Stealing one glance at our entwined hands, Audrey raised a brow. "Something tells me you're not exactly friends," she observed.

Before anxiety could take a bite out of me, Forrest tossed her an easy smile. "Good job – you figured it out."

"I knew it!" Ivy exclaimed behind us. I would have laughed had it not been for the expression on Audrey's face. She seemed almost bored, maybe even unimpressed.

"Well, it's nice to see you've finally found someone new." She spoke like I wasn't even there. "Have a good day, Forrest."

What did that mean?

He didn't reply. Instead, we just watched as she sauntered off, her heels lightly hitting the concrete. Forrest kept his face void of emotion while I allowed my confusion to show. "What's going on with her?" I couldn't swallow the question down.

He frowned, and I could almost sense the thoughts shooting through his mind. "I'll talk to you about it later."

Before I could press on, Ivy stepped in front of us with her arms crossed. She looked a little too smug honestly. "Well, well, well," her face broke into a grin, "what do we have here?"

Forrest rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ivy, we're not even official yet."

Furrowing her brows, she pouted. "Well, why not? How long have you two been sneaking around?" I tried not to smile, but I couldn't resist. She had no idea that we'd just met earlier in the week.

Fortunately, neither one of us had to answer because Forrest's parents came over. "Hello, you three," Marites wore delight on her face, "June, you're coming with us for lunch, yes?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Great!" Ernesto commented. "Now, we can get to know you more. I don't know why Forrest took so long to tell us about you."

I wondered what he told them; it seemed like they were all under the assumption that we'd been secretly together for a long time. "Well, I look forward to getting to know you too." I smiled, feeling a little awkward.

Minutes later, it was decided that Forrest's parents would ride together to the mall while Ivy rode with her brother and me. Forrest didn't really find the idea appealing but caved in due to Ivy's persistence. "I only met June once," she argued, "I know you want some alone time, but you need to share her."

Soon, I found myself back in the Corolla, and I was amused. Ivy was relentless when it came to whatever she set her mind on. And right now, it was set on me and Forrest.

"I just can't believe my brother finally has a girlfriend again," she raved. "June – no offense, brother, but – I like you more than all his past girlfriends."

"Oh, really?" I was too touched to remind her that we weren't official yet. I eyed Forrest, and I knew he could feel me staring. "Why is that?"

"Well," she began, pausing to think, "you seem a lot more sincere. And look at us right now. This is only the second time I'm seeing you, but for me, it feels like we've been doing this forever. Also, the way Forrest talks about you – well, maybe he doesn't realize it, but the way he talks about you is different."

"Oh great," Forrest muttered, "Do you see now why I wanted to keep it a secret? She's probably going to start planning our wedding already."

"Wait, what?" My eyes widened. I twisted my head back to face Ivy. "Wedding?"

Her lips formed into a smirk. "What kind of flowers do you want?"

Forrest and I burst out laughing. "Let's just calm down," I said, amused yet a little concerned, "Ivy, I'll let you know when I need a wedding-planner."

"Oh my gosh, did you hear that? She said when." I realized my mistake, but it was too late. "It's going to happen, people!"

"Jeez, Ivy, you're going to scare her away," Forrest sighed, "Whatever happens will happen. We don't know how this will go."

That was true. This was still the beginning, but now that wedding was mentioned, I tried to imagine it. Marrying Forrest? Was that really so far out of reach? Maybe it was a little more possible than I assumed. Right now, I couldn't actually see myself being with anyone else.

When we finally made it to the mall, Ivy thankfully moved on to something else other than our relationship. "Oh shoot, I almost forgot that Jho'nae's birthday is coming up!" She furrowed her brows. We walked quickly towards the entrance of the massive building. "After we eat, I'm going shopping."

"Who's Jho'nae?" I asked.

"One of her three friends," Forrest answered.

"Excuse me," his sister narrowed her eyes at him, "I have, like, four friends now. Get it right."

My lips stretched into a smile. "Ivy, I honestly don't understand how you're not popular. You look like you could have two hundred friends."

"Well," she flipped her hair for good measure, "most people don't appreciate my amazing sense of humor." Forrest snorted. "Also, I prefer keeping my circle of friends small. There's less drama and less to worry about. Furthermore, I –"

"Now, now, let's be a little more honest," Forrest interjected. "Quite frankly, my dear sister is too dedicated to her TV shows and the Internet to be social."

Ivy put her hands up in surrender. "Why would I want to be out at parties when I can hang out with the most fun person I know – myself?"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "Forrest, you're so lucky to have a sister like her."

"Lucky?" he exclaimed, but I knew he was fighting a smile. "Are you sure that's the word you want to use?"

Ivy punched him in the arm. "Shut up. You are so lucky to have me. But don't worry, June, you can make me your sister-in-law one day." She gave me a playful wink; I was slightly impressed that she managed to do so without looking weird. Whenever I tried to wink, it looked like there was something wrong with my eye.

Forrest groaned. "Not this again."

We entered the mall, our laughter causing passersby to glance in our direction.

Immediately, we made our way to the food court. Since it was Sunday, it was fairly busy; there were several people ambling around. It'd been about a month since I last came to the mall, and usually, I found it boring. It offered many stores, which were often too expensive to bother with, and an amusement park that appealed to little kids and some teenagers. The food court had some great walk-in restaurants, and I'd been to all of them over the years.

"Can you text mom and ask which restaurant we're going to today?" Forrest asked. We stood in the midst of the crowd; it was rather noisy.

Ivy followed his request and a minute passed before she said, "Oh, she said wherever June wants."

"Aw," I couldn't believe how kind Forrest's parents were, "really?"

"Of course." Forrest wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Where would you like to eat, honey?"

I furrowed my brows in bemusement, hearing the last word. "Well, um, are you guys up for Japanese food?" I recalled that sushi was Ivy's favorite and I was in the mood for fried rice.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, excitement rushing through her features. "Can we go to Nikko?"

There were two other restaurants offering Asian cuisine, but Nikko was the best option. "Sure," I replied, "Why not?"

"Man, she loves Nikko," Forrest remarked, "and it has something to do with one of the waiters."

"Who?" Ivy widened her eyes in innocence. "Jerrycoh?"

"Yes, don't act so oblivious." Forrest retorted, sighing. "Every time we eat there, Ivy stares at him. Once, she even left her number along with the tip."

"But he never called," Ivy frowned, "I don't know what his problem is."

"Maybe because it's illegal," Forrest huffed, "Jerrycoh is, like, four years older than you. He better not have called!"

"Okay," I held in a laugh, "Let's just go."

"Yeah, stop worrying, brother. I'm over him, anyway." Ivy let out a sigh. "I found his Facebook, and he's dating this girl named Marilea."

Forrest furrowed his brows. "How did you even find his – you know what, never mind. Let's get going. Tell mom and dad to meet us there."

Finally, we made it to Nikko and reunited with Forrest's parents. Once we entered, the noise occurring outside was muted thanks to the way the place was structured. There weren't many diners so the atmosphere was placid. In the air hung the scents of several mouth-watering dishes, and on our way to a table, I caught glimpses at the meals other people were having. They didn't look disappointing.

The yellow walls were decorated with a splendid mural of cherry blossom trees, the pastel petals aesthetic. The lights were paper lanterns, varying shades of brown; they matched with the branches. Overall, it was a charming setting.

"Did you know that Nikko means sunlight?" Ivy threw the question to me once we were all seated.

"No, actually," I replied, blinking in the information. "That's cool."

A few minutes later, a waiter came around and we ordered our drinks.

"So June . . ." Marites grabbed my attention. She was sitting across from me. "Did you go to the same high school as Forrest?"

"Yes, ma'am, but we weren't close," I admitted.

She nodded and then asked, "Are you in college?"

"Oh, no," I tentatively replied, "I'm, uh, still trying to figure myself out."

"That's no problem, dear," she sounded sincere, "College is a very big decision, and we're hoping to earn enough money for Forrest to attend next year." I wondered what university he would be going to and what he would major in. I made a mental note to have a discussion about it later. "Anyway, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

Well, I battle with depression and almost died on Tuesday. But your son saved me and now, here we are. "I really like poetry," I smiled, "and nature."

"We love nature too!" Ernesto revealed, chuckling. "But maybe you already knew that with the names we gave our children." My smile grew.

"Actually," Marites cut in, "we named Forrest after someone I used to know. He was such a fantastic, beautiful person – he had all the qualities I wanted in a son. Kind, smart . . . funny, hard-working." Nostalgia flickered in her eyes. "We were friends for about three years." The way she spoke in past-tense was a warning. "But he passed away at the age of twenty-seven. That was over two decades ago, and I still remember him very well."

Ernesto grabbed her hand, sympathy written all over his rugged face. "And then when Ivy came along, well . . . we didn't want Forrest to have the only nature-themed name," he cracked a small smile, "but believe me, we do appreciate nature."

I nodded, my smile not very genuine anymore. This information brought me sadness, but I found it extremely touching that Forrest's mother named him after someone she deeply cared about. I had assumed he was given his name because of the color of his eyes.

I glanced at Forrest, seeing him a little differently. I was sure that the first Forrest would have been proud knowing that someone so wonderful was carrying his name.

"Uh, anyway," Ivy jumped into the conversation, "I'll be having the spicy tuna roll. Cooked please."

"Very surprising of you to order the same thing for the five-hundredth time," Forrest muttered, his voice monotone. He gazed at the menu, giving no trace of emotion.

"Very surprising of you to have something irritating to say," Ivy rejoined mockingly.

Marites gave both of them a look of disapproval. "June, please excuse our seven-year-old children."

I laughed. "No worries." The interaction between the two siblings never failed to amuse me.

We had a bit more small talk and stole time to look at the menu. I already knew what I wanted, and Forrest ended up ordering yakisoba and gyoza. So far, things were going well, and all traces of any unease melted away.

That was before Ernesto asked, "So, June, what do your parents do?"