then no one can
the unknown Daiyu and Jb were eating lunch with me when Bambam came over to our table. I was thankful for his intervention because being the third wheel on a daily basis was beginning to get tiring.
"Bambam!" my cousin exclaimed tearing away from Jb.
"Hi," Bambam replied sitting down with his lunch tray. It was only when he looked at me that I knew something was wrong. I gave him a confused look.
"Uh, Maya I need to ask you a question," he said slowly.
"Go ahead," I smiled. "You weren't with Mark yesterday when you left from the library the other day, were you?"
I could feel Jb and Daiyu staring at me. It was just a white lie but I felt terrible with the realisation that I'd lied to Bambam. I didn't understand myself why I felt the need to lie, it was perfectly acceptable to be friends with a person of the opposite . Even if you so happened to find that boy slightly attractive.
"No, I wasn't."
"Why did you lie to me, I thought we were friends?" Bambam said softly.
I looked at my friend guiltily. He tried to show an expression of indifference on his face, but I could see his eyes were sad.
"It's not that serious, Bambam," Jb stated.
"No, Bambam is right. There was no need to lie to him, Maya," Daiyu scolded.
I played with my jjimdak, suddenly losing my appetite. "I know, and I'm sorry. How did you even find out Bambam?"
"Bambam!" my cousin exclaimed tearing away from Jb.
"Hi," Bambam replied sitting down with his lunch tray. It was only when he looked at me that I knew something was wrong. I gave him a confused look.
"Uh, Maya I need to ask you a question," he said slowly.
"Go ahead," I smiled. "You weren't with Mark yesterday when you left from the library the other day, were you?"
I could feel Jb and Daiyu staring at me. It was just a white lie but I felt terrible with the realisation that I'd lied to Bambam. I didn't understand myself why I felt the need to lie, it was perfectly acceptable to be friends with a person of the opposite . Even if you so happened to find that boy slightly attractive.
"No, I wasn't."
"Why did you lie to me, I thought we were friends?" Bambam said softly.
I looked at my friend guiltily. He tried to show an expression of indifference on his face, but I could see his eyes were sad.
"It's not that serious, Bambam," Jb stated.
"No, Bambam is right. There was no need to lie to him, Maya," Daiyu scolded.
I played with my jjimdak, suddenly losing my appetite. "I know, and I'm sorry. How did you even find out Bambam?"
"-Are you going to eat that?" Jb interrupted, recognising my loss of appetite. I shook my head which signalled to Jb that he could eat the rest of it.
"Mark came looking for you, and I had to lie to him and say you were with Jinhee," Bambam stated impatiently.
"He came looking for me?" I asked.
"Yes," Bambam replied, "but that's beside the point. Who were you with?"
"I was with Jackson," I replied honestly.
"Jackson?!" Jb and Bambam asked in unison. Daiyu hit her forehead, looking at me and mouthed 'why didn't you tell me?'
"Jackson as in Jackson Wang, the guy in our friendship group?" Jb asked, his mouth opened wide.
"Yes, and if I'm going to be completely honest we also went out yesterday," I said.
"Mark came looking for you, and I had to lie to him and say you were with Jinhee," Bambam stated impatiently.
"He came looking for me?" I asked.
"Yes," Bambam replied, "but that's beside the point. Who were you with?"
"I was with Jackson," I replied honestly.
"Jackson?!" Jb and Bambam asked in unison. Daiyu hit her forehead, looking at me and mouthed 'why didn't you tell me?'
"Jackson as in Jackson Wang, the guy in our friendship group?" Jb asked, his mouth opened wide.
"Yes, and if I'm going to be completely honest we also went out yesterday," I said.
"You went out yesterday?" Bambam asked in surprise.
I nodded in response. "Daiyu saw us last night, I thought she would've told you."
"I don't tell these guys everything you know," she huffed.
Jb finished shovelling some chicken into his mouth. "What about Mark? You two seemed pretty close at Mun's house."
I looked at my hands for a moment before saying "We all did dares on that night. Why is mine and Mark's dare the one everyone chooses to remember?"
"Lets stop playing here Maya. So what's going on with you and Jackson now?" Daiyu asked, exasperated. I assumed my cousin was getting tired of all the drama developing over the past weeks.
"Nothing, we've just become friends."
"I don't mean to in, but you've been using the whole 'we're friends' line a lot, Maya," Jb stated.
"Who told you that?" I asked defensively.
Jb pointed to Daiyu who shrugged her shoulders in response.
"So you like Jackson and Mark?" Bambam clarified.
"I don't like either more than a friend," I lied. Admittedly, I was unsure how I felt about Mark. But they didn't have to know that, it would just create more speculation.
"Yeah, right," Daiyu scoffed, rolling her eyes. I kicked her under the table, which made her whelp in pain.
"If you didn't like Mark, you would've walked away when he tried to kiss you the first time," Bambam pointed out. I blushed in embarrassment, forgetting that Daiyu had told him and most probably the rest of the boys about the Mark incident.
"I don't like him."
"So you like Jackson?" Daiyu asked.
"No, I've only got to know him! His bipolar attitude is a bit weird too," I said.
"What do you mean?"
I thought for a minute. "Well take yesterday for example, he was kind of...intense one minute and then shy the next. And he got uncomfortable at me doing certain things. Not to mention his sulky attitude at Mun's. Then other times he acts confident and cocky."
Jb, Daiyu and Bambam all looked at one another. My cousin then whispered something into Jb's ear.
"I think she likes him and vice versa," Jb said to Bambam who nodded in agreement.
"But Mark is still in the situation. Two guy friends and one girl is a pretty awkward situation. Especially when they're all our friends," Bambam said honestly.
They spoke for a few more minutes before I interrupted. "Can you all stop talking about me like I'm not in the room?"
"You're going to have to choose: Jackson, Mark or none of them," Jb and Daiyu agreed.
I rolled my eyes. "In fact, let me do you a favour." I stood up from the table and before Daiyu could protest, I left the lunch hall.
I needed to clear my head. I had come to school to learn and instead I was now carrying the burden of two boys and drama, as well as a lot of friends who knew each other's business.
I was walking at full speed down the corridor when I bumped into someone. It was Mark, just my luck.
He looked smart in his school blazer and shirt. Although his shirt was ed. His hair was styled with gel and I could easily say he appeared better than the last time I saw him. He was wearing an earring similar to Jb's in his left ear. He looked close to perfect, and then I realised it was about time to stop gawking at him from head to toe.
"Maya," Mark said in shock, "I haven't seen you in so long."
"Yeah...since Mun's," I replied in a light tone. I tried to hide the annoyance in my voice, but I knew Mark had heard it.
"Yeah...since Mun's," I replied in a light tone. I tried to hide the annoyance in my voice, but I knew Mark had heard it.
He scratched the back of his neck, signifying his awkwardness.
"Can we talk?" Mark asked.
"I've really got to go. Maybe some other time," I said walking past him slightly. He proceeded to grab my arm discretely; as the corridor was fairly full and lead me out to the closest exit.
We were outside in the empty area behind the main school building.
"Mark, what is there you need to say to me?" I sighed, "I'm tired and I just want to go home."
He stepped closer to me and proceeded to pull me in for an awkward hug. I looked around slightly to see if anyone was around, but we were alone. "Where have you been? I've missed you," Mark whispered into my hair.
I reluctantly took a step back, so I was no longer in reach.
"Where were you yesterday?" He asked in a low, husky voice, the side of my face with his thumb.
"With Jackson," I replied honestly. In an instant Mark's eyes flashed from soft to angry, dropping his hand from my face like I'd burnt him. Maybe he was jealous, I thought. The idea strangely satisfied me, which resulted in me having to hide a slight smirk.
"So you decided to fall into that trap."
"I'm not falling into any trap, I've already told you that I don't like him."
"You liked him enough to hang out with him." He looked at me, his face disappointed.
"We kissed once, for a dare and now you act like I belong to you. You're so confusing Mark Tuan," I huffed.
Mark smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Using the full name now?" he asked stepping closer to me.
Why did I use his last name? Oh god.
I tilted my chin up in defiance. I wasn't going to give Mark the satisfaction of thinking I was intimidated by him.
"There's something you need to know, Maya," Mark said softly. "And what's that?"
"If I can't have you, then no one can," Mark whispered as he came closer and leaned towards me.
He stopped only inches away from my lips. This wasn't a dare like last time, maybe he wanted to kiss me this time. Before I had time to compile my thoughts, Mark slowly proceeded to plant his soft lips on my own. He s an arm around my waist to bring me closer to him. It was a sweet kiss and all the annoyance from earlier melted away. I could feel his smile against my lips, he probably knew I liked it. As he pulled away momentarily, he smirked at my dazed expression. Mark then undid a couple of my shirt buttons. "What are you doing?" I asked softly, but I knew well enough what he was attempting to do.
"You like my kisses," he whispered proceeding to kiss my neck. Why did he always say that?
"Yes I like your kisses, but we're in school, Mark we need to stop this, aish-" Mark nibbled at the side of my neck, trying to open my shirt a little more to gain further access.
"Mark, stop," I said a little firmer this time, putting my hands on his chest and furthering myself from him.
My breathing was shallow and uneasy; so was his.
"What?" Mark asked confusedly. His eyes were full of lust and his lips were more plump than usual, he looked beautiful. It took all the willpower in my body to hold back from kissing him.
"It's too risky. We can't be like this here in school."
"So what do you suggest?" Mark bit his lip.
"I suggest we stop."
"Well your suggestion is wrong, Maya," he replied.
"No, it isn't. And what's with you biting my neck?" I asked pointing to my neck before doing my shirt buttons back up.
Mark smirked in triumph. "I'm just making my presence known. Like I said, if I can't have you then no one can. That includes my very best friend." I stood in a confused daze.
"We can't keep doing this, especially not in school, its weird. Plus, we're not even dating," I stated.
Mark looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Not that I want to date you," I mumbled.
"If you thought it was so weird, you would've pulled away as soon as my lips touched yours," he replied.
I huffed slightly, folding my arms defensively.
"Oh Mark, what are you doing? Yes I like your kisses," he mimicked in a voice.
I blushed violently, before giving him an unimpressed glare which made him stop.
"I just...we can't keep going on like this."
"Like what? If you like me as much as I like you, then there should be no problem," Mark said, "I think things between us are going well."
This boy really didn't understand. But I wasn't sure if I was in the right state of mind to object.
"Meet me on the third floor at the beginning of lunch tomorrow."
"Mark, not for another kissing session. Can't we just talk like friends?" I asked. Although I was almost certain I liked Mark more than a friend, I needed to keep my emotions somewhat invisible. But this was the second time I'd kissed him, so convincing everyone including Mark and myself that we were just friends was going to be a little difficult.
"What like the way you and Jackson are friends?" Mark scoffed.
"Well, yeah," I said softly.
"It's too late to be just friends now, Maya," Mark smirked as he turned away. "Tomorrow at lunch, okay?" He called over his shoulder.
"I...um, I have an English test to revise for," I lied.
I mentally scolded myself for telling another petty lie. Instead I should have told Mark straight.
He stopped and turned around. "You're lucky I'm good at English," he said giving me a cute smile and walking off.
Great.
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Hi everyone! I haven't updated in a while, and I'm sorry for that. I just thought I should do a mini-update before Christmas ^^ What do you think of this chapter? The next one will be longer. Please remember to comment, subscribe + upvote. Thank you for all the recent feedback and also a big thank you for reading,
Maria xo
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