"About Mark and Isabelle," I said.

"Not happening," Jace laughed. "They are like you and Yvette. I'm sure you two are very comfortable with each other and tease each other a lot! That's what Mark and Isabelle do. There is no way they are dating. Mark isn't that kind of man."

I shrugged and sat on the backrest of my couch. I lost my balance and stumbled backwards. Since Jace was holding my hand, he fell forward with me.

Just then, the door opened. We turned to look and saw that it was Yvette. "Oops! I didn't know you had company," she giggled. "I'll come back in a while. Continue doing whatever you were doing. Haha."

"No! It's okay," I laughed, blushing. We were in such an embarrassingly awkward position while Yvette walked in. I facepalmed internally. Somebody, save me.

"If you say so," she giggled and came into my apartment. She put some plastic bags on the table and exclaimed, "I bought some snacks for our sleepover. Please don't tell me you forgot about it because you were busy doing I don't know what with Jace."

"We were not doing anything," I sighed.

Jace looked at his phone and gasped. "Crap, I'm late. I forgot I was supposed to meet up with my bros. Sorry, I really have to go. They're going to kill me." He kissed me on the forehead and hurried to the door. "Bye!" he hollered and closed the door.

I turned back to look at my best friend. "I swear we didn't do anything. I was just showing him my talent in music. I played the violin and the cello for him!"

"Canon in D," she interjected.

"Indeed," I laughed.

She shook her head. "You're so obsessed with that song." She opened a packet of Doritos and munched on it. "And don't explain. I know why you love that song a lot."

I burst into laughter. I told the story of my mother to her so many times that she's probably sick of hearing it. I shrugged. I leaned towards her and took a handful of Doritos. It's our go-to snack. Every sleepover we have, there has to be Doritos.

"How are you and Jace going?" she asked.

"Awesome," I replied. Just then, I remembered that special photo I took that night at Jace's house. With a sly grin, I took out my phone and opened my photo album. Jace sent me the photo that night after he sent me home. Needless to say, I downloaded it immediately.

At that thought, I blushed. We had a deep passionate kiss at my door before we wished each other a good night. Oh, why am I even saying this? I opened the photo and shoved my phone under Yvette's face. "Look what I have here," I said.

She looked down and her eyes widened. "Oh my freaking God, you have a photo with Avery Hudson! I hate you, Bella!" she gasped, grabbing my phone.

I burst into laughter upon seeing her reaction. She has been a fan of her for way longer than I have. As I said before, she introduced her movies to me. I replied, "Don't I feel so blessed that my boyfriend is her son? I get the best of both worlds."

"You sneaky little pig," she muttered, narrowing her eyes. She brushed my phone screen, the part where Mrs Leighton's face is located, accidentally swiping away the photo. "I wish I was in your place but I don't like Jace that much."

"Why don't you like him?" I asked. What's there to not like about him?

She shrugged. "He seems like a nice person and all but he sounds too good to be true. I mean, listen to what you describe him as! You always say he's so handsome, so fit, so strong, so hot, so perfect..." she teased, imitating my tone.

I could feel the blood rushing to my face. I replied, "I do not talk like that."

"Oh, yes, you do," she replied with a smirk. "Anyway, he's not my type. My kind of guy would be someone who reads as many romance novels as me. We can talk about them all day and work towards a happily ever after like in a romance novel."

"Your brain is filled with romance tropes," I said, rolling my eyes. "Life works differently, Eve. It's not all cupcakes and rainbows. It's not simply a girl falling in love with a boy and they live happily ever after."

"That's where you're wrong. That's not all romance novels are about. The main characters will have setbacks in their relationships but they will try and solve it," she replied. "I wish I could write my own life like an author writes his or her books."

I rolled my eyes. "Dream on."

We spent the next few hours watching the television and gossiping. My eyelids were getting heavy. Today has been a rather tiring day after all. First, there's school. Second, I met up with my aunt for lunch. Third, I met Jace's ex. Fourth, I educated him on musical instruments.

Who wouldn't be tired after all that?

Out of boredom, I opened Instagram and scrolled through my feed. I reloaded and saw a new post by Jace. It was a photo of him, Darren and Roy hanging out. It had been posted only ten minutes ago and it already had fifty likes. Talk about being popular.

"Hmm, have you two gone Instagram official?" Yvette asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "What does that mean?"

She smiled and replied, "Has he posted a photo from one of your dates on Instagram? I don't know. Maybe it's for people to know that he's taken and stuff. You know many girls in school have a crush on him, right?"

"Of course, I do. I'm one of them," I muttered. I didn't recall seeing my face on his profile but I checked to make sure. Indeed, we haven't gone Instagram official. "No," I replied, frowning. Why doesn't he want everyone to know I'm his girlfriend?

"Don't worry. Maybe he wants to keep your relationship private. After all, it's only just started. As time passes, maybe you two will have a picture on his profile! I think Valentines' Day dance will be a good one," she said.

I nodded in agreement. "True," I replied, grinning. I looked at his latest post again. He looked so happy and cool with his friends. They were at a bowling alley. I looked at the location he indicated and saw that it was Bowlmor Times Square.

I smiled. I'm glad he's still spending time with his friends despite dating me, just like how I'm still having sleepovers with Yvette. Life doesn't change much while you're dating someone, I guess. Romance novels aren't that accurate, Eve.

Locking my phone, I leaned back on the couch and sighed. Being Jace's girlfriend has brought me wonders. I met my idol, Avery Hudson. She's the reason I'm thinking of studying drama or theatre. I don't really know what I want in life but acting looks fun.

I know it's hard to succeed but there's no harm trying! I grew up watching television and movies. My mother and aunt grew up alongside a movie star. I think I'm born to become one as well. Acting isn't easy but I want to do this.

"What are your plans after high school?" I asked.

"College. I don't know. What about you?" Yvette replied.

"I want to become the next Avery Hudson," I said, picturing myself in a movie and later receiving an Academy Award, also known as an Oscar. I grinned. "I think it's very possible. I'm probably going to study drama or theatre in college."

She nodded. "You should study drama. The Oscars are only awarded to films. I don't think that includes stage performances. You can also become a television actress if you want. I think you can be both. Imagine having both Oscars and Emmy awards."

I shrugged. "It's going to be a long and tough journey. You know about Avery Hudson's story. It wasn't easy. She started out on Broadway. She slowly started acting in movies and look at where she is today!"

"She's our idols," Yvette added. "But you're taking it one step further."

"In a normal way," I remarked. "It's not like I dedicated my life to stalking her which some people possibly do. From now on, my two goals in life are to become a famous actress like Avery Hudson and to marry Jace Leighton and have two kids."

"Make it three. Make Yvette Jones the godmother of your two children," she laughed before putting a Dorito into her mouth.

I burst into laughter. I bit into a Dorito. As I thought about the idea of having two children with Jace in the distant future, butterflies emerged in my stomach. We're going to graduate and life is going to change drastically.

And I hope Jace's part in my life will never change.

***

A/N:

Q: Has your idol influenced your life decisions in any way?

Do you believe that life can be like romance novels?

You meet someone, you fall in love with that person, and then you live happily ever after. Is this realistic?

Maybe. Maybe not. I think it's possible but there'll definitely be problems along the way and ideally, the couple will work together and solve them.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this story so far! Stay tuned :)