Life was simple here in Frankenmuth, and unfortunately, I didn't see that changing any time soon. I always felt like I was destined for things so much bigger than a town like this ever allowed, and I knew that until I could discover it for myself, I would spend every single day chasing that feeling.

Now that it was finally getting warmer out, Jake and I had started taking our morning hikes again. That's where we did most of our writing before we spent the rest of the day working through whatever we were able to come up with.

The sun still hadn't completely risen, so we made our way through the wooded path, mainly by memory, until the dewey glow of dawn slowly crept its way through the branches. I always loved to watch the sunrise over the lake. It was one of the main reasons I always made sure to get up so early.

The other was Jaime.

Ever since her mom got sick, I noticed the light in her bedroom going on earlier and earlier each morning. I knew she was awake when the smell of her candles lingered through the crisp morning air, wafting into my window, and I could hear the gentle crackle and hum of her tired old record player. I always admired her appreciation for music; it just made it that much easier to let her in.

But being with Jaime was always easy.

In every sense of the word, Jaime was light; the brightest of colors in a world that was black and white and shades of grey, the rest of us lucky if we ever got the chance to bask if her luminous glow. But she was so selfless, she would set herself ablaze without a second thought just to keep the rest of us warm, even if it meant burning herself out completely.

How much I missed the days she would already be waiting for us outside, eager to join us on our morning adventures. Jake always a few steps ahead as I would nervously linger behind to stay at her pace, jumping at the slightest touch of our hands accidentally brushing against each other, but never brave enough to take hold.

Both acting like we hadn't felt a thing.

Occasionally Jake would look back, flashing me a mocking smile as he motioned towards her. Jaime never seemed to notice, though if she did, I was thankful she never brought attention to it. But I knew that I would spend the duration of our time avoiding Jake's teasing eyes whenever her and I got too close.

Now, it was rare if she managed to wander over to our house for an hour or two at most, so I savored every moment she would brighten up even the darkest corners of our garage, like the beaming spotlight I had longed for, just as long as she was always shining on me.

But her usual heartening glow had gradually gotten dimmer ever since that first time the ambulance arrived. I remember that night in the hospital so vividly, insistent on staying with her in the waiting room long after everyone else had gone home, doing everything in my power just to make her smile, while trying my hardest to ignore the wandering eyes that lingered on her, a little too long for my liking.

But it was impossible.

Jaime was so effortlessly beautiful and most of the time it felt like she had no idea how other people saw her. Either that, or she just didn't care. She never paid them any mind, but I often wondered how someone like me was supposed to stand out to the one that captured everyone's attention.

We spent the early morning hours enamored by each other's company, my tired eyes utterly incapable of straying away from hers as the daybreak crept through the windows, illuminating the room and drowning out its painfully glaring florescence.

When her mom was finally released, I drove them back home, waiting out front until they both made it inside. Before going in, Jaime turned back, giving me a smile and a gentle wave. It was far from it, but it was the closest thing her and I had ever had to a date.

I always imagined what it would be like to get to take her on an actual date. It would be late enough where the rest of the world would be asleep so we could finally be alone. I'd walk her to her door, and the light above would surround us in a warm romantic glow, leaving her just visible enough for when I finally leaned in and-

"You're quiet." Jake laughed, hitting me with one of the large sticks he picked up from the path. I jumped, snapping out of it.

"Just.. thinking." I said softly. He smirked, rolling his eyes. I had lost track of how many times I've gotten lost in daydreams about Jaime, and I hated how he always knew.

As we got closer to the water, something caught my eye. I leaned down, picking up a light pink rock, smooth and translucent, glowing as I held it up to the sun. Looking around, I could see there were no others like it, as if it had been picked up and tossed away, now left amongst the others that were far more lackluster, all identical and unadorned.

It reminded me of Jaime; far too good and way too beautiful to belong here. She was meant for bigger and better, but I was thankful for every day she hadn't realized it yet.

And it was her favorite color.

I shoved it into my pocket and caught up with Jake as he continued down the wooded path towards the lake.

"Are you gonna ask her to come watch today?" He smirked, peeking back at me. My cheeks burned. I shrugged, avoiding his eyes.

"Maybe." I said simply, keeping my eyes down, scanning the ground for more pink rocks.

I'm sure she didn't think anything of them, but that didn't stop me from collecting them for her. She deserved beautiful things.

"So when are you gonna tell her?" He asked, now examining the ground with me.

"Tell her what?" I muttered. I heard him sigh as he shot me a look.

"Okay, Josh." He sang, his voice trailing off. As much as he pried, he never pushed. And I was thankful for that.

Jake and I had only had one actual conversation about how I felt for Jaime, and part of me regrets saying anything at all, but I knew despite his teasing remarks, he would always keep quiet.

It was the night after our first real gig. Nothing crazy, but it was a big deal for us. It was the first time we all played on stage together as an actual band, the first time we had a banner with our name on it hanging behind us, and people were actually there to see us.

And we were awful.

Anything that could've gone wrong, did.

And then some.

Prior to going on, I had never felt more confident, and in an instant, everything came crashing down. There was no way I could do this every night for the rest of my life. Two songs in and I was already thinking of ways to tell Jake that I was out. I was never doing this again.

But every time I looked over, I saw Jaime on the side, singing along to every song, and there was just something about it, not so much someone else knowing our songs, but her knowing them.. it made it worth it. For a few minutes, I didn't see anyone else there.

It was only her.

When we finally got off stage, she came running over to us, and wrapped me in a tight hug. I remembered my heart beating so fast that I was sure she could feel it.

"That was awesome!" She said, beaming from ear to ear. I couldn't help but smile, feeling like my whole body was on fire.

"We were awful."

"But you would never know that was your first show. You just looked like you belonged up there."

And suddenly.. everything was okay.

Because if I impressed her, that was all that mattered.

Later that night, she insisted on helping us pack up the stage. I handed her the lightest equipment, secretively watching as she'd make her way back to our van, trying not to make it too obvious. It wasn't until I felt Jake nudge me as he walked by, flashing me a small grin that I snapped out of it.

On the drive home, Jake hopped in the back of the van, letting Jaime take the front seat. I shot him a grateful look, trying my best to contain my smile. For the duration of the drive, Jake mainly talked about what went wrong during the show, and how we could do better next time. Like I didn't experience every excruciating second of it, just like he had. The last thing I wanted to think about was that show.

Finally, we pulled up to her house. She turned to us, flashing a big smile.

"You guys were great, don't even worry about it. So.. I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, turning to me. I nodded, holding my stare on her, feeling my heart beat faster, pretending for a moment that she just meant me specifically.

"Y-yeah. Of course." I managed. Her smile grew as she hopped out of the van, making her way up her steps, turning back and giving me a gentle wave before going inside. I waited until she shut the door and turned out the light before driving down to our house.

"Well, wasn't that cute." Jake chimed in. I could hear the smile in his voice. I sighed, nodding. I don't know what came over me in that moment, I was never one to talk about these kind of things, maybe because I had never really felt like this before, or maybe because she was the only one I had ever felt like this for..

"I'm gonna marry her." I said softly. He nodded as he reached for the door, hopping out of the van.

"Whatever you say, Josh." He said simply, his smile growing. I quickly made my way into the house, running up the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me, going into my room to see that it was still dark. It was only a matter of time before her light clicked on.

She made her way in, hanging her jacket up on the hook behind her door. I sat down at my desk, rolling my chair over towards the window, trying not to make it look too obvious, like it was just by chance that we were meeting once again. And then she made her way over, flashing me that same radiant smile that always managed to make my heart melt, as if it was made just for me.

"Goodnight, Josh."

"Goodnight, Jaime."