Chances Of Us

Part 3

It felt different; every time I wake up, I feel so empty. I just stare at the ceiling of my room as I hear my mom calling me for breakfast.

"Lauren! You will be late for school!" I just pulled my blanket over me as I groaned before I stood up to get myself ready.

Class starts at 8:00 a.m. I don't really want to attend school today, but I also don't want them to think that I am still avoiding what happened last week.

Yeah, it's been a week since Matthew and Miles started to go out. Miles always visits our room to check on his boyfriend. She waits for him at the gate of our school; she eats with us just to be close to Matthew; and she sometimes waits for our class to end.

I feel jealous; I am not trying to hide. It does sometimes make my heart cringe in pain when I see them together. Some students in our class said Matthew is a Casanova, a two-timer, and just making fun of girls who have crushes on him.

I just want to believe all the rumors so I can easily get over him.

"Wait!" I try to run fast over the bus stop, and as I see that it is already leaving, I run after the bus, shouting out from the lungs.

"Wait! WAI-TT!" I think that was the best and loudest call that I could make, as I could feel how weak my knees are as I rested both of my hands on them.

I smile as I can see the bus slow down a few meters from me. "Hurry!" I can hear someone calling me as I quickly run to get on the bus. I thank the driver and stand near the middle door of the bus.

I looked at my watch to see what the time was, and I was late. It was already 8:08 in the morning. I let out a small frustration at myself: 'I should listen to mom earlier'. as I scold myself in my mind.

"Screeench!" It got me in surprise as the bus suddenly stopped as gravity pulled me in front when I lost my balance.

but I didn't hit the ground, but I could feel how hard his muscles were on my hands as I rested my head on them. 'muscle, what? ' I looked up to see a guy who's holding me; keep me from falling.

"Are you trying to break your school record now, by getting late?" Matthew said as he took my hand and put it on the right pole beside us for me to hold on to. He stood behind me, holding my left shoulder, trying to stop me from losing my balance again.

I can't even say anything to him or even thank him; I just stand there, trying to calm down as I can feel his breath behind my head. I try to look outside, trying to divert my attention from Matthew. but I see him staring at me from the window of the bus.

I can't take off my eyes. I can feel his hand on my shoulder tighten as my ear turns red. as I feel so nervous right now. 'No, no, you should feel nothing, Lauren. Stop it! He already has a girlfriend,' I shouted to myself in my head.

"Oh! Stop!' I shouted as I saw the school stop. I pressed the button in the bus. I stepped away from Matthew and waited for the door to open before I quickly ran off to the bus. I can see Matthew looking at me as I enter the school gate, with a gentle look at his face.

I grin to myself, thinking that I have escaped. "Both of you! stand outside the classroom until my lecture finishes." It was the first time, for my whole life in high school, that I got scolded by my teacher.

'I can't believe I'm standing here with you," I can hear Matthew say as we both stand outside our classroom. "Yeah, I can't believe it either," I say, disappointed in myself as I put my hand in my face and let out a small sigh.

I heard him chuckle. I looked at him in disbelief, wondering how he could laugh at our situation now. "You must be enjoying this." I try to be sarcastic to him. But he just smiled and said while looking at me, "Yes, because you're with me."

I just rolled my eyes, trying to compose myself beside him. "You should be saying that to your girlfriend?" I said back, as I felt somewhat proud of myself. 'Woa, Lauren, you must be getting over to him; you can easily talk to him now. I smiled at myself as I didn't feel any reaction to myself, of what Matthew said.

"I don't have a girlfriend." I can see how his tone changed to a serious one when he said that.

"W-what?" I looked at him, so puzzled by what he said to me, 'how about Miles? "Isn't she your girlfriend? "Aren't the two of you already going out? "I want to ask him, as I can feel someone's presence in my back.

"Hah, you can't even wait for my class to finish. You two will be cleaning the gym after school as your lesson," the teacher said, shaking his head in disappointment at us before he left the classroom.

But I didn't care, and I think I didn't hear what the teacher said. I looked again at Matthew, still standing beside me with those annoying smiles on his face. "You must be really enjoying being with me," he said, as I could feel my jaw dropping as I tried to understand what he said.

I was confused; my head was just floating around; I couldn't process anything but the words Matthew said, 'I didn't have a girlfriend'. It echoed in my mind for the whole day until all of our classes ended.

"Did you really believe him?" Riza said as she collected our notebooks for today's lecture. She stopped in front of me, taking the notebook off my desk.

"I don't... know?" sounds more like a question to me. Riza leans closer to me with a serious look on her face.

"What happened to your words when you said you already got over him?" She said it like she doubted me all the time.

"Hah, did I say that?" I try to deny it in front of her as the look in her eyes changes to a serious one.

"Are you going to the gym with him?" she asks, looking at me as I can feel how worried she is. I smile at her as I help her carry the notebooks in her arms.

"I will walk you to the teacher's office and go straight to the gym," I said to her with a smile, showing that she didn't have to worry about me.

Riza was my best friend after Jonathan; we met her at grade school. as she tried to warn me to get away from Jonathan. I was so confused back then, and I didn't know what she meant to say to me. So we had a small fight, until she cried out that she had a crush on Jonathan and felt so jealous about me.
After that, Riza became my friend until now.

"I go to the gym after this," Riza said to me after I dropped her off at the teacher's office. I took my bag and walked myself to the gym.

The door is already open; I guess Matthew is already inside cleaning. I was about a few steps from the door when someone ran in front of me, and we both fell to the floor.

"Ouch!" I groan as I try to stand on my feet. I can feel the little pain in my but as I try to help her stand as she stays seated on the ground.

"Are you okay?" I asked in concern as she didn't even try to look at me. 'Sob' I can hear a small sob as her shoulder shakes as she tries to hold her tears.

It was Miles who was crying in front of me. I don't know what happened, but I can feel how much pain she is trying to hide from me.

She wiped her tears, still not looking at me, and stood on her feet. Her eyes were so red, even her cheeks, when she looked at me.

"He's an asshole," she says before she leaves, running. I haven't seen someone cry in front of me, and I somewhat understand why Riza gets so angry at me when I cry over Matthew.

I try to look inside the gym to see if Matthew is really there. It may feel awkward, but I see him practicing his shooting from the free throw line.

I want to ask what happened, but I know I shouldn't ask. He looked at me as he felt my presence entering the gym. I just smile and wave at him.

I put my bag in the corner as I took the map to the floor. It was pure silence; I didn't even try to say a word, and he just continued his shooting from the free throw.

I just make myself so busy that I am almost done with half of the court. when the ball bounced in front of me, getting stuck on my feet. I look at Matthew, who is still standing on the free throw, waiting for me to pass him the ball.

"I don't have a girlfriend," Matthew said as I took the ball on my feet. I heard him. or maybe my heart heard him as I could feel how loud his sound was inside my chest.

"It's a misunderstanding, Lauren," the way he looks at me, "I'm not making fun of you." I can see how serious he looks right now as he breaks the space between us when he steps closer to me.

It felt like I was lost for words, or I was waiting for him to say something, as I only looked into his eyes to see how gentle they looked at me.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry." I didn't know those words could make all my questions be answered at once. It felt like my emotions were going to explode as I could feel tears coming out of my eyes.

'Why am I crying? ' I try to hide my face, but I can feel his warm hand on my cheeks as he gently wipes my tears. He rests his forehead on mine as I can feel his breath on me.

"I won't make you cry again," Matthew said, as I could feel how his lips gently touched mine. I can hear the loud sound of the ball as it bounces when I drop it in my hands.

His lips were soft, and his hands on my face were like armor, protecting me from all the pain. It was a second before he made some space between us.

"Lauren, be my girlfriend." It was like I was under a spell, a magical one. as I smile and nod back at him. I can see his smile, making a sound and turning it into laughter between the both of us.

He held both my hands, still looking and standing in front of me. "I like you, Matthew," I finally said.

as I finally see what his answer could be.

TEASER


"Oh, did you just drop at the gym after your practice game?" Riza asked as she saw Jonathan carrying his gym bag and walking out the same way the gym was supposed to. "Did you see Lauren?" she asked, following as Jonathan continued to walk to school.

"I didn't see. Maybe they already got home," Jonathan replied, which made Riza stop for a moment and look at Jonathan back as he walked. 'I didn't say that Lauren is with someone, but he already knows'.

You can see how Riza's eyes show all her worry behind Jonathan. "Wait for me!" She called as she ran beside him with a smile. "Ahh! Let's go for ice cream!' She exclaimed, sounding so excited, and pulled Jonathan's arms for a run.

You can see how Jonathan's gloomy face faded as he let out a small smile. "Ok! I treat you to all the flavor you want!" He shouted between his smile and Riza's laughter in excitement. As they both run through the school gate.

I do not know where it all started, but everything seems to fall into pieces. We just didn't see it; we just ignored it, trying to enjoy every chance that we had, which made us forget who really cared for Us.... Lauren.