Chapter 5

"I.. I like you, Luxious!"

There is silence. An awkward silence.

Luxious smiled serenely. He leans to close. "Really?"

"Y..Yes—"

"Oh? What a shame, our feelings ain't mutual." The look on Luxious' face gives fake sympathy. As if he gives some remorse about it.

"W..What? B..But—"

"Sorry..." Luxious cut her words off and smiled.

"But why?! I don't understand!"

"Simply." He stared at her coldly. "Your existence doesn't interest me."

"Hey, Luxious..." I stared at him snappily. "That's enough. Stop being mean... You are just simply hurting her feelings!" I commented before glancing at the girl whom Luxious rejected.

I was about to apologize to her but her glare made me stop.

"Shut up!" The girl yelled at me, hinting with rage and shame on her face before she turned her back and run away.

Oh...

Okay?

I've heard Luxious' chuckle.

"How pathetic," he said. He looked at me. "Don't easily give your sympathy for someone who doesn't deserve it."

Tss. What a bastard.

"Why are you like that? You could have dismissed her without being mean. Saying those things can lower someone's confidence, you know? What if it leaves an impact on her and that would be the reason why she wouldn't dare confess to anyone ever again?"

"There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism. Maybe she might make herself a lil' bit entertaining due to that," he said as he closed the book he was reading. "She also asked for it."

"Co—Constructive criticism?! You're calling it criticism?!"

His cold eyes drifted on me. "What are you fussing about anyway? Don't tell me you like that bitch?"

My eyes widened upon hearing the word he used. This guy's face even looked so innocent as he said those!

"Tiarra?" Someone interrupted, making me give my attention to the person who called me.

"Uhh?" I stood up from my seat and there I found my classmates. It's my friends and it seems like they are going to play some games.

"Wanna play with us?" Zofia asked me. Her eyes went to Luxious. "You're hanging out with your brother too much. You should come and play with us!"

I awkwardly smiled. "No... you're wrong. Luxious is not my brother."

"Whatever it is, just leave him alone and come with us!"

My face went serious. "Why don't you invite him too?"

My friends looked at each other. With disapproving faces, they glanced at me.

"We only need one person to complete the team, you know? Also, that guy ain't that good at physical activities. He's weak!" Zofia was blushing as she spoke those.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, guys... don't call him like that!"

I glanced back at Luxious to check him but he seemed uninterested and disaffected by what they said.

"Go ahead," Luxious suddenly let out without even looking at me. His attention was on his book,/flipping the pages casually.

I glanced back at my friends who kept beckoning me to come over.

"Come on, Tiarra!"

I gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry guys...

I'm not in a mood right now. Maybe next time..."

My friends whined at me. In the end, they have no choice but to leave.

I went back to my seat and peeked at Luxious.

"Why didn't you come?" Luxious asked, drifting his eyes on me with a mystified expression.

I smiled. "You would be lonely here," I replied.

"No, I won't."

"I really can't leave you, Luxious. I won't go if you ain't going with me."

"Tss." He looked away. His ears were suddenly both red. "How stupid."

"Huh?!" I pointed myself. "Me?! How did I suddenly become stupid here?!"

"You are just stupid. That's a fact."

"Really huh?! Coming from someone whose book is upside down," I uttered as I glanced at his book.

Luxious checked it. "Oh... you're right."

He just realized it?! Where's his conscious at?

I laughed at him and teased him about it until the bell rang. I stood up and waved my hands at him. "See you later," I said and smiled.

Luxious look at me without saying anything.

I went to my class immediately.

We're already graduating from elementary. Months later, we will be high school students. As of now, we haven't decided which school we're going to. But I believe, Luxious and I are still together after graduation.

I immediately recognized Zofia and the others when I entered the classroom. They were conversing and having a good time. Their expressions altered as soon as they noticed me approaching.

My expression was solemn as I sat next to them.

Zofia inquired, "What are you and Luxious that I constantly seem to see both of you together?"

I answered without looking at her, "What is it to you?"

She tsked. "Because I'm inquisitive about your relationship together," she said. "If he isn't your brother, does that mean he is your friend?"

I promptly said, "No." I gave her a quick glance. "He is not one of my friends."

I don't consider Luxious as my friend in the public.

Her forehead furrowed.

"He isn't your friend?" Arabelle inquired behind us. "Perhaps cousin?"

"No."

"Girl, I don't understand at all."

I also don't understand why you guys are asking about this.

Zofia questioned, "Why are you hanging out with that lad, Tiarra? Aren't you weirded out by him?" I looked at her.

"What is strange about him?" I asked innocently.

"Him. Luxious himself. He's a real oddball! He's so easy to acquire the trust of the teachers and even the students in this school! He's also oddly intelligent! No wonder why he's gonna be a valedictorian this year! What's more strange is that he never plays with other kids like us!"

"Because you guys don't invite him," I commented instantly.

For a brief while, they were stunned.

"Because he's arrogant, that's one of the reasons!" Zofia stated. "I saw him in their physical education class. He's always alone and every time we invited him to play with us, he constantly rejected us!"

"What?!" I said, already annoyed. "Is that it? He's weird because he's arrogant and won't play with you guys? He doesn't need to play with you if he doesn't want to."

"Him being weird is a fact! Every time we talked to him, he makes horrendous remarks about us. It even seems like he's been killing us in his head lately! Additionally, he warned us not to play with you."

I was taken aback. "Don't fabricate something! I've never seen and heard anything like it!" I exclaimed.

"Because you don't even bother to look! Can't you even notice his deadly stares at us?"

I glanced at my other classmates. They are all quiet, staring at the scene we're making.

"Shut up, Zofia. You're just ruining him." I eyed Zofia and stared at her with a stern expression.

"At what point did telling the truth become defamation?" She stood up and glared at me.

"When did insults become acceptable?" I let out angrily. "You insult him and tell him such things? Will you be happy if I'm the one gossiping about you?!"

"What's going on in here?! Tiarra, Zofia— girls?! All of you!" our teacher yelled as she entered the classroom. "Stand up!" she screamed angrily as we came to halt.

The next thing that happened was that our parents were called. Our adviser is terror, which is why she became enraged when she saw my classmates and I fighting.

"Tiarra, what happened?" it was my mama's voice. I turned to see her.

She grasped my shoulder and looked at me from every angle. When she noticed that I didn't have any wounds on my face, she turned to gaze at Zofia and the others, who were also seated in front of me and continued annoyedly staring at me.

Mama exhaled a sigh of pleasure when she noticed they were free of injuries as well.

"What happened, Tiarra?" I did not respond right away when she asked. The teacher entered the classroom from the hallway. Zofia's parents and the others followed her. Our teacher informed our parents about what had occurred.

As I listened to my peers explain, all I could do was sigh. Ultimately, even though it was not my fault, I received a reprimand. I can't do anything because my classmates' parents were wealthy and obnoxious. Even if I don't explain anything, I know it will be my fault in the end.

"Tiarra, why were you fighting? You were not a war freak, so how did you get in trouble? Didn't I tell you to stay away from those? What if you have been expelled from this school? You know the students here are affluent, right?" I hadn't responded yet, my gaze still fixed on the ground. "Why did you get into a fight in the first place? What if the parents were unusually enraged? What could have happened if you cause harm to your classmates?"

My eyes watered, my sights still fixed on the ground.

I don't know what to say. I'm worried I'll be scolded even more if I say something else. It's not my fault. They were the first to speak and insult Luxious. I'm not going to sit there and let them disrespect him!

"Don't do that again. Do you understand me?"

I nodded at her.

When Luxious emerged out of nowhere, we were caught off guard. "What's up?"

We came eye to eye. As he scanned my face, his brows met slightly. I took a step back and averted his gaze.

"Come on, mama," I murmured as I continued walking.

Luxious walked up behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder. He asked softly, "You cried?" I stayed silent. "Who made you cry?" he inquired.

What exactly is the rationale for this? Why is he asking about who rather than what? This scumbag.

"C'mon! Tell me the person who made you cry!" he grumbled as we walked to the car.

"I was scolded by my mother, okay?" I yelled aggressively, hoping he'd stop questioning me.

"What happened? Why were you scolded?"

I sat at the window's edge. "Tell me," Luxious leaned up close.

"I fought! Can you please stop asking?"

His expression darkened. "With whom did you fight?"

I didn't respond.

"Who is it, Tiarra?" 

I stared out the window.

"Tss. I'll know even if you don't say anything. They're dead to me," he suddenly declared.

"What?" I said, remembering what Zofia had said. "Don't get involved, Luxious! This is my fight, so don't add to my problems!"

"I'm the reason you fought." I was taken aback "Isn't it?" he asked, his face expressionless.

My lips were barely parted. "How did you figure that out?"

He smiled. "So I'm actually the true cause, huh?" he laughed. He freaking tricked me!

"You're being a jerk! I'm telling you, don't get involved!"

"All right, don't be mad any further." His smile widened. Obviously teasing me.

"I'm not angry!"

"What then?"

"Happy!"

He grinned. "You seem to be happy," he perceived, sarcastically.

I simply disregarded him and gazed out the window, thinking about something deeply.