MY GANGSTER PROTECTOR ✔

CHAPTER 18 - In His Arms

Author's Note: Guys, may I know where you guys are from? Please drop a comment on where you're from. I see different languages in the comment section lolz! I don't speak Spanish well even though the surnames I used for the main leads sounded Spanish.

Dara's POV

Days passed and everything gradually returned to normal. The talk about the InterSAT bonfire and the events that happened after slowly faded until the students found other random topics to focus their mouths on. Everything is back to the way it used to be.

The same cannot be said between Jiro and me. For reasons unknown, Jiro stopped dropping by my house. I seldom see him at school and when I do, he seemed to have psyched himself that I'm just a random object lying around that does not merit his attention at all. But it's fine, because I'm also doing the same thing.

The initial pain of seeing him and Riko has already subsided but it still stings. The heartache is like a looming storm vying for its time, waiting for the right moment to unleash its destructive force. I don't like to experience that kind of pain again so I did what I thought would be best – I tried to push Jiro off my mind, hoping that doing that will push him off my heart as well.

Whatever his reason for distancing himself from me, I don't want to know. Okay, I actually have a vague idea what his 'reason' is and it goes by the name of Riko, but I don't want to confirm it. I'd rather live in ignorance for now.

It took tremendous effort and tears to pick up the broken pieces of me and make myself a normal functioning human being again. Bullet and Namee have been a brilliant support group, helping me focus my attention elsewhere. At night, though, my mind wanders back to the kiss that Jiro and I shared and in those moments, I tend to question if there's a remote chance of him liking me. That tiny flicker of hope, however, is crushed whenever I remember Riko. I don't want to get in their way just because Jiro promised to look over my safety. And I don't want to make a complete fool of myself again by trying to pull him towards me when it's clear that he wants the line between us to exist, which must be why I haven't seen him lately.

Bullet has been my constant companion when Namee isn't around. That guy is all sorts of crazy and his abundance of cheesy lines knows no end. Namee, on the other hand, has been unusually attached to her phone. Apparently, Picaro of Black Dragons has been sending her pictures of his drawings and they've been texting each other for a while now. Whenever I ask her about Picaro, she becomes a huge ball of energy that nobody can suppress. I have heard a hundred different versions of Picaro being the epitome of awesomeness. Somewhere in Little China Town where Namee lives, I'm pretty sure a Picaro shrine is being built.

I headed towards the university garden and sat on the ground, pulling my book out of my bag. What I love about being a Creative Writing and Lit student is that our subjects involve reading a variety of books. Reading calms my nerves.

A few minutes after I've settled down, I felt him hiding behind the tree and slowly crawling towards me. I didn't even bother glancing back as Bullet swiftly hugged me from behind. "SURPRISE!" He exclaimed, seemingly pleased with himself.

"Get off me, Bullet", I said in a noncommittal tone. But being the koala that he is, he insisted on clinging to me. I just let him be because experience told me that arguing with Bullet will unleash the little devil in him and he will do all shameless things until he gets what he wants.

"Munchkin, do you want to be my girlfriend?" He mumbled, his breath brushing on my neck.

"Stop breathing on my neck."

"Does it get to you?"

"Bullet, I swear", I turned my head towards him and he immediately took advantage of it, pressing his lips on my cheek. He then moved away swiftly and knelt, raising his hands up in the air like a kid being punished.