she thinks, do what she does, understand?” Ash advised. She whipped out her copy of the script and opened it carelessly to a random page. “Like, here for example. She says, ‘You don’t understand him like I do!’ You have to think what she’s feeling when she says that. Is she angry? Is she upset? Tap into her emotions. Understand?”

Rebecca bobbed her head passionately. “I’ll do my best.”

“Some kids never learn,” Ash sighed.

*****

“You guys are crazy!” Logan yelled over the polished mahogany door. No reply came, much to his dismay.

Collapsing down on the soft carpeted floors of Ritz-Carlton hotel, which he only figured out due to the room service menu and owed no help to the assassin-like bag over his head, he leaned against the edge of the bed, shoving his hands deep inside his pockets even though he knew it would be robbed of its usual contents; his cellphone, which his ‘friends’ had cunningly emptied.

The hotel’s phone was also absent, no doubt another scheme hatched from the aspiring kidnappers themselves.

No sooner had Logan thought of replacing each and every one of the lacrosse team had a letter slid through the small opening of the door.

He begrudgingly read it.

Tell us why you’ve been acting really weird lately or we’ll bring in the big guns.

“Are you seriously handing me a letter?” Logan said.

Not long after, another letter came, with an untidy almost rushed handwriting.

To conceal our voices and remain anonymous.

“I saw your faces before you decided to kidnap me!” He yelled. “And I’d recognize that handwriting anywhere, Chace.”

“Shit,” a voice said. “Whatever, you’re not going anywhere, anyway. Unless you tell us what we want to know.”

“Or what?” he taunted, leaning against the cool door.

“Or we resort to plan B.”

*****

Alex threw his black Ted Baker trench jacket over The New York Palace’s cream cushion and subsequently collapsed on the sofa, closing his eyes tiredly.

Two slender hands slid on his shoulders and he suddenly realized how tense they really were. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know that the hands massaging him belonged to his girlfriend, Nina. But he opened them anyway, just to see her angelic face look down at him. It’s been three years but his heart still skipped a beat when he saw her.

“Long day?” she asked, abandoning her post to sit at the ends of his feet.

Alex nodded tiredly.

“I thought all you had to do today was visit each counselor and pretend to write something in your notepad?” Nina asked.

“I thought so, too,” Alex said, “But apparently my uncle had other plans. I’m in charge of Princeton along with Elle, who keeps excusing herself to the bathroom every five minutes.”

“Well, now you know how us little people feel,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

“You’re so childish.”

“You love me!” she said, cheekily. “Hey, do you know what’s going on with Logan? He’s been acting really quiet during my lectures.”

“Maybe you’re just boring,” Alex teased.

“Would I still be boring if I broke up with you?” she teased back.

“I’m kidding. You’re the most entertaining girlfriend I have ever had. Except maybe that Victoria’s Secret model,” he said, but immediately backpedaled when he saw her face. “Kidding, kidding. You’re the only one.”

“Ha ha, very funny. Now tell me what’s wrong with Logan,” she said. “He looks really distracted lately.”

“Wait, how would you know this? Isn’t he taking counseling classes for Harvard?”

“He met up with me a few days ago and changed his classes to Yale,” she answered.

“That’s weird.”

“My lectures are not boring!”

“No, I mean, Logan wouldn’t go to Yale. It’s his dad’s alma matter and the college his dad wants him to go to.”

“And he doesn’t want to go because his dad wants him to go?”

“Exactly. Logan hates his dad.”

“Why?”

“Typical reason. His dad cheated and his parents divorced after. Ever since then, he did the opposite of whatever his dad wanted. And I know for a fact that Uncle Bill wants him to go to Yale.”

“Maybe he had a change of heart?”

“It’s more likely that an alien abducted him and brainwashed him.”

*****

“It’s been 2 hours, Logan,” a voice Logan recognized to be his meaty lacrosse team mate, Bryce said, over the door.

“Hey, I’m not complaining, I’ve got a comfy bed and sustenance that you’ve kindly supplied me with. Tell me, how does it feel sitting uncomfortable close to the door, with nothing but a thin carpeted floor to ease the pain?”

“Alright, Logan, you asked for this. Bring in Plan B,” Chace said.

“Bring it on.”

“Or as we’d like to call it,” he said, as the door swung open, “Plan Becky.”

Rebecca walked in and the door was instantly closed behind her.

“Bex, did they kidnap you too?” He asked, worriedly.

“Oh, please, she’s in on it, too,” Chace interrupted.

Logan gave her a withering stare that he had never used until now. He sat back on his bed, crossing his arm stonily at his girlfriend’s gall at scheming with his friends against him.

“I can’t believe you of all people would do this,” he said, rigidly. “Chace, yes. He uses—” Logan stopped his lecture halfway as he heard soft sniffles. Upon turning, he saw Rebecca with her head down, looking as if she was crying.

He forgot about his anger and immediately walked over to her.

“You’ve b-b-been sh-sh-shutting me out,” she said in between sobs, “And y-y-you won’t t-t-tell me what’s g-going on. Wh-what am I supposed t-to do?” She looked up at him with red eyes.

“Don’t cry, okay,” he said, softly, “You know I can’t handle it if you cry.”

But she, ignoring his words, just wept into her hands, making her look small and fragile.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. Just please…stop crying,” he said, sounding pained as he gently stroked her head.

All of a sudden, her sad demeanor disappeared and though her nose and eyes were still tinged with redness, her whole face was animated. “Really?”

Unfortunately, Logan had not missed the abrupt change. He let his arms fall at his sides and scrutinized her. “I guess those classes with Ash paid off after all.”

“What’re you talking about?” she asked, innocently.

“Quite a performance, little Miss Actress,” he said, flopping back down on the bed.

“Logan, I wasn’t acting,” she said, looking away. “I really feel like you keep me at arm’s length sometimes. And I’m getting tired of having to scheme to know what’s wrong.”

He turned his attention from the television and saw her, clenching her fists. It was a technique she had constantly used when she was on the verge of crying but was trying hard to control it. And he felt himself break a little.

He gave her a hug that she didn’t return, probably concentrating on not breaking down.

“Bex, it’s my dad,” he said, and broke away from the embrace to look at her. “He’s diagnosed with cancer.”

Her head turned sharply to him and though he wanted to resume her position of staring out the window, he forced himself to meet her tender green eyes.

“When did you find out?” she asked, quietly.

“Two weeks ago,” he answered, monotonously.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, but her voice was softer when she asked, as if she was worried for him instead of her well being.

“It’s not like my father and I have a good relationship anyway. It doesn’t matter.” He was expecting some lecture, and her telling him it was still his father, or maybe she’d give him some words of comfort, how it would all get better somehow.

But all she said was his name. And as strange as it sounded, it was a lot more comforting than any other words she could’ve said. She gave him a warm hug and for just a moment, he felt like it really was going to get better.

Until, Chace interrupted by knocking the door. “Bex, any luck?”

“Yes,” she said, breaking away from him. “Open the door.”

“Jackpot!” Chace yelled and a sound that could only be him high-fiving Trent could be heard.

The door opened and Rebecca led Logan out of his prison.

“So, what is it? Why’s he been acting like a girl on her PMS?” Chace asked.

“I don’t know. He won’t tell me,” Rebecca lied, smoothly.

“So…you lied to us?”

As if on cue, she burst into tears and bumbled and sobbed her way through her story of how Logan just wouldn’t budge and how afraid she was to disappoint them, which she probably didn’t feel as guilty for since it was the truth.

Withing seconds, the team who were already infatuated with her, gave her soothing words while giving him scathing looks. He tried not to smile as he listening to his 21 voice messages.

His face fell as he listened to the very first one.

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me I had messages?” he exploded. But he didn’t stick around to hear Chace’s answer because he was already racing towards the elevator.

“Logan!” a voice behind him called. He was tempted to run faster—or to run away? a voice in his head said— but there was nowhere to run to; he had reached the elevator.

“Logan, what is it? What’s going on?” Rebecca panted when she caught up with him.

“My dad’s in the hospital. He collapsed this afternoon,” he said, blandly. The elevator reached their level and he immediately went inside. “I’ll call you later.”

“I’m coming with you,” she said authoritatively, stopping the elevator doors from closing with her hand.

“Bex—”

“No,” she said, walking in, “You’re not shutting out me anymore” She took his hand. “You need me.”

And even though his response was just a small, stiff nod, it was a big step in the right direction.

Rebecca slammed down her tray of breakfast necessities as soon as she arrived at her table, donning on her most serious expression.

“Something’s going on with Logan,” she said, looking at each and every one of her friends dead in the eye.

“Way to go, Sherlock,” Chace said, “He was really quiet during practice.”

“With me, too!” Becca said, dejectedly sitting on her chair. She thought Logan’s bestfriends might know the reason why he’s so silent these days.

“He won’t tell you why?” Chace asked, peering worriedly at Rebecca over his glass of orange juice.

She shook her head.

“Something’s up,” Trent said.

“I think this is Defcon One,” Chace announced after a long pause.

He and Trent exchanged glances, as if they were mentally communicating with each other. Then, after what Rebecca thought was much deliberation on their part, they turned to her.

“We’ll take care of it,” Chace said.

“Wh— take care of what?” She asked, as they both stood up. “You guys are scaring me. What’s Defcon 1?”

But they had already left the cafeteria and Rebecca had no choice but to wait patiently, and hope they knew what they were doing.

“Don’t worry too much, Bex, I’m sure he’s okay. And I’m sure they know what they’re doing,” Nat assured, flashing her a comforting smile. Becca felt the uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach subside a little.

“Yeah, those boys always make a big deal out of nothing,” Nicole said, rolling her eyes. “It’s like they’re too blind to see what actually matters.”

Rebecca had a feeling Nicole wasn’t talking about Logan’s situation.

“No luck with Chace?” Rebecca mouthed.

She shook her head.

“He’s as dense as my History textbook,” Sienna added, “Don’t worry, though, we’ll get him.”

“Easy for you to say, you got Mr. Big Shot in one try,” Nicole said.

“Mr. Big Shot?” Rebecca asked, shoving a spoonful of Honey Stars into her mouth. The sugar immediately eased her and she hurriedly shoved another spoonful into her mouth.

“You might want to slow down. What are you trying to do, win the record for most cereal gulped down?” Sienna said, disapprovingly. “Anyway, the guy’s James Anderson.”

Rebecca nearly spat her cereal all over Sienna’s face. “James Anderson? As in your counselor? As in, it’s against school rules to date a teacher?”

“Rebecca, calm yourself, he’s not a teacher,” Sienna answered, readily. “Ergo, I’m not breaking any rules.”

“Still, you guys probably have like, ten years apart!”

“Six, actually,” Sienna said, nonchalantly.

“How can you be so indifferent?” Rebecca asked, staring at Sienna like she was a bomb about to go off.

“Because I’m not marrying him,” Sienna answered, shaking her head at her friend’s discomfort. “We’re just going on a date.”

“Well…okay,” Rebecca said, lamely and continued chomping down her cereal.

But even as Sienna had seemed utterly casual about the date, she couldn’t tell her heart to act the same.

*****

A warm breeze blew past Logan’s face and he allowed himself to just forget all the burden he had been carrying and all the problems which his brain just couldn’t take anymore.

He allowed himself to relax.

Unfortunately, the wind disappeared and Logan was forced to crash back down to reality, where his problems lay.

He sighed deeply, and laid on the warm soccer field, feeling his back getting scalded and his face getting scorched by the Sun.

A shadow fell on his face and he regretfully opened his eyes.

Chace, Trent and the rest of his soccer team had formed a circle around him.

“What’s up guys?” He said, warily sitting upright.

“Now!” Chace yelled.

Before Logan could ask what he meant, however, his vision became dark and he was hauled off his feet.

It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon and Logan had taken it upon himself to round the team up for soccer practice. It was so hot that the whole team was drenched in sweat in the first 15 minutes.

The only one not bothered by this burning weather was Logan, who was running all over the field with more burning passion than the merciless sun and scoring goal after goal effortlessly. Though this was nothing new, his silence throughout the training, was.

“You okay man?” Chace asked, during the 15 minute break.

Logan looked up at Chace and blinked several times distractedly. “What? Oh yeah, I am.” He shook his head vigorously, splashing his sweat on Chace and Trent as he did so.

“Dude, use a towel like a normal person,” Trent scolded, throwing the white towel on Logan’s face. “But seriously though, are you sure you’re okay?”

Logan nodded. He splashed his face with ice cold water and flashed them a smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

His smile disappeared as soon as he turned away from them.

*****

“Ash is brilliant!” Logan’s girlfriend, Becca said with a huge grin on her face. He slipped his hand into hers, habitually before giving her a kiss on her head.

“I’m glad,” he said, as they walked to the cafeteria together.

“I mean… we haven’t done anything yet. Just introductions and stuff, but the advice she gave is amazing! Do you know her movie’s coming out this summer? And her co-star’s that Brandon Wallace guy! He’s amazing. I think he’s amazing. Don’t you think he’s amazing?”

“Yeah,” Logan said, distractedly.

“I really think I can learn a lot from her,” Rebecca rambled on, oblivious to the fact that Logan’s mind was elsewhere. “Hopefully she can tell me how to overcome the awkwardness in kissing Riley. It’s so… weird between us.”

“Mmmm,” Logan grunted.

Rebecca finally picked up on his halfhearted response and narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“I wanna date around, don’t you?” she said, scrutinizing him.

“Sure— wait WHAT?” His placid eyes became livid with anger as he realized what Rebecca had said and gave her his most withering stare. She stared back at him, defiantly, also furious.

“You. Weren’t. Listening.” Rebecca snapped, hitting his arm with every word.

“Ow, ow, sorry,” he said, rubbing his wounded arm gingerly. “I’m just really… occupied.”

“With what?” she asked, turning serious as she caught a glimpse of his grim expression. Whenever Logan turned solemn, it meant something was really bothering him.

But he just shook his head, donning his signature grin. “It’s nothing. I’ve to go to practice. I’ll see you after school, alright?”

“But—”

“I love you.” He kissed her forehead and abruptly left before she could squeeze a word in.

*****

Sienna loved challenges.

Ever since she was a kid, she would steal her father’s cross word puzzles and finished them in one morning.

She loved challenges.

And though she’s had many suitors, she had never once accepted any of them, deeming them too easy, or not worthy of her time.

Finally, she’s found someone who not only she had found gorgeous, but who People magazine had also deemed one of the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’. And if his various interviews on US Weekly was any indication, he also had brains to go along with his face.

So no doubt, he was a challenge.

The question was, was she going to find the 6 letter word, or did she have to resolve to looking at the answers at the back of the page?

She took a deep breath as she saw James Anderson staring at his Blackberry while waiting for the next batch of students to come in, exposing his side profile. He looks good in every angle. Thankfully, Alicia was nowhere to be found in the empty classroom.

She knocked the lecture theater door twice, smiling angelically as he turned to her.

“May I help you?” he asked, flashing her his pearly whites. She couldn’t help it, she felt her legs turning to jelly.

“Yeah. I’m still not sure if I really want to take business. I mean… I’m interested but I still have my doubts. I was hoping we could… maybe meet up after school and discuss it?”

James’ face lit up as he realized what she was saying and smiled slowly. “Are you asking me out?”

“No,” Sienna said with big innocent eyes.

“Really?” he said, “‘Cause I’d love to not take you out.”

“Are you asking me out?” She mimicked him, smiling flirtatiously.

“Oh no, of course not.”

“In that case, I’d love to not go out with you.”

“Great. I won’t be picking you up at 8 tomorrow night, then.”

“I won’t be waiting.”

She gave him one last smile before walking out of the lecture theater.

Nicole walked through the cafeteria doors, smiling from her last encounter. At the curious looks of her friends, however, she quickly wiped her grin off her face and donned her best poker face.

“What’s…going on?” Sienna asked, her piercing blue eyes becoming slits as she warily scrutinized Nicole who was trying her best not to burst with her secret.

“Nothing,” she replied, innocently, trying her best to avoid Sienna’s eyes.

“Oh don’t you even try to pull the ‘Nothing’ act,” Sienna warned, her eyes still trying to make contact with Nicole’s.

Tia, who had always been the pacifier between the two, found Nicole’s act a bit suspicious. “Seriously, what’s going on with you?”

“Nothing! Nothing!” Nicole protested, concentrating on the not-so-difficult task of opening the plastic lid of her Caesar Salad.

“Look in my eyes when you say that, then,” Sienna said, crossing her arms coolly.

Nicole abandoned her forestalled salad lid and slowly looked up, to meet Sienna’s intimidating gaze. “Oh alright! It’s about a guy…”

“Oooh who?” Rebecca asked, her interest becoming apparent as she moved her chair closer and leaned in.

Nicole gave each of them a withering stare. “You can’t tell anyone, promise?”

“Promise,” each of them said, eagerly wanting to know who the guy was.

“It’s Chace,” she muttered, pink spots forming on her cheeks.

“WHAT?” Rebecca cried while Tia gave her a confused look and Sienna pulled a face.

“Chace, really?” Sienna said, incredulous.

“Yeah… what’s wrong with him?”

“Other than the fact that he has the mind of a 2 year-old?” Sienna answered.

“Well…I like him so…deal with it.”

“Wow, you really do like him,” Tia said, noting her sudden boldness at talking back to Sienna.

Nicole shrugged and turned her attention back to her salad.

“I think he’s nice,” Rebecca said, “So…have you guys been going out or something?”

Nicole nodded her head sheepishly. “We just talk a lot whenever we can.”

“Well if you really like him, what’s your strategy?” Sienna asked.

“What strategy?” Rebecca’s eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“Strategy. You know, to get him,” Sienna explained.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, playing games and all,” Rebecca said, speaking from her own experience. “He should like you for you, not for who or what you show him.”

“That’s nice, Hannah Montana but this is real life,” Sienna said.

“It is real life! I got Logan, didn’t I? And I didn’t need to play these silly games, either,” Rebecca protested.

“And that makes him your…what, first and only boyfriend?”

“Because he’s the right one. If it’s right, it’s right!”

“Sure, Hannah Montana.” Sienna rolled her eyes, exasperatedly. “Nicky, are you gonna listen to Hannah Montana here, who has only ever had one guy as experience or moi, who’s never made a single mistake in her life?”

Nicole looked from Rebecca and Sienna, biting her bottom lip from the complicated decision. “Sorry Becca, but Sienna knows more about these kinds of things.”

Rebecca sighed dejectedly.

“Good choice,” Sienna said. “Well, it looks like you’re gonna start your training early. Chace is here.”

“Wh-what do I do?” Nicole asked frantically.

“Calm down, for one,” she advised. “And play hard to get. As cliched as it sounds, it works.”

“Hey,” Logan said, taking the seat next to Rebecca.

“Man, the counselors are practically our age!” Trent said. “It was insane.”

“I wish they were our age. One of the counselors is gorgeous,” Sienna said.

“Since when did age stop you?” Tia teased, giving her a wink.

“Too true,” she answered, smiling.

“Career Week’s not bad but I wish we didn’t have classes. I’ve a calculus test tomorrow,” Chace groaned. “Do you think you could help me, Nicky?”

Try as they might, Rebecca’s, Tia’s and Sienna’s eyes all turned to Nicole.

“I…can’t. I’ve a date,” she said, taking Sienna’s advice and hoping that he couldn’t see past her lie.”

Fortunately he didn’t but to her disappointment, he was completely unfazed by her lie. “Really? Wow, that’s great. You’re moving on. Jake’s a jerk. You deserve better. So who is he?”

“Someone you don’t know,” she grumbled. “Excuse me.”

Chace merely stared at her back as she disappeared from the double doors of the cafeteria. “What’s up with her?”

Sienna du Ville wasn’t one to enjoy silly little lectures whereby she was required to sit down, shut up and listen. Of course, during the course of these lectures she would have already plugged her earphones in and drowned the whole talk out.

But this time it was different.

She actually wanted to listen to the handsome 20-something year old guy yap away about what she should know about the business field before she embarked on it. According to the various magazines he was featured on, James Anderson was apparently very skilled at his job. It didn’t hurt that he wasn’t bad looking either. In fact, he could even be considered good looking by her high standards. But she wasn’t here to look for love, she was here to widen her knowledge.

Too bad it came in the expense of also ‘widening her knowledge’ of the rambling girl next to her, who just couldn’t stop introducing herself albeit the fact that Sienna didn’t inquire about her personal life.

“…we moved alot! I lived in Texas the previous year. I just moved here. It’s so….fast paced. Back in Texas it was so quiet and—”

“Maybe you should move back, then,” Sienna snapped, donning on a cool smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

To Sienna’s surprise and amazement, the girl wasn’t deterred by her coolness and obvious distaste for her chattering ways because she just kept blabbing away. She was either very thick, or simply unfazed, Sienna thought, shooting the girl a sideways glance. She had that certain girl-next-door appeal; light brown hair, chocolate eyes and a very sincere smile. Sienna got even more irritated.

“I wish,” the girl said with a dreamy smile, “This is daddy’s best work yet.”

“That’s great,” Sienna replied, half-halfheartedly. Maybe if she gave in, the girl would too.

Fortunately, the girl didn’t have a chance to resume her Walk Down Memory Lane because their counselors had chosen that moment to show up.

Finally, Sienna thought, straightening up to inspect James, who looked even better in real life.

“Wow, he sure has a humdinger of a face!” The girl gushed. “But look at that girl! She’s a goddess…”

In her moment of anticipation for the handsome young mogul, Sienna had forgotten that there was another counselor. And apparently, one that knew her fashion as well as her work.

This was going to be interesting.

*****

Rebecca Scott was pacing on the illuminated wooden stage, feeling anxiety overtake her. Today was the day that the whole Drama Club was going to perform in front of a distinguished and recognized person of the Arts. Her heart raced faster as the familiar sensation of butterflies fluttered around her stomach.

“Calm down, Becca, you’re making the rest of us worried,” Riley Downings advised, his arm around his blond girlfriend, Savannah Teeger. Rebecca pondered at the fact that a week ago they both had liked each other.

“Easy for you to say, you’ve been doing this for four years now,” I argued, wringing my hands from nerves. “I’ve only started this year!”

“Yeah but you might as well have been doing it your whole life with the way you’re acting,” he said, oblivious to his girlfriend’s sudden rigidness.

“Excuse me,” Savannah said, standing up so suddenly that Riley’s arm fell to the floor with a thud. His eyes worriedly followed her until she exited the auditorium. He stood up, to follow suit, but Ashley Ashcroft had emerged, smiling at the small crowd that had all stood up as if they were greeting their queen.

“Sorry I was late,” she said, walking gracefully down to the stage, “This place is huge!”

There was a moment of awkward silence as the whole Drama Club just gawked at her perfect looks.

“So, hey I’m Ashley Ashcroft, your drama counselor!” She said, smiling warmly at them. “Anyway, why don’t you guys act something out for me?”

The Drama Club members nodded in agreement. Ash grinned and hopped off the stage before settling down on the blue plush seats.

Rebecca took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. “Act 1, Scene 1: The Beginning.”

*****

Despite protesting against it at first, Halley Bennedict was actually enjoying herself. The students were polite and, judging by the torrent of questions that had exploded from their mouths from the moment she said “Any questions?”, they were really passionate about fashion.

“Yes, you,” she said, pointing to a short, pixie-haired girl.

“Which fashion school do you attend?” she asked.

“I don’t attend any school as of now, but I did,” she said, earning her confused glances from half the class. “I attended Manière College in Paris.”

“What happened?” someone asked.

“I quit,” Halley answered with a dreamy smile of her wild and reckless ways.

“Why?”

“Because I already knew everything they were teaching me,” she explained. “There comes a time when you just need to kick off your training wheels and take a test ride because learning from your mistakes beats learning from what other people teach you.”

The whole room went silent at Halley’s sudden wisdom because until now, they had pegged her as the crazy and wild type with artsy ideas but no intellectuality.

“So…what about hot pink for these cute wedges?” Halley asked, with an innocent smile.

Nina got out of the yellow cab that New York was so famous for. Her black studded Chanel pumps clacked soothingly on the gray pavement as she stepped on Westechester High’s grounds, one of the top elite schools in New York. Her old school.

It seemed like it was only yesterday that her bestfriend Nat and her used to sit at the edge of the school’s fountain that spewed clear blue water. It seemed like it was only yesterday that her boyfriend Adam and her walked around the campus, talking about absolutely nothing. And it seemed like it was only yesterday that both her bestfriend and boyfriend made out right in front of her eyes.

“You okay?” Alex asked, getting out of the taxi. He comfortingly placed his hand on the small of her back. The little nostalgic visions of her past shimmered and disappeared as Alex’s green eyes gazed worriedly into hers.

“This is a school?” Halley’s voice interrupted. She brushed her Gucci cat-eye frame acetate sunglasses over her strawberry blond hair. A few blonde tendrils fells over her forehead as she gazed skeptically at the castle-like school.

“Holy castle,” Josh whistled, his eyebrows moving further up his forehead. “Who goes here, royalties?”

“Here comes a royal pain, now,” Alex joked, as his cousin, Logan strode over.

“I heard that,” Logan said, as they shook hands.

Logan looked like a younger version of Alex, with his sandy blond hair and turquoise eyes. He even had Alex’s signature mischievous smile. The only difference were their different shade of eyes and Logan’s shorter height. But other than that, Nina felt like she was looking at two brothers instead of cousins.

“Why aren’t you in class?” Alex asked, glancing at his white gold Rolex watch. “Career Day doesn’t start for another hour.”

“Dad told me to show you guys around,” Logan answered, “Where’s James?” He craned his neck over the small crowd and frowned.

Just then, a long sleek limousine parked itself in front of the school’s sidewalk, flanked by two black SUVs. Four men in smart black uniform got out of each of the SUVs, scanned the perimeter before opening the back seat door of the black tainted limousine.

James Anderson got out, looking polished from head to toe in an immaculate black suit. This wasn’t Nina’s first time seeing him since the day he decided to take over the family business, she had seen him plenty of times on the cover of US Weekly and People magazine. She had also seen him acting witty during his interviews on various talk shows. And of course, she had noticed the drastic change in his reckless appearance to a more mature and polished one but it wasn’t until she had seen him with her very own eyes, that she really felt proud of him.

“Speak of the devil,” Alex said, welcoming his brother in a one armed hug.

“Likewise little brother,” James replied. “Logan? Is that you? Last time I saw you, you were crying over your dropped ice cream.”

“Which you dropped,” Logan reminded but giving him a one armed hug as well.

“Now now, let’s not talk about spilled ice cream,” he said, flashing them his pearly white smile.

“How on earth is that witty?” Alex said, incredulously. “US Weekly should get their facts straight.”

“Agreed,” Logan said. “You aren’t even ‘charming’ me with your ‘perfect toothy smile’.”

“Or ‘soothing’ me with your ‘deep voice’!” Nina joined in.

“Honestly James, you should stop bribing those magazines to put in a good word for you,” Leesh teased, shaking her head playfully.

“I’m disappointed,” Halley added, feigning a pout. “You really have no redeeming qualities.”

“What-hey!” James exclaimed, as they made their way to the auditorium for the opening ceremony of Career Week. “I’ve been told that my…”

Nina stared at her bickering friends and couldn’t help but smile. Alex’s hand slipped into hers. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She looked at him. This was her present and she knew, her future. She squeezed his hand back. “Nothing. Everything’s perfect.”

Sleep.

That was the only thing running in Alicia Cunningham’s half-awake mind, since her boyfriend, Jason Friedrique, already dressed in his immaculate white Armani ribbed pocket dress shirt and a black Theory 2-button blazer, forced her out of bed.

“One hour,” she pleaded as he shunted her into the bathroom.

He shook his head, examining her from the body-length mirror as he straightened his tie. “You can’t be late.”

She groaned. “But I’m tired.”

“Tell you what, if you get ready before 8, I’ll let you off work early.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Would you rather it be for the whole 6 hours then?”

She was silent, contemplating whether it was worth getting her pride hurt just for the sake of getting a kick start on her sleep.

“You better stay true to your word.”

*****

A door down, Halley Benedict had a similar dilemma; as she begged and pleaded for Josh to let her have just one more hour of sleep.

“Josh please,” she repeated for the fifth time, “One hour.” She held up one slender finger and pouted.

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his gray Diesel shirt defiantly. “Hale, do you know how long it takes you to get ready? Besides, your Honey Stars are waiting.”

Halley’s shoulder sagged as she realized that her battle was lost. “With strawberries?”

“Especially for you,” he answered.

“Fine.” She closed the door behind her, already scheming to sleep in the bathtub.

“And don’t even think of sleeping in the bathtub,” he warned, as if reading her mind.

Darn it.

*****

Nina sat on the wicker chairs at the Istana restaurant, admiring the view of New York that was already up and running despite the fact that it was only 8 am. She smiled, remembering the many days where she would just take all this for granted.

Her boyfriend, Alex, couldn’t help but smile as he saw her smile.

Just then, Ash, Elle, Halley, Josh, Jason and Leesh walked out, all of them looking polished from head to toe, albeit the fact that each one of them felt terrible on the inside.

“Let’s go!” Nina said, cheerily, already standing up from her chair.

“Why are you so chirpy?” Halley groaned, as Alex helped Nina into her long black trench coat.

“It was her previous high school before she transferred to LA,” Alex answered as they made their way to the entrance.

“And besides, I slept at ten, unlike you four,” Nina said. She pointed a finger at Leesh, “Let me guess, you were up late because of work.”

Leesh yawned, shrugging. “They sent over some documents to double check.”

“Relax, you’re not the only one who stayed up late to work. Right, Hale?”

Halley smiled sheepishly. “There was an online auction for this gorgeous sea foam blue material. I had to win.”

Nina clucked her tongue. “Ash was up late watching…reruns of whatever soap opera she’s addicted to now.”

“Days of Our Lives!” Ash interjected.

“And Elle just got back this morning after spending a night with a poor guy she just met last night.”

Elle flashed them her dimpled smile.

“Are you psychic or something?” Halley asked as Alex’s limo arrived in front of them.

“I just know you all to well.”

*****

Going on a hiatus because my end of year exams are coming and I need to study! Bye! :)