As soon as Ruben walked into the Cafeteria that afternoon, whispers can be heard from every corner regarding the Leighton's Masquerade Ball over the weekend. Daily Magazines were distributed around, from table to table. Obviously there were more things happening that night than just the main stories being highlighted in the magazine. At some corners, a group of girls were consoling their friend. There were definitely more than one break up happening, not that Ruben cares, but he was hoping he could eavesdrop anything about Jerry Wellington.
Brenda came in from another cafeteria door without the twins beside her. She braided her hair the way she usually did daily, and her big glasses is back. Walking alone to grab her lunch tray, all eyes were on her. While nobody realized it was her in Leighton's Ball, it does not need a genius to take a few glances in the magazine and figure out that the girl with Nathaniel was her. The Rhapsody girls aren't happy about it.
While Brenda was getting her hamburger from the counter, the girl next to her purposely bumped onto her and spilled some of her water on Brenda's shirt.
"Oops... sorry." The girl said unapologetically.
Some guys next to her straightaway grabbed tissue and tried to help her.
"You are wet." One of the guys offered her a tissue. "Brenda yeah? You should dressed up like the party more often."
"Yeah. You would look better. I would date you if you dress up and perk up." His friend added and gave her a wink.
Brenda seemed uncomfortable with the attention and clearly the two guys have no good intention. Ruben grabbed a food tray and cut the line right where Brenda is.
The guys who just talked to Brenda was about to complain, but kept quiet when they realized it was Ruben who cut the line off. Ruben gave them a sinister look, and they straightaway moved away from him and Brenda.
Brenda looked up to Ruben and mouthed, "Thank you." Ruben replied with a smile.
They grabbed the rest of their lunch and walked together to an empty table. The girls were still staring at Brenda, but looked away when they saw Ruben giving them the deadly look. Slowly they left Brenda alone.
"That didn't seem comfortable." Ruben gestured towards the two sweet-talking guys and the girls who were treating Brenda meanly.
"No." Brenda sighed as they sat down. "You don't usually eat lunch." Brenda referred to his burger.
"Yeah, I don't." He shrugged. "But there is a damsel in distress. I just gotta help."
"Who? Me?"
"Yeah." Ruben laughed. "I should be a Robinson once in awhile. Going around on a high horse, catching damsels."
"Nathaniel isn't bad." Brenda added.
Ruben just shrugged.
"Actually he said something to me before. When I asked whether he was dating Renata, quiet sometimes ago."
"I don't really care what he said honestly." Ruben cut her story off.
"Wait, you gotta listen to my story first!" Brenda sounded annoyed.
"Okay okay." Ruben rolled his eyes. "You were always rather bossy. You're gonna tell me the story even if I stopped you anyway.." He said matter-of-factly.
Brenda's expression looked sulky.
"I'm joking!" Ruben rubbed her hair playfully. "You took things to seriously." He laughed. "Okay, I'm all ears, what did Robinson said?"
"Well, I asked him about Renata being his girlfriend, and he laughed." She paused as she drank her soft drink, trying to remember exactly what Nathaniel said. "He said something like, 'She's not my girlfriend. She likes somebody else. Someone ... I care about.' And I didn't know he talked about you until the other night." Brenda told Ruben while eating her hamburger.
Ruben kept quiet. For some reason Brenda always have a way to blow him away. Be it his mind being blown away, or she always managed to make him feel taken aback. He wasn't quiet sure what he felt hearing about Nathaniel saying something like that, but he knew Brenda wouldn't lie.
The two of them ate in silent before Brenda asked again. "You and Nate. You guys hated each other, aren't you?"
"I guess, yeah." Ruben shrugged again.
"Is it... because of Rena?" She asked carefully.
"Partly, maybe." Ruben paused before continuing. "I felt that Robinson and I are just two opposites that are not meant to come together. Our lives don't match, and our worlds don't mean to overlap. But they did."
Brenda ate her fries listening to Ruben's words. "But magnet's poles are opposites." She commented absentmindedly. "And they attract!"
Ruben shook his head while smiling. "You have a strange way of looking at things." He laughed a little. "I guess, that would be Rena and me." He paused. "We are two opposites."
"Renata is very lucky to have you and Nathaniel." Brenda smiled. "You guys really care about her."
Ruben thought for a bit while drinking his coffee. "You are lucky too." He added. "You got CJ, Nathaniel always so protective of you... and now you got me." Ruben looked at Brenda straight in the eyes and smiled.
There is a surprised look in her expression. "I got you? Really?"
"Of course." Ruben assured her while resting his back onto the chair. "I thought you would be surprised about Nathaniel more." Ruben laughed again.
"Well, i do too." She commented. "I don't think he is protective of me, I think he is like that to everybody."
"Maybe. But he threatened me for what I did to you on your first day, and he did asked you to the ball."
Brenda's pale skin turned red, her cheeks flushed. She looked embarrassed. "I never think of it that way." She sounded surprised.
"I think you just think so little about yourself. You should give yourself more credit."
"I guess." She answered. "Thanks though, you really make me feel so much better." She smiled at him.
He held her hand and smiled at her.
The whole cafeteria suddenly turned quiet, there were a lot of hush-hush and whispers. Some people were intentionally looking at the cafeteria south door, causing both Brenda and Ruben to look at the same direction.
This time, Renata walked in alone. She looked tired still as if she still have a hangover over the weekend. Her eyes were swollen, but she still looked as beautiful as always. Her brunette curl fell naturally on her shoulders, and a slight makeup can be noticed on her honey-colored skin. Ruben couldn't look away from her, in his mind, there was only her peaceful face, lying down on her bed as he caressed her hair.
She seemed to brace herself, she walked to the counter to grab a food tray and ignoring her surrounding. She smiled at the canteen lady, and the canteen lady smiled back at her uncomfortably.
"You should go to her." Brenda whispered. "Come on."
Ruben gave Brenda a questioning look. "Why?"
"Because you like her, and she likes you too." Brenda said it as if she stated the obvious.
"And?" He asked her again while still keeping his sight on Renata. "We were backstreet. It's a secret that we dated."
"Why does it have to be?" Brenda sounded as if she didn't understand why it has to be that way. Honestly, Ruben started to wonder too.
He used to think he was protecting Renata, from his enemies, the people who hated him, from Northsies and Trent Coast. But now that he thinks about it again, he was protecting himself. From what others might think, the papparazi, the media, the magazines. And it is not fair. Renata didn't choose her path, she was born into it.
"I don't know." He finally said. All he knows is he loves her. He loved her before, and he still does now.
"She is bullied too, you know." Brenda suddenly commented. "All her life. Not physically, but emotionally. The news, the gossips, the fame."
Brenda paused and contemplating what she was about to say next. "You know, i kind of just realized... you've been protecting girls that your friends ask you to, maybe it's time to protect your own?"
Ruben straightaway looked at Brenda wide-eyes.
"What?" Brenda shot him a creeped out look. "You look like you were gonna kill me for a second! Did I say something wrong?!"
Nobody ever told him something that hits him so much, a realization that he would never know if Brenda didn't tell him. Somehow she always makes so much sense, her mind is so simple and so is her life. Being around her felt very easy and light for him, and yet she always finds a way to make him talk, to state the obvious, spell it out for him what he should and should not do. And all the things she told him are always the right things to do. How could she do that?
"How do you do that?" He finally asked.
"Do what?" Brenda's expression looked oblivious.
"That. Saying something that just hits me? Like you showered me with this big revelations. It's crazy."
Brenda still looked at him strangely, unable to comprehend what he meant. "What revelation? I'm just saying, that maybe you should think about that." She stated again while continue eating.
Ruben gave Renata a quick glance and contemplating whether he should or should not talk to her.