A Fiend as a Friend

Chapter 24

I got to the dining first. This time, I didn't even think about waiting. I downed a cup of fruit juice immediately. A shower hadn't helped and this wasn't helping either. I mean,  why was my life so complicated?

I sat down on my usual seat and breathed in and out. Suddenly, I didn't feel like eating anything on the table. My appetite had long left me. I stood up and then, the door opened.

I almost had a heart attack when I saw Micheal's face. He ignored me and sat down. I had to explain to him too. My life was too complicated, filled with a labyrinth of passageways that I didn't even want to explore.

I sat down again and tried to get his attention by humming and hitting the table, but, he didn't even look up at me. He was too busy typing furiously on his phone. His hair was tousled-I liked the way that looked-and his eyes were red with anger.

Well, that was kinda scary if you asked me.

I looked at the door before standing up to talk to him. I walked towards him and stopped when I was already close to him. "Michael."

He stopped typing for a short while, so short that if I had not been concentrating on his fingers, I wouldn't have noticed. "I'm sorry for what happened this morning."

He continued typing and I really pitied the screen of his phone, because he was typing so furiously that I could almost see cracks on it.

"I did that because I felt that you would understand me."

"No, I didn't understand", he shouted, dropping the phone like he didn't care if it got broken into pieces. "And I still don't understand. I have tried, Felicity, to understand, trust me, but everything just seems to confuse me the more."

I really wished I hadn't thought of talking through this with him. He looked so angry that I thought he would explode of it. "That's why I need to explain."

"No, no, no. Don't explain anything. I can't believe that you're still this way after all we did yesterday. I mean, I was hoping that we would get better, but, you just keep disappointing me."

"I'm sorry."

"There we go again with the sorry, Felicity. I...I get jealous too. I'm human. Which sane person would like it when the lady he has feelings for ditched him and chose another man?"

"He asked me first, and I didn't want to be partial. I thought I could always explain to you, so...huh...I said what I said."

He chuckled dryly. "Yeah. You're sorry.  You could always explain. I get it, Felicity. You are taking me for granted and if you really cared about me, about us, you would have chosen me. At least, Mike could have understood."

I sighed and rubbed my forehead in exasperation. "I'm sorry."

"You are beginning to say that all the time, you know?"

Okay, he was beginning to frustrate me. "Wait, what else do you want me to do? I have apologized and you're not even listening. What do you want me to do? Am I supposed to tear myself into two because of you?"

Wait, was there a way one could retract what one had said? He was staring at me so unbelievably that I almost wished that I could sink into the ground.

"What?"

"Sorry. I got frustrated and... just forget it. I'm so sorry, Michael."

"You know something? I don't know what else to say to you. Please, just leave me alone for the main time?"

"Are we breaking up?"

He tensed immediately. "Oh so that's what you want? I can notice the happiness in your voice, Felicity." His voice was harsh now.

"No...I... was just wondering. Are we?"

"Look, shut up, okay? How can you talk about breaking up when we just started dating. Just because of this, you think of breaking up so quickly? You're cruel, miss."

"I'm sorry."

"Again. I don't even know what you're sorry for anymore."

I was about to say something but everyone came in at that time. I looked away immediately.

"Are you guys okay?" Collins asked, probably noticing the tension in the room.

"Yeah, we are", I said hurriedly before going back to my seat.

When everyone had settled down, we prayed briefly and started eating. I chose cereal this time, because I wasn't sure I was in the mood for chewing anything.

"Elf, add more water to what you're eating. You'll choke."

I nodded absentmindedly and continued eating.

"Didn't you hear me?"

I looked up at him and those eyes held mine again. I just couldn't stop staring. You can imagine that feeling when you're in a blue sea, drowning you with its waves and high currents and then, you're struggling to stay afloat. That was exactly what was wrong with me now.

I don't know how long we sat like that staring at each other because Scott nudged me gently. "Michael's looking at you and his face isn't looking too good."

Oh, God, I'd forgotten totally about the other guy, Michael. I turned slowly to look at him. He was gripping the table cloth tightly, his knuckles as white as flour. His lips were quivering and his eyes were glazing with fire. This time, those eyes were directed at me.

When he stood up, I almost had an heart attack. "We are not breaking up, Felicity. Get that." With that, he stormed out of the room, leaving me with shocked people staring at me, begging me with their eyes to explain.

******
After breakfast, I went to look for Michael, but the guard told me that he had gone out. I thanked him and left, feeling very guilty. I was the one responsible for his anger and I didn't like that.

When I got inside, I saw Mike talking to another lady, different from the one I had seen before. I felt something run through me and that something, I'd better leave unidentified.

I coughed when I got near them. "Are we having our practice today?"

He frowned. "As you can see, I'm really busy, so if you don't mind, excuse us."

The lady smiled and kissed him on the lips. Gross.

"Mike, are we having practice today?" I reiterated, emphasizing every single word. I hated guys that treated girls like shit. This morning, he'd made me feel so weird with all his talk and now,  he was busy kissing another girl? 

Unbelievable.

He seemed to think twice at that point because he answered me immediately. "Yes, we are. Give me thirty minutes. I have a little stuff to do."

"Just thirty minutes, darling?" the lady asked, pouting.

"If that thirty minutes is for the nonsense you two want to do, I'll not take that shit, okay?"

"What will you do?" the lady asked, glaring at me. Trust me, I returned the glare. No one messed with me and got away scott free.

"Watch me." I moved towards them and pushed her away from Mike. Quickly, I squeezed his right ear and pulled him along with me.

"Ouch! Elf, leave my ear alone this instant."

I scoffed and pulled him along with me. "We have practice. Get your hormones under control, nonsense", I spat.

"How dare you!" the woman shouted. I just smiled at her and waved. "Get someone else."