"You all seem to know my BOYFRIEND," Selena suddenly said, and I... fuck it, I give up; yeah, I give up trying to pretend this isn't happening anymore. The inevitable was always gonna catch up to me eventually, right? At this point, I can't keep running from her, and honestly... I NEED her now if I want to survive whatever shitstorm is coming. She's already painted this massive fucking target on my back with that whole protective display earlier, basically announcing to everyone that we're together, and trust me, plenty of people are gonna have problems with that. And now she's gone and made it public, right in front of my childhood enemies, no less, telling everyone she's my girlfriend... and worst of all, she said it in front of that absolute psycho Eloisa.
That bitch is definitely planning something, and that something is probably gonna involve trying to kill me in the most creative way possible. So yeah, my only shot at staying alive right now is sticking close to Selena. She's stronger than all these bitches combined so i shouldn't be scared as long as she's here... god, that sounds so fucking pathetic when i say it out loud, but what else can i do? it's not like i asked to be born this weak and useless... i mean, i could always merge with my blessing but... that would eventually cost me my sanity, and what's the point of having power if i lose my free will in the process? Power i can't even control properly. I'm basically stuck between a rock and a hard place, except the hard place is actually just a bigger fucking rock.
"Wait... she's really your girlfriend?" Ariana looked directly at me, and even though she was trying her best to seem calm and collected, she was obviously failing miserably at hiding how upset she was. The girl was straight up pissed, and it was written all over her face.
Look, i'm not some dense fucking idiot who can't read social cues, i've always known she had feelings for me, but... i honestly thought she would've gotten over it by now, you know? Guess i was wrong about that one. Maybe it's those lingering romantic feelings mixed with whatever hatred she's built up over the years that makes this whole situation even worse... i just really hope she doesn't eventually turn into some creepy stalker or something.
"Yes," i responded with what i hoped looked like a genuine smile, reaching up to touch Selena's cheek affectionately. Her face immediately turned even redder than before... if that's even physically possible, and then she snuggled deeper into my arms like some content kitten.
"Ugh, how did it happen?" Ariana asked, her voice dripping with annoyance. Jesus christ, could she be any more obvious about how jealous she is right now?
"It was love at first sight... she completely blinded me with her beauty," i said, putting on my trademark boy standing dramatically on a cliff look while shaking my head like i was some enlightened philosopher contemplating the mysteries of the universe.
"Wow, that's... that's actually pretty deep," Silver just had to open his mouth and comment, because apparently he can't read a room to save his life.
"That's... that's completely insane... why would anyone actually agree to date you?" Ariana seemed to be getting more pissed off about this whole situation than literally anyone else here, which was honestly kind of concerning.
"Ariana," i said her name slowly, waiting until she looked directly at me before continuing, "She IS my girlfriend, and if you have some kind of problem with that... well, that's your cup of tea to deal with." The veins on her forehead immediately started popping out like she was about to have an aneurysm or something.
"Hi there, i think we might have gotten off on the wrong foot earlier, my name is-" Rizel, completely oblivious to the thick tension in the air, decided this was somehow the perfect moment to try introducing herself properly.
"I don't care," i said simply, cutting her off mid-sentence without even looking in her direction.
"...Bruh, that's... that's just cold, man," Silver muttered under his breath, and honestly, fuck Silver for making me feel bad about it.
"...Okay then," Rizel replied quietly and just started eating her food in uncomfortable silence.
"...Ryan," i heard my name and looked over to see Eloisa staring at me with those unsettling eyes of hers.
Here it comes, whatever twisted game she wants to play now.
"Can i tell you something private?" she asked sweetly, though her smile made my skin crawl. I frowned but nodded anyway, because what choice did i really have?
She started leaning forward across the table, and i immediately narrowed my eyes, recognizing exactly what she was trying to do. I glanced back at Selena, but she was still all smiles and seemed completely lost in our embrace, totally unaware of the psychological warfare happening right in front of her. I didn't lean in like Eloisa obviously wanted me to, but when she saw my resistance, her smile only grew wider and more predatory. Then she casually passed a folded piece of paper across to me and said in that sickeningly sweet voice, "You're really going to want to read that."
I picked up the paper with trembling fingers, unfolded it, and saw what was written inside. My entire mind just... froze. Everything around me seemed to stop moving as those four words burned themselves into my brain: "Her name was Renay."