It’s the last week of school and I can barley think of not seeing my best friends, (Lydia Hill, Amelia Manning, Aisha Jacobs, and Ian Peyton) all summer because am going to be in Verona. Ian and Amelia are half siblings; they have the same mom but not the same dad. Ian’s a year older though. They live with their mom and her new boyfriend Fredrick Garcia, who beats their mom really bad. Ian has tried to defend his mom but every time Fredrick has always called the police and sent him to jail for the night. Which I had to bail him out a night or two. Everyday I can see Ian’s hurt in his face, on his body, in his eyes, and it hurts me to see him hurt. I’ve have had many guys in my life but Ian was the only one that stuck around except my online pen pal Micah Chamberlain (that lives in Verona) that I have been e-mailing every day for two years. Ian and Micah the only guys that are in my life. Micah is seriously awesome, I mean he likes a lot of the same things that I do and he lives fairly close to my grandparents. We plan to meet each other when I get in Verona. We also flirt a lot when we talk.

It was two minutes before fourth period on the last day of school when I found a note in my locker from Ian. It said, “Before you leave, let me give you something to remember me in Verona. So meet me in the student parking lot after the bus bell, we’ll talk, and I will drive you home.” So after the bus bell rang I did as he told me, I went to the student parking lot. There I found Ian leaning against his red ford pickup. His wavy brunette hair over one of his beautiful emerald eyes while the sun glistened against his evenly tanned body. I swear he could be a model if he didn’t think it was conceited. When I walking up to him he immediately got in his F150 and started it up so I got in the passenger seat. He started to drive off (I only live two blocks from the school which I usually walk) I asked, “What do you want to talk about?” He said, “Actually I want to talk about us.” I said, “Us?” He nodded then said, “Yeah remember in seventh grade when you kept getting those love poems in your locker?” I answered back “Yeah my favorite was…” He finished my sentence saying, “Your favorite was the one that said, ‘It’s not the life you live, it’s the love you give, and the people you share it with. If you live your life you should find happiness in your one and only true love. But oh how I wish I could find someone as perfect as you then my life would be complete and true.’” I realized at that very moment that he wrote the poems because I never told him what the poem said I just said my favorite was the one I got that day.

Ian said, “I wrote those poems for you because I like you,
…a lot Jace. I always have since you first moved here. And I just wanted to do this before you leave.” Then he leaned in and kissed me. I was stunned for a while then I realized that I liked him too but I wasn’t ready to tell him that. He was my best friend and I didn’t want to ruin that at all. Plus I don’t want to be tied down when I go to Verona. So when he pulled back from the kiss and smiled I didn’t smile back. He asked me, “What’s wrong?” I said, “ I have to think about this. You’re my best friend and what if we don’t work out? I couldn’t stand not being your friend. So just give me some time to think ok?” He said, “Ok take as much time as you need, just promise me that you’re going to talk to me when you’re in Italy.” I nodded and said, “Ok I promise.” Then we were at my house so I got out and went inside.

We packed when I got home. Then the next day we left on the plane. It was about a sixteen-hour flight in a little coach seat with a kid kicking my back the entire time. So I was really really happy when we landed in Rome. Then we headed East to Verona.

When we arrived at my grandparent’s house around daybreak. So we immediately went to bed. When we got up I emailed Micah to meet me at the little store two blocks away from my grandparents house. I was really nervous to meet Micah but he told me he was going to be wearing a red button up collared short-sleeved shirt with black denim jeans. So I told him that I was going to be wearing my red sundress with sandals.

I waited for fifteen minutes before I was ready to leave. But when I was about to leave a guy dressed exactly like Micah said he would. The guy walked up to me. He had straight jet-black hair, bright green eyes, alabaster skin, and straight white teeth. He also looked about a year or two older than me. He said, “Excuse me miss I can’t help but notice what you are wearing. Are you Jace Castillo?” I nodded and said, “Are you by any chance Micah Chamberlain?” He said, “Actually I’m his twin brother Sage Chamberlain. (I wasn’t worried about anything because Micah sent me a picture of himself and this guy looked just like him.) He told me to come and pick you up.” I said, “Ok.” Then we went to his house to pick Micah up. It turns out that Sage and I had a lot of things in common. Like we both hate bologna, chickens (when their alive), and raisins (because they look like old people.) But we both like swimming, reading, and riding our bikes. Plus Sage is seriously HOT! When we got to Sage’s house, I met Micah and was surprised he didn’t act that flattering in person like he was when we were emailing but that was ok he was still nice. Plus Micah and Sage didn’t look totally alike; Micah has dark brown eyes (almost black) which is weird because Sage has bright blue eyes (with a little white in them.)

* 2 months later *
It’s almost time to leave Verona. Over the past two months Micah and I have grown close since we started to date a month and a half ago. But Sage and I have grown very close mentally and emotionally. I haven’t seen or heard from Ian in a month (since I changed my relationship status on mybook.net to in a relationship) so I’m worried. I have however talked to Amelia and she says he’s just mad. Sage just told me today that he used all of his money so he can come to America to go to school with me, so I told him he could come live with us during the school year. But Micah is staying in Verona because he didn’t have enough money to come to America or a passport. I have great news my Grandpa is better now he just had the flu.

As soon as we got to our house Sage and I went to sleep. The only reason that I would ever go to sleep early was because of the time change and I felt sicker than ever. Plus only two days until school starts. Luckily I got all my school supplies before we left.

Right after I woke up the day before school I sent an email to Ian it said,
“Dear Ian,
You haven’t talked to me in forever. I don’t know what’s going on with you but I don’t like you not talking to me. I told you that I would talk to you but I just wish that you would talk back. I’ll see you at school






Love, Jace”

It’s the first day of school again. It’s my junior year. Sage and I were walking together in the hallway when Lydia and Ashley came up to us. Lydia said, “Omigod Jace! (She hugged me really hard.) This must be your new beau. Micah right?” Sage and I looked at each other for a minute then he got a sly smile on his face and said, “Yeah, and you are?” Lydia slapped my shoulder and said, “Ughh I cannot believe that you didn’t tell him about me. (She held out her hand.) I’m Lydia Hill and she’s Aisha Jacobs. Nice to meet you.” He shook her hand and smiled, “Likewise.” I grabbed him by his arm, and pulled him away from them while saying, “We’ve gotta get to class. See ya’ll during lunch.” When we got far enough away from them so they couldn’t hear us I asked Sage, “Why did you do that?” He said, “How crazy would they think you were if you told them that your boyfriend is all the way in Italy? Plus I thought it would be fun. I have always liked to act as a hobby.” I said, “I love to act too so I guess that this would be practice for so…” He asked with his hand out, “So…are you in?” I put my hand in his hand, smiled, and said, “Yup I’m in.”

It has been one week since school started and Ian and I still haven’t talked. But Sage and I talk. We talk about our dreams mostly. One day we were in my room when he said that he wanted to be a neurosurgeon (Which is exactly what Micah said he wanted to be when we were talking online.) I always wanted to be a anesthesiologist. So we could possibly work together. Then he said something surprising, “You know that they won’t believe we’re a couple for long. Right?” I answered, “Why would you think that?” “Well we haven’t been to any parties together.” “I don’t know anyone that throws any parties.” “But I do. You know that quarterback Felix Cummings? (I nodded) Well we hit it off and he invited me to a party at his uncle’s mansion and he said I could bring a guest. So we can go together.” I smiled and said, “Ok. Lets go.” So we went.

I woke up in a strange bed, with nothing on, and a strange guy next to me. I kicked him, but he didn’t wake up. So I kicked him again and said, “Wake up!” He turned to look at me. It was Sage. We sat there in silence for a few seconds with our eyes big, then we both screamed, and jumped out of the with a blanket covering us. We got dressed in silence. Then when we were in my bedroom sitting on my bed I decided to break that silence. I asked, “Do you remember anything about last night?” He said, “I actually remember most of it. You were drinking a lot and you got some random guy to come to an unoccupied bedroom. I followed you and him and when I saw him trying to take off your bra I kicked him out. Like literally. Then you pulled me onto the bed and poured a whole bottle of liquor down my throat. After that everything’s fuzzy.” I finally fell to the weight of my tears and started crying. Then I put my head in his lap. He didn’t seem to mind, he just let me stay like that while he stroked my hair. By the end of the night we had confirmed three things: We liked each other, we did have sex, and I needed to break up with Micah so we could be together.

When I got on mybook I instantly saw a picture of Micah and some slutty looking girl. They were kissing and in the girls hand was a bottle of vodka. I imagined that this was the reason that they were kissing but I didn’t care about Micah anymore. He barley talked to me and when he did he called me ugly and fat. So I just sent the message saying that I didn’t want to be with him and I wanted to be single for awhile. After I sent the message I texted Sage and told him that I broke up with Micah but I wanted to stay single for a little while. Only because it would give me time to explain to everyone what had happened with Sage pretending to be Micah. But I was kind of bummed out that everything was changing and needed to talk to someone about this that wouldn’t judge me so I went to Ian’s house.

When I arrived at Ian’s house, Ian was leaning against his truck with his wife beater on. Dang he looked hot. This is the first time that I talked to him face-to-face since the day he kissed me. When I got out of my truck he took my hand and lead me to his room so we could be alone. I told him everything, well almost everything. The one thing I left out was what happened at the party. He said, “So let me get this straight you were dating Sage’s brother Micah who is in Italy but Sage is pretending to be Micah. Just so y’all can practice acting?” I nodded and he said, “Well that’s pretty messed up.” You nodded and said, “I know but I’m single now and its kind of like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders because of all the lying I’ve been doing lately.” He hugged you and whispered in your ear, “Everybody makes mistakes. Especially me. My mistake was letting you leave here without getting a clear answer from you.” Him and I broke from our hug but he was still holding onto me after I let go. He said, “Jace Mercy Castillo ever since we met each other I have had feelings for you but I was to scared to show them. But then when you were about to leave something inside me told me that I needed to tell you how I felt before you left to go to Italy. I don’t think I showed them enough. Your smile lights up a room. I love the way your hair flows just right. I love your laugh especially when its your nervous laugh. I love everything about you. I don’t just like you, I think I love you.” Then he leaned in and kissed me.