Chapter 27

— CHERRY'S POV —

It's already afternoon when I woke up. Still lying in bed, I could hear Anette showering in the bathroom. I remember what happened last night. Anette and I bought cans of beer and drank till early morning. Celebrating her boyfriend's arrival today. Well that's nice..

Speaking of boyfriend...

I HAVE A DATE AT FIVE!

I look at the wall clock and it's already past 4. With no other choice, I rush out of bed and barge in the bathroom while Anette's still taking a shower. As she sees me, she immediately covers herself with her hands and turns to hide from me.

"What the hell?! I'm not done! Wait for your damn turn!" She shouts. I ignore her complaint because I'm hurrying. I push her aside and let the water drip to my hair and my body.

"Sorry! I'm hurrying!" I tell as I start to shampoo my hair.

"Well I'm hurrying too!" She pushes me aside also. Finishing herself up with a short rinse.

She leaves the shower and proceeds to brush her teeth. I guess she also just woke up. As I finished, I took a towel and wrapped it around me and eventually rushed out of the bathroom even before Anette.

With no time to waste, I just take whatever I see in my closet. I guess a simple dress wouldn't hurt. No time to judge, I'm gonna be late! Anette comes out of the bathroom, hairdryer in hand.

"Where you going?" She asks.

"I completely forgot about my date with Ivan!" I tell her as I finish wearing the clothes. I snatch the hairdryer from her and use it for myself.

"Hey! I was using it first!" She complains. Instead of complaining again, she goes to the kitchen. "I cooked you lunch, eat before you go"

"Aww, you're the best waifu!!" I tell her as I go to her and hug her from behind.

"Yeah yeah, just hurry up. We both have to go at five." She says, fixing plates and utensils.

After we ate, we cleaned up and readied to go our way. I wished her luck on her meeting and told her to tell me everything when she gets back. As she went to ride a taxi, I just needed to walk to the cafe to meet with my so-called boyfriend. Funny how I call him my 'so-called' boyfriend, a funny story included.

I couldn't forget how funny and burdensome our meeting was. A month ago, I entered the cafe, with I'm stuff I'm analyzing and interpreting for the agency. I'm in my usual casual hoddie and pants. As I went to the counter, someone suddenly grabbed me from the side and pulled me in an embrace. I, myself, was shocked of what happened and he suddenly whispered to my ear.

"Please, pretend you're my girlfriend, please, please, I'll pay for your coffee later. Promise" He whispered, begging for me to pretend to be his girlfriend. As I saw in their table, I saw a young woman dressed fashionably. Without thinking, I unconsciously hug the stranger.

"This is ridiculous." The woman said as she takes her bag and walks out of the café. As we pulled apart, an awkward silence has befallen upon us.

"I-I'm sorry. T-thank you for what you did." He apologized, his face full of embarrassment.

"It's fine. Glad I could help. Though I don't need you to buy me coffee." I said to him.

"O-okay. T-thank you again!" He says as I walk to buy my coffee.

The next day, I came back to the café for another cup of coffee and lunch. I see a familiar face. The man I met yesterday, working on something in his laptop, coffee in one hand. He's focused on what he's doing that he didn't notice the same woman yesterday sat across him. I saw him notice her and he just ignores her. The girl starts talking and our eyes met.

But I brush his face off of my mind and I went to the counter to order my usual.

"Hello. One hazelnut cappu— AHH!!" I shout as my hair is gets pulled away from the counter. This unfortunate event has the people's eyes on us. The grip from my hair immediately disappears. As I lift my head, I see the face of the man I saw yesterday, his face full of worry, along side him the woman I saw yesterday and the one who pulled my hair.

"Is this the brat you're dating? Tsk. I'm obviously better than a mole hog like her." She says, disgust in her voice. I get irritated at what she said. I straighten up and was pulled behind the stranger I met.

"She's obviously better than what you are, Jennifer." He says, glaring at her.

"What a freak." She says as she takes her bag. She takes one last glare at me, then she walked away. With my irritation already overflowing, I follow her and takes her wrist. She turns with an annoyed expression. "Ew. Why are you touching me?! Let go!"

Instead of letting go, I grip her wrist harder, making her difficult to escape. I pull her to me and leaned to her ear. With a frightening, low voice I whisper to her. "You're so bold to actually insult me... Do you want to die? Come at me if you want to... I'll gladly make you suffer until all you want to do is just die and perish."

I smirk at her as I let go. Her eyes terrified of the sight of me. As she back away, she almost tripped her way towards the entrance door. I act like nothing happened and went straight to the counter.

"What's the deal with that girl?" I said as I called the waiter to take my order.

"It's nothing.. Thanks for helping me again though.." His voice low with a pinch of sadness. As I was going to give up asking, he spoke. "She's insisting me on being her boyfriend. The girl you saw yesterday. I met up with her to turn her down but she wanted more reasons why I don't want her to become her boyfriend. Not liking her isn't enough of a reason for her."

"So she most likely whined to her brothers to get what she wants." I tell him, my usual hazelnut cappuccino in hand.

"Yeah, most likely. I think they won't be going to leave me alone if they see me alone." He said. It isn't his fault for not liking her. Why don't people try to understand each other in our world today.. Thinking of ways to help him with his problem, ideas flashing through my mind but I shouldn't be risking my agent life for this. With one idea left in my mind, I hesitate for a second. This isn't me. I wouldn't pretend to be someone's girlfriend for their sake! But then again.. he needs help.

"Would you accept my idea of helping you, no matter what it is?" I ask him, straight to his face.

"Yes! Of course! Please, what is it?" He asks eagerly. His eyes full of excitement and my mind full of hesitation. But if I just stay still and do nothing, he might get hurt. I have to do everything in my power to help anyone in need. That's my motto!

"Every time you come to this café or some place else you need to stay at, call me. I know it's absurd to hear but we wouldn't know when those guys will come back, so it's better to be prepared with it." I say. Then I remembered I haven't gotten his name.

"Oh by the way, sorry for the late introduction, I'm Cherry. Cherry Valdemoure." I say as I offer my hand for a handshake. He smiles and shakes my hand back.

"Ivan Kingston. Nice to meet you."

For weeks, we meet every other day to catch up with our deal. This is quite unusual but, as days passes, I feel more comfortable around him. Sometimes, when he arrives early to the café, he ends up buying my usual coffee already, making me smile. He's usually doing research on drug use so when we meet I get to learn more things from him.

I don't know when it started but I started to have feelings for him. It's absurd, I know. But.. all these days, spending time with him is already a routine. I don't understand how love works when you're the only one who has feelings. After I realized my feelings, nothing changed after I admit it to myself. But there's a part of me that want him to know how I'm feeling.

Until that day came.