I long for you, just a touch of your hand. You don't leave my mind. Lonely days I'm feeling like a fool for dreaming. As I wander down the avenue so confused, guess I'll try and force a smile."— Sam Smith.

"Woah. This infuriates me! Like, is that how you greet someone?" Mia pushes her hair back, angry. "Just shoving your blasted lips onto theirs like a fucking pervert? That has got to be a misunderstanding, from what I know, she's only his childhood—" She trails off when she caught sight of the glistening tears on Kelly's face.

Her gaze softens. "Kelly..."

Apparently, she spoke that too loud, since as Ikaya breaks away from Nikolai, his head snaps up to the staircase.

Mia's eyes widen as she grabs onto Kelly's hand and pulls her inside his bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

Quiet cries turn to soft, audible sobs as she stoops down on the ground, burying her head on her arms. Her shoulders and back are noticeably trembling. Mia suspires and squats next to her, stroking her back comfortingly.

"Hey...dry your eyes, yeah?"

If only she could. If only it were that easy. It hurts to see him with someone else, and this feeling is not something she can just turn off. It is so painful that she can feel its physical impact in her chest. In her heart.

"It's alright. It must be a misunderstanding. I don't think they're together. She's just his friend, okay?" Mia gently grips her face, bringing her head up.

Kelly's eyes are wet and red, and her hair is sticking to the tears on her cheeks.

"Dry your eyes before he comes up, alright? Don't let him see you crying. It'll be okay."

Kelly nods her head, taking her advice as she dabs her shaking arm against her face.

"Come, I'll help you with your assignment." Mia goes ahead to the table, sitting and grabbing her pencil. She's excellent at math, every subject for that matter, and constantly tops first place in her entire grade. She decides on finishing up the questions, but Kelly sits next to her and takes the pencil from her hand.

"He'll know I'm not the one who did it." She mutters, her eyes swollen as she stares down into her notebook.

Mia softly smiles. "Hey, don't worry, Kel. How about this? There is this concert happening downtown tonight. It's starting at seven. Do you want us to go?"

"How would we get there?" She asks in a brittle voice.

"I'll just ask Nik to drop us later. We can go and have some real fun...us girls. What do you say?"

Kelly forces a smile, nodding as she wipes her eyes again.

"Alright. Stop crying now, sí?" Mia smiles at her, and she bobs her head, sucking up the tears as she finishes up the questions.

••

Nikolai was not expecting such an...intimate greeting, but he is not surprised by it. Ikaya has been in love with him for as long as he can remember. They grew up together, and their parents are good friends. Nikolai's parents have a hard time accepting people, but when it comes to Ikaya, they love her like their own daughter.

Nik's mom describes her as classy and pretty, while his dad sees her as a respectful girl with good home etiquette. They have swung marriage by the two people on numerous occasions, but Nik would always dismiss the matter. Ikaya would pretend to side with him, but deep down, she loves this man more than herself.

She finally pulls away with a wide smile. "Gosh, I missed you like crazy, Nik. It has been four months since I last saw you."

Nikolai sends her a smile, but for some reason, Kelly runs across his mind and he turns his head up to the staircase again. He caught a glimpse of that sullen look on her face just now. But what was the reason for that?

"This man right here talks about you twenty-four-seven." Mr. Leon inserts, and Nik returns his focus to his friends as Ikaya laughs, walking over to the kitchen island and taking him with her.

"I talk about Nik every day too." She beams as he sits on a stool. She wastes no time in swinging her arms around his neck from behind. Ikaya can be a lot touchy when she's ready. It gets uncomfortable.

"Nik with the big package." She finishes, and Leon coughs out his entire wine.

"Damn. I wonder what package she's talking about, Nik?" He says his name with a teasing edge, and Nikolai shakes his head, neatly unhitching her hands as she sits next to him.

"I don't know; what package are we talking about?"

She laughs. "That's only for him and me to know, Keith. How's work for you guys?"

"It's good. Nik got promoted last month. Head of the history department."

"Woah! That's amazing!" She smiles. "You didn't tell me."

"Well, it's nothing great." He shrugs with a smile, and she frowns.

"As long as it's you, it's great." She then stares at him for a while, admiringly.

"How's work for you?" Nik asks her. He saw the look.

"It is good, you know. Business is popping. I tell you this every day." She taps her red nails against the counter, her green eyes taking in every detail of his face. He looks even more handsome than the last time she saw him.

Ikaya is into fashion designing and has many stores in Paris and Spain, where she had traveled for the last four months.

"Nikolai."

The three heads turn in the direction of the voice as Mia sweetly approaches the table.

"Oh, hi, Mia. Aww, you have gotten so much prettier and bigger." Ikaya gushes.

"You didn't expect me to stay the same all my life, did you?" She grumbles before looking at her uncle.

"Nik. Kelly is through with the questions. I think you should go check on her."

"Kelly?" Ikaya looks lost. "Who..."

"She's my—"

"She's his favorite student." Mia grins.

Leon laughs, almost choking on his beverage. "Mm..." He hums cheekily, taking a sip from the glass. He's enjoying this.

"She's my student." Nikolai amends, suddenly feeling weird. "I tutor her privately."

Mia smiles sweetly. "Same thing. His favorite student."

"Mia." Nikolai looks over at her, noticing her curt behavior. "Why don't you go tell her I'll be there shortly?"

"Sure, I will. But don't have her waiting too long, Nik." She says as she walks toward the staircase.

"Favorite student?" Ikaya smiles with playfully squinted eyes. "I'd love to meet her."

"Oh, you should." Mr. Leon removes his wine glass. "She's a cute little girl." He sends Nik a strange look with mischief sparkling in his eyes.

Nikolai shakes his head as he stands up. What is Mr. Leon trying to get at? Why is everyone being so fucking weird? Even him, why does he feel so damn uncomfortable? Ikaya is his childhood friend; he has always been comfortable around her. Something is not right with him.

••

"Her face is caked with makeup, and she has nothing on you. I just saw her up close. Her skin looked hella sweaty, and her eyebrows looked uneven. Rest assured." Mia lays a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "You're ten steps ahead."

The door pulls open, and she quickly removes her palm as Nikolai enters the room.

Kelly's heart begins to pound as she shifts against the daybed.

"Time for you to go, Mia. I need to critique her privately."

"No problem, Nikolai." She shoots him a smile, and Kelly prays she'll stop. At this rate, he's bound to discover something.

He sits next to her, and she repositions herself again, keeping her vision on her hands. She can tell her eyes are still red, so it's best to avoid eye contact for now.

"Alright. Let's see."

She hears the noise of ruffling sheets and pen against paper before he starts talking again.

"You should show all your workouts to the end, alright? I want to see step by step, down to the T. But it's alright, though; I can still see how you got the answer here."

Ticking. Shuffling. Turning of pages.

"I see the improvement on this one. You got a question like this incorrect on Exercise E, but now you've got it right. Good."

Silence.

"80%. I am impressed. This is very excellent, Kelly."

He expects to see a vibrant smile and cheerful eyes, but what he gets is silence as she gazes down at her lap.

"Kelly." He shifts to her. "Look at me."

"I am going to use the restroom." She stands up, but he grabs ahold of her hand, pulling her back down and turning to her.

She tries to turn her head away, but he grips her cheek, steering her face to his. His eyes scan her features. Swollen, red eyes, puffy cheeks, and a pink nose.

"What's wrong?"

She shakes her head, wiping her eyes in case tears are threatening to leave them. It'd be embarrassing to cry in front of him.

"This is not nothing." He says quietly. "Want to talk about it?"

She doesn't say anything, and he sighs, watching her quietly. "What upset you?"

"The questions." She mutters finally. "They were hard to work on."

Somehow, he doesn't believe her response but accepts it anyway. He heard her parents quarreling earlier, so of course, she could have some internal issues dealing with.

"Alright. We can finish up for the day. Do you want to watch TV on the couch downstairs? I have ice cream in the fridge."

Ice-cream. She would never say no to that.

"Okay." She sighs.

"Let's go."

They leave his room and head downstairs. Keith and Ikaya are busy laughing and chatting. Upon seeing them, however, Kaya cuts her speech short and looks over.

"So, this is your favorite student?" Her lips curl into a smile as she stands up, meeting them halfway. "Hi, I am Ikaya."

Kelly takes in her appearance. She's wearing a cute, red set—a skin-tight tube top and a pencil skirt. Mia had exaggerated a bit since her face is not clogged with makeup, but she won't hold that above her head as she just wanted to cheer her up. For the most part, Ikaya is beautiful, and it's not hard to see.

She comes back to reality to see a slender, manicured hand extending toward her.

"Kelly." She says, taking her hand in hers.

"Kelly, Kelly." Kaya pulls her hand back to place a finger on her chin. "I think our names are a bit similar, don't you think, Nikolai? Keith?"

"Similar my butt-hole." Mia mumbles, descending the stairs.

"Kelly and Kaya." She smiles. "I think it's a sign. We should be friends."

"Na-dah. She already has a friend." Mia grabs onto Kelly's hand, and Kaya chuckles lightheartedly.

"I think people are allowed to have more than one friend, Mia. I like your body-type, Kelly."

Nikolai looks over at them from the fridge, and Leon smirks.

"You have nice legs. I think I have a few things that could fit your physique."

"She's not a charity case," Mia mumbles, pulling Kelly over to the couch. "Nik, can we go to a concert later?"

"There's a concert later?" Ikaya lifts a brow as Nikolai takes over two cups of chocolate ice cream.

"What concert is that?" He asks, handing one to each of the girls.

"This new upcoming group is having a free concert thingy. At the downtown mall at six. We should go check it out; I think it'd be fun." Mia slips some of the frozen creams into her mouth. "Plus, Kelly really wants to go."

Nikolai looks over at his student, who is looking into her cup to avoid eye contact. Recalling the argument he overheard earlier, he nods his head.

"Alright. We'll go then."

His doorbell rings, and he walks away to answer it while Ikaya moves back over to Leon resuming their conversation.

"Thought I always told you guys to call before coming?" Nikolai suddenly looks annoyed as he reenters the living room, an older man and woman following him.

His parents.

"Ikaya is here so we had to come to see her, son." The lady beams, her short brown hair dancing around her face as she walks.

Kelly notes how unapproachable the man appears. His forehead is lined with wrinkles, and his dark grey eyes look cold as ice. She cringes, looking away and at the movie airing on TV.

"Hey, grandma! Hey, grandpa!" Mia waves.

"Hi, sweetie." The woman smiles, but it brightens a lot more when her eyes land on Ikaya.

"My Kaya." She opens her arms wide, the corner of her eyes crinkling in a genuine smile. "You have gotten so much prettier."

Ikaya giggles as the lady wrap her arms around her, hugging her dearly.

"Thank you, Mrs. Todd." She pulls away, rubbing the older woman's back. "And you have gotten more beautiful yourself; you look ten years younger."

"Oh, pfft!" The lady fans her hand playfully, and they chuckle.

"How are you, dear?" Nikolai's dad asks.

"I am alright, Mr. Todd. Happy to be back here; I have missed Nik so much."

Kelly's hand freezes on the silver spoon.

The man chuckles lightheartedly. "Ah, I am hurt. Is Nik the only person you've missed?"

"Of course not! I missed you both too." She grins.

Mr. Todd laughs again, reaching over to pat her back. "Still have that nice sense of humor, I see."

Nikolai stands with his arms crossed, mentally praying that they'll leave now. His house is too full for his liking, and his parents tend to get annoying after a while.

"Nik, baby. Marry this one." His mom touches his cheek, and he tries to hide a frown. But Ikaya saw it, and her face saddens; however, she removes it fast.

"Nik is not ready to settle down, Mrs. Todd. He hasn't tried all the fruit on the tree yet."

"Which fruit is there to try?" She frowns.

"A lot!" Mia inputs, and Kelly tenses up. "A special one, to be more specific."

His father looks over at him. "What is she talking about?"

Nikolai shrugs. "When are you guys leaving?"

"We just got here." His mother scowls, then waves her hand to Mr. Leon. "Hello, Keith. Pardon my manners; I didn't see you there."

He smiles, lifting his glass in greeting.

"Well, we are leaving soon," Nik notes.

"We are?" Ikaya narrows her eyes.

"I have to take the girls to the concert."

"Girls?" His mother looks over to the couch, finally taking notice of the other teenager sitting there. "Mia's friend?"

"My student." Nikolai states.

"His favorite student," Ikaya mutters with a tinge of bitterness in her tone. But you would have to be listening keenly to hear it. And Nik did. He looks over at her, and she smiles stiffly.

"Yeah, I forgot we had a concert to get to." Ikaya aids. "But I will be staying over until Wednesday, so you guys can always come again."

Kelly looks over at them, and Nik is bewildered as he turns his gaze to her. "You're staying over?"

"Well, yeah. I wanted us to catch up."

Mr. Leon swirls his glass, entertained by the scene in front of him.

Nik narrows his eyes but allows his forehead to even out as his mother pulls him into a hug. "I am proud of you, dear. I love how independent and hardworking you are."

His father scoffs. "Hardworking in the wrong profession."

Yeah, it's time for them to go.

"Come back another time. We should be getting ready."

Nikolai leads them toward his door, not bothering to hide his displeasure.

"Have a good evening, baby." His mom places a kiss on his cheek before they finally leave.

He exhales as he shuts the door behind them and returns to the living room. "We're leaving at six, girls."

••

♡♡

It's nightfall when they arrive at the venue. The concert is already packed with several people. A massive stage is at the front with bright disco lights and musical instruments.

The car ride here was torturous for Kelly. Ikaya would constantly put her palm on Nikolai's hand or lean her chin on his shoulder whilst the two laugh and catch up on the old times. Daniel Bedingfield's 'If You're Not the One' was also playing at one point, shoving her straight into her feelings. As she sat in the backseat watching them discreetly, she felt as though she was sitting in the pits of hell.

"We're going up to the front!" Mia tells Nik as she takes Kelly's hand and tugs her through the crowd of people.

"Don't go too far!" He warns, and his excited niece only puts up two fingers as a reply.

"Mia is already getting so big." Ikaya smiles.

"Yeah." He stuffs his hands into his pockets, offering a smile of his own.

"This is going to be so fun!" Mia grins.

Kelly smiles tightly before looking back at where Nikolai and Ikaya are standing. She now has her arm hooked into his as they laugh about something.

Kelly sighs. There are so many people surrounding her, yet she feels so alone. Her heart is aching unbearably. She wants her teacher so bad, but she knows it will never happen.

"Hello, everybody!"

A voice impels her to turn her face ahead, finding four guys now on the stage, three standing in front of tall mics while the bulkiest is sitting around a drum, his mic lowered to his mouth.

"How are you feeling?!" The one in the middle yells, and the crowd goes crazy.

"Freaking amazing!!!!!!" Mia screams, and Kelly laughs as she inserts two fingers into her ears.

"Mia, oh my God."

She giggles. "I love them."

Kelly shakes her head and focuses back on the stage, and the familiar face staring back at her dings a clear bell.

Jagger.

And what are the odds?

He's wearing full black as usual with fingerless gloves. His black hair is now caught in a man-bun, uncovering the piercings on his ears and eyebrows.

His lips curve into a wicked smirk, and Kelly's eyes widen as she realizes he's looking directly at her.

And then he winks, and Mia's jaws drop to the floor as she gasps.

"Did he—oh my God, he just winked at you."

Kelly shakes her head. "Nah...I don't think it was...me." She shifts in discomfort. Was it me?

"Do you guys believe in destiny?!" Jagger continues, and the girls scream their throats out. "Because I do! I believe that when two people are meant to be acquainted, they will see each other again, no matter the situation!" He salivates his red lips.

"I want to have his babies." Mia coos, holding her heart.

"And that's why today, I am dedicating this song to the prettiest girl in the crowd!" He swings to his members and signals something to them then turns back around, and his eyes find Kelly's in an instant. "That beauty with the cute hairstyle. White T-shirt, pink shorts..."

Every girl begins to glance down at their attire, hoping they're the ones he's calling out.

Mia frowns. "Why didn't I wear white T-shirt and pink shorts? Darn it." Then her eyes widen. "Oh shit, Kel. You're wearing white T-shirt and pink shorts!"

Kelly blinks her eyes and drops her gaze down her body as if she forgot what she wore today.