I park my car in front of her school. I've promised her that I would pick her up today.

After killing the engine, I get out and lean back against my car, crossing my arms over my chest as I see students coming out from the building.

School is over, but I haven't spotted that beautiful figure of my girlfriend yet. God, I already miss her.

While waiting for her to come out, her father's words echo back in my ears. Those simple questions hit me over and over again.

"Are you not in college?"

"What do you do for a living?"

I don't have the perfect plan to conquer the world. All I want to do is survive each day and make sure that Jasmine doesn't experience the same agony I felt when I was a child. That she doesn't have to starve herself and beg for a piece of bread. That she can still go to school like most of the girls her age does.

While music is everything to me and I can make something out of it, Jasmine only has her education as her hope to survive this cruel world when she gets older.

I know that a guy like me should stay away from a girl like Amy, who has been guarded inside her perfect shell all her life, who is too good to be true for me, and whose parents would definitely want me to be gone.

But meeting her wasn't my choice. I thought that she was one of the million good things that would never happen to me, but she was impossible to resist.

My eyes dart on her figure coming out from the building of her school, and just like always, my breath catches in my throat.

Her face brightens as she sees me. She speeds up her pace while the wind caresses her perfect hair -- those blonde locks that make me want to play with every time I wake up on my bed. Her beautiful grey eyes glint with happiness that they make me want to stare into them forever. She's dressed in simple outfits -- cropped jeans, a baby blue cardigan, and a simple white t-shirt underneath it -- but she looks incredibly sexy.

While she's jogging toward me, I sense other guys' eyes on me, filled with envy and wonder. Amy's bright smile widens, and small laughter escapes from her lips as the distance between us shortens, causing those stares around me to be filled with jealousy.

Of course, they're jealous, because her pretty smile and angelic laughter are directed at me. Because I'm the lucky bastard who can make her beam with such joy. I know that, because I would be jealous too if she smiled and laughed like that for another man.

Still, this asshole here who has no future to offer and only owns a damn old car is her lucky boyfriend. That must have made those fuckers pissed even more.

Amy is the kind of girl you would approach carefully, who would make you overthink about how to not mess everything up because you don't want to lose that one chance to be with her. Even those guys around her are too careful to make an immediate move.

Fuck off. She's fucking mine now.

While those guys might have been wondering how to not ruin their chances, I've got nothing to lose. Whether I take my time to woo her or not, I'm still going to lose her in the end, so why not taste that little bit of heaven while I still can?

Amy might have wondered why I asked her to be mine so quickly, so early. The truth was that I couldn't risk the possibility of her slipping out from my sight and into the arms of another man. I wouldn't allow that to happen.

I wouldn't allow my one-in-a-million chance to slip just like that.

For once in my life, I want to be happy. And Amy makes me happy.

I was always angry at my father for being so weak, so destroyed because of women.

But right now, I feel that kind of fear slowly eating me. I fear that I would become just like my father.

What the fuck am I thinking about? I can't possibly be thinking about my future with Amy already?

Still, that fear is real. It's the truth. It's the ugly fucking truth. I am, however, just a guy who has nothing to craft a future but an old guitar.

Would Amy leave me in the end? Would she leave just like my mother did me and my father?

The pain strikes my chest again, and I quickly compose myself.

No, I won't allow that to happen. I won't allow her to leave me. I'll leave her first before that happens.

Amy giggles as she jumps into my arms. I lift her, and our laughter echo in the air as she wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.

Our foreheads touch while I'm drowning in her eyes, enjoying her presence so close to me and the warmth of her body. I'll be treasuring each and every moment with her, wishing that it would never change.

"Hey, pretty girl," I whisper, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear while my other hand keeps her in this position. "Do you want to go to the beach?"

Her beautiful smile creeps on her lips, and it's ironic that even though I have to leave her in the end, all I want to do now is to make that smile stay on her face forever.

"Yeah, sure," she says before our lips meet.

The breeze blows gently against our skin as we take a walk on the beach, our hands intertwined. The sound of the waves crashing the shore somehow calms my insides.

Everything seems so perfect when we're together, yet it's a disaster too. A beautiful kind of disaster.

It feels so serene here. With her. Like I have nothing else to worry about in the world. Like all my problems are washed away by the ocean.

The sun begins to set ahead of us, the sky turning into a shade of orange and purple. I turn my head to look at her, then vow to myself that I've never seen something more beautiful. Her face is glowing as the setting sun casts its rays on it. The view takes my breath away.

Amy closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I always love the smell of the ocean, just like I love the smell of rain." She sighs dreamily. "It makes me feel calm."

She then opens her eyes and gazes at the view before her as if it's some kind of heaven. I can sense that she's enjoying the feel of the breeze on her skin too, unlike her usual self that easily gets cold due to the wind.

After a few moments of silence, she opens her mouth again, "What are you thinking about?"

It takes a few seconds for me to absorb her question.

She turns to face me, and her eyes soften. "I'm asking you about what you're thinking about, Cal." She smiles.

I can't answer her question. It would be cheesy to tell her that I've been staring at her and thinking about her like a creep for the past few minutes.

"A song," I say instead, and her face lights up.

"A song?" she echoes, her voice laced with curiosity and excitement.

"Yeah." I squeeze her hand, tearing my gaze away from her and focusing on the ocean instead. I inhale the fresh air, filling my lungs with it. My heart, on the other hand, is already full. "A new song."

She doesn't say anything back, but I know that she's waiting for me to share it with her. And just like that, the lyrics and melody that have been playing in my head come out.

I stare at the ocean as I sing, not brave enough to look at her. Even though I'm an artist, it's not always easy for me to share with anyone something that comes from the darkest place of my heart.

Where will you be five years from now?
The world is nothing but dust.
Will I still be drowning in here?
Will it get better?

Where would I be if the world ended? Would I be calling your name?
Would you be calling mine?
Would we be in each other's arms?

After I finish the song, only the sound of the breeze and waves echo around us. I turn to Amy, who looks away instead, detaching her hand from mine. She then turns her back at me and walks on the sand, making me wonder.

"Oh God, Cal." Her voice is shaking. The moment she turns around to face me, I find her eyes glisten with unshed tears. "Do you even know how gifted you are?" she whispers.

I stare at her, stunned.

"You're destined to be someone big, Cal." She smiles through tears.

Another silence creeps in, and something stirs in my heart. Something strange. Something empowering, but it's also something very sad.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She nods as she chuckles, and that beautiful sound makes my heart thud. The sight of her itself has already made it hard for me to breathe.

My heart is beating so powerfully inside my chest to the point that it hurts.

Why is she so beautiful?

Why does she make me feel like I'm more than just a poor man?

Why did she talk as if my songs actually meant something?

Why does she make me feel like I can conquer the world?

Why the fuck are you doing this to me, Amy? Why do you make it even harder for me to let you go? Why do you make me not want to let you go?

I don't fucking care about anything else in this world, because right at this moment, the only thing that matters is that she's here with me. And she will always be here with me, because I'm not going to let her go.