Chapter 6

(24 months left) (August)

Sometime during the night, while Lissa and Jace were chatting, he mentioned something about him wanting to see her when she was discharged from the hospital.

He was being extremely charismatic and it made Lissa feel a bit guilty for lying to him. Just a bit...

After she finished writing the List last night, he kept her up for most of the night with his lame jokes and ludicrous memes. Lissa consigned to oblivion about her brain cancer...only for a second.

Her mom sent extra clothes for her, as well as her toiletries, so that she could get ready and not look like a complete mess by the time Jace showed up. She packed up the dirty clothes, stuffed it in the bag, and sat down on the bed, waiting for Jace.

He pitched about twenty minutes after that, and the next thing she knew, they were in his car.

“Ok, so uhm I stay like just a few blocks away from here.”

“I actually wanted to take you somewhere, if you don't mind?”

“Oh. Yeah, that's cool. Where are you taking me?”

“It's a surprise, I was going to take you after the carnival, but...” he trailed off, not knowing how he should phrase the sentence without mentioning the incident.

“It's okay Jace, you can say it. I fainted, but, thanks to you, I got to a hospital and got it checked out. Just in time.” and by that she means, it was too late for her.

“It's a pleasure, Lissa. I seriously couldn't leave you like that, what kind of new friend would I be?”

“You got a point there?” she answered with a chuckle.

"Whatever." he said with a smile.

They were 10 minutes into the drive and Lissa was still clueless about where they were going.

“Are we getting close?” she asked, staring at the blur of trees flying past, trying to see if she could recognise the street they were in. She couldn't.

“Patience, Lissa. You know what they say about those who wait.”

“Patience isn't really a word in my vocab, so how long do we have till we get there?” she asked. Her leg bouncing up and down repeatedly. Her nervousness and excitement were at an equilibrium. Perfectly weighed.

“About another 10 minutes?” Jace estimated.

“Let's play a game.” Lissa said abruptly, after a short silence.

“How old are you?” he asked with a chuckle.

“Old enough.” she gasped, “Let's play 20 questions. So we can, you know, get to know each other better, 'cause if you think about it, I'm basically driving with a stranger.”

He turned his head and looked at her for a second, before focusing his eyes back on the road. He pondered about whether he should agree or not — but ended up agreeing either way.

“Is this you blackmailing me?”

“It might be.” she answered with a candy smile.

“Okay, fine.” he caved. “What do you want to know?”

“Mmh, okay, what's your full name?”

“Okay, so before I answer that, whatever question you ask me, you need to answer the same questions about yourself, okay? Same goes for me.”

“Sure.” she answered. Her excitement was bouncing off of her and onto him. Jace felt himself grin, as he answered her question.

“Jace Conner Daniels. Nice to meet you.”

“Melissa Kayla Stewart. Nice to meet you too.”

“How long have you been staying in L.A?” Jace quizzed.

“Ever since I was born. You?”

“I stayed in New York for the first ten years of my life, been staying in L.A ever since then.” Jace cleared his throat when a closed off memory from his New York childhood resurfaced, which caused a small lump to turn in his throat.

“Where in New York?” Lissa asked, not noticing his discomfort at the mention of New York.

“Manhattan.”

“That sounds cool. Okay,” she clapped her hands together, “So this is a bit cliché, but what's your favourite colour?” he gave a hearty laugh, but still answered.

“Green.” he stated.

“Green? Shocking. Mine's royal blue.”

“And you say mine is shocking? So you're definitely not one of those pink girls?”

“Hell no. There's just something about that colour that creeps me out. What about you? How come, green?”

“How come, blue?” he retaliated. Lissa just shrugged her shoulders in response. He quirked an eyebrow at her,

“Don't do that!” she exclaimed.

“Don't do what?” Jace laughed out.

“Don't lift your eyebrow at me like that. I asked you first, so you have to answer first.” she told him.

“Honest answer?” she nodded, “I honestly don't know. That colour is, for lack of a more manly word, enchanting in my eyes. Not a colour I'd have on my clothes though.”

“Why not?” Lissa was genuinely curious about this guy, “If it's your favourite colour, wouldn't you want it everywhere? Your clothes included.”

“That'll look gross. It'll look like puke. Not cool. Okay we're here." Jace said parking the car.

“Not necessarily. I think it depends on the shade of green.” Jace shrugged.

Lissa pressed her face to the glass peering out the window. She saw they stopped at this huge rectangular building. There's no sign outside, so they must be at the back of this enigmatic place. She was still in the dark about what this place is though.

Jace stepped out of the car, and waited for her at a metal door. The only door in sight.

“Where are we?” Lissa asked when she stepped out of the car and looked around. There was not a single soul around. The parking lot was deserted. No-one wanted to be socialize today...

“Let's go inside and you'll see.” Jace pulled open the heavy door and let Lissa walk through.

“An ice-rink?” Lissa asked wide-eyed. No way. Jace has just, unknowingly, brought Lissa to number 11 on her bucket list!.

“Yeah, do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it, this is the best surprise ever! Thank you so much!”

Lissa gave Jace the biggest and most bone-crushing hug ever that day. He had just helped her tick of number 11: Go ice-skating.

Thanks again, Jace.