Busted

Western high school… Lunch break.
“Huh, I see someone is here alone today. Where’s that witch? Did she dîe?” Lauren smirked as she halted by Zoey’s table.
“Oh, she didn’t dîe,” Zoey smiled as she removed her phone from her back.
“You…”
¶¶
“It’s Declan!”
“He looked so handsome today.”
“Why is he here though?”
¶¶
“Hello,” he mouthed at Zoey as he waved his hands.
Zoey glanced at Lauren, chuckled at the dagger stare she had on her face, smiled at Declan, and stood from her seat.
“Bîtch, you don’t think he is yours already, do you?” Lauren stood in her way.
“Hmm, well,” Zoey shrugged her shoulder sarcastically, clutch her phone to her chest, and walked past her, making Lauren crash against the chair.
“Fine… Have fun while you can, you can only date to break up,” she hissed.
~
“Why did you come to my classroom?”
“I guessed you might be dying to see this handsome face already,” Declan smirked.
“Huh, you make me want to puke,” she scoffed.
“Is that girl not in school also? Aiden is not in school also. That idiot didn’t pick up my calls. I’m going to his place after school today and… Kill him!” Declan clenched his fist.
“Never!” Zoey stopped walking.
“What?”
“You can never visit Aiden’s house. Not today,” she shook her head.
“Why? No… No way, don’t tell me your friend moved him with him already?” Declan half yelled.
“She didn’t move in,” she exhaled.
“Fûck, those two began to date just two days ago, how can they live together already?” Declan frowned.
“Scumbag, I said they are not living together!” Zoey kicked his leg.
“Is this how you’re supposed to treat your boyfriend?” Declan raised a brow.
“Fake,” she leaned towards him.
“I don’t care. We’re are couple as long as we’re inside the school,” Declan covered the space between them, leaving only a few inches left which could help but draw attention.
“Huh, says who?”
“Me. The school idol.”
“You overestimate yourself too much, don’t you?” Zoey hissed and resumed walking.
Declan laughed and then walked faster to catch her, “Are you also going for the excursion? It’s in three weeks.”
“Of course! Have I ever missed any of the school outings?”
“I don’t know, I wasn’t watching you,” Declan shrugged his shoulder off.
“How could you care less? I knitted you a scarf!” She snapped.
“Don’t nag me right now, please,” Declan shook his head.
“Do you even know how long it took me to knit it? I…”
Zoey was still talking when she saw Xyler walking towards them and the students murmuring.
“Hey,” he stopped in front of them and spared Zoey a very cold glance.
“What’s up?”
“Let’s talk. Now,” Xyler said.
“But… Can we do that later? I…”
“Now, bro.”
, “Okay, I’ll come over to the lounge now,” Declan said and watched Xyler leave.
“So, I should be by myself, right?” Zoey turned to look at him.
“Wait for me at the cafeteria, I’ll be there soon, okay?”
“Whatever,” Zoey said as she removed the hair that fell over her face and walked away.
“Hmm,” Declan pressed his lips together as he watched the lady out of sight and then resumed walking, heading towards the school lounge.
**
“Yeah?” Declan sighed as he entered the lounge.
“What is going on between you and that girl?” Xyler asked Declan as the latter settled on the couch.
“Zoey?”
“You know whom I’m referring to.”
“We’re seeing each other.”
“And I didn’t know about it?” Xyler furrowed his brow.
Who do you think you are to know about it?
Declan wondered.
“I’m sorry, I… It happened too soon,” he exhaled.
“Do you even see me as a friend at all? You actually dated one of the two persons I hate the most.”
“Remember, I had an issue with her also, I fell in love while I was hating her,” Declan answered.
“How could you?” Xyler frowned.
“Dude, I understand how you feel, but this is my personal feeling. Don’t I have the right to love someone?”
“She’s close with Aiden!” Xyler snapped.
“So?”
“You know how things like this happen in historical movies, when a traitor is caught, it is only right to cut off ties with all of his allies to avoid future fights,” he said and Declan laughed.
“Come on, is this Goryeo era?” Declan stood up, laughing.
“I’ll leave now, take your mind off what you’re thinking. Zoey is not the type to betray. Go have lunch, guy!” He patted his shoulder and walked away.
.
“Declan …” Xyler said shakily.
“I knew the fight between you and Aiden is not going to last long. I see that you’re planning on going back to being friends with him.”
No, that can’t happen.
It will never happen.
Before they even think of coming closer, he was going to ruin all of the remaining trust they had in each other and make them ruin each other.
“I swear…”
==
Aiden’s residence.
Tiffany sat on the couch facing the big plasma television, watching a Korean series, HER PRIVATE LIFE, which she had started the previous night with Aiden before they went to bed while the guy was in the kitchen, preparing toast for them.
As her mind traveled to Aiden, she blushed as she remembered how Aiden had cuddled her to sleep the previous night because she was feeling reckless about seeing the tiger she saw.
God, why was this guy too sweet?
She is falling so deeply for him and she loved how she was feeling, but what worried her the most is him leaving her when he finds her in the most hideous state.
God, he didn’t want to lose the guy.
Western high school was probably on lunch break and she had messaged Zoey who promised she was going to visit her after the school closes.
While she was thinking, Aiden’s phone rang out which startled her. She stood from the couch, grabbed his phone, check who was calling, and shrugged her shoulder as she saw the caller ID, ‘Housekeeper’.
As she turned to walk to the Kitchen, Aiden walked toward her, wiping his hand with a towel.
“Who’s that?”
“Housekeeper,” Tiffany answered.
“Oh,” he bit his lower lip.
“Hi, Mrs. Robert,” Aiden greeted.
“I’m on my way to your place to do the cleaning, do you need me to refill your refrigerator while I’m there?”
“Erm… No. You can stay back today, I… I’m not around,” Aiden shook his head.
“It is not like you’re always around when I do your cleaning, so what are you saying?”
“I changed my passcode for some reason, I’ll be back soon, so I’ll give you a call with the new passcode,” Aiden answered.
“Why not now?” The older woman queried.
“Mrs. Robert… Please.”
“Alright. Wait, you’re not firing me, are you?”
“No, I’m not. I’ll call you when I’m back home,” he said and then ended the call.
“You have a Housekeeper?” Tiffany asked.
“Yeah, I can’t possibly clean this place alone,” he shook his head and flung his phone on the couch.
“Then let’s do the cleaning together later,” Tiffany suggested.
“No, I can just clean up the sitting room and the bedroom myself, don’t stress yourself. ”
“If you want me to sleep, eat and watch movies here without feeling burdened, then let me do something. I’ll clean the bedroom and the bathroom, you can take care of this place and the kitchen, okay?”
“Babe,” Aiden shook his head.
“Then I won’t eat anything you give me,” Tiffany pouted.
“Okay, okay, we’ll do as you’ve said. Okay?”
“Better,” Tiffany smiled.
“You’re so… Huh.”
“Look at you sweating, are you not done in the kitchen?” Tiffany leaned forward and cleaned the bead of sweat on his forehead with the back of her palm.
“Yeah, I’m done already,” he held her waist and watched her clean his sweat.
“Babe, I’ll be visiting the grocery store later, will you be fine on your own? Or, when is Zoey coming here? Did she say she will come?” Aiden asked.
“She said she’ll visit after she leaves school.”
“Then I’ll go when she’s here,” he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
==
“I barely manage to stop Declan from coming here, you should give him a call saying you’re not around, if my baby gets busted because of you, I won’t let it slide, okay?” Zoey pouted, fondling Tiffany’s hand passionately.
“Yes ma’am. There’s something you can eat in the kitchen, can I get going now?” He exhaled.
“Yeah, just be sure not to stare at those ladies out there,” Zoey said.
“Others would think you’re my girlfriend right now,” Aiden hissed and walked towards them.
“Huh, forget about that, I’ll nag you instead of Tiffany, I don’t want her to be stressed at all,” she shook her head as she and Tiffany giggled.
“Take care of yourself, okay? Call me if you need anything so I can get it for you, okay?” He kissed the corner of her lips.
“Oooooh!” Zoey covered her mouth with her palm, blushing.
“Don’t stay long, okay?”
“I won’t, babe,” he answered as he walked out of the door.
“Gosh, your boyfriend is so cute! I guessed I should have a crush on him instead of that dîckhéàd,” she hissed as she blew the hair that fell over her face.
“Don’t even go there, why should you have crushed on my boyfriend,” Tiffany glared at her.
“Fûck, that was just a joke! That stare could kîll.”
“That joke is too costly,” she rolled her eyes.
“I see you’re getting obsessed with him already,” Zoey laughed.
“I’ve not just told him this, but I love him so much. I wonder how I would have coped without him by my side at this moment,” Tiffany shook her head.
“I know, right? He was the first to see your eyes and the fact that he even saw it changed. That is so priceless,” Zoey grinned.
“Something happened on Saturday, I don’t know if I was hallucinating or it was real, but trust me, it was so scary.”
“What is that? You said you were fine when I called,” Zoey frowned.
“Yeah, I wanted to tell you when I see you. I saw a tiger,” Tiffany began.
“A tiger? Where?” Zoey asked, Tiffany exhaled and then explained what happened to her.
“Are you sure you saw it? You could have imagined it.”
“I am sure I saw it. It was very scary and… I don’t know, I thought I was going to dîe,” Tiffany placed her hand on her chest.
“So, what did your boyfriend do?”
“Aiden? He hugged me and allowed me to cry, my tears practically wetted his clothes. When it was in the night, he slept beside me on the bed and cuddled me all night, even last night. Is he not cute?” Tiffany giggled.
“Tsk, I can’t believe you could fall this hard. Were you not the bad bîtch who gave everyone cold shoulder on her first day in school?”
“I know, right?” And they both laughed.
“Tiffy,” Zoey wore a serious expression.
“Yeah?”
“Look…” She took her hand in hers and fondled it gently.
“I don’t know what those angels or whatever meant when they said that you were going to turn into a very hideous creature one day, I’ve thought about it and I wondered if you would look more hideous than my imagination,” she swallowed hard.
“I am very weak-hearted, I could see you in a hideous form and run away, trust me, it doesn’t mean I don’t love you or don’t accept you. I just wouldn’t want you to feel disappointed by the look you might see on my face. I know you can see through me, and I wish you can see how much I care for you. So… Please, when things turn out to be anyhow, I’ll be sure to be by your side, but I don’t know how much I can handle seeing my best friend in a… Hideous form. So… Please. Ple…”
“Come on, babe. In fact, it is a luxury you’re still by my side know you care for me and I’m very grateful. If you choose to run away on the day you see me change, I would be glad instead. I don’t want my best friend to be traumatized because of me, so… Don’t give it a thought okay? You know I love you? So, hug mama,” Tiffany spread her arm wide and Zoey hugged her.
“I love you, Tiffy,” Zoey exhaled.
“I love you too,” Tiffany patted her back.
==
When Aiden had arrived from the grocery store and Zoey had left, he handed Tiffany two shopping bags as he settled beside her.
“I thought you might be uncomfortable in my clothes so I got you a few clothes,” he scratched his forehead.
“Actually, I love your clothes when I wear them,” Tiffany giggled and began to remove the clothes.
“Why? Does it make you think of me?” He leaned closer to her and smiled mischievously.
“Yeah, your fragrance is everywhere around your house, even your clothes,” Tiffany smiled.
“I see,”
“I hope this is the only gown you bought, I don’t like wearing dresses,” Tiffany shook her head.
“I think you’ll look good in this, and I bought two more dresses,” he shrugged his shoulder.
“Aiden,” Tiffany frowned.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you hate it so much,” he laughed.
“Whatever.”
.
.
“My dad is alive,” he said after Tiffany had seen all of the dress.
“Huh?” she raised her brows in confusion.
“I realized that I’ve never talked to him about him. I only said a few about my mum,” Aiden said.
“Oh, I thought you might not want to talk to me about your family yet,” she replied as she folded the clothes.
“Actually, yes. I don’t like talking about my family but there’s an exception since you told me everything about you. It would be unfair if I said nothing about my family to you,” Aiden nodded his head with a short smile.
“My dad… He has been battling with some mysterious stuff for almost eighteen years now,” Aiden began.
“Mysterious?”
“Yes, on the day I turned one year old, my mum said my dad went to some mountain with his friend, and since then, my dad refused to talk.”
“I… I don’t understand,” Tiffany tilted her head.
“My dad has never said a word to anybody for the past seventeen years, in a month time, it will be eighteen years,” He nodded his head.
“Oh, my God. How did that happen?”
“I’m not sure. No one will say anything about it.”
“Wait, which mountain did your dad go to?”
“Sabalem mountain, according to my dad’s friends,” he replied curtly.
“If he went there when you were one, then it was the day I was given birth to,” Tiffany took her nails in her mouth.
“Yeah,” Aiden nodded his head, not sure of where Tiffany’s thinking was.
“I was given birth to in the mountain, according to the lion spirit and mountain guardian,” Tiffany tilted her head, with her face frowned.
“I released it, I remember,” Aiden’s mind traveled to the word he had always heard his dad say.
Wait, did his dad release the demon that entered Tiffany?
“No way…” He and Tiffany chorused.
“That’s not it, right?” Tiffany laughed.
“Yes,” Aiden shook his head.
Silence suddenly ensued, they locked gaze with each other and then suddenly shouted.
“No way!” With an awkward laugh.
*
Busted?