JJ and I left Michael’s house shortly after. I definitely didn’t want to sit around and get ridiculed by Michael any more. He just needs to suck it up! Besides, it’s none of his business who I marry! He’s my friend! He should just be happy that I’m in love! He should know what that feels like since he’s got Rachel…

Ugh. Rachel. Something about her turns me off. That stupid blonde hair. Pretty eyes. Slim figure. She’s every man’s dream! But that’s just what I hate about her! She’s too perfect! She almost seems too good to be true. And how come I’ve never heard of her before? They met in high school after all; senior year. You’d think Michael would have told me about his girlfriend who’s now apparently the love of his life!

But then again, I didn’t tell him about JJ until recently… Looks like we had both been hiding a few secrets.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” JJ said once he walked into my cozy little house. I shrugged.

“It’s alright I guess,” I replied, “Maybe we can get a bigger and better house once we’re married,” I cooed as I ran my fingers up his chest. He smiled, and held my hands in his.

“I’d get anything for you,” he whispered into my ear softly. His sweet words made me blush as he then proceeded to run his fingers through my long, dark hair.

He was so great. Every time he touched me I felt a spark. Every time he spoke it was like Heaven’s music to my ears. When he looked at me with those eyes… aah… his beautiful eyes. They were so captivating. I could get lost in those eyes forever and I wouldn’t mind. Point is, everything about him is fantastic.

Now if only Michael could realize how great he is and how much he’s changed.

“You’ve booked the venue for the wedding, yes?” I asked as I went through some of my wedding notes. He nodded.

“Yup! It’s all set up,”

“The food?”

“Check,”

“The decorations?”

“Done,”

“Music?”

“Taken care of,”

“What about-“ I continued but was stopped as JJ pressed a finger against my lips.

“Don’t worry about a thing Peyton, I’ve taken care of everything except for your dress. That’s the one thing I want to leave as a surprise. That’s the one thing I want you to do,” he told me with a wink. I smiled widely.

“I can’t wait to go dress shopping, which I really should get done soon…” I noted. He chuckled.

“You’re so cute,” he told me as he tapped my nose. I giggled like a little school girl.

“Stop it, you’re making me blush,” I told him. He hugged me closer.

“And is that so wrong?” he asked. I shook my head.

“No,” I replied. He kissed me tenderly.

“Then why bother stopping?” he asked as he kissed me again. I smiled as his lips brushed against mine. I swear it felt like his lips and mine were made to fit so perfectly together…

**MICHAEL’S POV**

“Well she seems… nice…” Rachel began. I nodded.

“She is nice Rachel, trust me. She’s just changed…” I told her. She frowned.

“Changed? How?” she asked.

Ugh, I had to admit she was a little nosy at times, but she was cute.

“She’s just… I don’t know. The Peyton I knew would have never in a million years gotten engaged with JJ! You really don’t know all that we’ve been through. There’s so much more to it! He’s a monster, Rachel! He’s insane! He tried to kill us! I remember her so desperately wanting to get away from his grasp, and I remember how happy she was when he was finally thrown in jail and when she was reunited with her family… It was a happy moment to begin the rest of a happy life. And now she goes and does this! She’s ruining her life Rachel… she’s screwing it all up!” I ranted. I let out an exasperated sigh as I ran my fingers through my hair. I had to admit, all of this love drama was stressing me out.

“Maybe she’s changed more than you thought…” Rachel began. I shrugged.

“Apparently,” I agreed. She smiled wildly at me.

“Maybe one day you and I could get married…” she said flirtatiously. I grinned happily at her.

“Did you not hear me when I introduced you? I said that you would one day be Rachel Jackson, and I mean it girl,” I told her as I hugged her tight. She giggled.

“This wait is killing me,” she admitted. I laughed.

“I want to ask you when you least expect it,” I told her. She smiled at me and then got up from where she sat.

“I’m going to head out Michael, I’ll see you soon? Maybe you could call me?” she asked. I nodded.

“Definitely babe,” I told her as I planted a kiss on her soft lips. We stood there kissing sweetly for awhile before we finally pulled away and she left. I sighed as I watched her go.

She was beautiful. She really was. I loved her, but I wasn’t in love with her. I mean, she’s a great friend. She listens to me, she understands me… she just gets me! Maybe if I wasn’t already in love I would be with her…

“God Peyton… why him?” I whispered under my breath as I walked up the stairs to my room.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get her out of my head. Throughout the years that we hadn’t seen each other she was all I could think about. I used to doodle her name on post-it notes, on my binder, type it up in a word document a million times! You could say I was a little obsessed with her. That day when she came to visit me after all of that time from being away, I considered getting closer to her, maybe even making a move…

Until she told me about her and JJ.

God I hated that man so much! I hated him for all that he’s done! Any normal person would hate him too if you were in mine or Peyton’s situation! That’s what confused me so much about Peyton’s choice… what good has he ever done for her that would make her fall for him?

Okay, so maybe he introduced her to me, so I guess we could thank him for that, but really that’s about it! Everything else he’s done has ruined our lives!

Sometimes I wish that Peyton and I had never found that stuff about who we really were. Maybe it would just be better if Peyton was still Malika, if I were still Mike, and JJ was still Eugene… if we were just a united family. Maybe then I’d feel a lot better than how I do now… Sometimes knowledge just brings unhappiness.

I groaned. Everything was so complicated! I pulled out an old picture of Peyton and I when we had just escaped JJ’s evil clutches. We were both hugging each other and smiling wildly; just so happy off of the fact that we were free.

“Why couldn’t my life be like that?” I asked aloud as I smiled at the memories. Her smile was so beautiful, it really was contagious and that’s what I loved about her. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved a lot about her! In fact, I loved everything about her! Her eyes, her hair, her personality, her laugh, her witty attitude… she was perfect in my eyes.

Unfortunately she had to be perfect in JJ’s eyes too, and even more unfortunately, the feeling was mutual.

I sighed. I was in love with Peyton Lukerass.

I was in love with something that I could no longer have.