Kiss Of Death

04

"Xandra!! You left your eyeglasses again!" her mother exclaimed as her daughter had already ran off and got on the bus.

She gestured she couldn't hear her mother through the glass window, her mother only sighed and shook her head in disbelief.

"Good morning, Xandra." She was greeted by a group of girls as she walked past the hallways.

"Good morning." she nodded, each day of being with Fred, the people around her notice how her demeanor slowly changed, even her usual dark oversized clothes, now she's wearing light colorful clothes her size, her skin is glowing, her lips has this healthy color, her eyes that was once dark and sunken began to look like she finally had a decent sleep, she started to lose the pants and wear her skirt, she brings only a few books at school, and even started to use pretty hair accesories, she slowly embraced her feminine side of herself she did not indulged into before.

And it all began on that one dark cloudy night, when a boy made her feel like a girl.

Alfred continued to visit Xandra after classes, and they soon became nearly inseparable.

They spent almost every moment together, whether it was after class, during lunch, or even when Xandra had to study late in the library or computer laboratory, and or when just simply hanging out together, Fred would always make time to join her, or at least to annoy her momentarily.

Despite his playful antics, Xandra didn't mind-in fact, she grew to appreciate and enjoy his presence. Over time, they both realized that their friendship had grown into something more.

"No." Fred shook his head and closed Xandra's book, "It's getting late, you should get home, that's enough studying, Xandra." he asked of her calmly as he picked up the books from her desk one by one, "Wait, just one more page, please..." she said but Fred was firm on his decision and closed her laptop.

"The library will be closing, you can study tomorrow, please rest, alright? you look sleepy, I know you wanna sleep." he softly whispered, and right there and then, Xandra knew she can't do anything about it now that he is even asking nicely.

"But my exams would be tomorrow..Fred.." she mumbled, "Xandra, there is more to life than just this, I'm not saying this because I want you to fail, I'm saying this because you are still young, and I'm worried that you'll miss a lot on being young, there's more to life than just studying, and also, you are my Alexandra Gonzalez, you'll do fine tomorrow." he reassured her, she can't help but melt at his statement.

"Huh, really? I can't remember when I became yours?" she squinted her eyes jokingly at him, he smiled sheepishly, "I want to court you, Alexandra.." he whispered determinedly, before placing a kiss on her hand.

_

Class after class, she could only stare at the blackboard without absorbing whatever was written on it, her pen barely touching her notebook.

Physics was usually her favorite subject, something she never got tired of, but today she couldn't concentrate, her thoughts kept drifting back to the clock above the door, counting the minutes as they slowly ticked by.

She didn't wanna make Fred wait that long, she sighed, but the moment she heard the bell rang she snapped back to reality.

"Alright, class dismissed! Don't forget to submit your assignments on time," the teacher called out as students began packing up.

Xandra stood up quickly, grabbing her things. As she was about to head out, someone behind her said, "Xandra, you forgot your book."

She looked over her shoulder and gave a small, tired smile. "It's okay. I've got it all memorized up here," she said, tapping her temple playfully before hurrying out of the room.

Her pace quickened as she made her way to the parking lot, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, but as soon as she spotted him, her smile faded, smoke curled around him, and she watched in dismay as he held a cigarette between his fingers.

She marched over to him, frowning. Without hesitation, she plucked the cigarette from his hand. "Is it really that good?" she asked, her eyes locking onto his.

Fred was startled, he exhaled the remaining smoke away from her and scratched the back of his neck. "You're early," he mumbled, trying to deflect.

Xandra raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"One stick won't kill me, Xandra." he said, though it sounded more like an excuse than reassurance.

"One stick is enough to make your breath stink," she shot back, raising the cigarette to her lips, she didn't intend to smoke it, but the teasing gesture was enough to make Fred panic, he reached out and quickly snatched it from her, tossing it to the ground and stamping it out.

"Don't even think about it," he warned,

She rolled her eyes, "I wasn't going to." she then pulled something from her pocket. "Here. If you need something to calm your nerves, try this instead." She handed him a strawberry lollipop.

He grinned playfully, "Seriously? You-"

It's either that, or I give that cigarette a try," she challenged, crossing her arms.

He raised his hands in surrender, peeling the wrapper off the lollipop. "Alright, alright. You win." He popped the candy into his mouth, and the argument ended just like that.

"Where to?" he asked as he handed her the helmet, adjusting it for her.

"The park," Xandra said, her tone brightening. "There's a festival going on, and I heard a lot of students are going. It might be fun."

As they were about to hop on his motorcycle, a voice called out from behind her.

"Xandra Gonzales?" she looked behind her and recognized Thomas, the captain of the soccer team.

"Hey." she greeted back with a confused look, "Thomas? Is there something wrong?" He looked different-his eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles hung beneath them, as if he hadn't slept in days.

He furrowed her eyebrows at her before before he turned on his heel and walked away without a word.

____

"You know, Thomas looked a bit off earlier," Xandra mentioned as they walked toward the park, thinking back to the brief encounter.

Alfred's smile faltered for a second before he shrugged. "Yeah, we don't really get along."

She raised an eyebrow, curious. "Why? Did something happen?"

Alfred chuckled, "Let's just say we've had our fair share of disagreements. Think of it like a cat and dog situation... Thomas and I just rub each other the wrong way."

Xandra tilted her head, "What kind of disagreements?"

"Nothing major," Alfred said, but his tone hinted at something deeper. "He just doesn't like my face. Or maybe it's the way I look at him. Or maybe..." he grinned mischievously, "he's jealous that I've got better hair."

Xandra laughed, but she couldn't shake the feeling there was more to the story.

______