TDA Meets TLH

30: Cristina

I stood at the front door of the Institute, the next morning, saying goodbye to Diego and Jaime. I felt happy that they were leaving, so I could have a fresh start and have no baggage from Mexico here to bother me, but another part of me felt sad. Somehow, it had been kind of nice to see them again.

No matter how much I tried to deny it, Diego and Jaime would always be a big part of my life, whether I liked it or not. I watched as they said goodbye to everyone, and then Jaime was standing in front of me. I had talked to him for a good hour the night before, and I had kind of enjoyed myself.

"It was nice to see you again, Amor." He smiled.

I smiled slightly at the name. He had always called me that. "It was good to see you, too."

And it was. Even though I hated to admit it, it had been nice to see him.

"I hope you come back to Mexico soon. Even if it's just to visit."Jaime said.

"Maybe." I said, and then hugged him."Goodby, J."

"Goodbye, C." He said. We used to always call each other that.

Jaime then walked away from me, and then Diego was in my view. I looked up at him, to see sadness in his dark brown eyes.

"You can still come with us." He spoke softly.

I shook my head. "I won't be happy there, you know that."

"Voy a echarte mucho de menos." Diego said, sadly.

"I'll miss you, too." I found myself saying.

He then hugged me, and I hugged him back. Him and Jaime then walked out of the Institute, the door closing behind them. I stared at the door, feeling a tiny bit sad, but it passed right away. Emma walked up to my side, and smiled at me reassuringly.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." I smiled slightly.

We all then dispersed, and I found myself sitting in my room, by myself. I was sitting in my closet, going through my things. I finally found what I was looking for. I pulled an envelope full of pictures out of my drawer, and started to go through them. They were mainly ones of my mother and I, but there were a few with Jaime, Diego, and I. I stopped at one, where Jaime and I had been ten, ice cream all over our face. I smiled to myself, we had gone to the fair that day, one of the few mundane things my mother let me do.

There was another one of Diego and I, dancing together two years ago, at one of our Institute parties. I was smiling up at him, radiantly, and he was doing the same back. I stared at the picture, remembering the moment. That was when I had been in love with him, and I had been thrilled when he had asked me to dance. I quickly put the pictures away, and stood up. I walked out of my room, and into the living room. Only Matthew and James sat there. I sat down, and they both stared at me. I blushed slightly, they were both very attractive.

"Miss Rosales." Matthew greeted.

"You know that you can call me Cristina." I smiled.

He shrugged, grinning. "Hard to break the habit."

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"I do not know." James said. "I saw Cordelia and Lucie in the training room, an hour ago."

"Cordelia, huh?" Matthew smirked.

James shot daggers at him, and I raised my eyebrows at him, but didn't press him. Did James like Cordelia?

"Where are your two biggest fans?" I chuckled, looking at Matthew.

"Livvy and Dru? I have no clue." Matthew laughed.

"Are you upset that Diego and Jaime left?" James asked suddenly.

"Only a little bit, though not much." I admitted. "It was sort of nice to see them, again."

"Are you still seeing Mark?" Matthew asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"I am very sorry." James spoke.

I sighed. "Me too."

As if on cue, Mark walked into the living room. He froze when he saw me, and looked as if he was going to walk away, when Matthew started to talk to him. Mark took a seat across from me, and I didn't look at him. I found that it was too painful. I stared at the floor, as the three boys talked.

"Are you alright, Cristina? Because of Jaime and Diego?" I heard Mark say.

I reluctantly looked up, and into his gold and blue eyes.

"Yeah." I said, smiling slightly.

We both stared at each other for a bit too long, and then suddenly Matthew stood up.

"We should go find Lucie and Cordy, shouldn't we James?" He said, staring at James.

"Um, yes we should." James stood up, and then they both awkwardly left the room.

I resisted the urge to laugh. They were so adorable and funny. Mark and I were left alone, and I could feel the tension between us.

"I'm surprised you didn't go back with them." Mark said, breaking the silence.

"Why?" I asked, surprised.

"I thought you'd want to be away from me." He looked away from me.

I sighed sadly. "Just because we're not dating anymore doesn't mean I don't want to be around you, Mark."

"I can't be around you." He looked up at me.

My heart dropped. "Why not?"

"Because when I see you, all I want to do is hold your hand, kiss you, all the things friends don't do." Mark said, looking down at the floor, turning red.

"Mark." I whispered, sadly.

"What are we going to do, Cristina?" He asked tiredly.

"I--I don't know." I stuttered, feeling lost. "We could date again."

"I can't do that to you." Mark shook his head. "I won't do that to you."

"But I love you." I said.

"And I love you. More than words." He said. "But we can't."

"Then what?" I asked.

"I don't know." He muttered.

Mark then got up, and walked out of the living room. I only stared after him, wondering what had just happened.