SECOND BLOOM | NICHOLAS CHAVEZ

0. prologue

as kids, adriela alonso and nicholas chavez were inseparable. two peas in a pod, what most people said whenever they would talk about them.

they were truly the bestest of friends. no other person could ever get in between them or break the strong bond they had. ever since birth, they knew they were destined to be together.

whenever nicholas was at home, adriela would be the only person he talks about. with his mom, his dad, his older sister.

even during christmas dinner! he would run to his grandparents and tell them stories, whether it be about how she taught him how to ride a bike, or something more simple like when they baked cookies.

he loved her company and that feeling was mutual.

adriela always thought of nicholas when he wasn't around. she would eagerly wait each day, for the next time she can see him.

the two weren't neighbors so you can only imagine the cries they had on their way back home after hanging out.

the alonso and chavez families were famous names in the business world. as adriela and nicholas' dads shared a huge vacation resort company.

the two men became best friends during middle school and decided to achieve their dreams together.

thanks to them having such a powerful friendship, nicholas and adriela grew to have one too.

they have only ever been away from each other for a long time once and it was only a week.

even when they grew up and school became more serious, they made time for each other. that's why nicholas was so determined to get his license.

he picked up adriela twice a week for their hang outs. they would go to the beach, amusement parks or just walk around and talk about life.

the girl never once told her best friend but their talks were her favorite thing.

she loved listening to him go on and on about the things he's so passionate about. she was the first person to know he wanted to be in the film industry. and she was the first person to support him.

but of course, all good things come to an end.

as adriela grew feelings for nicholas, she was confident the feelings were mutual.

the girl still remembers that day as if it was yesterday. the wind was cold, the sound of the water crashing was calm and the sky was ocean blue.

it was a chilly fall day in the middle of october and both of their parents decided to go on vacation to celebrate her mother's birthday.

the two teenagers were sitting outside in front of the ocean, the waves were strong and the wind prevented their wet hairs from getting dry.

nicholas laughed, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them.

adriela turned her head to the tanned boy who was leaning back, looking elsewhere with a smile on his face. "what?"

"it's just funny to me how you're all shaken up with your towel." he joked, letting his fingers hold onto her towel for a second.

as if offended, the girl pulled it away from him and rolled her eyes.

adriela had been preparing herself for weeks on confessing to nicholas. now was the perfect time, now it was the perfect moment.

she felt her heart rate increasing as she spoke up once again, "nicholas," she began.

the brunette boy turned his head back to her, letting her know his focus is all on her.

the wrapped up girl sat up before speaking, "i really like you.."

the energy shifted within a second as nicholas' throat went dry as he hoped that it was some joke.

adriela looked at him with hopeful eyes, waiting for him to say the words she had been needing to hear.

instead, her best friend lowered his head and she knew exactly what it meant. "i'm sorry, adriela.. i- i don't like you.. like that."

seeing her face drop tugged at nicholas' heart strings. the last thing he wanted was to hurt the person he cared about the most.

but he also didn't want to lie to her.

i guess, that thought never crossed his mind.

adriela rapidly avoided his gaze as she filled her eyes with tears, only a blink away from a waterfall.

she quickly stood up as he followed after her, "adriela.." he tried to softly comfort her but it was too late.

she was embarrassed to say the least but also heartbroken! for as long as she remembered, she was convinced he felt the exact same way.

there was no way in hell, the way he looked at her was only platonic.

as he reached out to her, she brushed his hand off and cleared her throat, "no, don't." she uttered before turning around and walking back inside.

that was the first time adriela left behind nicholas. but it surely wouldn't be the last.

after what seemed like months to adriela, the vacation was finally over. as the girl thought she could handle seeing nicholas, it was unbearable.

before she knew it, she had packed up her luggage and decided to finish her last school year as a transfer student in australia.

her parents fully supported her mature decision and she was gone with never to return, a month later.

nicholas had to learn to live without his best friend and after five difficult years, he learnt to go on with his day without letting a single tear slip from his eye over adriela.

but not being with her only made him realize his mistakes. his regrets keep him up.

he always wonders what could've been, if he had told adriela he liked her back. if he had stopped her from leaving.

would they still be together now?

that thought alone made him want to change everything, made him change himself.

now, he would do anything to bring her back to him. anything.

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