^ look at this hot piece ^

"I think he nearly said it. I think I nearly heard it. But I ran away anyway."
—I made quote
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H o l l o w s   I n
T    I    M    E
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I ended up buying the white dress that Alexi suggested for the New Years Ball. Well, actually, Lexi payed for it, her excuse being that she "never got me a birthday present" for my sixteenth last year.

I bade farewell to the girls, though I'm not sure they all acknowledged me since they were all running around like headless chickens trying to zip up dresses and then take off dresses. It was manic.

Lexi and I met with Jameson by the entrance and I ever so casually shied away from him at every single possible time.

"So," he said. Somehow, I'd ended up in the middle, probably so Lexi could be as far away from Jameson as possible—how selfish.

"What do your dresses look like?" He asked.

I tried to reply without giving him a chance to look at my blushed face. "They look like dresses—or well a dress, since Jonah stole my other one." I told him stupidly. He made a sound of complaint, completely disregarding the fact that I had been robbed of my ballgown whilst Lexi burst into laughter.

"Jamie, do not communicate with the sarcasm queen—didn't I warn you?" Lexi pretending to be worried about Jameson was probably the funniest thing that passed between the two. Which is saying something; their arguments are ridiculously amusing.

"No, A Lexi, I guess you forgot to." At that, Alexi suddenly whirled on me. She gave me a death glare scarier than her normal expression. Now that's saying something.

"You didn't." Her voice lowered.

I shrugged. "Maybe I did."

She let out a muted shriek. "Sky, how can I have ammo against him when you take his side and give him all readymade nicknames for me? At least Jamie was original." She complained.

"Ammo?" I repeated. "Okay, one, this isn't Call Of Duty," Lexi pulled a face, "two, you have ammo against everyone. The poor guy needed my help!"

Jameson grunted. "The 'poor guy' is right here."

Lexi narrowed her eyes. "Enough about Jameson's financial situation, you're a total cheater!" She exclaimed.

"Woah," Alexi and I both turned to see Jameson's eyes widen as he slowed considerably. He gestured between us. "You guys are dating?"

From beside me, Alexi whacked Jameson in the side with a bag. I frowned, turning back to see her holding two garment bags.

"How the hell?" I asked her with astonishment. She had somehow managed to buy two gowns for herself, when she had held none when she approached me in the corner of the shop, and she couldn't have looked for anything whilst being stuck to my side in order to pay for my dress.

She smirked. "Guardian secrets." She shook her head, the smirk quickly fading. "Let's get back to my point—you sided with the enemy."

"'Enemy'?" Jameson asked, clearly taken aback. "I'm the enemy—do you even have your priorities straight?" He shot at her. I stared straight ahead, just contemplating my life as they continued to bicker.

"–I've definitely got the better hair–"

"Guys." I cut their most recent argument off, gaining their attention almost immediately.

"We get it, you guys don't really like each other." I gave both of them a glance, pausing on Lexi when she considered my statement, before nodding.

I sighed. "But you like me." I told them, turning to see Jameson frown. Scared that he was going to say that he didn't like me, I turned to get reassurance from Lexi.

"Right?" I asked, facing Lexi but the question being directed at both of them.

Lexi smiled. "Of course, Sky-Fly."

I frowned. "I swear there's a new nickname everyday."

She shook her head. "Nope. That's been used before."

We continued walking and we could soon see the dorm room in the distance.

"You guys have two things in common." I said suddenly. "Shouldn't that make you at least...acquaintances?"

Lexi frowned, tapping her chin with her perfectly manicured finger. "Remind me of those two things." She said.

I sighed. "You both like me—I hope—and you both guard me."

Lexi considered this for a moment. Then she shook her head. "No, that's only one thing."

I threw her an annoyed glance. "How?"

Jameson took the dorm key out of his pocket as we neared the room, and Lexi turned to give me a 'duh' expression.

"Sky, the only thing we have in common is you." She told me. I pondered this as we stopped outside the dorm room.

"It's true." Jameson murmured. I stared at him, but he didn't even notice me watching as he stuck the key in the lock to the door.

"What, and that just isn't enough for you guys to actually get along?" Lexi gave me a questioning glance.

"For more than five minutes?" I added, watching her contemplate this before nodding.

Jameson opened the door, and in that moment I knew that hell was waiting on the other side.

"Fine." I said. "If I'm just not enough for either of you." With that, I stomped through the room and into the bathroom, and then slammed the door behind me. Well, I could use a shower anyway.

I put the toilet lid down and sat on it, hugging my knees to my chest. I sighed. What is wrong with me? How did things escalate so quickly?

There was a brief rap at the bathroom door. I stayed seated, not bothering to participate with Lexi's friend games any longer.

"Sky." But the voice that spoke my name was not Lexi's. Reluctantly, and for some unknown reason to me, I slipped off the toilet and padded over to the door. I hesitated before unlocking the door, and then I slowly opened it so that it was only ajar.

Jameson stood on the other side, peering at me through the crack. I sighed, opening it fully to let him in. For a few moments, Jameson remained silent, just assessing and planning—as always. Then he spotted something and frowned.

He moved over to the sink counter and picked up a piece of paper with curiosity alight in his eyes. His letter.

"You still have this?" He asked, turning to face me.

I blanched, then nodded with a smile on my face. "I was thinking of framing it." I joked, watching Jameson laugh in response.

"I think we'd be in deep trouble if you did." He said, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

I smiled wistfully, "yeah." Silence followed, and soon, Jameson put the letter down with a sigh.

"What you said out there," he began.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then laughed nervously as I opened them. "Oh, that–that was nothing, don't worry about it; I was just...angry." I had never had more trouble with words before in my life.

Jameson shook his head. "But I want to say this; I need to know that you've heard it from me." I gulped, watching him take steps towards me.

"Sky," my breath hitched in my throat as he looked deep into my eyes. I tried to ignore the mass of memories that came flooding in, as they always did, but the more I ignored it, the more they pressed down onto me. They tried to pierce my skin, tried to slip into my oxygen—any way to get into my brain. I just wouldn't let them.

"You have to know that you are enough for me," I almost wanted to tell him to stop talking. "You're more than enough."

He hadn't stopped taking steps forward, and we were now inches away from each other. He looked pained, as if it was hurting him to even admit this. Maybe he believed that I'd already know this. But he told me anyway.

"You're everything to me, Sky."

Those memories, those feelings, pushed so hard, until instead of letting them in, I ran—and jumped off the cliff.

"Well, of course," Jameson frowned as I started to blurt out things. "Of course I am, I'm–I'm your guard, so of course." Jameson's frown deepened.

"No, Sky, that's not what I meant–" He paused as I stepped back, reaching for the door handle.

And the last thing I saw before I made my grand escape was Jameson's hand, willing and waiting, as it so desperately reached out for me.

But I rejected it.

Jameson was about to tell me he loved me. And I rejected it.

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[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

lmao I'm so funny

-you're not

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Next update: Friyay
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CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE SPOILER:
(the end of an era!)

Diary entries, jokes and cryptic notes.

Just a few things you get when you tune into a flashback chapter.

Also guys!
I'm going to start counting down until the end of the book.

But instead of counting until the end, I'm going to give a countdown of how many chapters there are until the final chapter.

Here's the first countdown:

THE FINAL CHAPTER IS:
25 chapters away