forget me not.

i. je suis amoureuse

CHAPTER ONE
'i am in love'

summer is long. atleast for kids as young esmeralda was. before leaving paris, she expected to just do the same things she does whenever she's in manchester. do everything with shelly and if not, just stay put at home.

but right now, things are obviously not how it always was then. it was no longer just esmeralda and shelly. there's also owen.

owen who walks a little too fast so it makes it look like he's leading them but when he realizes, he immediately slows down until he's walking side by side with shelly who hugging an injured bird close to her chest.

her cousin dragged esmeralda to the park to play at the playground where they met up with owen who left his friends immediately upon seeing shelly.

they played for awhile until owen asked them, asked shelly, to walk around the park with him. that was when they encountered the injured bird the must've fallen down from its nest.

"what are going to do with it?" owen asks shelly who is looking down at the bird as she walked, owen immediately grabbing her arms softly so he could guide her to avoid any accidents.

"i don't really know. i'm going to ask dad." shelly answers and the boy nods with a proud smile.

esmeralda quietly observed but not really noticing how her stare lingered far longer on the arm owen was holding so gently than anything else she'd found interesting. maybe it's fortunate that both owen and shelly aren't as mature as her then to notice.

the day ended with her cousin and owen leaving for the vet with her uncle and esmeralda more quiet than usual and going straight to her room to think.

;

esmeralda isn't really sure. maybe she's far too young to be thinking about these things. but then she couldn’t help it. she's never really liked someone.

she's heard her classmates talk about it. saw how their smiles would widen and their cheeks would redden whenever the boy they liked would walk by or be mentioned. the older people say it's called puppy love when it in esmeralda's age. that it's just a crush and not the type that was serious.

she thought that she was crushing on owen. but seeing or thinking of him never made her smile or blush. but then why was she so bothered whenever she would treat shelly so special?

little esmeralda couldn't help but frown.

"are you okay?" shelly tugs at esmeralda's hand that she holding as she walks ahead.

they are going to go to the park. again. esmeralda has never walked outside this much in her life. she's always in a car or in their house, or in one of her mommy's tall buildings.

"yeah." she answers and shelly stares for awhile before nodding and looking back ahead. "do you have a crush on owen?" esmeralda couldn't stop herself from asking.

"i don't know. but i guess i don't." shelly shrugs. "but alot of girls in our school does. they all blush and smile at him and they think he's cool. i don't really see it." she adds snarkily.

esmeralda just nods even though shelly is looking ahead. blushing and smiling. could be just one of the two. liking owen really isn't possible when she's never experienced any of the two because of him.