PART 3

Blue, green, pink, white, and a myriad of colorful houses adorned the streets of Tobello, one of the most internationally renowned markets of the Michi Islands. Stalls of food, decorations, souvenirs, flowers, and more lined the bustling, almost crowded street, filling it with vibrant hues and providing a pleasant feeling of warmth and closeness to the people.

On every corner, you could hear merchants haggling with tourists to get the best price, or the laughter of children playing from one side to the other. It was the last day of the week-long trip, and the group couldn’t leave without visiting “The Tobello Blue Market.”

Since that kiss, the tension among them had only grown, even though Emily, Oscar, and Johnny did their best to lighten the atmosphere. But no matter how hard they tried, Mike’s coldness was much stronger.

"Diana, that was a full-blown confession," Emily said, eyeing a dress at one of the stalls.

"A confession?" Diana responded, looking at her friend with puffy eyes. "I haven’t been able to sleep since then."

"What are you going to do? Who will you choose?"

"What are you talking about? Andrew is your ex."

"By that logic, Andrew is your first love."

"Yeah… but I like Mike," Diana admitted, her voice catching in her throat.

"Well, there’s nothing more to say, then." Emily ended the conversation, putting the dress back and giving Diana a little push toward Mike. "Try talking to him."

Thrown off balance, Diana stumbled into Mike, who caught her as soon as he realized what had happened. She blushed, feeling for the first time the toned chest of the blond boy under her hands. At some point, as they spent more time together, Diana had become increasingly aware of Mike’s masculinity.

"Sorry," she apologized, embarrassed, as he turned his back on her without saying a word, barely even looking at her, leaving Diana feeling sad.

"Do you like it?" a vendor asked Emily with a smile as he saw her admiring a necklace on display.

"Of course, I love it. Too bad I don’t have any cash to buy it."

"How much is it?" Andrew asked, taking out his wallet.

"32 Calucas."

"That wasn’t necessary…" Emily said innocently as Andrew finished paying for the necklace.

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"We’re friends now, and I know you love necklaces," he said with a smile, opening the necklace to put it on her.

"Thank you," Emily accepted the gesture with a smile unlike any she had shown before—a smile of healing.

Meanwhile, Diana was looking for a string to hang Mike’s shell on. She noticed a chain of a royal blue so deep that it seemed to shine when touched by sunlight. As she reached for it, she bumped into Mike’s hand, who had the same intention.

"Did you want it?" he asked, pulling his hand back with a smile, only to receive her cold rejection in return.

"Enough!" Diana shouted with all her might, preventing Mike from once again acting as if she didn’t exist. She had endured enough.

She knew she had behaved poorly with him on the plane, but she didn’t deserve this treatment. She didn’t know what was more painful—his kindness, knowing he didn’t feel the same way, or his continuous disregard for her. Either way, his behavior was killing her inside.

"What did I ever do to you?" she cried out in desperation when a flash interrupted them.

"Would you like a group photo?" an island photographer asked them.

"What?" Diana asked him to repeat, caught off guard by the question.

"Would you like a group photo? It’s only 5 Calucas."

"No, tha—" Mike began to respond curtly, but Oscar interrupted him, covering his mouth.

"Of course! And make it six copies."

After Oscar’s pleading and fake tears, everyone reluctantly posed for the photo, trying to forget the bad blood that had formed between them. Six copies, one for each person. Diana looked at the picture, feeling deep joy in her heart.

2.jpg [https://i.postimg.cc/KjGzbHJH/2.jpg]

"You look so silly," Emily teased, seeing Diana’s face.

"I’m just happy to have these moments with all of you."

"You’re such a sentimentalist."

"Maybe…" Diana felt a hammering pain in her head and instinctively brought one hand to her forehead, curling up from the discomfort.

"Are you okay? Another headache?" Emily quickly approached her friend, concerned.

"No, I’m fine. Don’t worry," Diana replied, forcing a smile to reassure her.

"Don’t worry, we’re heading to the jet soon."

Hours later, the group had returned to the private plane.

"Come on, Andrew," Johnny, who was sitting next to him, pleaded. "Make up with Mike. You guys have never been angry at each other."

"I don’t have to give in. He’s the one who got mad in the first place. If anyone needs to apologize here, it’s him," Andrew replied, adjusting in his seat, stretching his legs, and closing his eyes, causing his companion to run his hands over his face in frustration.

"Mike, apologize to Andrew," Oscar begged Mike, sitting at the other end of the plane. But Mike didn’t respond, just stared out the window. "You have to fix things before it’s too late."

"Are you really okay? You’ve been having more headaches than usual lately," Emily asked again, sitting next to Diana, who looked a bit pale.

"Yes, really," Diana nodded, closing her eyes.

It was true that if Mike had known what was coming, he would have stopped acting like a complete idiot.

◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎•◎

It was nighttime when the plane landed, earlier than expected. Diana was eager to see her mother and brother again to give them the gifts Emily and she had bought in the Michi Islands.

"I’m home!" Diana announced excitedly as she walked into the house, carrying several bags. "I’ve got a couple of gifts for both of you!"

But the warm welcome she had been expecting turned into a somber walk as her brother approached her, his face filled with sorrow.

"Sis..."

"What’s wrong? Is Mom okay?" she asked, kneeling down to her brother, seeing their mother behind Zedd with the same expression.

"Your latest test results..." Zedd couldn’t finish the sentence, his face quickly filling with tears.