~The Next Week~

JULIE's POV

On my way to first period, I pass by the student council table set up on the main floor near the front office, glancing at the bunches of colorful flowers they were selling for Valentine's Day all this week. It's pretty bustling on a Friday morning thanks to the holiday weekend. Students were lined up in the hallway waiting to buy flowers, happily chatting with their friends and talking about their plans with their boyfriends or girlfriends. It was a bit overwhelming seeing all the pink and red streamers hanging in the hallway, the balloons at the entrances, and flyers hanging up on empty walls to advertise student council's Valentine's Day activities. Especially since I'm single this year. Seeing everyone with flowers and chocolates makes me feel a bit lonely.

With a sigh, I continue walking through the noisy hall when I see Chris flirting with some random girls at his locker. My body tenses at the sight of him in his natural element. I glare at him while passing by, making sure to avoid eye contact so he doesn't notice me. I don't want any issues.

"Good morning! Would you like to send your secret crush a love note for just one dollar?" A student council member asks, appearing out of nowhere.

I shake my head in regret and discomfort. "No, sorry..."

The student council member shrugs and quickly asks the next available student as I continue my trek upstairs. Who would I send a love note to anyway? Nobody talks to me. Right as my lonely feelings wanted to make another appearance, I caught Diggy and Dana talking beside the lockers as Dana held a bouquet of flowers in her hands with a huge smile. Seeing them together makes me feel annoyed and hopeless.

DIGGY'S POV

"Happy early Valentine's Day!" Dana shouts from behind my back. I turn around and see Dana holding a bunch of single flowers in her hand, looking like a bouquet. She holds out a peach-colored flower with a huge smile on her face.

"Is this for me?" I ask a bit surprised.

"Yep."

"Uh, thanks..." I nod and fidget with the flower in my hand. "Is the cheer squad handing out roses?" I ask while gesturing to the bouquet in her hands.

"We are, but actually these are all for me from my secret admirers..." She grins and strikes a pose.

"Wow. Someone's popular."

"You know it," Dana replies with a hair flip. "So you doing anything this weekend? Got any dates planned?"

"Actually, I'm going to a friend's wedding -- my mom's friend," I reply with a nod.

"Ooh, a wedding! That sounds fun! You need a plus one?" She asks while batting her eyelashes.

"I don't think we can bring any plus ones. Invitation only... you know..."

"Boo. That's no fun."

One of the school's cheerleaders skips up to Dana and taps her on the arm, urging that the cheer squad is needed near the front office to pass out more roses. Dana nods her head as her squad member skips away.

"It looks like I'm needed elsewhere... but don't be a stranger, okay?" Dana says while looking up at me with a soft gaze before walking away. After watching her walk off, I look down at the flower in my hand for a second before placing it on the top shelf of my locker and closing it, heading to my first class of the day.

***

For Writing 101, Mrs. Lyon gave us the prompt of what we're most thankful for. She said we could include people or things since the week leading up to Valentine's Day is a week where we're supposed to express love to our spouses, friends, family, and pets. We have to write down a list of 10 things; it could be physical things like a house, food, music, or a specific place, or people like our parents, best friends, a stranger, or a celebrity. Once we're done, we have to share it with your small groups of three.

"Who wants to go first?" London asks, turning around in her seat and looking between me and Julie with a grin.

"You can read yours first," Julie says.

"Okay! My top ten things that I'm thankful for are my grandma, my sister, a house, my band friends, my girlfriend, music, television, food, technology, and volleyball."

Both Julie and I nod our heads in response. "Cool," I say, waiting for Julie's turn.

"Who's next? Julie?" London asks.

"Okay. The top ten things that I'm thankful for are my house, my car, my phone, my dance skills, good grades, a working heater, a fluffy coat, food delivery, this class, and coming to Wesley High..."

"Food delivery is so relatable," London comments with a chuckle, causing Julie to smile too. "I'm glad you came to this school, too. You're a really cool girl and I always like talking to you in class."

"Aw, really?" Julie replies with a dropped jaw and a heartfelt expression.

"Yeah, girl! We haven't known each other long, but I feel like you're my sister. You're pretty, you're talented on the cheer squad, you're smart -- like you're honestly so nice. Don't worry about what other people say about you, because they're always all talk around here, and just do you," London proclaims.

I raise an eyebrow at her claim; it's kind of weird hearing someone praise Julie so much. I didn't realize she considered Julie a friend, a sister even. All of the statements London made, made me think of Julie in a different light. It's like I'm remembering those good aspects of her when we were dating. She wasn't a bad person at all. She IS smart and talented and easy on the eyes. Everyone liked her when she first came to Wesley High. She just made some bad decisions... but she seems to be a bit apologetic. She definitely isn't as spunky and extroverted as she used to be, but I guess all of the drama that happened last year really tamed her.

"You're too nice," Julie responds with a chuckle. "Thank you."

"Yeah! Of course! Alright. Diggy, your turn," London says to me.

"Alright. The top ten things that I'm thankful for are my friends, my family, having a place to live, food, basketball, living in NYC, graduating soon, being healthy, getting into college, and... meeting new people," I nod after reading my list.

London nods while grinning. "Nice. What college you get into?"

"UCLA," I reply, hiding my true happiness. I haven't really told many people about it, except Khalil, but I'm super thankful that I got accepted last week into my dream school. It's gonna be so fun in the Fall.

"Nice! Dang! Are you gonna play basketball too?"

"Yep," I proudly reply. "Full scholarship."

"Good for you! I know Dana's gonna be sad..."

I scrunch up my face in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You leaving after graduation," London leans in and whispers. "I know she likes you. And it's none of my business but I seen you dropping her off at our house sometimes after hanging out..."

I nervous feeling enters my stomach - like I've been caught red-handed doing something bad. I glance at Julie feeling somehow embarrassed, then shake my head. "Nah, it's not like that. She's just a friend."

London leans back in her seat and shrugs. "If you say so. I just don't think she feels that way... plus she talks about you all the time."

I catch Julie looking down at her notebook. I awkwardly chuckle. "Well, I definitely got to know her better this year. I got to know a lot of people better..." I pause. "Anyway, I'm gonna miss a lot of people when I leave but I'll still keep in touch."

"Even with me?" London asks with a huge smile.

I chuckle at her response, glancing at Julie who also chuckles. It feels like some of the tension eased up after attempting to change the subject away from Dana.

"Sure," I reply with a grin. Although I don't know Dana's sister that well, she seems like a fun younger sibling at times. Like someone who gets along with anybody.

***

SAM's POV

Another week of school quickly passed with more assignments and homework. It seems like the schoolwork is gonna start picking up now until the end of the year. Thankfully, basketball season is over because I'm already feeling swamped without the added nightly practices and weekend games. I feel even less motivated than I usually am to come to school and do stuff. And then on top of school work, I have to start college prep, do scholarship searches, and work my part-time job at S'Barros. I'm pooped! Senioritis is officially kicking my butt at the worst possible time!

Although this week was busy, at least the school gave students the chance to kind of destress by selling Valentine's Day flowers, candy, and love notes. Even though I didn't buy anything, it was kind of fun to just glance at the student council booths. The cafeteria food was banging, too! They had the best treats -- chocolate-covered strawberries, chocolate cake, strawberry cheesecake, and more. It felt like the school was milking this holiday, a holiday I always felt was super overrated and cheesy... until I started dating Jake.

Just thinking about him makes me become all soft -- ugh! Between classes, he gave me a red rose and a handwritten love note to celebrate the holiday. It was nothing crazy or fancy, but it was nice that he thought about me. He greeted me with another flower again when I arrived at the mall for my shift. Again, a super simple gesture but super sweet. It was a bit embarrassing with our manager Maria watching, but she clearly enjoyed watching our romantic interaction since she was smiling so much.

"I know you don't like huge public displays of affection, and we just started dating, but I wanted to at least give you something to show how I feel about you," Jake said with that sweet smile of his.

"Thank you," I said while blushing, taking the flowers and putting them in my work locker until later. "I didn't get you anything."

"That's okay! Like I said, this is new for both of us. Plus... maybe we could hang out later and you could make up for it..." He suggested with a flirty wink.

"Mm... I'll think about it..." I teased while walking out of the locker rooms and into the main kitchen to start preparing some pizzas.

***

Hours later, my shift ended and Jake walked with me to the parking deck just one block down from the mall. We were making small talk the whole way there but as soon as we reached my car, he suddenly grabbed me by my hips, swung me around to face him, and pressed his lips against mine in a sweet kiss. Caught off guard, I tapped his chest after a few seconds and pulled away.

"What the heck?!" I asked, completely flustered as I glanced around the dimly lit parking deck.

"Sorry, I was hungry..." He chuckled while unwrapping his arms from around my waist and wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"Why are you so thirsty these days?" I chuckled while unlocking my car door. Jake sneaked up beside me, wrapping his hands around my waist once again but in a tender backhug.

"It's Valentine's Day weekend... you know how it is. The thirstiness is all in the air," Jake replied, causing us both to laugh.

"Mm, I guess so..."

"Are you excited for your mom's wedding?" He changed subjects as I opened my car door. "I know I am. I can't wait to see you in your bridesmaid dress looking all good..." He mumbled the last part into the side of my neck, causing my stomach to flip.

I bit my lip and gripped my car door. "Ah... you need chill. But... I'm glad that you'll be there. You and your family. I know I felt all these negative emotions beforehand about my mom getting married, but I realized I just want my mom to be happy..."

Jake let go of my waist and smiled at me. "That's good to hear. And I'm sure your mom and Antonio will appreciate you being there for them."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." I grinned while running a hand through my freshly pressed hair. "Anyways, I'll text you later, okay? I have so much homework I gotta finish before tomorrow."

Jake nodded with a sigh. "I do too. See you soon."

I grinned, giving him one last hug before getting into my car. We say our goodbyes.

***

~The Next Day~

I followed my mom and Antonio into the hotel's event space where my mom's wedding will take place tomorrow. I can't believe my mom is getting married tomorrow. Everything is real now. It feels like she was just talking about it yesterday, and now it's actually happening. The sight was honestly so pretty. It was one of the hotel's smaller conference rooms but big enough to fit at least 50 people. As we entered the room, the purple and silver decor instantly stood out, adding a feeling of elegance to the place. A long silver carpet was rolled out which led to the altar where the bride and groom would say their vows; rows of white wooden chairs aligned both sides of the long carpet. There were tree decorations with silver lights and more lights that hung from the ceiling. There were lit candles in glass jars along the walkway and around the room. It looked really beautiful, no lie. And the room smelled like chocolate chip cookies...

"Would you like a complimentary cookie?" A hotel servant dressed in black and white walks up to us with a silver tray of the dessert.

We all happily accept, and I take two cookies. As we wait for the rest of the wedding party to show up, the hotel venue manager shows us where we need to stand during the wedding rehearsal. The groomsmen will stand in a  line behind Antonio at the altar, while the bridesmaids - including me - will stand behind my mama in a line. The bridesmaids will be me, Mrs. Justine, and two of Mama G's coworkers. The groomsmen will be three of Antonio's coworkers plus his brother. He's been talking about his brother all morning. He sounds a bit nervous and excited to see him since, apparently, they haven't really spoken in years since high school. As I was munching on my cookies near the altar area, Antonio was talking to my mom.

"...we were supposed to meet earlier for breakfast, but he said he was busy at work."

"He works on a Saturday?" My mom asks in surprise.

"I guess so... we have so much to catch up on. I don't even know what business he owns, both he and his wife. And his daughter's supposed to come too..." Antonio says while loosening up his light blue tie and dress shirt, glancing toward the conference room door every second.

My mom sizes him up and rubs his arm, "You're nervous."

"I don't know why," he lets out a nervous chuckle. "I'm excited, too. I guess I just want everything to go well."

"I understand that. And it will, babe..."

Antonio lets out a sigh. A few seconds later, in arrives Pastor Palmer who is supposed to be the officiant of the wedding. Behind him is his wife, the first lady of our church, and Diggy's parents, Mrs. Justine and Mr. Joe.

"Hey!!" My mom greets everyone with a loud, excited voice and gives everyone a hug. So does Antonio. Meanwhile, I'm licking the chocolate off my fingertips and rubbing my hands on my jean pants as everyone greets each other.

"What a blessed day it is!" Pastor Palmer says. "God is good!"

"All the time!" My mom responds. "Lady Palmer, it's good to see you. Thanks for coming."

"Yes! This is the day the Lord has made!" Lady Palmer replies while lifting her hands in the air like we are at church. They greet Antonio and give him some words of wisdom before coming to me. I greet them respectfully while they take a seat in one of the white chairs at the front.

"Hey, I'm glad you made it!" I watch my mom hug Mrs. Justine really tight. Meanwhile, Antonio and Mr. Joe shake hands and embrace. Those two look like they've gotten closer since the bachelor party.

"Of course, I'd never miss my best friend's wedding rehearsal! Ahhh!" Mrs. Justine squeals with excitement as my mom does the same. I cover my ears in pain.

"Wow... what'd I miss?" Mr. Joe asks while staring at his wife like she's crazy.

"I'm just so happy for Martha! This is truly her moment. This weekend is going to be so amazing, I can feel it," Mrs. Justine declares.

Mr. Joe nods with a sigh, then turns his attention to me and grins. "Sam, how you doin'?" He asks while giving me a warm hug.

"I'm good," I reply. "I'd be better once this thing gets started..."

"Where's my sweet Miley and Russy?" My mom asks Mrs. Justine.

"They're at home probably playing games. Diggy's gonna drive them to the rehearsal dinner later, so you'll see them then."

"Is everyone here? Who else are we waiting for?" Mr. Joe asks while glancing around the luxurious conference room. "This looks really nice, by the way."

"Thank you," Antonio replies. "We're still waiting on some of our coworkers as well as my brother."

"Okay. Cool, cool..." Mr. Joe responds with a nod, checking his sparkling Rolex on his wrist. At that moment, the hotel servant offers everyone who just arrived a cookie. Of course, I take another one anyway.

Antonio chuckles. "Didn't you have breakfast this morning?"

I shrug and take a big bite of the sweet treat, glancing toward the door as more people arrive. This time, it was my mom and Antonio's coworkers. Two women and three men -- and one of the men is really close friends with Antonio. Everyone greeted one another with big smiles, snacked on some cookies, and admired the conference room's decorations. It was five minutes until the rehearsal was supposed to take place when the final wedding party arrived. It was a group of three led by a Hispanic-looking man with a mustache and short-trimmed black hair.

"Brother!" Antonio calls out while excitedly down the aisle towards the stranger who only gives him a chill grin in return. The man is dressed nicely in a suit and is followed by two females also dressed in formal clothes whose faces you can't quite see.

"Hey, Tony," Antonio's brother says. "I wish I could've met with you this morning, but I had to clear up some things at the office."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're here now. Come on," Antonio replies while holding out his arms toward the man for a hug, which he receives. They pat each other on the back then step apart. "Oh! Martha--"

"Here I am..." Mama G steps up to greet the strangers.

"Martha, it's nice to meet you," Antonio's brother says while shaking her hand. "Call me Javier."

"Javier, thank you for coming. It's so good to finally meet you. I've heard so many great things about you," my mom replies.

"Oh, really?" Javier replies while sending a cheeky smile to Antonio.

"Mm-hmm. He told me how much he looked up to you as a kid, and how happy he is to see you again. Along with your family!"

"Yes. It's been so long... it's great to be in New York," Javier replies with a posh smile. "A bit too cold for my taste, but I suppose we'll have to get used to it."

"Ah, is this your wife?" Antonio gestures towards the woman who's been quietly standing behind Javier while he makes his greetings.

"Oh, yes. This is my wife, Teresa." Javier steps aside to introduce a Caucasian woman with brown hair and cheerful eyes. She immediately lights up once she is acknowledged.

"Hi! It's so very nice to meet you, Antonio," Teresa says. "And Martha. You two look beautiful together."

"Well, thank you so much," my mom replies while flipping her short hair over her shoulder, causing Teresa to giggle.

"Haha. The decorations are beautiful as well... thank you for inviting us!"

"Of course! You're family!" Antonio affirms with a huge smile.

"Oh, we have someone special for you to meet," Teresa continues. "She was only a baby when you visited -- this was back in California. Now she's 18 and almost towering over the both of us."

Antonio gasps in anticipation. "Your daughter... no way!"

Teresa nods her head and grabs a hold of the young female standing behind her, guiding her closer to her uncle. "Your niece! Julie."

"Julie. Oh my gosh, you were just a baby!" Antonio says with a tone of surprise in his voice. "It's so good to see you and meet you officially." He embraces his niece with so much affection - you could tell he was genuinely happy to see her.

Me... not so much...

As the two finished their embrace, I took another long glance at Julie. His niece. But also the same girl who's been my nemesis since she arrived at Wesley High last semester.

My mom also greets Julie, then gasps. "Oh. You actually look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Um... maybe at a school event?" Julie replies, looking weirdly bashful.

"What school do you go to?"

"Wesley High School."

"She's a senior there and also a cheerleader," Teresa adds in a prideful tone.

"Oh! Is that so? My daughter goes there, too. Ah, let me introduce you. Maybe you know her." I hear my mom say as my eyes focus on Julie, my body full of confusion and irritation at this unimagined meeting. She gestures towards me as my feet feel frozen in place. "This is Samantha, but you can call her--"

"Sam," Julie finishes her sentence. She blinks at me like she's seen a ghost.