Like Yesterday

Chapter 1

Had you ever suffered the agony of existing as the not-so-cute girl next door to a guy who was the sole talk of the campus?

I had once gone through that. Being the only girl in the house next to the Hamilton's residence was a torture, especially since my bedroom was right in front of the bedroom of their only son – Jace Hamilton. He was the definition of the word beautiful, and was excruciatingly handsome, that at times, it was a pain to even look at him. Every single time, I was like staring at him in awe, reverie, and absolute wonder on how blessed he was to have a face like that.

And that was three years ago – the start of my sophomore year – when Jace Hamilton had moved back to town. Jace lived with his grandparents in the city since he started high school. He was their favorite, and they pleaded his parents to let them 'borrow' him for a while.

But summer before his senior year, his mother had undergone a 'very severe depression’. And thus, he was sent back to Turtle Bay Island. And due to turn of events that even I had no concrete explanation of, they all sort of moved next to the empty house beside ours.

And that was when I first met him. Back then, as a naïve fifteen year old girl, I thought that meeting him was the happiest thing that had ever happened to me. The months that had followed after were pure bliss, and each moment was undeniably perfect.

Well, it was, until that day.

If you could rewind the tape of time and see how I looked back then, you might say that I was acting like a fool. I was overly self-conscious to the point that I had looked like a fool. Every possible moment, I was combing my hair; every other five minutes, I was putting powder all over my face; every chance I got to look at my reflection, I was constantly checking if my lip gloss was still in place. For a girl who looked so average, I did everything I can to at least look beautiful in front of him.

But it wasn’t like I would see him for at least an hour a day for me to act that way. If my luck was right, I’d have the chance to see him for five seconds, when he pulled his window curtains open and decided to take a look at the bedroom in front of his. And then by doing so, he would see me acting so studious while sitting at my desk and holding an upside down book in hand. After briefly smiling at me, his curtains would then be drawn back again, and so ended my waiting. That was it, the glorious five seconds that had been my own piece of heaven for almost a year.

And I wasn't the only one in the boat. Even our parents thought that we were perfect for each other, like a match made in heaven. I had to admit that I used to fancy about it. I wouldn't be wasting all my time staying in my room if it wasn't for him and my wishful thinking. Everyday felt like heaven, until the moment that I was brought down to hell. And guess who did that? It was also him – the one and only - Jace Hamilton.

After that incident had occurred, everything had changed. When I said everything, I meant every single letter in it. Everything had totally changed, including those whimsical thoughts of our parents, the way they viewed us as the most potential young lovers that our town had to look out for, and even that inscrutable thought of hearing those wedding bells in that perfect day of June. Every single thing had been changed by that one single event.

Suddenly, he was clothed in black cape, holding a sharp scythe in hand, and was ready to devour me anytime. But of course, I didn't back down. Holding a sword of my own, I had devised to do something to get back at him. And I very much defended myself to the point that another uncalled for incident had happened. Good thing or bad, it had, pretty much, evened out things between us.

And all those gruesome incidents had happened during the end of my sophomore year in Turtle Bay High School, the same year that he was graduating. He and I then realized that we were meant to be sworn enemies instead. I loathed him to the core, with every single piece of me despising him.

Trust me, even my toenails hated him, too.

I couldn't stand the sight of him. And sharing that same mutual feeling, he felt exactly the same way. And even though he didn't tell anyone, I was certain that I was the sole reason why he had chosen to go to a university at the far side of the globe. Or maybe it wasn't really that far, but certainly far from our place – the never heard of, Turtle Bay Island.