"Are you going to order? or just stand there?" Were words a male said from behind her.
Turning around, a male with orange to pink-ish hair color was standing with his arms crossed, and it seemed like there was a girl with dark hair, clutching onto his pants, whilst trying to hide herself. The expression she wore meant displeasure.
The little girl huffed and punched the side of his waist. "Oppa! You can't say that!" She angrily addresses the situation on hand.
"But we will be lat-"
"Even so! Being mean isn't he way to go! I'm sure unnie would be mad at you if she knew what you did!"
Athanasia cleared her throat and sent them a soft smile. "Ah, it's fine." She wanted to turn around to order her drink, but a gasp refrained her from turning around.
"Miss doll!" A smile made it way on the younger girl's lips. "How are you? Do you feel better?" The girl kept on asking her questions, distracting her from ordering a drink.
The boy seemed shocked by the little girl knowing the woman. "You know her?" He looked at the blonde in front of him and then averting his gaze to witness the short girl that once was holding tightly on his pants now all chit chatty with the female they met moments ago or he met moments ago, because that didn't seem to be the case for the younger girl.
"Yes, she is the girl I told you about, the one I met in the park, when she held waffles." The little girl enthusiastically told him, and went back to having a conversation with the golden haired lady.
"Excuse me, ma'am, can you order? There are customers behind you." The man behind the counter politely addressed.
Athanasia turned back around and smiled apologetically. "Ah, yes, I'm sorry." She bowed a little and ordered a drink before heading to take a seat.
She pulled a chair and took a seat. She took out her phone, checking the celebrity news. Athanasia tossed her phone to the side and combed her hand through her golden locks, feeling mentally exhausted from everything that had been taking place lately.
"Hey, Miss!" The girl came back with a drink in her hands. "Why are you sad, today?" She asked her.
"Oh... uh, it's nothing." Athanasia smiled to show her that she was doing alright.
"Miss, you know lying isn't good." The girl crossed her arms on the table and laid her head on her arms.
Athanasia raised her eyebrows and let out a small laugh. "Sometimes lying about something is better than telling other people the truth," The blue eyed female pushed the hair of the girl out of her face. "And sometimes, it may lead to miseries." She clasped her hands together with a saddened smile.
"Well, then you should be honest!" The girl sat up properly and swung her feet that were too short to rest on the ground. "Honesty is best policy."
Athanasia looked away from her for a second. "What is your name?" She thought it would be better to change the topic rather than stay on her topic.
"My name... my parents told me not to share private information with strangers." The girl pouted and tapped her chin, acting as if she was thinking hard about whether to tell the female in front of her her name. "But I don't think you're a stranger, so I will tell you my name. My name is Evangeline but people call me Eva, Angeline, Angel, Linlin, and yeah. What about you?"
Athanasia fell in love with the girls name, it sounded nice. "Your name is nice. Mine is Athanasia but people tend to call me Athy." She cupped her own face in her hands.
"Woah, your name is pretty!" The girl complimented honestly. "You know, Miss Athy, I've seen you somewhere before... before I even met you in the park. Yeah, you look familiar." Evangeline squinted her eyes, trying to remember where she saw Athanasia.
Athanasia tried to suppress her rising laughter. "Hm really... where did you see me?" Athanasia wanted to hear her answer.
"...On TV." The girl said after moments of silence.
Athanasia sat up properly and put a leg on top of the other. "Oh, really?" She grabbed the cup in front of her and took a small sip. "Bitter." She scrunched up her nose and grabbed a sugar packet.
The girl sprung up from her seat. "Yes! In my favorite drama!" She sat back down after feeling the stares from everybody in the coffee shop. "You played as Edith!" She whispered to Athanasia who let out a chuckle.
Athanasia ripped the sugar packet open. "Yes, keep it a secret, okay?" She grabbed a spoon and stirred her coffee to make the sugar dissolve in it quicker.
"Angeline, let's go." The male who came with her walked up to her and picked her up. "Ah, right. Bye." He told the blonde woman before leaving and hearing some screams.
"No! I'm telling Oppa! Let me down!" Laughs followed those screams.
"Haaaa. Seems like fun." Athanasia placed the cup closer to her lips just so she can pull away from it and let out a noise of disgust. "...Needs more sugar."
"Hm...?" She clicked on the group chat that had been blowing up for some minutes now.
WAKE UP ISTFG JSDVI
3:54PM, Today.
Daisy 🌼 (3:54PM): our Athy is in trouble
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (3:54PM): What did she do now?
Vieve 🦉 (3:55PM): bruh
Vieve 🦉 (3:55PM): cheek celeb news
Vieve 🦉 (3:55PM): check***
Cousinette ✨ (3:56PM): https://www.celebnews.com/hot-minute-news/Kn5LPa610
Cousinette ✨ (3:56PM): Let Athy alone >:(
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (3:57PM): yeah let our bb alone-
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (3:57PM): she just wants alone time
Vieve 🦉 (3:57PM): yeah whatever Ellie said
Daisy 🌼 (3:58PM): you guys are really fucking dumb
Cousinette ✨ (3:58PM): huh?
Vieve 🦉 (3:58PM): GASP
Vieve 🦉 (3:59PM): mY FEELINGS DISDHSO
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (3:59PM): wHAT DO YOU MEAN DJJSDJ
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (3:59PM): Daisy is mean :(( Jeanette look at the way she treats us
Cousinette ✨ (4:00PM): woh woh woh-
Cousinette ✨ (4:00PM): that's why I'm their favorite mother
Cousinette ✨ (4:00PM): you always scold our children
Vieve 🦉(4:01PM): Yeah :((
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (4:01PM): I'm calling child services 😔👊
Daisy 🌼 (4:01PM): ffs you guys are literally missing the point-
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (4:02PM): what point?
Vieve 🦉 (4:02PM): ??
Cousinette ✨ (4:03PM): I'm so confused???
Daisy 🌼 (4:03PM): isn't Athy supposed to be hanging out with ijebitch?
Vieve 🦉 (4:04PM): oh my god...
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (4:04PM): I cant believe it...
Cousinette ✨ (4:05PM): I rubbed my eyes so hard to check if it's real or not...
Daisy 🌼 (4:05PM): ??
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (4:05PM): you called Ijekiel ijebitch omg
Cousinette ✨ (4:05PM): oh my god are you okay daisy?
Vieve 🦉 (4:06PM): AHAHAHAHA
Daisy 🌼 (4:07PM): oh my fucking god.
Daisy 🌼 (4:07PM): so we are going to ignore the fact that athy isn't with Ijekiel as of now?
Vieve 🦉 (4:08PM): Yes ✨💫🤩
Cousinette ✨ (4:08PM): lolololol
Ill-E ☺️🔫 (4:08PM): maybe they canceled their outing, it's fine
Vieve 🦉 (4:09PM): yeah nothing else
Vieve 🦉 (4:09PM): you guys have plans or free?
Athanasia didn't read half of the conversation, as she scrolled back up and clicked on the link daisy provided.
Athanasia de Alger Obelia.
We caught Athanasia in a cafe with a small girl. It seemed like they knew each other. Lately, we have been spotting Athanasia a lot more. Does that have a hidden meaning behind it? Why isn't she out with her friends or cousin? There is probably some private drama between them.
Athanasia didn't continue reading the rest of the article since she couldn't bear reading more false misinformation. She exhaled and placed her phone on the table, face facing the table so she doesn't see her phone notifications. She peeked out the window and drank her drink. "...Why is it still bitter?"
'Maybe I should just tell him that I want to break up... but I would hurt him.' She ripped open a sugar packet and poured the sugar inside before grabbing the small spoon and stirring it up. 'I wouldn't want to hurt him, no. Was it wrong that I yelled at him? Of course, it is wrong, what are you saying, Athanasia? Honestly, everything's a mess.' Another packet getting ripped open. 'I think I should tell him... wait, but then he would ask me if I ever even liked him and then it would be a huge ass drama... no, no. Wait, yes, how to break up with someone without hurting their feelings, or be nice about it.' The sound of a spoon clashing with porcelain cup can be heard loud and clear. The stirring didn't stop. 'Can you be nice about breaking up with someone? Like, hey I want us not to be together anymore. Wait, that sounds mean, it sounds more like a demand. Yeah, scratch that.' More paper getting ripped, forming a small mess on the side of her table. 'Ugh, Ijekiel and Ijekiel, get out of my damn mind. Wait, but I came here to collect my thoughts, so I should be thinking about him. Ah, fuck.' She groaned and suddenly a thought flashed in her head.
Lucas.
A gasp escaped her lips as she shook her head vigorously and tried to brush it off by taking a sip of coffee. "Ah, too sweet!" She was too engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even realize the amount of sugar packets she had ripped open and how much sugar she added. She turned her head, and a pile of empty sugar packets were stacked onto each other. "...oops." She turned to look at her coffee and continued stirring it, and just like that, she fell into another whole filled with her thoughts.
It varied. Her thoughts first went from Ijekiel and how can she solve this situation, and honestly it caused distress. It made her feel miserable, but if anybody had power over that situation, it's was her. She is the one who needs to solve the problem that she caused. And her other thought was that red eyed male that she didn't want to see. It's not that she didn't want to see, it's more of that, she didn't know how to face him after last time's incident.
And thus, she spent her day like that. It was honestly vexing in its own peculiar way. She didn't think of herself as a person who overthinks, but after this day today, she realized that she is, in fact, someone who can overthink and make things more dramatic than they are supposed to be.
"Oh, what's that?" As she was about to click on the post, her phone screen turned black. "...I ran out of battery..." She sighed and unzipped her bag. "Power bank, where are you." She was going through her stuff, searching for her power bank. "...I forgot my power bank. Fun." She looked outside the window and saw the dark sky. The clouds were dark and thick. It made the place seem gloomy and bleak. "Is it even nighttime? I should probably get going before it starts raining." She picked up her stuff and headed out of the cafe.
Walking down the pathway, next to her a busy road. She couldn't call anyone since her phone had ran out of battery, so she had to wait for a cab. "Ah, I'll walk to there and then I'll wait for a cab." And to her misery, water droplets fell on her head in a slow yet increasing pace. "Oh, what the fuck did I do to deserve this?" She muttered curses under her breath and walked faster. She raised her arm over her head to protect herself from the rain, but it was in no way useful. It just made her look insane.
She paused and looked at her surrounding for a bit. "Maybe there is a hotel near here..." Athanasia's once curly hair was now damped. It looked sleek and felt heavy. Her shirt was now translucent, pressing against her skin. "So embarrassing." She mumbled and shivered lightly. "Now is really not your time." She hugged herself, hoping it would help her keep warm.
Once she reached the place, she stood there, tapping her foot on the ground whilst still hugging herself tightly. She thought she saw a cab, but it was just a random car. She was about to raise her hand, but didn't when she saw another random car pass by. "This is going to take forever." Or so she thought.
She stayed like this for 10 minutes before deciding to walk down the road and enter any hotel. Just as she was about to walk away from her place, she felt a car stop behind her. She hesitantly turned around and saw a black sports car. She knew Ijekiel's car, and this wasn't his car. She thought of her friends, but none of them owned a car like that.
The person who was inside the car, rolled down his window and she met his eyes. Red like blood eyes. Athanasia didn't utter a word, just keeping her gaze on him for moments before looking away.
Lucas sighed. "Athanasia." He called for her and left his car. He opened an umbrella and held it on top of her.
Athanasia was shocked when she didn't feel droplets of water fall on her head. She looked up to see an umbrella. She turned around and saw the person holding the umbrella behind her.
"Get in the car." That sounded like a demand, but the stubborn Athanasia wouldn't listen to him.
"No, thank you." She didn't take his 'offer' and was about to head in her own way.
"It's not like you have someone to pick you up. Let me take you home." He held her wrist and it stopped her form taking any step further.
Athanasia was about to go off at him, but she didn't have the energy to fight with him. As for his offer, she contemplated before sighing and walking to his car. She opened the door to the backseat and as she was about to close it, a man stopped her.
"I'm not your chauffeur. Get in the passenger seat." Was what he said, tapping on the roof of the car.
"Fine." And just like that, the blonde got in the passenger seat.
It took some time for Lucas to get in the driver seat, but when he got in, he threw a towel on Athanasia as he buckled up. "Dry yourself." He changed the car seat setting so that it can warm up the seat for her.
Athanasia muttered a small thank you before wrapping herself with the towel Lucas threw on her.
"Where is your house?" He questioned. He did say he wanted to take her home.
"...I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"It means I don't know. I legit don't know."
"How?"
"I don't know! I got mad at Ijekiel, I told him to pullover and it was here so I spent my day in a cafe. I've never been here."
"Then why were you waiting for a cab if you didn't know where your house is?"
"I could've told the driver to drop me off at a hotel or something. I do have money."
"Your phone. Input your address in maps, and I will drive you home."
"My phone is dead. If it wasn't dead I would've called someone and by now I would've been home."
"Give me your address, then."
"I don't know my address."
"Are you kidding me?"
"I wish I was."
"..."
"..."
"Haaaaaah, so annoying." He ran his fingers through his hair as he said those words that caused Athanasia to mutter curse words under her breath.
The car went silent after that. The only noise that could be heard is the sound of rain hitting the car roof and windows, and the sound of the car engine roaring, alongside the cars on the road that were splashing water on the road.
"Why..." Athanasia gulped. "Why did you decide to help me?" A question Athanasia needed an answer for. She didn't want a fabricated lie, she wanted an honest answer.
A small chuckle arose from him. "It's that if I left you there, you would've gotten home or should I say, hotel room sick, in which it will hold back the filming, and I wouldn't want the filming to get held back because a stupid someone forgot their umbrella despite the weather being cloudy all day." He answered her, sharply.
She thought of getting mad at him and telling him what she had in mind, but quickly thought against it as she was supposed to be grateful and not get mad at him. If only he didn't help her, she would've started bickering with him.
The rest of the car ride was silent. None of them said a thing. Lucas' attention was on the road, whilst Athanasia was looking out the window, looking at the water droplets slide off the window slowly. Both of them were in their own world. It wasn't awkward, it was a calm silence. It was strange, yet none of them dared to ask themselves on why it was comfortable.
Lucas drove to an apartment parking lot and parked his car. "Spend the night at my house since it's late and you don't know where your house is." He unbuckled his seat belt and stopped the engine.
"Okay..." Athanasia got off the car, the towel still wrapped around her.
Athanasia followed behind Lucas who was walking to the main building. They headed in the elevator and to a hallway that lead them to his room. He shoved the key in the keyhole and turned it to the left.
His apartment was humongous considering that it is an apartment. It was mediocre but luxurious. It was black, and fitted his aesthetic nicely. It screamed Lucas.
"Please, don't mind the mess." He said as he took off his coat.
"Which mess..." She turned her head and saw the living room. The coffee table had notebooks, laptop, electronics, food, pencils, unwashed dishes and mugs. The couch was it own thing. The cushions were thrown all over the ground and so were the blankets. "Oh." Was what left her lips after she saw the mess.
'What could have he been doing to cause this much mess?' She turned around and saw Lucas place a paper bag on the counter of the kitchen.
"There is a room in the hallway, on your left hand side, you can take a shower there. You'll find spare clothes since it's Iara's room. Don't worry, she won't mind." He instructed before walking up to her.
Athanasia nodded her head slightly before following his instructions. She walked down the hallway, and on her right hand side, was a door that had stickers all over. It had a big sign that said, 'No boys allowed!'. Athanasia couldn't help but let it a small giggle. It was too adorable. She didn't think much of it and entered the room parallel to it.
Her first instinct was to search for a charger so she can tell her parents that she will be spending the day at a friends house, but not mentioning who. Because she knew, if she said it was a boy, she will be skinned alive. "Charger... oh, there. Thank god." She plugged it in and waited for her phone to give her the charging sign.
Athanasia took a moment to take a look at the room. It was pretty plain, but the things it had been decorated with, gave it some life. The pink flowers in the vase, the pink and black painting, and the products that were organized based on height on the dresser. All of those big to small details made a difference.
Turning her head to the closet, she picked out a pink pajama and a clean towel before heading to the bathroom that had been connected with the bedroom.
"Is it really because he doesn't want the filming to be held back for a couple of days..." She tossed the towel that Lucas had given her in the car in the laundry basket before locking the door. She slowly stripped out of her clothes and set a foot in the shower.
'Wait, why did that one room have stickers and it seemed a bit childish...' She turned on the faucet, adjusting the water to her liking. 'It seemed like a kids doing.' She felt the water hit her skin lightly, warming her down by how hot the water temperature was. 'Wait, why does Iara even have a room here?' She untangled the knots in her hair with her hands underneath the running water. 'That means one thing...' She placed a generous amount of shampoo on her hand before spreading it on her hair. 'Lucas has a child and the mother is Iara but because Iara is married, Lucas is taking care of the kid.'
Athanasia walked out of the bathroom, towel on her head, clothes a bit big but she didn't mind it because it was comfortable and she was grateful for even having clean clothes. She sat on the bed and checked her phone. She quickly dialed her mother's phone number and waited for her to pick up.
"Hello, Athanasia when are you coming home?" Her mother automatically asked.
"Hi, mom. Good evening. I'll not be coming home today, I'm spending the day at... friends house. Yeah." Athanasia told her mother who took some time before replying to her.
"Aha, alright. Take care of yourself."
"You too."
"I love you. Stay safe."
"Love you too. Goodnight."
She slowly let her hand fall from her ear, looking at her phone. "...I feel bad for lying," Athanasia placed her phone back on the nightstand. "but it's better than dying." She got up from the bed and dried her hair with the towel as she made her way out of the room to the living room where she saw Lucas cleaning up the mess.
"Need help?" She asked him.
Lucas placed a cushion on the couch before sitting down. "No. I just finished." He laid out the food on the table and glanced up at her. "Join me." He told her and she slowly made her way towards him.
Taking a seat next to him, she glanced up at him and took the towel off her head. She tucked her hair behind her ear and helped him lay out the food on the table. "It's... weird." She started a conversation.
He didn't want to ask what was weird, but he still did. "What's weird?"
She crossed her legs and looked at his side profile. "You're acting nice to me."
He grabbed his chopsticks and grabbed the bowl close to him. "I'm not acting nice to you. I am being nice to you." He peeked at her.
"..." Athanasia separated her chopsticks slowly, before digging in. "Why were you out late?" She changed the topic, not wanting to talk about it more.
"I had to drop someone off, and coincidentally I ended up seeing you on my way home. I couldn't leave you alone, because then it would slow down the process of filming if you get sick." He stuffed his mouth with food.
She picked up the food with her chopsticks. "...Is the reason really because if I get sick I would slow down the process of filming? Or is it something else?" She was struggling to get the food in her mouth because her hair was in the way.
Lucas was about to put more food in his mouth, but he witnessed how Athanasia was struggling and he sighed before putting down his plate and going to tie her hair in a ponytail.
Athanasia didn't expect him to tie her hair up, but she didn't dislike it. "Thank you." She mumbled it.
"Just eat." He ordered her.
"...Okay."
Once both of them finished their food, they both cleaned up the mess before both of the heading separate ways to go to sleep since it's gotten late.
"...Is it really because of that reason...?" Athanasia questioned herself as she sprawled on the bed. "I don't know... I will just head to sleep. At least I got somewhere to sleep for tonight. I didn't expect I would find a hotel, to be honest. So I'm glad that Lucas found me." Athanasia turned on the lamp before going to turn off the lights.
"Maybe Lucas is a good person, and maybe I just got on his bad side..." She got under the covers and got comfortable before turning off he lamp and drifting off to sleep.
Dumbass Ellie 🤬🔪
5:36AM, Today.
Dumbass Ellie 🤬🔪(5:36AM): hey you awake?