credits: trpplr_c

Dara’s POV

Days passed and everything gradually returned to normal. The talk about the InterSAT bonfire and the events that happened after slowly faded until the students found other random topics to focus their mouths on. Everything is back to the way it used to be.

The same cannot be said between Jiro and me. For reasons unknown, Jiro stopped dropping by my house. I seldom see him at school and when I do, he seemed to have psyched himself that I’m just a random object lying around that does not merit his attention at all. But it’s fine, because I’m also doing the same thing.

The initial pain of seeing him and Riko has already subsided but it still stings. The heartache is like a looming storm vying for its time, waiting for the right moment to unleash its destructive force. I don’t like to experience that kind of pain again so I did what I thought would be best – I tried to push Jiro off my mind, hoping that doing that will push him off my heart as well.

Whatever his reason for distancing himself from me, I don’t want to know. Okay, I actually have a vague idea what his ‘reason’ is and it goes by the name of Riko, but I don’t want to confirm it. I’d rather live in ignorance for now.

It took tremendous effort and tears to pick up the broken pieces of me and make myself a normal functioning human being again. Bullet and Namee have been a brilliant support group, helping me focus my attention elsewhere. At night, though, my mind wanders back to the kiss that Jiro and I shared and in those moments, I tend to question if there’s a remote chance of him liking me. That tiny flicker of hope, however, is crushed whenever I remember Riko. I don’t want to get in their way just because Jiro promised to look over my safety. And I don’t want to make a complete fool of myself again by trying to pull him towards me when it’s clear that he wants the line between us to exist, which must be why I haven’t seen him lately.

Bullet has been my constant companion when Namee isn’t around. That guy is all sorts of crazy and his abundance of cheesy lines knows no end. Namee, on the other hand, has been unusually attached to her phone. Apparently, Picaro of Black Dragons has been sending her pictures of his drawings and they’ve been texting each other for a while now. Whenever I ask her about Picaro, she becomes a huge ball of energy that nobody can suppress. I have heard a hundred different versions of Picaro being the epitome of awesomeness. Somewhere in Little China Town where Namee lives, I’m pretty sure a Picaro shrine is being built.

I headed towards the university garden and sat on the ground, pulling my book out of my bag. What I love about being a Creative Writing and Lit student is that our subjects involve reading a variety of books. Reading calms my nerves.

A few minutes after I’ve settled down, I felt him hiding behind the tree and slowly crawling towards me. I didn’t even bother glancing back as Bullet swiftly hugged me from behind. “SURPRISE!” He exclaimed, seemingly pleased with himself.

“Get off me, Bullet”, I said in a noncommittal tone. But being the koala that he is, he insisted on clinging to me. I just let him be because experience told me that arguing with Bullet will unleash the little devil in him and he will do all shameless things until he gets what he wants.

“Munchkin, do you want to be my girlfriend?” He mumbled, his breath brushing on my neck.

“Stop breathing on my neck.”

“Does it get to you?”

“Bullet, I swear”, I turned my head towards him and he immediately took advantage of it, pressing his lips on my cheek. He then moved away swiftly and knelt, raising his hands up in the air like a kid being punished.

“Stay in that position until our vacant hour ends”, I said with mock anger.

“Munchkinnn…” He whined. “I just love kissing you because you look so adorable. And you’re my munchkin!”

I ignored his whines and got back to what I was doing.

“Forgive me?” He asked.

“No.”

“What’s going on here?” Namee strode towards us and slumped on the spot between me and Bullet.

“Great! Namee’s here! Namee will not let you do this to me”, he pouted.

Namee gave me a questioning gaze. “He kissed me again”, I complained. She gasped dramatically and turned to Bullet, “You’re a monster! You should be stoned in public!”

“It was just a quick peck! And I already apologized”, he said defensively.

Namee leaned towards him and gave him a peck on the cheek. She then turned to me and smiled. “I got your revenge, Dara. Now, stop punishing our baby.”

“You’re spoiling him.”

“He said he was sorry.”

I sighed and nodded while flipping through the pages of my book. I really can’t win with these two.

Bullet gleefully set down his arms and stubbornly tried to fit himself between me and Namee. This guy needs body warmth at every freaking time; it boggles my mind.

“How are you and Ice Lord doing?” Namee asked. Bullet quickly placed his hands on my ears and glared at her. “You should stop mentioning the -who-must-not-be-named. Look, you’re making my munchkin cry.”

I peeled off his hands from my ears and gave them a weary look. “I’m fine. I barely see him nowadays. He and Riko must have patched things up”, I said nonchalantly.

“You’re not fine. I don’t see you smile anymore”, he said.

“I’m fine.”

“Ask her if she wants to be my girlfriend”, I heard Bullet whisper in Namee’s ear.

“Do you want to be Bullet’s girlfriend?”

“No.”

“She said no”, Namee reported.

“Munchkinnnn…” Bullet called out in a sad voice and rested his head on my lap. He is IMPOSSIBLE. “You just broke my heart.”

“You’ll be fine. Look, your fangirls are waiting for you”, I said and pointed at the group of girls in a distance eyeing him. He sat up immediately and smiled.

“Oh! They need some Bullet Love!” He stood up and gave us a salute. “I’ll see you girls later!” He said and sprinted towards his harem.

This kind of scene pretty much sums up my everyday life now, with Bullet annoying the crap out of me and with Namee nagging me about everything. I chose to believe that this kind of life is fine – my life without him. But…it’s hard to fool myself.

***

Dara’s POV

“You know Bullet likes you, right?” Namee asked while we were walking towards our next class.

“He likes you too.”

“Not that kind of like, though. If this blows on your face, we will lose a great friend. So stop pretending and deal with him.”

I sighed and massaged my forehead, not wanting to respond.

“You also have to deal with your other guy.”

I groaned and faced her. “Can we not do this?”

“Dara, Ice Lord lost for you. He chose what you want over victory and that’s saying a lot.”

“He purposely lost because I talked some sense to him. I-…” My eyes widened when I saw Jiro walking in our direction.

“Don’t panic. Deep breaths, deep breaths”, Namee said while smirking. I can tell she’s suppressing her chuckles. I ignored her teasings and focused my gaze on the ground. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to unleash the ancient power of invisibility.

He was a few meters in front of us and has his eyes focused forward, not even giving us a glance, when the broadcast speakers boomed to life.

“Test. Hello. Test.” We heard someone say over the speakers. Namee and I halted when we realized who it was.

“Is that Bullet?!” Namee exclaimed.

“I’ll be quick! Get off me, damn it!” We heard him say, followed by more expletives, sound of chaos and grunts of pain. I can safely assume that our dear friend entered the broadcast room without permission and he is leaving some casualties behind. I feel bad for the students who tried to stop him.

“Can you hear me, InterSAT?! INTERSATTTT!!”

Oh my God, that idiot! What is he doing?

“It’s Dara’s birthday tomorrow! ADVANCE HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARA RAMIREZ!”

Thank you, Bullet, for mentioning my whole damn name. ARGH! Oh, my life. My peaceful life.

“Stop being sad and forget the -who-must-not-be-named, okay? Namee and I are here for you.”

I buried my face on my palms and groaned. When I lifted my gaze, I caught sight of Jiro at the corner of my eyes walking past me. “Sweet”, he mumbled sarcastically.

I glanced back and followed him with my gaze. It felt like years when I last heard his voice and even though that line he said is meant to annoy me, all I can think of is how much I miss him…how much I yearn to be beside him. All I can think of is that night which I promised to forget – the night when he held me tightly.

Sadly, that moment will never happen again.

***

Dara was practically dragging her tired body home, still stunned with what Bullet did. Arden Lee. That guy charges at life like a bull and fears nothing; consequences be damned. He gives absolutely zero thought about his actions and prided himself for it. She can only shake her head in frustration at the thought.

Her sluggish movement halted when she saw Picaro and Bonsai slouched on the pavement in front of her house.

“Hey!” Bonsai waved and stood up, approaching her with Picaro following right behind.

“You promised I’ll do the talking, Bonsai”, Picaro reminded him.

“Yeah, well, I did that to make you shut up. I ain’t married to you so promises between us meant nothing. So…” Bonsai turned to Dara, “..come with us.”

“Huh?”

Picaro shoved Bonsai aside and faced her. “Jiro has been acting weird lately so we decided to stalk him and we found out-…”

“Sshh! SSHHH! Don’t tell her yet! That will ruin the surprise!” Bonsai frantically waved his hands, stopping the tall guy.

“We’re not supposed to surprise her. We’re supposed to bring her where Jiro is so she can stop his madness”, Picaro said in a concerned voice, enough to raise Dara’s curiosity.

“What do you mean? Is he in trouble?”

“Just come with us”, Bonsai said impatiently.

“Wait. I need to change my clothes”, Dara ran inside the house and blindly grabbed the nearest clothes she could fit herself into. For two of the Black Dragons to fetch her, this must be something big. Is he in trouble? She hopes not.

After one bus ride, Dara found herself in Sunset District – in the middle of the busy jungle of fast vehicles and tall buildings. They walked towards a noisy street lined up with bars and turned left in an alley. Dara arched her eyebrows when they reached a suspicious-looking club in what seemed to be an old building. She can hear the loud chatter of people and the blaring music even from outside. They entered the place and just as she thought, the club is packed. The party is in full swing at the dance flo