[LUKE]
It feels so good to have someone looking out for you.
For as long as I can remember, it's always been Lucas Cook, "The Lone Wolf," or "The Man who stands alone," and sometimes even Lucas Cook, "The Power of One." As long as you see the word "one" in any title, you can go ahead and add my name before it. And it never bothered me because I chose that path. It was just easier to live in solitude because no one can even try to hurt you or make your life a living hell.
But then came this amazing girl named Cory Anna Fuentes, a brunette with beautiful black eyes... who turned my world upside down. And all of the sudden, all the things I never even imagined was possible were happening right before my eyes:
Instead of just a briefcase on my hand, a smooth hand is interwined in my fingers. Instead of an empty seat next to me in the subway, a head comfortably rested on my shoulder. Instead of just listening to music or radio programs about news and current affairs through my earphones, I indulge myself by listening to the sound of her laughter. Instead of just watching television about speeches of politicians, news reporters, and other talk shows, I smile as I watch her eyes dance when she tells me how her day was, learning something new about Psychology each day. And my personal favorite, instead of leaving the house for school or coming home after a long and tiring day, someone calls almost the minute I step in or out to ask me "Hey, are you on your way to NYU already?" or "Are you home yet?"
Man, I never thought it would feel this good.
And Harvey Miller, the dude I've been underestimating from the moment I first met him, had helped me make her special in the way that she truly deserved... and I haven't even thanked him properly yet.
How can I? Each time I try to meet up with him, he comes up with excuses or "alibis" that he can't see me because he's busy with theater rehearsals. But whenever I see any of his friends-- the same two guys who helped me with the surprise for Rienna-- they tell me that they aren't at all busy that much in rehearsals.
It's been two weeks since that glorious day and I still haven't gave him the proper thanks he deserves.
And then just yesterday, I met up with Olette and at least managed to thank her properly-- you know, giving her a small gift (Brownies) and a small note that says my message of thanks.
On the bright side, she smiled at my gesture and even teased me that I was actually learning to ease up and become more sociable and interacting among my "peers." I ignored the fact that she was making fun of me and just shrugged it off. On the BAD side... when I asked her if she's seen Harvey lately, her smiled faded almost instantly and a frown was in its place instead. She looked away, "No, sorry..." then she excused herself by saying she still has work to do in the library and then left hastily.
And on that note, my deductive skills kicked in as I began to realize what was going on.
I haven't seen Harvey for two weeks. Olette hasn't seen him either and looks as if she doesn't even want to. Therefore...
------
"You... knew I had a misunderstanding with Olette by USING deductive reasoning...???" Harvey says in disbelief, narrowing his eyes at me.
So I finally caught up with him while I was about to have lunch in the cafeteria. Then I asked if we could share a table. He agreed. Then as soon as we ordered food and placed it on our table, I directly popped the question.
"So I'm right?"
"Yeah, duh you're right... but geez man, do you always have to use lawyer stuffs in every part of your life?"
"Actually, Lawyers aren't the only ones who uses deductive reasoning to... Shut up and quit distracting me. Tell me what happened between you guys."
He crossed his arms, defensive, "And why should I tell you?"
"Because I wanna help, man." I said directly, "Come on... you helped me back when I needed to impress Rienna. I just want to return the favor."
"What if I told you that it's cool, I appreciate the thought, and that you don't have to owe me back... would you leave me alone?"
"No." I said sternly.
"Because..."
I sighed, "Because I can't just leave... leave..."
"Mhmm??"
I glared at him, "Because I can't just leave a friend of mine behind knowing that he needs all the help he can get."
"Can you repeat that, I didn't quite catch that little F word you just said?" he says smugly.
I narrowed my eyes at him, "Friend."
Then he dramatically widened his eyes and looked at me in awe, "A friend?! Wow, who's that special friend of yours? Is he an amazing blonde who's fabulously talented in acting?"
I grumbled, "Don't push it, Miller." I warned.
On the bright side, he looks brighter than when I first saw him. Before I even approached him, he looked really down and it seems like he's been sulking for a while now. AND he's even wearing black. He never wore a black shirt for as long as I've known him. Sure he wears other dark colors like violet, navy blue, so on and so forth, but never black. But here he is, not only wearing a black shirt, but also a black biker's jacket... and he doesn't even own a Bike.
He laughs at my expression at first and then trailed off to a sigh. "Well... thanks for the offer and... for actually admitting that I'm your friend now... but man, seriously, I don't think Olette would talk to me even if her life depended on it."
"I can talk to Rienna to convince her."
"Then she'll think I put Rienna up to it and stay just as stubborn as she usually is."
"Then... I can talk to her."
Harvey threw a look at me, "If she won't listen to Rienna, what makes you think you can persuade her?"
I frowned at that, "Then what do you want to do? Sit here and sulk?"
He leaned on the chair he's sitting, "Now there's an idea."
I rolled my eyes, "Come on Harvey... you're not the pessimistic type. Where's that guy who came just in the nick of time to help me with his brilliant, 'genius' ideas to save the day?"
He sighed and then looked down on the table, "Look man... I'll be honest with you. I'm tired, okay? Olette isn't really the type of girl that gives her admirer an easy time. She's not just hard-to-get. She's not just conservative and reserved. She's stubborn and at times close minded."
"That never stopped you before."
"Well, it seems to be stopping me now." he sighed.
"So what, you're just gonna give up on her?"
"Maybe... that's exactly what she wants me to do."
I rolled my eyes at him, "I beg to differ."
Finally, he glared at me for the first time ever, "What do YOU know, huh? You don't even know what happened between us. YOU don't know that she's mad because I tried to make her jealous and because I broke Bea's heart by finally confessing the truth to her young, little, fragile heart!! YOU don't know anything at all!!"
He's so mad he didn't even noticed that he just told me what I "don't know."
"Well, I know you still having a fighting chance to make things right with her."
"Go to hell man, how could possibly know that?"
I ignored the first thing he said and answered.
"BECAUSE.." I snapped, unfazed by that grimace he was giving me, "Remember that little misunderstanding she and I had before? The one when she assumed we were on a date even though none of us agreed to it? WELL, I asked Rienna months ago why she acted that way, if it was really normal for girls or not."
"Yeah? And what did she say?" he demanded, still glaring, but his tone mellowed down a bit.
"First she joked that 'All dates are official... whether the guy knows it or not.' I think she got that from a teenage movie or something." I shrugged, and then continued, "Then she told me that she probably assumed it was a date because she WANTED it to be a date. Rienna said that Olette probably hasn't been dating for a very long time. Maybe she hasn't even been alone with a particular guy for long period of time. So when she and I were alone, she probably thought we were out on a date and sticked to that assumption. Then of course when I told her otherwise, she threw me a glare, slapped me, and then ran off."
Harvey stared at me for a moment, and then shook his head in frustration, "SO? What the hell does that got to do with my problem?"
I leaned closer and made eye to eye contact with him, "Man, she's LONELY." I say slowly, emphasizing each syllable. "Trust me on this that I KNOW how it feels to be lonely and the signs of loneliness... I never noticed it before until Rienna pointed out the signs for me. I was too focused on my own solitude that I didn't realize that she was just as lonely as I was. But... even if I did knew back that she was feeling lonely and that she needed a constant companion... I still believe I wouldn't be the right person to be there for her."
"...Why not?"
"How can I fill the emptiness of a person's heart if... I can't even do it to myself?" I challenged, "No man, the shoe doesn't fit. You're the one she needs, not me."
[HARVEY]
I stared silently at my new official friend, and then sighed, "MAN, now you know things are bad... when Luke, the inexperienced man in dating, starts to make sense."
He glared at me in response, "I'll take that as your way on saying I'm right instead of an obvious insult on my skills. That way, I won't regret admitting that you're my friend. So... your welcome."
I sighed again, "Fine... I'll try making things right with her again but if she doesn't budge, I'm seriously never going to speak to her again."
"Sure you won't." Luke says, waving a careless hand, obviously doubting my vow. Then he stood up, "Look, I still have a class to attend to. Tell me how it went the next time we see."
"Glad to know I have your vote of confidence." I say sarcasticly.
He just waved and then left.
I stared blankly for a while before finally standing up and leaving the cafeteria.
------
There she is... just a few steps away from me.
She looks just as beautiful as always. Even if she's wearing a frown and looking tired as she places books back to their proper shelves, I still can't help but feel butterflies in my stomach by just staring at her.
I turned away for a while and took a deep breath.
Okay Harv, you can do this. Just be honest... yeah, girls love honest guys, right? And they can tell whether a guy's lying or not. So you better be sincere and straight to the point. AND don't make excuses. She''ll just end up finding holes in your alibis.
"Okay Harv... here goes nothing."
I turned and almost screamed.
"Rienna!"
She was suddenly right in front of me, smiling and blooming. The symptoms of someone who's in love. Ah, the glory of first love. At least she and Luke are happy.
"Hi Harv. How's it going? I haven't seen you around lately. I was just leaving. How about you? Come to visit Olette?" she asked.
"Uh! Actually, er, you see..." I glanced at Olette and saw that she looked our way. I paled as she stared at me, wide-eyed.
I gulped, as I waved at her and smiled lamely.
But naturally, she glared at me in response and looked away.
I couldn't help but slouch and feel my shoulders falling, "Actually Rienna..." I looked back at her, "I just remembered that... I have an appointment with someone." I say quietly, leaving hastily.
"Oh really? Who?" she called out even though I was already walking away from her.
"Loneliness." I answered but I doubt she could hear me.
[End of Chapter 19]