THE LOVE WE NEVER FORGET

EPISODE FOUR

The Photograph



Julius King couldn't take his eyes off the photograph.



Six children.



Six familiar faces.



And six years of friendship that suddenly felt like a question.



He picked up the photograph from Adrian Vale's desk.



"Where was this taken?"



Adrian didn't answer immediately.



Instead, he walked toward the window.



"Do you remember your first meeting with the other five?"



Julius frowned.



"Of course I do."



"Tell me."



Julius hesitated.



"We were children."



"How old?"



"I don't remember exactly."



Adrian turned.



"That's interesting."



Julius narrowed his eyes.



"What is?"



"You remember everything about your childhood except the one thing I'm asking about."



Julius looked back at the photograph.



His fingers tightened around its edges.



"I remember meeting them."



"Do you?"



"Yes."



"Then why don't you remember where?"



Julius opened his mouth.



Nothing came out.



He tried harder.



A memory.



Anything.



A playground.



A school.



A house.



A birthday party.



But there was nothing.



Only flashes.



Six children running.



Laughter.



Music.



A woman calling someone's name.



Then darkness.



Julius suddenly felt uncomfortable.



"Why are you asking me this?"



Adrian walked back to the desk.



"Because this photograph was taken before you officially met."



Julius froze.



"That's impossible."



"Is it?"



"We grew up together."



"I know."



"We've known each other since childhood."



"I know that too."



"Then explain this."



Adrian looked directly into his eyes.



"I can't."



Julius stared at him.



"What do you mean?"



"Because I wasn't there."



The room became silent.



Adrian continued.



"I found the photograph in an old Harmonia archive."



"Why would Harmonia have a photograph of us?"



"I don't know."



"Then why show it to me?"



"Because your names were written on the back."



Julius' eyes widened.



"Our names?"



Adrian nodded.



"All six of them."



Julius looked down.



"Who wrote them?"



"I don't know."



"Then find out."



Adrian's expression hardened.



"I've been trying for years."



Julius looked up sharply.



"Years?"



Before Adrian could answer, someone knocked on the door.



"Sir?"



It was Juliet.



Julius immediately recognized her voice.



Adrian glanced toward the door.



"Come in."



Juliet entered.



The moment she saw Julius holding the photograph, she stopped.



"What happened?"



Julius quickly placed the photograph on the desk.



"Nothing."



Juliet looked at Adrian.



Then back at Julius.



"You were supposed to be talking for five minutes."



Julius glanced at the clock.



Nearly forty minutes had passed.



"I guess we had a lot to talk about."



Juliet's eyes narrowed.



She knew he was hiding something.



But she didn't push.



Not yet.



Adrian gathered the documents and placed them back inside the drawer.



"Your friends are waiting downstairs."



Juliet nodded.



"Thank you, sir."



As they walked out, Julius looked back once.



Adrian was still standing beside his desk.



Watching him.



---



The moment the door closed behind them, Juliet grabbed Julius' arm.



"What was that?"



Julius looked at her.



"What?"



"Don't do that."



"Do what?"



"Act like nothing happened."



He smiled.



"You know me too well."



"Exactly."



Julius sighed.



He wanted to tell her.



He wanted to show her the photograph.



But something stopped him.



He didn't know whether Adrian was telling the truth.



And he didn't want to scare her.



"Julius."



He looked at her.



"I'll tell you later."



Juliet frowned.



"Promise?"



He smiled.



"Promise."



She nodded.



"Okay."



They continued walking.



Neither noticed Adrian watching them from the doorway.



---



Downstairs, the others were waiting.



Jaden Knight immediately stood when he saw Julius.



"Finally!"



Joan Robbert crossed her arms.



"What took you so long?"



"Director wanted to talk."



"About what?" Jessica asked.



Julius hesitated.



"School stuff."



Jake Williams stared at him.



Jake knew that wasn't the whole truth.



But he said nothing.



Jaden suddenly clapped his hands.



"Anyway! We have bigger problems."



Joan sighed.



"What now?"



"Our first performance."



Juliet blinked.



"What?"



Jaden pulled out his phone.



"We have been assigned our first group evaluation."



Jake took the phone.



"Tomorrow?"



"Tomorrow."



Jessica groaned.



"That's too soon."



Joan smiled.



"Then we'd better start practicing."



Jaden pointed toward the rehearsal rooms.



"Exactly!"



The six friends hurried down the hallway.



For the next several hours, they practiced.



They argued.



They laughed.



They made mistakes.



They tried again.



And slowly, something beautiful began to happen.



Their individual talents started fitting together.



Jaden's rap gave the performance energy.



Joan's dancing brought movement.



Jake's production connected everything.



Jessica's voice added power.



Juliet's voice brought emotion.



And Julius' voice tied it all together.



They weren't perfect.



Not yet.



But they were becoming a team.



At sunset, they finally collapsed onto the rehearsal room floor.



Jaden stared at the ceiling.



"I can't feel my legs."



Joan laughed.



"Good."



"Why?"



"Maybe it'll stop you from dancing badly."



Jaden sat up.



"My dancing is amazing."



Everyone laughed.



Juliet looked around the room.



For the first time since they had arrived at Harmonia, she felt completely at home.



She smiled.



"We're really doing this."



Julius looked at her.



"Yeah."



Their eyes met.



Again.



That strange feeling returned.



Neither looked away this time.



Jaden suddenly cleared his throat loudly.



"Ahem."



Juliet immediately looked down.



Julius laughed.



"What?"



Jaden grinned.



"Nothing."



Joan smirked.



"Leave them alone."



"I didn't say anything."



"You didn't have to."



The room erupted with laughter.



But behind the laughter, Julius' mind remained on the photograph.



He couldn't stop thinking about it.



Six children.



Six names.



A photograph taken before they were supposed to know each other.



And Adrian Vale's strange warning.



---



That night, Julius couldn't sleep.



He sat on his bed staring at the ceiling.



Then his phone vibrated.



Unknown Number.



He frowned.



He opened the message.



There was no greeting.



No explanation.



Only one sentence.



Stop asking Adrian Vale about the photograph.



Julius sat upright.



His heart began pounding.



Another message arrived.



You don't remember what happened that day.



Julius stared at the screen.



Then another message appeared.



But Juliet does.



His blood ran cold.



He immediately called the number.



It rang once.



Twice.



Three times.



Then someone answered.



Julius didn't speak.



Neither did the person on the other end.



Finally, a distorted voice whispered:



"Ask Juliet what happened when you were children."



The call ended.



Julius stared at his phone.



His hands were shaking.



Then his eyes moved toward the photograph lying on his desk.



He picked it up.



For the first time, he noticed something he hadn't seen before.



There was writing on the back.



Six names.



But underneath them was a seventh name.



A name he had never heard before.



LUCAS VALE.



Julius stopped breathing.



Because underneath the name was a date.



The exact date...



the six friends first met.



And the date was impossible.