- Claire's POV -

I automatically smiled when her silhouette came into view and I ran into her welcoming arms. "I missed you so much!" The words came flying out of my mouth, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she held me tightly in her arms. That instant, I felt like I was the most loved girl in the world. No one could possibly feel more blissful than I did, to be in her arms. We didn't let go, and we stayed where we were for a couple of minutes. When she still didn't talk, something felt weird, so I pulled away from the hug to take a look at her. My heart ached when I saw her tears. "Silly you why are you crying!" I said as I gently wiped the tears off her face. "It's been...2 whole months since I last saw you... I'm just...really glad to see you again..." She said, in between her hiccups as she cried.

...

"Here's your Tokyo Banana. Oh, and I saw this new flavour so I thought you may wanna try." She started unloading the stuffs from her bag onto the bed.

"Ooh looks good!"

"And then...this." 

"What's this?"

"You get sick pretty easily and they said you will get stronger if you eat this so...I bought it."

"Gosh it's gonna be bitter. No I'm not eating it."

"I BOUGHT IT FROM JAPAN FOR YOU."

"SO?"

"YOU SHOULD APPRECIATE IT."

"NO I WILL NOT."

"SAY THAT AGAIN!" She started tickling me and I wiggled around trying to escape her attacks.

"N- HAHAHAHAHA OKAY OKAY STOP I WILL EAT IT YOUR MAJESTY." I was laughing hysterically by then and she finally stopped.

"Oh and this! I saw this when I was walking down some street one day and it totally reminded me of you. I had to buy it. I swear I had to buy it."

"... That is a freaking pig."

"That's why I said it reminded me of you. HAHAHA." She jumped out of bed and made a dash out of the room after saying that.

"YA YOU SERIOUSLY!" I too jumped out of bed and gave chase as we both started crazily laughing.

...

I aimed a book at her but I missed and it hit her back instead. Annoyed, she turned around and took the book, while still lying on my bed. "What is this?"

"Can't you read? 'The Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch."

"I know. So?"

"Read it."

"For what? You know I don't read."

"It's nice. And I like it."

"What? No."

"Shut up and read it."

"Why?!"

"Just read it! Why do you have eyes for?"

"What if I say no?"

"JUST READ IT."

"ARGH FINE."

...

I held a book to her face and she pulled away a little before taking it.

"A book again? What. Am I supposed to read it again?"

"You think?"

"What... No." I glared at her when she rejected me.

"Say that again?" I threatened.

"Okay okay... I surrender..."

...

I felt a pair of hands wrapping around my neck as I read my book at my desk.

"So...what's there for me to read?" She smiled at me as she asked, and I couldn't help but to smile back.

"Here." I picked out Can You Keep A Secret by Sophie Kinsella from the shelf and gave it to her.

"Okay!" Happily, she took it over. Without warning, I felt a tug at my hand and I was pulled to the bed.

"What are you doing?" I was pretty confused.

"Read while leaning on the headboard!" I furrowed my eyebrows but I did as I was told, and when I properly sat down on the bed, leaning against the headboard and with my legs stretched in front of me, she laid her head on my thighs and started reading the book. Gosh. Wasn't she sweet. I ruffled her hair before I got back to my book.

"You know I love you so much, don't you?" With her face hidden behind the book, she suddenly spoke up after half an hour or so.

"And no one loves you more than I do."

...

My eyes shot open and I looked around as the darkness unfolded in my eyes. It was silent, except for the soft sound from the air-conditioner. What were those dreams...? I felt so happy in those dreams that I actually felt disappointed at this moment for the change of emotions. And, who was that person? I couldn't see her face at all, and I didn't even realise that I couldn't see her face since...dreams were absurd in the first place. It was so surreal. I reached out for the phone on the bedside table and looked at the time as the blinding light from the screen irritated my eyes. It was 4 in the morning. I probably shouldn't disturb Krystal now with my questions at this time... Putting the phone back down, I tried to sleep once again, but I ended up tossing and turning for another hour or two before I finally fell asleep.

***

- Taeyeon's POV -

I looked at the pink-filled room as I lay on the bed, with even pink bedsheets. I couldn't smile, no matter how hard I tried. There were so many things going on in my mind. I was tired of thinking. My heart had been feeling so heavy ever since I started suspecting that Claire might just be Jessica. I closed my eyes, letting all the thoughts run wild.

I heard the door clicked open, but I chose to ignore it. "Sleeping?" Tiffany's voice sounded in the room and then I could feel her weight on the bed beside me. "No." I replied, and I opened my eyes. "I figured." She said, before lying down beside me on her queen sized bed. We didn't talk, but the silence wasn't awkward. Over the years, Tiffany had become my best friend, one of those friends who, I came to realise, wasn't pretentious at all, despite being popular.

"Tiff." I started the conversation.

"Yup?"

"Don't you think...that Claire looks exactly like Jessica?"

"Honestly, yeah. They look identical. If I were to see her for the first time without anyone telling me that it's Claire, I will probably shout 'Jessica' and then give her a bear hug or something."

"Don't you think that the resemblance is too... How should I put it. Too much?"

"Meaning?"

"I mean, even twins don't look that identical."

"And your point is?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but...is it not possible that Claire may be Jessica?"

"What?" Tiffany sat and looked at me, and she frowned.

"..."

"Is that why you are so downcast recently? You think that Claire is Jessica?" I didn't like Tiffany's expression, it was obvious that she found my suspicion absurd."

"Tiff I swear I hate that look on your face. But it's bothering me so much and I'll explain it to you. Yes, Jessica has left us. But, none of us had been to her funeral. Which means, none of us actually witnessed that she left us. Why is it impossible that she's actually alive?"

"Well... Yeah we didn't attend her funeral. But it doesn't make sense for her to fake her death right? I mean, why would she even do that?"

"What if it's not her decision?"

"You're not making sense Taeyeon. You two loved each other. Who else could make her fake her death and make you so miserable without her fighting back? Jessi was always especially strong when it comes to you. Do you even remember how she almost landed that girl in hospital? That girl who tried to mess with you just because she hated Jessi and she wanted to make Jessi miserable by hurting you? Jessi never cared about anyone who messed with her. But it just took one girl to mess with you and Jessi lost control. I never even knew that Jessi had that side."

"I know. I mean...how about...perhaps Jess lost her memory?" At that instant, I could see Tiffany's eye flickered, as if she had a sudden realisation. But she quickly gathered herself.

"Okay...that actually sounds...possible."

"Right? And okay, even if they look identical, what about their voices? They sound EXACTLY THE SAME."

"I admit that. I was so shocked when I heard her speak that day."

"The only thing that stopped me from thinking that she is Jessica, is that she loves cucumbers. But, it also made me believe more firmly that Jessica may have lost her memory. That explains why she recognises none of us, and the cucumbers. And it also explains why she looks and sounds completely like Jessica." I knew that I managed to convince Tiffany by the way she looked. I wasn't being weird right? What I said made sense, isn't it?

"No no no no no wait. Taeyeon, stop. I've to admit that whatever you said do make sense. But look, there are also many other things that you didn't think of. If Claire really is Jessi, and Jessi really lost her memory, and it wasn't her decision to fake her death, then whose decision was it? If we are to think of it this way, then the only people I can think of, is her family. And honestly, Taeyeon I... I don't know... I can't imagine them doing that. It was obvious that Mr and Mrs Jung loved you to death. And Krystal. We were so close with her. Why would she hide it from you? She knew how much you doted on her. She wouldn't do that to you Taeyeon. So maybe...we shouldn't just...easily think that Claire is indeed Jessi. 'Cause...so many things don't make sense if she is..."

"But the more it doesn't make sense to me if Claire isn't Jessica!"

"Taeyeon...calm down alright? Okay, you're right, it's not impossible. We just have to find out, isn't it? But first, calm down. Don't believe so firmly that she is Jessica. Honestly, what if she's not? What if she's really just Claire who looks and sounds exactly like Jessica? You're just gonna hurt yourself, and Claire. Nobody likes to be a shadow of another person, Taeyeon. You two are already dating, isn't it?"

"I... Y-yeah... How did you..."

"I'm your best friend for goodness sake. You don't have to tell me for me to realise that you're dating someone. Taeyeon please, calm down, and think about it. If you want to find out, think about how you should go about doing it. But, bear in mind that Claire may really just be Claire, not Jessica. Jessica may really have already left us. I really don't want to see you getting hurt trying to accept losing Jessica for the second time Taeyeon..." She lightly patted my leg as she looked at me in the eyes.

I nodded and sat up, before pulling Tiffany into a hug. "Thanks Tiff... I was just about to go insane thinking about all these on my own. Thanks..." She tightened her arms around me. "Don't be silly. You're my best friend. You always have me." I couldn't reply any more as tears silently fell.

© Sky Blue Tales ✍