First

Eleven

My hair smelled good today. It was the same shampoo that I used every day but that morning, it somehow smelled differently nice. I was glad. I hoped this continued every day.

Yvonne was still sleeping when I entered the bathroom for a shower. I woke her up but she asked me if I could wake her up again after I came out of the shower. I shrugged but agreed.

The weather was getting chiller with every passing moment so being under the hot shower felt great, making me not want to leave even though I was done with it. Reluctantly, I grabbed one of the neatly folded towel from the rack and wrapped it around my body before coming out of the bathroom.

I started shivering immediately so I quickly increased the temperature of the thermostat. Without looking back, I called out for Yvonne but she didn't answer. Confused, I turned back and found no one on the bed.

I again called out to her but she was nowhere to be seen or heard so I quickly put on my sweater and my pyjamas and headed out to check on her. As soon as my hand turned the doorknob to open it, she came in, making me jump and hold my breath in panic.

"Hey! You are done already?"

"YVONNE!!" I screamed.

"What? Why are you shouting at me?" She questioned in her sleepy tone.

"You just scared me! Oh my god!" I screamed back at her as I put my hand over my forehead, releasing my held breath.

She started laughing loudly in her sleepy self, making me more irritated and upon seeing me more irritated, she laughed more. She was annoying like that.

I then sat her down, even though still annoyed, and told her about everything. My meeting with Elijah followed by the plan. She listened eagerly, joy and excitement slightly evident in her eyes which meant she hid the rest of it well.

She grinned. "Thank you for this. Remind me to thank Elijah as well. Today, I will gather up the courage and tell him everything."

There was this new - found confidence in her that I really was glad of but, it was short-lived. Concern and doubt overshadowed it quickly as she added, "But, are you sure it wouldn't turn out horrible?" Her face turned frail at the thought of Jason rejecting her. Before I could object to her doubt because there was no way that was possible, she interrupted me. And I didn't mind it one bit because what she said made me beam with pride.

"You know what. It honestly doesn't matter. I will try nevertheless. And if it doesn't turn out the way I want it to, it's okay still. At least I tried." She looked at me and smiled.

I exhaled soundly before hugging her tight. "I hope you know how proud I am of you. No matter what, I got you. I swear on you."

She hugged me back as tightly as possible. And as we pulled away, she added, "Don't swear on me. I'll die if you turn out to be a bitch and decide to abandon me."

I laughed at that. "I don't care."

***

"What's the time though?" Yvonne asked. She had just come out of the washroom.

Taking a quick glance at my phone, I answered, "8."

"We would've left for St. Luke Church by now if it wasn't cancelled." I thought.

Breakfast was starting in a while so we decided to head out once she was done with getting ready. The restaurant was pretty close and cozy, complementing the weather well. We had a quiet and filling breakfast as we talked about the most random of things and how we expected our college lives to be. As the cold wind blew outside, we sipped our coffees and continued our conversation as we laughed at some embarrassing childhood memories. One thing that I loved about her was how easy she made it for me to be myself; I could open up to her and stand naked with who I truly was and I'd feel like I was right where I was meant to be. She made me feel so at ease and comfortable that she was slowly starting to feel like home. The innocence in our friendship was something I didn't know I needed.

Once we were finally done, even if we felt lazy to get up and go back, we had to; we had a plan to execute. Otherwise we could've stayed a little while longer. When we came back to the inn soon after breakfast, we immediately flopped down on our beds, taking deep breaths and sighing heavily. Five minutes in, my phone vibrated; it was Elijah.

Time for the mission to start :) Come to the small sitting area adjacent to the garden.

"Elijah just texted me. We got to go," I said, getting up and getting ready for the plan. But, her voice stopped me.

"Summer?" There was a serious expression on her face.

"Yeah," I replied, acting as if she wasn't scaring me.

"Do you like him?"

"Who him?" I asked, now completely confused.

"Elijah."

Speechless. That was the question to which I myself didn't know the answer to. Even though I had always preferred staying quiet and speechless, today was an exception. I wanted to give her an answer because I myself wanted an answer. But, I didn't. I really didn't have the answer to that.

"No," I finally managed to speak. "I don't think so." It sucked how I didn't know if I was lying or not.

"But the way you look at him does,"

I looked at her, not knowing how to answer that. She sighed in response, letting the soft rain outside fill in the silence. A phone call came, making Yvonne get up and attend it. Those few seconds gave me the time to reflect on how I truly felt; it was getting kind of something to be concerned about.

She cut the call a few seconds later before joining me back. We just ignored the unfinished conversation as we started heading out. For some reason, it felt like the right thing to do at that moment - to leave it right there without finishing it because she knew I didn't have the answer.

When we reached the place, we found them right where he said they would be — sitting on a sofa swing, talking. I sent him a quick text saying, "We're here right behind you."

He read it as soon as I sent it and quickly got up saying, "I got to go,"

He smirked at Jason who was now more confused than ever but quickly changed his expressions when he turned back and saw her.

"Hi," She said as she walked towards him. Jason glanced one last time towards Elijah, his eyes glowing with gratitude before turning back to her.

"Hey."

Me and Elijah looked at each other and smiled, having done our small part as friends. Just when we were about to leave, Dr. Green crossed the other side of the hall and eventually saw us. We weren't supposed to go outside or even sit anywhere outside because of the predicted storm that could come anytime.

She walked towards me and Elijah as she gave us the "what's happening here?" look but before she could see them, we took her to the other side where neither of them could see each other.

We quickly made up a lie and eventually, she bought it. I almost couldn't believe how much we were in sync while coming up with a last second lie.

"Okay," She said. "But, on one condition," killing off my budding good thoughts about her.

"And that is?" Elijah asked her as soon as she said those.

"You both have to stay here and guard. Make sure nobody goes out in that weather." She pointed to the heavy downpour outside. My mouth dropped.

"But Dr. Green, why? What did we even do?" I argued and Elijah supported me by nodding his head.

"I don't see any of our faults in it," Elijah reasoned calmly, keeping his cool. I gave him a glance, mentally questioning how he was managing to keep his cool.

"Well, you guys were here, near the entrance so it's obvious you were planning on going out so for that, as a punishment, stay here and guard." She ordered, pointing her finger.

Wow, great. Just great. I was stuck here "guarding".

With him.