Entering the retail shop, the 90s vibe enveloped us. Every time I inhaled the snow looking dust intruded inside my mouth, making me cough up a storm. The orange small rays of the sun penetrated through the thin gaps of the blinds, giving the store a pleasant glow, revealing the dust particles that were swaying in the air.

I was in awe of the authenticity of the store. The stuff that was practically lost and forgotten in time had found their solace in this shop; catching the eyes of the older generation who are longing to go back in time. Looking forward, I could see a small old man sitting behind the counter, wearing a copper colored beanie, reading the daily newspaper as his reading glasses were slowly gliding down his high bridge nose. Licking the tip of his index finger, he calmly turns over the page.

It felt like I just entered a whole new magical game world. With me as the new player and the old man being the magician guide, the person who will change my faith, the person who has the answer for all my problems. At least that’s what I’m hoping for.

Cher nudged my side with her elbow. “So, are you going to tell me why we had to enter this dusty old shop? What can you possibly find in here?” She said waving the dust away from her face; sniffling and tearing up.

The old man glanced over the newspaper, casting his eyes on us, furrowing his gray eyebrows and grunting at Cher’s remarks over the shop.

I gave a wobbly smile, rubbing the palm of my hands together in an apologetic matter. “I’m sorry for my friend, it’s not really her day.”

He grunted in response, focusing back on his newspaper.

“Um..” I called out carefully, his pale grey eyes focused back on me. “Are there any prepaid phones?”

He grunts and pointed with his thumb to the left. “They are where the cassette tape recorders are.” He said in a gruff voice.

I nodded and pulled Cher on the arm. “Does that man only know how to grunt.” She grumbled under her breath, stealing some annoyed stealth glances at the old man.

I rolled my eyes, smiling. “Oh, hush and behave.”

Just like the old man said, the prepaid phones were easy to spot the moment you found the cassette recorder.

“I think that I have been behaving really well.” She said, pulling her arm away from my hold. “You have been acting super weird ever since the first murder took place, you’ve been agitated like your walking on thin ice and now I’m following you in to an unusual shop just to see you buy a prepaid phone when you have a freaking android phone that’s working perfectly! Even so,” she huffed, catching her breath. “… still my questions will not be answered, will they?” She questioned, crossing her arms in front of her chest, one of her eyebrows raised.

I grabbed a box where the prepaid phone was hidden. With a weak smile, I stared at my best friend, who was really losing her patience with me. She deserves answers, answers that I have no way of giving right now.

I held up the box, shaking it a bit, making the rattling sound of the device known. “I wanted a prepaid phone because you can easily discard them.”

This prepaid phone may really come in handy one day.

Cher glowered at me, raking her slim fingers through her dark chocolate brown hair. Her beach wavy hair, which was now in utter chaos from all the scratching, ruffling and raking that she had inflicted on her head today, laid gently on her back until bra strap length.

“So why do you need a phone that’s easily discard of?” She groaned.

“In case my other phone breaks down?” I said in a meek voice, feeling myself shrinking away under my friend’s deadly glare.

Squinted eyed, she stepped in closer, analyzing my face. “Why did that sound more like a question?” She asked, sounding suspicious of me.

The sweat that my body started the produce threatened to leak through the pores of my skin to the outside world, but I internally commanded it to get itself back inside my body. “Because I don’t get why else someone would get a prepaid phone, so it confused me to why you would even ask that.” I shrugged, pulling out my poker face.

She hummed as she eyed me suspiciously from head to toe, rubbing her smooth chin. She exhaled loudly. “You can be so stubborn sometimes. Just don’t overdo it… please.”

Nodding as I grinned, relieved that my friend finally threw the towel in the ring, I pulled her for a hug, patting her on the back. “You know I won’t.”

She giggled. “I say it because I know you will.” She pinched my cheeks, earning herself a painful yelp from me.

Soothing the stinging cheeks of mine with the palms of hands. We walked back to the counter and paid for the phone. As we gave our goodbyes to the old man, he gave us a last glance and only responded to us with a grunt. I could only laugh and Cher looked like she wanted to pull out somebody’s last remaining hair strands.

…

We were back inside the car, almost arriving at Cher’s home, and I was checking out my new crimson prepaid flip phone. The moment I turned it on, I was met with the call and message application next to some few games that brought back some good old memories in me. Snake was such an addicting game when I was young.

A few giggles slipped pass through my lips. I showed Cher and she couldn’t help to let out some giggles herself. We chattered away, talking about the good old time sounding like some boomers.

“So what are you going to do about that?” Cher asked.

Turning my head around to look at the thing that Cher was asking about, now sitting in the back seat.

Sitting in the back seat was a one meter long black teddy bear I had bought at the store next to the retail one, the one that was filled with plushes and dolls. I got something from there so that Jack won’t suspect anything and I must say it felt like I walked straight in to a torture chamber. The cringe almost killed me when the twinkling power of the shop shined upon me.

But when my eyes laid their sight on this teddy bear, something pulled at my heartstrings. The beautiful silky fake black fur that felt so soft between my fingers. The cute ribbon that was tight around its neck forming a butterfly shape with a gold emblem in the middle. But it was its eyes, its glass eyes that were filled with the color of the clear ocean.

They sucked me in. They reminded me of his eyes; of Mr. Moore. I felt compelled to buy this beautiful bear and now it’s in the backseat going home with me.

“I guess hugging him in my sleep. What else can you do with a teddy bear?” I asked, my eyes still focused on my newly bought friend.

“Him? You’ve already decided on its gender.” She laughed.

“Well, I am not going to hug a woman in my sleep, am I?” I gave her a cheesy smile.

She let out a laughter that filled in the whole car. “Touché, but I can’t imagine you of all people hugging a huge plush toy.” She shakes her head with a never fading smile.

I sighed, leaning back in to the passenger seat. “I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

The corner of her lips curved downwards, her smile fading, her eyebrows knitted together, and a frown marred her face. “Just like how it is my first time to be cheated on, huh?”

The same expression appeared on my face. “Cher…”,

Cher held up her hand, preventing me from saying anything further. “I know, I know. First, I’ll hear his peace and then I’ll kick his cheating nuts.”

I smiled sympathetically, knowing that there’s still an ongoing storm brewing in her heart, torturing her emotionally.

‘If Brandon really dared to cheat on her, then I’ll make sure that he’ll never be able to produce again.’ I thought, gritting my teeth.

We had finally arrived at Cher’s place. Unlike me, she lived in a beautiful typical house that was standing in a row of more beautiful houses that were in a safe neighborhood. Way safer than mine. It had a front-and backyard, surrounded by a hedge. Mine and their living situation were like day and night. I am delirious, happy that they could afford this house together, that they were happy, but their happiness kept me away from visiting them often. Every time I would visit them, I could feel my heart being slowly tinted in envy.

Why isn’t my family situation nice like theirs?

Why can’t I find love like theirs?

Why is life treating only me unfairly?

Thoughts like those would cloud my mind. To avoid my mind from being completely swallowed by those thoughts, I had no choice but to decrease my visits to them until I totally stopped coming over.

Now I am standing in front of their porch holding the hands of my trembling friend who keeps exhaling and inhaling, trying to gather her courage.

I gave her a little a squeeze, giving her a reassuring smile. She took a big gulp of air and nodded, her eyes focused on her goal. My heart was slightly shaking, afraid of what would wait for us on the other side of the door.

She puts in her key in the keyhole and slowly turned the doorknob. We hitched both our breaths the moment we could hear the clicking sound of the door. We both pushed door, the cracking sound of the door speeding up our heart rate.

When the door finally fully opened, we both gasped. Flower petals were strewn on the floor, leaving a long trail towards the living area. Both bewildered, we mindlessly followed the trail. When we arrived in the living area, we could hear a song in the background. Cher lets go of my hand and used her hands to cover her mouth as she lets out a surprised gasp; as a tear glided down her face. Her eyes were zeroed on Brandon, who was sitting down on one knee surrounded by lit up candles that were together forming a heart, presenting a box in his hand, his smile reaching his eyes.

The song that was playing in the background was a well-known song by Bruno Mars.

It was Marry you.

I was stunned in place, but not stunned enough to not pull out my phone and record this.

Am I really witnessing a proposal?

“I have known you almost my whole life and from the moment I saw you, your beauty captivated me. You were and still are the most beautiful woman that I had ever met. A woman with a gorgeous brain and gorgeous personality. A woman who’s like my best friend who saw all my ugly sides and still says that I am the most handsome man.” Brandon narrated, and Cher couldn’t help but let out a few giggles through her sobs and hiccups. “Cherry Baker, I always thanked God for you saying yes to me when I had asked you out. Now I am praying to God that you will say yes to being Called Cherry Graywood from now on.” He opened the box, revealing a beautiful opal diamond ring.

“Will you marry me?” He smiled, but I could see his arms having some turbulence problems. His nerves shot with fear of a possibility that she would reject him. It puts a smile on my face to see how he hasn’t changed at all since high school.

I glanced at Cher, who was now a crying mess. She nodded her head repeatedly and croaked out a yes before she flung herself on Brandon, wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him in for a long kiss.

I, as their friend and their witness, gave them a tremendous applause, letting a lone tear escape.

They finally pulled away from their kiss, exhaling and looking at each other longingly. Cher slapped Brandon’s broad chest, her lips forming in a pout.

“Geez, I thought you were cheating on me!”

Brandon’s beautiful caramel eyes broadens as he looked at his soon to be wife.

“What?” With the same expression he looked at me, asking me with his eyes what she meant by that. I shrugged.

“It devastated her.” I said.

His eyes went back to Cher. “I would never do that to you, babe. I would die before ever hurting you like that.” He said, hurt clear in his voice, stroking her cheek with his thumb wiping away her tears.

“I told you so.” I coughed quickly.

Cher glared at me teary-eyed and I averted my eyes, glancing upwards, whistling; pretending that I said nothing.

“Whatever.” She mumbled.

She glares at Brandon. “But then, what was all that? You coming home late, you answering my messages super late, you being on your phone chatting with someone all the time or you not having touched me in a while?”

Brandon scratches the back of his head, giving a cheesy, wobbly smile. “Oh, that.”

“Yeah that.” Crossing her arms, she tilted an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

“I can explain it baby.”

“You better explain it, then. There’s still not a ring on my finger so you better come up with a damn good explanation.” She said, putting her hands on her hips.

He rolled with his eyes, smile plastered on his face as he leaned in to give her a chaste kiss. She hummed in delight. “I came home late, because I too was working over hours so I could buy this ring.” He kissed her again, his lips lasting longer on hers. “I didn’t answer your messages because I was scavenging for the perfect ring and I was messaging my friends asking them for advice, but they were all useless.” He chuckled and kissed her again, deepening it this time. Every time he kissed her, you could see Cher’s angry expression diminish until she became pudding in his hands.

He puts his hand on her neck to deepen the kiss, and she mellowed happily. “And I didn’t touch this beautiful woman, because I knew that once I taste you, I wouldn’t be able to stop and I would lose my focus.” He grabbed her ass cheeks, earning a surprised gasp. “I can’t have you distracting me.” His eyes lost focus and was hooded with unspeakable desire. “But now I am done waiting.” He growls.

And that was my cue to leave. “Oookay I will leave you love birds alone now. If I stay here any longer, I’m afraid that I’ll hurl.” I said, walking away as I started making hurl noises. “Oh, too late.”

They both laughed. “You sure that you don’t want me to drive you home.” Cher asked, but her eyes were only focused on her soon to be husband.

“Hundred percent.” I scoffed. “Don’t worry, I’ve got Mr. Teddy bear with me so I won’t be alone.”

Brandon laughed. “You’ve got a teddy bear?” he asked in disbelieve. “Also, what happened with your feet?”

“It’s a long story.” Cher and I said simultaneously.

I waved them both off after getting my teddy bear and hopped away with my crutches. It was pretty difficult moving like this when you’re carrying a plush toy which is almost the same size as you.

I jolted in surprise when I felt the vibration of my phone. Letting out an exasperated sigh, I fumbled around until I could finally get to it.

Private Number: “Don’t move.”

What a none-pleasant surprise.