(Martin)

As soon as I get to the bench at the beach and see my defeated cousin sobbing silently like a small and motherless kid, I know something bad has happened. I let out a frustrated sigh and walk over, taking a seat beside him. I wait for him to do the talking.

"She dumped me."

"Oh, boy..."

And now I'm confused. What the hell is wrong with Vee? This morning she sounded pretty confident despite everything. Granted, women are weird, no mystery there, but this is going too far.

"She told me I was wasting my time with her, and that I deserved better." He tries to dry his tears with the back of his hands, but new ones fall from his face like a waterfall.

"So, what did you tell her?"

John is still busy trying to wipe tears; his hands are completely soaked and so is his face. He's such a mess. And it just proves my point: this is what happens when you get all serious with a girl. I make a silent oath to never fall in love like this in my entire life. Ever.

Finally, to answer my question, John barely manages to shake his head, which basically means that he didn't tell Vee a goddamned thing. He just allowed her to dump him and get away with it without saying a fucking word.

This is, pretty much, John in a nutshell. Between zero and no experience. A part of me wants to kick his sorry ass for being such a lame idiot. Then I realize it's not his fault he's so green when it comes to girls, so I cut him some slack.

I'm also trying not to think about how this could very well be my fault. It mostly isn't, though. I didn't tell Vee to dump him, after all, did I?

After a few minutes, John appears to calm down a bit. "I don't know what I did wrong."

"Probably nothing, Johnny."

"Then what the hell, man?" He looks up and lets out this heavy, wounded sigh that makes me flinch a little. Having an actual, working heart is definitely some kind of disease, and John is clearly terminal.

"That's one of the many things you should be asking her."

"Oh..." he says, as defeated as he can possibly be. Like Vee just died and he's no longer able to find out.

Seriously, if I have to deal with this broken John for more than just today, I'll go crazy. And then it hits me; have to fix this myself. I take out my phone and text Vee.

Johnny just told me. What happened?

Like I told you this morning, he's mature enough to date whomever he wants. And now he's free to do so.

That's all I need. I don't bother replying. Instead, I turn my phone off.

"Can I use your phone? I just ran out of battery," I lie, and John hands over his phone without a question. He's too deep in sorrow to suspect I could be up to something, so I fully plan to take advantage of that. I start texting her again, now from John's phone.

I was dating the girl I wanted to date.

When I show the message to John, he goes ghost-white in horror. He lunges forward to take his phone back, but it's too late, the message was already sent. He fumbles with his phone, trying to take my message back, but of course it's no use. John's horror is quickly turning to some kind of white-hot rage I've never seen on his face before, and I just barely get enough time to jump off the bench and raise my hands in the air in surrender.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO, YOU STUPID FUCKING MORON?!"

He really looks like he's going to break me in half like a twig and feed my remains to weasels. But before he can make a move, his phone pings with an incoming message from Vee. It's that sound when Super Mario grabs a coin. He's still giving me that angry look when he checks the message. Then he shows it to me, a hint of hope crawling up his face.

You mean me?

"No. My grandma Enedith," he says, now smiling and already typing.

"Hold your horses," I say "What are you going to tell her?"

He deletes what he was typing, considers his next words, and hesitates. "What should I tell her?"

And now there's this spark in his eyes, the one that appears when you suddenly feel hopeful and ecstatic. His smile is broad and genuine, and it's hard to remember that this is a whole, fully-functional fourteen-years-old teenager. This guy in front of me is that elementary school kid who's in love with his teacher. Honestly, he's such a mess.

"Let's see..." and I raise a finger because, if I were him, I know exactly what I would say. I ignore the fact that twenty seconds ago he was calling me stupid fucking moron. This is my cousin and my best friend, after all. He needs the kind of help only I can provide. "How about this? 'You are the only one in my life, Vee.'"

He smiles as if he was opening his Christmas presents in October. His fingers fly over his phone's screen. But in the end, he's unsure again.

"Isn't that a little too much?"

"If you're asking for my help, do yourself a favor and trust me for once."

"I'm not typing Vee, you know. That would give you away," he says, finally sending the damn message. "You're not as smart as you think."

"And you're one ungrateful twat," I reply, punching his arm. Super Mario grabs another coin, and now he doesn't seem to be able to read the message fast enough.

"What? No!"

I read the message over his shoulder.

There must be someone you like more than me, John. I'm too shy, too thin, and not that pretty.

"That's cute." I smile at my cousin, and he gives me a curious look. "She's totally fishing for compliments."

John starts typing without consulting me. He's all business now, clearly getting the hang of this at last. I'm kind of proud of him, if that makes any sense.

So what if you're shy or thin? I find you fascinating just the way you are. I don't want any other girl. I don't think about any other girls. You are the one, Veronica.

She makes us wait for ten long minutes. John, needless to say, is on edge. He stands up, he jogs, walks around the bench, sits again, checks his phone every ten seconds. It takes all my patience to tell him to chill out and just wait for her reply.

Once again, I swear I'll never fall in love like this. I imagine myself in my cousin's skin, desperately waiting for a message that might never come, and chills literally run up my spine. I don't need any of that, thank you very much.

Mario grabs yet another coin, finally, and I can feel the relief washing over my cousin, who sits beside me and allows me to read the message with him.

Really?

I'm not Martin. You know I don't like toying with matters of the heart.

"Dude, was that really necessary?"

"Shut up. You reap what you sow." And the kid is probably right, so I just keep my mouth shut.

Where are you, John? We can't discuss this through texts.

"Yes! Good job, Johnny."

"What are you so happy about, dumbass?"

"She wants to see you, you dumb shit! She wants to fix things up."

"You think?"

"I don't think: I know. Are you going to trust me or what?"

"What," he says quickly, and I punch his arm hard. But he smiles, because deep down, he knows I'm right.

Fifteen minutes later, I sit farther down on the beach, keeping a safe distance, but close enough to see Vee meet up with John on the same bench I found him on. He walks to her. There's a moment where nothing happens. And then they're hugging. And then I FINALLY get to see them kiss.

I should be sitting on the other side of the road. I could have taken a good picture of them kissing with the sun setting in the background. Romantics love that kind of thing.

The next day, I break Sandra's heart right after school. And the day after that, I break into Sandra's heart, which feels more like familiar territory for me. We actually last for four full days, although, truthfully, I never really manage to warm up to her.