Javier spotted Alexandrea talking to a group of their classmates. She was wearing a pair of horn-rimmed glasses that made her look even more intelligent and sophisticated.
As he approached, Alexandrea turned to face him. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Javier, right?" she asked.
Javier nodded. "Yes."
"Hey, what's up?" Alexandrea asked.
"Alexandrea," Javier began hesitantly, "do you have any contact information for your twin sister?"
Alexandrea's expression changed from surprise to amusement. "Oh, just call me Alex," she said. "It's short for Alexandrea."
"Okay, Alex," Javier said, feeling a little more at ease. "Do you have any contact information for Andrea?"
Alex smiled. "Sure," she said. "I can give you her email address and phone number."
Javier's heart pounded with excitement. He was finally going to be able to contact Andrea again.
"Thank you, Alex," he said. "I really appreciate it."
Alex handed him a piece of paper with Andrea's contact information written on it. "No problem," she said. "I'm glad I could help."
Javier tucked the paper into his pocket and smiled. He was one step closer to finding out what had happened to Andrea and why she had left him.
Javier was about to leave when a tall, imposing figure entered the room. It was Yuan, the most popular guy in school. He walked straight over to Alexandrea and started talking to her, completely ignoring Javier.
Javier watched them in confusion. He knew that Yuan was Alexandrea's friend, but he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Yuan was everything that Javier wasn't: confident, outgoing, and athletic.
"Do you guys know each other?" Javier finally asked.
Yuan turned to him, his eyes cold and dismissive. "Yeah," he said. "We're friends."
"He had mistakenly called me as well," Alexandrea explained.
"You seemed close to each other," Javier observed.
Yuan snorted. "We're just friends," he said.
Javier frowned. He could tell that there was more to it than that. But he didn't know what.
Javier's heart pounded with anticipation as he opened his laptop and launched his email. He had saved Andrea's contact information as a draft, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to send her an email yet.
He stared at the blank email screen for a long time, his mind racing. What should he say to her? How should he start?
He wanted to tell her everything: how much he had missed her, how he had never stopped loving her, and how he wanted to get back together. But he was afraid of what she would say. What if she didn't want to see him again? What if she had moved on?
Javier took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needed to be brave. He needed to tell Andrea how he felt.
He opened his eyes and started typing.
"Andrea," he wrote. "I know it's been a long time, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. I miss you more than words can say."
Javier paused and reread what he had written. It was too simple, too bland. It didn't capture the depth of his feelings for Andrea.
He erased the text and started over.
"Andrea," he wrote. "My love for you is like a raging inferno. It burns bright and hot, even after all this time. I can't imagine my life without you."
Javier hesitated again. Was this too much? Was he being too forward?
He decided to risk it. He clicked the "send" button and waited.
His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for a reply. Would Andrea answer his email? Would she want to see him again?
Only time would tell.
Javier sat on his bed, gazing out the window of his condo. His mind drifted back to the conversation he had witnessed between Alexandrea and Yuan. They had seemed so close, so familiar with each other.
Javier couldn't help but wonder if they were boyfriend and girlfriend. He felt a pang of jealousy.
He imagined Alexandrea and Yuan together, laughing and talking, holding hands. He imagined them kissing, their lips pressed together in a passionate embrace.
Javier felt a lump in his throat. He knew that he should try to move on from Andrea, but it was so hard. He still loved her so much.
And now, he had to worry about Yuan too.
Javier chided himself mentally. "Javier, that was Alexandrea," he reminded himself. "Andrea's twin sister."
But why did he feel so jealous of Yuan getting close to her? It was Andrea, his ex-girlfriend, who he still loved. So why did he feel threatened by Yuan's attention to Alexandrea?
Could it be that he was afraid of losing Alexandrea too? After all, she was Andrea's twin sister. Surely they shared many of the same qualities.
Javier sighed and rubbed his temples. He was so confused. He didn't know what to do.
Javier's gaze turned to his laptop, his heart sinking when he saw that there was no new email. He had been waiting anxiously for a reply from Andrea, but there was nothing.
He felt like he had been punched in the gut. He had been so hopeful that she would want to talk to him again, but it seemed like he was wrong.
Javier sighed and rubbed his temples. He didn't know what to do. He had tried everything he could think of to get in touch with her, but nothing had worked.
He was starting to lose hope.
Javier was about to collapse into bed, exhausted from the day's events, when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID and saw that it was his mom. He groaned inwardly. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone right now.
But he knew that he couldn't ignore her, so he answered the phone.
"Hey, Mom," he said.
"Hi, honey," his mom replied. "How's it going?"
Javier hesitated. He didn't want to bring up the fact that he was still struggling to get over Andrea, or that he was starting to lose hope of ever getting back together with her.
"It's going okay," he said. "Just busy with school."
"Oh, I see," his mom said. "Well, don't forget to take care of yourself, okay?"
"I won't," Javier promised.
"So, how's the Academy of Justice going?" his mom asked. "Are you still enjoying it?"
Javier sighed. He knew that he couldn't lie to his mom. She was his biggest supporter.
"It's tough," he admitted. "But I'm managing."
"That's all we can ask for," his mom said. "Just remember to keep working hard, and you'll be fine."
Javier smiled. "Thanks, Mom," he said. "I appreciate it."
He hung up the phone and took a deep breath. He knew that his mom was right. He needed to keep working hard, and eventually things would get better.
But for now, he just needed to get some sleep.