Elected To Love

Chapter 24

Aliara looked away as the girl approached them, and to her astonishment, she was shoved aside by her. Aliara's face tightened as the young girl moved beside Ivan.

Ivan panicked but tried to keep his posture composed while she spoke. "Hey, I am Scarlett," she added, moving her hand forward, which Ivan grabbed and quickly jerked away.

"Do I know you?" Ivan enquired, and Zara emerged from the back before Scarlett could respond. "She is the president of your Instagram fan club," she added, walking next to Aliara, who scoffed slightly and didn't like anything happening.

"Fan club?" Ivan inquired, his tone uncertain, but Scarlett took him by surprise when she quickly gripped him and pulled out her phone to take a photo.

"Of course, such a talented guy and single surely needs a fan club!" she remarked, taking a few clicks before Ivan pulled her slightly away, seeing Aliara's reaction as she stood a little further away from them.

Zara observed Aliara, approached her, and asked, "What's up?" But to her dismay, the latter said nothing; instead, she excused herself, not wanting to witness what was going on any longer, and walked away, giving one last look at Ivan, whose eyes widened.

The girl, annoyed by the clicks, asked Ivan, "Can we take one good picture that everyone will love?" Scarlett claimed and her voice was becoming much more childish than before, but was cut off by Ivan.

"Excuse me it would be better if you refrain from doing anything like this again, and I don't care about the fan club." He said before following Aliara's way but stopping before turning back, "And I am not exactly single" he said before walking away.

Zara's side lips lifted as she saw Ivan rush away behind Aliara, her reaction making Scarlett glance at her strangely. "I told you it's a bad idea," Zara reminded her as she noticed the girl scrolling for one nice picture.

"I- I couldn't have missed the chance!" Zara laughed faintly as the girl replied huffing and walked away.  

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Aliara proceeded to the senior's lobby, which was the quietest place. She couldn't believe she was getting worked up over such a trivial matter, but her thoughts rushed as she realized she had no right to say anything, making her even more upset.

She opened the door of her classroom and entered. She took a long breath before turning on the lights and standing there, calming herself. 'I should have looked for Uma,' she reflected, massaging her forehead.

She looked for her phone but realized they had kept their purses in a side classroom near the event hall. Sighing deeply, she stopped still in her thoughts, attempting to clear her head, but before she could walk back,

The door suddenly opened, and in walked a hasty Ivan. "I finally found you!" he exclaimed, his tone as calm as it had been, but his presence did not help Aliara at the time as she glanced aside, attempting to find her way out.

Looking at her reaction, Ivan shook his head before snatching her hand and pinning her to the wall next to the classroom entrance, looking directly into her eyes, which widened for a minute at the sudden action.

"What are you doing?!" she asked, angry, with all of her last courage. Ivan narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's stop playing, Carina. "Why did you walk away?" he enquired, his overpowering tone sending chills down Aliara's spine.

She swallowed before closing her eyes and clapping her face in both of her hands, still confined by Ivan, knowing full well there was no going back and she had no intention of keeping anything in any longer.

"Ok! So this is it," her voice shaking before she shifted her head to the side, refusing to look into his eyes as she admitted,

"I do not want to regret this later... We may return to our previous status and I won't ask for anything else. I- I just like you, okay? No big problem; you don't have to share the same feelings-"

Her confession was cut short as Ivan grabbed her neck with one hand, joining their lips, and turned off the lights with the other, startling Aliara making her heart stop.

Her mind raced for a while until everything faded away, while Ivan's went off as if he had been waiting for this moment all along. Aliara gradually gave in, but her body was filled in the appropriate place, and their lips only parted when they needed to breathe.

Aliara's mind, which appeared to have gone off in the meantime, resumed its function, causing her to gasp in surprise as she glanced at Ivan, and heat lingered on her face as the latter turned on the lights.

His hand remained around her as he carefully attached their foreheads. "It took us so long, Carina," he muttered, making her grin slightly as if forgetting her anger.

"I like you, too. Okay? There is no need to be so hesitant." Ivan admitted, grinning and putting a soft kiss on her forehead before pulling her into an embrace.

Aliara couldn't believe and her heart raced at what had happened, but when she heard Ivan's comments, she grumbled and shoved him away, confusing the latter.

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Her query came out blunt and demanding, as Ivan grinned at her and removed his coat.

"Well, it is my fault but my Queen is so brave that she confessed first just because she got jealous~" His voice was sweet as sugar as he laid the coat on the side desk and moved closer to her.

Aliara scoffed at him, "I would not accept that I was jealous, but I was annoyed," she said as Ivan kissed her again and turned off the switch.

"Why did you turn off the light?!" Aliara gasped and separated their lips, while Ivan caressed her head, chuckling at her cute expression.

"Don't worry, Carina; I will not do anything without your permission. Anyone outside could see us, and I believe you forgot we had windows," he added as they pulled away, making Aliara laugh.

"So?" she asked, catching Ivan's attention. "We are in a relationship, simple, right?" he asked, causing her to nod.

After a few minutes, Ivan suggested walking back, his one hand clasping Aliara's and the other holding his coat as they strolled towards the empty green field on their way to the event hall.

"Should we keep this a secret?" Aliara enquired, pointing at their hands, which caused Ivan to sigh funny before sliding his face closer to hers.

"We don't need to," he remarked, turning his attention to their joined hands before continuing.

"Let's not just say anything; we don't need to hide or show around, but if someone asks, we can clear it out," he stated, causing Aliara to nod; she loved the idea of lowkey but not lowkey.

"Anyways, we'll be leaving the school after finals," she remarked, and Ivan nodded his mind wearing off to something important.

"Right, I need to tell you something," he said, pursing his lips as his words came out hesitantly, catching Aliara's attention.

"I'll be going back to Italy for a degree for about two years," he said, looking down, unsure what Aliara might say. "Oh, that's great!" he heard her exclaim, and he was surprised by her confidence.

She smiled at him and remarked, "Well, we can try long distance too," which caused Ivan to nod gratefully and sigh deeply. "I suddenly remembered about it and was actually scared-" he began, but was interrupted by Aliara.

"I can't rule your future, and what's the point if we don't even try?" her words sparked hope in him. "Right, I'll come back once or twice in the years I'm there," he said, and Aliara sneered.

"That makes us half long distance as you will be coming back from time to time?" The two resolved to enjoy one other's company going forward as she asked with a smile on her face and Ivan enthusiastically nodded.

They walked to the event hall, agreeing to discuss the matter later and deal with it when the time came.

~Maria