...
I sigh, shifting my eyes from outside our classroom window to my slow-moving wrist watch. Time is really slow when you are not having fun.
The school bell rings, signaling that the class is over, and all of a sudden I feel my entire being lift up.
Thankfully I didn't run into Rhyme all day; given what happened this morning, I'm not sure how to go about him. The only issue is that when my friends learned I wasn't over him yet, they scolded me. I explained my side, and no matter how much they hated the thought of me hurting over him, they still comforted me. Although Ace's subtly striking me on the forehead is absolutely unneeded, I suppose my friends have a rather harsh type of affection for me.
After our final class, we head to the practice room. I can't tell how many times I asked Lance to make sure Rhyme wasn't there, just in case he was up to something dirty again. Lance told me that he wasn't going to show up until after their practice started.
AI's practice time is 6 p.m., and while the other members normally hang out before that, Rhyme usually spends his free time hanging out with girls somewhere. Girls have always been off limits in the practice room because Sky and Nate said so. Rhyme didn't expect us to show up the first time we saw him making out in the room because there was no practice scheduled that day.
Despite Lance's numerous attempts to reassure me, I still can't help but feel anxious. I breathed a sigh of relief as he opened the door, and instead of Rhyme, we were greeted by five equally attractive boys. All have distinctive features, but they all share the same welcoming smile.
Since this is the first time I've ever been this close to them, I feel a little awkward, and I know my friends do too. We just know them by their names because they are well-known.
Nate, one of the tallest members, says, "Hi!" He smiles, revealing his dominant dimples. One thing that is noticeable in his face? It is flawless. Boy, where have all the pores gone?
We also smile at him.
"Guys, this is my cousin Bella, and these are her friends, Ace and Red," Lance introduces us.
He then turned to face Ice. "And this is Ice; she will be my partner on our music project."
Johann gives us a bright smile and says, "Oh, nice to meet you." He's currently engaged in a tug of war with Ash over food. Ash also gives us his trademark bunny smile, which is what his admirers usually say.
They seem nice and friendly. I kind of predict that they'll be arrogant, like those well-known guys I read about on Wattpad.
"Um, so, we're planning to eat somewhere while Lance and Ice finish their practice; do you want to join?" Rence asks, his smile appealing. I believe he is the most approachable of the members, with the exception of Lance, who is my cousin.
Since we just met these boys and aren't yet at ease with them, Red and Ace give me the same wary expression I do when I turn to face them.
But then I realized that this could be Lance's moment to have Ice all to himself, which I know sounds wrong, but I just want Ice to feel at ease with him.
I tried to brush away the slight awkwardness I was feeling and asked, "Yeah, I'm hungry too. You'll be okay here, Ice?" Lance owes me a lot.
Ice simply nods.
I turn to face Lance and give him a meaningful smile. He smiles back, indicating that he understands my message.
We then leave the room with the rest of the AI members. We chose to eat at the closest fast food restaurant to school. "Hey, it's been a long time since we've hung out with girls because we're all boys. But it's fun; we should hang out more," Ash says, his bunny smile never leaving his face.
Johann quips sarcastically, "Yeah, sometimes I feel like doubting my identity because I am always around boys." But the others may have taken it seriously because they all threw him a disgusted look.
Nate responds, "Ew, bro! Are you gay now?"
"That's gross, Johann; you can't join me in the shower anymore," Sky adds, his eyes screaming with disgust. He has small eyes that make him, for some reason, look like a cat.
With a smug smile, Johann replies, "What? Me? Gay? Please, with this handsome face? Many girls would cry if that ever happened, dude."
"Someone's being cocky," Ash remarks.
Johann adds, still with his proudest look, "Tsk. I'm just being confident."
"Pfft. Hahahahahaaaa!"
We all turn to Red, who busts out laughing. She is already in tears from laughing so hard.
Red manages to say, gripping her stomach as if she's having trouble breathing, "I'm sorry, I can't take it any longer. You guys are so funny. Oh gosh, my stomach hurts."
"See? That's why you should hang out with us more." Rence says.
"Yeah, we'd be thrilled, but your fans might kill us, haha." AI has a lot of fans, and some of them are really possessive.
"What fans? Do we have those?" Ash innocently inquires.
Ace replies, "Yep, you have lots of those."
Johann brushed his chin, and even though some boys would look arrogant doing what he does, for some reason he didn't. "Ah, that explains why I receive a lot of gifts every day. So they were fans? I thought they were just admiring my looks."
Sky shakes his head, "Johann, could you please stop being a narci?" He is the group's least talkative member, but when he speaks, he usually gets straight to the point.
"You guys are also under Miss Jeanne, right? So, why aren't you preparing for your performance?" I ask.
"Yes, but we're exempted because we have other clubs than the dance club; Rhyme and Lance are the only ones who aren't," says Nate.
"Uh, does Rhyme already have a partner?"
I almost wish I hadn't asked that.
Very stupid, Ysabella.
"I think Steph will be his partner. I'm guessing that's his only reason for still hanging out with her. He can be crazy sometimes. Haha!" says Ash casually, which makes me wonder: How can they talk about it like it's a normal thing? It's never normal to play with girls, especially when we're still in college.
"He's a psycho," Ace replies, clearly expressing her dislike for Rhyme.
Nate exclaims, "Woah, are you an admirer or an ex-girlfriend?" He seemed truly surprised that someone, and particularly a girl, would find Rhyme unappealing.
"None of the above; I'd rather date a fridge than a maniac," Ace adds, and everyone shuts up.
Sky says after a brief silence, "Watch your mouth, lady, you don't know him."
"Yes, and I don't have any plans to get to know him," Red says, looking Sky in the eyes.
"Okay! Let's go back to school; maybe they're finished," Nate says, clearly cutting off any argument that's about to start; now I understand why he's the group's leader.
I've always admired AI for their talent, and now that I know them better, I'm even more impressed.
...
𝒯𝑜 𝐵𝑒 𝒞𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓊𝑒𝒹
...
