Jax sat at the bar of the PC Grille. He was waiting for a friend of his in the corporate raiding world to meet him. They were going to discuss a new company that looked very promising. The bartender soon approached him.

"Can I get something for you, Mr. Jacks?"

"Oh, no thanks, not right now." Jax then began to look over some contracts that he was going to discuss with James. He was so immersed in the paperwork that he was oblivious to the rest of the noise in the restaurant, that is, until he heard a familiar laugh. A female laughing. Jax turned to see Brenda across the room, and on Sonny's arm. It was the first time he had seen her since he had left for his business trip, and it was quite a shock to see her so comfortable with another man already.

Jax thought about leaving, and he almost did, but he knew that James was going to be there any moment. Jax wanted to hide. He didn't want her to see him. Why did she have to come *here*, of all places? Why the Port Charles Grille? She knew that he lived here at the hotel! Maybe she came here on purpose. Maybe she came here, hoping to run into me and show off her lover, Jax thought.

"Kevin." Jax said, calling the bartender. "On second thought, I think I will have something. Scotch on the rocks."

"You got it." Kevin brought Jax his drink, and Jax immediately started drinking, trying to somehow drown his problems.

"Jax." James said, finally arriving. "Hey, man, sorry I'm late. Rush-hour traffic, you know."

"Oh, it's fine."

"Do you have those contracts?"

"Yes, I do. I've looked over them…"

After James left, Jax was more then ready to go himself. He didn't want to spend another moment longer in that restaurant than he had to. He didn't want any run-ins with Brenda. As Jax reached for his coat, he suddenly felt someone staring at him. Jax turned around to see Brenda, standing merely a few feet away from him.

"Hi, Jax." She said softly.

Jax rolled his eyes. "What are you tired of Sonny already?"

"Jax, look, I know you're angry with me, and you have every right to be, but, I just, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

"Sorry for lying to me?"

"I thought I was being honest with you, Jax. I told you the way I felt. I'm sorry for the way I ended things. I know that must have been really hard on you and I-"

"Why did you accept my proposal?"

Brenda hesitated for a moment. "I was confused, Jax, and I didn't want to hurt you. I just wanted to make you happy. Jax, when you pulled that ring out of your pocket, I just, I couldn't bring myself to break your heart."

"Brenda, don't you realize that you hurt me more by accepting my proposal?"

Brenda was silent. She didn't know what to say. Jax grabbed the last of his things. "I hope you and Sonny have a wonderful life together." With that, Jax stormed out of the restaurant.

Chloe sat in a swing in the park, sketching a new dress by the light of the moon and some park lights. Suddenly, she heard someone approaching and smiled when she realized who it was.

"Jax!" Chloe called out to Jax before he ran off without noticing her.

Jax stopped running and turned around.

"Hey, Chloe." Jax walked over to her and sat down in the swing beside her. "What are you doing out here?"

Chloe simply showed Jax the sketch she was working on. "I was about to ask you the same question."

"Just going for a run. I'm finished for the night though."

"Jax, you never go for a run in the evening, unless something is bothering you. What's up?"

Jax picked at his fingernails for a moment, thinking about the events of the evening. "I saw Brenda. I was meeting James at the Grille, and then she walked in, sashaying around with Sonny on her arm like a trophy."

"Did she say anything to you?"

"No, not at first. I was about to leave. I wanted to get out of there before she saw me, but I was too late. The next thing I know, she was right in front of me, giving me some pathetic apology for leaving me the way she did."

"What did you say?"

"I asked her why did she accept my proposal, and she said that because she didn't want to hurt me. But then I told her that she hurt me more by lying to me about the whole thing. After that, I just wished her and Sonny a happy life together and I got the heck out of there."

"I'm sorry, Jax."

"It was just so weird seeing her, you know? She was so comfortable with him. I really must have been blind if I couldn't see how she felt about him."

Chloe reached over and touched his hand. "Hey, don't worry, you're going to get through this. You need to get your mind off of her and-you know what you need?"

"What?"

"You need closure. That's what you need."

"How do I get that?"

"You need to have a bonfire."

Jax looked at Chloe with a funny expression on his face. "A what?"

"A bonfire! No, I'm serious, hear me out. See, in college, me and my girlfriends would get together, usually on Valentine's Day if we all had no dates, or if one of us just had a really awful breakup. And we would gather all of the mementos that we had from our ex-boyfriends, you know, pictures, letters, movie ticket stubs, that sort of thing. Then, we would go out to some secluded place in the woods and we had a boyfriend bonfire!"

Jax chuckled. "Is that what you were doing that one year? You were being all secretive and you wouldn't tell me where you and your friends were going."

Chloe laughed. "Yes. We were really crazy. I burned all of Andrew Mcfee's pictures. And Kelly burned some love notes from Chad. You know, those bonfires are actually very therapeutic, especially for people like you and me who are unlucky at love."

"You know, that is a good idea. I think I'll do that, but not the bonfire part. But I do think I will throw away all the things I have around the penthouse that remind me of her."

"Good for you."

"Okay, enough about me. Let me see that sketch of yours."

Chloe handed him the sketch she had been working on. "It's for Alexis. Ned is taking her out to some new restaurant in town for a romantic dinner and she wanted something to knock him out."

"Well if she's that annoyed with him, why doesn't she just use a champagne bottle? That would be much quicker." Jax then laughed at his joke.

Chloe playfully hit him on the shoulder. "You know what I mean! She wanted something that would take his breath away, is that better?"

"Well she could use a pillow for that…" Jax went on.

"Jax! Stop it! You and your corny jokes!"

"Oh come on, admit it, Chloe. You love my jokes."

Chloe just smiled.

"Chloe, this is really good." Jax said, referring to her sketch. "You have such an amazing talent." Jax handed the sketchpad back to Chloe. "I could never draw anything like that."

"Thanks. Hey, you know what, Jax. I just thought of something."

"What?"

"Do you remember the last time we were out here, sitting in these very swings?

"Yeah I do. Wow, that sure was a long time ago."

"So, have you registered for classes yet?" Jax asked.

Chloe turned the swing so that she was facing Jax. "About that, Jax, there's something I have to tell you."

Jax started to worry. Usually when Chloe used that tone of voice, she was about to tell him something that he wasn't going to like. "What is it?"

"I'm not going to be here next semester. Or the semester after that."

"What? Why not? I know you can't be dropping out. You have a 4.0 GPA."

"Oh no, nothing like that! I'm studying abroad. In Rome actually. And Uncle Herbert, well, he set up an internship for me. I'm going to be working with Franco Kelly. He's a fashion designer who lives in Italy. And, Jax, if things work out, I might get my own design company someday."

Jax looked at Chloe. Her eyes were filled with such happiness. He loved to see her happy. "Chloe, that's great. That's wonderful news."

"I know. I'm really excited! Franco is going to show me everything. His sketches, the business aspect of the industry, backstage at his runway shows! Just think, Jax, I may be the one having the runway shows someday!"

"I'm sure you will. I'll miss you though."

"I'll miss you too, Jax. But I'll be back at PCU by the end of the year. I'll be here to graduate with you and Ned. I thought about this for a week. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure if I was going to go or not. I've decided that I am. This is the opportunity that I've been waiting for, ever since I was seven! I have to take it now or risk losing it."

Jax reached over and took Chloe's hand. "Chloe, I want you to go. I want you to take this opportunity. You're going to be a famous fashion designer someday, I have no doubt about that."

Chloe smiled and leaned over to give her best friend a hug. "Thank you, Jax."

"I really am going to miss you."

"I know. I will too. But I promise you, I'm coming back." Jax still looked sad. "Jax, it's just a year. Not even a year really, just a school year. That's less then twelve months."

"Well, what if you go to Rome, and you decide that the city is just so beautiful that you never want to leave it?"

"I'll be back, Jax."

"But Rome really is a beautiful city, Chloe. I went there with my family when I was six years old. And you wouldn't think a six-year old would remember much about a trip to Rome, but believe me, I remember every detail."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well I've never been there before. How beautiful is it?"

"It's breathtaking. There's the Coliseum, the Spanish Steps, but oh, the best sight is Trevi Fountain."

"That's the fountain where you throw a coin in and make a wish right?"

"Right, and whoever throws a coin into the fountain will return to the city sometime in their lifetime."

"Did you throw a coin in?"

"Yes."

"So you'll return to Rome someday?"

"Eventually."

"How about sooner than eventually?"

"What are you suggesting, Chloe?" Jax said, smiling.

"Jax, I just had a great idea. Why don't you come visit me in Rome for Christmas break?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun! And besides, I don't want to be all by myself. I mean, I could always fly back home for Christmas, but oh, Jax, *Christmas in Rome*! This is the experience of a lifetime! It would be so much fun if you could come and share it with me!"

"Count me in! Sounds great, I'll be there!" Jax said, grinning.

"Woohoo!" Chloe exclaimed. "I can't wait!"

"But you have to promise me something, Chloe."

"What's that?"

"You have to promise me that you'll be back. I just know that once you see how amazing Rome is, you'll never want to leave."

Chloe smiled. "Jax, don't you know by now? I could never call some place home if it wasn't near my family, or my friends, especially you."

"Christmas in Rome was really fun, wasn't it?" Chloe asked.

"It was with you."

Chloe blushed.

"See, I told you that you would make it as a fashion designer."

"Yes I did, but only because I had the complete support of all of my family and friends. Whoa, it's getting late. Walk back to the hotel?"

"Sure."

Jax and Chloe then got out of the swings. Chloe grabbed her sketchpad and they left the quiet of the park.

After Jax took a shower, he went to his bedroom and pulled out his photo album. He opened it. Practically every other picture was of Brenda. Jax pulled every single one of those pictures out and threw them in the wastebasket.

Afterwards, Jax grabbed his other photo albums. He found the pictures of him and Chloe in Rome. Most of the pictures were of them goofing off by all of the monuments. He then saw the one of them by Trevi Fountain, making a wish. A smile came to Jax's face. Chloe was so beautiful. She was tossing her coin into the fountain, her eyes closed, and a huge smile on her face. He knew Chloe's wish had come true-to be a successful fashion designer. His wish, though, hadn't come true quite yet. He wondered if it ever would. But he knew that Trevi Fountain was a magical fountain. It had made Chloe's dreams come true. Maybe his dream would come true soon as well.

To be continued...