What hurts the most is that I lost sight of you...

You never looked back at me the way you used to

You had your eyes set on her

It's as if she is the only scenery in this world

Like she have blinded you and put you into this spell

What used to be mine before 

You took them away and gave it to her

And I am nothing but invisible for you...

 

--

 

Soiree.

 

Ella have always hated interactions with another all-boy's school. But this one is something that she have been looking forward to – it was their interaction with the boys from Southwoods. And they will be interacting with Chun's class.

 

As they entered the hall, Ella and Tiffany found their seat right in front of Chun and Lego. Ella smiled and waved at Chun, but Chun didn't look her way, and instead, he only had his eyes with Tiffany. He smiled at her, and waved back at her. She looked at Tiffany, and saw her smiling and waving at Chun. She could only sigh and shook her head. As she threw a quick glance at Chun, she noticed that Lego, who was sitting beside her best friend, was smirking at him. She folded her arms, and took her seat. “You saw Chun?” Tiffany said. Ella let out a faint smile and nodded her head. She looked at Chun, and noticed that he was eying Tiffany the whole time. It doesn't help that Lego was somehow encouraging him. She folded her arm, and just let out a sigh. 

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to find your partners.” The class president from Ella's section announced. “Remember the half hearts we gave yo when you guys came in? You have to find the other half of the heart. But make sure that the code name written on the heart is the real partner of the other half, all right?” the class president from Chun's class said. Ella let out another side, and looked at the red half-heart on her hand. “Zhi Nu, huh? I wonder who is Niu Lang... Tiff, what's written on your half heart?” Ella asked. “I'm Helen of Troy.” Tiffany said. Ella just nodded her head. Then, a line of boys came up to Tiffany, to try out if their half-hearts will fit that of Tiffany's half heart. Some of them fits, but wasn't the appropriate partner for her. The boys were disappointed to know that they can't be her partner. Meanwhile, Ella waited for Chun to come and approach her. She was praying so hard that he would be Niu Liang. Then, Chun walked up to them. She let out a wide smile as she saw him coming their way. Just as she readied herself for him, to her dismay, he walked up to Tiffany. “Hi, can I try your heart with mine? Mine says Paris, by the way.” Chun said. The smile on Ella's face disappeared in an instant when she heard what he said. She looked at Tiffany and noticed her face lightened up upon hearing what he said. “Really? Mine says Helen of Troy!” Tiffany said. Chun smiled at her excitedly. “Really? Then we're partners!” Chun said. Then, he offered his hand to her, and Tiffany took it. She stood up from her chair, and went with him at the other side.

 

Ella could only watch as the two leave to their own little world. It was hurting her that Chun was ignoring her. It's as if she doesn't exist at all. He only had his eyes on Tiffany, while she is invisible in his eyes. “Hey, dork... are you Zhi Nu?” she heard someone asked. She looked back, and saw Lego standing beside her. “Don't deny it. I've asked all the girls in your class, and they're not Zhi Nu.” he said. Ella rolled her eyes at him. “And don't tell me that you're Niu Liang?” she asked sarcastically. Lego let out an evil smile and nodded his head. “The one and only!” he said. Ella could not believe her luck. First, her best friend is ignoring her, and didn't became her partner, and now, the guy she  least expected to be her partner, the very same guy who annoys the hell out of her turns out to be her partner. “Great. Just great.” she sighed. “Well, you're lucky that I'm your partner! I know a lot of girls wants me.” Lego said proudly. He leaned back on his chair, and as he looked at Ella, he noticed that she was looking at Chun and Tiffany sadly. Somehow, he felt sad for her. He knew that she was expecting that her best friend would be her partner, but it didn't turn out that way.

 

“You know what, Tiffany and Chun looks good together.” Lego said. Ella just continued to stare at the two, who were happily chatting that time. “I was wishing he will be my partner.” she answered. “You can't always be with your best friend. You have to give him space and let him mingle with other girls.” Lego said. Ella just sighed, and then stood up from her chair, and walked away from him. Lego then followed her. “Wait, where are you going?” he asked, tailing her. “Away from you.” Ella snapped at him. Lego dashed in front of her to stop her. “Whoa! Did you got up from the wrong side of the bed? Why are you in a bad mood?” he asked. Ella glared at him, and folded her arms. “Because you're going to irritate me again, you annoying dork!” she snapped again. Lego let out a laugh, and shook his head, much to Ella's irritation. “What?” she asked in an irritated tone. “I know you're mad because you didn't end up with your best friend. Just to make you feel at ease, Chun wants to be your partner as well, all right? We even exchanged hearts just to be sure that he'll get you as his partner.” Lego said. Ella looked at him for a long time, then shook her head. “Are you blind? This whole time, he only had his eyes on Tiffany. He was expecting her, not me. And you saying that he was expecting me as his partner is not helping at all, all right? It's not like I'm mad. All right, I'm mad. He didn't even notice me. He acts as if I don't exist. I don't deserve this. I didn't do anything wrong to him for him to treat me like this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to get out of here.” she said. She was about to make her move, when Lego stopped her again by holding her hand. Ella paused, and looked at him. “Are you just going to leave and admit defeat? Or will you make him realize that what he's doing to you is wrong?” Lego said. Ella sighed, and turned her back on him.

 

--

 

“Lego, have you seen Ella?” Chun asked after a while. Lego looked at him, and let out a sigh. “If I know where she is, I wouldn't look like a fool without a partner here, all right?” he said. Chun gave him a confused look. “I'm Ella's partner.” Lego said. Chun folded his arms, and looked sternly at him. “Did you annoy my best friend again?” he questioned him. “Do I look like someone who annoys her all the time?”

“Then, where have she gone off?”

“Am I her bodyguard?”

“Why are you acting like that?”

“Because all thanks to you, I ended with no partner at all. She left because she's pissed off at her best friend for ignoring her the whole time. She left me.”

 

Chun was taken aback by what Lego said. He had no intentions of ignoring Ella. In fact, he is looking forward to having her as her partner, but he got so excited when he found out that Tiffany is his partner. “Where could have she gone off to?” he asked. Lego shrugged his shoulders. “Beats me. You should know. You're her best friend after all.” he said. He patted Chun's shoulder and went back to mingle with the rest of the students. Chun was left alone, wondering where Ella is, and worrying about her.

 

--

 

Ella came home that afternoon. She slammed the door of her room, and then jumped on her bed. She is still mad at Chun for ignoring her. “Ella! I said no banging of doors, remember?” her elder sister, Joe, said as she entered her room. Ella glanced at her for a while, then looked away. Joe noticed that something is wrong with her sister. “Mei, are you all right? You seem sad...” Joe said worriedly. She walked up to her sister, and sat on her bed. “Anything wrong?” she asked. “I hate Chun!” Ella shouted. Joe gave her sister a puzzled look. “What did he do this time?” she asked. Ella let out a sigh instead of answering her sister. “Look, whatever it is that happened between you and Chun, I know you can patch thing up, just like before. And besides, you two are like best friends forever. You can't hate him forever.” Joe said. Ella sighed again. “I can. Especially when he ignores me for some cute girl.” she muttered. 

 

When Joe heard that, she burst out laughing. Ella rolled her eyes at her sister. “Sorry, mei... I can't help it...” she said as soon as her laughter died down. “Nothing is funny!” Ella shouted at her. “All right, all right... so that is the reason why you're angry? Well, I don't see anything wrong with that.” Joe said. She sighed, then lay down on the bed beside her sister. “Ella, one day you will have to let go of Chun. One day, you will have to slip away from his side to let him have his own way and to make him happy. You can't always be with him, all right? He may be your best friend, but he have his own life to live... and you do too. There are a lot of guys out there vying for your attention, and once in a while, you have to take your eyes off of him, and see what's the scenery aside from him. One day, you will have to be apart to grow individually, but that doesn't mean that he isn't your best friend anymore.” her sister said. Ella looked away from her sister, realizing that she is right. She also wanted Chun to be happy, and even though it was hurting her, she have to let him have more time with Tiffany. She have to ready herself, and eventually learn to live a life without him. 

 

“So, if I were you, it would be better if find other guys to hang out with. Your world doesn't revolve around him.” Joe said, winking at her. “So, what do I do if he's ignoring me because of a girl?” Ella asked. “Then, give him a dose of his own medicine! Ignore him as well. If you found a new friend to hang out with, at least he would realize what he have been doing to you is wrong.” Joe said. Ella smiled at her sister. “Thanks, jie!” 

 

--

 

Ella was doing her math assignment. Once again, she was stuck with one of the items on her assignment. She reached for her phone, and then dialed Chun's phone. By how it rang, she could tell that she is on the call wait again, and he is probably talking to someone. “Probably, Tiffany...” she thought. She let out a sigh. “How can I finish this assignment if Chun is always busy with Tiffany? I can't do this at school tomorrow, or I'll make a fool of myself again in front of her.” she said. She groaned, and lay on her bed. 

 

Then, she remembered something. She remembered what Lego told her the other day when he was annoying her the other day. “I can also solve math problems, you know. If you can't reach your ever beloved best friend, you can call me. For a price, of course.”  she remembered Lego saying. She sat up, and took her notebook, going through the very last page. She saw Lego's number. She took the phone, and dialed it. After three rings, he finally answered her call. “Hello?” he said. “Hi, this is Ella Chen. May I please speak with Lego Li?” she said. There was a pause on the other line for a while, then she heard him burst out laughing. “Why so formal, dork?”

“Because this is my first time to call you, dork.”

“Oh, so the next time you will call me, you will look for the great Lego Li?”

“No, more of the great dork.”

 

She heard Lego laughed at the other line, and this made her smile. “So, need help with some math assignment you got there?” he asked. “I won't call you if Chun's line isn't busy. And I'm still pissed off at him for ignoring me at the soiree, so go figure.” she said. “You must understand that this comes with a price, right?”

“What, I'll be your slave for a week?”

“I'll let you know what it is, as long as you agree.”

“How can I agree to something when I don't even know what that is?”

“You must agree. You need to get that assignment done, right?”

“Can you let me know what you want in exchange for this favor I'm asking you?”

“Well, you just have to hang out with me after school for 10 days.”

 

Ella was surprised at what he said. “What?!” she asked. “Seems you don't want to. Well, I've got assignments of my own too”

“Wait, wait.” 

She sighed, and decided to agree with what he wants. “All right, you got it. I'll hang out with you for ten days.” she said. “And that would start tomorrow. I'll wait for you outside your school gate, all right?” he said. Ella smiled, and nodded her head. “All right. Now, can you help me with my assignment” she asked. “Sure thing. Dictate to me the problem, and I'll solve it for you in no time.”

 

--

 

As soon as the school bell rang, Lego took his bag, and dashed out of the room, which puzzled Chun. “Lego!” he shouted at him. Lego stopped running, and looked back at him. “What? Hurry up, will you? Someone's waiting for me.” he said with a smile. “You have a date? Is that the reason why you're on a rush, and did not wait for me?” Chun asked. Lego just smiled at him. “I have to go, all right? I'm hanging out with a new friend I met.” he said. Before Chun could react, Lego dashed away from him. He shook his head, and decided to follow Lego.

 

He reached the school gate. He saw Lego got out, and walked to the direction towards St. Margaret's. “Did he meet someone at the soiree?” Chun thought. He hid by a tree not far away from the school gate of St. Margaret's. Lego stood by the gate, patiently waiting for someone. Just then, a swarm of students got out. Then, Chun saw Ella came out of the gate. He went out of hiding to approach her. “Ella!” he shouted. Ella didn't seem to hear him. Instead, she approached Lego. “Sorry to be late. Our History teacher held us up.” Chun heard Ella tell Lego. He was surprised to find that Lego was waiting for Ella. He knew that the two didn't get along well. “It's all right. You're worth the wait.” Lego said. He saw Ella smile at him. There was a glow in her when she looked at Lego, and for some reason, seeing them together and getting along somehow made his heart flinch. He was used to being the only guy she is hanging out with, and she wasn't ready for that scene before her. “So, where do you want to go? Oh, I forgot... you like ice cream. There's this new ice cream parlor around the block. Want to try it out?” Lego asked. Ella nodded her head. “Sure! I haven't been there. I'd love to go there.” Ella said. Lego smiled at her, and held her hand. And Chun could only watch as the two leaves.

 

He followed the two. He called Ella's name, but she didn't hear her. “Ella!” he shouted. “I think someone is calling you...” Lego said. Ella heard Chun's voice, but chose to ignore it. “i didn't hear anything.” she lied. “Maybe it's about time to clean your ears.” he joked. Ella laughed and then hit his arm. Chun could only sigh as he watched the two. At that very moment, he was starting to get scared – scared that someone will replace him in Ella's life.