Western high school.
By the time they entered the school compound, the students had just finished their morning gathering and were moving to their classes.
Aiden parked his power bike in his usual spot and moved toward Tiffany to hold her hand.
“Let’s get you to your classroom first,” he fondled her hand and smiled.
“Do we need to do this in school? People will…”
“Baby, I so much love public affection like anything, besides I’m dating a very beautiful and special lady. There’s no reason to keep our relationship private,” Aiden interrupted her as they walked.
“Okay, I’ll do as you’ve said,” he added when she didn’t say anything.
“If you want us to keep it pri…”
“No, it’s okay by me. At least those bîtches crushing on you will learn to stay back,” Tiffany smiled.
“Did you also agree that I have quite a lot of crush?” He leaned closer, giggling.
“Shut up.”
¶¶
“That’s Aiden.”
” Why is he with that girl?”
“Are they dating?”
“Fûck, no way!”
¶¶
“Someone took a picture just now,” Tiffany tilted her head as they took the stairs.
“Of course, they should,” he smiled.
==
“Tiffy!” Zoey was about to settle on her chair when Tiffany entered the classroom with Aiden.
“Hiiiiiii!” Tiffany returned the vibe and spread her arm widely while Zoey rushed to hug her, ignoring the stares and murmurs from their classmates.
“Bîtch, you didn’t even tell me your eyes returned to normal,” she said through gritted teeth, still hugging her.
“I wanted to surprise you, I guess I did,” Tiffany grinned and then pulled away.
“Fûck, I’ve missed you so much!” Zoey whined.
“I know, I’ve missed you too,” Tiffany pouted and they hugged each other again.
“Hi,” Zoey glanced at Aiden and waved her hand at him.
“I thought we had an issue,” Aiden chuckled, his hands in his pocket.
“We dare not have an issue, you are my friend’s boyfriend, the only issue we can have is if you mistreat her,” Zoey shrugged her shoulder.
¶¶
“Aiden is dating that wîtch?”
“Fûck, is he blind?!”
“Eww, I can’t believe I can’t hàte him for dating this bad bîtch!”
¶¶
“I won’t mistreat her, ma’am,” he bowed lightly.
“You should get going, babe. I’ll be fine with Zoey,” Tiffany turned to look at her boyfriend.
“Oh, I see someone doesn’t have a problem displaying public affection,” Zoey raised her brows and nudged Tiffany.
“Can you come closer, Zoey?”
“Sure,” Zoey nodded her head and moved closer to Aiden.
“You know how things are going. Don’t let her out of your sight, she’s got a bad temper, you know, right?” Aiden whispered in her ear.
“Yeah, I remember everything we were told,” she pulled away and glanced at Tiffany who was staring daggers at them.
“I’ve got a bad temper?”
“It was just a slip of tongue, baby,” Aiden giggled and walked towards her.
“Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll come to check on you later,” he placed his hand on her shoulders.
“My phone?”
“Oh, hold on,” Aiden dipped his hand in his pocket and returned her phone to her.
“Take care also.”
Aiden leaned closer and kissed her cheek, waved her hand at her, and then walked out of the class.
“I see you’re missing him already,” Zoey leaned closer and whispered to her ear.
“You can say that again,” Tiffany exhaled.
“What an eyesore!” Lauren stood from her seat and hit the table.
“This girl…” Tiffany shook her head and then laughed.
“She’s a real pain in the neck, trust me,” Zoey chuckled as they both walked towards their seat.
“You think you are everything now that you’re dating the most popular guy in the school?” Lauren folded her arm across her chest.
“Do you also think I am everything?” Tiffany shrugged her shoulder.
“Huh, bîtch, far from it. You think…”
“Shush, bîtch. I really don’t want to exchange words with a whore this morning,” Tiffany sighed and then settled on her chair.
“W… What?! Who the fûck… ”
“Sorry, dear. Can you just let this slide and return to your seat?” Zoey faked a smile, moved her chair closer to Tiffany, and then sat down, totally ignoring Lauren who was still fuming in anger.
“So, babe, what’s up?”
“Well, you know you’ve got a good girl here. While you were not around, I marked your attendance and then helped you with your notes and assignment,” Zoey explained with a smile.
“I know I could count on you,” Tiffany gave her a thumb up.
“You dropped your bag in school, so I was able to access your locker since your key is in your bag.”
“I swear, I forgot totally about my bag,” Tiffany covered her mouth with her palm.
“It’s not new, Aiden has filled your brain, heart, mind, kidney, and intestines. It’s fine if you don’t remember anything else,” Zoey shrugged her shoulder.
“Come off it, girl.”
“That’s not a lie, right? You think about only Aiden these days.”
“How do you know?” Tiffany covered her mouth with her palm, acting surprised.
“You didn’t know? I am a witch,” Zoey said and they both laughed.
==
“Just keep moving forward, dîckhèàd,” Aiden heard the unmistakable voice of Declan and then caught the view of the guy resting by the door of the lounge.
“Oh, shît,” he ran his hand through his hair.
“I’m sorry,” Aiden hurried towards him and held his ears with his hands.
“Of course, you should be sorry!” Declan clapped his hands and begin to move closer to Aiden.
“I can explain, bro. I wasn’t planning on ignoring you the way I did, I’m sorry,” Aiden pleaded.
“Yeah, I know. Just come here,” Declan smiled.
As soon as he got to where Aiden was, he smiled at him and then kicked his leg hard which made the guy fall to his knees, wringing in pain.
“Fûck you, what’s wrong?!” Aiden yelled, people already peeping from wherever they were.
“Because of that girl, you ignored me for five days! Five days! You’ve got no conscience,” Declan shook his head and knelt before him.
“Where’s Xyler?” Aiden asked in a whisper.
“He called earlier to tell me he wouldn’t be coming to school,” Declan answered.
“Oh.”
Aiden smirked mischievously, glanced at Declan who was enjoying his plight, and then grabbed his neck all of the sudden.
“Fûck, Aiden!” Declan shouted.
“You shouldn’t underestimate me, what makes you think you can kick me and go away with it?” Aiden groaned, ignoring Declan’s screams.
“I… I’ll die at this rate,” Declan cried out.
“Apologize.”
“I… I am sorry.”
“What did you say?” Aiden giggled silently.
“I am so sorry sir. I… Love… You,” Declan gasped.
Aiden pushed him off him and watched the guy coughed with a satisfied look on his face.
“You’re cràzy,” Declan exhaled, chuckling.
“I simply missed you. That’s my way of saying that,” Aiden shrugged his shoulders off, still sitting on the cold tiles along the hallway with Declan.
“Àsshôlé,” Declan scoffed and they both laughed.
“Are you good?” Aiden stood up and stretched his hand forward to Declan who took it after a short smile.
“I’m most good,” he answered, dusting off the dirt that might have gotten on his butt.
“Let’s go to the lounge,” Declan said.
“You know we can’t do that, let’s just go somewhere where these CCTV cameras won’t see us,” Aiden suggested, referring to the students.
“Let’s go to the lounge, I have something else going on my mind regarding this shît we’re doing at the moment,” Declan said.
~~
“Are you sure this place is bug-free?” Aiden raised his brows as he collected the drink Declan offered him.
“I think it is,” Declan answered and settled on the couch before Aiden.
“So, what did you find out while listening to his calls, you haven’t said anything about it.”
“There’s something bothering me,” Aiden said after a sip from the drink.
“He said something about him not making out with Vanessa. He said something like, I only took you to her place, it was you who fûcked her,” he drew his lower lip between his teeth.
“And you’re sure it was Xyler you saw?” Declan creased his brow.
“I am very sure. It was your birthday party,” Aiden nodded his head.
“Then, this only means one thing if you saw things right, Xyler is a twin,” Declan twitched his mouth.
“I thought as much, he said something about us murdering Luna. He said it was our fault Luna died.”
“What the fûck! That guy is a psycho! We never kîlled anyone!” Declan dropped the drink in his hand on the table angrily.
“I know, we really need to find out what causes that misunderstanding,” Aiden said as he looked in the sight of the throw pillow that had Xyler’s picture on it.
“Let’s end this fake thing. I’m tired of fighting with you,” Declan pouted.
“It’s not real anyway. You shouldn’t get tired.”
“Aiden, I don’t think this will work. Xyler is secretive, he won’t blab about it. Let’s end this and watch out for him in our way,” Declan sighed.
“I guess he’ll be going after Zoey.”
“Why?!” Declan frowned.
“He said they had already messed with Aiden’s lady, Declan’s lady should be next,” he replied.
“Fûck, not Zoey!”
“How about you end things with her since it’s fake anyway?” Aiden suggested.
“No!”
“It is to keep her safe.”
“No. I can’t let go of her. I’ll protect her by my side!” Declan replied adamantly.
“Why? Are you growing on her already?”
“I knew it, I knew you were bound to develop feelings for her,” Aiden giggled.
“Shut it, I don’t have feelings for her.”
“Then let her go!” Aiden snapped.
“I can’t do that! I can’t!” Declan retorted.
“Then you have feelings for her.”
“I do not!”
“Yes, you do,” Aiden teased.
“No.”
“Yes!”
“Fûck, I said no,” Declan clenched his fist.
“Yes.”
“Yes. Shit, I mean no!” Declan ran his hand through his hair.
” You just said yes,” Aiden shrugged his shoulder.
“You confused me!”
“When?” Aiden raised his brows.
“You… I hate you dude,” Declan hissed.
“I love you too,” Aiden laughed.
==
Lunch break.
Tiffany returned her book to her desk and yawned lazily as soon as the teacher stepped out of the classroom after the bell which indicated lunch break was rung.
“I’m hungry,” Zoey rubbed her belly.
“Same here,” Tiffany giggled as her stomach growled.
“I ate nothing this morning, if I had known, I would have said yes when Aiden offered to get us something during the short break when he came to our class,” Zoey whined.
“I wasn’t really hungry then, I ate cheese before coming. Let’s go get something,” Tiffany said.
“Let’s hurry before Declan comes here,” Zoey stood up.
“Declan? Why would you come here?”
” We always spend the lunch break together. He would come here and then go to the cafeteria together. The bills are always on him,” Zoey giggled.
“Ah… I see,” Tiffany smiled.
“How are you coping with being with him without him being aware of your feelings for him?” Tiffany asked as they leaked arms together and walked out of the classroom.
“You don’t know? Declan is awfully dumb,” Zoey hissed and Tiffany laughed.
“Although, I tried my best hiding it also. It’s better to tell him than to catch on himself.”
“You will tell him?” Tiffany widened her eyes.
“I’m still thinking about it. If I tell him, then I’d better be ready of being away from him. The last time I confessed my feelings to him, that àsshôlé rejected me with an insult,” she pouted.
“Then why will you tell him again?”
“It is kind of burdensome keeping it in me all the time. I like Declan so much and I hate it that he is not aware of it,” She exhaled.
“Huh, I understand. Well, it’s a good thing the guys don’t hang out with girls. You can give it a trial, he could have feelings for you also. You are a beautiful lady,” Tiffany patted her hand
“Right?” Zoey snapped her fingers.
“Yes, very beautiful.”
“That’s why I love you. Oh, there comes your boyfriend,” Zoey pulled away with a frown.
“Sorry,” Tiffany laughed as she waved her hand at Aiden.
“Now, I wish Declan is here,” Zoey rolled her eyes.
“Awwn, really?” She glanced at Zoey and then Aiden who had almost reached where they were.
“Yes!” Zoey snapped.
“Yessss…” She whined as she saw Declan appear down the hallway.
“Babe,” Aiden smiled and then pulled Tiffany into a hug.
“I missed you,” he mumbled, sniffing her hair.
“I missed you too,” Tiffany smiled.
“How were lectures?” Aiden asked as he pulled away.
“It was fine, plus I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Tiffany said and Aiden chuckled.
“Of course, you shouldn’t stop thinking about me,” Aiden held her hand and then moved beside her.
“I got a company!” Zoey walked towards them with Declan and snuck her tongue at Tiffany.
“Yeah, I see,” Tiffany laughed.
“Hi, Declan,” Tiffany greeted Declan with a cold smirk.
Zoey and Aiden glanced at each other and then shrug their shoulders off.
Tiffany greeted Declan?
Oh, something is wrong.
Oh, shit!
Aiden widened his eyes as he remembered what happened the previous day.
“Hi,” Declan rolled his eyes.
Wait, did she still hold on to what happened the previous day?
“So, yesterday…” Tiffany started as she removed her hand from Aiden’s slowly.
“I am sorry!” Declan pressed his lips together.
“No, you can’t be, Never!” Tiffany shook her head and began to walk toward him.
“Listen, I am…”
Hold on, why was he fidgeting?
“I said what I said and I meant what I said. So, don’t beat yourself to it, okay?” Declan shrugs his shoulder.
“Really?” Tiffany widened her eyes and then stopped in front of him.
“Look…” Declan began as he dropped his right hand on her shoulder.
“You should not take what I said to heart. You know…”
He was still talking when Tiffany grabbed the cloth of his arm, turned around, and then flipped him over.
“Fûck,” Aiden rubbed his hand on his forehead.
“Jesus, my back!” Declan groaned.
“This girl,” Zoey covered her mouth with her palm.
Students had already lurked around, murmuring about what happened.
“Oh, sorry. You shouldn’t take what I did to heart,” Tiffany mocked.
“Babe,” Aiden sighed.
“Yeah?” Tiffany turned to look at him.
“Let’s go,” he walked closer to her and grabbed her arm.
“Bro?” he released Tiffany’s hand and then helped Declan get up.
“Tiffany!” Declan gritted his teeth.
“Let’s go!” Aiden grabbed Tiffany’s hand and then began to walk away with her.
All of a sudden, Tiffany stopped walking and stood still.
“What’s wrong?” Aiden asked.
“T… The tiger,” she muttered, her face had already turned pale.
“There’s nothing there, babe,” Aiden assured.
“It… It is coming closer. I… I…” She screamed and fell to the ground, attracting everyone along the hallway.
Aiden bent beside her and then pulled her into a hug, caressing her back and then whispering some words of assurance to her ear.
*