"I've missed you," Daniel says, "It's been a while since we saw each other."

It's been days. . . I've been caught up with the reality to be in my safe haven.

Daniel wraps his arms around me and I lean my head on his shoulder. Ah, this is comfortable. Beside him is the best place in the world.

"I missed you," he repeats, "and I missed holding you like this."

Even though we've been together for a long time, his words and actions still makes the butterflies in my stomach flutter. He's so sweet, I want to wrap him and bring him to the real world.

"I missed you, too," I tell him. "I'm sorry I've been out and about for the last couple of days."

"I thought you already forgot about me."

His words send an electric shock through my body. Forget him? How can I? I'll never do that. I can't.

I sit up straight and look at his expression, if he's hurt or if he's just kidding me. Unfortunately, he puts his poker face on.

"Daniel," I say, holding his face with my hands, and staring deeply into his ocean blue eyes, "I will never forget you. You're my boyfriend."

He smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "Okay," he responds.

My heart beat increases frantically; I don't know why I'm suddenly nervous.

"Annalise, are you okay?" Daniel asks, looking worried.

I can't find my voice, so I just nod.

"Your hands are shaking." He takes my hands from his face and holds them tightly. "Hey, I'm here," he says, squeezing my hands, "I'll never leave you."

"R-really?" I stutter, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"I'll be with you as long as you want me," he says, putting his arm around me, while holding both of my hands with his other hand.

"Promise?" I ask, biting my lip.

I can't lose him. He is the only one I have, he's my anchor. He makes waking up bearable.

He nods. "I'll stay even when you don't need me anymore."

"But I'll always need you," I say, hugging him close to me.

He smiles. "What do you want to do today?"

What do I want? I can't think of anything when he's already with me. "I just want to be with you," I reply. I can feel the blush creeping onto my cheeks.

When did I become so melodramatic? I'm so embarrassed.

"We're together now," he says, brushing the hair from my face. "Do you have anything particular in mind?"

"Let's just stay like this," I say. "Daniel, do you want to hear a truth?"

"I always want to hear something new about you."

"Sometimes, books are better companion for me than people," I admit.

He pulls away slightly and looks intently to my eyes. "Is that the reason why you only have plenty of friends?" he asks.

"I guess," I say. "And I'd rather read my books than be with real people."

"Why?" he asks, a frown creasing on his forehead.

"It's because I can count on fictional characters," I explain, "Even though they are not real, I know at some point they became the life of the author. I like knowing that I have a part of them. When I want to see them, I can just get my book on the shelf."

Real people are complicated. One way or another, they will leave you. Nothing is permanent in this world. Nothing will ever stay the same. Things always change, especially when you least expect it.

"And the stories in books are much more interesting than my life," I add.

Daniel holds my hand and squeezes it. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he says.

I try to smile. "In this life, you're either going to be left behind or you're the one who's going to leave someone."

"There are certain things I will fight for so that I can have them longer," he says, staring straight at me.

"What do you mean?" What is this? Where did I get this conversation? It feels like Daniel has a mind—

"You can always fight for the people you love to make them stay in your life."

"What if it's their choice to go?" I ask.

"Give them a reason to stay," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

I'm not sure why I can't drop the topic. There's something about his words that make me strive for more. "Even if it's against their will?" I ask.

"You're just going to give them up?" he asks, cocking his head to the side.

That makes sense. How can I just give up the people I love? But I can't trust anyone that easily. Daniel doesn't know that. I can't let what happened before make reappearance.

"You don't have to worry about me," Daniel says. "Like I promise, I won't leave you. You can count on me."

Being with Daniel feels like having an absolute boyfriend. He is perfect. Well, how can he not? All the qualities I like are in him. He is all I ever wanted in a guy. But the catch is, he's not real. I just made him. It's frustrating to be happy in just my imagination, my makeup world. I can't even tell my friends about him because he doesn't exist.

The snap of a finger breaks me from my imagination. Slowly, I find myself sitting on a bleacher inside the gym. I shake my head to clear my thoughts. I forgot that I'm in school. If I won't stop this, I'll be in big trouble.

"Annalise," Caleb says, waving his hand in front of me. "You're daydreaming again."

"I'm not," I deny, averting my gaze away from him.

His mouth tugs at the corner. "Yeah, right."

I frown at him. "What do you want?"

"Coach called you," he replies. "It's your turn to play now."

Heaving a sigh, I get up from the bleachers.

"Hey, Annalise."

I look behind me and see Alex's face covered with a book. I guess I'm not the only one doing something while in class. "What is it?" I ask.

Alex and I become closer after our trip. The penguin he gave me is now sleeping beside me on my bed. There are times when we argue, but that's because of his teasing remarks. I find that I enjoy his company.

"Good luck," he says amusedly.

"Thanks," I tell him. I need it.

Alex lowers the book he's holding and gives me a thumb up. "Do your best. It's your last chance."

Caleb laughs. "It's the final game, don't let the ball hit your head."

I scowl at him. "Stop making fun of me!"

When I walk to the center of the court, Coach has already picked the two leaders: Maegan and Angel. To my surprise, Maegan chooses me on her team. I can't help but be suspicious about it. This girl has a grudge on me even though I didn't do anything wrong to her.

The moment we start the game, that's when I realize her plan. There are times when she pushes me on the side so that she can spike the ball, though it's obvious I should be the one hitting it.

One time, she elbows my side and I almost slide to the ground. Before it can happen again, I move out of her way. I can't let her humiliate me any further.

We're almost winning. Just three points to go, then I can finally rest. I thought the game will end without any incident, but I'm speaking too soon.

I'm about to jump to assist the ball to Nica when someone shove me. The impact makes me fall to the floor, hip first.

I wince in pain, but I stand up as quickly as I can. "What is your problem?" I snap.

Maegan looks at me innocently and says, "I just pushed you out of the way so that I could dip the ball."

We both know that she's lying.I want to strangle her, but I can't make a scene now. In the corner of my eyes, I can see my classmates watching us. I don't want to make a fool of myself.

"Is there a problem?" Coach asks, glancing between me and Maegan.

"Nothing," I say.

"Then continue the game," he barks.

Nica walks to where I am and asks, "Are you okay?"

I nod and bite my lip before I can scream at Maegan.

So we continue to play and I do my best to ignore her. The smirk on her mouth is just a sign that everything is going according to her plan. My blood is boiling in outrage as she continues to irritate me.

Finally, my patience pays off minutes later. Coach blows his whistle, signalling that the game is over. We won, hooray! Note the sarcasm.

"Nice game."

Turning around, I see Lawrence leaning on the wall beside the locker room.

"Yeah, right," I say wryly.

He grins. "You fell down—"

I cut him off, "I'm not in the mood."

"Sorry," he says sheepishly, raising both of his hands in surrender.

I know I shouldn't let my anger fall down on Lawrence but I can't help it. I feel like a bomb, I'm afraid I will burst because of these emotions.

"Annalise," Kamille says, walking out of the locker room, "That witch Maegan is getting on my nerves! Only a blind person didn't see what she did!" She stomps her foot in annoyance.

"Let's wait for karma to take its natural course," I say, though I want to take her offer.

"If that's what you want," she says. "By the way, we're going to Leanna's house. Wanna join us?"

"No," I respond.

"What?" she asks. "Why?"

"Are you guys ready?" Caleb asks, walking towards us, Alex towing behind him.

"Annalise said she will not come with us," Kamille says.

"Why?" Caleb asks, a concern expression on his face. "Are you hurt?"

"You guys enjoy yourselves," I reply, ignoring his question.

If you have principles in life, you'll never be swayed with peer pressure. Just do what you have to, and if they're really your friends, they will understand.

"Are you sure?" Leanna asks.

"Yeah," I say, "I'll leave first."

When I pass Alex on the way out, he says, "Is it because of Maegan?"

I shake my head.

"Don't let her get to you."

"I won't," I mutter.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I hate her! I hate her! I hate her!

I punch Polka on the face. I know I shouldn't drop this on him, but it's much better than a real person. I'm so mad; I can't even have a peace of mind and think about Daniel.

I swear next time she do something like that I'll make her regret everything she did!

"Annalise."

Someone is shaking my shoulders.

"Annalise!"

Opening my eyes, I rub the sleep from them. I don't remember dozing off. I must have exhausted myself to do an unusual thing like this.

"Annalise!"

I look up and see Margarett sitting on the edge of my bed. "What is it?" I ask.

Upon realizing I haven't cooked dinner yet, I throw the blanket off me and sit up quickly. "I'm sorry I forgot to—"

"It's fine, I bought takeout food," she interrupts.

I sigh in relief. "You woke me because you were worried I haven't eaten yet?"

She rolls her eyes and says, "Caleb is outside, he's waiting for you"

"What?" I ask incredulously. "Caleb?"

"I told him to come inside but he said he'll just wait outside."

I sprint to my window and see him standing in front of our lawn, hands in his pockets. His gaze is turn upwards, probably looking at the visible stars in the sky.

What is he doing there?

Margarett's laughter stops me from staring at Caleb's back.

Turning around, I ask her, "What's funny?"

She clutches her stomach as she continues to laugh. "You should have seen your expression!"

Sometimes she's childish, so I ignore her and go to the bathroom instead to wash my face and brush my teeth. After, I run my fingers through the knots in my hair.

When I open the door, I find Margarett with an amused expression on her face. "Don't be late," she says.

"I won't," I assure her. "Maybe he just wants to borrow my notes."

She raises her eyebrows. "In the middle of the night?"

I shrug. Like her, I don't have an idea.

"Be safe," she says.

"Okay, bye!"

I smooth down my shirt before I open the front door.

Snap out of it, I tell myself. There's nothing to be nervous about!

Twisting the doorknob, I push the door and walk outside.

"Hi," Caleb says, "did I wake you?"

"Honestly?" I ask.

He grins sheepishly and scratches the back of his head. "Sorry."

We're both silent after that, so I ask, "What brings you here?"

"Honestly?" he shrugs. "I'm not sure. I just want to see you."

My heart skips a beat, and I have no idea why. Why does he want to see me?

"And?" I prompt.

"Are you calm now?" he asks, looking intently at me.

I blink, surprise at his green orbs. In the darkness, their color becomes more obvious; prominent. Something tugs at my mind, but the more I want to remember it, the more my head hurts.

"Annalise?"

"Oh, sorry," I murmur. I'm easily distracted.

Caleb raises his arm towards me and says, "Would you like to accompany me tonight?"

"Where?"

"To Wonderland."

*****

I'M SO SORRY. PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THE SUPER SLOW UPDATE. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THIS STORY. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER =) FACEBOOK PAGE ON THE EXTERNAL LINK >

The song is Part of the Process by Morcheeba.

OH, AND ONE OF MY STORIES WILL BE PUBLISHED THIS YEAR. HOORAY! :D

AGAIN, THANK YOU <3