He shook his head, “No.”
I tried to raise his head but he swatted my hand away, “You are.”
He denied again, “Nope.”
“You really are,” I smirked, it’s so seldom to see, maybe I can make fun of it…
“I’m not.” He said again, clearly irritated now.
“Yes, you are…” I said in a sing-song tone.
He sighed helplessly, giving up before finally looking up and showing his red and puffy eyes and his slightly wet cheeks, “So? What if I am?”
“Oh, nothing, in particular, I was just curious as to why Eion the robot was crying,” I asked him, “I just didn’t know you have feelings. Sorry about that.”
He went silent and averted his gaze to the ground, his jaw clenched.
“You really didn’t know the saying-,” he started to say.
“-Mind your own business. Yeah, yeah, I know that since you always-” I cut him off.
“I hope you registered that to that brain of yours. Stop being nosy because you had many people to hurt. You don’t know what others are experiencing.”
I was silent about what he said. What did he mean by that? I guess it’s my fault for being nosy and all. I just wanted to annoy him. But maybe now is not the appropriate time since he might be dealing with something.
Silence fell between us, as I heard him hiccuping for a bit. I saw Emma watching us and motioning for me to comfort him but I just shrugged. She sighed, returning to wiping the tables clean.
“Um, I guess, I should go now and grab a taxi,” I managed to say, stuttering before walking out of the shop. I thought the rain had stopped. But I was wrong. The water droplets turned bigger and the wind was much more fierce now. So that is why we don’t have customers now. A typhoon is probably coming soon.
I sighed. Oh great, even the sky didn’t want me to go home. It’s Leroy’s fault for leaving me here. I can’t grab a taxi since the rain is strong. Mom is not on the list since she has overtime at work, I don’t want to disturb her. Maybe I could ask Eion to drive me home since he had already given me a ride last time? But that robot was in a bad mood and I had done something wrong. Maybe I could just gulp my pride and apologize to him so that I can go.
I sighed and got back inside the shop, now wet from the rain. Emma stared at me and gave me a towel to dry myself. I shuddered a bit from the cold, and I sneezed. Gosh, why do I easily get weak now?
Turning to Eion, I greeted him again, “Hey,” I said cheerfully like the incident didn’t happen earlier. He looked at me blankly. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? Can I ask you a favor and drive me home?” I asked, giving him a sheepish look.
He raised his eyebrows, wiping his eyes that were wet from tears earlier, “I thought you would grab a taxi?”
“Uhm, I can’t. It’s raining so hard outside and you know, taxis are occasionally seen here so..” I tried to explain to him but he gave his answer quickly.
“No, I won’t drive you home.”
I batted my eyelashes, pouting at him, “Please?”
“Still no.” He said, crossing his arms in front of him now.
“But it’s your fault in the first place. If you hadn’t come here, then I would not have come into this.” I said, trying to reason out with him but he snapped at me.
“Who said that you should find me?”
“Your friends, Leroy and Dax. And besides, you drove me home last time, so maybe…” I trailed off. “Please,” I really gulped down my pride now.
Glancing at me, he turned silent as if considering it. After a few minutes, he heaved a sigh, “If you won’t annoy me, maybe my mind will change. But I can’t promise you.”
*****
“So,” I said awkwardly. He continued being quiet, not talking to me. “Shouldn’t we leave now?”
After he agreed, here we are sitting and not acknowledging each other. He was playing something on his phone while I was sitting on a chair, facing him. He ordered another bunch of strawberry ice cream to Emma and I sighed.
This robot! If I had just my own car, things won’t have to be like this.
“Can we please go home now?” I asked for the millionth time. Here I was, itching to go home, soaking wet, and trying to make a conversation so that he could tell me why he was crying earlier. We could go home now, but he wanted to keep still.
Not that I was worried about him or anything. I know what you’re thinking. It’s not. I won’t and never will be concerned for him.
‘Psh, then why did you go with Leroy to find him in the first place?’ My conscience said. I avoided it.
“Not yet,” he said. I think he was testing my patience.
“So, um, care to tell me why you are crying?” I asked casually. He looked at me blankly.
“Do you want a ride home?” he threatened. “You keep on asking me. I thought you agreed that you won’t annoy me?”
“Okay, okay, I won’t ask again,” I said, putting my hands up in the air, surrendering.
Psh, if I had just a car… I won’t look like a helpless puppy like I am right now. I couldn’t help but stare at the glass windows, watching as the water droplets fall on the ground.
He finished his ice cream. A plan formed in my head and I smirk. Hahaha, he won’t get away with this.
Instead of bugging him, I tried to reverse it and stayed quiet. I stared at him blankly. I’m sure it will work, but I’m hoping it will make him a bit self-conscious. I counted in my head.
Once…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five… Six… Seven. Eight… Nine…
Ten… I didn’t give up.
Eleven… Twelve… Thirteen.. four-
He looked up and stared at me annoyed. I high fived myself for succeeding. See? I could see he was affected by it.
“Okay, what are you up to this time?” It was supposed to be a question, but he said it blankly.
“Nothing in particular,” I hummed, feigning an innocent expression.
He sighed heavily, “I know you’re planning on making me spill why I’m crying,” He said, “If I tell you the reason, will you stop bugging me forever?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” I joked but cleared my throat when I saw him not flinching. “Kidding, but yes. I just wanted the reason. That’s all. And maybe I can help you,” I paused. “And I’m not concerned,” I added.
He raised his eyebrows at me, studying my face if I was serious or not… A plan formed in my head again.
“What if we will have a deal? I will stop bugging you, ask personal things or be nosy, and I will try not to irritate you. But, you will have to be nice to me, you’ll answer what I’ll ask, but if you don’t want to answer then don’t. In short, we are practically friends,” I offered. “Almost like a treaty.”
I high-five myself for that. I was a genius!
“What? No way,” he said and slumped slightly.
I clicked my tongue. Of course, he’s Eion. he won’t agree that easily. “Think of it, it’s a win-win situation,” I said, my hands clasping each other formally.
“Will it benefit me? Will you be true to your words?” he asked cautiously.