A lovely morning sun greets me as soon as I open my eyes. I jump out of bed, landing lightly on my right foot, fully aware of how fantastic this day is going to be. And no, I'm not leaving it open to chance, or dumb luck. I'm gonna seize this day, and make it work for me. Nothing or nobody can screw this up.

I want to throw the curtains open, poke my head out the window, and shout it for the whole world to hear. It is our anniversary; Veronica and I have been together for a full year! Do I need to say more?

Because I woke up before my alarm, I have time to make myself a huge breakfast. I know some people lose their appetites under pressure, but I'm not one of them because I'm not feeling the pressure at all. It's going to be fantastic. I make myself a steamy cup of milk and coffee and eat half a dozen toasts before Aunt Sugar files into the kitchen as usual.

"You're up early! This is a rare sight," she says, then places the usual noisy smooch upon my forehead.

"Yup! All ready for this special day."

She's not a stranger to the events of the day, so she just gives me a warm smile and proceeds to prepare the usual breakfast for her own sons. This is when Martin enters the kitchen, awake after the first alarm for a change! It's a first in over a year, so I let him know it's a record-breaking performance. He gives me his dimpled hellish grin.

"It's the big day, man. This is it!" he says with enthusiasm.

"It is, cousin, it definitely is!" I reply, and we bump fists. He sits facing me and I offer him some toast. "Here, have some breakfast."

"Can't oversleep this... ugh..." He winces; extending his palms and rejecting my toast. He looks like he's about to blow chunks in all directions. "My stomach is in knots."

"You all right, dude?"

"Yup, just... queasy."

"Well, that's weird."

"You okay, my Sugar?" my aunt asks, placing his usual glass of cold, white milk in front of him. For some reason, his emerald eyes bulge at the sight of it, and he scurries out of the kitchen, bumping Alex on his way out.

"What's with Martin?" Alex says. "And why is he up so early?"

""I don't know," I say. "Maybe that's why his stomach is upset this morning."

"Hah! He might as well be declared sick if he woke up on his own, and this early," Alex adds, a mocking grin spreading over his studded face. "So, you have everything ready?"

"Obviously!" I take it out of my pocket to show it to Aunt Sugar. (And no, I'm still not telling you what it is yet.)

"Oh. It's quite peculiar..." My aunt looks at me, maybe to make sure I'm fully convinced this is an appropriate gift. "It's very... artsy."

"You're trying too hard, Mom," Alex interrupts, teasing her.

"I know what you mean, though," I assure her, putting it away. "But if only you had seen Vee's face every time we walked by that store, you'd know. It's absolutely this." There's nothing else that would work for a day like this. I owe Alex a pile of cash, but I don't care. Like he said yesterday, this is worth every dollar.

It's seven-thirty on my phone's screen when Martin and I leave the house. It's a cold autumn morning, but the sky promises it will turn out to be a splendid day. The sun peeks between the pine trees and gently caresses my cheeks with welcome warmth. Martin is walking one step behind, dragging his feet instead of his usual purposeful glide.

"What's wrong, cousin?"

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO CHILL!?" he demands. "IT'S SUCH A BIG DAY AND YOU'RE ACTING LIKE IT'S JUST ANY REGULAR TUESDAY!"

I stop walking. He does look ill, and he's clutching his belly. I give him a curious look. "You know?" I say. "You're acting like I'm going to marry Grandma Enedith." I spare him an easy smile. "Besides, it's all planned to perfection." I found this absolutely amazing place she's going to love on the outskirts of town, and I'm planning to get her fresh flowers before I pick her up this afternoon. And also, I have The Present. "It just can't go wrong."

"Dude, I don't wanna be that guy, but nothing comes out right when you're the one who's planning shit."

"Shh, don't jinx it, Marty. It's going to go perfectly."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say," Martin says, still clutching his stomach.

The first red flag is flying high in the sky when we reach the place where we always meet Vee. She's not waiting for us. It's quite rare when this happens, so we wait a good five minutes.

"God damn it, Martin," I hiss. "I can't believe you actually jinxed it!"

"Shut up, bitch! It's not my fault your chick is late."

"I'm pretty sure it's because of you and your negativity!"

"Negativity my ass! You know I was right all along!"

"You were not!"

But, okay! Maybe he was. Dumb little bitch. Anyway, once we're both sure she's not coming, Martin goes ahead to school and I go my own way over to Vee's house. I ring the bell once and Eliza greets me right away, but alas, with a troubled expression. Something has happened. I'm sure of it. She's never troubled.

"Oh, hi there, Young Prince," she says, trying to smile.

"Hi, Eliza. Is Veronica home?"

"I don't think she's going to school today. You know. Girl stuff." She gives me a forced smile, and doesn't invite me to come in, which is another big, red flag waving in front of my face; Eliza always invites me in.

"Can I come in and say hi, at least?"

"I wouldn't recommend that right now, honey."

"Mom," says a voice behind Eliza. "Do you want me to take her to the hospital? I can skip art history if you want..."

Wait a minute, hospital? Candace's voice gets closer and closer, but with Eliza guarding the door, I don't see her until she's right beside her mom. "Oh, hi there, John."

"Is it that bad?" both Eliza and I ask at the same time.

"I'd say the worst. Ever."

"Damn..."

This is SO Martin's fault.

I leave Vee's house a couple minutes later, asking her mom and Candace to let Vee know I'll message her later. Those "girl days" are threatening our special day, and that's the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to me today.

A couple hours later, after Physics, I send Vee a message from the cafeteria, where Martin and I are sitting at break.

How are you feeling, sunshine?

Not good. How's school?

No mention of today being May fourth? She couldn't have forgotten, could she? Vee doesn't do that "I forgot" thing.

Another message pings in from her; surely this is the one.

Don't forget to take notes for me, all right?

"There's no way she forgot, man," Martin tells me. He reads the message over my shoulder, then sits back down and proceeds to shovel down some cafeteria biscuits, three at a time. "Vee probably remembers the time and day she was born."

"You're probably right about that, but then explain this... how come you're now eating like there's no tomorrow? You were feeling so sick this morning!"

He takes a few seconds to munch and swallow before answering. "Things aren't going the way you planned them. The world has rebalanced on its own axis again so now I'm feeling fine."

I kick his shin under the table before texting Vee back.

Gotcha. Anything else I can do for you?

I know for sure that she's forgotten when I get no reply for the rest of the morning. To make things worse, by the time we leave school, that beautiful blue morning sky is now covered in thick, dark gray clouds, like the sun couldn't bear the cold and needed a fluffy coat. And then it starts to rain. But it's not your typical rainy drizzle: it's like some God scooped the ocean to the sky and it's coming back down like a tsunami on our heads.

Despite everything, I still consider going to Vee's again, but Martin has already called Aunt Sugar to pick us up, so I just go with that plan instead. There's no point in soaking it up to see Vee if, (a) she's not feeling good, and (b) SHE FREAKING FORGOT OUR SPECIAL DAY.

I don't know who's in charge of my luck, but I want a word with them. Two words, actually: EFF YOU.

Aunt Sugar makes my favorite schnitzels for lunch in an attempt to cheer me up, but, at this point, they taste as sour as I'm feeling right now.

"Girls don't forget, Sugar," she tells me, leaning forward and squeezing my hand.

"I've been trying to tell him that all morning now," Martin says, "but he's just been groveling like he is now."

"It's just so weird, though," I tell them, shoving my left hand in my pocket, where her present is still hiding.

"Have you considered she might be up to something?" Martin asks suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Just thinking out loud." He carefully cuts a piece of his own food. "Vee's one smart little bitch. It wouldn't be a surprise if she made her own plans for today, just like you have."

"Plans ruined by her own girl days, you mean?"

"Well, that's actually possible, but still..."

I look out the kitchen window. It's still pouring like there's no tomorrow, and, in a way, I concur with the rain. Like today, tomorrow won't be anything special, either.

"I'll just take a nap," I say. "Wake me up if it stops raining. Maybe I can at least go visit her later and see if she's feeling any better."

"Sounds like a plan."

I drag my feet all the way to my room and climb onto my bunk. I check my phone again, just in case she messaged me, but there's nothing there. I open the app anyway, just in case this is one of those glitches where notifications get lazy, but there's still nothing there. So, it's official; my girlfriend forgot. It's really hard to believe, but wow... Veronica has really forgotten our anniversary. The day that started out as the most glorious one ever, just turned out to be rotten and sad. I curl on my side like a sad, crumpled paper to snivel and grovel until I finally fall asleep.

***

"WAKE UP!" Martin's guttural war cry accompanies a bang of the door that rattles the wall. "I can't take it anymore, just wake the fuck up!"

"What's wrong?" I ask, sitting up, and pressing my palms to my eyes. I'm not sure how long I slept, but it's still light outside.

"This whole anniversary thing is wrong! Get up already!" He yanks on my arm so hard he almost makes me fall on my face. "Go wash your face and go to that place you wanted to take Vee. I don't care anymore. I'll get her there one way or another!"

So, my cousin has finally lost it. About time. "Dude," I say. "You need to chill. There's nothing to be done if she's not feeling well."

"GOOOOOOO!" he screams in my face, spit flying all over me in the process. We stay frozen like that for a second, unmoving, and when he realizes I'm not buying his crazy shit, he shoves me out of the room, kicking my butt once I'm out the door. He's not joking about this.

"But, Martin!" I plead, but it's no use and he pushes me all the way to the bathroom.

"No buts! You wanted your perfect date, didn't you?"

"I did, but—

"No buts, like I said! I'll make it work; believe me, I will!"

Three minutes later, he's dragging me down the street by the collar. It takes me a minute to register it's not pouring anymore. There's just this faint fog-like drizzle going on.

"Martin, you can't just push your way through this!"

"Just motherfucking humor me, for a fucking change," he barks, not even slowing down. "Did you bring your present?"

"It never left my pocket."

"Good. Just go there, get some coffee, and let me do my thing. I'll meet you there if I somehow fail, but make no mistake: I'm SO not failing."

We split up a couple blocks later, him going off in the direction of Vee's house, and I in the direction of Marco's as instructed.

Marco's is a small café with no signs outside except for a small blackboard with a list of prices and a famous quote that changes daily. Okay, it doesn't sound all too great, I know, but hear me out. Because in the back, there's a room with couches and bookshelves, so you can pick a book, sit there, and chill while sipping on your coffee. It's just impossible not to picture Veronica flipping through the pages of an old book curled up on one of those couches.

Even though the rain has smudged the chalk on the blackboard, "Carpe Diem" is still readable on it.

"Seize the day, huh?" I say.

"I mean, there's only one anniversary, after all," says a voice. Sixteen decibels. No more; no less. I turn around to find the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on, staring right back at me. She's wearing an adorable black frilly dress and flashing me a slightly big-toothed smile. She also has lovely, warm gray eyes, and long, silky black hair braided neatly to hang over her right shoulder. Yes, folks; Veronica is at Marco's, looking gorgeous, and waiting for me. I watch her in awe as she walks slowly over to me.

"You actually thought I would forget?" she asks, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"The thought crossed my mind at some point," I admit, holding her waist and pulling her closer to me.

"Silly boy," she says, kissing my lips lightly. "I will never be able to forget the day I started dating my first, my one and my only love."

"Whoa." It's the only thing I can reply. She's not the kind of girl who likes to indulge in a lot of heartfelt words. "You're surprising me in so many ways right now."

"Happy anniversary, my beloved John."

"Happy anniversary, my lovely, adorable Vee." And then we kiss, and it's far more perfect than anything I could have planned. So much so, I don't even care that I have been deceived by her all day long. But wait. Let's not forget. "Here," I say. "I have something for you."

I disentangle from her and fish around in my pocket for the small box, which I hold out in my palm for her. She eyes me curiously before picking it up, and hands me her umbrella so she can open the box. And when she does, her entire face blossoms. There's no other way to explain it. There's an expression of admiration, joy and utter happiness evident in all of her features. Then she looks at me again, and her eyes are so bright it's like the sun just burst through the clouds.

"John Austin Foster!"

"Veronica Marie Holt?"

"You!" She cries, bumping my chest lightly with her fist. "This thing cost a fortune, you madman!"

"Price is just a number," I tell her, taking the silver necklace out of the box and walking behind her to fasten it where it undoubtedly belongs. Then she turns back to me, holding the charm in her palm to admire it. It's an anatomically correct depiction of a heart, wrapped in chains. Kind of a disturbing piece for someone like Aunt Sugar, granted, but definitely a piece of art for my practical Veronica. "Now my heart is chained to you, forever."

"I can't believe you did this just for me," Veronica says, her eyes misting up.

"What do you mean just for you?" I pull her back into my arms. "There's only you, Vee."

"I love you, John."

"And I love you too, my dear Vee."

And I do. I really do. I will love her forever.