-Tristan-
I should apologize to Kylie.
She must've been very upset with the way I'd approached her some time ago, becau se it had led her to turn her back on me completely. Every time I tried to wave at her or do anything to get her attention, she would flip out; she wouldn't tur n in my direction, either, so maybe I'd scared her deeply. I guess I shouldn't h ave brought that question to her, but I'd just jumped into action so fast, I had n't taken my brain with me. My mind was kinda messed up.
How long will she stay angry with me?
Thinking too much could probably make your thoughts become real, because as we g uys were heading on the locker area, the first person I saw in the crowd was her . She was leaning against her locker, books clutched in her arms as she stared a t the floor.
I guess this was the right time to talk to her.
I was about to approach her when she suddenly turned her head in my direction. L ittle by little, a grin grew on her face as she started to walk towards me, and I smirked. Just as I'd thought-she really couldn't handle missing me.
I raised a hand and said, "Hi!"
Out of the many things I could have said to her, why did it have to be 'hi'? But no one could blame me-I was already tongue-tied, I couldn't move, and I couldn' t look away from her.
"C-can we uh..." I stuttered. "Can talk for a sec-"
Then she passed by me as if I were invisible.
What the hell?
"Dude, she burned you bad," Clark said, laughing.
"Shut up," I grumbled. Of course, I should've expected Kylie would never be nice to me that easily.
I spun around, and my fists impulsively clenched when I saw that she was heading towards Erik. The smile on her face was something I hadn't seen for a long time , and the worst part was, she was giving it to him. Then again, I couldn't be su re, but... I had a feeling she was faking it, seeing as the smile didn't reach h er eyes.
Something's not right here...
When Kylie wasn't looking, Erik turned his head in my direction and smirked dece itfully before blending in with the rest of the crowd.
My eyes blazed. Dashing towards him, I pulled back my fist, but before it could even hit him, the guys had already fastened me in place and were preventing me f rom making any movements.
At the same time, Kylie whirled around and cried out in shock, "Tristan, what ar e you doing?"
"T, what's with you?" Ryo exclaimed as he outstretched his arms to block my path .
"Dude, calm down," Grey said, tightening his grip on my shoulder before I could bolt again. I struggled against the guys; my intense eyes providing a stark cont rast to Erik's unemotional ones. Grey only continued to block me, saying, "Whate ver this is, stop it before the teachers spot you."
The guys finally released me when I shoved them away. I noticed that the brawl h ad made the other students stop in their tracks and watch us-gossip was spreadin g almost immediately between them, but that didn't matter much to me.
I grabbed Kylie's arm and pulled her closer to me, irritably saying, "I should b e the one asking that. What are you doing, Kylie? How many times do I have to I tell you-"
She pulled away with surprising force, and my face went rigid as I stared at her . She was absolutely angry, and as always, she'd put the blame on me.
"Whatever I do, wherever I go, it's not supposed to be any of your business, Tri stan," she forced out through gritted teeth. Her face was as red as a ripe tomat o, showing that she was embarrassed by everyone's attention. "Can you please sto p now? Just... just leave me alone."
I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself. "Fine. It's your choice. I don 't care what happens to you." I glared at Erik, but the bastard just gave me an oblivious look. Oblivious, my ass.
Kylie let out a laugh, but it sounded sour in my ears. "That's what I've been as king from you for a long time," she said, taking a few steps backwards. "When di d I ask you to be my bodyguard? Never, right? Thank God you finally came to your senses." With that, she turned her back on me and walked away.
"Take a chill pill, T," Erik said with a malevolent grin before jogging after he r.
Everyone else dispersed in a snap the moment I glared at them. The chatter still went on, but it was gradually receding; others gaped at me as they cleared the way, as if I'd just lost my mind. I'd never been the type to start school fights or anything, but this time was different-it seemed like the strong feelings of mine had been taking control, and I hadn't been able to help it.
Seeing Erik reminded me of something I'd overheard from a long time ago, and I w anted to beat the shit out of him because of it, because of his words. I'd kept it to myself since that day, though-I didn't want Kylie to get hurt.
But if I told her about Erik from the past, would she still be hanging around wi th him, or would she hate me even more?
Stupid girl. When will she listen to me?
"Is he all right?" I heard Clark whisper unsteadily from behind me.
"Yeah, he's fine," Grey said calmly, as if he knew what he was talking about. Bu t then again, he was always like that. He let out a snort, seemingly amused desp ite what had happened. "Just seething with jealousy."
-Kylie-
Why did my heart feel so bad?
This was supposed to be my chance to free myself finally from him. I was already sick and frustrated with our stupid fights, his attitude, his thoughtlessness, the way we treated each other, everything. So I was ignoring him, and I should h ave been feeling glad because of it-I wanted him to feel bad inside, like knives were slicing through his chest, because that didn't even compare to what I'd be en feeling for a long time.
Mission "Stop-Acknowledging-Tristan's-Presence" was somehow working, which I'd l earned when his face had gone all pale and aghast a moment ago. I should have ju st been happy, but I felt... terrible at the same time.
Goddammit, why do I care, anyway?
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
"I've had enough!" I wailed as I slammed my tray onto the table.
From the other side, Julianne automatically looked up from her sub sandwich with startled eyes. "What in the world? Really, Kylie, I'm eating here. Stop ruining my concentration," she complained before taking another bite.
Fuming, I settled into my seat and began stabbing the meatballs in my spaghetti with a fork. "His attitude is so rotten. If he does that again, I swear I'm goin g to slap his man boobs so hard it'll give him breast cancer."
Julianne choked on her orange juice and coughed a couple times. "Oh, my God," sh e muttered, wiping her mouth with a tissue. "Of all the greatest threats, that i s by far the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. What did he do to you, anywa y? You've practically been breathing fire all morning. Oh, wait, wait-did Trista n finally find out...?"
"No, it's not that!" I shrieked. "He made a freaking scene in front of the whole student body, Jules. Tristan attempted to attack Erik! If his friends hadn't go tten there in time to stop him, there definitely would've been a bloody riot."
"Oh, darn, I can't believe I'm the last person to know about this. I wish I'd se en the actual thing," she said, shaking her head.
I frowned at her remark. "So you'd have an addition for your gossip column?"
"Not only that," she said casually, as if she couldn't care less. "I wanna sell popcorn to the audience."
"I should get an award for Most Embarrassing Moment of the Year," I said with a frustrated sigh. "That jerk has definitely lost his mind. Why would he want to a ssault Erik? As far as I know, Erik hasn't done anything bad to him. I don't eve n know how to explain it-Tristan's being so unreasonable!"
Gulping down her sandwich, Julianne answered, "Maybe it's because of you."
"What do you mean?" I deadpanned.
"C'mon, let's be serious. There are guys who act aggressive like that when they see other guys around the girl they're into, even though they can't just be hone st about it to the actual girl," she stated matter-of-factly.
My jaw fell. What? What was that? My thoughts were getting sluggish, and a few d ecades later, I put on my poker face and asked, "A-are you trying to say that Tr istan likes me?"
Julianne dropped her sandwich on the plate and started a slow clap. "Hallelujah, at last!" she cried in awe. "Oh Heavenly Father, Buddha, Jesus Christ, thank yo u so much for knocking some sense into my friend's head! She's finally thinking! "
My brain practically exploded out of its skull.
"Jeez, Julianne, you're exaggerating things! Stop with the drama." I scowled. "T hat's not the reason, it's-it's impossible! Extremely impossible!" I smacked my hand to my face. That was the most outrageous thing I'd heard in my life!
"The one who refuses the obvious is as foolish as the one who accepts the lie, K ylie. Please remember that."
I leaned over the table and said mockingly, "Wow, Jules, you're so deep, I can't even see-"
"Shut up."
"Fine," I replied, straightening up with a grimace. Hah, I still wouldn't believ e her. Tristan? Liking me? That was a huge freaking joke! "Senseless. Childish. Damn it, who the hell does he think he is?" I suddenly bellowed, flailing my han ds like a disturbed chicken.
Julianne heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Now, now. Calm down, girl. Your lun ch is getting cold."
I looked down and saw my meatballs had been poorly mashed by my stabbing. My app etite suddenly disappeared, and I rested my chin in my hands and groaned, "Let's just stop talking about this, okay? It makes me want to pull out my own hair." So much for the day's series of unfortunate events.
"Hey, girls. Mind if I join you two?" said a cheerful voice, interrupting my tho ughts. My half-shut eyes grew larger when I noticed Erik was standing beside our table, his hands casually buried in his jeans pockets.
Julianne's mouth turned into an O, and she raised an eyebrow at me.
My head shot up, and I stammered, "Uh, no, it's cool. Have a seat."
"Oh, wait guys, I gotta leave you two for a moment," Julianne said quickly, stan ding up.
I flashed an alarmed look at her. "Where are you going?"
"Uh, I'm going to get a drink!" she said uncertainly and took off without waitin g for my protest. That girl! I knew she was lying, since her orange juice was st ill half-full. What she meant was that she was going to leave Erik and me alone!
Erik sat at Julianne's place, and when he smiled, I forced myself not to cover m y face. This was so awkward.
We remained in silence before I cleared my throat and said, "Oh, um, sorry about Tristan's behavior earlier. I don't know what got into him or why he did that t o you. Yeah, I know what he did was very embarrassing, and I'm sorry again."
I didn't know why I was suddenly apologizing on Tristan's behalf when he was the one who was supposed to make an apology. But whatever-that guy would never be s orry towards Erik, anyway.
"No," Erik said in a serious tone that made me stop. I blinked several times, tr ying to figure out what he meant by that. Is he angry? But then he chuckled, and I was a little relieved. "It's all right, Ky. You shouldn't be sorry, since it' s not your fault. Maybe he's-" he shrugged, crossing his arms on the table "-hav ing problems of his own, I guess, and he's venting it out. I'm not sure."
I exhaled and said, "Well... maybe. That guy has problems controlling his temper sometimes."
"C'mon, Kylie," Erik chirped. "Smile! Don't let it ruin the rest of your day. Yo u're too cute to be sad."
I snorted a laugh.
He shook his head as he chuckled under his breath. "Look, uh..." He paused, hesi tating, but then said the thing I least expected: "I know you're still feeling d own, so I'm planning to, uh, take you somewhere after school...? If you're not b usy or anything, that is."
My mind was still processing what he'd said. I stared at him for a couple of min utes, then stammered, "W-what? You... you're asking me out?" Were my ears tricki ng me? Or was I simply hallucinating?
Erik rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes shifting back and forth. "I know it's sudden, but... yeah, you know, just to chill out, take a break from stuff, and talk. Uh, and besides, it's the least I can do to hopefully make you feel better ."
"Ah," I said in realization. For goodness' sake, he meant it as a friendly date just to help me cheer up, and nothing more.
My mind was reeling with pictures of how things were supposed to be happening, a nd that was what had mostly screwed me up in life. I knew I looked like I'd just been offered a house and lot package, since what he'd said was something I didn 't usually hear every day, and yeah, I sucked for taking it the wrong way. Why d id I have the tendency to think and expect too much? I needed to take note of th at.
"But if you're busy with something, it's cool, I understand. I can-"
"Okay," I just blurted out. I felt a sudden churning in my stomach when I realiz ed what I'd said, but I couldn't take it back now, especially since Erik was let ting out a sigh of relief, like he was really looking forward to it.
"Awesome," he said brightly. "Then I'll pick you up after school, okay?"
I nodded, forcing my lips to curl upwards.
Erik was about to speak when a tweeting sound emerged out of nowhere, making us blink in surprise. He patted his pockets and fished out a vibrating phone. "Sorr y, I got a call," he said, grinning.
I signaled for him to go ahead, and he got up from the seat as he lifted the pho ne to his ears and answered it. When he was finally out of sight, I buried my fa ce in my palms-wherever Tristan was, I could sense his heavy gaze on my back, an d it made me feel even worse. God, why was Julianne taking so long, anyway?
There was a possibility I was now paranoid.
Why did everything feel so bewildering?