You Are Going to Fight With Us

“No.” she looked away. “Can’t you see I’m just a normal student? I am not like you.”

“But you’re different to me.”

Her eyes blinked, mouth gaped.

“No one has ever told me they’re not scared of me. No one on their right minds would give me that ridiculous answer,” his voice started to sound like a whisper. “…and that makes you different to me.”

“I don’t know how to fight.” she looked at him bravely. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to fight you.”

“What? Fight me? No.”

She doesn’t know what to process first.

Her confusion or her surprise because he just chuckled?

He did chuckle in front of her. She’s not even trying to execute a joke but it made him chuckle?

It looks and sounds so magical that she couldn’t believe it right away.

“You’re not fighting against me.” he waved his hand dismissively. “You’re going to fight with us.”

“You must be deaf. I just said I don’t know how to fight.”

“You don't have to then.” he raised his head, looking into someone lower than him that even if she’s shorter, he will never lower his head.

His eyes scream indisputable superiority.

“You only need to come with us. We need a muse—a tough one. We have one before but she’s not here so she won’t be able to come with us."

She only gawked at him, not sure what is happening. She’s not sure what exactly is Lorenzo proposing to her.

She’s only there for clarification but why is she hearing weird words?

Muse?

“We can’t go there without a muse. We were actually looking for one that’s why we couldn’t attend our classes.”

Her lips gaped again. Now, she's having a normal conversation with Lorenzo. She never thought that’s even possible.

Conserving normally with him? With the kind of guy like Lorenzo?

Was she just being censorious to him? Or is he really acting strange?

“But someone showed up in front of our face. It must be fate,” he smirked and leaned closer to her.

This time, she’s the one whom he caught off guard. Their noses almost touched that she had to lean back or else…

“Your apology will be accepted once you granted my request.”

She's certain she didn’t even ask him for acceptance. She cleared out her objective a while ago. She’s only there for clarification and clearly not for his forgiveness. It doesn't matter if he accepts her reason or not.

For sure he heard her.

“This is the kindest request I have ever asked someone. Would you be so kind to help us?”

Her jaw almost dropped. What a man full of surprises. He just asked for her help using the politest way to say please.

She can't believe he has the capability to speak such words. It doesn’t suit him.

But it suits the guy she saw was laughing and smiling earlier.

“After this, I will act as if nothing has happened between the two of us.”

Cheska is on her seat confused and dazed, still thinking of her talk with Lorenzo yesterday. His voice keeps ringing in her ears and she can't do anything about it.

The teacher might be in front but she can’t understand any of the words she’s saying.

She wasn’t expecting anything of that. She didn’t expect things will turn out like that.

Was she right for going to that garden? Was she right to cut her class? She feels like she just made things worse for her.

She even failed to sleep properly because of his voice. It’s repeating over and over in her mind like music on repeat.

She wants to believe he’s just messing up but that’s not how it looks. He is dead serious.

“I will wait for your answer until next week.”

She shook her head slowly, eyes are tightly closed. That’s so much Lorenzo for today. She can't believe he can make her like this even without trying.

Especially now, he’s right behind her. He and his friends are just right behind her.

Do they have like...five aircon behind their classroom? Because she keeps having goosebumps.

The first period ended in just a snap. When she came back to her focus, the teacher is already bidding her goodbye to all of them.

She feels bad for not listening to her. Well, ten pairs of ears are still better than one so perhaps it’s fine.

When she glanced at her watch, that’s when she only realized that the class ended earlier than it should be. It’s not even time yet.

Well, that’s fine. At least she can finally go to the restroom now. They’re not allowed during classes so…

She needs a break, a break from the guys behind her. When she tried to take a glance at Brittany, she did her best not to see Lorenzo and his company in her peripheral vision.

Great, now it looks like she’s scared of them.

She’s just…uncomfortable. She doesn’t know how to respond to the invitation. Will she accept it or not?

She left her seat and went out. Brittany even offered her company but she refused it. She can go to the restroom without tripping. She’s not clumsy.

What was that all about? That’s her question since yesterday but it didn’t come out of her mouth when she was in front of Lorenzo.

Where are they going that they need a ‘muse’? And what’s with the 'fight' thing?

Perhaps that’s the reason why she doesn’t know how to respond to that invitation. She’s willing to help, sure. But she doesn’t know what she is getting herself into.

It’s not bad to be careful, is it?

She’s too shy to ask for more details either. It’s like asking a Mafia to explain is so much—so much to ask for.

Besides, if Lorenzo did want to explain himself and his invitation, he should have done it right after he invited her.

But he did not.

So perhaps it’s a secret? Confidential?

She’s wiping her hands as she exits the restroom when she found someone leaning on the wall while arms are crossed.

She looked around, no one’s there. No one’s inside the restroom as well since she only got there. The boy’s restroom is on the other side too so…what is he doing there?

As far as she can remember, he’s one of Lorenzo’s friends.

“I don’t know what has gotten into his mind and he chose you.”

She blinked, quite surprised. He’s talking to her.

“But perhaps he just had no choice but to pick you instead.” he opened his eyes but his gaze remained on the floor. “If you know yourself you can’t help us and you will only be a burden, don’t accept his invitation.”

“How am I supposed to know if I will be helpful or not? I don’t even know what exactly he is asking me. A muse?”

Finally, he looked up. He looked at her seriously. “There will be a game. Our lives will be at stake if we lose and surely yours too.”

She swallowed the lump of her throat. That sounds like a threat.

Looks like he really doesn’t want her to accept the invitation. If he wants to, he wouldn't be standing there and giving her more reason not to accept it.

“This is important to us,” he looked away. “and most importantly to Lorenzo.”

And then he left. If he stays there for long, someone might see and would be suspicious of them.

He was right in front of the girl’s restroom with a girl, what would anyone think? He's also avoiding being seen by Lorenzo and his friends.

He only wants that day to end well and with someone, an outsider with them, he doesn’t think that whatever he wants to happen will happen.

There are reasons why an outsider should not meddle with the other worlds’ businesses. Not once it ended well.

That’s why he can’t understand. Why would Lorenzo ask for help from someone living in the Outside World?

That should be the last thing on their list. They don’t know a single thing about their world. They will never understand anything about them.

The only word ringing in his ear is desperation.

That’s the only reason he could think of why Lorenzo chose someone who is obviously not like them who is obviously not from their world.

He didn’t even wait for their muse. He immediately searched for someone else—someone innocent and ignorant for Pete's sake.

He knows how much he hates missing opportunities—and this opportunity is only present once in a blue moon. That game is the only way to accomplish what he’s dying to accomplish ever since.

He lives for it and he will die for it.

He let out a sigh after taking a seat. Lorenzo doesn’t really think straight when he’s being desperate. He’s smart but naïve when it comes to his desires.

After a minute, that’s only when Cheska came in.

He didn’t bother to look at her, he doesn’t need to. He only talked to her to give her an indirect threat and not to make friends with her.

His brow quickly raised when she didn’t proceed to her seat. Even their classmates stopped from their businesses when they saw she’s going to Lorenzo, to where he is seated.

Even he did not expect her to do that. He looked up and stared at her. Everyone’s whispering but his attention is completely on her. Not once he had time for silly whispers.

“What?”

He’s getting uncomfortable with her silence and stares. It’s getting more unreadable every time he looks at it. He should be familiar with it by now but no, it is always different to him.

Whenever he looks at her, he's seeing different eyes over and over again. Sometimes it looks innocent sometimes it looks...alarming.

He wonders, which one among them is real?

Still, he's enjoying looking at those eyes—those hazel brown eyes of hers. What a very familiar feeling every time he stares at it.

How fascinating.

When did he only notice it? Right. He just noticed her eyes yesterday—when he leaned closer to her.

How funny. He didn't even notice those eyes during their first meeting. How could he anyway? He was having a bad day at that time. He was at the edge.

It just happened that this girl in front of him unconciously pushed him more.

“I am accepting it.”

He blinked together with the celebration of his friend.

“I am accepting it,” she repeated and looked away. “Just…tell me when.”

He didn’t have the chance to respond. He only watched her as she turned away from him and went back to her seat as if she didn’t just do something unexpected.

Brittany leaned closer to her to ask what was that all about. Cheska only left it unanswered and said it was nothing special.

The guy who talked to her is the most surprised among them. He talked to her so she will refuse it but what happened is completely the opposite.

She didn’t just accept it, she accepted it right after their talk. Did he provoke her to accept it?

What made her accept it?

Now, she finally understands why Lorenzo chose her.

She’s really tough—as he described her yesterday. She doesn’t back down.

Even the persons in front of her are on a different level from her, she doesn’t falter. She still looks at them in their eyes and speaks to them as if they are equal.

She will be able to adapt herself to Lorenzo’s proposal.

She won’t surely stop. She won’t back down. She won’t be a burden.

And perhaps that is what Lorenzo saw in her the time she answered him honestly.

That's what he meant by saying...she is different.