Western high school.
Aiden descended the stairs lazily, heading towards the rooftop. There weren’t any students wandering around and that was because the lunch break was over. Tiffany and Zoey were definitely in their classroom, he was only going to the rooftop to clear his head from the conversation he heard from Xyler and the other guy.
Declan was in the classroom, Xyler was obviously in the lounge and that was the reason he could have that kind of conversation.
Whatever was going on, no matter how things weren’t clear yet, Aiden was sure Xyler wasn’t an the only child like he’d claimed.
Wait, does he have a twin brother?
Huh, no way.
But what if?
Oh, whatever.
=
He placed his hand gently on the railing and exhaled deeply. The girls were not there like he had imagined.
Unconsciously, he laughed as he remembered what had happened earlier in the day.
How Tiffany had slapped Xyler was still vivid in his head. The girl surely was a case.
Wait, why did she even slap him?
The plan was just to take the guy out of the lounge, and Tiffany did just that… Well, and more.
“I wonder what’s so funny,” Aiden heard the unmistakable voice of Tiffany from afar.
He looked around and didn’t see her anywhere.
Huh, was he hearing things now?
“Here!”
He turned to look in the direction he had heard the voice and saw Tiffany crawling out of a corridor and then Zoey.
“Why are you guys not in class?” Aiden frowned his face.
“Coming from someone who’s not also in his class,” Tiffany rolled her eyes and clapped away the dust from her palm.
“There’s no problem with me not being in the classroom, everyone knows that,” he spread his hands forward.
“Good for you,” she walked majestically towards him.
“We’re having a reading period so we snuck out of the classroom,” Zoey smiled.
“Woah, I can’t believe you’re teaching my Anny to be a bad student,” Aiden tilted his head.
“Oh-oh, your Anny was the one who brought the idea of leaving the classroom,” Zoey hissed.
“For real?” Aiden laughed.
“Is it surprising?” Tiffany rolled her eyes and settled her arms on the railing.
“You’re turning into a baddie, you know?” Aiden teased.
“Who? Come off it, she’s a baddie already,” Zoey shook her head and Aiden snapped his fingers twice.
“Yeah, a baddie. Seeing how she handled Xyler, then she’s the baddest of all baddies,” Aiden giggled.
“Yeah, the pleasure is mine,” Tiffany shrugged her shoulder boastfully.
“Huh, bîtch,” Zoey smirked.
“Speaking of which, Anny, you were only told to pull him out of the lounge not what you did,” Aiden said.
“Huh, I do what I wanna do. Besides, he owes me a wish. I wanted him to be humiliated in front of those bîtches who crush on him,” Tiffany nonchalantly spread yaher arm.
“That slap was hot,” Aiden shook his head.
“I bet your fingers were etched on his face. Huh, I pity Declan the most, that dude could laugh the way he wanted,” Zoey laughed.
“I saw his face swell and red from keeping his laughter,” Aiden joined in laughing.
“I see Zoey cares so much for his fake boyfriend,” Tiffany pressed her lips together sarcastically.
“Oh, please. I only stated a fact,” Zoey hissed.
“Yeah, I guess it was me who failed to notice,” Tiffany nodded her head.
“Tiffany,” Zoey pouted, catching on that Tiffany was still mocking her.
“Yes, baby,” Tiffany grinned.
“I’m serious. It was evident on his face,” Zoey grumbled.
“Yeah. I…” She had not finished talking when she felt a presence behind her.
She turned swiftly and exhaled as she saw the lion spirit and mountain guardian standing behind her with cold expressions on their faces.
“Oh, God. Do you guys not know when to make appearances?” Tiffany sighed.
“Pardon?” Zoey and Aiden chorused, totally confused.
“Erm… I’m angry I want to visit the bathroom right now,” Tiffany gritted her teeth.
“Should I come with you?” Zoey asked.
“No, I’ll be fine,” Tiffany answered and then turned to leave.
Zoey watched Tiffany leave and then turned to look at Aiden who was still staring at the empty place Tiffany had passed.
“When are you going to tell her?”
“Huh, what?” Aiden jolted.
“When are you going to confess your feelings to her?!” Zoey snapped.
“Oh, I’m thinking of giving it more time. It’s barely three weeks that we’ve known each other,” Aiden answered.
“So?” Zoey tilted her head.
“Huh?”
“Do you really have feelings for her?” Zoey asked.
“Of course! I’m so much in love with her!”
“And it is real even though you haven’t known her for too long.”
“I bet my life on it,” Aiden answered.
“Then go for it! Honestly, I hate it when guys are too slow in disclosing their feelings for a girl. See, once I realized I’m falling for a guy, I’ma tell him. I don’t care,” Zoey snapped.
“What if I’m rejected? What if she rejects me?” Aiden asked.
“Then you’ll keep trying, Come on! And I doubt if Tiffany is the type to play hard to get.”
“You sure?”
“Aiden…” Zoey gritted her teeth and massaged her temple slowly.
==
“You know for sure that I was going to be with Zoey. Do you need to come unannounced?!” Tiffany frowned her face as she opened the door of the bathroom.
“Do we need your permission to come to you?” The mountain guardian, Benroy folded his arms tightly across his chest.
“Ye…” She stopped talking as a female student walked out of one of the bathrooms.
“Yes…” She whispered and faked a smile at the girl who stared at her.
“Whatever. Why did you hit that boy today?” Chephirah questioned and Tiffany inhaled and then exhaled deeply.
No, before she says a word, she needs to check if the bathrooms are occupied.
She wouldn’t let these ignorant guardians make a fool outta her.
“How rude,” Benroy shook his head as he heard what the lady had said inside of her.
“Akilang, I…”
“Tiffany. That is my name. When I say my name is Tiffany, Tiffany it is. You gotta stop calling me that hideous name,” Tiffany interrupted Benroy as she opened the doors of the bathrooms to confirm she was the only one in there.
“Why did you hit that guy?” Chephirah questioned again.
“Don’t you think you need to stop interfering in human affairs? As long as I’m concerned, I’m not doing anything wrong,” Tiffany stopped in front of them.
“You should not have hit him!” Chephirah snapped.
“Anyone could have hitten anyone! Why are you making a deal out of this? I would have done this even if Akilang or whatever is not in me!” Tiffany retorted.
“You are so stubborn, I wonder how fragile you’ll become if Akilang leaves,” Chephirah shook her head.
“You think this is happening because of Akilang? Excuse you, even without Akilang, this is who I am. Stop getting worked up over little things,” Tiffany feigned a pose.
“Aki… Tiffany, you should be extremely careful. Things are bound to be ruined when the Demon gets unleashed. You can only be able to control it if you can control yourself now. Take things easy,” Chephirah placed her hand slowly on her shoulder.
“Why did you change so much? You used to nag me over little things. It seems like the mountain guardian took over,” Tiffany said and spare Benroy a cold glance.
“Because I want to believe you. I want to have faith in you that you wouldn’t hurt anyone if things later go haywire,” she answered with a quick smile.
“Can I see the painting on your shoulder?” Chephirah asked after she received no response from the lady.
“What? I’ll have to take off my…” Tiffany frowned and crossed her hands across her chest protectively.
“Just a glance.”
After a while, Tiffany sighed, placed her hand on the first button slowly, and then glanced at the door, obviously scared that someone could barge in.
“No one will enter,” Chephirah assured, fixed her gaze on the knob of the door, and then blinked her eyes making the door lock automatically.
Tiffany pulled off the shirt, leaving only the round neck she wore underneath, she pulled up the cloth slowly, revealing the huge painting that almost covered her shoulder.
“Goodness,” Benroy widened his eyes as he saw the mountain glow.
“When has this been happening?” Chephirah asked.
“Huh, last week,” Tiffany answered.
“And you didn’t say anything about it,” Benroy frowned.
“That is because you didn’t ask,” Tiffany answered and then began to wear her shirt.
“This is strange, it ought to have been unleashed,” Chephirah creased her brow.
“Huh?” Tiffany widened her eyes.
“He’s the cause… And the cure. Huh, how cunning,” Benroy smirked.
“I know, right?” Chephirah shook her head.
“What the fûck are you two talking about?” Tiffany furrowed her brow.
“Nothing. It’s nothing,” Chephirah smiled.
==
The next day at Western high school, Friday.
“That dîckhéàd,” Zoey hissed as she walked back to the other side of the rooftop where only her, Aiden, and Tiffany were.
“Stop going to check. Declan won’t come here till he finishes swimming,” Aiden said.
“Why are you not playing racket? Do you lose interest in it already?” Tiffany asked Aiden, not tearing her eyes off the game she was playing on Aiden’s phone.
“Because someone smacked me down thrice, I was advised not to play for a while,” Aiden said and Tiffany choked on nothing.
“What? It was twice!” Tiffany snapped.
“Thrice!” Aiden protested.
“It was twice,” Tiffany paused the game and glared at him.
“First was…”
“It’s okay! I remember,” Tiffany hissed.
The guy indeed added the last time she crashed him against a pile of wood.
“Better,” Aiden giggled.
~~
“Idiöt, you should have not come at all!” Zoey snapped as soon as she saw Declan walk in.
“Why, did you miss me?” He smirked.
“Eww,” Zoey rolled her eyes and Aiden laughed.
“So, what do we do? I can’t stay here for too long, you know that?” Declan said.
“Huh, celebrity,” Tiffany rolled her eyes.
“Don’t inter…”
“Yeahhhh,” Tiffany interrupted him.
“So, here’s what we have gathered about the group,” Zoey opened her bag and handed over a file to him.
He frowned his face as he read the file. ‘Names of the members and their roles.’
“Wait, why should I be the rapper?” Declan frowned his face.
“That is because you have no other usefulness. Even the rapping, it’s just to make you seem human,” Tiffany shrugs her shoulder.
God, why was this girl always so sarcastic?
Aiden shook his head.
“Why is the name of the group Bluemoon?” Declan ignored her.
“God, can you not ask questions?” Tiffany frowned.
“Shut the fûck up,” Declan glared at him.
“You…” She had just begun when Aiden covered her mouth with his palm from behind.
“Come on,” he whispered to her ear.
Tiffany couldn’t fight back, she felt goosebumps as the guy held her in his arm.
Fûck you, Tiffany!
She snapped out of her thoughts.
“Declan and I would go and submit this to the dean right now, we’ll be back soon,” Zoey said and grabbed Declan’s hand.
“Why should I go with you?!” Declan frowned, allowing the little lady to pull him along.
“Just follow me. Go for it, Aiden!” She cheered.
“Go for what?” Tiffany pulled away and asked as they got out of their sight.
“It’s nothing,” he smiled, staring at her.
As their eyes met, it was as if the atmosphere changed, they didn’t look away and kept staring at each other awkwardly till Aiden cleared his throat.
“Tiffany…” he pressed his lips together awkwardly.
“Huh?” she fondled her hand.
“I… Honestly… Oh, shît…” He coughed and then grabbed her hand hurriedly.
“I like you,” he said and closed his eyes shut.
Tiffany only stared at him and said nothing. After a few seconds, Aiden opened his eyes slowly and Tiffany burst into laughter.
“I know you like me and I like you too,” she said and tried to free her hand from his grasp.
“Come on, that’s not what I meant,” he held her hand tightly.
“I got attracted to you the first day I saw you. That day you bashed Declan in front of everyone, I began to like you,” he said shakily.
No way!
Is he confessing his feelings right now?
No… He wouldn’t.
“Aiden?”
“I love you, Tiffany, and I must say that I’ve never felt this way in a long time,” Aiden confessed.
“But, Aiden…”
Of course, she was dumbfounded.
It felt so good to hear him confess.
She had feelings for him too and she had always wondered if it wasn’t one-sided.
Huh, is the painting on her shoulder excited as well because it wouldn’t stop hurting.
“I know it’s too early, but trust me, it is real. I love you and I mean it. Be my girlfriend, I’ll treat you real good. I mean it, I…”
Fûck, this was hard.
He had never made the first step.
Vanessa was his first girlfriend and the lady asked him out himself.
She was the one who confessed first and made the relationship work.
He loved her, but he was a total coward at approaching a woman.
God, he didn’t want to lose Tiffany because of him being a coward.
“Tiffany, you’re not saying anything. Don’t reject me, please. I can’t live with your rejection. I love you and I want to go out with you. Be my girl…”
He was still talking when the unimagined happened. Tiffany placed her lips on his softly.
He widened his eyes in total shock. He wasn’t expecting the lady to come at him first.
As Tiffany pulled away from him slowly, Aiden grabbed her by the waist and took her lips slowly in his.
Nah, he wasn’t going to be so dumb and let her pull away so easily.
He sucked her lower lips gently and caress her back as they shared a long kiss.
After a minute and a few seconds had passed, Aiden pulled away slowly and looked at her face.
The lady’s eyes were tightly shut and he couldn’t help but smile at how cute she looked at the moment.
“That was a yes from you, right?” He whispered.
Tiffany exhaled, opened her eyes, and then looked into his eyes slowly.
However, she couldn’t help but draw her brows together as she noticed horror replaced the smile on Aiden’s face.
He looked like he just saw a ghost.
“Y… your eyes…” Aiden creased his brow, and then took a step back slowly.
“What’s wrong with my eyes?” She frowned.
She removed her phone from her pocket, switch on the camera, and placed it on selfie to see if there was something on her face.
Wait, what the fûck?
She dropped her phone in horror as what she saw scared her.
“Tiffany?” Aiden shook his head.
The ever-beautiful black eyeball of the lady he loved had turned into red.
Blood. Red.
*
TBC…