Haley stared out the window as Matt pulled the car into an open parking spot. There was an ache in her chest that had been a constant companion to her throughout the week, despite all that she tried to tell herself.

Outside the car, the hum of excited voices filled the lot as Friday promised the end of the week and prom sat just on the horizon. After Matt cut the engine, he shook Haley's shoulder, rousing her out of her glazed reverie. Already tired with the day, she straightened.

"You alright?" Matt asked.

Haley conjured up the most convincing smile she could. "Yeah, it's just been a long week."

Her brother's brow wrinkled in sympathy then lightened.

"At least it's over and prom is tomorrow," he said.

Haley nodded. Seeing the lack of enthusiasm, Matt frowned.

"You're still planning on going, right?"

A shrug was all the reply Haley could manage. Matt rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, my offer still stands, if you want to come with me and my friends you can. Derek is going to borrow his mom's SUV so I know we would have room for you."

The smile Haley responded with was more genuine than the last.

"Thanks, Matty," she said. "I'll think about it."

He returned the look and they climbed out of the car as the first bell rang. Students pushed themselves off hoods, exited cars, and linked arms with friends as they converged on the school gates. Haley kept her eyes forward as she walked, enough failures of looking for Isaac that week had worn her down. Even when she had spotted him the lack of a smile or light in his eyes had made her turn away.

She was about to step into her classroom when Rachel appeared. The two girls paused, blocking the entrance.

"Hey, I want to say thank you," Rachel said. "Your help this week meant a lot."

Haley twisted her lips to the side. "I didn't do much, just made copies and picked up pizza once or twice."

Rachel smiled this one holding a warm appreciation. "Yes and you doing that meant one of us didn't need to stop what we were doing. So it might seem small but it wasn't."

Still feeling like the gratitude wasn't fully warranted, Haley curled her fingers around her backpack straps and tugged at them.

"Yeah, ...it was nothing. Um...so how is it all going? Do we have a prom this year?"

Closing her eyes, Rachel let out a happy, relieved breath as if she had wanted to do that the entire week.

"We do. Though it took a lot of late nights we will still have a prom."

"Congrats, that's a pretty big feat."

"Thanks. As long as it's a night that as Ty would say 'is simply an entertaining evening in which everyone has fun hanging out with friends and has no high expectations that it will be a night to change their lives', then I'll be happy."

Haley laughed. "Well, with that crazy high bar to reach I'm not sure how you could ever succeed."

Rachel joined in with Haley's laughter. After seeing all that Rachel had to deal with that week, Haley wondered how she had ever imagined this girl's life was perfect or how she could have ever judged her for smiling so much when she managed to do it under constant pressure.

The second bell rang and both girls hurried inside, slipping into their seats as Ms. Henley rose.

"Final day of author reports," she said. "We have a good amount to get through so we will dive in. First up this morning is..." She consulted a sheet. "Haley. Come on up."

Barely having time to even think about being nervous, Haley grabbed her notecards and three separate essays. After handing them over to Ms. Henley, she headed for the front of the class. She faced the rows of students, cleared her throat and tried not to feel daunted by the number of eyes focused on her. She scanned the room and when she swept over Rachel, Rachel offered up a reassuring smile. Feeling her lips echo the gesture, she took in another breath.

"I chose Beck Daniels for my author," she said. "As well as being a New Times Bestselling author, with three books that have been translated into four-two different languages, he's also the precipitant of a Pulitzer as well a Hugo Award." She flipped to the next notecard without thinking about it. "With these accolades, I assumed that the author himself would be a man who was extremely independent."

Glancing at Ms. Henley, she smiled.

"I was completely wrong. Everything I thought I knew about Beck Daniels was a notion I had conceived from reading his work and the bio in the back of his books. What I had was a single perception. It wasn't until I got more acquainted with him through interviews and articles about him that I began to see the whole picture."

A myriad of images of Beck on interview couches, smiling and laughing flashed through her head. Along with these were the pictures she had found of him and his wife, the two of them looking inseparable at the award ceremonies. The way in every single speech and interview it was her he talked about.

"Though he says the whole creation of the book from the first idea to completion is his alone, he has also gone on to say that when it comes to writing he finds it difficult to do unless his wife sits across from him, working on her own projects. He says and I quote, 'the life of a writer is solitary, we are trapped in our heads for so long it is sometimes difficult to remember there is a world beyond the one we have created. It is El'," Haley looked up. "That's his wife, Elliot McKenzie, a young adult writer. 'It is El that grounds me in reality and reminds me why I'm doing what I'm doing'."

Haley lowered the notecard, focusing back on the class.

"It's so easy to see someone accomplished and imagine they had reached their height of success on their own, but Beck Daniels is proof that even writers - the most solitary of occupations - still need others. I never would have known that about an author they are calling The Steinbeck of Our Time if I hadn't stepped more into his world and gotten to know him."

Haley tucked the cards behind her, eyes drifting towards Rachel.

"So the saying is true, you can't judge a book by its cover, it's only when you crack the spine that you find the heart of a story."

****************

The lights in Haley's house were all out, including her room. Outside on her balcony, the air was chilly as the breeze brushed against her skin. She lay on her back, gazing up at the multitude of stars. Somewhere in the distance laughter rang out.

All was quiet. Both parents were working late and Matt was off with friends, but Haley didn't feel the loneliness she once did. Instead of meaning something the absence was a sign that her parents cared, working as hard as they did.

Despite knowing this, she found herself missing them and the dinners they used to have. The days that Matt was still living with them were dwindling and she wondered if he would slip away without a final meal together. Not sure how to change it, she let the worry drift off.

The purr of an engine filled the night before cutting off. Haley knew the sound and waited. A minute later the light in Jace's room came to life. She heard his footsteps and the wandering pattern of them as if he were unsure of what he planned to do. Eventually, his path took him out to the balcony.

"Hey, Haley Day," he said.

"Hey."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Jace left and the lights went out. When he came back he dropped to the balcony and spread out, one arm tucked under his head. The silence was peaceful like they both understood the comfort that came with just knowing someone else was there.

Above them, the sky was shimmering in a display of constellations as if preening for all that cared to look up. Though Haley knew each had a name and formed a shape, she was clueless as to any knowledge of it. Her mouth tugged down at the empty spot where recognition would be for someone else.

"I don't like how the stars make me think of him," she said.

Jace was quiet, absorbing all the simple statement meant.

"It didn't go well when you talked to him?"

Haley let out a sigh, wishing the breath could carry off her hurt. Isaac had seen a single moment of vulnerability and believed he knew what it all meant. The irony of the situation was not lost on Haley. He was doing what she had always done. But her heart was too sore to find the humor in it.

"No, it didn't. He saw us at the beach, the night my parents..." She knotted her fingers together, staring at them. "Well, he assumed the worst and I didn't get a chance to explain."

Jace dragged his hand down his face. "I'm sorry, Haley."

She shrugged as if that one action could toss off all that mattered. In the stillness that followed the faint buzz of TVs could be detected. Even with the distant hum of the neighborhood, Haley felt like they were alone in a universe of stars.

"You like him a lot?" Jace asked.

Though the question was straight forward, Haley took her time in answering.

"Yeah, I do."

"Can I ask why?"

Again Haley considered the question. All the memories of the past weeks with Isaac flooded her mind, most of them lifting the edge of her mouth before reality made it fall again.

"It's cause he wanted to make me smile," she said. Realizing that needed more of an explanation, she went on. "It's what he told me when we were playing Seven Minutes in Heaven. He told me after the first time that we had met and he had made me smile he wanted to see it again."

Letting out a slow, reflective breath, she placed her laced fingers on her stomach.

"I know it sounds stupid, but he wanted to make me smile even without knowing what I was going through." She looked at Jace. "I'm not saying that I don't appreciate the fact that you helped out when I was...I don't know...isolating myself because I do, it's just..."

She stared up at the stars. "He didn't want to save me. He simply liked me for me, frowns and all."

At this Jace laughed which helped Haley find some of her smile again.

"And now?" he said.

"And now he hates me and my worst fear of being hurt was realized. I survived so I guess that means something. Heartbroken but...okay."

The smile on her lips slowly melted, weighed down by a heavy heart.

"I'm sorry," Jace said.

Haley nodded but found there was nothing else to add. When Jace sat up, facing her, his arms resting on his bent knees, Haley glanced over. The silver moonlight cast half of his face in shadow but still the sad curve of his mouth was clear.

"You know this wasn't how it was supposed to go," he said.

Haley waved her hand like she was pulling aside a set of certain. "How was it suppose to go? We dated, got married, and lived happily ever after?"

Jace shook his head. "No, I was the one who was supposed to break your heart."

Shocked, Haley lifted herself onto her elbows. "What?"

Jace smiled, looking the epitome of flirtatious player. "You know, if we were following the cliché I would be the cause for the tear in your heart."

Forgetting her surprise, Haley pushed herself up, crossing her legs and resting her head on her fist.

"Oh yeah? Because this is the typical girl falls for the bad boy next door scenario?"

Jace waved an emphatic hand towards her. "Exactly, we've already talked about this. You fell for me and me," he pointed to himself, "being the basic player was supposed to find you mystifying, a challenge and chase after you only to break your heart in the end."

"You understand if we were actually following this storyline, we would end up together, right?"

Jace frowned in disbelief. "No, that doesn't make sense. Why would you still stay with me after my terrible reputation and the fact that I went after you because I wanted a challenge, then broke your heart on top of that?"

Haley tossed up her hands. "Because you're hot and that makes everything better I guess."

At this, Jace smirked and lounged back on one hand, the picture one of smoldering casualness.

"Well, then I guess it makes it all okay."

Haley laughed and she realized it felt like it had been forever since she had done so. Jace grinned and shifted back to his original position all illusions of a flirtatious player gone. What was left was a boy that smiled more often than he smoldered.

"There's only one problem with this," Haley said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you never were a player, simply a guy who cared."

"So that means I don't get that girl?"

Haley cocked her head. "You never wanted this girl though, did you?"

"Is it mean if I say no and that my intentions were purely 'make Haley Day okay again'?"

Smiling, she shook her head. "No, it's not mean. It just means you really do have a heart of gold."

"At least we got one part of the cliché right then."

"How does the rest of it end?"

"We fix Haley Day's broken heart."

Haley's shoulders sagged and she dropped her head. "Yeah, that would be the ideal ending, I just don't know how to get there."

"Hold on."

Jace jumped up and darted back into his room. Before she could figure out what he was doing, he was back and something bounced off her knee. She picked it up and found it to be a blue M&M. Raising her head, she found Jace smiling at her.

"Blue sky, Haley Day. We'll figure it out."

He tossed her another M&M. She fumbled for it and managed to catch it before it hit the ground. For a second, she stared at it, seeing flashes of moments shared. The pain in her chest lightened a fraction. Popping the round candy into her mouth, she smiled.

"Thanks, Jace."

"For what?"

"For being you. For simply being my friend."

**********************************************************************

Holy potatoes! Will this madness never end?! 😭🙈😫

Okay, go ahead and rant. Literally all those loud, screaming, illogical thoughts you have zooming around your head let's hear them all. I won't judge them. This is your free pass to literally say whatever you want. Now go! 👉🕳👈

Now that you've gotten that out of your system I'm going say something about our Jaley ship. (RIP)

When I created Jace I wanted someone who would be a friend to Haley cause that was what she needed. She needed someone who would be there for her without having ulterior motives for being nice.

I know you really wanted this ship to sail but I'm sorry it never actually was going to. I hope you don't hate me for this. I wanted Haley to grow and learn to be happy and this was the only way it could happen. But you can go ahead and tell me how annoyed you are with me. 💭💬🗯

To the people who don't like Isaac. I'm going to explain to you why you don't. Sounds funny that I would but it needs to be said.

In comparison to Jace (who I wrote to be perfect), Isaac is normal. Like everyone else in this world he jumps to conclusions, feels insecure around someone as confident as Jace, and let's his emotions dictate too much of his actions.

So this is me telling you that I get it. I can see why it might be hard to like him. But I do hope you will forgive him for being a flawed character. 🙏

To end on a happy note tell me something crazy! Tell me something that you've never told anyone else! Tell me something that matters to you!

My crazy thing? The majority of the time I can't remember what age I am. I don't know if it comes from years of sickness or living in my characters but when asked how old I am, it legit takes me a minute to even remember. 🤷‍♀️

Vote for the things worth fighting for, comment on the cuteness of baby monkeys and follow the heart that is true!

That's right we just need to hang in there