10 Days to Forever

Part 10

Day 5 (Thursday)

"Get in," Pluem ordered Chimon upon seeing him walk out of their gate that morning.

Chimon didn't expect Pluem to be there at all after what happened the previous night.

Unlike before, Pluem didn't wait for him to respond. He just quickly got into his car and slammed the door.

Chimon considered totally ignoring him but the next thing he knew, Pluem was honking at him.

"Fine. If this is what you want," Chimon said as he reluctantly got inside the car.

No one spoke as Pluem drove along their usual path. Chimon however was forced to speak when he noticed Pluem was driving away from their school.

"Where are we going?" he asked softly.

"Somewhere where I can yell at you without anyone hearing," Pluem replied without even looking at him.

Chimon checked his watch. It was 6:45am. "I have a 7:15 class," he said.

"I don't care," Pluem responded. "I'll be missing my first class too."

Chimon didn't argue. He thought about what he might miss that day and decided it won't be that much. It was a minor subject after all.

"Don't worry. We'll be at school before 8am," Pluem said while driving through a secluded area.

Chimon knew that this road led to a golf course. It was too early though so there were not many people around.

Pluem finally pulled over at a parking lot next to a viewing deck. There were benches arranged in a circular platform overlooking the beautiful mountains.

Pluem got out of the car and walked to the farthest end of the platform. The place was deserted so they were practically alone. Chimon unhurriedly followed him.

They sat on a bench looking at the mountains, ignoring each other for a long time.

"Why did you take me here?" Chimon couldn't take the silence anymore.

"So no one will see when I push you over this cliff," Pluem responded with a blank face.

Chimon finally looked at him. He watched as Pluem's hair was gently blown away by the wind. Gosh, this guy is so handsome, he thought. But that handsome face was full of stories if one only looked closer, Chimon realized. There were dark circles around Pluem's eyes, clearly a sign that he has not been sleeping well lately. His lips, although pinkish and plump, seemed so tense, like they have not smiled for quite some time.

"I'm still mad at you. You can't stare at my face like that," Pluem said, finally bringing Chimon back to his senses.

"I'm-"

"Don't speak. I listened to your speech patiently last night. Now it's your turn to listen.

"First, I'm sorry for my sharp tongue. But I guess you already know that. The fact that you followed me to my room and tried to explain your side means you didn't take my hurtful words too seriously. Thank you.

"Second, fine. I understand why you tried to do some investigating about me. I know you meant well. And I want you to know I appreciate the things you said about wanting to share my pain.

"Third, I want this whole background story thing to be over so I'll tell you everything. Listen, okay?

"Yes, I was involved in Angela's rape case. But it's probably not the way you think. Tommy, my ex, belonged to a frat and Angela was his classmate. A group of guys, including Tommy, were in a private group chat, and they planned the entire thing. They wanted to punish Angela for posting about one of their frat leaders on social media. The frat leader had been harassing Angela so she posted his rude texts online.