Chapter 2

The cab finally came to a stop in front of Danica’s old house. She was still shaken up from the brief encounter with Troy. In fact, from the café to her home, all she thought about was Troy. But as soon as she laid her eyes on the stone-front Shania model house, she forgot all about him as all the memories related to that house came rushing in her head. She relished all the good memories spent there with a lonely smile on her face for a few minutes. The front door was of white color, and there was a garage next to it – which was empty now.

She quickly replaced her sad smile with a cheerful one when she noticed a sleepy Aziel snuggling up to her. “Aziel, we are home,” she announced to him.

He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the house groggily. His eyes opened wide with a gasp. “Wow. Did we really live in this beautiful house? Is it really ours?” he asked enthusiastically, hopping out of the cab. Danica nodded. “I hope it’s not dirty because of our absence for so long.” He pouted.

“Don’t worry. I had appointed a cleaner to clean this house monthly,” Danica responded, ruffling his hair. “Let’s go inside now. Help me with the luggage.”

“Will we really live here from now on?” Aziel further asked in awe.

Rolling her eyes, Danica spoke up before taking the two pieces of luggage out of the car trunk, “Yes. Now don’t use your excessive questions as a way to escape helping me out with the luggage. Come over here.” She shoved the small luggage handle in his hands and declared, “I won’t be the only one dragging them.”

He giggled. “Why not? You are my cute, pretty big sister.”

Before she could get another word of command out, Aziel ran off toward the house door. She groaned but handled the belongings on her own, nonetheless.

Soon enough, the siblings settled in the house. Aziel was busy enjoying his new house and wondering why he didn’t remember anything, while Danica was busy cooking dinner for them.

It was around eight in the evening when the doorbell rang up. Danica wondered who it could be since no one knew about the news of their arrival yet. What if someone saw them moving in and planned an instant burglary?

Fearfully, Danica peeked through the door hole to get a glimpse. She released a sigh as she saw the person standing in front of the door. She opened the door and let out after placing a hand over her chest, “You almost gave me a heart attack, Stacy.”

Stacy walked inside the house, giving a warm smile. “Where is that tiny monster? He’s with you, right?”

Danica nodded. “He is watching cartoons in the living room.” She inquired Stacy, “Did you have dinner yet?”

“Not yet. I will, later.”

“You are lucky, because I was making extra food,” said Danica. As Stacy was about to decline, she was interrupted by Danica saying, “I won’t take no for an answer.”

“I wanted to ask if you have all the groceries you need,” Stacy mumbled, making her way toward the living room.

“I had everything prepared beforehand,” Danica replied and went back to the kitchen. She became busy cooking again while Stacy went to meet Aziel. After she made dinner, she placed it on the table and announced, “Dinner’s ready.”

Aziel came running and secured his seat, which faced the television. Then he asked, “Dani, was Stacy really our neighbor? She is really nice. She loves Boss Baby too.”

Danica chuckled lightly and nodded her head before pulling a chair for herself. “She still lives in the house next door,” she responded.

“Why don’t you come to my house tomorrow and I'll show you around, young man?” Stacy offered when she sat down at the table. “Meanwhile, Danica can look for a way to fulfill your birthday wish.”

Danica gulped down her orange juice and arched an eyebrow in amusement. “You already told her about your wish?”

Aziel nodded.

“He already loves you so much,” she said to Stacy, who just laughed in response.

Stacy looked at Aziel who was now busy stuffing himself with pasta. “The kid is fun, you know.”

“Just wait,” she muttered under her breath.

“Couldn’t we have just ordered pepperoni pizza?” Aziel spoke up, and Danica shrugged her shoulders.

Stacy chuckled and averted her eyes to her plate. “He’s still a good kid,” she said in her defense.

Danica just rolled her eyes sarcastically and continued eating. She knew what her younger brother was like. He was an annoying little creature who mattered the most to her, and she would do anything for his sake.

***

Troy was repeatedly looking at the watch, fidgeting while sitting on the edge of his red and white king-sized bed. He had been like that since the moment he came back home. Originally, he was planning to make a WhyNTube video tonight, but he failed to do so as his mind couldn’t stop thinking about Danica. She is back, he thought to himself for the umpteenth time.

He still found it hard to believe that the first woman he fell in love with was back and that he was able to see her again. What was he thinking when he didn’t talk to her? He should have just pulled her in a hug and never let go. He missed her so damn much. He tried so many things to forget her, but nothing ever worked. The only woman that made his heartthrob was still Danica.

Troy was occupied in his thoughts when Hernan barged in once again as if the bedroom actually belonged to him, not to Troy. “Hey, can you lend me your charg- Why are you staring at your watch?” Hernan asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“Because I can’t afford to lose track of time,” he responded absentmindedly. Realizing what he said, he shook his head and turned to face Hernan who was now near the nightstand, already pulling out the charger. “Why am I blessed with your presence at this hour? Speak only if you have new ideas for videos.”

“Then I have nothing else to say,” Hernan retorted and took a seat next to Troy. “You are going there tomorrow as well, aren’t you?”

“He already can’t wait for the morning to arrive so that he can go there and meet her again,” spoke up a brunette, leaning against the door frame. The two pairs of blue eyes looked at the dark brown-eyed model as he continued, “Our Troy is eager to see his long lost best friend.”

“Why are you putting emphasis on that word? We were best friends,” protested Troy.

Trevor stepped inside the room and sat on one of the white elegant couches. “That’s exactly what I said. Best friends,” he said with a mischievous smile on his face.

“Leave it, Trevor,” Hernan interrupted. “He will never admit that they were more than just friends.”

“We really weren’t. Stop misinterpreting.” Troy frowned.

Trevor chuckled as Hernan teased, “Yeah, right. We all know that.”

Troy groaned in annoyance and walked out of his own bedroom, knowing those two wouldn’t stop chewing his head. He was glad that he never told his friends about his romantic feelings for Danica, otherwise he would never see the end of their teasing.

Now, all he wanted was for the morning to arrive.

***

The fresh smell of the coffee beans hit Danica’s nostrils. She inhaled the aroma while stepping inside the coffee shop Stacy worked in. Stacy had left her phone at their house last night. Even if Danica might deny it, Stacy knew that Danica was actually here for a tasty cup of hot chocolate.

Last night, they had chatted a lot and Danica had explained everything to her after Aziel fell asleep. Thanks to God, Stacy understood everything, plus, she was supportive. However, she was disappointed in Danica for not informing her before leaving California, for which she apologized sincerely.

Instead of standing in the queue, Danica waved at Stacy to take notice of her, who nodded her head and motioned Danica to sit in one corner. Of course, she didn’t need to say what she wanted. After all, Stacy knew her favorite. Hence, she quietly pulled out a wooden chair for herself on a table for two and sat down.

She was looking out the wall-sized window when a voice interrupted her thoughts, “Hi, is this seat taken?”

Danica’s breath hitched hearing the familiar deep voice – a voice that she got habituated only hearing through YouTube. With rapid heartbeats, she turned to face the tall fair-skinned boy. His short chestnut hair seemed messy as if he came here the first thing in the morning. He was only wearing a gray hoodie and black jeans with white converse.

“I guess your silence means no,” said Troy and sat on the chair facing Danica. He placed his camera on the table and started, “How are you doing this morning?” He felt stupid for asking such a silly question.

“I’m good. What about you?”

“Fine.” He pursed his lips, trying to find a topic to talk about. “Um, I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have left like that,” he told her.

“But why did you leave like that?” she inquired, looking anywhere but him.

“Why do you think so?” He raised an eyebrow in question, yet she kept quiet. “Danica, for god’s sake, you have been gone for three years with no news or whatsoever. Then you just show up here out of the blue. What do you expect me to be? I was obviously flustered when I saw you. I didn’t know what to say to you,” he blurted out.

Danica looked at him in surprise and tried to come up with an excuse, “I-”

Troy interrupted her, “You know what? Never mind. You don’t have to tell me why you left if you don’t want to.” Danica was grateful that he had always been very understanding of her. “But what brings you back here in California? And what have you been up to these days?” He was staring intently at her hazel eyes, waiting for a response.

Danica averted her gaze again and replied, “I was in New Jersey. I had gotten a full free scholarship in Princeton, so I settled in New Jersey with Aziel. I returned because of Aziel. He has a birthday wish for his eleventh birthday, which went by three days ago.”

Troy’s heart clenched when he learned that Danica returned for Aziel’s birthday wish; she didn’t return for him. He knew that he shouldn’t have expected since expectations only hurt in return. Yet, somewhere in his heart, he had hoped that one day Danica would return for their friendship. Maybe she would have never returned if it wasn’t for Aziel.

“I suppose his wish must be something big enough for you to return here. I’m curious to know. What is it?” he asked, hiding his hurtful emotions with a charming smile.

Soon, a waiter appeared, placing two cups of hot chocolate coffee on the table. Danica looked at Stacy, who winked at her, and mouthed, ‘Enjoy.’

Danica sighed, taking a sip of her drink. It helped to calm her nerves. She still didn’t understand why she felt the way she did around Troy. He was just her former best friend whom she had a crush on. It wasn’t like she felt anything more than that for him. She started to speak calmly, “This summer, Aziel wants to do something unique which none of his classmates had ever done. I still don’t know what that can be. Aziel left it all on me, so I brought him to California. I know many places here so maybe I could take him to some nice places around here and-”

“And you think that is unique?”

“No, but I can still try to find a unique place?” Danica was confused, and she was not sure if she was telling him or questioning herself.

The thick, awkward air was filled with contagious laughter within a few seconds. Troy was laughing at Danica’s choice of words. “You will never change, Danica.”

He laughed for a bit more, while Danica crossed her arms against her chest, frowning. However, she was glad that she could see him laugh again. She had doubts about whether she would ever be able to see it face to face again, but now, her doubts were cleared.

“Done?” Danica arched an eyebrow after it seemed like Troy was done laughing. “Do you have a better idea?”

Troy twitched his lips, pulling himself into a train of thoughts. A better idea? He thought for a few more minutes, drinking his hot chocolate until something hit his mind. “Has anyone, let alone Aziel’s classmates, lived in a mansion filled with four celebrities?”

Her eyes grew wider as she breathed out, “What are you suggesting?”

“Move into the Rose mansion. Gabrielle, I, Trevor, and Hernan, we live together, you know? And the four of us are celeb figures. I am sure Aziel will love this as his birthday gift.”

“Troy...” Danica paused for a brief moment, pursing her lips.

Meanwhile, Troy could feel the familiar feeling in his heart again, something he felt each time Danica uttered his name – those goosebumps.

“Troy, I am not sure that is a good idea. I-”

“Think about Aziel, Danica. You came here just for him, so you can do this for him at least.”

She wanted more time to think about the offer Troy just placed. Accepting the offer meant that she would meet all of her old friends, whom she abandoned without an explanation. Unfortunately, the offer seemed really good. It would make Aziel the happiest he has ever been, and nothing else mattered more to her than Aziel.

“Fine,” she started, “but under one condition.”

Troy was excited to hear Danica agree. She would be living in the same house as him, which meant she would be close to him all the time – he wanted it for such a long time. “What is it?”

Danica answered with full determination, “I will be paying the rent for as many days as we stay.”

“Sure,” he agreed at once. He was well aware of how stubborn Danica was, and even he could not change her decision. “You can move in tomorrow. I will pick you up from your house.”

She forced a smile on her face and placed her hand over his on the table. “Thank you so much for helping me out, Troy.” He seemed as though he did not believe her. “I meant it, really.”

As much as he wished to pull his hand, he missed her touch. Her hand was still cold as always, yet it made an effect on his heart only she could do. So he remained still and gave a cute smile, showing his dimples.

They had no idea that a fan of Troy was clicking pictures of Troy and Danica as they were holding hands and looking at each other with a smile covering their faces.