1 Prologue

Approximately 6 years ago

I’m in the park right now. I ran away from home. I'm running while in tears, Mom and Dad are fighting again. Then suddenly, I bumped into someone.

~BOOGSH!~

“Ouch! Could you please look at where you're going?!” The boy said.

“Huhuhuhu!” I cried even more. He's mad at me huhuhu.

“Tsk! What a crybaby.” He remarked. I sobbed and looked at him. He sighed and offered his hand. “I’m gonna treat you ice cream so don't cry anymore, okay?”

I stopped crying and looked at his face. He smiled at me, so I did too. The boy helped me get up from my fall. I got up from the ground and brushed my skirt.

“Thank you!” I smiled at him.

He suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me with him. We stopped in front of an ice cream vendor. Still teary eyed, I looked at him while he reached out to the vendor.

“Two strawberry flavored ice creams please!” He said and took money from his pocket. He paid the vendor. The boy first gave me the ice cream before getting his.

“Come on!” I was caught off guard when he suddenly grabbed my hand.

The boy pulled me to somewhere again. We sat on the bench since he pulled me there. I stared at him as he happily ate his ice cream. I felt like all my sadness earlier faded. I just found myself smiling at him. He glanced at me and gave me a look.

“Sorry for earlier, by the way.” I apologized.

“Learn to watch where you're going next time, okay?” He said and continued eating his ice cream.

I giggled and started eating my ice cream too. The moment the I licked my ice cream, the flavor exploded on my taste buds. I felt relieved.

“Do you know that I love strawberries?”

He looked at me with sparkling eyes. His mouth with ice cream smudges formed an 'o'.

“Really? Me too!!” he smiled.

“By the way, why were you crying earlier?” he curiously asked.

When he said that, I remembered what was going on earlier. My eyes became watery and I started crying again. He was shocked by my sudden reaction.

“M-My Mom and Dad were f-fighting earlier. They were saying harsh words t-to each other.” I sobbed.

“Shhh, don't cry.” He hushed as he wiped my tears.

“Thank you.” I hugged him. He patted my back, trying to comfort me. A few moment later, I released from the hug. Then, his face reddened. I chuckled at the sight of him blushing.

“Are you blushing?” I teased. His eyes widened and changed his gaze.

“N-No! It's just hot that's why my cheeks are getting red.” He denied.

“If you say so….” I shrugged. Letting that topic go.

The breeze went through my hair making it fly with the wind. I stared at the scenery of children playing. He coughed and that got my attention. I faced him. I raised an eyebrow, asking what's up.

“By the way, what's your name?” He asked.

“M-My name's Alexa.” I stuttered, thinking if I should tell him my real name. I just said my nickname since my parents told me not to give my name to strangers.

He smiled and offered his hand. “You can call me Zeke.”

***

Ever since that day, we would always meet at the park. We hangout, talk to each other, and even play sometimes. Come to think of it, it has been exactly ten months ever since the day we met. I looked at Zeke, who was sitting beside me.

“Do you still remember when we first met?” I asked out of nowhere. He faced me and thought for a second before answering.

“Of course. How could I forget that you're such a crybaby.” He teased. I was caught off guard when he suddenly pinched my nose. I struggled but he just wouldn't let go off my nose. Zeke was smirking the whole time he's doing that. I was about to cry because my nose might get red huhu.

“Ouch!! What's your problem huh?” I said and forcefully took his hand off my nose. I glared at him while massaging my swollen nose.

“You! You're my problem!” I was shocked by his sudden response.

“What? Me? What do you mean?” I asked curiously while pointing at myself. Not having a clue at what he meant.

He suddenly grabbed my shoulders and made me face him. I was shocked of course. He looked straight into my eyes.

“You….. You're the one who makes my heart skip a beat. You're the one who always make me happy. You're the reason why the sun shines a little brighter…..” He said in a low voice while staring straight into my eyes. I can feel my heart thumping inside my chest.

“I….I love you Alexa!”

I was astonished by his confession. I felt the heat that rose up to my cheeks. He let go of me as composed himself. Zeke suddenly got quiet after his sudden confession. We were facing opposite directions. I clenched my chest when I felt my heart beating so fast. I took a deep breath and faced him.

“I-I love you too!” I tried my best not to stutter.

Zeke turned at me with his eyes widened in shock. He suddenly hugged me tightly. My lips formed a smile. I hugged him back. We were in that position for a few seconds until he released me.

Zeke placed his hand at the back of my head. He leaned closer as the gap between us became smaller and smaller, our noses were touching, he stared at my face until his gaze went down to my lips. I just found myself closing my eyes and waiting for his next move.

“Alexa! Let's go! We're heading to Korea!”

My senses awakened when I heard my Mom calling. My instincts told me to push Zeke away. I felt embarrassed and shocker at the same time. Zeke was also shocked and was about to ask why I pushed him. He remained silent when he realized what's going on. I stood up and was about to look for Mom when someone grabbed my wrist. Mom suddenly pulled me away from him. I struggled but she was too strong for me. She forced me to enter the car and locked me inside.

“Zeke!!” I shouted out as the car started to move. I peeped my head outside the car window. I saw him running after our car.

“Wait for me Alexa! I will find you someday! Until we meet again.” He shouted while running.

Our car picked up the pace as his silhouette became smaller and smaller……

~RING!~RING!~

I woke up and stood up my bed. I huffed as I chased my breath.

“Wahhhh! What the hell is wrong with you Zeke! How many times have you pestered my dreams!”