Paper Hearts

Pia didn’t know when this will stop. She often asks herself why she replied right after a message appeared from the person she tried to avoid. The moment the notification popped up on her phone screen, flashing at her with a huge smile and a warm hug, yeah, she was definitely screwed - or will be screwed once again. The worst thing about it was the favor Robbie was asking. She asked Pia to help her set up a birthday party surprise for her girlfriend, Yvonne.

They had been great friends once upon a time. Back when they were 13 and were only trying to discover themselves amid the mess called puberty. They had transferred to the same school and became friends through their other mutual. When 11th grade came into the picture, they had slowly spent less and less time with each other. Robbie found another group of people while Pia had her own. Of course, they still exchanged smiles as they pass by each other in the hallways. Sometimes Robbie replies to Pia’s Instagram stories. Then, it all stopped after a while.

The girls had dated before. It was a sudden thing that Pia had agreed to because she thought it was a good idea. Who would say no to dating the person they liked, right? It never once crossed her mind that she wouldn’t exactly like being in a relationship. Don’t get her wrong, she liked Robbie very much, too much - in fact, she fancied her friend for almost a year by that time. But having a thing about someone and admiring from afar - or in their case, not that far - was not the same as being with them. So, in the end, Pia had to be honest with herself and Robbie - Pia decided to end what they had, only if they still can be friends.

Now, she’s grumbling to herself as she cuts pieces of paper for decoration in the middle of her ex-girlfriend’s living room. That wasn’t what she imagined that would bring them back to speaking terms. When they met up last weekend, she had pretended none of this bothered her in the slightest bit. She acted her usual self and went to the store with Robbie and asked her what she needed.

She remembered staring a lot. Robbie had changed her hair color and hair cut again. It was a lot shorter than before, but it wasn’t exactly new to Pia because when they had first met, Robbie also sported a hairstyle similar to this. Her hair color was more vibrant than ever. This time it was bright blue with black highlights. Her style has evolved too. Back then, she was fond of plain black shirts, simple straight-cut jeans, and a pair of boots, topping them with multiple rings and stud earrings. Now, she wore more layers with different textures. She also added a bit more color to her wardrobe. Surprisingly, it suited her better because it made her look happier and easygoing. She got rid of her glasses, opting to wear her contacts now - she used to hate it. I liked her either way, Pia thought.

Their other friends were also present: Laurie, Jay, and River were doing other tasks such as making the banner for the Happy Birthday sign, blowing balloons up, counting the number of paper plates and paper cups available.

Among the three, Laurie was the one to whom Pia was closest. Apart from Robbie, Pia absolutely adored Laurie the most out of all of her friends. She knew it wasn’t cool to pick “favorites” between people she knew, especially her friends, but she can’t help it. He was such an adorable guy. Even though he towers over her by a whole head, she still treated him like a younger sibling. However, she was pretty sure everyone saw it the other way around.

“Pia, are you done with that? I finished setting this up. I need that next,” Laurie called out to the quiet girl. He pointed at the newest string of decorations put up and smiled at her. Pia nodded and mumbled a yes to the boy and stood up, the box of triangular-shaped paper in her arms. She walked over to him, making her look smaller, and handed the box to Laurie.

The living room was a mess of the colors pink, purple, and yellow - all the colors Yvonne adored. Paper hearts were on the wall with her name written on it, courtesy of Pia because she had such beautiful penmanship; all of them convinced her to do it. The floors were almost totally covered by small balloons that go with the theme of the party. One would think it was Valentine’s day if we were trying to be honest here. But none of the teenagers mentioned it to Robbie despite thinking the same thing because she was delighted with what she had managed to pull off for her special someone.

“What can I do next?” Pia asked no one in particular and approached the kitchen table. River handed her a serving spoon and told her to put servings of the salad Robbie’s mom prepared into small cups. She nodded and proceeded to do so.

She has never spoken to Yvonne before. Today she finally will. Her nerves were kicking in, having no idea how to calm herself down. Pia had to tell herself she was just another person and nothing about her was any different. Well, except for the fact that Yvonne was one of the most known students in their school. Even though she only transferred there at the beginning of the year. Yvonne was a Youtuber, a dancer, an artist, and an overall beautiful person. Pia checked all of her social media accounts she can confirm that Yvonne was famous. That alone intimidated her. But she’s heard so many great things about Yvonne that was why she knew she wouldn’t be rude or anything like that.

Pia wondered if Yvonne knew she and Robbie dated. She didn’t know if Robbie brought it up before. Before Yvonne came along in the picture and Pia and Robbie were still talking, Robbie had a fling with one of Laurie’s friends. Pia forgot her name. However, she remembered how the girl became a little worried about her presence. The girl sent her glares and gave her dirty looks as if Pia wasn’t around anyone. It was an insanely short period of her life she couldn’t believe happened. Who knew she could be a reason for jealousy. It made her ego swell a little.

After two more hours of preparation, more people arrived. Most of them were strangers to Pia. She figured they were the others’ friends. Laurie and Robbie went out to fetch the birthday girl while everyone was left in the house, chatting and mingling around as they all patiently waited for the sign to hide. Pia stood in the kitchen with a cup of apple juice in her hand, feeling rejected and lonely. She regretted not bringing along her best friend. Someone tried to start a conversation with her, but they soon asked about another person. She quickly made it clear she wasn’t up for talking, making them turn and walk away from her.

Jay clapped his hands and turned the music off, ushering everyone to take their respective places. The place had quieted down. A tense but exciting air slowly crept in the room. After a few minutes, the front door slowly opened then Yvonne entered as pretty as ever. Everyone jumped up and simultaneously said, “Happy Birthday!” while throwing balloons and confetti at Yvonne. She cracked up a huge smile and put her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were shining as she turned around and wrapped her arms around Robbie, who stood behind her. They shared a kiss making everyone laugh and tease them.

Pia smiled to herself, clapping along with the guests. The couple separated. The crowd soon approached Yvonne giving her greetings and hugs.

The party had hit off right away. The booming of music bounced on the walls of the house. Laurie had taken the cake to Yvonne at some point, making her wish, and after that, it was gift-giving. Pia also wrapped up a gift for her; a simple charm bracelet handmade by her with a small gem pendant tied to it. When it was her turn to give the present, she walked over to Yvonne. She was in the dining room with Laurie and Robbie.

Yvonne smiled at her. She was amazed by how gorgeous this girl was. She had to snap herself out of it and handed her the brown paper.

“Pia, hi! It’s so nice to meet you,” Yvonne said. She pushed her curly hair away from her eyes and tucked them behind her ears, examining the small package in her hand. “Can I open this now? I don’t know why I’m excited to know what’s inside.”

Pia chuckled and looked at Robbie. Said girl was already looking at her with a big grin plastered on her face. Her heart skipped a beat.

“You can open it if you want. I hope you’ll like it,” Pia said slowly.

Yvonne’s smile had gotten wider if it was possible. She tore the paper and handled the bracelet so gently, almost as if she was scared to break it. She let out a small gasp after seeing the gift. Pia took that as a good sign, feeling relieved the girl had liked her gift for her. She felt a hand wrap around her wrist. She looked behind her and saw Laurie patting his lap. Pia sat down and made herself comfortable as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Yvonne wore the bracelet, admiring the details. She was dying to meet the girl Robbie had cared about so much. Her girlfriend told her many nice things about Pia when they had first gotten close. From what she heard, Pia was shy, sweet, and had a great sense of humor. Her friend, Mel, had to look for Pia’s Instagram and searched for her classes so they could know who Robbie had liked before. They observed her from afar; what they discovered was underwhelming. Of course, from all the things Robbie and Laurie had said about Pia, they thought she was some hotshot. It turned out that Pia was a normal girl who was awfully shy and had a knack for writing.

She looked at Pia, then smiled at her. She was relieved she was at least a little better than her. Robbie held her hand under the table and rubbed small circles with her thumb. Yvonne felt happy.

Pia was home before 8 PM and has settled in her room. She was looking over at the pictures she took, picking her favorites so she could post them. Pia felt a pang of sadness build up in her throat, creeping down to her collarbones and chest area. She didn’t exactly know why she felt sadness like this; it was uncomfortable and annoying. However, she couldn’t do anything about it.

It gripped her tightly and made her feel suffocated - she hated it a lot. It was as if sadness was there to make itself known as much as possible, no matter how hard Pia tries to escape it. The feeling would always stay with her.

A sigh escaped her lips. No matter how many times she scolds herself, she will not lose her remaining feelings for Robbie. Maybe it was only right she makes peace with it and accept her fate. It wasn’t as strong as her feelings as before but she knew it was still there, somewhere, and that alone frustrated her. Pia was sick and tired of this.

This time she was going to make sure her feelings would completely disappear and never resurface again. Robbie was already happy with someone else. Pia deserved peace the least.

Maybe someone can get her attention and make her fall for them so that she can finally say she doesn’t have feelings for the girl who wore the most beautiful smile.