Lady had become more and more irritated with Cindy. Nothing surprising as Kenneth was not discrete at all, it was so glaring. He is not cunning enough to get away with cheating. He kept stealing glances at Cindy as he felt uneasy anytime she was around. He tried to pull her aside sometimes to have a talk with her, but she refused.
Some of our other friends picked up on the awkwardness between them and asked Lady about it. So, Cindy started talking about a guy named John, and we had a pyjama party during which John was the main subject. The very next day, Cindy was going out with him.
The real goal was to distract Lady, making her think that whatever suspicions may be rising in her mind should be erased. But it didn't work. Her classmates, especially Cassie, kept telling her that something was up. It didn't take long for the gossip, started by Cassie, to spread like wildfire. Anytime Lady and Kenneth walked through the corridors, ate at the cafeteria, they had to pretend to be deaf.
"Is it true?" "There's no way, not them" "It was bound to happen" "I can't believe he was just playing with her" "Didn't she know?"
Kenneth became a player, and Lady the idiot that let herself get played.
I was so concerned by the whole story that when Shasha brought Orson to the group one morning all of a sudden, instead of worrying about that I was worried about how Lady treated Cindy.
It's not that I didn't care, it was very important to me, but the whole Orson-Shasha thing came in second for the next few days, because three very good friends of mine were having a hard time. I couldn't even enjoy the fact that Orson had finally joined our circle, it hardly hit me.
That Saturday Cindy came by my house, this time I felt it was best to just tell Lady everything, and after a long discussion, that's what we decided to do. So on Sunday, it was Lady's turn to come, and I let Cindy tell her what happened. She listened carefully to every word without interrupting. Then finally she stunned us with the first thing she said.
"I know."
She sat on the couch as still as a statue, looking blankly at nothing. Neither Cindy nor I knew what to say.
"I saw you," she continued. "I didn't want to believe it. I tried to play dumb, then others started talking and I tried blame it on you. I can't even act like I don't know because he's too stupid to lie or hide something."
"Lady," I held her hand but she didn't look at me, "Before you make any rash decision, you should talk to him first, hear what he has to say."
"She's right," Cindy added sitting a bit away from her. "Calm down, take time to think. He clearly just lost his mind for a moment."
"Alright," Lady got up after letting out a sigh. Then she moved to Cindy, sat next to her and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry about the way I acted towards you even though I knew it wasn't your fault."
"That's OK," Cindy hugged her back.
They let go of each other and Lady tried her best to give Cindy a smile.
"Thank you," Lady said.
"Huh?"
"For being a good friend and mostly for slapping him."
She greeted us goodnight, though it was only seven pm, took a few snacks from the kitchen, then went up to my room. I let her have the bed that night as Cindy and I slept in the sleeping bags. It was very late in the night, when she thought we were sleeping that I heard Lady's little sobs under the cover. She cried for a very long time, it seemed that she had already made a decision.
"Get away from me!" Lady pushed Kenneth.
Somehow, that Monday, the whole situation exploded at the canteen during lunch break. A lot of us were still there, from the first years to the seniors. We witnessed the implosion of KeLa. Lady finally confronted him, and the only thing Kenneth had to say was that he was sorry. He tried to hug her but she moved away repulsed by him.
"If you touch me one more time I will kill you!"
"Go ahead," Kenneth took her by the arms again. "Go ahead, kill me. Tear me apart bit by bit or crush my bones, because I'd rather die than have you walk away from me."
We stared at them intently. A crowd usually equals noise, especially with high school students. But somehow we were all polite enough to keep silent. Like we agreed to help give a dramatic effect to Kenneth's words.
"Please," he continued pulling Lady even closer, "listen to me."
"I already did," she didn't allow herself to fall for it. "Let go now."
She pushed him then tried to make her way to the exit. But he ran to stand in front of her. Nobody was interested in their food, all we wanted to know was how it was all going to end.
"Lady please don't do this. Come on, try to be reasonable."
"What?"
"Oh he did not just say that" I heard Shasha gasp next to me.
"Reasonable?" Lady repeated. "You cheated on me Kenneth."
"With Cindy!"
"Is that supposed to make it better?"
"I feel nothing for her."
"So what?"
"I-"
"You think it's OK because you don't feel anything for her?"
"No-"
"You're an idiot!" Lady hit his chest, and turned away. "I don't ever want to see you again."
"Lady...," he held her back.
"No."
"Please."
"I said let me go!" She wiggled out of his grasp and hit him with her bag. "You dummy!" She hit him again, and again. "Moron! How can a person be so stupid? You thought I wouldn't know, that I wouldn't find out? Why did you do it in the first place you dimwit?!" A few of her things fell from her bag, little mirror, pens, books, but she didn't care. She was a little out of breath but she kept on hitting him. "How could you? How could you...," she didn't have enough strength to continue, her bag fell on the floor but she didn't even notice.
"I'm sorry," Kenneth said for the umpteenth time. "Sorry."
"Shut up."
"Lady I-"
"Shut. Up."
"Please don't do this," he could see in her eyes that she had made up her mind. "Please I'm begging you."
She moved away from him again, but he held on to her and this time, he fell on his knees.
"Please Lady please," his tears flowed as he held on to her wrist. He cried like she was the only one who could see and hear him.
"Hey, what's he-" Quincey went to him to make him stand up.
But Orson stopped him telling him that Kenneth was doing the right thing.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say." Everyone attentively listened to Kenneth's shaky voice, but Lady refused to look at him. "You're right, I'm a moron, an imbecile, a blockhead... I don't know what came over me. How could I do something so stupid when I have you? Everyday I realize how much you mean to me, and sometimes... it scares me. You're the only one that makes me feel like I'm in heaven anytime you're near me. The only one that makes me lifeless when you're not around. You were the first in my heart, and you will always be the only one. We're made for each other. I-"
"Why...," Lady was able to utter, trying her best not to cry in front of him. "Why did you..."
"I have no excuse," Kenneth never looked away from her as he spoke hoping that her eyes will meet his even for a moment. "I don't know why I did that. It was such a stupid thing to do. I got- I got caught up in... my- my brothers' teasing, I thought...," Lady rolled her eyes, knowing exactly what he was talking about, she tried to pull away but he held on. "I know, I know... it's not an excuse. That's why all I can say is sorry... At that moment, for that second... I wasn't myself. I wasn't in my right mind. It didn't mean anything. I hated it. You're the only one I want to be with. Lady please," he let go of her wrist to wrap his arms around her lower back resting his head on her tummy, "Don't leave me. I can't live without you. Please... I'll do better, I'll be good, I promise."
"Let go."
"Lady please... please..."
She unwrapped his arms throwing them back to him, and walked away. That was the end of KeLa. We were crushed. Lady and Kenneth were a public figure in school, the celebrity couple, relationship goals. But they crashed.
Cindy and I rushed to follow her, but before I got out of the canteen I caught a glimpse of Kenneth slowly picking up Lady's things, putting them one by one inside her bag.
"Dummy, dummy...," Lady had hidden herself under a dark dirty staircase.
She sat unelegantly on the floor, crying out, there was no one but Cindy and I to hear her.
"Why is he so stupid?" She kept crying as Cindy and I hugged her. "If he- if he had at least denied it, even a little... then I could have pretended to believe him. If he hadn't been so transparent... I could have acted like I knew nothing... Moron..."
I knew she didn't mean what she was saying. Sooner or later she would have exploded. It would have been worse if Kenneth turned out to be a coldhearted blatant liar.
She told us that she knew Kenneth had been teased by his brothers for a long time. He's the last son of his family and his three brothers, including his father, are players, so they never understood him. They'd always pressure him to at least try out another girl other than Lady. But she never once thought there'd come a day when Kenneth would get influenced by them. She never thought any of the teasing got to him to begin with.
The situation reminded me of the girl in the first song Orson sang at Lorenzo's. Even though he explained it to me, I still thought the girl in that song was ridiculous. But at that moment as I hugged Lady, I understood, Orson's words made sense: "Once you truly fall in love you can't go back ... the girl loved the guy she met in Saint-Jean, so even when she found out he wasn't a good person, even knowing that he didn't love her anymore, and that he cheated, her feelings for him didn't change, because she had fallen too deep, so it was too late."
Love is a beautiful thing, but it's also kind of scary when you think about it. The state it leaves you in when the other person hurts you is unfathomable. I never thought I would see Lady like that. She wasn't even able to get back up on her own, Cindy and I had to help her. The situation left those who witnessed it and those who later on heard about it in shock. The perfect couple that we all looked up to was no more. I mean if KeLa failed at it who are we to think that we got a shot?
"What a day huh?" Orson nudged me as I stood silently next to him.
"It's no use," Quincey said. "She's meditating."
We were at a clothes shop because Orson's mother had asked him to pick up a belt for her after school. Quincey followed us because he wanted to buy yet another hoodie.
"I'm fine," I said. "It's just that I can't believe this happened. I like them so much as a couple."
"Yeah," Quincey agreed. "It's a shame."
"Guys, don't give up on them so easily," Orson looked at us like a coach trying to motivate his team. "It's the initial hit, but things will get better."
"I don't think so," we heard a voice behind us.
We turned around and saw a group of girls from school who were in the canteen as well.
"It's over."
"Don't say that Cassie," I frowned.
"What?" She laughed. "You don't want to accept that it's over? Well it is. Now Kenneth is finally free and some of us can have a little bit of him too."
"How dare you?" I wanted to slap her face.
"She's right," her friend added, "It's finished, all good things come to an end."
"Not necessarily," Orson retorted.
"Hey," Cassie looked at him, "he cheated."
"Yes," Orson nodded, "and that's a terrible thing. But that shouldn't be a reason to automatically end the relationship, knowing that he has sincerely apologized for it."
"So? A mere apology erases what he did?" She folded her arms.
"No," Orson answered. "But there is no mistake that is unforgivable when love is involved. If they really do love each other, which they do, somehow they'll find their way back to each other. Pride is going to get in the way for a little while but love is stronger."
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Cassie was getting irritated.
"I'm saying that pride is often the thing that breaks relationships. If it wasn't involved there'll be so many more couples who stay together for a lifetime. Sometimes it's the ego that is hurt more than the heart itself and that's the real problem, not that there's no love, it's just hidden behind a big chunk of pride. So the real question is whether you lose your pride to the person you love, or lose the person you love and hug your pride to sleep every night."
Cassie and her friends had a blank look on their faces, they didn't seem to understand. Orson sighed massaging the bridge of his nose, thinking of an easier way to explain things.
"Kenneth has thrown his pride aside almost lying on the floor in front of her begging for forgiveness," he continued, "and now the ball is in Lady's court. To keep it even more simple what I'm saying is that Lady and Kenneth still love each other, they will get back together, so don't get involved."
There was a little moment of silence during which we all took in what Orson just said. I was amazed at how much sense the latter made.
"Yeah...," the girls walked away. "Whatever."
"Whoa," Quincey chuckled. "You shut them up good," he congratulated Orson with a fist bump.
We laughed at how petty the girls were. Then as we strolled through the aisles, something suddenly caught my eye.
"Oh! Look!" I pointed.
"What is it?" Orson asked.
"Look at this dress," I rushed to it.
"You want it?" He took it off the hanger.
"No," I chortled and gestured for Quincey to come closer. "Don't you remember?" I asked him.
"Remember what?" He said looking away. "It's just a dress."
"It's Shasha's dress, the one that got torn, the one she wore in that picture you know."
"No I don't know."
"Ah you mean the picture where she was with Quincey?" Orson understood.
"Yeah," I turned to him. "It looks like it's the last one and it's her size!"
I started rumbling through my bag looking for my wallet. Right before I brought it out, an idea flashed through my mind, and I put it back.
"Oh no," I said. "If only I had my wallet. Well, too bad. Please put it back Orson."
I drooped my shoulders and slowly walked away as Orson put the dress on the hanger.
"What are you doing?" Orson caught up to me.
"Shh," I gestured for him to lower his voice, "what is Quincey doing?"
Orson discretely looked over his shoulder.
"He's looking at the dress..."
"Yes?"
"He's touching it... Oh, and now he's taking it off the hanger again."
"Really!"
"Shh," Orson put his index on his lips, this time I was being too loud.
I nodded and gestured for him to follow me out of the aisle, so Quincey wouldn't see us anymore. We walked away then I called Quincey on his phone to inform him that we had left so he could take his time to buy his "hoodie".
"Do you think he'll buy it?" I asked Orson as we walked to the bus stop.
"I'm pretty sure he will."
"Right? Wait. Do you know something I don't?"
"Me? No. I mean... I just suppose he doesn't dislike Shannon as much as it seems. I don't know anything."
"Hmm," I stood in front of him and looked into his eyes. "OK, I'll believe you."
Orson and I got to the bus stop and no one was there, so we had the bench to ourselves. We sat there our arms touching, and I needed nothing more to be happy. I rarely had the chance to be alone with Orson since school started.
"Tiffany," he said.
"Yeah?"
"I like you."
"You- huh?"
It took me a moment to understand those three simple words. But as soon as I did, my heart responded accordingly, thumping like never before.
"I've been meaning to tell you," he turned to me. "I mean it's not a secret, you've already noticed. But I just wanted to make things very clear between us. I don't see you as just a friend. I like you a lot."
I played with my nails feeling too shy to look at him or to respond. I should have said something, anything, but I didn't. I saw as he gently put his hand on top of mine, his way of asking me to raise my eyes. I slowly looked up and his eyes locked with mine. Somehow I knew what he was going to do next, and I felt my heart pound.
He examined my lips for a moment. My red cheeks were probably what gave him the green light. He lightly stroke my hair then set it behind my shoulder. I felt as it fell on my back and I shivered a bit. Orson looked into my eyes again like he was confirming my permission. The noise around us faded away when I felt his fingers behind the back of my neck as his thumb caressed my cheek.
"Tiffany...," he whispered my name.