Saturday, January 16, 2010 | 6:28 PM |

Chapter 15

Mike

No POVSoon, everything was back to normal. Aaron continued to boss Hebe around, Jiro and Aaron were friends again and Jiro was joking around once more.
“Why were you so angry anyway?” Hebe asked Aaron when she was cleaning his room.
“Angry about what?” Aaron who was lying on the sofa listening to songs on his ipod didn’t listen carefully.
“About Jiro and me.” Hebe said, turning to Aaron.
“I— Um…” Aaron blushed slightly. “Well, actually I don’t know why I was angry. And not knowing why I was angry made me even angrier.”
“Oh.” Hebe laughed and glanced down.
Aaron quickly gathered himself. “I mean, you’re my slave, you’re not supposed to go around kissing and hugging my best friends!”
Hebe turned to Aaron with a naughty smile on her face. “And how are you going to stop me?”
Aaron felt anger overcome him when he thought of Hebe with any of his friends. Or any other guy for the matter. “If…” Aaron started. “If you go around kissing or hugging my friends, I’ll—” He tried to think of the worst punishment.
“I’ll kiss you.”
Hebe froze. Her smile dissipated and she stared blankly at Aaron.
Aaron was puzzled. Was she scared? Is the thought of me kissing her really that bad?
“You—you wouldn’t DARE.” Hebe said, with a disbelieving look on her face.
Aaron pulled off his headphones and walked over to her. “Watch me.” He continued to advance, nearer and nearer to her.
Hebe caught her breath when she felt Aaron’s cold, smooth skin against hers. Her breathing quickened as she looked up at him.
Aaron quickly backed-off, laughing. “You should have seen you face!”
Hebe blushed and turned away. Urgh. Stupid idiot. Always playing with me, she thought. But deep inside her heart, she felt a stinging pang of disappointment.
---
Hebe’s POV
In the afternoon, I went back to school with Ella and Selina.
“So you know how scared I was when I saw Aaron the other day?” Ella said, looking at Hebe.
“Yeah… he seemed really really angry.” Selina added.
“Who cares about him? He’s weird.” I said, tossing off their remarks.
“… Aren’t you going to go all “he’s my boyfriend” again?” Ella looked at Selina.
“… No.” Selina looked down. I could see that something was bothering her.
“… Anyway, he was REALLY angry. Almost as if he were jea—” Ella said.
My body suddenly became rigid. I walked in a daze, banging into someone in my way.
“Hey! Look where you’re going!” The person said, annoyed.
I looked up to see a handsome guy. He looked just like a model. My heart started palpitating rapidly. My head felt light and I felt as if I were being lifted up into the air.
I felt as if I were in a dream.
And there was her dream guy, right in front of her.
“I’m sorry.” I said softly.
“It’s okay.” He smiled. “I’m Mike.”
“I’m Hebe.” I said, smiling.
“Nice to meet you.” His eyes shimmered, as if they were smiling at me.
Ella and Selina exchanged looks, smiling behind Mike.
Mike.
---
Aaron’s POV
“You know, your punch really hurt. Why were you so angry?” Jiro asked.
Why does everyone keep asking me that? And worse still, why don’t I know the answer? “I don’t know. Seeing you with Hebe made me feel—angry. And sad. And frustrated.”
“Angry, sad and frustrated?” Jiro paused, thinking. “Ooh…” He finally said, laughing while looking at me.
“What?”
“You’re JEALOUS.”
“What?! No way.” I said, my head spinning. Jealous? There is no way I would be jealous of Jiro over Hebe. Jealousy is not an emotion I feel. People are usually jealous of what I have.
“Hey. I know that feeling. It’s definitely jealousy.” Jiro said.
“Great. Now you’re the relationship expert? I have dated hundreds, no, thousands of girls, and I have NEVER felt this “jealousy” before.” I said, confused, but keeping a straight face.
“Aaron, Aaron.” Jiro said, shaking his head.
“… What now?” I asked, getting annoyed. Jiro wore a smug look on his face and he was looking at me as if I were a 3 year old.
“You may have dated “thousands” of girls, but your experience is—zero.” I opened my mouth to protest but Jiro held out his hand so I stopped. “Firstly, jealousy is only when you see the girl you love with another guy. All your girlfriends fawn over you. They would never go out with another guy.”
I thought for a while. “That’s true.”
Jiro rolled his eyes. “And, it only happens with a girl you love. Have you been in love before?”
“…No.”
“Exactly.”
“Wait… that means I love Hebe?! What the… it’s impossible! What kind of weird theory on jealousy is this?!!” I said, fuming.
Jiro sighed. “I give up. Just go and talk to Hebe over this, okay?”
“Okay.” I got up to go.
“Where are you going?” Jiro asked.
“To find Hebe.” I answered.
“But she’s in school!” Jiro reminded me.
“And since when did school actually matter?” I said, walking off.
Jiro slammed his hand into his forehead. “She’ll kill you!” I heard him scream as I closed the door.
She’s my slave. She can’t kill me.
---
Hebe’s POV
“Hebe! Can I have your handphone number?” Mike shouted across the lecture hall.
Everyone turned to stare at me. Some girls even glared. I blushed furiously.
“Mike He! This place is for learning, not for picking up girls!” Our teacher, Mr. Tang shouted, reprimanding Mike. “Sit at the back!”
I looked down, embarrassed, but my heart pumped rapidly and a smile slowly spread across my face.
As Mike passed me when he walked to the back of the hall, he slowed down, staring into my eyes. His boyish eyes caught me in his gaze and his smile captivated me. I felt a small piece of paper being pressed into the palm of my hand.
“Mike He!”
He let go of my hand and walked to the back of the classroom and sat down, his eyes still fixed on me.
I looked at the note. This is what it said:
Hebe
I really like you.
Will you go out with me?
Meet you at the Music Room after school.
Mike.
I smiled. I was now positive that I have fallen deeply in love with him.
---
Jiro’s POV
Selina walked into the room, catching me off guard.
“Jiro?” She said softly from behind me.
I almost jumped off my seat.
“Uhh… hi… Selina…” I felt nervous and panicky.
“Umm… I just want to talk to you about, you know, that day…” Selina said, blushing slightly.
“Ohh… Yeah…”
“I mean—You know, Aaron…”
Oh. She’s afraid Aaron will find out. I felt a little bit angry. And sad. And frustrated. Yes, I felt jealous. “Well, let’s just pretend nothing happened.” I said, trying to make it sound light. But the words were choking me.
“Y—Yeah. I guess.”
I turned away so Selina wouldn’t be able to see the look on my face.
---
Aaron’s POV
I stopped my black Lamborghini outside the university and quickly walked in.
“Oh. My. God. Check that guy out.”
“He’s sooo cute.!”
“And he’s rich.”
Girls turned to look.
I walked up to a cute-looking girl standing with two other friends.
“Hi—hi. I’m Rainie.” She said, stammering.
“Um… okay… hi? Anyway, do you know Hebe Tian?” I asked.
“Hebe?” She said, her face falling.
“Yeah.”
“This is so not happening….” She muttered.
“Must be Hebe’s lucky day.” The other girl said, disgusted.
“Yeah, Mike and now him?” The third girl looked close to tears.
Wait… Mike? Who the hell is he?? “Mike? Who’s that?”
“Only the coolest, most charming guy in the school… Unless you join our school…” The girl named Rainie said, giggling.
I felt the thing that Jiro called ‘jealousy’ run through me again.
“She told me that she was going to the art room. It’s just around that corner.” She pushed a piece of paper into my pocket.
Not bothering to look at what the piece of paper said, I walked off.
“If you have anymore questions, CALL ME!!!” I heard Rainie shouting after me.
---
Hebe’s POV
After class, I went to the music room and found Mike waiting for me there.
“Hebe…” He walked over to me and lightly touched my cheek. His smooth skin felt like marble, making my cheeks burn. I looked up at his beautiful, almost perfect face. I felt as if I were floating in a dream.
He looked deeply into my eyes. “Hebe… your eyes are so hypnotizing…” He slowly leant his head closer to mine.
Oh no. What do I do? My stomach was doing flip-flops and I felt my heart beating wildly. I licked my lips and tilted my head. I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, I heard a loud punch and I opened my eyes. I found Aaron standing in front of me, staring at me. I looked at Mike, who was sprawled on the floor. … What?
“What’s your problem?!” Mike shouted at Aaron. I glared at him. What was he doing here?
“You can’t kiss her.” Aaron said stiffly.
“WHY?!”
“She already has a boyfriend.” What is he SAYING?
“What?!” Mike’s face was distorted with anger. He looked at me.
“I…”
“Come with me.” Aaron grabbed my hand and dragged me away.
---
Students stopped to stare as Aaron dragged me through the hallways. He opened the door of his car and pushed me in roughly.
When he got into the car, I screamed at him. “What’s wrong with you?!”
“What’s wrong with YOU? Are you a slut or something?!” Aaron shouted back.
“What?” I raised my hand to smack him but he grabbed my hand before I could.
“Am I wrong? You went out with Danson, Jiro and then this “Mike”.”
He let go of my hand and started the car. He drove shockingly fast.
I satisfied myself by ignoring him for the rest of the journey and he, in turn, kept scarily quiet. I could feel the warmth of his tight grip on my arm.
---
No POV
When they got back, Aaron pushed her into her room and closed the door.
“Why are you always doing this to me?” Aaron yelled at Hebe.
“Doing what?”
“Everything! Going out with Jiro, flirting with Danson, and that Mike …”
“I didn’t ‘go out’ with Jiro, I would never flirt with Danson and I hardly even know Mike!”
“That’s what you say.” Aaron said quietly.
“Anyway, so what if I do all that? It’s none of YOUR business.” Hebe said, her voice suddenly rising.
Silence embraced the moment.
Then Aaron spoke, his voice shaky and hardly more than a whisper. “… Do you know how much I hate this feeling?” Aaron muttered, eyes fixed on the ground. “This feeling of anger whenever I see you with another guy. The feeling of wanting to be by your side forever. The feeling of wanting your eyes to see only me, for the rest of your life.” Aaron gripped Hebe’s shoulders and shook her violently. “DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HATE THIS FEELING?!”
He stared into her eyes, searching for an answer to his countless questions. He gave up, the flame in his eyes dying. He turned away and walked out of the room.
Confusion crashed on Hebe like a wave, swallowing her. Her breathing was fast and irregular. She leant against the wall and thought of Aaron’s words.
What did they mean?
Although she knew clearly what they meant. She refused to believe it. Aaron was everything. And she was nothing. There is no way he would fall in love with her. Right?
---
Aaron’s POV
I stormed down into the living room.
“… You didn’t tell her, did you?” Jiro said from the sofa.
“Hey, what was I supposed to do? I got there to find that she’s about to make out with a random guy!” I said, ranting at Jiro.
“And then you punched him.” Jiro sighed. “Way to go.”
For the first time that day, Jiro was right.
Way to go, Aaron.
I hit myself on the forehead. What was I thinking?!
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Sorry SO SO MUCH for not posting for so long. Partly because I couldn’t update due to some technical error on the website. :(
Please comment!!! (: In want to know what you think of the story. I need motivation!!! If you comment lots, I’ll post up the next chapter in a few day’s time cos I already have it typed out :D
~colourful-raindrops~

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