This chapter is dedicated to everyone who has ever experienced heartbreak before, or who has ever been rejected by their crush.

This goes out to you. Enjoy!

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IT'S THE WAY THAT the sun caresses our skin with warm touches. It's the way his hand brushes against mine but never quite dares to fully touch it. It's the way the trees stand aglow in the golden light of the sun as we stroll past their tall figures.

And it's the way our steps synchronize in perfect motion that makes my flared cheeks rise into a toothy smile.

I bite the insides of my cheeks in order to stop them from smiling, but I end up making what I like to call my Clown Face instead, which is the equivalent of my well-known waiting-for-my-picture-to-be-taken-while-trying-not-to-laugh face.

The Clown Face is also the reason I'm not appearing in any group photo ever. (It's a choice I have to make in order to save my dignity. Well, what's left of it anyway.)

I drop my gaze back to the ground before he can notice the smile and I keep walking quietly next to him.

The silence falls between us like a soft blanket, and I don't try to shake it off. One thing I've learned during the last couple of months is that he can make the silence feel strangely comforting.

It's the way he lets the silence form. The way he embraces it by extending it to the point where the only thing that can be heard is the noise around us. In this case it's the sharp chirping of the birds, the rustling of the leaves in the warm breeze and the sounds of our sneakers tapping on the concrete.

It's weird, but I find myself quite enjoying the silence. Just being able to feel his presence, the warmth radiating from his skin as he walks next to me, feels surprisingly comforting.

"Hey, uh, Bailey?" he begins, looking sheepishly in my direction. I turn my head towards him expectantly, and he continues, "I know I've said this before, but I'm just - I'm really glad I'm with you. Here. Right now."

"Me too," I say, and suddenly I remember all the moments when I believed that this day would never come. That it could never come. And yet it did, and here I am, being utterly grateful for it. For everything turning out this way.

He grins, and I can't help but want to wrap my arms around him and feel the soft fabric of his blue polo T-shirt against my skin - and just stay like that for as long as humanly possible.

"Hey!" The loud, deep voice behind me yells. "Bailey!"

Something inside me twitches.

That voice. I recognize that voice.

I reluctantly turn around towards the entrance of the park.

Carter.

"Hey, Bailey," he greets again, and I can see his eyes move towards the boy standing next to me. "Oh. Hello, Evan."

"Hi," Evan gives him a quizzical smile, and then turns towards me with a raised eyebrow.

"How are you?" I ask Carter, trying to stop my fingers from fidgeting with the silver bracelet on my wrist.

"I'm good, I'm good," he nods, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "And I see that you are too."

Here comes the Clown Face.

"Yeah, I, uh, I am too. We were just taking a walk in the park. You know, nice weather and all."

"I was doing the same thing. Just... Just trying to clear my head." His gaze falls to the ground and I can't help but notice the sudden change in his expression.

"Carter? Is something wrong?"

"Uh, no, no," he shakes his head, his face grim. "Everything's good. Just, you know, I have a lot of stuff to do and, I - I've got a new job and... And -" he stops, his voice suddenly cracking. He drops his gaze back to his feet. "Julie dumped me."

I blinked. "Oh."

Months ago this news would've made my day. In all honesty, it would've made all of my days. Just the sound of these three words would've made my hopes jump up to sky level. Heck, even galaxy level. But now... All I can think about is how sad Carter sounds and how heartbroken he must be feeling, and it almost breakes my own heart.

"You were right, Bailey." Carter looks up again and for the first time since I've known him, he looks frail. Fragile. Like one snap of the fingers could make a piece of him fall of. I instantly avert his twinkled eyes. "After you told me... you know... we - well, she become paranoid. She forbade me from seeing you. I didn't listen to her at first, but... You and I, we slowly started to drift apart, so it kind of happened anyway. But Julie... Well, she didn't think it could work out, so she dumped me anyway."

"Oh my God." I don't know how to react. I exchange looks with Evan and he chews on his lip, shrugging in response. I turn back to Carter as he tries to regain his composure.

"I'm sorry, I... I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"No, it's okay," I automatically nod. "I'm sorry this happened. I know how much you liked her."

A few months ago just pronouncing these words inside my head hurt. And now, all I feel is the regret for the time I wasted thinking about Carter and for believing that something between us could ever happen. Even with Julie already a ubiquitous pawn in this whole scheme.

It's unbelievable how much can change in just four months.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now," Carter says, blinking away from his trance. He looks at me with something I can't put my finger on. "Good day, Bailey." He looks at Evan and his expression changes again. "It was nice officially meeting you, Evan. You're... You're a lucky guy."

Evan and Carter shake hands, and I can see Evan trying not to smile. His pink cheeks give him away, though.

"Bye," Evan and I say in unison and we both watch Carter head back towards the entrance of the park.

"Wow," Evan says as we resume our walk. The gap between us seems smaller now. "The guy is badly damaged."

"Yeah," I sigh, "I know. I feel sorry for him. He's been through a lot."

"Clearly. You guys used to be friends?"

"Yeah."

He nods and stays silent for a while. When he speaks again, his tone is different. "He sounded like he knew what he was losing."

"You mean Julie? Yeah, he was awfully in love with her. I can imagine how -"

"No," he cuts me off, almost impatient. "I meant you. Before he left, he looked at the two of us together and said I was a lucky guy. He clearly misses you, Bailey."

I chew on my lip. "I know. But it doesn't matter anymore." I turn towards Evan and for some reason, I feel nervous. "Because I'm here now, and all I wanna do is forget about all that drama. And just... just be here. With you."

He looks at me for a few seconds, and I can almost hear him sigh with relief. "Yeah." He's smiling now. "Me too."

We're already facing each other by now. He grips both of my hands and slowly intertwines his fingers with mine. I can feel my heart race inside my chest, but I don't get to worry about it too long.

He closes the gap between us and kisses me. Right there, in the middle of the alleyway shadowed by the trees.

I close my eyes and kiss him back, feeling my body begin to relax almost instantly, as if a magic button has been pressed.

Everything melts away. Carter. Julie. The park. The people that may or may not be watching us. The way my bracelet hangs loose against my wrist. The way the blood roars in my ears. The way the breeze penetrates my shirt and brushes my skin. The way his heart beats in rhythm with mine.

It all melts away...

And I love it.

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Okay, I've got my umbrella and raincoat, so feel free to throw tomatoes at me XD

I know, Carter and Bailey didn't end up together. I think it's about time I say they were never meant to end up together. I wanted this story to be less cliché and more realistic, and basically I wanted to show that love stories don't always end on a happy note.

Sometimes the guy you like won't like you back. They will like someone else. And it will hurt. But that's okay, because you will find someone else. And sometimes "the one" may just be right in front of you. Even if you said multiple times that it could never happen ;)

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