Me & You

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Surprise

    Jane jumped out of bed, she wanted to look her best when Xander arrived. Today is Thursday, and normally on days when they don't have school together they would go out to get coffee and talk. Jane hopped into her closet and picked out the perfect outfit. Afterwards she jumped into the bathroom and put on make-up for the first time in a really long time. The outcome of her efforts made her beautiful. She didn't feel plain anymore. She felt so happy, so confident, and extremely excited.

    As she was putting the finishing touches on her make-up, when she got a text message from Xander.

    "Hey! Sorry, I don't think I can come over today. Something's come up. I'll tell you about it at school tomorrow."

    Anxiety struck Jane's heart. What's going on? Is Xander okay? Is his mom okay? She wanted to respond to find out what was going on, but she didn't want to overwhelm him. So she just said, "That's okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

    The next day at school, Jane found her seat but Xander hadn't arrived yet. Jane began to feel even more worried.

    "Hey Bestie! What's wrong?"

    "Hi Nat. Nothing, I'm just worried about Xander."

    "Why? Oh, he's here now."

    "Hey Xander. Is everything okay?"

    "Yeah, everything's great! Hey, I have a surprise for you after class."

    With that, Professor Ortiz walked in, and began the lesson. Jane could barely concentrate, what was the surprise?

    When class was over, Xander and Jane went to go sit at the fountain in the courtyard.

    "So what's your surprise?"

    "Okay, so remember the other night when I asked you for advice for a friend?"

    "Yeah."

    "Well... I'm the friend, the advice was for me. And I've decided to take your advice. With that being said, there's something I have to tell you."

    "To tell me?"

    Their conversation was interrupted by a voice calling out to Xander.

    "Maria! Hey! Jane here's someone I'd like you to meet. Jane, this is Maria - my girlfriend."

    "It's so nice to finally meet you Jane. I've heard so much about you!"

    "Girlfriend?"

    "Yeah, I asked her last night after I took her out on our first date. You see, we met..."

    Xander began to tell the story of how they met, how they just clicked, and how his feelings for her developed. But Jane heard none of it. She didn't hear how they had a class together on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning, or how they talked in class all the time. Or even that Maria loved the sound of Xander's voice when he speaks English, so he only speaks English to her. Or how sweet they were to each other. Jane heard none of it. Their love story was drowned out by the sound of her heart shattering. She felt millions of pieces of her heart break off one by one, with every word that came out of Xander's mouth. She saw their happiness as if she were watching a movie, the happiness that was once her own. Jane saw how happy Xander was, and how beautiful Maria was. Maria was a true Filipino beauty. Fair skin, long black hair, big almond shaped eyes, everything Jane wasn't. Jane knew why Xander chose Maria over herself, because Jane was nothing compared to her.

    With all of her might, Jane put a smile on her face and held back her tears. She wanted to be happy for him, even though she was slowly dying inside.