After that incident, he started avoiding me again.
I didn't tell Zinnia about this.
"Everyone, you have a group project, and I've decided the groups!" my science teacher announced.
Oh no, what would I do now? Zinnia is not good at science, and I don't have any other friends… dammit.
I said with a weird expression.
"Rose, Riven, Steve, and Ella—you are in the same group," my teacher said.
"Oh no, Steve and I are in the same group? What's happening? He didn't even talk to me after that incident…" I said.
Rose said, "We are meeting at a café near Mall Road at 4 PM for the group project discussion. Don't be late."
"Okay," I said.
I entered the café and saw Steve already sitting on the couch.
"Hey, everyone," I greeted.
Everybody greeted me back, but Steve ignored me.
It took four hours for our project discussion to end.
Riven had already left 30 minutes ago.
Now it was just the three of us.
"Okay guys, we will continue this tomorrow," Rose said.
She left, as her house was just near the café.
The weather wasn't good—it was about to rain, and it was almost 8:30 PM. I was waiting for my cab outside the café, but then the stupid cab driver canceled my ride.
"Oh no, dammit!" I screamed in anger.
"Do you need help?" Steve asked.
"Not at all. I don't need any help from you."
"Yes, of course. Why would you need my help? Okay then, I'm leaving," Steve said.
I didn't reply.
It started raining.
Steve stopped and waited for the rain to stop. He was standing just beside me, but we were not talking. We couldn't even go back to the café because it closed at 8:30.
My phone's battery was dead, and I was worried because it had already gotten late. I asked Steve for his phone so that I could call my mom and inform her.
He gave me his phone without any hesitation.
I called my mom and told her, "I'll be late. I'll come as soon as the rain stops."
Then again, the same silence.
The rain stopped after 40 minutes. He went to his bike and asked,
"Are you sure you want to stand here till morning, Ella? I can give you a ride."
I had no other choice.
I sat on his bike and said, "Fine, drop me."