15/04/19

MONDAY

JANA

"Janaaaaa!" Ryan yells through the phone as soon as I answer.

I giggle, "Yes, Ryan?" Someone's excited today. Lilith jumps into my lap and lays down.

"I passed the interview! I got into my dream college!" He exclaims happily.

"! We should celebrate!" I cry out enthusiastically making Lilith jump off me. Oops, I think I got too excited.

The doorbell rings, interrupting our conversation. "I'm coming tod-" "Ryan, hold on. I have to get the door. I will call you five minutes later." I hang up and rush out of my room.

I open the door to see Jenny. "Hey, Jenny," I greet with a smile.

"Jana..." She smiles widely before pulling me into a soft hug. "I want you to come with me," she says. I look at her expectantly. When she notices my confusion, she smiles again. "It's a surprise."

"Oh, let me get changed then." I let her in and go change my clothes. What surprise is she planning for me?

**********

Jenny leads me outside of her room at the right of the hall. "Wait here." She walks inside, leaving me alone in the hall. I'm excited for the surprise! She comes back with a long red gown in her hand.

I gasp, looking at the dress. "It's beautiful!"

She nods, "I want you to wear it."

She hands me the dress. "Why? What's the plan?" I ask anxiously.

She smiles, "I can't reveal the surprise yet." I nod in response. "The day I wore this dress is unforgettable," Jenny pauses, staring into the distance. She's probably lost in the memories of that day. From the look on her face, I can say that she miss that moment.

I take the dress from her and walk in an empty room. I put the dress on, letting the long red gown flow around me. I look at myself in the mirror, admiring the strapless dress and the subtle glitter at the ends, shining under the light. It's beautiful! I put on some makeup and leave my hair down, letting it flow down my shoulders.

Jenny walks into the room wearing a purple gown. I suck in my breath. "You look beautiful," I whisper. I mean that genuinely. The color really suits her, and the dress overall looks wonderful on her.

"You, too. He will love it." She purses her lips as if she's taken aback.

"Who?" I ask confusedly. What is she saying?

"Uh... I mean... anyone who sees you right now... will love it," she stammers nervously. I eye her down. That seems somewhat believable, but still...

We hear a knock on the door. "Can you get the door?" She asks. "I need to get my hair done."

I agree and walk to the main door. I open the door to see Noah in a black suit and a red rose bouquet in his hands. God, he looks so... good! He even got me flowers? Oops, it's for Jenny, Ugh... Wait... Jana! Stop staring! Noah stares at me blankly.

"Noah!" I snap my fingers over his face.

He finches a bit. When he realizes that he zoned out, he mutters an apology. I fully open the door to let him in. "You look gorgeous," he compliments me with a smile.

"Thank you!"

Jenny appears from the room with her hair tied up. He gives her the red rose bouquet. "Red roses for the girl in the red dress," she tilts her head at me. He awkwardly glances between us before giving me the bouquet. I take it in my hands and give him a quiet thanks you.

"So, Jenny. What's your plan?" Noah asks while we sit on the couch with Jenny next to Noah.

Ugh... He doesn't know? "You don't know?" I ask him with a confused look. He shakes his head. What is Jenny planning?

"One more person is coming. I will tell y'all then." Jenny looks at the door. Who is the other one?

Soon, we hear the door creak open. I turn my head to look at the person. "Harry?" Noah and I say in unison.

He slowly walks into the room, surprised to see us in the room. "You guys are here, too?" He asks glancing between me and Noah. Even he doesn't know?

"It's all Jenny's plans," Noah states and turns to her. "Can you tell us your plans now?"

"We are having a double date!" She announces.

"What?!" Harry and Noah yell and look at each other.

"Ryan isn't here though," I frown. Ryan... Damn! I forgot to call back. It's been a while.

"It's fine. This double date will go a bit differently." We three look at Jenny, expecting more. "Let's exchange the pair on this date."

Harry shrugs and breaks out into a grin, "Sounds fun."

"Sounds like she's crazy," Noah mutters under his breath. I stifle my laugh.

"Oh, c'mon, Noah! It will be fun!" Jenny cheers.

"Definitely," Harry agrees.

"Guys, I have to make a call." I walk to the balcony. Opening my phone, I see a few missed calls from Ryan. He will probably be mad at me for not responding... I call him few times but his phone was unreachable. I sigh. "Ryan, uh... I'm sorry for not calling back soon. I was a little engaged... uh... I hope you aren't mad at me. I'm really sorry. Call me back soon." I end the voicemail and stare into the sky. I hope he will understand...

NOAH

"Guys, I have to make a call," Jana says and walks away.

I look at Jenny, "Jenny, we have to talk." I take her into the bedroom, and lean on a table, crossing my arms. "This wasn't on the list. What are you planning?"

She sighs. "I know, I just made a little changed to the classy dinner date. I want you to have a good time with Jana."

"Are you crazy?" I almost yell. Calm down... I don't want them to hear us. I take a deep breath and lower my voice this time. "Why is she wearing your dress?"

"The day I wore that dress was special. It was the day-" "We kissed for the first time," I cut her off. "I remember, Jenny."

She gives me a weak smile, "I want you to have a moment with Jana."

"Jana is Ryan's girlfriend. What part of that you don't understand?" I give her a cold-eyes stare. She stays quiet, looking down at her feet. I hate what she is trying to do even after knowing every single thing. "I'm not going to do this!"

"Fine!" She throws her arm up. "Why should I care? Right?" Jenny shoves past me.

Wait!" She halts right in front of the door. Why did she want to do this for me? I don't want us to get into a fight. She's already hurt because of me. I can't add anything more to it. I gonna regret this later... "I will... I will do it."

She turns back to me, a small smile forming on her lips. "It's just a dinner date. That's it."

We go back to the hall and get ready to leave. "Guys, let's go!" Jenny says. Jana and Harry walk closer to us.

"So Jenny... can we?" Harry dramatically offers his hand, bending down a little. She giggles and takes his hand.

I look at Jana. "Will you be my date?" I ask quietly. She slowly nods and takes my hand.

**********

We sit across the table, facing each other as we sip the wine. We look like real couples on a date. Jana is looking pretty in that dress... the dress Jenny wore on the day we first kissed... Why is Jenny even trying to make us together?

Slow music quietly plays in the background, making everything seem romantic. "Jenny told me the day she wore this dress was special," Jana speaks breaking the silence between us.

"It was the day we first kissed!" I blurt out. I purse my lips together, regretting what I just said. Why did I have to say that? Jana's expression changes from a smile to a blank face. I can't blame her... I just say that out of nowhere.

She looks over to the side. I follow her gaze to see Jenny and Harry are laughing loudly. She's probably, laughing at one of Harry's lame jokes.

Jenny raises her glass and taps a spoon on it, grabbing everyone's attention. "It's time for the couples to dance!" She announces and get on her feet. Harry offers his hand and lead her to the dance floor. Jenny probably forgot that we were here, along with them on this double date!

I look at Jana. Will she accept? "Will you dance with me?" I ask unsure of her response. She nods with a smile. I take Jana's hand and walk to the dance floor.

We stand a few feet away, facing each other. The lights dim and another slow music plays. We walk closer to each other slowly as the beat, I wrap my right arm over her back and she gently places her arm over my shoulder. We hold the other hands and raise them to shoulder level. She looks into my eyes, making me believe again that we are in love. I love this look in her eyes!

We slowly sway two steps to each side, melting in the song, not taking away eyes from each other for a while. I spin her around and bring her back into my arms. We dance for a while, enjoying every bit of it. She closes her eyes for a moment, making me feel like I should kiss her. Is that what Jenny wanted? God, I want to kiss her right now. I take a deep breath, I pull my face closer to her. I shouldn't do this! I throw my head back and she soon opens her eyes. We hold each other's hands and move apart and once again I spin her around with my left arm. She then placed her hands around my neck and I place mine on her back, in a closed hugging position. I gently wrap my hand over her waist and lead her into a dip. One more best moment with Jana in my life!

She stands back up straightening herself. When the lights turn on, Harry and Jenny smile at us widely. They were definitely planning for this to happen.

All of a sudden, someone starts clapping, echoing through the room. We look around to see Ryan staring right at us. "That was so incredible guys," he sneers.

"Ryan!" Jana looks at him in surprise. She lets go of me and makes her way to him. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, is that a problem?" He asks sarcastically. There is something wrong with his tone. What's his problem?

"No! I mean you were supposed to-" "Come today," he completes the sentence for her. Ryan walks closer to us, "You wanted me to be away?"

"No!" She shakes her head vigorously. "I was waiting for you," she says.

Ryan laughs at her dryly. "Is that why you forgot that I'm coming back today?" You wanted me to be gone longer so you could be with Noah, huh?" He coldly glares at her. What is he even saying?

"Ryan!" She yells. People starts eyeing us curiously, wondering what the chaos was about. She takes a few deep breaths to collect herself together. "Remember what you promise?" She glares into his eyes. "You promised that you'd never think of anything like this, let alone say it!"

"I only promised that because I thought you will never be with Noah again!" He comes too closer to her.

"Ryan, let me explain. I-" He raises his hand, forcing me to stop talking. "I had enough before. Thanks!" He says and walks out the hall. What the hell just happened?

"Ryan! What the hell is wrong with you?" Jana shouts as she runs after him.

I look at Jenny coldly. "This was all your idea of bringing Jana and me together, wasn't it?"

"Woah, wait! What are you saying?" She exclaims.

"You wanted Ryan and Jana to fight so they will break up. So that you think Jana and I can be together?" I yell. Harry tries to pull me back, but I shrug him off.

"I didn't know Ryan will be here-" "Stop it! Enough!" I cut her off.

"Noah, I was just trying to-" "Jenny, I have told you so many times that I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I have done that enough." Jenny's face turns red, her eyes watering.

Jana comes back to us within minutes. "I'm sorry," I apologize quietly, frowning down at her.

She shakes her head, "It's not your fault Noah."

"I have always been the reason you two fight... That's why I wanted to stay aw-" She jumps up and put her hand over my mouth before I could complete the sentence. "Please don't say anymore." She looks at me with sad eyes. "I want you to be with me." I want to be with you too Jana, but more than a friend... I can't tell her that though. I only nod and she takes her hand away from my mouth.

*********

"Noah..." Jana calls out my name so quietly that I can barely hear her.

"Yeah?" I keep my eyes on the road since I'm driving her home.

"Can you stop the car? I wanna talk."

I park the car on the side of the road. We sit in silence for a minute, staring into the dark road. "Why were you shouting at Jenny? She didn't do anything wrong," Jana states.

I feel bad for shouting at Jenny now. She didn't do anything. I was just so angry at Ryan for fighting with Jana for no reason and I blamed it on Jenny. I shouldn't have...

"She just wanted you to be happy."

"I know," I mumble.

"I think you should apologize to Jenny."

Jana's right. I overreacted. Jenny didn't have anything to do with Ryan.

Jana takes my phone from the dashboard and unlocks. I feel her tense up, looking at the picture of us in the wedding attire, before dialing Jenny's number. I never want to change the wallpaper. It makes me feel like it's real.

Jana hands me the phone as soon as Jenny picks up. I don't say anything for a minute. How do I start apologizing?

"Jenny?" I hear her hum through the phone. "I'm sorry for yelling at you." I know just saying that isn't enough. I hurt her a lot and I see that now. "I wasn't properly thinking, and I overreacted," I pause, waiting for a reply, but nothing comes from the other side. "Are you okay?" I ask in worry.

"I'm fine, Noah," she murmurs. "Jana needs you more."