In the Clouds

Ch. 13

Jade and I were hanging out at the mall the next day. I had woken up that morning with a sense of relaxation that compared to nothing else. Spending the whole evening with Luke in my room and some SAT practice was nothing but a dream come true for me. I was a little bummed I never got that almost-kiss, but I knew deep down inside that I would get it, eventually. Luke even asked me to go with him to Sydney. I still couldn't believe that I could possibly be going with him there. I hope I do but before anything else I would have to tell Jade. We decided to have each other in each of our lives again so we need to not keep any secrets from one another. Jade and I walked through the mall on that busy summer afternoon with a Forever 21 bag in my right hand that was filled with a maxi skirt and a blouse that I decided to buy, just in case I go to Sydney with Luke. I also got a shirt from Forever 21 that said "Paradise" on it because any place with Luke is truly paradise to me.

"Let's stop at Starbucks," Jade burst out when we walked in front of it. We both started to stand in the line. When it was our turn to order, we both gave the cashier names other than our own to write on our cups because that was just something that Jade and I always did when we went to Starbucks.

"My name is Olivia," Jade laughed a little bit after giving the cashier a name other than her own. He didn't even notice.

"And I'm Hazel," I lied, thinking about "The Fault in Our Stars" as I said the name of the main character in the story.

"Hazel, huh?" Jade commented. "Matches with you. Your eyes are hazel," Jade pointed out.

"I guess you kind of look like an Olivia too. The blonde hair really does it for me," I laughed, referring to a girl named Olivia in our grade that had really blonde hair.

"Remember when we gave the cashier boy names one time?" Jade reminisced, taking her Salted Caramel Mocha with her to our table as I took my Vanilla Bean Frappiccino with me. Her drink was salty and sweet. I didn't like that combination. I always though it should be either one or the other. I hated how one sip could be sweet and the other could be salty. One day could be supportive and kind and the other mean and envious. It would cause one's tongue to be in confusion. My mind is in confusion. But I knew I wasn't talking about Jade's drink, I was thinking about Jade.

"Oh yeah I remember," I said zoning back into reality.

"My name was Justin because it started with a 'J' just like 'Jade' does. What was yours again? I know it started with an 'L'..." Jade recalled. I tried to remember the name that I told the man that day that Jade and I decided that we would not only change our names, but we would make them names of the opposite gender just to confuse the guy. The look on face was unforgettable, but that look still doesn't help me remember the name I chose.

"Oh yea!" I exploded. "My name was 'Luke,'" I revealed, my cheeks as red as a rose. "But that was before 5 Seconds of Summer even existed in your life so don't even say it!," I explained to her, laughing about the coincidence.

"Ok, I know. So speaking of Luke, how are things with him anyway?" Jade questioned before taking a sip of her drink. My mind went back to the night we had yesterday and how great it was. I then remembered the almost-kiss that we had right before he left and right after he invited me to go to Sydney. Sydney. I have to tell Jade about Sydney, I hope this Salted Caramel Mocha isn't salty about the news.

"Things are good, but I have some big news," I purred to Jade as I noticed her face fall a little.

"What?" Jade asked eagerly.

"Luke invited me to go with him and the guys to Sydney with them!" I gushed.

"That's so cool!" Jade gawked, her face telling a story that is different then her words. "Are you going to go?"