35

And just like that, Edward's teachings had me nailing through my physics worksheets, fortunately with no homework to spare.

I continued to do my other classes, then calculus was the next one to torment the heck out of my psyche. Luckily, my best friend, who viewed math as both passion and some form of child's play, swept into my rescue, saving me from my misery.

"Math is not something complicated. Once you understand the basics, the formulas and how something is done, you'll ace everything in no time. That's why I came to love it."

Yes, those were her actual words—and the fact she said it in such a nonchalant manner had me contorting my face. Calculators were nothing but an accessory to her; truly counting was her specialty. Not to mention, she snatched the first-place trophy when she joined the math competition last year. And then there was me, who mindlessly wrote five times five as ten.

"I understand how to calculate logs, but the process is just... so complicated! I just don't understand how you cancel all of those numbers!" I huffed, nearly slamming the lockers shut after shoving my textbooks in. Lunch break finally punched the clock, and I could not be anymore happier; I needed refreshments real bad.

"I'll teach you, Rena, don't be so stressed out. You got the pro right here!" Aly boasted as she pointed her thumb onto her chest, as I imagined stars glittered around her. I tore my mouth into a grin—of course she was the expert, there was no denying—while on the other side, Naomi gave her a side glance with narrowed eyes and curled lips.

"Show off," she murmured, crossing her arms. "You think you excel in life just because you're good at math."

"Yes. Jealous?" Aly retorted.

"Meh, not really. I know I sucked at math, but what happens when Rena needs help like chemistry, or biology for that matter?" She shrugged, a smirk morphed into her countenance when Aly's confident face cracked into pieces. She helplessly dropped her arms to the side as she hung her head.

"That's..." Aly heavily hesitated, her voice went faint. "That's the other way around, I guess. We can help each other..." She chuckled sheepishly as her fingers fidgeted, before she trailed her fleeting gaze at me. "After all, Rena did not seem like she needed help in those subjects, right?"

Naomi abruptly burst into a series of guffaws, flinching students nearby and thus earning her dirty looks. At the same time, Aly's eyebrows were pulled to the center as she snapped her head towards Naomi, shooting her dozens of daggers that she could have died instantly if looks were tangible.

"Heh, not so arrogant now, huh? God, just look how your ego shrivels up. Hold up, let us cry a river!!" Naomi's eyes welled in tears as she continued pointing at Aly, where pink, rosy hues began to propagate through her cheeks. She cradled her hurting stomach as her guffaws grew shallow, coupled with wheezes.

And she still had the energy to slap my back, as if she wanted me to join in her shenanigans.

"I'll make sure you cry an ocean, how about that?!" Aly snapped, throwing a fist at Naomi's shoulders, but she sidestepped with no effort, while keeping her smugness intact. As they circled around me, Naomi's rapid legs had her propelled faster from Aly, thus helping her to dodge my best friend's subsequent chops.

"I've been a victim to your attacks, I can now predict your movements!" Naomi exclaimed, before she suddenly skedaddled from us. She watches too many movies...

"Hey, come back here!" Aly, now all worked up and ready to smash her to smithereens, chased her retreating figure in the distance. I watched them disappear into the crowd of students, but I decided not to quicken my pace to pursue after them. I resumed walking casually as I shook my head.

I'm too burned out...

Slowly stepping down the stairs, I paused when Florence manifested from the second floor, conspicuous from her green, high-side ponytail and the way her fringes perfectly curtained her forehead. However, she looked like she was engrossed in the novel in her hands, flipping a page.

The urge to greet her was there, but for some reason... some unknown force was gripping me hard, preventing me from doing so. Well, surely that was more possible when her gaze gradually deviated towards me when we both crossed ways.

"Oh, it's you," Florence muttered as she shut her book. "Grumpy's fangirl."

"H-hello...!" I sloppily waved my hand at her, and my voice had to come out in a high-pitch squeak. Very nice of me.

But wait, did she just call me Grumpy's fangirl—

"He's in the gym with Sebby and the basketball team," said Florence, regardless of my lack of intention to question Edward's whereabouts—I was aware of it. I passed her a bob of my head, noting my silent thanks. However, she was not in the same spot anymore—she had gone past me, already stepping up the stairs.

"Oh, before I forget, I have something to say..." Florence's piercing voice tingled my nerves and made me straighten my back. A lump was lodged on my throat, but I gulped it all inside. "Besides your stuttering mess, maybe it's best to focus on your naivety and selflessness. It's so flagrant to the point it's cringeworthy."

My eyes were wide in circles, those comments quickly penetrated through my throbbing heart like thousands of needles. Before my brain could further process a response, Florence had vanished from her spot, the sound of her footsteps gradually disappearing to the upper floors. Meanwhile, I stood there, my lips opening and closing like some door, my hands clenched.

I didn't need anyone to tell me that; I already knew about it. For someone to bluntly announce, reinforced such a truth, and there was no need repudiating. And I can't even bring myself to fix those stupid flaws that always dragged me to awkward situations.

"Rena!" My best friend's calls as she gasped for air filled in the void, but that did not make me budge at all. "Oh God... gah, sorry for leaving you out! Naomi was so freaking annoying..."

She retracted her words back, probably noticing how I was staring at some random space. Not even seconds later, a hand waved in front of my sight, distracting me out of my contemplation.

"Hey, you alright?" She asked. "You looked like you saw a ghost."

"Oh no, I'm just spacing out..." I instinctively replied, forcing a smile.

"Hmm, can't be." She narrowed her eyes. "You're staring up the stairs like you just talked with someone. Who are you speaking to? Was it Edward?"

There's no use in lying. You're so easy to read like a script.

"It's Florence... " I muttered under my breath, "Edward's in the g-gym."

"Eh, that librarian. It's nice she's helping you with the biology project, but how should I say this... I'm not getting any good vibes from her." Aly sneered, placing her hands on her hips, shooting a glare at the spot Florence formerly stood. "Fair, considering she's Sebastian's friend, but like... I don't know her but I can tell she's ten times worse. What the hell is she talking about, anyway?"

Honestly, I was hesitant to reply, so silence lingered in the atmosphere. My gaze was darting anywhere else but Aly, and I found myself lowering my head. However, the agitation engraved upon her expression as she neared me had me pondering, why the delay when she had been with me for nearly a decade or whatnot? Countless stories and secrets we would rather bury in the back of our heads have been passed between both of us.

"She said... I'm too kind and naive," I whispered, and within a few seconds, Aly contorted with absolute disgust, her eyes sparked with fire. She instantly pulled my shoulders, drawing me closer to her and had me flinching.

"What the fuck, that's not true at all. You're definitely nowhere near naive," she firmly said. "Don't take her bullshit to the heart, Rena."

"I know..."

I pressed my lips in a tight line—ain't that the biggest lie I had ever heard in my entire life. Being with me often, Aly should have known too, even Edward and the others. After all, I was always unaware about my surroundings, drowning myself in some fantasy I probably had mistaken those impressions for reality. My stuttering always got the best of me as I tried reasoning with my peers, and ended up making a fool of myself.

So, so naive.

***

Since Edward and his teammates were in the gym, I decided to eat and spent the rest of my lunch break sitting on the bleachers.

My friends chose to accompany me, but inevitably, I have to endure their stunts of wiggling their eyebrows and smirking at me. Regardless, I paid no heed to them and focused nibbling down on my food, but nearly choked when someone blew a whistle across the court. The men gradually halted in their positions, their ball dripping into the distance.

The team's uniform consisted of midnight black jerseys and pants, embellished with blue stripes on the edges, sublimed with their respective numbers, names and our school. For Edward, his number was 12—obviously after his birth month.

Since their uniforms were sleeveless, I, um... could not help but to ogle his developed biceps from a distance. The way his shirt flaunted the outlines of his firm muscles had my stomach flipping, and how his shorts embraced his calves—

Stop staring like he's a piece of meat. I mentally slapped the hell out of my perverted self, before chomping on my chicken. But his physique... is as expected from both a martial arts user and a basketball player.

And the fact he's a black belt...

Copious amounts of sweat dampened Edward's tousled hair, glistening his fair skin as he recuperated his breaths. Seb threw him a towel, to which he caught it with one hand and caressed it all over his head. The moment his gaze wandered its way towards me, I gulped and tensed up, heat quickly rushing into my cheeks when he grabbed his bag and headed towards my direction.

And with that, I realized Aly and Sam had moved to the back alongside Naomi, allowing Edward to take over her seat. And then, there he was, sitting right beside me as he bobbed in acknowledgement. I returned the favor, noting the black gloves covering his hands. If I remembered, weren't there lots of bandages from his work?

"What are you eating for lunch?" Edward glanced at my food.

"J-Just marinated chicken and some mashed potatoes..."

"Hmm, they look delicious," he commented and I simply nodded, having nothing so interesting—or the fact I could not think straight when his shoulders kept rubbing onto mine—to add to the conversation. He then went on. "Do you make them yourself?"

"N-not really... Mom usually did it in the morning. I d-don't really like cooking that early." I sheepishly laughed.

"Fair." Guzzling all the water in his bottle, he pulled out a tiny gadget out of his bag—an iPod with earphones attached to it. As he was setting it up, he decided that it was best to edge closer, his body grazing against mine. All parts of my muscles snapped awake at this point—I had tried giving him such adequate space, but this was too close!

This was all like yesterday... when the pale blueness of his eye was all I could discern.

Shoving one of his earphones to his ears, he scrolled down through his songs, before he pressed on one and slightly leaned aback, as though he wanted to immerse himself. In spite of everything, I picked up a little of my courage left to peek at the small screen of his iPod; he was jamming to a Coldplay's song.

"I love them," Edward suddenly spoke up, probably noticing how I have been eyeing him like some starving eagle. "All of their songs are really good and soothing. Helps me calm down a bit."

"T-that's awesome..." I said.

"You can listen to it too. Here," he offered, lending one of his earbuds to me.

"M-My hands are kinda sticky... wait..." I was about to rummage through my bag, but Naomi conveniently handed me her wet wipes and tissue—-a huge shoutout to her. My bracelet chimed as I took the bud from him and plugged it in my ear.

I was not familiar with Coldplay's music style, regardless, I inwardly danced along with the beat. It was exactly what he said; there were no abrupt beat drops or any sudden changes of tone. Its melancholic lyrics invoked some sense of nostalgia, bringing me back to the past where simple times were common. Did Edward feel this way too?

Now that I brought it up, I wondered if at some point, he yearned for the past—all his childhood times before that day brought everything upside down. Did he relieve all of those memories where we would do reckless things children were known to do and contemplate about how the world would turn out as we grew up? Was not he always the one complaining... he desperately wanted to grow up faster?

Most importantly, did he recall... how much he had helped with my non-existent social skills?

"It's good, right? I can give you some recommendations," he questioned, and my heart skipped a beat at his sudden intrusion into my thoughts.

"Y-Yeah!"

The music gradually ended as soon as I finished my lunch with one, huge bite of both my chicken and mashed potatoes. And as if on cue, Edward jerked up when one of his teammates shouted from across the court, demanding his attention.

"Christopher, time for another round!"

With a heavy sigh Edward hauled himself up as I bestowed him back the earbud. He flung the earphones and iPod back to his bag and slapped his pants off any dirt. Before he jumped into the game as the men gathered in the center, he turned towards me. I was not sure if my brain was playing tricks on me, but his sharp eye practically softened.

"Please watch over my bag," he instructed and with a fleeting smile, I nodded in an instant—of course I would. I've been doing that since I watched him play.

He marched towards Seb, who playfully punched his shoulder with his fist, inducing an eye roll from him.  The boys quickly arranged themselves to their respective positions, with Edward guarding his team's hoop and Seb beside him.

The blow of the whistle meant period two of their training commenced. Almost immediately, the squeaks of their skidding shoes pierced through the vicinity as the men battled for the ball, being tossed all over the place. Edward was solely focused on it, pursuing after his opponents if they had it, or waiting for his teammates to pass it to him. The way he abruptly whirled around with only one foot had me begging for more, but... no one bothered acknowledging him nor giving him the chance.

What's going on?

"I'll take it, thanks!" Seb exclaimed, gaining the upper hand by stealing the ball and quickly flung it to Edward, who perfectly grasped it without hesitation.

He dribbled, using his body's movements to protect the ball from his rival, who had blocked him with his extended arms. Swerving around them, he tried to overrun the others chasing after him, but for some reason, he suddenly began to decelerate, and then... he tripped over nothing.

A gasp choked out of me and my heart plunged watching as his entire body tumbled into the ground, causing him to yelp. This had him releasing the ball out of his grip, bouncing out of the court. Edward groaned, clutching tightly on his temples as he struggled to haul himself up.

"Holy shit, dude, are you alright?!"

"Jesus Christ, that's one bad trip!"

"Get first aid, quick!"

Hearing their shouts as Seb and his teammates rushed towards their fallen colleague, I found myself springing into my feet and was about to run down the bleachers, but...

"Look at that shit, man!!!"

Out of the blue, some random senior guffawed, pointing some sort of an accusatory finger towards Edward, who had risen up with the help of Seb.

"Y'all see how he falls?!" He wheezed. "It's so fucking ridiculous, someone should have taped that shit!!!"

What the hell is with this man? Someone is injured and he's laughing at it like a joke?

Everyone must have thought the same way as me; there was no way one would not glare hard at this jerk. The way he casually giggled at an accident triggered my urge to storm towards his stupid ass and throw my hands, but Edward's glaring wounds on both of his knees were priority compared to squandering my energy on some asshole.

Even as pain rocked him, Edward gritted his teeth, his countenance grew remarkably darker. Both of his fists were clenched so tight his muscles tensed and his knuckles turned white. Veins popped out from his neck as he was shaking from head to toe.

He's... like a bomb about to detonate.

"Hey, hey, Ed, no, Ed, calm down!" Seb warned and gripped on both of his bulging arms.

Unfortunately, his efforts proved futile as Edward used all of his power to shove his best friend and his other teammates away. Without even a second thought, he lunged towards the senior.