Kiara spotted Cyma near the lockers, her usually bright eyes half-lidded, cheeks flushed as if she'd seen better days. She looked like she was still recovering from last night's party—or maybe something heavier.
"Hey," Kiara said softly, sidling up beside her. "You good?"she added and Cyma groaned, pressing her fingers to her temple.
"Nope. Not at all." Cyma said and Kiara raised an eyebrow.
"What happened?" She asked
" Didn't sleep well" Cyma said yawning
" Why?" She asked
" Last night was a long night" Cyma said closing her locker
" Yeah, I didn't see you at the party after you left with Morris." Kiara said and Cyma let out a long sigh.
"Argh! Don't remind me. I'm still trying to make sense of everything." she said and Kiara chuckled.
"With the way you're groaning, sounds like a full-blown hangover." Kiara said
"Maybe," Cyma admitted.
"But honestly, it's more than that. I'm just... analyzing how training is going to be. Plus, last night was a mess." Cyma added and Kiara nodded, understanding the weight behind her friend's words.
"Yeah, parties can do that. But hey, you made it through without doing anything crazy, right?" Kiara said
"Barely," Cyma said, then smirked.
"Though I almost did something stupid." she added
"Like what?" Kiara asked and cyma hesitated, biting her lip
She was thinking about telling her about Morris. But then she remembered Kiara telling her about her and Morris being clingy in the past after least thing she wants right now is to look like she is a frequent cheater. The drama with Leo just died down not long ago, she could just spare the drama.
" It's nothing important, just drank too much I guess" she said and Kiara smiled knowingly. "You know you can tell me anything, right? No judgment here." Kiara said and Cyma's eyes softened, but she shook her head.
"Thanks, Kie. It's nothing actually" she said
"So... how's it feel? Finally got your knight in shining armor?" Cyma teased, Changing the subject
"Feels pretty good, actually." Kiara laughed, the warmth returning to her eyes.
"About time." Cyma nudged her playfully.
" Here comes your own night in shinny armor" Kiara said as Tyler approached his smile a little too smooth, eyes a little hopeful. Cyma's smile faltered slightly, and Kiara caught the subtle hesitation and Kiara noticed
You okay?" Kiara asked and Cyma nodded, but her expression was clouded.
"Yeah. Just... A bit tired" she replied but Kiara knew that look, the kind that meant Cyma was carrying a secret or guilt she wasn't ready to share yet.
"Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here." Kiara said squeezing Cyma's shoulder
"Thanks, Kiara. Really. But I'm fine" cyma said
"Hey, you two," Tyler said, slipping in between them.
"Looking good this morning." he added and Kiara raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah? You trying to charm Cyma or me?" Kiara asked and Tyler grinned nervously, glancing at Cyma.
" Obviously her" Tyler said
" Yeah yeah, I would leave you two to it. See you in class" Kiara said leaving
As Kiara's footsteps faded down the hallway, Tyler turned toward Cyma with a hopeful smile. "So… maybe we can hang out at the Bakers grab a bite after school? Just the two of us?" he asked, trying to sound casual
" I mean, it's being long we've spent time together" he said and cyma made a subtle hesitation
" Tyler, I..."
" No buts. You're free, you don't have anything doing so ... Or I could come to your place" he said
" I'll see to it" Cyma gave Tyler a polite but distant look.
He stepped a little closer, lowering his voice.
"You've been off since the party, what's wrong?" he asked and Cyma swallowed hard, fighting the guilt gnawing at her as Morris passed by
"Yeah… I just can't shake this feeling, like I'm betraying someone. Like I should've done something different." she said
" Betraying someone, something different?" He asked confused
" It's from the movie I was watching last night"
"Movie?"
" Yeah"
" Since when did you start watching romcom"
" It's more of a love, betrayal stuff, you know the had a boyfriend and another guy kissed her but she cut the guy off and all. The girl was feeling guilty about it and all"
" Why was she?"
" Huh?"
" It wasnt her fault, she wast expecting the kiss and she cut him off which shows she likes her boyfriend"
" Yeah yeah, she doesn't need to fell guilty right?"
" Yeah"
" I thought the same"
" Huh?"
" I mean that's what I thought as well, about the girl"
" This isn't about the movie is it, you won't bother yourself this much over a movie"
" Um... You got me. Yeah, there's question online and anyone who answers right get a prize"
" Okay, that's like you"
" Yeah"
" Don't stress yourself for prizes, just see how you lit up when you heard my answer"
" Your answer meant a lot... Just like you mean a lot to me" she said giving him a quick peck before leaving
Vinny came to school with a thousand thoughts racing through his head. The kiss. Elena. Leo. Betrayal. Confusion. Geez!, he didn't know how to react if he sees Elena nor Jenna nor Leo. He felt like he should tell Leo, but that would cause tension between Leo and Elena. And if he doesn't tell him, he would feel he's betraying his own friend. Just then he saw Leo laughing with Elena and then he kissed her goodbye.
He turned the other way trying to avoid them but Leo sighted him from far
"Vinny! Yo!" Leo called but Vinny kept walking like he didn't hear
"What's going on with you?" Leo asked as he caught up with him
"Nothing" Vinny said
" You sure, you look so pale"
" I'm fine"
" You're sweating"
" I am not feeling too well," Vinny lied.
" You should have just rested at home"
" I can manage"
" Okay"
" You look good"
" Yeah, Elena was just talking about us doing a small few months anniversary of our relationship"
" Oh really?"
" Yeah, she's really sweet and I really think she the one"
" The one huh?, good"
" Yeah"
" You know last night after the party, we went to my dad's motel and we had a great night"
" Ummm. Great night. That's..... Good" Vinny said as guilt clawed at him as Leo went on about how amazing last night had been with Elena.
At a point, Vinny felt like he should just tell him but seeing Leo happy, he didn't want to spoil it. But he had had enough, he wanted to scream it out loud that Elena kissed him last night but he didn't know how to say it
" Vinny" Leo said bringing him back to reality
" Yes"
" What do you think?"
" About what?"
" You weren't even listening to me, were you?"
" No, I really wasn't"
" I can see, looks like something else is on your mind, what's that?. Is it you and Jenna, both of you entrance last night was epic"
" Um.... Leo, I want to tell you something you might need to know"
" What's that?"
" Last night, E..... "
" Hey" Kiara said barging into their middle
" Look who's happy, the one topping the charts" Leo whined
" Oh please, not you guys too" Kiara said as they walked to class reducing the tension in the air
Kiara leaned against the classroom window during break, pulling her phone from her blazer pocket. She smiled as Dina's name lit up the screen and hit FaceTime. The screen rang three times before Dina picked up.
Her face appeared, glowing slightly under warm light. She was curled up in bed, wearing her fuzzy blue hoodie and holding a mug.
"Well, well, well. Look who finally remembered she had a best friend," Dina said, a teasing smile on her face.
" Are you home?"
" Obviously yes"
" And why aren't you in school?"
" I'm not feeling well can't you see it writing all over my face"
" The only thing I see is a glowing clear skin that has gone through years of skincare"
" Rude"
" You feigned your illness"
" I wouldn't do such, I'm seriously not feeling well. I caught a cold" she said faking a sneeze
" Lying to your grandma is something you can do"
" Yeah, I know and she always believes it"
" I'm ashamed"
" I'm more ashamed, a lot is going on and you haven't updated me. I mean the pictures of you and Peter everywhere is almost blowing up my phone. You and Peter walking in together like royalty? The comments are unhinged. You two broke your school internet"
" Wait a minute, how do you know all these?"
" Well, I kind of logged into your chat since I know your password then I added myself to your school platform"
" Dina"
" What, you weren't keeping me updated. I had to do something to make sure you're safe"
" There's nothing I can say to you, is they?"
" That's why you love me. So tell me everything I need to know what happened at the party as well. I'm seeing steamy comments"
" Well, I and Peter are now official"
"Wait—official official? Like, holding-hands-at-school, meet-the-parents, 'he's my man now' official?"
" No, not that kind of official but partially. I mean adults don't know about it, just we kids"
" OMG!!!!!" Dina yelled and Kiara shook her head smiling
" Finally, I was rooting for Leo though"
" Leonardo is my best friend"
" So?, it's start from somewhere"
" Besides, he's dating Elena who kissed Vinny last night in front of Jenna who is surprisingly crushing on Vinny"
" You're joking."
" I'm not"
" You mean those two villains are in love with the guys from your group after all they've done to all of you. That girl planned to drug you Kiara"
" I know, but Peter feels she's a good person"
" Oh, power couple" she said rolling her eye
" We fought before last night, I thought he liked Jenna cause they were always together but they were talking about Vinny. Oh I met Kelvin, the music guy. I wasn't feeling him like that but I tried my best to but that Peter feeling was still there"
" Ohh, you've fallen in love AGAIN"
" No, I haven't"
" Oh really"
" Yeah, what's going on at home?" Kiara asked and Dina hesitated.
"Kiara… some men in black suits have been coming to your Dad's house. Something's not right." she said
" Men in black?, like the movie?"
" I'm serious, they've been showing up frequently and I tried listening to what they were talking about and all I could hear was them asking if he still handled the business?"
" Business?, they are probably his business partners or investors?"
" Kie, they don't look like investors. They look like people you can't fuck with. You can tell from their car, their aura, their look, and their deep thick voice"
" Dina, you've been watching a lot of films lately. I spoke to my dad some days back and he said he's cracked a new deal. There's no need to worry, there probably his business associate"
" You sure, they don't seem friendly"
" If something was wrong I would have known from my dad's tone but he sounded fine. Don't worry yourself"
" Kiara, what's up" cyma said said approaching
" Is that cyma?" Dina asked
" Yeah" Kiara said turning the phone to cyma
" Hey Dina" cyma said
" Looking good, I love your outfit" Dina said
" Thanks, I stole the top from kiara" cyma said
" Welcome to the club" Dina said and they both laughed
" And you're both proud of depriving me of my own property" Kiara said
" You have a lot of clothes, you can't wear it all even in a year" cyma said
" Kie said she has now officially left the single girls association" Dina said
" Yeah, our girl broke the record of finding a hot guy in just how many months?" Cyma teased
" That's her speciality" Dina said
" I'm right here you know" Kiara said
Just then the guys came into the class
" What are we missing?" Leo asked placing his head in front of the phone
" Hey" Dina said and he moved back a bit
" Damn!, you beautiful" Leo said and Dina blushed
" Don't lie to her" Kiara said
" Hy, I'm Vinny" Vinny said
" I'm Dina, I'm sure Kiara hast told you guys about me" Dina said
" Hmmm" Kiara said rubbing the back of her with her hand as she looked outside the window as everyone gaze was on her
" She didn't, I know that look" Dina said
" I'm Tyler, it's nice meeting you" Tyler said
" Leonardo" Leo said
" Yeah, I know you all. I've heard quite a lot actually" Dina said
" Truth to be told, you beautiful" Leo said
" You have a gf, remember" Tyler shrugged
" Oh, yeah. I do, but still she's beautiful. I see where Kiara gets her beauty from now"
" They're not even related" cyma said
" From Mexico" Leo whined
" He's crazy" Vinny said
" They all are" Kiara said
" Says the person who wanted to fly after she drank two bottles" Tyler said
" I was going through heart break, I was in my vulnerable state" cyma said
" When did this happen?" Leo asked
" Tha party at the lake" Vinny said
" Or when she got benched first day of training" Tyler said
" I've been there before and I'm telling you getting benched is the worst thing that could ever happen to you" Vinny said
" There was a time when we were in sixth grade, Kiara wanted to bake a cake for her dad's birthday" Dina said
" Don't say it" Kiara said
" And she ended up stuck in the oven" Dina said and everyone burst into laughter than the bell rang
" Alright, time to go" Kiara said
" I can't relate, I'm at home" Dina said
" Yeah yeah, love you" Kiara said hanging up