Favorite Mistake

FM 4

Text: From Ella

"Ly, meet Den at CSA park tomorrow, 6pm. Don't be late."

I have been staring at my phone for I don't know how long - 5, 10, 15 minutes? I have drafted and re-drafted my response to Ella but ended up just deleting it. Placing my phone in my pocket, I exhaled deeply as I laid down in the rooftop of my dorm and just stared at the stars.

It's been more than 3 weeks since I last saw Den; since that encounter with her family. I miss her, but I don't know if I'm ready to face her. These conflicting feelings are doing my head in.

If I meet up with her, what will I tell her? That I love her and I'll fight for her? Who are we kidding? We tried to tell them, to help them understand, but at the end of the day, they could only see us as kids who didn't know what they were talking about. I closed my eyes as I felt the tears started to sting.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" I heard Kim beside me. When I didn't respond, she laid beside me, leaving a few inches between us, giving me my personal space but letting me know she's here.

"What's up with you, Ly? You've been like this the past days. Since.."

"Since?" I cut her in.

Breathing deeply, weighing her words, she proceeded, "since you had that dinner with Den's family. What really happened that night?"

"Nothing" I said, dismissing her.

"Oh, come on! I'm not blind. I saw you when you came home that night, practically dragging your self home, head hung low, and crying your eyes out!"

She was losing her patience with me, and I still chose to keep my silence.

She continued, but we did not look at each other. We were still both staring at the sky. "You're my friend Ly. I may seem like a jokester, but I care about you ok?"

Pulling myself to a seating position, she followed-suit. Wringing my hands to stop the onslaught of tears, I spoke, "we told her parents about us, Kim.."

"And? How did they take it?"

"Let's just say, Den got a good handful slap on her face while I got pushed out of the gates."

Kim pulled me closer, "No..I'm ok" I resisted. Or, rather, I pretended to be ok. I knew that the moment I open my emotions, I would be opening the floodgate of tears and I may not be able to stop.

She insisted and pulled me, so that I can rest my head on her shoulders. For the first time since that night, I finally let all of the tears flow.

"Kim, it hurts"

"Of course it does.. It will... You love her. So, what do you plan to do about it?"

I just shook my head as I continued emptying out my feelings.

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6pm. Despite all of the doubts I had about coming here today, I still found myself right here, waiting for her.

I watched the sky as the darkness has fully taken over and stars started to peak out. The leaves of the trees humming lightly around me with the cold evening breeze.

"Hey!" I heard from behind me. As I turned, I saw Den running quickly towards me beaming with a huge smile. Her momentum crashed our bodies together as we collided for a hug.

"Oh my god. I missed you..." She said as she peppered my face with kisses. "I missed you so much" she repeated, as she rested her head on my chest.

That's when I noticed her huge bag resting at our feet.

"Did you come from training?" I asked, as I pulled her to sit on the benches, carrying her bag.