Prologue

Sophia sits cross legged at her desk tapping her foot along with her iPod. She runs her fingers through her hair and clips in a heart-shaped pin. Sophia pulls out a ripped and crumpled piece of paper with words on it and reads it over like she does every morning. Sophia looks across to the empty desk beside her and wonders how he is doing. Mike sits at his new desk in his new school and looks around. He turns up the volume to his music as all the desks around him begin to fill. Unconsciously, he wonders how she was doing.

Once school ends, Sophia sets out on the street they always took. She looks at the posters hugging the glistening windows of colorful barber shops and longs for a haircut. But she restrains herself, she has to keep her hair the same way he likes it… just in case they were to meet again. Sophia stops in front of an ice cream store and pauses to count her money. She never bought anything unless she could pay for him too – in case he was there. As she walks in her broken heart remembers the trouble he went through to bring her here. Sophia orders a vanilla ice cream cone and looks around hoping to see him, but he isn’t there. “Will he ever come back?”

One block away Mike is getting his hair cut so that she wouldn’t see his bone-skinny body and dying heart. He run his fingers across his short-short hair and proceeds to go home. After a few steps an ice cream shop catches Mike’s attention. He looks at the menu and is about to order a vanilla like how they always did but got a chocolate instead. Mike looks around for a brown haired girl eating a vanilla ice cream cone. “Will she ever be back?”

As Sophia finishes her ice cream she looks up one last time for him but saw no one. Felling sad, she walks down the street to notice a clothing store they had once visited. She searches for a long time until she found the exact outfit she is wearing on a skinny tall mannequin. She pushes past the many moms buying the same outfit and manages to brag all the clothing in the right size. Sophia spends the rest of her money and buys the outfit; hoping that if she should miss him in the streets, at least he would notice her.

Mike really hates the chocolate ice cream and endes up throwing it out before he finishes it. He strolls down the street and enters a clothing store that she hates. Unwillingly, he buys the worst looking outfit he could find. And as he left his eyes slyly flutters around for a skinny girl wearing a cute blue t-shirt with a white heart design and white short jeans.

Sophia stands at the bus stop at the end of her street. A boy wearing a green shirt, neon yellow pants and a red cap walks next to her. Cringing, she manages to follow him onto the bus. Mike looks at the girl following him on the bus and his heart stops. Restraining himself from saying anything, he finds two empty seats on the bus. Sophia looks around the bus and notices that the only available seat is next to the eccentrically dressed boy. She hesitantly sits down next to him and they simultaneously take out their iPods. The conversation between the two ends there and Sophia decides to turn around so that she doesn’t face him. Mike couldn’t help to notice that the white cupid arrow, which was attached to her heart-shaped pin, is now gone. Sophia feels that he is watching her so she suddenly turns to face him. Mike’s heart quakes as his eyes catch a glimpse of her caramel brown ones; quickly he hides his face in the shadows of his cap. Ignoring this, Sophia gets off the bus at the next stop and he follows her.

As Sophia walks to a small villa building, the sky cries like the first night she spent with him. She rings for room 331 but no one answers. Slowly, Sophia takes out her phone and dials a number that she knows by heart. After a few seconds she realizes that the number is no longer available. Heartbroken, she turns around to walk home as the heavens cry in misery… as if they can read her heart.

Mike trudges through the pouring rain as he follows her to his old apartment. Mike smiles as he watches her trying to contact him. When she turns around, Mike accidentally startles her and hands her a note. Confused, she takes the note. Mike slowly goes his separate way with a heart broken like shattered glass.

As soon as he leaves, Sophia reads the two sided note. In the dim street lights she can make out, “Even thought I love you, I can’t love you. Even thought I hate you, I can’t forget you. Even though you broke my heart, I still want you back. The only thing that leaves me now is tears and stupid actions. I can’t live without you.” She flips over the note and finds the other half of her crumpled piece of paper. Her heart pounds against her chest as she drops her umbrella in shock and runs after him.

Mike sits on a wet bench waiting for the rain to wash away his troubles; waiting for the sky’s falling tears to hide his. As he got up to leave, she comes running to him.

Sophia stops a few feet behind him to catch her breath. Her scared heart shouts unsaid words at him. As he begins to walk out of her life a second time, Sophia’s lips can’t take it anymore. Sophia calls out Mike’s name, “I’m sorry, let’s start again!"