It was the day after New Year's day, which meant that it was officially the second of January, 2018. It also happened to be the day Chase was leaving.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" I demanded, tearfully as I clutched at him in a death grip that I was trying to pass off as a hug.

"Shouldn't I be the one telling you that, baby sister?" He joked, and Julio laughed, causing me to glare at the both of them in annoyance.

For some weird, yet strangely satisfying reason, the two of them had really hit it off. They'd hung out twice over the past seven days, once even without me around. Both of them had come back from that as best buddies, while I was still in the dark as to what exactly happened.

And now, Julio has actually come to see Chase off at the airport. He'd literally driven two hours with us just to say goodbye.

"I'll miss you too, sis, but you need to let go now or I'll miss my flight." Chase said gently, pulling himself away from me.

"Fine." I agreed reluctantly, stepping back, and slipping my hand into Julio's for comfort. I was squeezing it so hard that I was almost sure that I'd break something.

"I'll see you in exactly five months, okay? So don't miss me too much."

I rolled my eyes, playing off his remark, because we both knew that I'd miss him a ridiculous amount.

"Alright, bye." He said, nodding at Julio, who held two fingers up to his head in a salute. "Take care of my little sister, Hernandez. If even a hair on her head is harmed, your balls are in danger."

"I'll protect her with my life." Julio promised, and Chase grinned as one final goodbye before turning around and walking away.

Julio pulled his hand out of mine and used it to rub my back comfortingly as we watched Chase head up the escalator and out of view, casting a last glance behind just before he did.

"Oh, this is going to be a long five months." I sighed, resting my head against Julio's shoulder.

"I'll help make it shorter." He vowed, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

"I'm sure you will." I said, pulling back, "Now, come on. I need ice cream to get through this and your task is to come with me and keep me company."

"Fine." He agreed reluctantly, knowing that there was no room for argument. Julio, for some idiot, mind blowing reason, didn't like ice cream. If I didn't like him so much, I would've dumped him for a travesty like that one.

"Good boy." I pinched his cheek, and he scowled murderously at me before holding the passenger side door open for me to get in. Annoying him was incredibly easy and incredibly fun.

The ice cream place he took me to was this really cute one, called Blue Blizzard and the entire decor inside was baby blue and white. They only had one small case of ice cream, but all of it looked so good.

I told Julio to sit down at one of the tables, and headed over to the front to order. He looked so out of place in a cutesy little place like this, with his dark clothes.

"What can I get you?" The guy behind the counter asked, smirking at me. He was pretty cute, with sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes. He actually looked a little like Chace Crawford.

"Umm, a double scoop of chocolate, please, in a waffle cone." I requested, slightly uncomfortable at the way he was looking at me like I was a piece of meat.

I cast a glance back at Julio, who was too busy staring at something else to notice my discomfort.

"Coming right up." He smirked, before getting me what I'd asked for and rattling off the price.

"Of course, I'll give you a little discount if you give me your number." He added, leaning forward against the counter, winking at me.

"Um," I froze, not sure about how to let him down without causing any kind of scene. He seemed like the kind of guy who'd be persistent— and not in the cute 'I really like you' way— but in the annoying, slightly creepy kind of way.

Just as I was about to give him a fake number, I felt an arm slip around my waist. The little spark of electricity I just felt run up my spine told me that it was Julio.

"What's going on, princess?" He asked, glaring daggers at the guy across the counter.

"Uh, nothing, man." The guy said, when I didn't respond, obviously slightly scared of Julio. "I was just telling her what she owes me."

"And she owes you her number?" Julio arched an eyebrow, his expression remaining just as stony.

"No, of course not." The guy replied, leaning back significantly, "That was just a joke."

"Yeah, you make another joke like that and I'll break your nose." Julio threatened and, for once, I wasn't mad at him for getting too angry.

Julio just stood there, waiting. It was so awkward, and the few other people inside were staring at the scene.

The guy stammered out the price and, before I could pay for it, Julio had his wallet out and paid.

"Uh, enjoy your ice cream!" He called as we left the store.

"Was that jealousy I saw in there?" I laughed, raising my eyebrows teasingly.

"Yes."

"Really? Because— wait, did you say yes?" He hadn't even bothered denying it. Why did I think that was cute?

"Yes, I was jealous in there because some asshole decided to hit on my girlfriend." Julio said, pulling the car keys out of his pocket and pressing the button on them.

"Huh." I was dumbfounded. "Wow."

Once we got in the car, I was careful not to get ice cream on the seats, because annoying my mother wasn't worth getting kicked out.

"You can yell at me now." Julio instructed, starting up the car.

"For what?" I queried, confused.

"For losing my shit in there and threatening to break the guy's nose." He clarified.

"Well, I don't think it's fair to yell at you because, this time, I actually found it kind of sexy." I giggled, taking his free hand that lay on the center console.

"Really?" He seemed to be a mix of shocked and suggestive, "Does that mean I get a reward tonight? For defending your honor?"

"Maybe." I teased, my smile broadening as Julio lifted my hand up to place a kiss on the back of it.

We were definitely still in the honeymoon stage, and I loved it.

"So, where did you learn how to drive?" I questioned curiously. I was sure his dad didn't.

"It was my Uncle Matteo; my mother's brother. He taught both Javi and I. He was the one who got me the motorcycle, actually."

"He sounds great." I complimented honestly. I was glad Julio had someone who loved him, at least.

"He is." Julio agreed, "He's the reason I can go to college, too."

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing with his fingers.

"He offered to pay for college. He's rich, so he's able to easily, especially because he doesn't have his own kids. He did the same for Javi too but, for some reason, Javi actually likes this place."

"That's awesome." I said, wishing for Julio's sake that he'd had custody of Julio instead of his dad. But, selfish as it sounds, I was glad Julio was here.

"Actually, uh," He began awkwardly, "I told him about you when he called on Christmas. He wants to meet you, if that's okay? He lives an hour away, in the next town over."

"I'd love to." I agreed normally, knowing that this 'meet the family' thing would probably be the only ordinary thing about mine and Julio's relationship.

"Good." He said, smiling broadly at me, and my heart stopped as it always did when that idiot smiled.

*

School started again, and I wanted to cry. I knew I only had to deal with it for a few months, but it was still a nightmare. Not only did I have to stomach the idiots who went to my school, I also had to deal with teachers and homework and Physics.

The only good thing about school was seeing Ally, Chris, Ryo and Romi everyday— I saw Julio every night anyway. In the beginning, Romi and I hadn't really hit it off. Then, I realized that she was a great girlfriend to have and a really good listener, especially when compared to Ally, who was a little too excitable at times.

"Hey, bestie!" Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear.

"Hey, Ally." I said, my voice muffled as she hugged me with all the strength in her petite little frame.

"It's been too long." She whined, "I feel as if I haven't seen you in, like, a year."

"I've missed you too, Ally." I said, even though I'd seen her about two weeks before, on Christmas Eve.

"How's the boyfriend?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows, "Have you two done the deed yet?"

"Nope." I replied, popping the 'p'. "I mean, I've thought about it, but it's never actually gotten so far."

"I'm honestly surprised. If I were you, I'd have done him as soon as he asked me out. Have you seen that bone structure? How do you resist?" She demanded, fanning herself at the thought of my boyfriend.

"Hey," I warned teasingly, "Off-limits. Besides, don't you have a boyfriend?"

"Haha." She said sarcastically, walking with me to homeroom. "Just because I've already finished shopping doesn't mean I can't browse."

"What if you see something else, something absolutely perfect for you, but you can only have what you've already bought or this new item. What would you choose?" I asked, the conversation suddenly becoming much more serious.

"Well," She began thoughtfully, abandoning the metaphor we were using, "I think that that's what makes a relationship work. There's always going to be someone else who you see or pass in the street who you're insanely attracted to. But if you truly care about the other person, you have to choose. You have to decide between this momentary attraction and what you already have, what really matters. It sounds like an easy choice, but it always isn't so."

The regret in her voice surprised me. Was this something she had personal experience with?

"I mean," she continued, sighing softly, "At a party, for example, suppose a really hot guy comes up and tries to chat you up. Julio isn't there and you're attracted to this guy; you need to make the choice. You need to consider the repercussions of betraying Julio like that, and you should be able to fight off whatever primal desire you're feeling. You need to be able to focus on what's important."

Ally's tone had turned almost wistful, and the horrible thought crossed my mind that maybe she cheated on Charlie. Charlie was pompous and arrogant in some ways, but he definitely didn't deserve that.

"Have you ever.....you know?" I asked delicately, unsure as to how I should approach a situation like this.

"Have I ever what?" She asked defensively, her tone becoming guarded.

"Cheated." I said, not bothering to beat around the bush when she knew what I meant.

"No, but that hasn't stopped him from checking out the other merchandise." She said bitterly, and it was just dawning on me that this wasn't a conversation to have in a school hallway.

"Are you serious?" I demanded, lowering my voice.

"Dead serious." Her tone was anguished, like it hurt her ridiculously to even think of this. I'd probably be the same, too.

"I'm sorry." I said, hugging her quickly in a show of comfort, and attracting an odd look from a random guy next to us.

"But, why haven't you dumped him yet?" I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion.

"Because I love him!" She said, despaired. She hated him for cheating, but she loved him so much that she didn't think she could leave him for it.

"But he doesn't love you." I whispered urgently, as we stood outside our homeroom door, "You deserve someone who loves you as much as you love them."

"I know that. I really do. I just, I don't know."

"Shh, it's okay." I said, squeezing her hand. We could always talk about this later; this wasn't the time or the place.