Two Close Months

Prologue - A Reflection on One's Life

Neil's P.O.V

I sat on the grass, back on the tree at an angle. My legs extended outwards and my upper back rested on the trunk of the sturdy giant; a little space was left for 'breathing room'.

I looked upwards, peering into space – well, the leaves of the tree actually – with a blank look on my face.

I guess I was the main reason all of these things happened to me.

But damn, I shouldn't have taken the bait.

I cursed myself for listening to Kia's goading.

I grit my teeth and closed my eyes, thinking back at the events that lead up to my perpetual sulking.

"Come on, everyone expects you two to dance." An excited female voice stated.

I looked at her and at the girl  hat she wanted me to dance with.

I roped them into this mess; I roped her into this situation.

"Well Jaleel, there is this girl..." I started slowly

All of those days of faux-boasting to my friends about having a girlfriend.

"Woah Neil, you can stop right there bro." Ramo chuckled to himself.

"Neil, you mean your cousin?" Vishmi added.

Obviously they wouldn't have believed me, even less now.

"Well guys, you can say what you want, I know the truth." I half-joked.

"Okay Neil," Jaleel said, finally opening his mouth after carefully assessing the situation. "What is the truth?"

Damn, Jaleel... he had to be himself, huh?

I held up my hands in protest, "That's for me to know and you to find out when I am ready."

"I knew he was lying."Ramo practically shouted.

Jaleel's eyes peered into mine for a few seconds.

His gaze was unwavering; I was his sole focus.

Damn it, he's trying to see if I'd crack under pressure.

Classic Jaleel.

With my eyes unwavering,and ignoring a few unnerving stares from a few people that passed by, Jaleel's attention turned towards Ramo, "You're making a scene, bro."

"Woah Jaleel, you're the one staring at Neil here, am I right?" Ramo nudged Vishmi.

"Yeah, he has a point."

"Classic Neil shenanigans." Jaleel stated swiftly. "I am a lie-detector, you know."

At that statement, Ramo shuddered.

Jaleel had a knack for waving things off like that.

I sighed, "They had nothing to do with it."

"Whatever Neil, come at us whenever you are ready to actually talk." With that said, Jaleel started to walk off, raising his left arm for a short moment – as a goodbye – before dropping the appendage idly to his side.

Ramo and Vishmi followed him after a short wave towards my general direction - in hopes of catching up with Jaleel.

They were my friends after-all; only looking out for my well-being.

"Hey Neil, I see that you are watching Bea." The same excited voice stated.

That day; why did we have to go to joint training?

I face-palmed heavily and shifted my gaze forward.

"What are you saying?"I looked away instinctively. "What's your goal?"

Through holes in my spaced-out, I made out the image of a pair of white and blues sneakers.

'Damn it, Damn it!' I thought as I closed my eyes forcefully and perfectly covered my face, pretending not to see the harsh reality in front of me.

'Ugghhh, Neil," She started. "Always thinking too much."

I didn't respond, but looked at her face.

"I just saw something and wanted to say it." She smiled with relative innocence. "Classic Neil."

She knew what she was doing.

Maybe if I had nodded and had my curiosity not taken the best of me....

The sound of footsteps slowly approached me.

"Oh hey Bea." I started, making the girl jolt up in surprise.

"Hey Neil." Her voice was emotionless, not because of resent – more due to the fact that this was actually my first time talking to her; first impressions may never change.

If only...

We started making small chat, ignoring the semi-organized congregation of Bea's friends, some of which were mine at the time, around us.

And suddenly it was brought up; that topic.

The footsteps stopped.

"Neil,"Her voice was serious, indicated by her pause. "Look at me."

"I am born in April by the way." Bea said with a light chuckle.

"Wow, pretty close." I said as I thought of the statement that would change everyone's lives forever.

I finally dropped my hands and opened my eyes, "Yes..."

My voice was tactless.

She sighed, "We have to talk."

This was hard for the both of us; we knew

"You know what they say: March and April go great together."