It'll Come Naturally

"Thank you, Justin!" the cheering crowd yelled, except for Joyce, whose expression remained somewhat dignified.

Acknowledging their appreciation, Justin shook his head, with a mixed feeling of envy for their vibrancy and being amused by their naive character. Perhaps because he was not their age anymore, he felt some difficulty in blending in with the kids. Someone had said that a generation gap could be created by a gap of merely three years. By that formulae, there were two generation gaps between him and them.

Walking out of the noisy KTV, Justin felt the night breeze softly caressing his cheeks. He felt comforted and cared. Yet, while noticing his inevitable shadow enlarged by the street lamp, he felt lonely.

"Justin, wait a minute!" Joyce called out loudly. She trotted to keep up with him as she had kept a thought hidden in the deepest layers of her heart to confess. It was a thought she'd regret for the rest of her life if she failed to convey to him today.

"What's the matter, Joyce?" Justin asked as though he was concerned. He stopped walking all at once and rendered all his attention to her.

"Well, can I talk to you for a second?" Joyce finally asked after a significant tussle inside her head.

Justin checked the time on his watch and then replied, "Yes dear, what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't like the atmosphere around here. Can we talk inside your car?" Joyce suggested. As people passed by the street, the current location didn't really suit her purpose.

"Alright then, let's go!" Justin said without much hesitation. Then, he strode towards his own car.

Joyce had to jog to keep up with his walking pace which appeared to be ironically similar to the situation of her love story. The only difference was that she managed to catch up with him eventually but she didn't know if a place in his heart remained vacant for her to occupy.

Although she had made up her mind to confess her secret crush on him tonight with much brain storming, she felt grossly uneasy when the moment had finally arrived.

She carefully walked beside him thinking of an opening line for the grand speech she had prepared mentally. Meanwhile, her cheeks blushed to the brightest shade of red.

"What do you want to talk to me about? You can begin now! I hope the atmosphere suits your preference now." Justin said in a very formal tone, draining every last bit of confidence Joyce possessed.

"Justin, what kind of girl do you like?" Finally, after facing a mighty struggle inside her, she mustered the courage to ask.

"Why did you suddenly have to ask me this question?" Justin posed a counter question out of suspicion about her intention. He had considered talking to her earlier, but he hadn't thought of the possibility of she initiating the discussion. "Because it means a lot to me!" Joyce replied slowly. She felt as if her heart was skipping too many beats altogether. She almost gasped for breath and her voice quivered.

Meanwhile, Justin had been struggling to provide an appropriate reply to the unexpected question posed before him. He eventually replied, "It is hard to say. Sometimes, the one you fall in love with may have no similarity whatsoever with your dream person because love is an instinctive feeling. Hence, it is very difficult for me to give you a ready-made answer to such a question." Although Justin had never been in love, he held a profound understanding about how it'd feel.

"Well, after hearing what you just said, I am bound to believe that I've got no chance with you, right?" Joyce asked spiritlessly. A string of assumptions and deductions kept banging her mind from the black holes of her heart. He was speaking his mind out, and she had known him for far so many years. She had never seen him depict any particular affection to her which meant that he was indirectly telling her that he had no special place for her in his heart.

"Do not put all your hopes on me, Joyce. I'm not much of a romantic. I may not be able to give you the kind of love you are longing for," Justin said, trying to come out clean before her. He felt that if he wanted her to walk out of the whirlpool of longing she had for him, he had to take a résolute, quick and effective measure, even if it turned out to be cruel to her.

"Are you trying to say that you were aware of the love I have in me for you, but you decided to keep shut about it all this while? I've had practically no effect on you, haven't I?" Joyce asked, displaying her ultimate grief. She had always believed that she'd be satisfied with an answer from him, be it a positive or negative one. Now that she had finally received the answer from him, she realized that it was his recognition she was craving for. Her eyelids turned heavy with all the emotions those tiny tears were holding.

"As far as I'm concerned, like Jasmine, you will always remain my dearest sister," Justin said gently, trying to comfort her. Seeing the tears running down on her face, he then gently wiped her tears off. He felt guilty for being the cause of those tear drops. But there was nothing he could do about it. He was in the most helpless position he'd been in his entire life.

"Can't our relationship jump another step forward?" Joyce murmured in a low voice, unwilling to give up the man about whom she had dreamed far too much so easily.

"Don't force me, Joyce. I can't

know

manufacture any love for you from inside me even if I wanted to. You very well know that I'd never hurt you if I could avoid it," Justin said grimly. It was really hard for him to say these words to her as he was aware that it'd only end up hurting her further more. But he really couldn't force himself todove her. So, instead of she keeping the flame of love for him alive, he would rather extinguish all her hopes at once. The damage had been done, he thought. Perhaps all that was left to be done was damage control.

"Well, I see! Thank you, Justin. I'll see myself out," Joyce said with whimper, trying to squeeze a smile out of her face, but her heart had been dried up of all feelings except remorse and sadness.

"No, let me drive you home!" Justin said gently. Seeing her in this devastated state, he desperately wanted to do something to make up for it.

"No, let me join them at the party. Perhaps that will give me a break from thinking about you," Joyce said, refusing his offer. Since she had lost all hopes on him, she didn't wish to be alone with him any longer.

"Okay, take care and be careful,"

Justin said earnestly. After watching

her get off his car and walk towards the KTV, Justin couldn't bring the engine to a start. He was still worried about her, or rather partly guilty As a result, he kept waiting in his car, watching the entrance of the KTV until he noticed Joyce walking out with a couple of guys. He then felt relieved and turned the ignition of the car. However, by that time, the fancy dial of his watch striked twelve indicating that a new day had just been born, and his plan to meet his friend had been grounded.

Tonight, it was Joyce's debut in drinking alcohol. Others might not know what happened to her, but Huey knew very well. After all, as her twin brother, he couldn't be more aware of her secret crush towards Justin. In this world, people might be able to coerce others to do something for them but they could never force others to love someone without it erupting by itself from their hearts.

He held her and walked her to her room. After cautiously adjusting her room temperature, he was about to leave when she stopped him.000000