I stumbled towards Chen’s table when Amber shoved me again. She tried to make it look inconspicuous, but I saw Chen give her a strange look. I really didn’t know what I was supposed to say, nor did I want to lie that I was happy he was here. Normally I would, but after seeing Tao I just wasn’t sure anymore. Amber already knew that my feelings for Chen were going downhill since school ended. I felt a little frustrated towards Amber for setting me up like this but since I did invite him a few weeks ago, I didn’t have the right to be angry.

            “You seem really busy.” He had a look of guilt in his eyes, but I could tell he was genuinely pleased when I took a seat across from him. Amber sat beside me though she kept her attention elsewhere. Because Chen came all the way here, I decided I’d try to have at least a small conversation with him. We exchanged empty words back and forth for a few minutes, but my mind kept wandering and soon, so did my eyes. Tao had been by the drinks table for the first while, but now he was gone. Had he already left? I knew they wouldn’t just leave without saying bye, or at least without watching Jia perform yet so I tried to keep my heart at ease, but I was anxious just to know where Tao had gone. My entire mind somehow drifted so much that I was focusing solely on Tao. It felt like Chen was just any other person, and it was then I knew that I no longer liked him.

            “Erika! There you are!” Jia gushed, running towards me in full force and then grabbing my arm, ready to pull me off my chair with all her might. There was just no fighting with Jia, not that I had intentions to resist her. I actually wanted to thank her for rescuing me from that awkward situation. I hated off-the-surface small talk when I knew I could be doing something better.

            “Where are we going?” I jokingly demanded. She was running as fast as she could towards her mom holding onto me tight. Despite my knowing of the church’s parking lot inside out, I was curious as to what kind of rush she was in. Even without knowing, I was happy to follow along because being around Jia made me a step closer to seeing Tao. It sounded a little ulterior, but I really did adore Jia to pieces.

            “My mom wants us to take a family picture!” Jia explained quickly, as if she were running out of time. I fell speechless. Did she just say a family picture? I concluded that they wanted me to hold the camera or something. We went to a different side of the church where Lu Han leaned against the glass door to the church that no one ever walked through. He was clenching his stomach uncomfortably and he looked as pale as a ghost. It looked worse than a cold, but his mom insisted it was nothing more than that. I’d forgotten all about the picture for a moment and walked right up to Lu Han.

            “Do you want to sit down or something?” I suggested, noticing him shift his leaning position and then taking a deep breath. He shook his head, but I could tell he didn’t want to be here of all places. He didn’t even try to force a smile.

            “Quick, let’s take a picture before Jia’s performance starts.” Tao’s mom lifted her camera from around her neck. I went up to her, assuming that he’d hand the camera to me. Instead, she shooed me back to where Jia and Lu Han were.

            “Erika; go get in the picture!” She insisted, directing me back to the others with her free hand. I still remembered the words Jia chose when she was explaining to me—a family picture. In a way she wasn’t wrong, because we had always felt like a family around each other. For some reason, it still stuck out the most to me. Jia leaned against me, standing in front with her hands holding onto mine so it looked like I was giving her an awkward back hug. She smiled widely, and Lu Han straightened his posture and lowered his hand from his stomach. The picture was about to be taken, but where was Tao?

            “Wait mom, don’t take it yet I’m here!” Tao’s voice pleaded from our left as he sprinted towards us and then shoved in between Lu Han and I so that we were now beside each other. His mom rolled her eyes at him, but she still had on a loving smile. I could only imagine how pleased she was to have raised three lovely kids. Even though they all practically grew up without ever knowing their father, I too was proud that they grew up so well.

            “Okay everyone, smile!” Tao’s mom smiled along with us. It was a kind of photographers’ habit to imitate what they wanted to be copied. I stared intently into the big, round lens and just before the flash went off, Tao’s arm rose to wrap around my shoulder. I felt his warm hand clutch my shoulder blade and immediately, I stiffened. I wanted to see what look he had on his face, but I couldn’t bring myself to stare away from the lens with fear of ruining the picture. Within a second, she clicked the button and the picture was done.

            “Oh it’s beautiful!! You all look just like a family!” The camera was held so close to her face that I could only see her eyes to know she was smiling from ear to ear. My curiosity got the best of me and I fled from Tao’s one armed grasp to his mother’s side for a glimpse at the ‘family-like’ photo. It was embarrassing for me to lay eyes on. Everyone was smiling brightly. Even Lu Han who was now reduced to crouching on the sidewalk in pain had on a genuine grin. Jia looked delighted as if she was laughing, and Tao had on his alluring yet modest crooked smirk. Everyone was overjoyed, and I on the other hand, looked like a confused and lost puppy. While I was internally conflicted about my appearance in the picture, Tao crept up behind me almost like a ninja, his shadow towering over the camera’s screen and me.

            “Ooh, I like it!” He beamed, taking a closer look as he leaned in, his cheeks almost parallel to my own. Suddenly I could feel my heart beating rapidly and my cheeks warming up. Either I was blushing, or his face was so close to mine that his own body heat was radiating on my skin. My eyes locked on the photo in front of us. I just couldn’t stop staring at Tao’s face. He showed no signs of discomfort, he was simply happy. Seeing the two of us there, side by side with his arm around me made me believe for a second that if we had been together, things would’ve worked out. It made me consider how much of a picture perfect couple we would be. Before I could think of how to escape from my position, Tao retreated his head and took two casual steps back.

            “Five minutes!” Jia’s dance instructor called from the juice table, eyeing Jia to make sure we all heard. Jia nodded back and proceeded back to the main parking lot ahead of us. It was still so early in the morning, yet she had so much energy to spare. If it weren’t for Tao and his family, I’d probably feel like finding some chairs inside the church to take a nap on. Lu Han went back to the car accompanied by his mom while Tao led the way back to the crowd. I followed him like sheep followed their shepherds, watching him from behind. When we last met five years ago, we were around the exact same height. I actually took a lot of pride in that, but now he was noticeably taller.

            “Jia’s on stage.” Tao looked back for the first time since we started walking and I felt my heart stop. How was it that even after five years, he was still able to make me feel like this? I knew for a fact that even though we met again today and things were fortunately not tense, the chances of us meeting again were probably just as slim. It felt like I was trying to recreate a future that could never exist, a path that went against the ties of fate. For just a minute I wanted to imagine what life would be like if Tao were a part of it, but before I got too excited I stopped. There was no way it could happen anyway. Fate pushed us apart for a reason, didn’t it?

A/N: Man did I feel butterflies while writing this chapter. I love reliving memories... I guess that's the whole reaosn this fanfic iis being written right now ^^