I tossed and turned in my bed, trying to fall asleep. I shut my eyes tightly, forcing myself to sleep. I sat up and ruffled my hair. I couldn't sleep at all. I tried counting sheep but it didn't help. I watched on TV that counting sheep would help people sleep but it didn't. Those people lied. I groaned. I wanted to sleep so badly but I couldn't.

 

I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. I looked at the mirror. Bags were already forming under my eyes. I touched them and cringed at how ugly the bags made my face looked. I flicked my bangs aside and checked if there were any pimples or zits. None. I grinned. Not eating chocolate was really helpful.

 

I went downstairs and prepared a drink. I went to the living room and opened the lights. I plopped down on the huge couch and watched TV. I flicked through the channels and settled on a movie. As I was drinking my smoothie, I saw a shadow moved by the window in the corner of my eye. My head snapped up and looked at the window. Nothing. I turned my head back to the TV. This time, I heard a rustle outside. Half of my brain wanted to stay, the other half wanting to go outside and check it out. The other half won. I took out a bat from the closet and cautiously walked towards the door. I opened it and went outside, tiptoeing and looking left and right.

 

“Roxy.”

 

I jumped and dropped the bat. I turned around and saw a shadow emerge from the bushes. I gasped. It was him! A rush of memories whizzed by in my brain. I couldn't go back to the house because he was blocking the doorway. He smiled. I shivered and glared at him.

 

“Why are you here?” I snarled. His smile grew wider.

 

“To see you, of course,” he answered casually.

 

“Yeah, right. What's your real reason, Josh?” I spit his name out with utter disgust and hatred.

 

He smirked. “You couldn't get rid of your memories of me, right, Roxy?”

 

My eyes widened. “It was temporary, Josh. I couldn't do it the first time. Now stop ignoring the question and answer it. Why are you here?”

 

“To continue our relationship. I'm sure you missed it too?”

 

I spit on his shoe. “Shut up and get the hell out of my house. Get out of here and never come back.”

 

“You shouldn't have done that, Roxy.”

 

In a swift move, he grabbed my wrist firmly, showing no signs of letting me go, and appeared behind my back with a knife touching my back. Too bad. I had some tricks up in my sleeve. I took hold of his hand that was clutching my arm and pushed forward, surprising him. I turned around, grabbed the knife, and kicked him hard in the stomach. He flew several feet with a loud thud. I touched my wrist. Red marks were appearing on the white skin. I looked in front of me. Josh had stood up already and was dusting his pants off. He walked towards me, gripping his stomach.

 

“Should have known that you learned martial arts. I underestimated you, Roxy,” grumbled Josh.

 

I smiled. Suddenly, Josh sprinted towards me and threw a punch at me. I sidestepped and grabbed his stretched-out arm. I spun around and threw him across the lawn with all my strength. He quickly stood up and ran towards me again, jumping to kick me. I waited for the right timing. 3 . . . 2 . . . 1! I grabbed his leg with both of my hands and pulled, his head landing on the cement ground. I threw the knife by his feet.

 

“Never underestimate me, Josh,” I whispered to him, gripping his black hair roughly. He groaned in pain. I took the chance to run towards the doorway. I shut the door close and locked it. I ran towards my bedroom, panting heavily. I started pacing around my room. If he was back, then I had to be careful. I knew he was targeting me. I shuddered involuntarily every time his face appeared in my head. I couldn't believe he was back. My nightmares were coming back to me. I dropped on the ground and put my head between my knees. Tears flowed down my cheeks and I silently cried. I thought that putting him in jail would solve everything. Little did I know, it just made everything worse.

 

The next morning my parents found me sleeping in a position that left me with a pain in my neck and everywhere else. I limped my way to the bathroom without saying good morning to my parents and slammed the door close. I leaned my head on the door and sighed. I felt mad for no reason. I grabbed a comb and started brushing my long brown hair. I put on light makeup and went out the bathroom. I jumped when I saw my parents with a serious face, arms crossed.

 

“Yes?” I asked, closing the door slowly.

 

“What happened last night?” my mom said.

 

Oh, crap. “Um . . . nothing happened.”

 

“Then why were you crying your eyes out with your head between your knees?” my dad questioned me.

 

“I had a nightmare,” I lamely replied.

 

“Yeah, a nightmare,” my mom mimicked.

 

“Tell us the truth, Roxy.” My dad's voice was firm and solid. I couldn't tell them what happened yesterday or it will freak them out. But for some reason my gut feeling was telling me that I had to tell them the truth.

 

“Josh was here yesterday,” I mumbled quietly, hoping they won't hear it. Unfortunately, they did.

 

“WHAT?” my parents roared, making me flinch. Their eyes were like plates, shocked what I said.

 

“Last night, I saw something outside the window and went to check it out, but it was Josh. He fought me,” I explained.

 

“Who won?” my mom asked, curious.

 

“You care about that, but not your own daughter?!” I snapped, squinting my eyes.

 

“Of course we care about you, sweetie. I'm just curious. Good thing we let you learn martial arts or you would have been dead,” my mom replied.

 

“Yeah, good thing,” I said, sticking out my tongue.

 

“Be careful, Roxy. Jason told me this morning that Josh came back,” my dad said. “He told me that Josh went to his house and attacked one of his maids.”

 

“What?” I shouted. “He went to Jason's house? Why?”

 

“He didn't tell me. Why? Worried?” my dad asked with a wink.

 

I looked at him like he was crazy. “Don't even get there, Dad.”

 

“Arasso. Anyway get dressed and go to school. You're going to be late,” my dad said, changing the topic.

 

“Be careful, honey. Go straight home. Don't stay out late,” my mom reminded me.

 

“Yeah, I know,” I assured her.

 

As they left the room, I sighed. My life was turning from good to bad. I sat on the ground and sighed again.

 

“Aaaargh!” I yelled in frustration. I laid down on the carpeted floor with my arms spread out. I couldn't let Josh ruin my life again. I couldn't let him laugh at me and see me suffer. I sat up, determined to obliterate Josh from my life, even if it means killing him.

 

I got up and got dressed into black shorts and a black shirt. I got my backpack and went downstairs, instantly smelling the delicious aroma of banana pancakes, my favorite breakfast. I ran to the dining room, following the smell of bananas. I immediately sat down and started gobbling my share of the pancakes. I could feel the stares from my parents and looked up. They chuckled and went back to eating. I shrugged it off. I continued eating until there was nothing on my plate.

 

I stood up and washed my plate. I left the dining room when a voice stopped me.

 

“Be careful, Roxy. I don't want anything happening to you again.”

 

I swallowed. “Yeah, I know, Mom. Thanks.”

 

I left the house and started the engine of my car. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning pale white. I felt . . . scared, as if someone was watching me from behind. I felt goosebumps on my neck and shuddered. I pulled out of the driveway and drove the way to school, eyes never leaving the road for a second.

 

I arrived at school, seeing many students hanging around the gate. I parked my car and walked inside the school. I immediately spotted Tiffany who was surrounded by boys. She looked a little panicked and uncomfortable, an action that didn't match her personality. Why was she scared? I thought. I walked to her direction and managed to go through the crowd of boys, avoiding elbows and hands that were moving in different directions. I yanked her out of the mob of people and dragged her to a secluded place.

 

“What happened there, Tiffany?” I asked her, looking straight into her eyes.

 

“N-nothing!” she sputtered, looking away.

 

“Tell me. It's the first time you were like that. Usually you're fine being surrounded by guys.”

 

“I don't know. It just felt weird. I didn't like it,” admitted Tiffany shyly.

 

“You like JiHoo,” I bluntly stated.

 

Tiffany blushed, an action she never does. “W-what? No way!”

 

“You just blushed, Tif,” I said, crossing my arms.

 

She covered her face. “Okay, maybe I do like him a little, but that doesn't mean—“

 

“You're in love with him,” I said.

 

“No, I'm—“

 

“Yes, you are. Stop denying it,” I said, not wanting to lose this battle.

 

“Okay! Fine. What if I am?” she snapped.

 

I smiled. “Finally, you admitted it.”

 

“By the way, what's with the get up? Are you going to a funeral or something?” Tiffany asked, looking up and down at me.

 

I looked down. It really did look like I was going to a funeral with the black shorts and shirt. I looked at Tiffany and we both burst into laughter. Tears ran down my eyes and I clutched my stomach. After we calmed down, which took forever, I linked arms with Tiffany and walked back to campus. We only had ten minutes to get to class or it's another detention. I decided to tell Tiffany about Josh. I turned to her with a serious look on my face which stunned her for a moment.

 

“What's wrong, Roxy?” she asked, worry clouding her eyes.

 

“He came back,” I said softly.

 

“Who?”

 

“Josh.”

 

I instantly covered my ears as Tiffany shot out a string of curse words. The moment she opened to say the first word of her sentence, I knew it was gonna scar my life again. I closed my eyes and sang a song in my head to distract myself from Tiffany. I opened my eyes and saw Tiffany looking at me.

 

“I'm done,” she mouthed to me. I sighed in relief. I took my hands from my ears and glared at her.

 

“Tiffany, your mouth can kill people, you know,” I said pointedly. “It almost killed me if I didn't cover my ears.”

 

“Well, sorry. I just can't believe that b****** came back,” she said with a flip of her hair.

 

“Tiffany!” I shouted. “No cussing please.”

 

“Fine, whatever but he's still a b******.”

 

I knew there was no point in stopping her or telling her off. “He fought me yesterday.”

 

Before she could open , I covered it with my hand tightly. Tiffany's eyes widened at my move.

 

“Mmmph! Mmph!” she yelled through my mouth while flailing her arms around.

 

“Do not swear! I'm serious, Tiffany,” I said firmly. She nodded reluctantly and I gingerly took my hand away from and wiped it on my shirt. I put on a disgusted face on when I saw spit on my hand.

 

“Are you okay, though? Did he hurt you?” questioned Tiffany, checking my arms and legs.

 

I pried her hands off me. “I'm fine, Tif. I almost got hurt, but taking martial arts and karate totally helped. And besides, he at fighting.”

 

She nodded thoughtfully. I looked behind her and saw Jason and JiHoo, who were walking in our direction. I waved and they waved back. Tiffany looked behind her and blushed red. I rolled my eyes.

 

“Sup!” I said to both of them. They eyed me warily. I rolled my eyes again. “I'm not gonna do anything to both of you, I swear.”

 

They relaxed and breathe out a sigh of relief. I looked at Jason carefully. My eyes went to his arms and noticed his right arm was bandaged. He noticed me looking and instantly hid his arm behind his back. I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. He looked away and started talking to JiHoo and Tiffany, who seemed shocked and annoyed at his interruption. If he wasn't going to tell me willingly, then I'd have to force it out of him. I grabbed his good arm and dragged him away, ignoring his cries of pleas. I went behind a wall that covered us and dragged him in with me. It was dark, with a little sunlight coming in through a crack.

 

“What happened to your arm?” I demanded, putting my hands on hips.

 

“Nothing,” Jason mumbled.

 

I grabbed his right arm, causing him to cry in pain. I quickly let go, biting my lip and feeling sorry for him.

 

“So-sorry, Jason. I didn't mean—I wasn't . . .,” I stammered, walking towards him, but he held up his hand.

 

“I'm fine. It's okay,” he answered, breathing in and out. I felt really bad, like really really bad that I just wanted to have super powers and heal him. Okay, that sounded so nerdy and weird. I just wanted him to tell me what happened. I did an unexpected thing. I hugged him. He stood there, arms and legs frozen as he tried to comprehend what just happened. I was shocked too. It felt like my body completely moved without thinking. I buried my head on his shoulder and breathed in the smell of cologne.

 

“I'm sorry. I was just worried about you,” I mumbled on his shoulder, but it sounded like a bunch of alien words.

 

He broke the hug and stared into my eyes. I saw something in his eyes but it quickly vanished. He smiled warmly. “It's okay, I said. Now you should give me an apology gift.”

 

I tilted my head in confusion. “Gift? What kind?”

 

“This.” He pressed his lips to mine and my eyes widened. Before I could punch the daylights out of him, he stopped the kiss and ran away, leaving me completely shocked and breathless. My brain was a jumble of words and actions I wanted to do right there. I shook my head and cracked my knuckles. He was so going to get it.

 

I ran out and searched around for Jason. Fortunately, he didn't run that far. I started running again, my legs running faster from each step. I almost caught up with him when he found JiHoo and Tiffany and hid behind them. I stopped and caught my breath.

 

“Come here, you coward,” I growled. He hid behind Tiffany and I resisted the urge to yank him out and start punching him.

 

“What happened?” Tiffany asked, exasperated.

 

“He kissed me again, for God's sake!” I said. Tiffany and JiHoo both stifled their laughs. I scowled at them.

 

“It's just a kiss, Roxy,” JiHoo said.

 

“I swear I'll rip out your head if you say that again,” I murmured, stepping forward.

 

His eyes widened and JiHoo quickly said, “Jason, say sorry to Roxy. I don't want my head ripped out, you know. I love my head.”

 

I chuckled softly. “Don't ever do that again or I'll do something worse that ripping out your head.”

 

They both nodded their heads vigorously with a scared face. I smiled. The bell rang and both boys quickly ran away. I smirked at their reaction. Tiffany looked at me with a angry face.

 

“You drove them away!” she yelled, which caused other students to look in our direction.

 

I knew she was going to forgive me anyway. I put on an innocent face. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

 

She stomped her foot in frustration and huffed. “Fine, I forgive you. It was only once. Don't ever do that again. It was going fine until you interrupted.”

 

“Well, sorry. Let's just get to class because I don't want to get a detention from Mrs. Lee.”

 

“Ugh, fine. I hate it when you're trying to be reasonable,” she huffed.

 

“I love you, too, Tif.”

 

“Ugh! Love you too, Roxy,” she said reluctantly, defeated.

 

We both walked to class together, talking about random stuff and this weird guy that came up to Tiffany and gave her his phone number. I felt bad for him. Tiffany's taken. Well, not yet, but she will be. By JiHoo. I looked at my watch. 10 seconds.

 

“Race you?” I asked with a smirk.

 

“You're on,” replied Tiffany. We both started running towards our first class, science. I sprinted faster, the wind smacking my face. I neared the classroom, looking at my watch. 3 seconds. I dashed inside and fell on the floor, wheezing and panting. Tiffany came right after me, holding onto the doorway for balance. The bell rang right after Tiffany's whole body got in through the door. I win, I thought happily. I got up and brushed my shorts. I looked up, realizing that everyone was staring at us. I smiled weakly and moved to my seat, muttering a few sorry's. I sensed Tiffany follow me and sat down on my seat, a metal twisty chair. I didn't know what it was called, but it was used in offices and it spins so I just called it like that. I looked down, not wanting to meet the teacher's eyes which were trained on me and Tiffany. I gulped. I didn't like teachers staring at me like I did something wrong.

 

“You know, it's not fair. You're more athletic than me,” Tiffany whispered.

 

“Who's being reasonable, now, huh?” I hissed.

 

“Oh, whatever,” she mumbled back.

 

“Just admit defeat. You just can't run faster,” I retorted.

 

Before Tiffany could open to tell me off, someone cleared their throat. We both looked up and received one of Mrs. Lee's irritated glares. I shut my mouth and scowled at Tiffany for getting us in trouble. She shrugged, not caring at all. I got out my notebook and started taking notes for the midterms. I got an idea and started writing a note to Tiffany. No passing notes was one of the rules, but I had to break it.

 

Hey, did you notice Jason's arm? I tossed the note to Tiffany, landing perfectly in the middle of her notebook. She looked at me and raised her eyebrow, but I didn't talk and looked straight at the whiteboard.

 

Yeah, what about it? She threw it back to me, surprised at the flying paper. I looked up and Mrs. Lee was still writing on the board. I opened it up and read it.

 

Did you ask JiHoo about it? I wrote.

 

No, why the hell would I ask about Jason's arm? It doesn't have anything to do with JiHoo.

 

He's JiHoo's best friend! I scribbled furiously.

 

So? Why? Are you worried?

 

Hell no! Okay, maybe a little bit. I wonder what happened. He wouldn't tell me. I wrote while jotting down notes.

 

Is that why he kissed you? To shut you up? She wrote back with a smirk.

 

YAH! Stop being a hole! What do you think happened?

 

IDK, maybe he fell down the stairs or accidentally cut his arm with a knife. Well, whatever it is he can tell for himself.

 

But can you ask JiHoo? Please? I wrote and drew a sad face.

 

Seriously? You're very worried, Roxy. Not only a little bit.

 

Pretty please?

 

Ugh, fine. Buy me ice cream though. I'm craving for it.

 

You're always craving for it, Tif. But I get to pick out the flavor.

 

Fine, as long as I get to eat something and shut this growling stomach of mine.

 

LOL. I can hear it. You didn't eat any—

 

An hour and a half later, we were sitting in detention during recess with grumpy looks on our faces. We got caught and it ended up getting a detention slip from an angry Mrs. Lee. Tiffany was furious because she didn't get any ice cream and as for me, I was going to talk to Jason about his arm but we had to get caught. I had been too distracted to see Mrs. Lee turn around and snatch the paper from us and exchanged it with a detention slip. I sighed and looked at the clock. It had been only ten minutes but it felt like an hour to me. I sighed again. I looked to my side, Tiffany sleeping and drooling. I chuckled. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I got out my iPhone and tapped the camera app. I turned to my side and took the picture. Click! I quickly put my phone away and acted normal, casual. I snickered.

 

Score!