credits: tbd_07

credits: xxzha

“Ice Lord is walking this way! OMG!”

“What the hell! There goes Takizawa again!”

“Why is that girl always with him?”

Dara’s grip on her books tightened as she heard the students mumbling to each other as she was walking towards her locker. When she followed their gazes, true enough, Riko is with Jiro again. Her mood turned sour instantly. She knew she shouldn’t feel that way because the two might just be friends. Still, she can’t stop the jealousy boiling inside her.

What’s more infuriating is that Jiro acts nonchalant about it, like it’s not an issue AT ALL. Aside from that, the way he treats her at school remained the same. So, she still feels like she’s ‘the girl he has to protect’, just like before. Isn’t something supposed to change between them?

When Riko and Jiro were about to walked past her, Riko waved her hand and greeted her merrily. “Good morning Dara!”

She forced a smile on her face and nodded at her. Dara’s gaze then shifted to the stoic guy beside Riko. Unfortunately, Jiro just glanced at her and continued walking, making her frown.

Grrr!

Sighing heavily, Dara opened her locker and threw her books inside. She doesn’t know what to expect anymore. It’s hard to keep up with Jiro’s push and pull behavior. She knew he cares for her but…ugh…whatever Jiro Montecillo.

***

Dara rested her head on the concrete round table and groaned. Her problem – Jiro. She thought something would at least change between them. SOMETHING! But nada. He still acts like how he used to be. Their situation is frying her brain, to be quite honest.  

“What is wrong with you?” Namee, who was seated in front of her, kicked her foot to get her attention. “Look at you. You’re even away my happiness.”

“Nameeeee....” She reached for her hand across the round table and pouted at her friend.

“What? I’m not the father of your child, okay?”

“Nameeeee....”

“Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”

“NAMEEEE….”

“I will hit you with my bag, I swear.”

“I really like Jiro”, Dara finally admitted.

“HOE MY GAHD!” Namee shrieked with wide eyes and almost abruptly, the expression on her face became impassive. “Do you really expect that I will be surprised?”

“You don’t understand. I really REALLY like him. I didn’t realize how much I like him. It took me months-…”

“You mean YEARS”, Namee pointed out.

“…to realize my feelings.”

“O-kay. Now, what’s the problem again?”

“EVERYTHING!” Dara hollered as she sat up straight, making Namee jerk back in surprise. “I thought we had something, but nothing changed between us! He’s just doing the things that he used to do. He’s still even accommodating Riko. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know he can’t possibly shove Riko out of his life and I know she’s not doing anything bad but, URGH! I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just what I’m feeling and I hate myself for it. I shouldn’t be expecting too much. What am I going to do?” She was breathing heavily after she blurted out everything without even pausing.

“Dara, Dara, Dara. Loving someone doesn’t come with instructions like those printed at the side of cup noodles. Just pour hot water for a happily ever after? No, ”, Namee explained. “Anyway, I don’t think there’s any problem between you and Jiro if he’s behaving the way he used to be.”

“I guess you’re right”, Dara sighed and slumped her shoulders.

“Now, about Riko…”

“I know, she’s not doing anything wrong.”

“No, that’s not the point. She still obviously has feelings for Jiro so this is not a matter of whether she’s doing something bad or not. If she’s hanging around him, make sure that you’re also there. Jiro might be indebted to her but you’re not.”

Dara bit her lips and fidgeted on her seat. Unknown to Namee, she is the one who’s indebted to Riko. That night when Jiro got drunk and told her that he used a girl who showed interest in him and asked her to help her dad get employed, it was not hard to piece two and two together. With a bit of searching, she was able to confirm that the company where her dad used to work is owned by Riko’s father.

“Why is my girl looking dejected?” Bullet suddenly popped out behind Dara and sat beside her. He then looked at Namee who was puffing her cheeks and scrunching her nose at him. “Don’t worry, Namee. You’re my girl too”, he said, making the girl beam at him. The two continued throwing greasy lines at each other, making Dara squirm. Her breakfast is already crawling up but the two cannot be stopped.

When a familiar figure caught her sight, Dara turned her head and looked at him. Jiro and Picaro were about to walk out of the building when suddenly, Riko came striding towards him. She peeled her gaze off them; the sight of the two making her uncomfortable.

“Have you received the email about the exam results?” She heard Bullet asked. “I passed!”

“What? They’re out?” Namee hurriedly pulled out her phone and Dara did the same.

“Oh gosh, thank goodness I passed”, Dara exclaimed and gave Bullet a high-five. The two looked at their friend while smiling, expecting Namee to share the good news too.

“Oh no”, Namee’s mouth gaped while looking at her phone. “OH NO! I failed! My mom is going to flip my with a spatula if she finds out!” She gathered her things and stood up. “I’ll see you later. I need to ask the professor not to send the email to my parents”, she said.

Dara can only follow her with her gaze as her friend swiftly left. But her eyebrows furrowed when she saw a guy smirking while walking towards Namee’s direction. She tried to recall when and where she saw that face and that’s when it hit her; it’s the same guy she saw beating someone up at the narrow alley.

“Bullet, who’s that?” Dara asked and pointed at the guy.

Bullet turned his head towards where she’s pointing.

“That’s Stone, leader of The Claws”, he answered, and everything was shot to hell after that. When they heard him say ‘Show me your , Namee Hooker Cheng’ and tried to flip Namee’s skirt making their friend scream in fright, the two of them shot to their feet and ran to aid her.

Everything happened so fast. Dara didn’t notice that it’s not only them who ran rapidly towards Namee. A few steps before she could reach her friend, a strong arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, stopping her. The next thing she knew, Bullet is shielding Namee from Stone, Picaro is grabbing the guy’s collar and someone is behind her, preventing her from colliding in the tangle of limbs in front of her.

Dara glanced back and saw Jiro’s annoyed face staring down at her. He then loosened his arm on her waist and made her stay behind him.

“Whoah! Simmer down, I was just teasing her”, Stone chuckled.

“Cheng is not a hooker, you . And don’t you dare pull that stunt on her”, Picaro growled.

“I’ll not keep quiet either if you do anything funky with my friend, Stone”, Bullet warned him.

“Okayyyy”, Stone raised his hands up in the air while chuckling. He then pried Picaro’s grip from his collar and stepped back. Before he turned around however, he casted his gaze at Ice Lord, a menacing smirk forming at his lips as he began walking away.

***

After the commotion and after making sure Namee is okay, Picaro decided to accompany Namee while Bullet was called by one of his gang mates. Dara was about to go her class but Jiro suddenly blocked her path. “Ramirez, what the hell was that about?” He asked between gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing at her.

“What do you mean?” Dara asked in bewilderment. Jiro was about to answer when he heard Riko calling his name.

“JIRO! Are you okay? I got scared when you and Picaro suddenly ran”, Riko hurriedly strode towards them, her face mirroring her worry. “Dara, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll see you later, my next class is about to start”, Dara said and scampered away, leaving the two behind.

“Ramirez!”

“Jiro, I-…”

“I’ll talk to you later Riko”, he said, cutting her off. “RAMIREZ!”

Hmph! Now he’s calling her? Is Riko really an EX-girlfriend? Then why is Riko acting like there’s still something going on between her and Jiro?

Dara already entered the building and when she glanced back, she saw Jiro rapidly striding towards her direction. Without thinking, she broke into an abrupt run. She was even surprised at herself for running away.

“RAMIREZ!” She heard Jiro yelling angrily. Gahh! Runnn!

Dara stormed away without looking back. She knew Jiro is chasing her so she picked up her speed. She needs to get away! It will be awkward if he catches her in the hallway with the students scattered all over the place. He really looks pissed and he will surely make a huge fuss with what she did. She shouldn’t have run away! But it’s too late to stop! Argh!

 She was about to dash towards the hallway at the left when a hand gripped her upper arm. Startled, she spun around and was met by Jiro’s furious glare.

“Why the hell did you run away from me?!”

Oh no! Dara darted her eyes left and right; the curious stares of the other students making her conscious. She shifted her gaze back to Jiro, bit her lips while frowning in worry, and hung her head low.

Jiro shoved his hands inside his pockets as he stared at her, not uttering another word. She lifted her head and finally met his eyes when the silence stretched between them. He was looking at her with suppressed irritation, making