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,

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.