It was just my luck. I simply HAD to get stuck with sitting next to JR. It had been a rough two weeks for me:

1. Just finished my Finals
2. Just broken up with JR

So you see. It had been the Two Roughest Weeks of My Life.

Great, sitting next to him just gave me major flashbacks of why we broke up anyway.

I felt his eyes on me as the bus revved up. Heard my name as a whisper on his lips. I turned to him as he reached out for my hand.

"Stop."

That one word sufficed, for now at least. The moment the bus stopped, however, and both of us got down, he grabbed me before I could even make it back to my friends in class. His eyes pleaded with desperation in contrast with my own indifferent stare.

School had ended after that excursion, and my friends had so conveniently shouted their goodbyes as they ran down from the bus before me (they kind of wanted us to get back together) (which to me is simply stupid - JR said the most hurtful things so why should I forgive a jerk like him?)

If I hadn't rolled my eyes and sighed in frustration, I would've seen his hand reaching to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ears faster. Still, I avoided it by jerking back. He drew back his own palm like he'd been wounded. I had to admit - this boy was such a good actor, I was actually feeling sympathy for him under all my rage.

Then, I don't know what came over him, but he seemed like resolve had kicked in and he just pulled my arm he was holding all the way to the cafe near us.

It was one of our frequents - HolyMoly, it was called. Known for its aromatic tea and to me, the place of our last date.

"You know I won't give up until you talk to me, so you should just sit down." he stated curtly, before abruptly leaving to the long queue of orders at the front of the cafe.

Unfortunately, I knew he was right, so I took a seat grumpily and started texting my friends, berating them for leaving me like this. I was getting more panicky by the second - each time I looked into his eyes, I felt my determination to hate him grow weaker and weaker, bit by bit. He was dangerous and volatile...and he also made me laugh the hardest. Even now, when there's good news, his is the face I think of to share it with first.

"Indeed, how pathetic you are." I thought aloud to myself, just as he was walking back with...what was that? Oh...he brought our Favourite drinks; two sparkly iced lemon teas mixed with Sprite and a dash of lime. Usually, it came with a scoop of ice cream, but I guess this wasn't the time for messy eating.

"What'd you say?" he inquired as he got closer. "Oh, nothing." I replied, refusing to look at him and staring instead at the curly straw bobbing around in my tea. I glanced up to catch him staring at me and furrowed my eyebrows as I looked down again. Why'd he do this anyway? I was never going to forgive him.

A small sigh escaped his lips. "I'm not doing this to torture you. If you just...spend the day with me, like we used to, and still find that I am a burden at the end of today, I'll let you go forever. I promise."

I looked up straight at him this time, surprise evidently exuding from me. He had spent the last two weeks chasing after me without giving up once. And he chooses to stop now? Why?

"You serious?" I said and he nodded in reply. "Fine." I don't know what came over me, but I was up to this challenge.

Surprisingly, his cheeks had a twinge of red as he spoke and he looked down to avoid my eyes, a small sad smile on his face. In that moment, my heart seemed to break and then put itself back together immediately. I was so conflicted and curious about everything he was doing today - he was usually so confident and unabashed about his actions. That's why I ended up just staying silent. Well, silent except for the thoughts running through my mind faster than a bullet train in Japan.

We drank our teas as I drank in the atmosphere, secretly remembering the small things we'd do together in this cafe. Like how once, we sneaked into the kitchen at closing time with one of the staff, who gave us all their leftover brownies and rejected lava cakes, which were still a 10/10, but rejected simply because it was "slightly burnt"! Crazy, I know. I don't understand chefs either. Anyway, we got so full of the cakes, we couldn't touch the brownies, so we brought them to our town's orphanage the next day and had the best time with the children.

I didn't know it, but I had started smiling somewhere between the memory of our third date and second road trip. He noticed, of course. "You look so pretty when you smile."

Immediately, I went back to my indifferent face. He smirked. "You're still blushing when you do that, you know."

I had to give it to the guy - he knew how to charm girls. Which is exactly why I shouldn't forgive him. But...

When both of us finished our iced teas, we got up and he dragged me to the movies. We ended up watching an Avengers movie, one of our most favourite series of all time. This time, though? I couldn't concentrate one bit. He seemed fine, and laughed at the funny parts or whimpered at the sad parts. I was having the worst time - how was he so relaxed while I was so confused about everything? The way he acted was as if there was no rift between us as all. But there was!

While pondering about this in between glances at him and trying not to touch his hands as I grabbed fistfuls of popcorn, he pulled his classic move - a yawn and a stretch, to put his arm over my shoulder. Immediately, I stiffened. How was he doing this to me? I had worked so so hard to forget him and here he was, stepping all over my plans and pulling me closer. My heart started racing and I forced myself to stare at the screen for the rest of the showtime.

By the time the movie ended, I had to catch the last bus home, which he of course, graciously followed me onto like he always did back then. The bus rocked back and forth. The driver was always reckless at this time of night. I guess it was because they wanted to finish their last lap quickly so they could get home. This did me no pleasure, of course. I rocked right into JR's chest because we were standing across from each other and he so conveniently caught me, holding me tight. "Whoa, there." he softly spoke, his lips spreading into a smile. I straightened my cardigan and abruptly tore away from his grasp to hold back onto the handrails, heart beating out of my chest. Oh God, did he feel it palpitating? Could he hear it even now? "..." I mentally cursed. I could practically FEEL his smirk despite me aggressively burning my eyes into the gravelly floor of the bus.

When we got down, I decided I should speak before he did. Maybe then I'd get to run away and throw these stupid feelings aside so I could go back to being apathetic towards him. I tried to start out being nice as we started walking.

"JR, today was...good. If you wanted me to remember all we did, guess what? You achieved it. However, that doesn't mean that I'll-"

I would have spoken more. It was just that he suddenly pushed me back against the brick wall of the back of the bus stop. His gaze burned into mine and we spent a few tense moments in that position. He was going to kiss me. I knew it. He always was such a control freak, always a-

Suddenly, he pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry I was such a jerk. I took you for granted and it kills me to regret so much, to regret leaving you. You made me so excited to live my life, you know? Like I'd found my purpose - which was you. With you, I could laugh until my stomach hurt and cry until my eyes felt like melting as well, because you wouldn't judge me for it." He slowly pulled away, but his hands remained on my shoulders, his gaze now fixed on me.

"And then I got so invested in myself. I became so obsessed with my own ego. I forgot about you and how you'd shaped me to become the best version of me. I didn't realize it then, but I know now. You're the best thing that happened to me, you know? I mean it."

He went silent. A bitter smile formed on his lips. It was hard to see him like this - totally stripped of his confidence, totally vulnerable to whatever decision I made.

"It's...it's okay, though. If you want this to end. I'll just...stay away from you from now on." His hands slowly slipped from my shoulders.

No, my decision was final. I crashed my lips onto his, and clung onto the sides of his cotton shirt. It took him a moment to recover from his shock, but he started kissing me back. With that one gesture, we both knew. We had no regrets. If not now, then when? We weren't getting any younger, so we might as well take a shot at this. I guess I was being petty at the time of our breakup anyway - he just wanted to find his own identity and I didn't understand that until now.

We broke away from the kiss with our foreheads still touching. I glanced up at him. His eyes were still closed and he was grinning like he'd just won a million dollars. That infectious smile spread onto my face too. He pulled me close once again, burying his face in my hair and sighing in content.

"I love you." he whispered. "I love you too, JR." I whispered back.