The Moon Hiding at Dawn

Chapter 24: Ironic Fate

Riz and I spent most of the days glued to each other, may it be at school or afterwards. We didn't really mind since we have to make it convincing enough. The problem is that Kallen and Clyde are always inconveniently out of sight. The only ones we're convincing at this point were the others.

It's been two days since the rooftop encounter and here we are, back in the rooftop again with Riz resting her head on my lap.

"Think they'll be sneaking around here?" I asked.

"Doesn't matter" she said. "I'm just here to enjoy the benefits of a so-called 'relationship' even if it's a fake one."

"Never had one before?"

She shook her head, which was just rubbing it around my lap since she made no effort of sitting upright or anything.

I sighed. "Well, you can strike this one off the scoreboard afterwards. It's not a real one either way."

She sat and shook her head. "Nope, this one stays. A relationship is a relationship, may it be real or pretend."

"Then, sorry for taking your first relationship and making it fake..."

"You know, instead of apologizing, why not make it so that it'd feel like a real one regardless?"

"But wouldn't that be painful on your side? I mean you'd probably be slapped to the face knowing that something good is still fake in the end."

She paused for a moment. "I'll leave the choice to you, then. Either you keep it fake even if it looks real in the eyes of others, or you make it feel real that I'd start believing as well."

I had no answers... Mainly because I don't get a single lyric to her song. What would she start believing at anyways? Me? Love? Whatnot?

I decided that thinking more about it will only complicate it further. Work on the facts and never assume things. Right now, we are fake lovers that are trying to get answers due to my selfishness. Yeah... Nothing else but my selfishness...

I guess it won't hurt as much as to give her a good 'relationship' at this point. It may be adding more steps to the end that I'm achieving but that wouldn't even be enough payment for what I asked of her to do.

"Want to go somewhere after class hours?" I asked.

She seemed perplexed. "You mean hangout in the coffee shop again until our colleagues see us?"

I laughed. "No. I meant somewhere you want to go this time. Unless you want to be holed in there again."

Her face filled up with spirit. Or I guess it did since she suddenly sat without much a warning. "There's a new bookshop that opened somewhere within the residential area. Let's... Wait, nevermind. You're not really a fan of books."

"Then let's go there! Would be unfair if it's always my cup of coffee and not yours, right?"

"Fair enough." she said.

So we waited for around an hour for three in the afternoon to pass us by. Nothing big considering a handy time-skip tool I would like to call sleeping. After a few naps, we're off and good to go.

We walked around the residential area while she ranted about multiple books that I cannot anymore keep track. She doesn't seem to mind as she continued shelling me with random facts or frustrations about what she knew.

We seemed to be walking forever until she stopped. I looked around thinking that we're already there but I saw no signs of a bookshop or whatever. Okay... I get it now.