My last period was free so I decided to come to the library and study for a while. But to my utter distaste, the library was more occupied than I thought it would be. And this is to blame the fact that our finals are just around the corner. So students that usually don't even show up to the classes, can now be found hogging the library all day.
Though, most of them are chit-chatting in hushed voices rather than actually studying. And sadly, my usual seat was already taken by someone by the time I reached here. Which is why, I settled on leaving with the book I needed for studying.
I walk down the row, trailing my fingers over the spines of the books. I read through each of the titles in search of the particular one that I am looking for. Physically, I may be here, in the school's library. But my mind was drifting back to Theo and his words.
I ended up narrating to him everything that transpired on Sarah's birthday party. And the whole time, Theo patiently listened to me without any judgement, rubbing a comforting hand up and down my spine as I spoke. And after hearing everything, the one thing that he said to me was, "You don't hurt the person you like."
And it made me wonder if Noah even liked me to begin with. I mean, sure, he acted very friendly right from the start. Always trying to crack a playful joke here and there. But then he got mad at me just because I didn't kiss him at a party once. And later on, he admitted it himself how much exhausting it was for him to be smiling around me so much.
I never asked Noah to be someone he was not. So why put up a façade? Or maybe he isn't used to being turned down. Being the football team's captain, he is used to all the attention he gets. Especially from the girls. So a simple rejection must have bruised his ego.
Theo, on the other hand, has always respected my boundaries. He didn't push further when I stopped him from kissing me that first night. And on the night when I had my first kiss with him, he stopped the very moment I told him I was a virgin. Our clothes were discarded and all hesitation was long forgotten. And if he wanted, he would have tried to convince me to continue further that night.
But he didn't. He held himself back and even said he doesn't want to rush things with me. He went so far as to comfort me when I thought I had ruined the moment.
My face heats up all of a sudden at the memory from that night. The sight of Theo hovering on top of me, shirtless, while he peppered kisses all over my exposed skin. I recall the way his sensual touches made me shiver in pleasure. I bite down on my lower lip and mentally curse myself as more memories from that night comes flooding into my mind.
'Stop thinking about that here.' I shake my head to get rid of my dirty thoughts–for now. I think that was the last time we got so intimate. Theo doesn't take things too far other than kissing or making out. And that is starting to frustrate me a little bit. I already trust him with everything. He doesn't have to be so... reserved with his actions all the time.
A devious idea forms in my mind and I suppress a grin. I think I know just what it would take for Theo to drop his barriers. 'I can't wait for tonight.'
A hand tapping on my shoulder startles me, and I swiftly turn around to come face-to-face with Alex.
"Hey," Alex says, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Oh, hi." I find myself shifting uncomfortably under his gaze, afraid that he can see right through me and read my inappropriate thoughts. I clear my throat awkwardly and ask, "What, uh, what are you doing here?"
"What, do I not look like the type to come to a library?" Alex teases with a smile.
"That's not what I meant." I huff, feigning annoyance. Over the past few weeks, I had overcome my wariness for Alex. However short our interaction is, it has always been decent and friendly everytime. "Did Sarah send you here?"
"Nah." He walks up to a bookshelf, pretending to look through the books. He picks one out, opening it to a random page, before shutting it close and stuffing it back to its original place. He grabs another one, repeating his previous actions.
Noah hasn't been to school for the past three days. And I don't know how much longer he's going to miss school. And surprisingly, Sarah is skipping classes, too. I don't want to think that something bad has happened to her. But I am sure it has nothing to do with Theo. He wouldn't harm a girl. And he only mentioned about hurting Noah, after all.
Sarah hasn't texted me, either. Which is strange, to say the least. Knowing her, she would have flooded my inbox with countless text messages and voicemails. Complaining about how I walked out on her birthday, hurting her feelings. But the fact that nothing like that happened, I am starting to think something else is the reason behind her lack of communication.
"Alex," I say after a while, my brows furrowing in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"I am here to borrow a book," he replies shrugging.
I eye him skeptically, not believing what he just said. "Fine, then. Suit yourself."
I turn around to leave, thinking to myself that I'll grab the book later. But Alex calls out my name, causing me to stop in my tracks.
"Yeah?" I raise an eyebrow at him in question when he comes to stand in front of me.
"I, uh, wanted to talk to you," he says in a low voice.
"Did Noah send you here?"
"No...?" He makes a face of confusion. "Was he supposed to? He's been absent for a few days, hasn't he?"
"Nevermind." I quietly sigh to myself. I feel somewhat bad for Noah because of the pain Theo inflicted on him. Theo didn't say much about what he had done to Noah. But his bruised knuckles gave me enough of an answer.
"You okay?" Alex asks hesitantly.
"Yeah." I nod. "Look, I know we only hung out because of your girlfriend. But you don't have to do that anymore. Actively reach out and talk to me, I mean."
"I know that," he says. "But what if I wanted to talk to you?"
"It's better if you don't. She's already upset with me. And the last thing I would want is for Sarah to think I stole her boyfriend." I force out a chuckle and cross my arms over my chest, recalling how much she likes Alex and is possesive of him.
"I'm not her boyfriend anymore."
"Um, what?" I blink rapidly, not sure if I heard that correct.
"We broke up," Alex replies.
I thought they were getting serious about each other. At least Sarah has always been serious about him. Remembering that we are still in the library, I lower my voice and ask, "Who broke things off?"
"I did," he says bluntly.
'Oh, shit.' I suck in a sharp breath through my teeth. What could have possibly happened for him to break up with her? The last time they separated was because he cheated on Sarah. And even then, she was the one crying for weeks on end, holed up in her room. But if this time, Alex initiated the break up, I can't even imagine what she must be going through right now. This explains her absence, then.
"What happened?" I ask him quietly.
"Can we at least sit first?" He asks, and I nod.
Alex makes his way towards an unoccupied desk and I follow behind him. Once he sits down, I pull out the chair in front of him and take a seat myself.
"So...what happened?" I end up asking him once again.
"I listened to the fight you guys had." Alex folds his arms and rests it on top of the table, leaning forward. "And before you jump into any conclusion, no, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."
I open my mouth to refute but quickly shut it, allowing him to continue speaking. I wasn't going to jump into any conclusions, anyway.
"I followed after her when she was rushing outside, but then I stopped near the front door when I saw you. And I was about to leave..." He trails off.
"But didn't," I finish his sentence under my breath. Which is why he ended up listening everything.
"So, I'm here to apologise on behalf of her. She shouldn't have treated you that way."
"It wasn't your fault," I say to him, offering a weak smile.
"I know that. And after you left, we—" Shaking his head, he cuts himself off and I don't urge him to continue. I silently watch as he runs a hand through his already messy brown hair and closes his eyes for a brief moment. "You shouldn't feel guilty yourself, you know? You said nothing wrong."
Out of all the things I would have expected him to say, this was not one of them. Was he about to say that they had a fight of their own after I left Sarah's place? He looks pretty frustrated. So I understand if he doesn't want to talk about it. He must have had a good reason to break things off. And Sarah's insensitivity to other's emotions might have been it.
Although I may not think of her as my best friend anymore, I can't help but feel bad for her. She really liked Alex, and was so happy when they got back together. They were practically joined at the hip. And now she got her heart broken once again. This is the complete opposite of what I wanted for her...
"You know how bossy she can be. And it becomes a lot after some time." He stares off at a distance, as if in thought. "At least you finally confronted her," he finishes after a while, meeting my eyes. "So yeah. That's what I wanted to say, I guess."
"Okay," I say before quickly adding, "Um, thanks. Even though, you had nothing to apologise for."
"Yeah, you said that before." He chuckles softly and rubs the back of his neck. "I hope we can still be friends, though. And if you don't want to, I totally understand."
"It's fine. We can be friends." I give him a small smile.
Alex's lips curl into a half-smile and he says, "Alright, cool."
———
A/N: soooo next update is going to be the first proper spicy chapter (smût) AND it'll be from Theo's POV. You guys better be excited about it 👹
Get this chapter to 55 votes. I need to know if you guys even want it.