SZNS SERIES 1: Summer

by Maria Writes

  That is everything that is written on the paper. That's weird, no one was near the bench where she was sitting, but there was a tree a meter behind the bench.

  Without thinking twice, she immediately ran the distance between her and the tree and search for anyone suspicious. No one was there as well. She also checked the wall behind the tree and there he is, the culprit, a douche-b running for his dear life. I wonder who he is. She never got the chance to see the idiot's face because he already crossed the street and she has no plans on sacrificing her outfit just to climb the wall and follow him.

  "Hey, Ginger" a guy from behind her said.

  That husky baritone voice is very familiar. Of course, how can Chloe forget that voice, she used to admire that voice during the audition months ago. She remembered having her mouth the entire time he's singing. And how dare he call me ginger? It is so irritating, yes, she has a very gorgeous red hair but for him to call her ginger, that is so irritating. It makes her blood boil.

  She calmed herself and prepared herself to face the douche-b with a sweet smile on her face. Bitch, didn't you just tell yourself not to him a few minutes ago? With one swift move, she turned around with her iconic flirtatious hair flip and smiled.

  "Hey, Jesse."

  He's here. He's really here, in front of her. And the frustration she's feeling earlier vanished like magic, her heart beat pumps fast and she's rooted to the ground. She doesn't know what to say other than 'Hey, Jesse'. That's all she got. Nothing more.

  "I was looking everywhere for you. Caroline told me that I got replaced in the play. I just want to ask if there is something I could do to be back on the team. My sister told me that you removed me and I have to move out of the boarding house.

  But the problem is, there's no more spot for me at the dorm. So, could I still work for the play? Even backstage crew, I'll take it."

  So, he's here to get his place back for the place. He didn't even mention something about their problem. It's like they were fine the whole time and he just got back from a vacation. As if nothing ever happened between them. The nerve of this douche-b. Was that it? It's over, right?

  This is what she gets for running away! Yey!

  She's the one to blame this time. It's her fault, all her fault. If only she let him explain his side this wouldn't happened. But can she really blame herself? She was hurt. Chloe took a deep breath and forced herself not to break down in front of him.

  "About your part in the play, you need to talk to Mr. Clarkson about that since he's the adviser of the organization. And about your stay in the boarding house, I'm sorry but I could only give you three days to pack your things and find somewhere else to stay. It's in the rules that the boarding house is for the thespians' use only." Great she didn't tear up. It's a bit challenging talking to him after weeks of not seeing each other.

  He just smiled sadly at her then walked away. When he was gone, that's when she let her tears roll on her cheeks. Now she regretted running away, if only she was smart enough to think that Jesse's side should also be heard. But no, she just listened to what her mind is telling her and shut herself of the world.

  Now, she doesn't feel like going to class. She'll just stay in her room and locked herself until tomorrow. She tried, but she's too late. Jesse doesn't want anything to do with her anymore. If only she didn't listen to what her mind is telling her. Chloe and Jesse should have been happy by now.

  At the boarding house, some of her friends at the living room saw her crying. She can't help herself so she rushed towards them and cried her heart out. She thinks this is the first time that they saw her be weak. Usually, it's always her who's catching them when they fall and now it's the other way around. Well, we all have our bad day. Except for her, it's a month.

  She's in Rebeca's arms. Aside from Caroline, Rebeca is the only one who knows what's happening with her and Jesse in full details while the rest of their friends knows the parts that she allows them to know.

  "Hey, what happened? Are you okay? Is it Jesse, he was here earlier packing his stuff? Did you guys talk already?"

  Rebeca asked while fixing her hair. She shook her head and didn't say a thing. It'll just make everything worst.

  Chloe should not give up. She has a strong feeling that the note she received earlier is from Jesse, that is her last straw. Her last hurrah. If she failed tomorrow then she has no choice but to give up and open a new chapter of her life.

  If she fails tomorrow, she will forget all about it. She'll make sure of it. Chloe will just focus on the life waiting for her in Paris. Surely, she'll found someone much better there.

  Someone who's love her more than Jesse did, if he really did.

  All the crying she did tired her that she didn't realized that she fell asleep on the living room. The house is very quiet and all the lights are off. She took her phone to use it as her flashlight and head up to her room. But before she went in, she walks towards Jesse's room to see if he was there.

  His room is empty, like literally empty. She walked to the bed and surprised to see all of her letters there. All of them are already opened. She took the one that she wrote earlier from her purse and place it with the opened envelopes. Chloe is hoping that Jesse will see it when he gets back here.

  It seems like he's already starting to move out. Move of his things are nowhere to be found. The only thing left on his room are his books, his computer, and his guitar. She moved towards his desk and reached for her guitar. There was a bit of dust on it, maybe because it's been a long time since Jesse used it. She can still remember the first time he played the guitar for her.

  'You can play?' she asked Jesse when she saw a guitar on the corner of his room. It looked old but it still works. She's hopeless when it comes to playing the guitar.

  Jesse took the guitar from her and started playing some tunes. 'My mother taught me how to play the guitar. I was five that time if I am not mistaken. Then after I mastered the guitar, she taught me how to play the piano.'

  He looked so relax while he strums the guitar. Then after a few seconds, he started singing. She really loves his voice when he sings. Like he did during the auditions. He has his eyes closed as he strums the guitar. Wow, how can one play the guitar without even looking at the strings?

  'What's this?' she asked when she saw something written on the back of the guitar. Jesse filled it and revealed what was written. It was a signature with his mother's name under it. It was fading a bit.

  Maybe because it the guitar was very old.

  'It's my mother's signature. She did this before she gave this guitar to me. This was her first guitar, then she passed it on to me.' Jesse said while looking at her mother's handwriting behind the guitar.

  Chloe heard a noise from downstairs so she quickly went out of Jesse's room and ran to hers. She took a peek on her slightly opened door to see who made the noise downstairs. It was Jesse, he went towards his room. She closed her door and went to take a bath.

  In the bathroom, she let herself submerge in the warm water until she can't breathe. Her lungs are craving for air yet she still stayed under the water, with her eyes close, her mind clear with thoughts and her hands slowly losing its grip from the side of the tub.

  With all the things she'd been through today and for the past month, all she just wanted to do now is vanish from the face of this earth. Yet, she knows she cannot do that, she can't just die because of a heartbreak. But she wants the pain to stop, she wants the pain to just leave her alone. She wants to feel numb of what happened.

  She stood up from the tub and dried her body. After that she went to bed and forced herself to sleep. Hoping that there's no nightmare to disturb her this time. But she was mistaken, flashes of what happened earlier plagued her sleep that made her up all night. Again.

  CHAPTER 24:

  So, It Was You?

  Chloe rushed through the auditorium to meet who ever sent her the note yesterday. She can feel in her guts that it was Jesse. But something inside her tells her t
hat maybe she's wrong. Whatever, she's still going to see whoever that is.

  She was panting as she run to the auditorium. Chloe is getting irritated by the people who are blocking her way. Finally, she reached the auditorium, but it was empty. No signs of anyone here.

  "Hello?" she said however she heard nothing but her echo.

  "Hello." no one was in the auditorium. She just wasted her

  time running from her class all the way here, she ran two building just to get here just to see nothing. Chloe turned around to go back to the boarding house when someone called her name. But it wasn't Jesse.

  It was Blake, he was approaching her with a bouquet of black roses. What is he doing here? Is he the one who sent the note and not Jesse? She's confused why would Blake do this. Chloe walked toward Blake and stopped a few inches away from him.

  "Hello, Chloe. I didn't expect that you'll do what the note said, but here you are. You have no idea how much it makes me happy. Here, black roses for you. Sorry, I went through your journals just to know what your favorites flowers are." Blake passed her the bouquet which she accepted still confused.

  She looked at Blake, her eyes asking what is going on. But she didn't hear any explanation. "What is this Blake? What is happening here, why are you doing this?"

  "I like you, Chloe. And when I heard that you and Jesse broke up, I know that I had the chance to confess and ask you to date me. That is if you want to. If you don't, then it's fine with me but always remember that I am always here for you, ready to catch you if you fall." What Blake just said is totally confusing her. Is that why he always do whatever she ask? Why he's always there beside her when she's lonely?

  And here she thought he is just a good friend looking out for one another, turns out his feeling something different. She doesn't want to hurt him but what is she going to do? She wants to fix everything she has with Jesse.

  "Blake, I don't know what to say. I didn't expect that it's you who gave me that note. I don't want to hurt you but we can be what you want us to be. You're a good friend, Blake. A really good friend, but that's just it. And I already have Jesse, we may be having some conflicts now, I know we are going pass through that. I will never leave your side, remember that. I am always here. However, we're just going to stay friends, Blake." she gave him a tight hug, Chloe can feel tears on her shoulder as Blake hug her back.

  She doesn't want to hurt him but it's for the best. For her, Blake is like a brother she never had and she wants it to stay that way. It's true that he'll catch her when she falls because that's what he always does for her even if they are not dating. And he's Jesse's best friend for Christ sake. She can just date them both.

  "Chloe?" a voice from the door said that made her lose her grip from Blake. Jesse. He's here. And he doesn't look good. His shoulders dropped as well as the smile he had earlier. Did he misinterpret the hug she's sharing with Blake? Sure, he did. Jesse walkout of the auditorium and she had no choice but to follow him outside.

  They need to talk, now. This is her last chance. She ran fast out of the auditorium and was lucky to see Jesse not yet far from the exit. "Jesse, wait!" Chloe stopped a little bit close to him and catch her breathe. Jesus Christ, why am I always running today?

  "Jesse, can we talk. What you see in there, it's not what you think. Yes, he gave me flowers and he asked me if we could date. I rejected his offer. That's it. Now can we talk about us? I know I told myself that I'll wait for you to do the first move, but I'm tired of waiting, Jesse. I want to know if we could still fix this mess that we are in because I am hoping that we can. I rejected Blake because I know we can still fix us. And even if we can't, I am still going to reject him and who tries to ask me out because it's only you that I want."

  "I know I was so stupid not to let you explain your side about what happened that night. And now I'm giving you the chance, just please let's fix this mess. I'm tired of running away from you, I'm tired of crying, of feeling pain, and tired of waiting for you to do something. I know it's very dumb for a woman to do the first move but I don't care, if this is the only to get you back, I'll do it."

  Her tears are now rolling on her cheeks and she didn't do anything to stop it. She wants Jesse to see that she's weak now. That she needs him and she wants to fix everything bad that happened to them. Jesse walked towards her and wiped her tears. She didn't expect him to do that but she's happy that so far, she knows that it's not the end for them.

  "I should have go talked to you that night but I have no idea if you'll talk to me. I distanced myself for a while, when I decided to get back to you, I heard that you removed me from the play. In that time, I know that you don't want anything to do from me anymore. So, I stayed in my mother's crypt because I have nowhere else to go. I didn't want to burden my father with our problem. But believe me, I am always with you, even if you don't see me. Selene, she's nothing. If only you were there that night, you could have seen how me and our friends embarrassed her in the party because of the stunt he pulled."

  Jesse took her hand and looked at her intently. "Look, I know we both have our differences, we both did something terrible that we surely regretted. But can we please just set it aside and start a new life. Forget about everything that happened, please?"

  As if it was that easy to forget everything that happened. But maybe he's right, she wanted to start a new chapter for them and it's best to forget everything that happened. Chloe didn't say anything, she just hugged Jesse tight and let her tears free.

  She missed this, she missed having him in her arms and not letting him go. Chloe missed having Jesse so close to her. They both let go of each other and exited the building. Well, this is not how she expected how things will happen. She thought it's over for them but it turns out that they are just both waiting for one another to make a move.

  They both head out of the building then went outside of the campus. She just let Jesse drag her anywhere she wants. Chloe was surprised that Jesse led her to the parking lot behind the school and they both hopped in his car.

  "Where are we going? I have a rehearsal to do, the play is next week. What is up in that mind of yours. I can't just ditch our friends; they need me there."

  Jesse starts up the car and drove away from the school. "We'll visit my mother, and about your rehearsals, my sister will take care of it, she has Rebeca and Katherine there to help her."

  "You know Caroline shouldn’t be stressed; you should've just told her to cancel the rehearsals." she took out her phone to call Caroline. It took her a while to pick up her phone. She must be very busy.

  "Hello, Chloe. How are you? Did you and Jesse talk already? I saw him earlier; he said his going to talk to you." there's too much noise on Caroline's line that is why she knows that they are super busy. Now she's being guilty.

  "Yeah, we already talked. Unfortunately, he kidnapped me that's why I can't join the rehearsals. Here's what you'd do, go home, all of you, have some rest. The play is already perfect. Just have some rest, you all need it. Okay?" Chloe put back her phone to her pocket when Caroline already bid her goodbye.

  It was a long drive from the school to the cemetery, it looked like it's going to rain because the sky is gloomy. Thinking about what happened earlier, she can't help but think if she really got Jesse back. It all happened so fast that is why she's having a lot of thoughts and doubts inside of her.

  She's thinking what if everything that happened earlier is not true. It's making her uneasy that is why she dismissed the though and looked at Jesse while he drives. The good thing is she got Jesse back, there's nothing more to worry about.

  "What will you do now that you're out of the play? Have you talked to Mr. Clarkson yet? I'm sorry I removed you out of the group, we should, no, I should have waited for you to comeback before making a decision about the group."

  Jesse continued driving. It took a couple of minutes before he spoke to her. "Mr. Clarkson and I already talked about what I will do now that I am out of the play, and I have to do it for me to gra
duate. And about my place in the group, that's nothing, it was your decision as the director, I respect that. It's my fault why it happened, I'm the one to blame, not you, okay?"

  She nodded, he's right, it's not fully her fault that he's out. Yes, she's the one who removed him but him being MIA led to her decision. They were both silence after their talked.

  They arrived at the cemetery just in time before the rain fell from the sky. Both of them ran towards her mother's crypt and stayed against the pouring rain. The crypt looks cleaner than the first time she was here. And to add, there's flowers all over the place.

  What a great way to spend their comeback date. She sat in front of Jesse's mother and so is Jesse. They lit up a candle and uttered a silent prayer for his mother.

  "Today is her birthday and her death anniversary. Have I forgot to tell you that she died the same day as her birthday? She is already critical that time, the doctors said she doesn't have time left. But we didn't expect that she'll die on her birthday. "

  She didn't know that. Maybe there's still a lot of things she doesn't know about him. There's still a lot of things they have to discover about each other.