Pendulum || TAENNIE FF

⚔Chapter 32: Unlucky Second

A U T H O R

Flake and Heather finished their fancy dinner. Flake returned her to the same place where he took her but they accidentally crossed paths with Firo. Heather widened her eyes and gulped. "Kang," Flake called. "She's already full so you can take her back to the dorm without having anything to worry about."

"Good. Now get out of here." Firo said, keeping a blank face. Flake nodded and spared one last glance at Heather before leaving.

"You're mad." Heather didn't hesitate to say.

"I'm not."

"No, no. I totally get it. It seems like I ditched your "pancake snack time" to be with him but that's completely absurd. I would never do that. It just so happened that Flake came to where I was and he offered me a meal. Of course, I said no. But, it was him who took me there by force. Well, the view was nice and the food tasted good so I thought, it would be such a waste if I left the good stuff." 

"I said I wasn't mad." Firo clarified and walked away.

"He really thinks I believe that? It's written all over his face...! He's mad and he doesn't believe me. I'm gonna have to call him out for that." She walked faster and blocked his way. "Answer me honestly and quick, Firo."

"It's getting late--"

"Why can't I be a friend?" Firo furrowed his brows at her question. "Everything's so simple if I go to the root of things. Why aren't you considering me as a friend?" She crossed her arms and raised a brow. 

"We haven't known each other for long--"

"Rubbish. That can't be the reason why you're only thinking of me as a responsibility. It was better when you were in my world. You were kind to me and everything. And...And remember when I just got here? You weren't so serious and cold to me that time. You even had time to fool around but... Where did it go wrong?"

"We're tired, Heather. Let's just go back to the dorm."

"I'm not tired and I need an answer. I don't feel comfortable with others seeing me as someone they need to take care of. I want to be on the same level as Maya, Chase, and you while I'm here. What's so hard about that?"

"Why do you want us to be friends so badly? What are you getting from that? Nothing."

"Are you kidding me, Kang Firo? Maybe you forgot. You're the only person who knows who and what I really am. You're the only person I can talk about my concerns as someone different. But here you are, drawing stupid, useless lines between us. What's that for?!"

"I don't want to have this conversation right now so just save it for another day." Firo walked away, leaving Heather completely annoyed. Save it for another day... He's going to keep doing this over and over again. 

They took the train back to the dorms. They sat in one cabin but there was nothing heard but deafening silence, except for the rough sound of the train. Heather was looking at her hands while Firo couldn't even face her. 

What's the point of keeping his reason to himself? If he's seeing something wrong about my attitude--which I'm quite certain about--he can talk to me about it and maybe I can work on it for the better. But he insensitively chose to stay quiet and leave me clueless. I'm not gonna harm him in some way. What? Is he scared of me? I don't think so.

Firo found her angry eyes going from left to right and clenched his jaw. He knew Heather's soul won't be at peace if he keeps her curious. It's just, Heather might not understand his situation, his fear of people leaving him in a blink. She might even convince him and in the end when she leaves, he won't be able to move on from it for so many years. It's not being selfish for Firo. It's about prioritizing his feelings.