[ CHAPTER 5 | Leaving The Party Behind ]

"Who is he again?"

"Oh... I forgot. By the way, he looks young."

"I feel like he's just of same age as us."

There was a pause before the smaller, but the prettier one (Tarin had to admit), started speaking again.

"Let's talk to him before we leave?"

"Oh yeah we should." The other agreed almost instantly as if she's been thinking of the same thing.

Across the table, Tarin could hear snippets of the conversation that was transpiring between two of Emma's friends, and she was sure they were talking about Eleven. They all had a bit of an introduction before everyone dispersed from the living room, and the guests knew by now that Joon's the best friend Emma kept rambling about, whereas Eleven is his thai friend and she herself is Emma's closest friend who happened to be her neighbor as well.

Beside her, Emma and Joon were giggling heartily at each other's silly stories while eating pizza, their elbows leaning on the table and bodies tilted to face each other. Everyone but the two of them seemed to have taken the hint that there was something special going on between them, which might have brought about the unspoken rule between friends that he is off limits and not ready to mingle. All guests knew each other quite well already apart from the three of them, an observation which ignited the theory to formulate inside Tarin's head that there's only one possible boy left who could stir the girls' curiosity. Their stares towards Eleven were quite obvious from her view it distracted her from her food, causing her to almost completely choke on the nachos she didn't realize she was about to swallow whole.

Why do you even care...

"Oh my god are you okay?" Emma noticed her coughing and handed her a cup filled with water.

"Ye..ah. Sorry the nachos got stuck in my throat." She replied with a raspy voice.

"Be careful. That's so unusual of you to choke on a chip." The older female patted her back. "Were you thinking about anything?"

"I was just... I think I sort of spaced out." She lied.

Tarin's head snapped up all of a sudden when the two girls in front of her stood up and approached the small group comprised of Eleven and Emma's male friends. Eleven was modestly responding to the boys' inquiry about him, and would occasionally create small hand gestures while speaking. He bowed then when the girls soon joined them, which made them giggle as they mentioned how he was being too polite. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when she heard one of them ask if he's in a relationship, to which he responded with a shake of the head. Tarin hated that she could hear everything, although her hearing wouldn't have been this amplified if it weren't for the help of her curiosity, nosiness and something else she refused to acknowledge. Their interest on him was so palpable even two of the male guests snickered and gave the girls knowing looks. Eleven didn't seem to notice and appeared oblivious, which for some reason, gave her relief.

He's not going to flirt back, will he?

Hey maybe the girls are just being friendly, stop being an and finish your damn nachos without choking on them.

Her mind had been so preoccupied wondering if Eleven's even the type to show interest when someone's hitting on him she failed to notice someone was trying to ask her a question.

"Hi, is it alright if I sit here?"

One of Emma's male friends—whom Tarin immediately recognized as the guy who cracked a sarcastic joke a while back, approached her and was tentatively holding on to the back of the unoccupied chair beside her. She jolted upwards when she realized he was talking to her, which brought a slight tint to her cheeks.

"Oh I'm sorry yes of course."

"Thank you."

The boy placed his drink on the table before carefully pulling the chair, and when he finally got to settle beside her did she only notice how good-looking he actually is. He reminded her of the Grim Reaper from the Korean drama Goblin, with his deep-seated lazy-looking eyes, pale skin and full lips. His hair even had slight curls at its tips, and when he lifted his cup to drink, she noticed how pretty and slender his fingers are. He definitely has mixed blood, she thought in her head. It felt awkward and nerve-wrecking to be beside such an attractive boy, but as usual, she tried her best to seem unaffected.

Emma noticed her friend by then, and for a moment Tarin was thankful she was there to break the tension. "Hey Kev! By the way I thought you were about to bring your cousin here? Where is he?"

Oh, so his name is Kev. Possibly short for Kevin. She snorted mentally and shook her head when the name reminded her of her 4th grade crush.

"Cale? Ahh he's busy with med school stuff. He's pretty much really serious about the field he's taking." He chuckled.

"How old is he again?"

"Twenty-two?" Kev frowned and made a face. "Ah yes I'm sure I'm older than him by a year."

Tarin wished he could just sit beside Joon instead, the feeling of being sandwiched between Emma and her friend made her more uncomfortable than ever. Over her cup, she gazed at Eleven and wished he would just look at her and show any signs of wanting to escape as well, so they could maybe just pick up where their conversation have left off outside? But much to her dismay he seems to have been enjoying himself with the company he has made.

"Hi! Tarin right?"

Frick.

"Ah... yes." She acknowledged the boy beside her with a small smile.

"I'm Kevin. Kev for short." Knew it, she snorted inside her head.

"Don't be so tensed! I don't bite." He grinned. "Will it make you feel more comfortable if I tell you I'm gay?"

"What?" At this, Tarin chuckled but stopped abruptly. "Uh please don't get me wrong I laughed because I didn't ask but you told me something about yourself out of the blue. What does that have anything to do with me being comfortable and such? And how can you say I'm not comfortable?" There was a tinge of amusement in her voice, which she hope would give him a hint it was really a question. It was only a few exchange of sentences between them but for some reason, Tarin felt like they would click.

"Nah I was just trying to break the ice, but I'm really gay, and I am assuming you are not homophobic." He laughed. "I have friends with different personalities and being around them taught me to be more perceptive of someone else's personality. I'm quite guessing you're the type to be quite uncomfortable with boys. Straight boys, specifically? But! That's just a guess."

She chuckled. "Touché."

"See? Told you I'm good at reading people." He grinned. "Anyways, to answer your other question, you've been quiet. And shooting some death glares at that boy's direction." Kev made a subtle motion with his head which was directed towards Eleven.

There was a pause before he spoke again, this time with an expression of someone who just had an epiphany. "Ohh... wait. Are you... are you guys together?"

No you are not going to choke on your fricking nachos again, she told herself but she's sure her baffled expression was evident.

"Oh gosh no!" She chuckled nervously. "I mean... we just met. Three days ago? He came with Joon and uh, we're just in the acquaintance stage."

"Ah I see. Well why were you looking at him then?"

"I was?" Does this dude have hawk eyes how in the world? "Oh no I was just spacing out. It was only a coincidence my eyes landed at his direction." You said that already oh my god.

He hummed and nodded. A sound interrupted their conversation for a while, and she figured it was from her phone when the screen lit up. There was a notification from LINE, and it surprised her when she saw Joon's name.

"I'm about to confess. Please wish me luck."

Hallelujah praise the Lord. Her eyes widened and immediately went towards Joon, who just placed his phone inside his pocket. He gave her a smile, and it seemed like he just asked Emma if they could go outside. She watched them until they disappeared at the other side of the door, and a sudden giddiness welled up inside of her.

"I'm sorry may I just excu—"

"Um excuse me may I borr