19 Ways To Keep Her

Prologue

Astrid

Slightly leaning on the doorframe for support, I knocked on the door with my right foot, bringing about only but a faint sound which I hope had got on to the other side of this thick wooden door. I waited for two seconds, three, five, ten. Nothing. I felt my arms are about to give up anytime soon and I will be standing on a peanut butter-strawberry-chocolate-marshmallow-yogurt-milk-soda-pizza-cupcake garnished floor. I nudged my right knee onto the door, expecting it to be loud enough to reach the pair of ears of the lazy lady on the other side of this door. Still nothing. I put my weight on my left foot, transferred the stuff on my right arm to the tiny space between the door and my left arm. I tried lifting my right hand, got it closer to the door to manage a proper knock. In my attempt, my right arm betrayed me. I tried catching things in my arm using my foot- and failed. My face slammed onto the door and hey! I had a milk bath! In front of my room's door! Soon enough, I heard footsteps from inside the room heading towards my direction. My last try was clearly a loud enough noise, "Astrid! What the hell?! Don't you know how to knock on a door properly?-" and a great mess.

"I tried! It's your fault for asking me to buy too many stuff at once and I knocked twice! But well, no, they weren't proper knocks." All the things I bought- the milk, yogurt, peanut butter, strawberries, marshmallows, soda, and cupcake are scattered on the floor. Peyton's jaw dropped as she took in the sight in front of her and gave me a glaring look. I lifted my right arm "I saved the pizza", and gave an apologetic smile.

"Honestly, you are a one heap of clumsiness. I pity those who adore you. And should I be thanking you?" she shot a sneer towards my direction, but immediately helped me clean up the mess I made.

"Of course! I only bought all these because you were sick, saying you can't breathe and your heart hurts. Just for the record, I do not believe you." A few steps in to our room I saw him. He was sitting on my couch. I glanced at Peyton, asking for an explanation but she gave none. All I saw was sadness deep within her eyes. She was trying to hide it. I do not know why. I turned my focus away from Peyton and looked at the horrifying being on my couch.

His dark hair hung in his eyes, loosely framing his face. He made no effort fix fringe. Instead, he smoldered at me from under them with his glinting dark eyes. Although his expression did not change, his arrogant half-smirk and the taunting look in his eyes completed his 'dangerous' look. He must have visited Peyton. She's been sick for days and this is the only time her boyfriend visited. He's always been creepy to me.

I dropped everything in my arms onto the counter between my bed and Peyton's. "You. This is a girls' dormitory. Obviously, you're not allowed to be in here. Unless you are going to tell me you just changed your gender a few hours ago or that you are actually a lesbian who happened to look so handsome."

And he was just right there. Watching me. My heart did an unexpected flip, startled by his bizzarely attractive face. I was so taken aback that I caught myself just starring at him.

"I hate to break it to you, but that doesn't work for me." Maxwell Steadman, the guy deemed as the dark prince, the knight in shining black armor, or the dark angel by most girls in our university. He's a year ahead of me and Peyton. He was known to have had a number of girlfriends. Twenty, forty, fifty, a hundred, no one knows. It was said even he wasn't able to keep track of the number. People say he does not mean to go around and break every girls' heart, though. The only reason he breaks up with them is because he did not love them enough. Then why enter a relationship with somebody you don't love? To me, he's just another asshole. "Peys, why is you boyfriend here? The last time he was in here I had to clean the halls in our floor for a week! Me, because they won't believe that you, Peyton, the perfect lady- only if they knew who you are for goodness sake, was dating that thing sitting on the couch. So they put the blame on me, Astrid, who is famous for playing around with anyone and anything. Fair reason, see?"

The being on the couch held a steady gaze. He was thinking about something. I looked around, searching for Peyton. She was already climbing back to her bed again, not shooting even a single look at me, or the thing on the couch. Clearly, something was up.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw the dark figure get up to his feet. His black eyes shot towards me, slicing into me. The corner of his lips tilted up, and my heart stumbled down my chest.  I pretended to be busy with the foods at my hand.  I am not afraid of him. I will never be afraid of him. "Asteroid," I looked up and in my mind, I casted a death spell upon him. See you, he mouthed. The hair at the nape of my neck stood and the temperature inside the room seemed to drop. Ordinarily, I would have thought of a better comeback, better than staring blankly at him as he sneak out the window. I was snapped back to the present by the sound of the loud groan, as if coming from a savage beast, beside me.

"What's up with that atmosphere? And wait, are you even okay? Ignoring that love of your life¸ you must have been really, really sick." I grabbed the box of pizza, walked across the room, and sat on Peys' bed. I placed the box of pizza over the limp figure lying beside me. Her side of the room gives off this 'narcissist' feel. All her stuff are more or less dedicated to the process of making herself look awesome. She always say her bed is designed in a way she can comfortably get her beauty sleep, with hanging lights, very fluffy, and there is this huge mirror that runs almost from the ceiling to the floor at the foot of her bed. Her closet, though, looks pretty much the same as mine. Scarf collection doubles as wall décor, jewelry racks that might as well be art, shoes organized from her six-inch stilettos to her sneakers and boots.

"We broke up." I dropped the pizza I was about to take a bite from.

"What?!" Heat rushed to my face and black spots started appearing in my vision. Peys loved him so much. I knew he plays around with girls, but he said he felt different towards her. He never felt that way towards anybody else- he said. He broke her heart. My best friend's heart. The one thing I've been trying to prevent was hurting Peys. And he did just that. He had broken her heart. He doesn't even know what she's been through! HE cannot, he shouldn't have-

"I broke up with him", I heard it in her voice. Misery, loneliness, grief. "So no need to worry! Everything's fine, seriously. I dumped him! Can you believe it? The player was dumped by me! It wasn't worthy anyway. I made a mistake and it was a proof that I was trying." She gave out a sound that was supposed to be a laugh, but it came out too high like a shriek. She was hiding what she is truly feeling. I knew how much she loved him. She wouldn't have let him go that easily. They've been going on for months and I know Peys isn't someone who just throws everything away. There must be a reason. Anything. I would have asked about it but I know she will come to me herself when she's ready to talk about it so I decided to drop the idea.

I wrenched my nose up, pulling my hands to my face. "What is that smell, Peys?!"

"My rotting heart. I broke up with some worthless guy, but it still hurts. It was still a breakup." She brought her right hand over her left chest, fake-pounding it. "It hurts. I told you my heart hurts for days now. It's starting to rot." She made a disgusted face then tried to put on a smile. Now she's making a joke out of it.

"No, really, something smells rotten." I followed the stench, looking around me for possible source of the horrid smell. My nose led me to the bin beside the counter. Inside it are rotten eggs that are almost black and withered flowers- or stems. "What are these?! I've only been gone for a couple of hours to buy what you were asking for and I come home to this?! Come on, Peys!"

"I broke up with him a few days ago and haven't heard from him since then. While you were out, he came in through the window. He asked me why I broke up with him. I said I do not love him anymore. He held out a Victoria Secret package and I thought he was trying to win me over again. When I opened them, I found those. I was glad you arrived a few minutes after that, though I was hoping you would have came back sooner. The feeling of wordlessly wondering into somebody's dorm room and just sitting on couch, waiting for them to say something interesting- or just anything, I got that feeling from him, but I couldn't find the right word to say so I kept silent." She pulled the cover of her bed over her and faced the wall, away from me. "Anyway, thinking about it now it seems funny. Goodnight, Astrid. I need to rest. I'm really tired..." Her voice was getting softer and softer, and by the end of her sentence it almost sounded like a breath but I was sure I heard it "of having feelings."

Nothing was going through my mind except a single, four-letter word: jerk.

This is why I am right- never get too attached.