I never called Rai before, so I decided to give that a try. He answered after the third ring and said,
"What do you want?" I cleared my throat and took a deep breath to avoid getting offended.
"That girl from the party that you hooked up with, Sarai... you remember her, right?"
"... Which party?" What the freak kind of lives are these boys living when I'm not around?!
"The one we were both at!" I shouted to remind him.
"Yeah." Okay, at least he remembers.
"So what happened between you two?" RJ was quiet for some time, then he finally said,
"I want to know why you care, first." I groaned.
"So... she was upset that you ghosted her, and ended up sleeping with Valin as a result. I was just hoping you would tell me why you did that." After I explained, RJ groaned and said,
"No."
Then he hung up the phone!
The nerve! I just want a complete story before I talk to Lisa.
As if she knew I was thinking about her, Lisa called me.
"Hey, can you come over for a bit... You can say no. I just want someone around in case things get out of hand."
Lisa sounded sad as she made her request, so I asked her to clarify, and she said,
"I'm asking Sarai to come over. I just want to talk to her and give her some closure, if I can. She seemed abnormal when I talked to her last, and if things get outta hand, I'd rather have a girlfriend nearby."
Friend!? I'm her friend!
Lisa has now been promoted to the position of bestie!
"Of course! I'll head over now!"
Maybe this meeting will help answer some of the questions I have, as well.
I was told to arrive a half hour before Sarai and to sit in the pantry after she arrived, with the door closed. The door was vented, so I had no issues hearing the conversation.
"Hey girl, thanks for inviting me over," Sarai said,
"Yeah, no problemo," Lisa replied with a pinch of awkwardness in her voice.
I could hear a bit of movement.
"Wow, you look so cute today," Sarai commented,
"Don't try to change the subject... why did you show up drunk and harass me and my man in a public gym?"
Wow, Lisa doesn't beat around the bush.
"I... I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say," she replied.
"I don't want an apology. I want answers. According to Valin, you came onto him trying to get info about his brother. When he didn't tell you anything, you invited him to your house, and you ended up sleeping with him instead."
Oh wow...
"... It wasn't the plan... with Jey, it was an instant attraction, but... He wouldn't reply to my messages.
So I thought sleeping with his brother would get his attention... but after being Valin, it's hard to imagine doing it with anyone else.
Believe me, I tried, and it was awful.
You told me you were seeing him, so I drank because I knew I screwed up.
With you and him...
All I talked about when I was with him was his brother...
I know he didn't realize that I'm completely over Jey... and into him now.
He won't even give me a chance to explain..." Sarai muttered.
"I see..." Lisa began, "You do realize that none of that matters now. He's not fawning over you or holding a grudge. He's with me."
I heard someone sniffle after that. I assume it was Sarai.
"I know, but I just need to have a one-on-one chat with him." Sarai pleaded tearily.
"No," Lisa stated firmly.
"If you really consider me your friend, you'll let me talk to him this once!" she demanded.
"It's not up to me... if he wants to talk to you, fine. We just started dating, so it'd be weird, but I won't stop him," Lisa retorted.
"I'm not going to try to steal him from you, I promise."
Lisa scoffed, saying,
"I know. You can't steal him from me. He's his own person; it's completely up to him what he decides to do."
Sarai then replied,
"I understand," and Lisa reluctantly handed over her boyfriend's phone number.
After that, Sarai left, and I was released from the pantry.
"So... what do you think, did I handle that well?" she whispered.
"Um... I think you were too lax on her, and more violence was necessary. Also, you shouldn't have given her his number," I noted.
It seemed like all of my criticisms struck her hard.
"You think... There might be more between them than I realized?" She asked, her eyes were close to tears.
"Definitely not," I replied and shook my head, "It's just if you ever thought of her as a friend, you wouldn't want her to suffer as much as she's about to."
I then folded my arms and thought.
Valin can be very considerate when he likes someone, and only then. He's completely inconsiderate to 99.9999% of the world.
I don't even like Sarai, and I'm worried about her.
Later, when Sarai called Valin, he fussed at her about having his number without permission. He called her out on sleeping with him just to get back at his brother.
He also called her an annoying b**ch, said she was boring in bed, threw out a few more harsh insults, hung up, and immediately blocked her number.
I found out because I was sitting at his house with Zai when she decided to call.
He didn't even bother to leave the room for the conversation, and after he hung up, he went right back to work as if nothing had happened.
From then on, she kept her distance.
I'm not sure if she was completely over Valin, but I guess it doesn't really matter.
She's too traumatized to speak to him again.
The day arrived for my photoshoot, the album was mostly finished, and only a few songs were still being edited with final touches.
I'm so excited.
Soon, my first album will be released!
We're so close now.
After all the pictures were taken, a new person entered the area.
"Oh Gianna, you're early." Samuel, the photographer, stated.
She gracefully pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled.
"Yeah, I was looking around the area and knew the appointment was soon, so I stopped by. Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Her hair was the color of gold, she had lime green eyes, a light complexion, and plump pink lips. And I can assume from the conversation that she's a celebrity of some sort.
"We were just wrapping up. You can go ahead to our stylist; her team will get you ready for the shoot," Samuel said as he pointed. Gianna smiled and bowed her head politely.
Then, as she turned to leave, she paused for a few moments.
Her mouth gaped open, and she suddenly screamed with a wide grin on her face.
"It's you! Walker!"
She was staring directly at Zai, who was standing in the corner, near the concession stand, with a confused look on his face.
She ran up to him perkily and asked,
"What are you doing here?!"
He frowned at her.
"Who are you?"
His question seemed to ruin her mood, so I approached and held his hand.
"How do you know my husband?" I inquired.
She gasped and looked at me, then him, and said,
"You're married?!... Is that why you were buying all those flowers?"
She looked crestfallen for a second, then looked at me and gave a sad smile...
"I see... your wife is very beautiful."
She still hasn't talked to me, but at least she's saying something nice.
"I'm Gianna, I'm a model that works for Poise," she said politely, finally glancing in my direction.
I have seen Poise magazines and advertisements since my return, so I know it's a big fashion agency.
Then she continued,
"I met your husband while he was out shopping... Must have been for your wedding."
I felt my face get hot.
I looked up at Zai, who was tapping his chin. He was quiet for a long while, then he said,
"Oh! I remember! You're the stalker!"
She frowned. I guess he remembers her now.
"I followed you around for one afternoon! That doesn't make me a stalker!" Gianna argued.
"It does make you creepy and annoying," Zai clarified with a smile on his face.
She pouted, and I could see her reaction begin to genuinely amuse him.
Why do I feel territorial all of a sudden?
"So what's your name?" she asked, finally paying attention to me again.
"I'm Snowe," I replied.
She squinted at me hard and then said,
"Have you ever considered modeling? You should audition to work at Poise! I can give you a recommendation!" she offered.
"No, thank you..."
Why is she being so nice?
It's a bit suspicious, and I already have limited free time with the life I have now, so I don't want to add a new job on top of it.
I barely have enough time to finish my work, between wedding planning and ... spending time with Zai.
"Well..." Before she could finish, someone yelled out her name, so she looked in their direction and then said,
"I gotta go, but Snowe, we should become friends!"
Her energy tires me out.
I don't see that friendship lasting.
Plus... it's hard to tell if she's completely given up on Zai.
When we got home, Zai handed me a letter in a golden envelope.
Do people still send paper letters? It was from IIC that I unsealed the envelope, and inside was an invitation to a wedding.
Between the Crown Prince Serco Shion and Akina Lofton...
Why was I invited?! I barely know Serco, sure, he's Smoke's brother, but that's our only connection, and Smoke and I haven't been in close contact since I time-traveled.
I gazed over at Zai...
Plus, do I want to go to another planet without him?
"I got invited to the royal wedding," I informed him.
He sat down beside me and laid his head on my shoulder to skim the letter in my hand.
"Let's go..." he said without hesitation. I gasped and said,
"You can't go to Infaniya!" That's way too dangerous.
He smirked at me, then stood up and revealed large white wings, then tilted his head and asked.
"Why not? I look pretty convincing, right?"
...
The heck?! Since when did he have those?!