Always the Bestfriend, Never the Girlfriend

Chapter Twenty Nine

*UNEDITED*

Renz was supposed to pick me up, but Ive been waiting for 30 minutes pero wala parin siya kaya I told my driver na ihatid nalang ako sa school. And yeah, late nanga ako. Damn that Renz. Pinaasa nanga ako, pinahintay pa ako.

Pagpasok ko sa room, all eyes were on me. I examined the whole place and saw Venice smiling with Renz. Oh god. This was a torture. When Renz saw me, he did not even bother to greet or to smile at me. Rather, he avoided my stare and looked away. Okay then Renz.

"Miss Parker, you're late" OMFG!  Yung strikto naming prof pala yung first subject namin. Damn you Renz!

"I- I'm sorry sir." I said. Tumango nalang yung prof namin at umupo narin ako sa upuan ko. Which is sa likuran. Since absent naman si Jessie, si Venice yung nakaupo sa upuan niya ngayon. And ako, nag-iisa nalang ako dito sa likuran. Nasaan ba kasi yung dalawang Ks?

Nagpatuloy si Mr. Gonzales sa pagdidiscuss while ako naman busy rin sa kakatingin sa kanilang dalawa. Kahit na masakit. Nakapagtataka lang, why didn't I know that they were dating? And why didn't they tell me that?  Malalaman ko nalang na sila na pala!? Naguguluhan ako. I had the right to know.

As for me and Ralph, I took the risk and said yes to him last night.

*F L A S H B A C K*

"Yes" he hugged me and kissed my forehead. Maybe it was time to let go of Renz. Let go of the feeling and continue living. Maybe it was time to move on. Yes. I'll try to love Ralph.

"I won't hurt you, Crystal. I swear" he said and hugged me even tighter. So tight that I know he won't ever hurt me.

"I know" I said and buried my face to his chest. Maybe giving him a chance won't be so hard after all.

"So, I'll date you now okay? We're officially dating, okay?" He said with a teasing grin on his face. He was happy. I missed him so much.

"Yes. We're officially dating Ralph"  I said and smiled. This was my real smile. He stayed in my house for almost two hours. We talked and he said sorry for avoiding me. I was more than happy. But remembering what Venice said earlier broke my heart again.

It was getting late and I was a bit sleepy and it looks like Ralph noticed it.

"Aww. I want to stay all night with you but I can't. I'm going now, okay? I'll pick you up tomorrow?" He asked. We stood up and hinatid ko narin siya papunta sa labas kung saan nakapark yung sasakyan niya.

"Nah. Renz will pick me up tomorrow. He still got some explaining to do. And I.. I want to talk to him" My voice cracked again. I hate seeing myself cry. I was like this months ago. The same reason. I was hurt by Renz.

"Ssshhh. Please don't cry" Ralph wrapped his shoulders around my waist and kissed my forhead. He was a gentleman. Why can't it be him? Oh Ralph.

"I- I'm sorry" I said wiping away my tears. I looked at him and smiled apologetically.

"It's okay. Get inside now and have a good night sleep" he said so I nodded and wave at him. He went inside his car and waved at me too.

* E N D OF F L A S H B A C K*

"Crystal. Uy" I got back to my senses when someone poked my cheeks. It was Kurt. Ken was also there and he was smiling so big that I knew something was not right.

"Nasaan na si sir?" Tanong ko not noticing the boys. Napakamot si Ken sa kanyang batok while Kurt just laughed.

"Were you sleeping while eyes widely open? He was called by our Principal" Kurt said and I just shrugged. Suddenly, I remembered the pain. I looked at Renz amd Venice again, they were so sweet. So I looked away.

"Bakit late kayo?" Tanong ko sa dalawa. Ngumiti lang sila at tumabi na sa akin.

"Secret" sabi ni Kurt and stuck his tongue out. Childish brat.

"K fine" I said and looked at my phone. There was an unread message by Ralph.

Hey gorgeous. I missed you already 😕 ugh! I didn't know Business Add was so boring. Anyway, how are you today? You want me to go there? I'd always ditch a class for you right? Are Kurt and Ken there? I told them to take care of you. I'm alone right now because Jasmine isn't here. Text me when you read this message. Ayt? Take care. I love you 😘😘

Awe. Isn't he the sweetest? I smiled and texted him saying

Sorry for the late reply. Yeah, the Ks are here. And you take care too. I'm fine here. You don't need to ditch a class for me Ralph. I can take care of myself  sir. 😉

I put my phone in my bag and looked at the Ks with an amused smile plastered on my face. They were asleep, ang cute. Bakit sila inaantok? I wanted to wake them both up but they looked really tired so hinayaan ko nalang silang matulog.

"Crystal" I froze when he called my name. I wanted to slap him. Hurt him. Curse him. But I just stood there. Eyes wide open.

"Yeah?" I asked once I gathered enough strength and courage to face him.

"A-are you mad?" He asked me. I smiled to hide away the pain. Mad? Yes I was. Fuming mad. I was really mad.

"I hate you! I hate you I hate you"  I wanted to shout that to him but no words came out fron my mouth.

"Why would I be mad?" I asked like I was not hurt. Go ahead and make him believe that Crystal.

"Because.. You know" he said and looked at Venice who was talking to one of my classmates.

"Oh that. Why would I be mad, Renz? If youre happy then I'm happy. Right?" I said trying my best to smile. He stared at me like he wanted to say something but then shrugged his shoulders.

"Right. I best get going" he said and went back to Venice. I went outside to look for the comfort room. And when I found it, pumasok agad ako at naghanap ng cubicle. I cried and cried.

They were right. It was really hard to pretend that you don't love someone when you really do.

After crying, I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked pale. My nose was really red and my eyes was puffy and it looked liked I cried for a month. I put some make up on and smiled. Although it was a fake smile but it was okay. No one would probably notice it.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I was quickly wrapped around someone's arm. Someone just hugged me. But I knew who it was. His scent was familiar.

"Ralph" I said almost in a whisper. He had a class. How did he know I was here? Has he been waiting for me?

"I was worried because you weren't replying to my messages. When I went to your classroom, one of your classmates said you went here so I waited for you to get out" he said still hugging me. Ralph. Why can't I just love you back?

"I'm sorry. But what about you? May klase kapa diba?" I asked him. Pinakawalan na niya ako sa yakap niya and smiled. A genuine and a heart melting one.

"I'd ditch any class for you, remember?" He said so I nodded. He'd do anything for me.

***
#TeamRenz?
#TeamRalph?