What is love?

Chapter 3

After the incident at lunchtime, March's offer for a short hangout in the garden piqued my interest. Perhaps I'll hang there for a short while, I could use some fresh air. I haven't been there for 5 minutes and the juniors are already judging me and inching away from the path I took. Good. Now I don't have to deal with pesky, shorty, little juniors trying to say hi and make new friends.

"I see you've come to your senses." Said a certain someone from the garden bench. "Be careful with the juniors will ya'? Cute little bunch."

"Well I'm sorry that juniors preferred a nice, normal, chatty guy than a dark and brooding girl for a friend." I fake smiled and pushed the certain someone out of my way. "Besides, I'm here to have some alone time. Not to hangout with you!"

"Not even for half an hour?" He suggests.

"Not even a minute, sandy boy." I ignored his advances and continue until I reached the pond. Ah, the calming waters, the bobbing ducks the cool wind. What could be better?

"I told you this is a nice place to hang. But you wouldn't listen." March sudden appearance nearly got me falling into the pond.

"Stupid little dummy!" I bonked him on the head. "Didn't I tell you back there to leave me alone?! Why won't you damn list-"

"Mmh, want one?" My words are cut short when he stubbornly shove a piece of strawberry in my mouth. Since I'm not a fan, I spat it out. 

"Why can't you damn listen already?! I'M. NOT. A. FAN. MARCH. SO. LEAVE. ME. ALONE." I overemphasize each syllable in my sentence to make sure he heard each one of them.

"Jeez, Scarlette. I can hear you quite well, you know." March blocked both his ears.

"Then why can't you show that you can? What's so hard about it?!"

"Maybe the fact that my stubbornness is off the grid?" He smirked. "It's going to take more than that to shut me up and make me listen."

"Stubborn extrovert. Totally not the type I want to hang out with." I stood up, ready to leave him and this stupid and pointless quarrel.

"What's your type then?"

"Why would you care?!" I snapped. 

March opened his mouth to say something but out came nothing but a long silence and shakes his head. "Oh, uh, never mind then. I guess you want to go back to your dorm?"

"No, not now. This is the crowded dorm hour. People will be returning there to catch up on home works, freshen up or just simply chat while lounging."

"Have you finished your home works?"

"Done."

"Wh-when?!"

"Before you tried to ask me out?"

"I'm not asking you-" March sighed and put up his thumb. "Great job on getting that work done."

"Thanks, but what am I supposed to call what you try to do anyway?"

"My intention is to even things out. But that turns out to be the wrong thing to do. So now even I don't know what I did at lunch time. The point is we're hanging out AS FRIENDS and I don't like the way you make it sound like we're couples."

"Eugh, ew why would I?! When did I even?! I don't even dare to befriend you, let alone be your...love...companion." I gagged at the last part.

"You make it sounds as if I ask you out on a date when it's just a friendly hangout."

"How?!"

"The phrase 'you ask me out' is like another word for 'you ask me on a date'...somehow."

"Ugh, romance language sucks! And you read too much sappy romance novels."

"I can't help it! I'm hooked. You'll get hooked too when you get to the best part of it."

"And when's that? All I'm reading so far is a bunch of sappy stuff. About how two people met and became friends. And I bet that friendship will blossom into love. And happily ever after like all stories does, right?" 

"Hmm...yes and no."

"What do you mean yes and no?! That's what always happen in stories. It's like a universal plot!"

"I told you this book's different, but you wouldn't listen. You never did."

"Said Mr. I-listen-I'm-just-stubborn!"

"You don't need to shout." He clapped his hands to his ears again.

"As if I care." I folded my arms and faced away from him.

"Hey, this hangout's intended to bond us as friends not break the bond." He pulled me so that I'm facing him.

"Correction, accidental meeting. This "hangout" isn't supposed to happen if you hadn't scold me ignoring the juniors' advances."

"Eh, same thing." He licked his fingers, all dripping with strawberry juice. "Now shut."

"Who gives you the authority to shut me up?" I give him the side eye. "I should be the one who do that! Not only did you force me to care and reply to your pointless chatters, you've crossed the line, buddy!"

"How?"

"You changed me. I know it. I've never felt this way before and I'm confident YOU did it. So what did you do to me?!" I asked crossly.

"Do what?"

"You changed me! You make me show you the other side of myself that I don't want people to know. My hidden side. My chatty, friendly side. I tried my best to not show that side again or even be close to you to prevent that from happening again but it's just impossible. I'm starting to say long sentences and now I'm saying nonsense. Like wh- what am I even saying right now?! And stop licking your fingers, Cromwell!" 

"Chillax, Scarlette." March replied shortly, still licking juice off his fingers. "You're not changing you're just revealing your true self. Your extroverted self."

"But I don't want to!" I shove my head down my folded arms like a little kid.

"But it's good isn't it? You getting out of your lonely comfort zone and making friends. Isn't that good?"

"No, it isn't. Because you don't see the world like I do. And do you know how I see this? I see this as I need someone to survive in this school / life when I don't. I'm grown and I'm independent. I ain't relying on anyone. Whether it's my parents, my roommates or even the porter. And especially not from a boy."

"Humans are social creatures. You do need other people to survive. You can't live on your own. You'll get lonely. That food you get every day is made by other people right? And that water you drink, the education you get. You need other people but that doesn't make you weak or dependent. That's just how we are. That's how we're made from the start."

I clenched my fists as anger boiled up inside me. "Are you implying that I'm weak? Are you implying that I'm dependent? That I'll shrivel up and die as soon as my friends disconnected from me?! We'll I'm going to prove you I'm not." I stood up and grab a long, bright colored, object from the shrubs. Well, I think I'm being too mean. I should've said creature.

"S-scarlette, let go of that snake! Yo-you might provoke it and it- it might bit you!" March face has gone so pale I could mistake him for a ghost as the snake lunge for my hand and sink its long fangs down my flesh.

"That's the plan." I smirked as my hand let go of the snake which slithered away from me instantly.

"A-are you feeling alright? N-no side effects?" March gulped.

"Relax. I'm not some puny...h-human." I wave my hand away at the thought of me falling at a snake bite. But truth be told I am getting a little whoozy in the head, not to mention dizzy, my eyes are getting blurred and breathing is suddenly really hard. I'm not weak am I? It's just a snake bite I should be fine. Right?

"Scarlette!"