-Farah's POV-
I woke up today with a severe headache. I can't seem to comprehend how everything suddenly went wrong during past couple of days. Lucas messed up too much and broke Aya's heart within.
Aya. She's upset with me and she has every right to be. It is my fault but I couldnt get myself to tell her, hoping that what Ethan told me was all a lie. I left the dorm room early to meet up with Ethan. It was just a tradition we had. We both meet up early whenever we have extra time before our first class.
I flashbacked to the first day we met. "I don't date." I remembered what he said. I came to a realization that I love him so much and I cant imagine how my life will be without his presence. Even though we haven't been together for too long, we've grown too close.
I headed for my locker to see Ethan standing by it. As soon as he saw me, he took me into his arms. I felt safe as I cherished this moment in his arms and admired his cologne that engulfed me.
"Good morning love. You look rather tired." Ethan greeted.
"Good morning. I'm pretty sure I have a terrible headache. I would've mistaken it with migraine." I replied.
He gave me gentle kiss on the forhead. "Everything will be just fine. Trust me."
I gave him a forced smile. "I do trust you." He smiled shyly during the moment of silence before I broke it again. "Aya and I are not on good terms since Lucas sent her the cursed text. She kind of figured out I knew this was going to happen. Everything is not fine Ethan." I sighed, feeling tears about to well up in my eyes and my throat tighten.
The bell rang.
"Come on baby, We have this class together." Ethan said, obviously re-thinking what I just confessed.
"Yeah, we do have that class with Lucas and Aya as well. Just great." I muttered sarcastically.
We reached class at the same time Aya did. She looked okay, but I just know she was far away from having stable emotions. It is unbelievable how well she can shut down her emotions and pretend she was okay.
Ethan saluted her with a tight hug, and she replied it with a wide sincere smile, but I can still figure out that part of it was forced. She looked towards my direction and I gave her an apologetic smile. She stared blankly at me for seconds then quickly came over towards me and embraced me into a tight hug which I gladly replied.
Aya broke the hug first and said "I can't stay mad at you for too long, bunny."
Ethan chuckled at our cheesiness. He came over beside me and rested his arm on my shoulder. "There, my favorite girls are back."
Aya and I both gave him cheeky smiles and walked to class.
We entered consequently one after another with teeth-wide grins. They were soon wiped off our faces when we saw Lucas sitting at the end of the class with Nadine clinging to his side smirking as she saw us. Aya stood hesitantly as Nadine was currently occupying her seat. I ushered for her to sit beside me and Ethan until the devil (a.k.a Nadine) disappears.
We headed for our usual seats which were just by luck in front of Lucas's. Aya and Ethan sat on each side of mine. However, while we were getting seated, I noticed Nadine giving Aya a wink. I shot Aya a curious look and she looked at me nervously and then looked away.
The whole day passed quite quickly. Aya and Nadine shared several other weird glances whenever they cross paths in the hallways, but I decided to just ignore. I'll pressure Aya into telling me later.
Aya and I were having a chat near our lockers when we saw Ethan heading towards our direction.
"So, what is my sexy lady doing tonight?" He blocked my view of the locker.
I shot him an 'are you serious look'.
He looked at me. "What? Today is Friday, are you going to stay in your room the whole weekend?" I raised my eyebrows. "Well, I'm sorry girls I won't allow that." He gave us a determined look.
Before I could reply, Aya beat me to it. "Yeah, we should have some fun. The weather is warm this week. What about heading to the beach tomorrow?"
"That would be perfect." Ethan grinned.
Soon both of their heads were turned towards my direction, waiting for an answer.
"What else do I have to say? I'm in." I shrugged.
"Brilliant. I'll pick you both up by eleven o'clock. Sounds nice?" Ethan questioned
"Yeah, eleven would be fine." I said and Aya nodded.
"Okay, I'll see your lovely faces tomorrow." He pecked my lips in a rush and gave Aya a side hug before he headed back to his dorm.
"He gets so excited, doesn't he?" Aya giggled.
"That is exactly what I love about him." I dreamily said.
Aya looked taken aback with my reply and I suddenly regretted what I just blurted. How stupid am I for talking about what I love about my boyfriend when she just broke up with hers?
Just then, Aya's mobile beeped signaling a received text. She unlocked her mobile and suddenly that nervous look made it's way back to her face.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Nothing." She said.
I gave her an I-don't-believe-you-look and she seemed to get more nervous.
She plugged her headphones and we left to the dorm room in silence.
-Aya's POV-
I unlocked my phone to see that the text I recieved was from the same private number.
-Have you thought yet? Think of how much you are hurt. -N-
I suddenly got anxious. I managed to forget about this issue through out the day but now I don't think I can. Nadine's creepy glances appeared again in front of my eyes and the pressure inside me rose.
What worries me more is that Farah has sensed that there is friction between me and Nadine. She even asked about the text, but I played dumb. I am quite sure she is suspicious and doesn't believe my attemps of denial.
As soon as we both entered the room, both Farah and I threw ourselves on our beds.
I thought that maybe by taking a nap I can avoid Farah's interrogations, but I should've thought better.
Before I could even utter a single word, Farah started speaking. I couldn't make out anything from what she said though since she was digging her face into the pillow.
"What?" I asked confused.
She lifted her face and turned to look towards my bed. "Don't you dare take a nap because you are not going anywhere until you sit on my confession chair and tell me every single thing you have been trying to avoid telling me today."
Suddenly, she jumped from her position and quickly landed back sitting in an indian style. 'How did she do that?' I thought.
She gave me a look that said 'you better tell me the truth'. I sighed.
"Okay look, I'll tell you everything." I said.
"You better do." she raised her eyebrows impatiently.
"Today as I was leaving the room I recieved a text from Nadine. She said that she could help me take revenge from Lucas. That's what those long stares today are all about. Now the text I recieved was also from her. She was asking if I have thought about taking revenge and that I should think of how broken and hurt I am now." I blabbered quickly.
She stayed silent for a minute as if waiting for all that I've told her to sink in.
"What did you text her back?" She asked me looking worried.
"I didn't text her back yet. I'm still not sure what I'm gonna do. I mean, I don't exactly know what is the revenge that she is planning to take." I answered.
She looked at me bewildered. "You're not sure what you're going to do? Are you even considering letting Nadine's help you take revenge from Lucas?"
I opened my mouth to say something but she started talking again, anger building up more in her tender voice.
"Why do you think Nadine is offering to help you? Since when has she become such a kind-hearted person that loves to help others get over their heartbreak?"
I was silent. She stood up and started pacing and then stopped. "You can't be serious, Aya."
"Why can't I be serious, Farah? Have you ever put yourself in my shoes, and wondered what is it like being used by someone you once thought loved you?" I suddenly broke down. "It hurts. It hurts so much, Farah. It hurts so much that he didn't love me, that I was just a back up plan of his." I said tears rolling down my face.
She rushed over to me and embraced me in a tight hug.
"Am I such a bad person that he couldn't love me?" I sobbed into her shoulder.
She pulled away holding onto my shoulders. "Don't you ever think that. You're perfect, Aya. He just doesn't know the treasure he lost. You're strong enough to get up and be your cheery, optimistic self again. After all, you are gonna go back to being a 'single pringle' as you used to say. Imagine the line of guys that will run after you tomorrow." She told me smiling. Suddenly, I felt better.
"Yeah, you're right. I should follow that theory again." I told her wiping my tears away.
"That's my girl." She said pulling me back into her arms.
"I love you, bunny." I told her hugging her back.
"Love you too, cupcake." She replied.
She pulled away and grabbed her iPhone to look at it and set it back down.
"It's 3 o'clock now, we have nothing to do, and it is the weekend." She said jumping off the bed.
"Are you thinking of what I am thinking?" I said, smiling expectantly.
"Well, let us both just say what we are thinking of at once." Farah shrugged.
"Okay then." Excitement was pouring out of my mouth. I hated suspense.
We both counted:
1..
2..
3..
"MOVIE MARATHON!" Farah and I said simultaneously.
We burst out laughing before we went through out DVD collection, picking what we wanted to watch. I then headed to our kitchenette to prepare some microwave popcorn.
We both fell into deep sleep halfway through the fourth disney movie, having salty popcorn crumbles scrambled on both of our beds.
*******
I woke up to the annoying sound of Farah's alarm clock. I put on my eyeglasses and struggled to read the time shown by our wall clock. After a minute, I figured through lazy eyes that it was 9:30 AM. Typical Farah. I stood up and headed to the bathroom to do my daily morning routine then started preparing my beach outfit and neccessities.
I put on my favorite neon pink bikini along with my short, white summer dress and white flip-flops.
Farah had already picked out her clothing last night. It consisted of an aqua-colored, one piece swim suit along with a coral red crop top with the quote 'True Love Exists' written in a vibrant yellow. She also set grey denim shorts, and coral red flip flops that matched the shirt.
We both grabbed our bags and packed some minorities like extra towels, sun screens and so on. I combed my hair in a messy braid while Farah let it down.
By the time we finished getting ready, it was 10:50 AM. Ethan has already texted Farah, telling her that he was waiting. Just on time.
"Ready?" I asked Farah.
"As ready as I'll ever be." She answered me with a grin.
I grabbed my keys and we left. We found Ethan waiting by his car typing away on his phone. As soon as he heard us coming, he looked up putting his phone away.
"Morning, ladies." He greeted grinning.
"Hey, Ethy." We both replied. We looked at each other and laughed while he just chuckled. His morning voice hasn't still completely disappeared. I knew Farah had something for his morning voice, so I winked at her. She seemed to notice and replied with a glare. Smooth.
He opened his car trunk in which we put our bags. Farah then rested beside Ethan in the passenger seat while I layed alone in the backseat. Yay for being single.
The road was clear as it was early in the morning. We spent almost an hour before we spotted the seashore and saw the big sign having the bay's name written on it.
- Farah's POV-
We reached the beach, found an empty spot and put our things. Aya and I took off the clothing that covered the swimsuits. Some guys were passing and sent us wolf whistles. I blushed and looked away, but Aya seemed unbothered. My daring best friend is back.
Moments later, Aya nudged my side. I looked at her in confusion and she pointed to Ethan smiling. I looked his way to find his jaw clenched and his hands clutched in fists. He looked really pissed and I held back my laughter, looking away and acting as if I hadn't noticed his anger. Aya took out her sunscreen and started dabbing some onto her arms and legs. I took out mine and applied it similarly. When I looked back at Ethan, I found him shirtless and still giving those guys who have sit near us a death glare. I decided to distract him and myself as well since I was still mesmerized by how attractive his body looks when he has no shirt on.
"Ethan? Are you going to stand there for too long? Do you even have sunscreen?" I asked him.
He then turned to look at me. As he registered my question, he gave me a sheepish smile indicating that he didn't.
"Here, use mine, or else you will be a burned tomato by the end of the day." I said giving it to him.
He looked at it, then at me. His eyes suddenly lit up. "I'm afraid that I am too lazy to do it myself. Can you please apply it for me?" He smirked.
I was shocked to the point that I couldn't form any words to reply.
Aya looked amused by how flustered I was. She forced herself not to burst out laughing at how cheesy Ethan was.
I mustered up all the courage I have and motioned for him to sit down so that I can apply the sunscreen. He layed on his stomach, facing his back towards me. My hand was shaking too much that I couldn't hold even hold the bottle properly. He turned and winked at me and I glared at him. I applied some on his back and started rubbing it slowly. I was done with his back and now he turned to face me. I blushed as I applied some on his chest. As much as I would openly deny it, I was really enjoying doing this to Ethan in front of everyone. I can only imagine the faces of the guys that flirted with Aya and I earlier, after they see me in this position now.
Just then, Aya decided to show that she's a moving creature and not a motionless tree.
"I just love you both together." She squealed.
To my surprise, she didn't seem one bit annoyed, which was something that I worried about. At least I know that she doesn't interfere my personal life with hers, just because she just heartbroken by her first love.
I felt my cheeks blush more and Ethan chuckled and wrapped his arms around me and gave me kiss on the cheek.
"You look cute when you blush." He said, having his mouth dangerously close to my ear. His raspy voice sent chills down my spine.
What has Ethan done to me?
He then looked towards those guys again and clenched his jaws once more.
This time Aya decided to distract him.
"So what do you guys want to do?" Aya asked.
Ethan looked back at us. "It doesn't matter to me. Listen, I forgot my phone back in the car. I'll go get it" He said.
He looked at the guys again for a second before standing up and going away towards his car.
Aya and I layed on the sand having a sun bathe while listening to the loud music blasting through the bar's sound system.
The douchebags were now playing beach volley. Someone shoot the ball and it landed right beside us. Two of them came to pick up the ball. The blonde one took it and came over to us while the other stayed back but I noticed him staring at Aya.
"Sorry beautiful, the ball landed here by mistake." He said.
"No problem." I shrugged.
"My name is Mason. You girls are?" He asked.
I stared at him but didn't reply.
"I'm Aya." She said.
I looked at her. "She's Farah."
"Well nice to meet you Aya and Farah." he said.
I finally decided to talk. "Nice to meet you too."
"You seem friendly, Farah. I don't know why you're with such douche bag. Any guy would kill to have a hot girl like you as his girlfriend." He said.
I was about to open my mouth and tell him to back off when suddenly he was pulled up and punched hard in the face.
I screamed and looked up to find it was Ethan who punched him.
The boy fell to the floor touching his bleeding nose.
I quickly stood up and went over to Ethan before he can throw another punch.
He pulled me to him wrapping his arm around my waist, pulling me close to his bare chest.
"I hope that you write your will before you think of coming near my girl again because I will beat the life out of your stupid face." He growled angrily.
The look that overcame their faces was priceless. It was a mixture of fear, anger, and retreat. They soon collected their stuff and went to sit in a place farther than where we were.
Aya seemed like she couldn't keep in her laughter any longer. Her face was becoming red and she was shaking.
Seconds later, her enthusiastic laughter filled up the crowded place. People gave her annoyed glares, but she didn't care one bit.
What amazed me is that Ethan also burst out laughing. Soon, all three of us were laughing like maniacs, our voices echoeing on the seashore.
Aya finally recollected her voice. "I am gonna go have a drink from the bar. Care to join?" She said while getting up.
"Nope, we will have some later." Ethan smiled at her. She smiled back and gave us a little wavse before she headed to where the bar was.
Ethan came closer to me and hugged me even tighter. "You look beautiful today."
"Maybe." I said while blushing.
"No. You are beautiful, you have a pure heart, and most importantly, you are mine." He whispered the last part very close to my face.
*******
-Aya's POV-
I left Farah and Ethan snuggling in the sand and went to have a drink before I hop into the water.
"I'll have a cocktail, please." I told the bartender with a smile. Damn, he was hot.
"Anything for my lady." He said with a wink, ruffling his light brown hair. I watched him prepare my order, registering every move of his.
He slid the cup over the counter. "I'm Isaac, and you are?"
"I'm Aya, nice to meet you Isaac." I smiled and took a sip of my drink.
"So why is a beautiful lady like you alone in a popular bay like this?" He leaned over the counter, starting a conversation. There was no one ordering anything so he was just socializing with me.
"I am not alone, actually. I came with my best friend and her boyfriend. Kind of a third wheel, but it is the beach so I couldn't say no. I love the sea!" I let out a giggle.
"You are trying to say that you are single then, huh?" He smirked. He was obviously messing with me.
"I am not trying to say anything, but yes, I am single." I looked down and took the last sip of my drink.
"Well then, here is my number. Call me whenever you feel like having fun." He crumpled a piece of paper in my hand and winked.
"Okay then, confident guy. Don't get your hopes up alot though, you can never know what am I gonna do with this paper." I smirked.
"I'm sure you're gonna call. Bye babe." He waved as I got off the chair.
"Bye, Isaac." I waved back.
I headed back to where I left Farah and Ethan earlier, only not to find them there. I looked to my left and to my right, but no trace of them was found anywhere.
I stood like a scarecrow in my bikini for a moment until I heard Farah's voice coming from the direction of the sea. Ethan and her already started swimming without me.
"You guys went swimming without me. This is unfair!" I whined, getting into the water as well.
"It was really hot out there. Plus, you seemed to be having so much fun talking to that bartender, didn't you?" Ethan said while smirking.
"Yeah, I did. He is okay." I said, calmly. I wasn't lying, I kinda liked him. Not in the romantic way, though. I am still not ready by any means.
We stayed in the sea for about 3 more hours. My day was going brilliant so far. I was with 2 of my best friends, I introduced myself to the bartender, I laughed my life off, and I was in the sea! Can life be any better right now?
We got out of the sea, changed into our spare clothes, and got ready for the beach party Ethan told us was going to take place in a few minutes.
Farah and I were sitting on the warm sand, watching the beauty of the sky during sunset. It was a breath-taking view, and I dont recall that I've ever seen anything in nature that compares to this sight. The clouds were a bright orange color, mingling with the yellow color of the sun and the darkness of the night sky that was beginning to make a noticable appearance. I was simply overwhelmed.
Ethan had a phonecall to answer, so as soon as he finished, we were heading towards the dancing crowd. That was obviously where the party is.
I was dressed in a strapless, white romper with a pink floral print, and my white slip-ons. I let my short hair dry on its own after I washed all the salty water out of it. I applied a coat of pink lipstick and winged my black eyeliner.
Farah was simultaneously getting ready alongside of me. She has worn her ombré, floor-length dress which had a dark grey color, fading into a white near the ends. To my tremendous surprise, Farah had forgotten to grab some matching shoes. So instead of wearing her red flip flops and look like a clown, she borrowed my white flip-flops.
After we were done, we headed out to where the party was occuring. There were drunk people dancing around to the blasting music playing from the DJ's sound system everywhere. It hasn't even been an hour since the party started!
I looked over at the bar, searching for one specific face. I was deeply hoping that his shift hasn't ended before the party started. I really enjoyed chatting with him.
My eyes roamed over the marble counter, until they spotted his light brown fringe and hazel eyes. I dont know why am I acting like this, I've only met Isaac today!
Just on cue, Farah talked. "Wanna go grab a drink? I guess Ethan is already there." Damn. She must have noticed how focused my eyes were towards the bar.
"Yeah why not. The cocktail was quite good." I tried changing topics.
"What about the bartender? Was he as good as the cocktail?" Farah smirked.
"You are acting as if we slept together. I only talked to him. I contain no affection towards him!" Farah raised her eyebrows, clearly unconvinced with my lie.
I gave into her stare. "I mean, he is quite good-looking but.."
I was cut off. "That's my girl." Farah said while patting my back.
I mouthed a quick 'ow' before we reached the bar. Ethan was actually seated there just like Farah said. He was scrolling through his Facebook in complete focus, when we caught him off-guard by slmming our fists on his shoulder.
He flew off the chair in surprise and almost let go off his phone into the sand. Farah and I burst out laughing at his reaction.
"What the hell! I almost died there!" He furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.
"Sorry, Eth." I said while giving him a friendly hug.
Farah appeared from behind me, waving towards Ethan's direction. Suddenly, his expression changed from annoyance to surprise. They continued to look at each other in shyness, while I just stood there like the third wheel I was.
"You look, um, amazing." He finally blurted, getting off the chair.
"You don't look so bad either." Farah smiled at him while he put an arm around her, taking her for a walk.
"That must be terrible." I heard a voice say.
"Wha-" I looked to my right, only to find Isaac standing there with a smug smile on his face. "Oh, it's you." I smiled back.
"Hey, are you not happy to see me?" He fake pouted.
"I am afraid not." I decided to mess around with him.
"Aw, then. Have fun watching your lovey dovey friends' PDA." Isaac probably understood that I was joking as the smirk never left his tanned face. I looked over at where Farah and Ethan were. Sure enough, they were kissing.
"Wait, no. I could use some company." I giggled.
"Lucky you, I just finished my shift. Let me change into some decent party clothes, though." Isaac said with a caring smile.
"Okay, I'll be waiting by the rocks near the shore. Come over whenever you are ready." I pointed over to where I'll be waiting, then looked at him and smiled.
"See you." He winked and disappeared into the staff room.
I headed over to the rocks, sitting in silence. I let the sound of the waves smashing into the rocks engulf my thinking, and soon every memory I had experienced with Lucas came rushing into my current state of mind.
I hadn't realized that there were tears rolling down my face until a hand made its way to rest on my shoulder, breaking me out of my thinking zone.
"Is everything alright? Has anyone here hurt you?" Isaac looked into my eyes, looking for an answer.
"No, no. Not at all, actually. It is just my sick memory." I fake laughed to lighten up the mood.
"I ain't buying this excuse pretty girl, but let's forget it and have some fun out there!" Isaac soon returned back to his bubbly personality I got attracted to.
He took my hand in his, tangling our fingers together. For some reason, I felt safe. The warmth that radiated out of his palms sent shivers down my spine. I looked to our hands, then to his face that towered over mine.
We finally reached the dance floor. Isaac directly let go of my hand and started showing of some hilarious twerking to Miley Cyrus' famous party song, We Can't Stop. I burst out laughing to his failed attempt that I probably sounded like a dying hyena.
He joined my laughter and I internally melted when I saw his gorgeous smile. It was adorable how his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and how his cheek bones become defined when laughter escapes him. I stood there adorning his details, such as how amazing he looked in a simple white shirt and sea blue shorts.
"Something wrong with my face?" Isaac questioned, amused.
My cheeks suddenly heated up. "Sorry, I was lost in thoughts for a second."
"You do a lot of thinking. We are partying, focus on the moment and have fun." He patted my back.
I did as I was told. I showed off my dance moves and became the center of attention. It wasn't something I was used to, but I didn't care. People were surrounding me in a circle, praising me when I did an extraordinary stunt. Heck, even Isaac stood there with a parted mouth and wide eyes.
As soon as the song I was currently dancing to stopped, everybody went back to doing their own business. Isaac came closer to me, a shocked look on his face.
"How on Earth did you manage to do that?" He said with a surprised tone.
"I love dancing. I spend hours and hours watching choreography on YouTube that I memorized almost all the moves. Attending parties became a way to examine my skills." I said proudly.
"I must say that I am impressed. You must teach me sometime." He winked.
"In your dreams, young man." I flicked his shoulder.
We decided to take a break from dancing, so we moved back to the rocks where we initially met in order to hear each other.
"You just called me young man when you don't actually know my age." He faced me, smirking.
"It was a metaphor, but now that you've mentioned it, how old are you?" I questioned, curious to know.
"I would tease you before I say, judging the curious look on your face, but I am as curious as you are to know yours." He smiled cheekily.
"My eyes won't magically show my age, so you should stop carving holes into them. I asked first, so you should say first." I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes, breaking his stare.
"Yeah, I should. I turn 22 in two weeks, January the 25th." He smiled.
"Wow, you definitely look younger." I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
"What? Are you 13?" He chuckled.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny, Isaac. I am actually 19. 20 on June the 24th." I looked at him expectantly, waiting for a change of looks due to the age gap, but his smile just grew wider.
"Aw, you're younger than me!" He beamed.
"Yes, I realized that." I giggled.
"I mean, I would have never guessed. You are much more mature. Now that I have focused, you do look young." He pinched my cheeks with a grin on his face.
"I am lost. Is that a good or a bad thing?" I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Hey, no. It is a very good thing! I love it when girls are younger than me! Then I can take care of them, or of you at the moment." He put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me closer. "I hope you don't mind." He looked at me hesitantly.
"Not at all." I smiled reassuringly.
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" He asked me.
"Go ahead." I shrugged my shoulders.
"Do you live near this area of LA?"
"I live with my best friend Farah in the dorms of the university we go to. It is one hour away."
"Wow, you go to uni? What are you studying?"
"I am currently studying Business and Administration. I plan on specializing in marketing. Maybe opening my own business on the long run." I laughed at my brief summary of my future.
"You are one ambitious girl. You just summed up 10 years ahed in a sentence."
"I guess that is who I've been since I started high school. I moved away from my family to attend uni here in LA."
"That is crazy! You don't look like a "Cali" girl, so it makes sense." He removed his hand off my shoulders to place quotations that emphasized the word 'cali'.
Something was missing when he removed his hand, I felt bugged about it.
"What is meant by a 'cali' girl?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Filthy rich, stuck-up, illiterate brats that have no goals except to look like a barbie doll." He chuckled.
"Oh. If that is the case, then no I am not a 'cali' girl." I turned to look at him only to find him looking at me, smiling.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked while looking straight into his eyes.
He pushed loose strand of hair out of my face. "Your have beautiful eyes, did anyone ever tell you that?"
I was full-on blushing at this moment. "They are always hidden behind the eyeglasses, so I don't recall that anyone has ever said that to me." I smiled shyly.
"You do know now." That overwhelming smile never left his face.
"Isn't it weird that you know a fair amount of information about me and I know absolutely nothing about you except your first name and birthdate?"
"Well, what do you want to know?"
"Answer the questions you asked me, then we can sort out some other questions."
"I also live one hour away from here, downtown LA." He stopped talking, then continued. "I was in college, but I dropped out of the second year because I couldn't afford it and I needed to work."
"Do you mind me asking why?"
"Family issues. They're over, though. I just had no interest in going back to college after that. The place brought back too much unpleasant memories." He sighed.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this." I looked at him, truly concerned.
"Don't be, everyday is a new day. Maybe I would return to studying eventually."
"What did you study in college?" I finally asked him.
"Medicine. My life goal was to become a life saver. I wanted to be an influence. However, the exact opposite happened. Here I am, working as a bartender." He smiled in defeat.
"Hey," I pushed his face towards my direction. "working as a bartender is not something to be ashamed of. Millions of people would dream to be in your place right now. It is never too late to be who might've once dreamt of being!" I smiled kindly at him.
"Can I ask for one more favor after these precious words?" He asked me, his mind focused on something.
"Of course, anything." I tilted my head to the side.
"May I hug you?" He smiled.
I didn't answer, but I wrapped my arms around him as tight as I could. I immediately recognized his Bleu de Chanel cologne, one of which i adored.
He hug me back with equal force as mine. After a couple of seconds of squeezing, we just stood there, my head resting on his shoulder and my arms on his chest, while his hands rested on my waist.
I then realized that it has been a while since I've heard from Ethan and Farah. Unfortunately, I needed to break the hug apart abruptly.
"Did I do something wrong?" Isaac looked at me in fear.
My furrowed eyebrows went back to their place when I realized that I took him off-guard. I started laughing. "No, no. I'm sorry. I just realized that I totally forgot about Ethan and Farah. I last saw them near the bar, I haven't heard from them since."
His face softened into a smile. "Oh okay. Hell, my heart stopped for a minute there." He chuckled nervously.
"I'm really sorry. I should've been more careful." I smiled cheekily.
"It is okay, Aya. Trust me."
I didn't reply. Instead, I changed topics. "May I have your phone for a second?"
My question surprised him, but he did as told. "Sure." He typed in the passcode and gave it to me.
I pressed on the familiar green phone button and typed in my number, then gave it back to him.
"What is that?" He asked while looking at the number.
"What do you think it is? My bank account number?" I asked, amused.
"Wait, is that your number?"
"Took you long enough."
"Why'd you give it to me?"
"Because."
"Because what?"
"Because I want to. Is there something wrong?"
"No, but I thought that you wouldn't want to see me again after today."
"What makes you think like that?" I was truly shocked by his confession.
"I am not interesting. You wouldn't want to get attached to me. I am a filthy mess."
"Isaac, look at me." He turned to face me. "Your past doesn't define you. I don't know what exactly happened, but you said yourself that it is over. Forget whatever happened in the past, get over your emotional scars. Focus on the chances that tomorrow will behold."
He was silent for moments. "I would've never thought that there were people on Earth with such a pure heart as yours. I mean, you just me a couple of hours ago, and here you are giving me a pep talk about how I should focus on my future. How is that even possible?"
"It is possible if the person is you. I have the ability of detecting people's intentions once they start talking to me, and I've figured out that you would cause me no harm, so why not?"
"You are weird, but I like it." He grinned.
"Oh, I must say that I am flattered."
After that session, I rang Farah's phone. She told me that they were waiting for me near the parking lot, and that is where Isaac and I were heading towards right now. He insisted that he would walk me over to them as there were many drunk people around, but I assured him that it wasn't necessary.
I was currently alone, bumping into what seemed like a flood of drunk, immature boys and girls, and I instantly thanked God that I haven't had any alcoholic drink today.
I finally spotted the parking lot after a good amount of walking, but I didn't get the chance to reach over to where Farah and Ethan was as I was being blindfolded and carried into the opposite direction, then I went unconscious.
**********
-Author's Note:
TA DAAAAA.
This has to be the longest chapter I've ever written since I started writing this story, so I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoy writing it
I would also like to thank my best friend and also savior, Farah, for her incredible effort in helping me with writing a remarkable part of this chapter. I love you baeee <3
Song of the chapter: Amnesia - 5 Seconds of Summer.
Until next time!
-Aya.<3