credits: VIIXVII

credits: creeyyjjii

“Do you know what they’re saying?” Namee set down her tray of food and slumped on the seat in front of Dara. “The students think that Riko and Jiro are a couple and you’re just his childhood friend. Argh! If you don’t do something, I swear I will!”

“Let them be”, Dara responded while roaming her eyes in the cafeteria. The usual buzzing during lunchbreak can be heard, accompanied by the clinking of silverwares as the InterSAT students eat while chatting. Everything looks normal, but something feels missing.

“I haven’t seen Bullet lately”, Dara said, realizing that their cheerful gang leader friend is nowhere in sight.

“Maybe he’s lazy to go to school. Or maybe the Business Management students are busy”, Namee shrugged. Since Business Management students like Bullet sometimes have feasibility studies that require them to go on fields or other locations, what her friend said is highly possible. But for some reason, Dara still feels restless.

“Anyway, back to your problem”, Namee said in a business-like tone.

“I don’t have any problem.”

“Yes, you do. And the problem is sitting over there”, she tilted her head to the side and when Dara turned towards that direction, she saw Riko and her friends giggling as they occupied the table in a corner.

“I overheard Riko telling her friends that Jiro is not the ‘Ice Lord’ that everybody thinks. She said he’s really caring and thoughtful. Oh pleaseee”, Namee rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“But she’s right”, Dara said nonchalantly while focusing on her food. “Jiro is really not the type of guy that others assumed him to be. Even if he looks cold and stoic, he actually pays attention to people around him and he cares for them in his own way”, she added and lifted her eyes to look at her friend, who was gawking at her like she has completely evolved into an unknown specie. “What?”

“Oh my God, I’m going to marry you”, Namee said sarcastically. “You talk like you’ve achieved nirvana. I mean, I know that you are understanding, but not to that extent.”

“Thank…you?”

“DARA!” Namee huffed and glared at her. “Listen.To.Me. I know you trust Jiro and I know with your personality, you are never going to tell him to avoid Riko. I get that and seriously, I salute you for being very rational and tolerant. BUT… Riko is Jiro’s ex-girlfriend and it’s very obvious that she still has feelings for him so you should be cautious. Don’t just leave them alone because they’re friends.”

Dara remained silent as she pondered over what her friend said. To be honest, Riko’s presence in Jiro’s life is making her uneasy. But knowing what Riko did for Jiro, which actually helped her indirectly, she cannot bring herself to ask Jiro to stop accommodating Riko. If she was on Jiro’s shoes, she would have probably done the same thing out of gratitude.

“It’s…complicated”, she mumbled.

“Oh, you should see my room. You’ll see the real meaning of complicated”, Namee remarked. “It’s not complicated, my friend. The first step is to tell Jiro that you’re not comfortable seeing him with his ex-girlfriend. You don’t have to explicitly tell him to avoid her. He’ll get your drift. Ice Lord is not stupid.”

“You don’t understand, Namee”, Dara leaned towards her friend and whispered. “The man that Riko helped is my father. Jiro is indebted to her and in a way, I am too.”

Namee exhaled audibly and raked her long hair with her fingers. She bit her lips and stared at her friend, her face drawn with concern. “Dara… You know what I think Jiro’s problem is? He’s not used to people being kind to him so if someone lends him a helping hand, he feels like he has to do everything to repay that person, even if it means he has to lose something very important to him. And you know what your problem is? You try to accept everything and make yourself believe that it’s okay when deep inside you, it’s not.”

Dara didn’t utter a word as she shifted her gaze to where Riko is sitting.

“There are other ways to show your gratitude which doesn’t involve sacrificing your own happiness, Dara”, she heard her friend said.

***

She was supposed to go to the library. She was supposed to do something productive during her vacant hour and not do something stupid like hiding behind the pillar near the Black Dragon’s turf. But that’s what Dara is doing – something stupid. She peeked and hid again, afraid that Jiro’s gang mates might see her or worse, Jiro himself might see her. She is a woman with a mission; a stupid mission, to be exact. It’s Namee’s fault actually. Yes, she intends to blame Namee for every ty things that might happen or will happen with her life, because that’s what true friends do.

After their lunch, the mistress of evil (Namee), told her to check if Riko will hang out at the Black Dragon’s turf during her vacant hour and since she is still not immuned to the whisper of darkness, Dara succumbed to her spell and found herself in the situation she is currently in. Although she wanted to stop the stupid act, curiosity got the better of her.

Dara peeked again, nervousness enveloping her body whenever she sees someone moving inside the turf. She ducked behind the pillar when she saw Bonsai hopping while yelling loudly. The small guy is really a ball of energy. She breathed deeply and tried to calm herself. Her covert operation is going smoothly so far since no one noticed her; but she still hasn’t seen Jiro and she has yet to confirm if Riko is inside. If the girl is with Jiro, Namee said she should hang out at the turf too to make sure the two are not left alone.

Gathering her courage once again, Dara slowly stretched her neck to peek at the turf when a familiar deep voice entered her ears.

“What are you doing, Ramirez?”

GAAH! Dara did not even glance back and was about to slither away but Jiro swiftly planted his hand on the pillar, his left arm blocking her path. Still not meeting his gaze, Dara quickly turned around to escape on the other direction but Jiro hastily blocked her with his right arm. She tried to duck but he lowered his arm, still trapping her.

Uh-oh.

Very slowly, she lifted her gaze and looked at him, meeting his blank stare. She gave him an awkward smile while pressing herself against the pillar. “Hi”, she greeted sheepishly.

Jiro cocked his eyebrows at her without saying anything.

“Can I go now?” she asked.

“No.”

She bit her lips and casted her gaze downwards, too embarrassed to be caught sneaking around. She jerked back in surprise when Jiro reached for her necktie and gently tugged it towards him, making her lift her eyes again. Their faces are only inches apart when he stopped tugging, still holding her necktie to keep her from moving.

“I caught you”, he whispered.

Dara scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out. He pinched her nose, making her yelp, and before she could say another word, Jiro tugged her necktie again and pressed his lips on hers, producing a loud smack sound. He then lets her go, his one hand still planted on the pillar as he towered over her.

Dara immediately folded in embarrassment, her eyes focused anywhere else but him. Jiro kissing her at school made her feel like she’s doing something illegal. What if someone sees them? The rumors! Oh no! Wait. Isn’t that favorable for her? Being tagged as Jiro’s girl will keep the other girls (*cough Riko) away. Or not? Wah! They shouldn’t be kissing in school, PERIOD. Because… because…

“Ramirez, if you open that button...”

Jiro’s voice pulled her out of her trance. Dara stared at what she’s fumbling and her eyes widened in disbelief when she realized she’s fiddling with the button of Jiro’s pants! Oh gosh! What the hell is she doing? She’s getting closer and closer to the ‘target’!

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m not doing anything, I swear! I’m not targeting