Chronicles of Love

[1] Enchanted

"You're in love with him, and he's in love with you, and it's like a goddamn tragedy, because you look at him and see the stars, and he looks at you and sees the sun. And you both think the other is just looking at the ground." 

—Unknown

REGINA HAD BEEN INVITED to many parties, and this one was just one of those parties that she decided to attend. It was one of those typical parties thrown by her friends.

Only the cool kids were invited—and by cool kids, it meant one must be rich and well-known. It didn't matter if you were smart or not, as long as you've got the money and the friends that fell into the category of cool kids.

She sat alone on one of the lounge chairs by the pool. Her gal friends were with their respective boyfriends. Taking a sip of her drink, she scanned the crowd. Drunk girls were taking their clothes off, planning to do some skinny-dipping. On one corner, couples were making out shamelessly, their tongues almost at each other's throats.

And she noticed a guy looking at her. Then for a moment, their eyes met.

To her surprise, it was Nick; he was a jock, part of the circle full of jerks. She'd known him, but she hadn't paid much attention. They were both part of the cool kids category, but their circle of friends didn't get along.

Most of the things she knew of them were from her friends, and they weren't good things.

He stood up and reluctantly walked towards her. It was so weird to see him stride with tentativeness. Nick, like most of his friends, had always worn a confident aura. He walked proudly without ever wavering. But right now, she was seeing a different side of him.

She looked away, pretending to be disinterested. Maybe she was just assuming. Why would he approach her anyway? There was no reason for him to. They weren't friends. Plus, he wasn't even her type and vice-versa. Maybe he was handsome and tall, but he had a tan complexion; she'd always preferred guys with alabaster skin.

"Hey," he said.

She looked behind her to see if he was talking to someone else, but no one was there. Was he talking to her?

"I'm talking to you," he answered her unspoken question.

"Uh . . . hey," she replied hesitantly. She wasn't really interested in this guy.

An awkward silence enveloped them, but he managed to break it by starting a conversation. "Boring party huh?"

She shrugged. "Just a typical one."

Everything started from there. At first, she found him boring. But as their conversation prolonged, she was starting to appreciate him. Surprisingly, they had a lot of things in common; their sleeping habits for instance.

After an hour of conversing, he invited her out for a ride. "We should get out of here."

She was skeptic. What if he'll take advantage of her? What if he's just trying to get into her pants? His group of friends was known for toying with girls' feeling and making bets. "I'll pass."

"I won't do anything," he said, and she could detect the sincerity in his tone.

"Fine," she conceded.

They were riding into the unknown. The road was deserted, and there weren't cars passing by. Supposedly, if she felt that something bad were to happen, she would sense it. But it seemed like her instinct wasn't telling her anything. He really meant it when he said he won't do anything.