And ever since then, she never came back.

Every lunch break in the past week he had waited for her at the rooftop, yet he never caught sight of her, not even a shadow. He knew his statement had affected her, and the expression she wore on her face that day bothered him so much that he wished he could take back what has already been said.  With each passing day the unsettling feeling he had in the pit of his stomach intensified and he now constantly lived with a permanent frown etched on his face. He was feeling  guilty, an emotion so foreign to him it might as well come from another planet.

He looked up from the difficult Math question and straight into her mass of curly hair, a silent sigh escaping his lips. He had tried countless times to start a conversation with her in class, but he never got passed the awkward stuttering. Not to mention, the look she would throw at him if he so much as came within touching distance was enough to make him turn back and return to his seat.

He didn't know what was happening to him. The need to explain himself was so suffocating that if he did not do something soon, he might as well just announce to the whole school he was stark mad in his underwear. He knew he should apologize, but what does that even mean? And what could he say so she would stop staring daggers at him? His mind recalled their last conversation, and he inwardly groaned.

But you’re nobody to me.

The precise reason why he never opened his mouth. He was thinking of something else, but why did something else come out? When he talked, he was as straight as a pencil. He couldn't tell a lie, he could hardly even give a compliment. He was never one to beat around the bush, always opting for straight-forward, honest truth. He just wished honest truth that he sprouted came from his mind, and not his impulse.

When the bell finally rang for lunch break, he stood up from his seat. Taking in several deep breaths, he mustered just enough courage to walk up to her, grabbed her hand and dragged her along with him to the rooftop, no doubt amidst the obvious whispering of his classmates. Being in someone else’s presence was peculiar to everyone else, but in his own opinion, it was even more so to him.

She protested and tried to pry his hand from her wrist, but that only made him tighten his grip as they ran in the hallway. Low profile was not what he aimed for at the moment and he couldn't care less what the school thought of him.

He finally let go when they reached the rooftop and she turned the same dagger throwing eyes at him, her expression murderous.

“What the freaking hell?” She hissed through tight lips. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He shifted on the spot uncomfortably, at a loss for words. He had brought her to the rooftop, but then what? Now what? The little voice in his head was screaming at him to apologize, but how was he to begin?

After a while of silent thinking, he at last glanced at her and in an instant, the one word he wanted to utter left his mouth.

“Sorry.”

She scoffed while she crossed her arms, her eyes never leaving his face. “You obviously have never apologized to anyone before right?”

He raised his eyebrow at her, briefly wondering if he had said the wrong thing. ‘Sorry’ was what people usually say when they want to apologize right? So what was the matter with his ‘sorry’?

She studied the range of emotion fleeting across his face before rolling her eyes in clear exasperation. “When people say sorry, they usually say it with sincerity. You just sound like a freaking robot, which you probably are. Who knows...”

She brushed against his shoulder in an attempt to reach the door that would lead her back to the crowded hallway when he once again grabbed hold of her hand, preventing her from taking another step. He was trying here, couldn't she see that? Couldn't she detect how difficult and uncomfortable the situation was for him? Human contact was never his strong forte, couldn’t she see the effort he was putting in to actually make it work? Though it still baffled him as to why he was making such an effort. She barely even knew him.

He his dry lips in preparation for his next statement before he focused his eyes on her once more.

“I’m sorry.” He tried again. “I didn't mean what I said. I’m not used to... talking to other people. I’m 5zic by the way.”

“Why?” She whispered softly.

“Why what?” He questioned her, furrowing his brow.

“Why are you not used to talking to other people?” She asked again.

He shrugged and turned away from her agonizingly beautiful face. His hands were trembling, as if he had exhausted all his energy on that one simple line of apology. He had done what was required of him, now he wished to be alone and hoped she was smart enough to recognize that he no longer wanted to talk to her.

“I hope... you’ll get used to talking to me. You look like you really need a friend.” She said, placing a gentle hand on his arm. “And uhh, apology accepted.”

When she finally left him alone, he thought the stupid strange smile gracing his face would leave him too. How was he to know it would last the whole day?

Friend. The word echoed over and over again in his head. When he finally dozed off later that night, he had come to a conlusion that maybe having a friend wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Maybe then, his world would not be so lonely.  

Chapter Posted on: Mar. 16. 2014

OMG, so sorry for this super late update! I didn't how to continue the story! T_T Hopefully I still have my readers around! =( Sorry again! Enjoy! Hope you guys like this chapter!