Tenses | LRH

Jealousy

PEOPLE CRY for different reasons; some tear up due to stress or sadness, while others do out of joy. As for Andi, I could not tell why she was crying. I also could not figure out what Ace's role is in her life.

"Sophia," Ace whispered as he finally loosened his arms around her. I thought he was planning to squeeze her until their bodies become one.

"Horace," Andi said with a cracked voice. Tears were continuously streaming down her face and she quickly hugged him one more time.

"You're alive," she said, holding his face. They really looked like a couple from my view and it pissed me off.  "I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down at her feet.

"Soph," he said in that annoying hushed tone. "It's alright. Everything is. You have no reason to be sorry."

She smiled and nodded. "When I saw you yesterday, I was so scared and shocked; I fainted. And then this morning I woke up in your house. I was so scared to face you. I was afraid that you're mad at me."

I was getting irritated. They were being too comfortable around each other. I looked away and glared at my feet. My chest hurt so much just by seeing them like that. Not to mention I looked like a fool standing in front of two people who were being too touchy and emotional. It was too awkward.

He pulled her closer to him again when I looked up, resting his chin on top of her head. "That incident happened long ago. I'm not mad at you; I never was."

"Thank you," she replied softly.

Ace smirked when he looked at me. I raised a brow in return. What is he thinking? He was being so annoying at the moment.

"Come on, your boyfriend is waiting." I heard him say as he turned her around and pushed her towards me.

"He's not my boyfriend," she argued but laughed nonetheless.

Ace scoffed and whispered something in her ear, causing her to roll her eyes. "Not true," she said.

"Andi," I said in greeting when she finally faced me. I glanced at Ace to show him I acknowledged his presence even though I was sure it looked more like a glare.

"Hey," she greeted me in return with a small wave of the hand. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have run away." She awkwardly laughed.

I sighed. "I just don't -"

"I'm so hungry. Let's eat," Ace interrupted and slung one arm on Andi's shoulder.

I was offended but I suppressed the frown that was about to form in my lips. We headed to the parking lot with me trailing behind, looking like a third wheel. I could not contain my annoyance anymore. I tugged on hair and walked towards Andi's left side. She tilted her head and gave me a timid smile when she saw me. I noticed how brighter her face looked like; happiness was literally radiating off her body. I could not help but be in a good mood, too, even though I was still quite annoyed at Ace.

"Luke!"

My eyes widened and I stopped when I felt a sharp pain on my side. My hip bumped into Ace's car. Ace was laughing at me, and soon enough, Andi was giggling, too.

"Luke, are you alright?" Andi quickly walked over to help.

I dismissed her, but my hands were clutching my pained hip. "I'm good. Great. Fantastic."

"Not," I grunted as I took a step forward.

Andi giggled and opened the car door for me and I quickly slipped inside. She and Ace got inside, too, and we drove away.

➳||

I sat mindlessly on the sofa, eyes glued to the television in front of me but not really paying attention to the talking yellow sponge on the screen. My mind kept going back to Andi and Ace, who were sitting too close to each other for my liking.

Wait, what?

I groaned and rubbed my face rather harshly, irritated at the two and at myself. I could not pinpoint what was making me so annoyed since the morning.

"I'm going to take a shower," Andi announced as she stood up.

"I'll join you," Ace suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

Andi's face scrunched up in disgust. "Ew," she said and walked away, leaving Ace chuckling to himself.

"Luke," he called. I looked at him with a poker face. "Wanna play FIFA?"

I gave him a confused look. "What's FIFA?"

"You don't play video games, eh?" Ace said as he stood up and walked towards the TV, preparing the video game console.

"No," I replied. I scratched the back of my neck as I watched Ace work with the gadget.

He finished setting it up and handed me something black that has buttons on it. "It's quite easy. You'll get this."

I nodded and we started the game. I clearly had no idea how to use the strange thing that was in my hands, so I ended up pressing different buttons in attempt to make my player move.

After several minutes - which felt like hours - of trying to figure out how to play the game, I finally gave up and threw my hands in the air in exasperation.

"What's happening here?" Andi walked in the living room with a tray of fries and drinks in hand. She set it down on the center table and sat down between me and Ace.

"I give up," I stated and leaned over to grab a handful of fries and shoved it in my mouth. Though I thought that the video game was quite entertaining and challenging because it has distracted me from my thoughts for a while, my anxiety was still sitting at the back of my mind.

It was too much for me and soon enough I could not contain it anymore. I sighed and rested my head on Andi's shoulder, making her stop and look at me. I finally got her attention.

"May I talk to you, please?" I asked with a voice that was almost inaudible; I almost did not hear myself, but I was too drained to repeat it.

"Okay," Andi replied softly.

I smiled a little and nodded, but before we stood up to leave, Ace gently pulled Andi to his side.

"Go get the boy," Ace whispered, which made me flustered. I pretended not to hear him as I rushed outside, my heart beating so fast as I waited for Andi to come.