Beauty And A Beast

Chapter 27

Sana

The Dance is pleasant. Mark and I are making our way to the dancefloor for our third dance. I've politely declined every other offer to dance, hoping to get closer to Mark through all this dancing and get some information from him. Jihyo wants me to find out where Agma's headquarters are while she and her team are researching more on Mark and Tzuyu.

As Mark and I step in time with the music, gray eyes meet my own over Mark's shoulder. She's standing next to her friends, a glass of what seems like wine in her hand. She's elegant and for a minute I allow myself to forget who she really is. That is until she smirks at me and gulps down the contents of her glass, placing it on a tray and grabbing another one.

She's drunk.

"Sana? Is everything alright?"

I blink her image away and lift my eyes to Mark. "Of course, everything is fine." I reply, surprised with myself for being able to lie so easily. I fight back the smile that threatens to curve my lips at the thought of Tzuyu telling me how much of a horrible liar I am.

I also try to fight back the changing of my cheeks' colour when I remember what happened a few days ago during the field trip. The moment Tzuyu came close to me, too close to me, I found myself struggling to stand straight, to not melt into her touch.

The dance comes to an end with the students clapping and leaving the dancefloor or others joining in.

"Should I get you a drink?" Mark asks, nodding towards the buffet a few feet further.

"Sure." I say and he immediately rushes to the buffet. Guilt crashes down on me. Mark is too good of a person to deserve what Jihyo and her team are planning once they find their headquarters.

I slowly turn around and start walking away from the dancefloor and towards one of the many tables when I crash onto someone. I gasp when I feel a hot liquid running down my dress, staining it a light shade of red.

"Oops."

I look up, my mouth hanging open as my eyes meet a very familiar smirk. The white shirt behind her suit is stained the same shade of red as my dress and she's holding a wine glass in her hand.

"Oops? Are you serious?" I tell her off, hands on my hips. She shrugs.

"You're all ready drenched. Scold me all you like."

I scoff. "Well then, if you could keep your nose out of your glass and your eyes on the dancefloor, we might have escaped the accident."

She chuckles and shakes her head. "My eyes were on the dancefloor, on you dancing with my brother. Why do you think I've been drinking?"

I still and open my mouth to speak only to find that there's no sound coming out of it. She grabs my wrist then, and drags me out of the dancefloor before I've even come to realize it.

"What are you doing?" I ask but get no reply. We soon arrive to the soccer field, lit up only by the moonlight and the fading glimmer of the stars. We continue until Tzuyu stops under the bleachers and sits down. I huff, waiting for an explanation but she only motions for me to lay down next to her.

This is okay.

Before I allow myself to hesitate too much, I lay down on my elbows. Silence comes over the both of us, with only the light chirping of birds interrupting it.

"Is there a reason you dragged me down to the dirt?" I ask after a while, without glancing at her.

"To talk. To lie here in silence. I don't think it matters much."

"So, what, you just wanted someone to keep you company?"

I feel her shifting next to me and I turn my head towards her. She's facing me on one elbow, eyes baring into mine.

"Not someone. You."

My eyes stay glued to hers as I get up and sit with my legs crossed. She does the same and reaches for my lips with her thumb. The feeling of her finger tracing my bottom lip is too familiar, too soft, too perfect. She leans a bit closer, but farther from other times.

"Will you always be the prize I'm struggling to win?" she murmurs, her voice barely audible.

"Is that what I am to you then? A trophy?" I mock, my voice as silent as hers. She scoffs.

"A trophy means that I've won it, earned it. If I get to have you, it can only be because you will have let me."

I swallow and my mouth suddenly feels dry. I shouldn't be affected so much. She's drunk anyway. I allow myself a few more moments, hoping that it is just enough to memorize the feeling of Tzuyu's finger against my lips.

But it's never enough.

My palm finds her shoulder and I push her away while my other hand holds her wrist, pushing her hand away from my lips. I feel as if Tzuyu's finger has left its print on my lips, still tingling with the sensation. I suddenly feel dizzy, overwhelmed, like I could get drunk off her touch alone.

"You're not sober."

She glares at me like a child who hasn't yet learnt how to speak. "And that means?"

"You're not allowed to touch me." I say, as much as it hurts. Because I want her touch, I want-

Get it together Sana.

"But you're touching me." she insists and it's adorable because she sounds like a little kid who's complaining.

Drunk Tzuyu is dangerous.

"Well, I'm sober."

"So I'm allowed to touch you when I'm sober?" she asks, a playful smirk on her lips. I shake my head, preferring not to answer. She won't remember any of this anyway tomorrow or anytime later.

And then both of us shut up.

We spend a few more minutes just lying down under the bleachers. I suddenly feel Tzuyu getting up next to me, the look on her face just a bit more serious than before.

"My brother will be looking for you." she mutters and offers me a hand which I, as usual, decline. The tension rises between us as we make our way back to the gym in silence. The familiar buzz of the students' voices starts to fade in and Tzuyu slows her pace.

Don't, don't, don't-

"Aren't you coming?" I spin to face her and she gulps lightly. She has stopped walking entirely and has shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Just go." she says, nodding towards the gym doors with her head.

I should stay with her. Maybe something's wrong, maybe she wants to sit with me in silence more and maybe so do I. Maybe I want to spend the rest of this exhausting evening with her, talking, laughing or just silently observing each other.

I turn my back on her and walk through the large gym doors.