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Chapter Nine

"Hi. I'm Xavi."

Now that I realise, I've never heard his voice.

Well he didn't really introduce himself in class on his first day or sat near me, so there's that. I clear my head and smile back at him. It was really hard not to.

"Alisson." I say.

"I know your name, bird.." He stops midway through his sentence, sending a glance towards Adrien who widens his eyes but then quickly masks his expression when he sees me staring.

Was Xavi just going to call me 'birdie'? Wasn't that something Adrien does? A hundred questions swirl in my mind but of course I can't really ask them anything as of now. 

I'm trying to make friends. I'm trying because of Iris, I can't let my immature thoughts ruin this so I drive my attention away from it.

"I think we should get started on our work. There's a lot to cover." I say and turn away from him.

Xavi nods in return, clearly surprised that I didn't question him about anything. How he knows my name and why he called me birdie? Right now, it didn't matter to me. The Chemistry textbook in front of me was scary enough.

We continue with our works for the next hour. None of us speaking, if the huffs, frustrated sighs and curse words were to be ignored. Most of them coming from either Max, Dave or Justin.

They should have ordered coffee instead of fruit juices.

"Aly? I need to be home, dad called." 

Iris was looking at me with an apologetic face. I quickly gather my stuffs and get up from my seat.

"Sure, I was planning to finish the rest at home anyway."

I sling the backpack over my shoulder and glance at everyone, muttering 'goodbye', even at Adrien.

Before I could open the door to the car, a hand clasps my wrist, sending shivers down my spine.

Ah, I'm touch deprived I guess.

"Alisson, can you give me a minute of your time?"

When Adrien sees me hesitating, he quickly adds a 'please' at the end of his sentence. I turn to look at Iris, secretly asking for help. But before she could say anything, Adrien pulls me away from the car, my steps following him close as he yells back at her.

"I promise it'll only be a minute!" 

Maybe I should carry a stopwatch with me for situations like this. 

Not the time to joke Aly..I tell my subconscious. 

We stop at the end of the café, somewhere at the beginning of an alley. He turns around to face me. I lean comfortably on the wall, hands out of his grasp and now folded, urging him to speak.

He clears his throat, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry."

Um..seriously? Can everyone stop apologising to me? It makes me look like the bad guy here even though it's supposed to be like the other way round.

"For?" I ask him.

"For everything. All the things that happened in the past. When we were kids. I really didn't know. I was just-"

I cut him off, not wanting to hear anymore apologies and also because I really don't want to delve into the past.

"It's alright, Adrien. I have actually decided to get over it. I was just being immature. I'm sorry about that day. Congratulations on winning the championship." I send a small smile his way.

He looks shocked.

Maybe he wasn't expecting me to be this calm. He might have thought I would lash out for everything especially after constantly avoiding him. But I really don't want to. I'm still upset over everything and yes, I did blame him for being a part of all the pain that I had suffered that day. But I really can't do anything about it. I can't hold a grudge against him, considering the fact that he is Iris' friend. I can't make an enemy out of him. Just like I can't get my diary or mom back..my diary. I break out of my trance.

"Are you sure, you aren't angry?" He scans my face.

"My diary, do you have it?"

He frowns at my words before speaking again.

"No." 

This time I scan his face, searching for answers. Is he lying?

He sure understood what my thoughts are like right now, so he continues.

"I swear, I don't. It might have dropped in the pool." His voice grows soft at the end, barely audible and I nod, believing his words this time.

"Time's up. Iris must be waiting. I should get back." I say and turn away from him, walking towards the car.

"Bye, Alisson. And thank you!"

 I wanted to ask 'for?' again but I guess I had a faint idea. 

I wave back at him and lightly chuckle as he stumbles upon a rock, gaining back his composure and then waving back. His cheeks slightly tainted pink. 

At least I'm not the only one who keeps blushing. 

Double update!! I'm on a roll today lmao.

Enjoy!

xoxo

ROSEGOLD.