PROLOGUE
meet ralph jackson. a junior in philadeplhia high. he was your typical boy next door, a guy with his own music, the one that goes with his flow, the one who doesn't fit in, but doesn't care. although, he had scored the girl who was his complete opposite--high heels, preppy clothes, expensive perfume, has almost every guy falling for her--as his girlfriend. her name? juliana lim. they were on their second month today, and they decided that they wanted to go public now, as ralph declared he was 'ready.'
a night before school started, ralph and juliana were at the fireplace at juliana's house. he had gotten her a monthsary gift package, like he always would. this month, the package contained of a mumford and sons cd, a hand-drawn (and painted) "How To Make a Fishtail Braid" poster and his old copy of Catcher In the Rye. to top it all off, it was wrapped in a wool sweater with a matching belt. "oh, you. you never seem to run out of surprises, huh?" juliana grinned. ralph chuckled, showing that familiar, cute smirk he had. his eyes were gleeful. before giving him his gift, juliana leaned in, looked him in the eye and kissed him hard. they grinned into the kiss, and then broke apart. "aw, i messed up your curls," he pouted. he brushed off the hair that was in her face, showing her beautiful hazel eyes, perfectly straight nose, and prominent cheekbones. he leaned in and kissed her again. "uh, your gift?" she giggled.
"right," he smiled again. juliana got her a varsity jacket with her initials on the front, and his last name on the back written in block lettering. inside its left pocket was a new dogtag, although it was plain and it was purely made of silver. the right pocket had customized Beats, and was leather, like his favorite leather jacket. "i knew it, you were getting sick of my jacket," he giggled. juliana shrugged. "it doesn't suck to try something new, ralph," she said, smiling. "i know," he winked. juliana let herself fall in his arms, now facing the fire. "i know it's too early to say this, but..."
juliana gave him a cheerful look, the one that says 'go on, say it.'
the air felt cold all of a sudden, and the fire blew with it. it had set off, making the whole place darker than it was. "i'll close the window," said juliana, a bit gutted. what was it that ralph wanted to say, but it was 'too early'? she sat back down and asked, "what was that, again?"
ralph hesitated. "n-nothing."
she sat up straight, wanting to say something, but instead, she just kept quiet and sat by the window sill. "i know this is jumping to conclusions, but i'm thinking i have a feeling what you'll say to me," she started. ralph searched for her face, realizing she was now far from him. his eyebrows knitted together. "w-what is it?" he stammered. juliana sighed, looking out the window. "you want to break up with me."
he gasped. "what?!"
"that's what you want to tell me, right?" she said.
"i won't! i swear, juliana! it's not what i want to tell you!" he said. he grunted and struggled to light the fire again.
"really?" she asked. "stop jumping to conclusions, juliana!" he shouted.
the look in her eyes shifted from anger, and then, to pain. she mustered up all the strength she could to fight back her tears. "just tell me what it is," she said.
"i'm not sure if i could...i'm still not sure if i'm infatuated or really..in love."
she sighed. "really? because i love you."
his eyes widened. "y-you do?" juliana's forehead formed a crease.
ralph sighed. "okay, here it goes..."
"i'm so sorry if i made you doubt me, especially on our day. we've been through a lot, considering it's only been four months. juliana lim, i love you. i love you with everything that i am. i've always known infatuation ends at four months..and i guess it's not really too early to say it now. because i really do love you, babe. i could just scream it to the world. but you're practically my world now, so maybe, i just did. without the screaming part. i love you, juliana lim. i really do. i could go on and on for days, weeks, even." he stopped and he giggled, looking down on the floor. he pulled juliana closer. close enough to feel her breath on his neck, close enough to press his lips on her neck.
"ralph, you may think that i'm your world, but remember..don't ever say that about anyone. just don't. i'm fine being the one in your heart. enough is enough. okay?" those words made him hold her tighter, not wanting to let go. his lips were still on her bare neck, and they started to crawl their way up to her jaw, to her cheek, to her lips.
and with that, his alarm clock went off.
