Note: So I know I said I'd write a sequel, but I really don't know how I could possibly do that right now considering I've been overwhelmed with school. So we'll see what this becomes. In other words don't expect anything near 25 chapters lol. For those of you who've never read 10 Reasons—WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Lol Just kidding. You don't have to to read this, but it'd probably help. Enjoy (:

I squeezed his hand a bit and looked up at him hoping he was kidding. I even pretended to find it funny by letting out a small chuckle. I waited for the "Of course I'm kidding Lil-bug" followed by a bone-crushing hug or even a breath-taking kiss. You know, the usual.

But he didn't respond. His mysterious, velvet hair covered his face in a way so I couldn't watch his expression, and he made no inclination of shifting. I decided maybe his ability to always read my mind was injured today and spoke up, "You're kidding, right?" I spoke sweetly but tightly squeezed his hand again to show my determination for an answer.

Without looking at me, without stopping, nor even a second thought, he responded, "Um, no" the same way he had a few seconds ago when I asked him if he'd come support me during my play.

That was about all I could take. Theater was something he had encouraged me to participate in during our first year of college, and as much as I had wanted to refuse I didn't; I immersed myself into it to make him happy. Because that's what my life revolved around for the last 5 years (minus the few months when we broke up, if you want to be technical) and vice versa. This was the first performance of my last play and he was blatantly going to refuse to come? I stopped short thus forcing him to do the same then spun him around—time to pull out the But-I'm-Your-Girlfriend card. I hated doing that because before dating we were just best friends (an odd kind of best friends, but best friends nonetheless) and I never got the hang of turning him into some sort of "boy toy"; but this was ridiculous. He still didn't look at me. This frustrated me in such ways my voice burst out in more of a growl than I intended, "OLIVER!"

Grayish-blue versus greenish-brown--we held a stare down. It barely lasted a second and I'm not sure who won when he asked, "What? You asked, I answered. I thought that was a yes or no question, not a yes or yes."

I raised my eyebrows and glared—if I could shoot fire at him through my eyes I probably would. "You're seriously telling me you're just not coming. Like…" I tried to portray to him my confusion, disappointment, sorrow, and what-the-freaking-heck-Oliver! feeling.

I think I managed to do so because he at least sighed. "Lils, I'm not 'just not coming', I can't make it. I promise to go to the second showing though, okay?" I opened my mouth to speak but he continued, "On the same note, I've gotta go. I'll see you later, I love you." With a peck on my cheek he ran off.

I stood there in front of our dorm building as my boyfriend disappeared into the crowd of other hurried students. It was times like this I wish we'd dated longer in high school. Back then he didn't have a job to run to, and I wouldn't have to already miss him. How lame.

--

"Oh dang!" Miley exclaimed.

"Oh double dang," our coffee-obsessed roommate, Jade, repeated in her light Spanish accent.

"Are you serious?" Miley asked.

"You better not be serious," Jade emphasized, something told me she had taken her intake of coffee which is triple your average person's dosage.

"Really, I think she gets it the first time around Jade," Miley shot at her and then returned to face me, "did he give no explanation?"

I shrugged as I fell into my bunk's pillow. Miley sat closer so she could put her hand on my shoulder; "I really don't know. He's been acting... weird, to say the least, all week. Probably longer, but I've been too busy to notice. I don't know. I'd ponder on it but, come on, it's Oliver."

"Yeah, he's not exactly the most complex kid," Jade threw in. Besides being a coffee-addict with a multicultural background, Jada Aimee-Lynn LaCroix hated Oliver. Okay maybe hate was a strong word—they really didn't get along. "Or even near complex. Let's just say in the world of complexity, he's a teensy speck of… dust."Really, really didn't get along.

I looked at her and rolled my eyes, as I always did at an Oliver-related comment from her. I saw these all coming considering I used to be the repertoire of Oliver insults back in high school. And junior high. And elementary. Yeah, Oliver and I weren't always a bouquet of roses.

I sighed and kicked my legs childishly as a surge of anger burst through me, "WHAT'S GOING ON?" I sat up, frowned, crossed my arms—the whole 8-year-old tantrum look.

"Okay, okay, let's breathe," Jade took a sip of Coke (probably her third this morning) and then rolled closer to me on her desk chair. I drew in a short breath than exaggeratedly blew in her face making her caramel-chocolate curls scatter. Miley quietly giggled. Jade sarcastically raised her eyebrow and I mimicked her expression.

"Alright guys, seriously. Maybe… maybe he's just nervous about your birthday coming up in a few weeks!" Miley exclaimed, proud that she figured that out.

"Maybe he and his girlfriend have been overdosing on the irritating juices," Jade glared at me. I stuck my tongue out, she did the same, we laughed and then she added, "No but really, I think Miley's got a point. Guys…especially the Oliver type…tend to freak out about these things. I bet he's getting you the most amazing gift to let you know how much he wuvs you."

I grinned. I hoped they were right.

--

21. Just like 13 and 16. Hugely fussed over yet no different from the previous age. I still had to attend all my boring classes. I still looked and sounded like Lillian Rose Truscott. I had the same nutty roommates. But most importantly I still had the same amazing boyfriend. Is it weird that this morning my first thought wasn't "Yay, I'm 21!" but more along the lines of "I can't wait to be with Oliver". Cheesy, I know, but this is why they're my inner thoughts and are to remain so.

I decided to curl my hair and apply a touch of make-up just in case I was to walk into a surprise of some sorts during the day. Does my English professor's sudden break down count as a big enough surprise? Because that's been the only highlight of my day. Both Miley and Jade were gone by the time I woke up but I found the "Breakfast Birthday Burrito" they concocted at who-knows-what-time in the morning. After filling myself with ingredients that shouldn't be ingested together unless wrapped beautifully in tortilla form, I sat through unbearable classes. I think teachers purposely made classes especially agonizing today so I would yearn for Oliver like a flower needs sunlight and water. And he was both.

I would have withered and dried off by the time someone suddenly whisked me to a corner as I was making my way to the cafeteria. Neither of us said a word until I got my fill of our short yet anticipated birthday make-out session. We usually didn't do these things in public, but give me a break it was my birthday!

As I finally decided to breathe, I looked up at him. "Happy birthday lovely," he wasn't smiling but instead let his eyes do the job and that was enough to make me grin widely.

"So…" I rocked back and forth on my heels as I held on to his jacket's pockets.

"Are you ready?"

"For?" I asked, feigning surprise.

"You don't need to know what for, you just need to know if you're ready," he winked.

I giggled. "I guess I'm—"

His latest favorite song interrupted me as it echoed from Oliver's pocket.

He pecked my lips, "Hold that thought." Then as he answered he held me against him as if not talking to him would make me disappear. I tucked my head into the crook of his neck and lightly kissed it to reassure him I would, in fact, not vanish. He looked down at me in the natural loving way I've never seen emitted from any other human being, so this time I held on to him to remind myself he was real. And mine.

"WHAT?!" He suddenly yelled killing my eardrums and breaking the peace we had formed. Still on the phone, he groaned and walked off. On his way, he quickly turned and whispered, "I'll be right back."

I pretended not be disappointed and sat against the wall not quite sure what to do with myself. I did what I usually did when I was trying to drift away from an unfortunate moment, and stuck my earphones in my ear, letting my music selections burst through.

He soon regained his presence beside me and said something I didn't want to hear, so I acted as if I hadn't. With music turned fully up, that wasn't too hard to do. "Come again?" I said quietly. I really hoped he would repeat something different for my own sake.

"Um, I can only take you out to a quick lunch. I have to go to work in 45 minutes."

I frowned but spoke without emotion, "Since when do you work midday on any of our birthdays? And what kind of crappy lunch are we supposed to have in less than 45 minutes?"

"I—It's… complicated." I rolled my eyes. Things were always complicated these days. Complicated and Oliver were never words to be associated so why did they have to nowadays? Especially today. He stood up, "But we should get going and make the best of what we have, don't you think?"

Too bad I had already decided this into the horrible day category. I extended my hand up, "Whatever." He sighed as he helped me up, knowing what mood I was officially in.

He looked straight at me, "I'm sorry babe."

"I know," I looked down, "You always are."

--

The drumming against the table had me on the edge of explosion. That and the infamous sentence "Just pick something!" was just pushing it.

I let the menu drop, "Oliver, I swear, you yell at me one more time, I'm going to murder someone. In that case, if I were you, I'd run."

"For goodness sake, Lils, I start work in half an hour, it takes me ten minutes to get there and we haven't even ordered yet." He didn't raise his voice, but used his ever-so-sarcastic voice that I could barely stand.

"Fine!" I screeched, "Just go to your stupid job. I'll order in due time and eat whenever I get my freakin' food. Thanks a whole bunch for the birthday lunch. Next time, don't bother!"

"Are you freakin' serious right now Ellie?! El—Lil—" He froze and whispered, "Oh dear God."

I also froze. Except I felt like a sensible glass and he was a soprano opera singer that shattered me to pieces. I realized I had literally frozen and stopped breathing when I suddenly gasped for air and choked on it and the tears which had apparently formed in the moment.

"Lilly…?" I could sense the fear and regret in his voice. I violently shook my head. He quickly made his way beside my chair, "Lilly, I know what you're probably thinking but I love you and would never do that. Please believe me. It's not what you're thinking. At all."

I shut my eyes tightly. I didn't want to speak, I didn't want to move, I didn't even want to breathe but unfortunately that last one was obligatory.

"Lils?"

"Don't you—Aren't you going to be late for… work," I spat.

He reached for my arms, "Lils I'm not leaving until you look at me."

I didn't want to. Goodness knows I really didn't want to. But sometimes parts of my body worked against my will. So I saw his pleading eyes and heard his sincere "I love you Lilly, I really do", and I didn't quite know what to do, so I just nodded.

He fixed my bangs and stared at me some more, then glanced at his watch and sighed. He caressed my cheek and wiped a falling tear, "I won't go anywhere if you don't believe me. Please tell me you do."

I looked down, "I love you too." He twisted his face a bit. I knew that wasn't exactly the respond he asked for yet he stood up, so I guess it was close enough.

"I've gotta go," he glanced at the door, then back at me. He looked like he was about to add something but couldn't come up with anything so simply walked away.

--

I stared out the window as my two roommates stared at me. I had dragged them both into our room before my drama rehearsal (well, they had actually followed me in after seeing my face and lack of responses to their 20 questions). Earlier this year, I had eventually accepted the unfortunate fact that I had an rehearsals while Oliver had free time, but today it felt like the most miserable circumstance. I was never the clingy girlfriend, but if I could have implanted a satellite chip in him before he left to let me know where he was at all times—well, that was crazy but I won't deny that I would have considered it.

I heard Jade flip through all her subscription magazines, for that's where she got all her answers to life, and Miley pace back and forth. I ignored it all and continued to stare at what would be a beautiful day. I wish it would at least rain so I wouldn't feel so alone in my misery.

I love you Lilly, I really do… I believed him. I fully did, but that didn't change how hurt I felt, although I wish it could. I sighed, rested my head against the warm window, and thought back to our laidback days of spying over the neighbor's fence. Simple days that I took for granted and now deeply envy.

Jade slapped her magazine against the ground, "Stupid magazines. Can't believe a thing they say." She suddenly jumped beside me, "I really don't know what to tell you right now. There was load of crap in there about him having a lot on his mind. But I don't blame you for not believe that."

I saw a darker shade of curls appear on my other side; "You don't actually think he's cheating on you, do you?"

I stared at a student chuck his empty bag of chips on the grass out in the court. Inconsiderate loiterer. "Do you?" I mumbled.

"Who knows what Oken does?" Jade said, and then I felt and heard Miley slap her arm and quietly smiled.

Miley looked at me, "I think… you guys should talk because knowing Oliver, I don't think he'd do anything to hurt you. Still, you'll never really know without talking about it. Ya know?"

I shrugged. Is drama the difference between 21 and 20? Because I'll gladly go back to 20, if so.

"How about after your rehearsal, we go pay Oliver a little visit at work, hm?" Miley asked, trying to make it sound like convincing a kid to eat their vegetables so they could go to Disneyland. Well, I never fell for that trick.

I turned around, an alarmed look clearly on my face.

"Yeah, that's a great idea, corner that boy down!" Jade added just as cheerfully.

I turned again to frown at her, "Uh, yeah, you agreeing only worries me more. I don't really feel like fighting with him any more today."

"Then don't fight! Keep it as calm as possible and let him know you're not there to squabble but to speak like the two mature people you are. Or at least the mature person that you are."

I raised my eyebrows then looked at Miley, she still looked fully convinced it was a great idea. I shrugged, "…If you say so."

--

"I'll be back," he glanced at me, and I only raised my eyebrows. He thought for a second then went back inside the shop, "Maybe not. Come on, my shift ends in 20 minutes anyways. Would it kill you to let me go now?"

"Whatever Oken, but aren't you forgetting something?" Was the reply from who I'm guessing was his boss. I couldn't quite see inside the skate shop from where I stood, but I could tell it was a female voice. What happened to Mr. Cook?

Stuffing his jacket's pocket with something, Oliver walked back outside. He stood in front of me and I didn't bother show any expression—partially from my exhaustion after rehearsals and because I didn't want him to win me over just yet. He looked slightly uncomfortably however at the same time confident about something with that stupid mysterious grin of his—that I usually loved but right now only irritated me. "I know you came to get me, but can I take you somewhere?"

I felt reluctant; "Can we talk there?"

He knew he had already won; "All you want." He started the car; "So about earlier…"

"Don't even," I interrupted. "Can we just drive in silence?" We locked eyes for a second, and I emphasized my demand so he nodded with defeat.

Oliver and I had a weird attraction to the beach. It was a bit of a trip from the school, but we always managed to find a convincing reason to head there. I should have figured he'd take me here. When we arrived, I immediately took off my shoes to feel the warm sand glide in between my toes as we walked. Sometimes we held hands when we strolled around the beach—this wasn't one of those times. Yet the way our hands pointlessly hung at our sides, occasionally bumping into each other, just begged to intertwine. Still we managed to fight our impulses.

I glared at the smashing waves, perturbed. Not necessarily from what happened this afternoon, but because of the never-ending conflict I fought internally. I loved Oliver, which was obvious to anyone who hung around us for a few minutes. But it almost felt like a sort of psychotic love, as if I didn't think about it—I just loved. I disliked the idea he probably held that he could get away with anything because of how I felt about him; but he probably could.

I inhaled as much air as I could hold, and then relaxed. "20 questions," I stated. It was a sort of usual icebreaker for these types of conversations. I'm not sure when it started, but it worked best for us.

"Okay," his voice was low and matched the roaring of the sea. I plastered my arms against my sides to disallow them from tangling with him.

"Who's Ellie?" I blurted.

"My boss," he answered just as quickly.

This completely changed my following questions. "Is that the girl—I mean, woman I heard at the shop?"

"Girl, woman, lady, whatever. She's barely a year older than me yet she acts like my mother. Or worse." I could hear the dislike in his voice.

I took that as a yes. I wasn't asking for details, just answers. "What happened to Mr. Cook?"

"He's on vacation; she's his daughter."

I stopped myself from going "OH!" Instead I wondered why he hadn't informed me of this earlier. Would have saved a lot of tears and confusion. Leave it to Oliver to withhold important facts; I rolled my eyes and smiled. "So, you said her name because….?"

"Because I hate her. She does one nice thing for me, and she thinks she owns my soul. We fight all the freakin' time."

I tried not to laugh, Oliver was such a whiner it was adorable. I looked ahead, it was almost sunset. "So you hate me now?" I didn't say it seriously.

I felt his hair whip mine as he abruptly turned his head, "Of course not!"

I looked at him and realized this was the first time we looked at each other since we were out here. The setting sun emphasized the features of his worried face and the smoothness of his hair. I smiled, "I was kidding." He returned my smile, and our eye lock softened. I slyly slid my fingers between his. It was a missed touch.

"I'm really sorry. I was frustrated with her for making me work on your birthday, and I somehow transferred that to you. That's completely my fault; you didn't deserve to be yelled at. Especially not on your special day."

I smiled, his apology was unnecessary for I had long forgiven him but it was thoughtful and pleasing. "Don't worry about it. Just tell Ellie you have a girlfriend who can kick butt so to leave you alone. What'd she do for you anyways?"

I felt his thumb tap against mine nervously. "Um, about that…" I waited for him to continue but he suddenly changed subject. "You know why I love walking on the beach with you?" I just looked at him. "Because it brings back memories of six words that lead to an action, or something like that."

I caught up on what he was talking about and laughed. "I believe I said an action was worth six words. 'I want to be your girlfriend'."

He joined my laughter, "There you go."

"I wasn't exactly the most creative person. Hey, it worked so whatever," I nudged him.

"I know, I wasn't making fun. I think it was quite smooth. I just wish this could be that easy."

I nodded, then tilted my head, "Wait, what do you mean?"

Before I finished my question, he was fumbling with his pocket. We stopped walking as he exhaled, "I guess this will have to do."

"Just in case you think you're making sense, you're not."

He quietly chuckled and stood directly in front of me. I could practically breathe the air he spoke, or lick his nose—an odd amusement of mine. "You know we've never been apart, almost since we were born."

As he spoke he infused his eyes into mine, and I attempted to challenge his stare, thus not leaving much room for thought. "I know."

"You know I truly, madly, deeply love you?"

"I know. And I also know you just quoted a song," I smiled.

He squinted a bit, "But you know it's true. You love me too?"

It was a question, but he already knew the answer so I just said, "I know."

He grinned and suddenly he was no longer staring at me. He was on the ground. On his knee. This whole time, I hadn't bothered to see what he had fetched from his pocket. And now the gold band stiffly situated in a red velvet box glistened as the rock it held reflected the waves. I just stood there trying not to pass out as he spoke, "Ellie helped me pay for half of this, so she made me work double time. But it was completely worth it for I never want to have to be apart. Well, I know we may have to if we travel or something; who knows what the future holds but—what I'm trying to say is," he looked up at me and I bit my lip so hard I'm surprised it didn't gush blood, "Will you marry me?"

Even though I had expected that from the moment he kneeled, actually hearing it made my head spin. Not only did he love me, but he loved me enough to want to spend the rest of his life with me. I couldn't think of a single other man that would envision the same future. I stared at him; we're such psycho lovers. I nodded.

"Yeah?" he managed to squeak, I almost laughed as I wondered if he was even breathing.

I smiled until it hurt my face, "Yes."

I followed his hand as the ring I was admiring made its way to my own finger, and I couldn't help but cry. He stood back up, and if I thought I loved him then watch me love him now. I think I poured my heart and soul out in the kiss that followed, and no existing word could possibly describe it.

Dear gosh that was long, but I finally finished! Yay! (: Expect…2-3 more chapters. Oh yeah, these psycho lovers aren't waving goodbye just yet. (I won't lie, the update won't be super speedy, but I'll try my best!) Review! xoxCamy