𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚎 || 𝐅𝟒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 (editing)

two

chapter two:

"those shoes are hideous"
———

Aside from the morning encounter with Kavin and MJ, classes were reluctantly bland for Lia. That is, of course, if you dismiss the constant attention she received from the other students. Everyone seemed to be asking themselves the same questions: why did she transfer, who was her family, how much money did her family make, what ethnicity/race was she, and what the hell was her skin care routine? Much to the dismay of her peers Lia simply smiled and nodded at all of them. She pretended as if she had difficulty speaking Thai. It was the ultimate excuse. None of the poor fools had any clue that her family lived in Bangkok for the majority of her life.

By the time lunch came around she was exhausted both mentally and physically. Liliana walked around the cafeteria with a tray of food that she admittedly didn't remember getting. In fact, she was certain that she ended up with the food after attempting to escape a heard of teenage boys that had formed around her all of which were offering to pay for her meal. Lia wasn't complaining though and gladly accepted the free meal.

She looked around the cafeteria, scanning for a place to sit. Because she had joined in the middle of the school year everyone seemed to already have their groups of friends and it felt like such a drag to attempt to socialize. Her eyes darted to a staircase which led to an upper loft where she spotted some comfortable looking sofas and chairs. Lia smiled and began to walk up the stairs before being rudely interrupted by a random girl. "You can't go up there! That's the section for F4 only!" the stranger screeched. "What the fuck is an F4 and why does that concern me?" Before the other girl could respond back Lia pushed passed her causing the other girl to stumble as she continued walking up to the loft. Happily she sat down on the largest of the luxurious leather sofas.

The girl at the bottom of the stairs looked like she was about to burst with anger and was seconds away from complaining. The shouts of the students halted her protests. Liliana looked toward the direction of the screams and was annoyed to see the two boys that she had met in passing that morning. Two other boys were also with the pair and happened to catch her eye. "Why didn't I know uniforms were an option?" she grumbled, scooping up a mountainous amount of rice with her spoon and angrily shoving it into her mouth with furrowed eyebrows.

As she continued munching away at her meal she heard a loud crash followed by absolute silence. Only one voice could be heard in the cafeteria, "Is this your way of approaching a guy?" A sigh escaped her lips and she reluctantly turned towards the sound of the commotion for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

Thyme's eyes were piercing into a timid looking girl, who's name was apparently Hana, over the fact that she had tripped and spilt food all over his seemingly new pair of shoes. Any normal human being would understandably get annoyed but ultimately accept the perpetrators offer of paying for the ruined shoes. Thyme wasn't the brightest guy in the world. His immediate reaction was to shoo away any excuses and offers that the girl was making.

"Buy a new pair? Do you know what these are? These are tailor-made in Paris. Can you buy these?" he stated in an interrogating tone. "Thyme, go easy on her. She's cute" interjected MJ in hopes of easing the tension. Hana bursted into tears and began to promise Thyme that she would do anything for him to forgive her. This promise slightly intrigued Thyme. Sure, it wasn't the first time that a person had pledged to do anything for him but nevertheless, he couldn't help but try and push the limits. Someone in the crowd had the bright idea of making Hana lick Thymes shoes and yelled it out for everyone to hear. Thyme thought this idea was genius and demanded that the poor girl lick his shoes clean in return for his forgiveness. Everyone in the cafeteria began to chant "Lick it! Lick it!" but the excited chants were cut off by another student standing up abruptly.

Gorya had finally made her first friend at the rich kid school that she attended. She never would have went to Köcher high school if it wasn't for the merit-based scholarship that she received. Or the fact that Mira, her biggest idol in life, previously attended the school as well. Hana was the first person that approached Gorya without the conventional mindset of having a higher social standing. It was almost an automatic response to stand up when her newfound friend was being harassed. Before she could stop herself she turned around to face Thyme and confidently stated, "I think you're doing too much".

The boy began to question her in a venomous tone. Gorya's confidence began to waver as she repeated what she had said. "How dare you order me around?" he retorted. His eyes seemed to be digging into her skin as his gaze intensified.

A slow clap began from the top level of the cafeteria. All eyes looked up at Liliana who appeared to have the most unamused look on her face. "That was such a great performance! How about  you hurry up a bit and get to the ending? My food is starting to become unappetizing from the tense situation you've created."

"Who are you and why are you in our spot?" Thyme pointed at the girl, "Who let her up there?". A sigh escaped her rose tinted lips, "listen pretty boy, she honestly did you a favor ruining those things, those shoes are hideous". Kavin and MJ's eyes widened. They simultaneously let out a curse. With one singular sentence, Lia was able to make Thyme the most furious he had ever been in his life. "WHAT did you just say to me?" Smoke was practically coming out of his ears.

Lia chuckled and muttered a small "I'm in danger" that was barely audible to the people below her. Thyme began to make his way towards the stairs as Lia sprinted down them, barely avoiding his grasp. Instinctively she grabbed ahold of a terrified Gorya and rushed out of the cafeteria doors leaving behind a furious and dumbfounded Thyme with stained shoes.

—— a/n

Thyme and Lia: