My best, best friend? No, not Chase. Hah! Neither would the answer be Stace. It’s Vannicera, silly!! Maybe you’d hadn’t known that, after all, we’ve only been friends for eleven years. Yes, it’s me, Murphy Furgueson! An eighteen year old senior in high school. I have grades varying in ‘B’s and ‘A’s, my favorite hobby is exploring my small town’s grand library, my favorite color is a mellow yellow, and cats are superior to people! Oh yeah! Vannicera Amber. She’s the reason why my world still spins! Everything about her is perfect. The way the corners of her eyes crinkle slightly when she grins and laughs, how she’s always so considerate to others’ feelings in every one of her actions..Shoot, the list goes on! It’s embarrassing how much I love about my best friend! Oh, and today is my eighteenth birthday! We’re graduating high school next week, and I’m so excited to be free and be able to hang out with her every day! I’m not going to college right away, since I’m going to keep working in my dad’s car shop for a few years…I just don’t want to leave this town..! Something’s off with Vanny, though..Her face goes red whenever I draw close to her, but at the same time, she’s responding with more affection! She’s also arranging more hangouts and late night calls for us..I don’t mind it, of course! Today, again, is my birthday, and it’s roughly seven in the afternoon..We’re hanging out in the practically empty library, a peaceful silence floating around us as we read our preferred books. But I can feel her eyes travel back to me every few minutes. When I finally look up and catch her staring, I watch her look away as a soft red rises up her neck. Hmm..? What’s going on with that? And then she just looks back at me as quick as she looked away...My ego is growing because of her! I just..Don’t get what the weird fluttering in my stomach is for whenever I see her. And what’s up with my heart picking up its pace when our eyes lock?!

Cassandra. My Cassy, or, well, I suppose she isn’t mine. Yet. Cassandra. Doesn’t it roll off of the tongue easily? And to think me, Elijah Lawrence, one of the popular mysteries at school, would have their heart stolen by a nerd. Do I need to say her name again? I’d be glad to. Alright, ALRIGHT! I’ll get to it. It’s our last year of high school, and I’m too big of a wimp to ask Cassy out. My friends don’t know, my parents don’t know, nobody knows, but me. And I’ll keep it that way; until I know she’s mine. This beautiful goddess of a woman has been in all of my classes since eighth grade, her honey-yellow eyes taking my breath away with each glance— and the way her brunette hair shines in the sunlight..Ooh..I can’t even describe it. I can’t believe she’s never been noticed before; good grades, a sweet personality, e-everything a guy could want! These stupid high schoolers among me…I feel embarrassed! And now, I’ve found a chance, on a rainy day— luckily for me, she forgot her umbrella!! Standing under the awning, I can’t help but shout, a bit too loud for my own good, but not loud enough for too much attention to be drawn,

Diary, I have such wonderful news. The ball is tomorrow, can you believe it? I very much enjoy balls, as I can socialize and see how lively this quiet kingdom can get. Even though the ball will mainly be filled with stuck-up nobles, I am excited. I’m just hoping I will not be drained by the end. I am also hoping something else, Diary. Keep this a secret but— I’m hoping for connection. Someone to smile at? Haha, who am I kidding. I smile at everyone. Okay…Let me rephrase. Someone who smiles at me. Yes, that’s better. Someone who won’t ignore me and run off to try and charm Elias. Spoiler: No one can charm him. And Diary, do keep another secret.. I have been thinking of the topic of ‘love at first sight’, and I really enjoy thinking about it. Maybe I can experience something like that? Oh, who am I kidding. I’d be such a stuttering mess that even my ‘soulmate’ would run! That topic on a deeper level.. Do soulmates look past mistakes? Flaws? No. Never mind that. Mother’s death was not of my fault. Just because she pushed me from the way of that horse.. I was a waddling toddler! I didn’t know any better. But of course father thinks my childish curiosity was on purpose for murder. My apologies, Diary. I seem to get to this subject every day. But it’s hard not to when that is the reason I am isolated. Okay. Isolation is a stretch. I’m just the least favored of my two brothers. Oh— Diary! I must go! I need rest for the ball tomorrow. Goodnight! Felix

Diary. I am tired. Father put me through yet another sleepless night of paperwork— right before the ball as well. The ball I am supposed to look at noblewomen and think about which would be best as my wife one day. One day too soon. Once I am wed, I will take my father’s place on the throne, and my fakest smile will be permanent. No more nights alone on the balcony staring up at the moon, for I will have someone waiting for me in my room. Waiting. Always waiting. Prying eyes expecting too much too fast. Why must I be the center of attention out of my brothers? Because Victor isn’t ‘man’ enough? Because Felix is to blame of something out of his control? I am selfish for this, but— I don’t want to rule over the kingdom. So much pressure. So little support. I just want someone genuine. That I can truly smile at. That gives me attention that doesn’t seem suffocating. But that is too much to ask, isn’t it? Diary, I will tell you all about the ball tomorrow night after it is over. Elias

I was never ‘good enough’. I enjoyed poetry rather than sword fighting. I liked riding horses not for the journey’s outcome but for the view along the way. Which is why I’m not the most popular of me and my two brothers. I don’t blame Elias for my loneliness. I see how hard he works. I don’t blame Felix for taking away mother. I’ve heard his lamenting. So maybe…It is my fault for how I am. Why I, simply, have no one. But this next ball— I have a feeling. Maybe I will find someone. Oh, though I do say that every time. Silly me. Wishing for a spark with another person. My apologies, dearest Diary. I’m only wallowing in self-pity. I must be boring you. Let me talk about this week’s accomplishments, to heighten the mood. I finished three poems as of the past seven days. I had finally gotten more fabrics for sewing. Father doesn’t approve of this hobby, but what does he approve of? Ah…That is it. Other than following daily routine, I had done nothing else out of the ordinary. Not my best week. Diary, I am back to self-pity. I yearn for someone special. I imagine one who would be as soft as my sweetest poems. Whose eyes would be so entrancing I would never be able to look away. Someone that would love me even though no one else does. I’m afraid it is time for dinner, Diary. This log will have to end here. Wish me luck on tomorrow’s ball. Victor

Life has never been fair to me. A sick mother, useless father, I didn’t have anything. And tragedy struck when I was fourteen; I was expecting my mother’s death, but I guess I underestimated how..Soft…I am. Was? I dropped out of high school, barely living my months as a freshman before I was recruited to a— basically, a homeless shelter. Kids my age stayed as well, and we were all useless. We were all eager for a purpose, for something to create our adrenaline. Isn’t that what everyone wants in life? Adrenaline. Twenty-Eight, slicked back hair, my eyes narrowed and lips in a thin line, I do my missions with a sense of pride of where I am. Sure, I feel bad for all of the blood on my hands. It haunts me, actually. But I can’t let anyone know that. I’m pathetic. Disgusting. A waste of air. And so…Vulnerable. That’s why I’m alone. Because I don’t want anyone to know how weak I am when I’m alone, and I don’t want to relive my first fourteen years being attached to a life that you can only dream of. I don’t believe that you can meet your true love. You have to earn it, just like you have to earn everything else in this bitter world. And I don’t deserve anything. …I…I just want to be someone’s night in shining armor, someone that another desires. I just want to be loved again, but isn’t that selfish of me? I’m not the friendliest of a person, definitely not the most handsome, and.. I’m scared of putting someone in the face of death again, like I did my mother. It’s all my fault she died. If I had just worked harder, I could’ve afforded to help her. Time to talk business. I, Andrew Harlo, have a mission on this cold twenty-eighth of August. And I need a..Volunteer, I suppose, to bring to the top floor of a tall skyscraper. I need my face on the news, for my sake, and for my agency’s future plans. We need fuel the dramatic social media as we distract them from what’s happening soon. A breakout. Apocalypse, to reset society’s numbers.

I always knew I had a taste for trouble, so that’s exactly what I searched for. And this fiery passion packed into the gracious body of a woman was just what I desired. Her eyes sparkled with life under the flashing lights of the club, her body moving just right enough to catch my attention. She didn’t do it on purpose, and that’s what made my eyebrow raise with curiosity. I couldn’t help but stare, and it was the best decision of my life to ask for a dance. Even with flowers every Friday, a kiss on the back of the hand after every part, I still feel as if I didn’t deserve her. Especially with my habits. Smoking, getting ticket after ticket for speeding on those bitter cold nights..But I’m slowly getting better, for her. And now that we’ve moved in together, she still decides to take her own car to work, to cook us both meals and refuse to have me lift a finger after my office job. Ooh, I love that woman. She’s the reason why I finally figured out how a human heart could beat so fast. It’s my love. My obsession for this human being, my desires to keep her in my arms forever. My ma always told me that if I keep up my acts, I’ll die alone. But twenty-five isn’t too bad to have marriage already on my mind, right? Not yet, though, but..Soon. Make this three year relationship up to five, and if I’m lucky enough to keep her in my grasp, she’ll have a beauty on her finger. Nothing more beautiful than her, of course. Nothing can compete with her beauty. But now, on this beautiful evening, March 14th, 2024; we both managed to get a day off of work on our anniversary. Cliffside, as usual, where we’d park my car and eat in the trunk, looking out at the view of the rushing water hundreds of feet below. Maybe I’d get a kiss afterwards, who knows. But I know one thing. I’m the beast, and she’s the rose. The one beautiful thing I’m dependent on. Because one wrong move could leave my heart to break, to never be repaired again. My rose.