Chapter 9: Enchanted To Meet You

Chapter 9: Enchanted To Meet You

It is a memory lived in an old film reel, a flashback. Some of the lyrics that Glory wrote in her notebook read:

"Oh, look at us, we were so perfect together, like how the sand meets the ocean. With every second ticking, I would like to be with you, happily ever after."

"Happily ever after? The famous line. Who idiot would believe in that? It's just a phrase that sad storytellers would put at the very end of a story so they could only say that it's done, like it is a means of catharsis for them. A childish emphasis that would only make people believe that it's the reality, however it is not. It's always some girl getting a spell cast on her that turns her into a princess, heh, as if it's true! There's no such thing like a princess marrying the prince and they would live happily ever after! What if the prince met another princess? And for curses, fell in love with her? Surely those were the reasons why divorce was enacted! I mean not everyone is privileged to have their fairy godmothers cast some weird spell and instantly make a nobody into a princess! Right?! And then what if the reality behind every forever is a dying soul wanting to be free from a withering relationship? Seriously, writers should really stop putting that phrase in their stories, I mean there's no such thing in this world that could quote the phrase, happily ever after. It's only fiction. Well, that makes sense."

"Fairy Tales are bullshit," Glory muttered to herself with an uninteresting look as she closed the book of a famous fiction novel, she immediately threw it in her bag and waited for some seconds before the school alarm rings, concluding their English class.

"HAAH?!" She closed her eyes in surprise as soon she heard that familiar voice. "You guys are still in the classroom?!"

Jade held her phone as she grabbed her bag, talking to Pearl on the other line. "Our class just ended, what can we do?" She eyed Glory as she replied.

"What can you do, is to run fast here at the gym or else you would miss the big game! I mean look at how cool Yujin and Edward are while playing! They're certainly MVP's!" Pearl screamed hastily before she cheered loudly, making Jade close her eyes and move the phone away from her ear. Glory raised a brow as she heard the crowd on the other line screaming with their voices all might. She's already imagining the scenario, with both Yujin and Edward in their school's basketball team, she bet the opposing team could only win when pigs fly.

"Kyah!!! Edward just made a three point shot!!!" Pearl screamed. "Did you see that Janine?! I told you they're MVP's!" Jade shook her head at her friend. 'Her usual spirit every time there's a match in the school is just too high, she should join the cheerleading squad, no jokes.' She thought as she adjusted her glasses and gestured at Glory to walk out of the room.

"I certainly do see that," Janine replied with an awkward face while Pearl wasn't listening to her as she continued screaming, cheering all the way with bold movements of her arms. Noctis, who was sitting in the middle of the two, was actually listening to their conversation and grabbed Pearl's phone without a warning.

"Hey Jade," his husky voice passed through the other line.

"Yes?"

"I have to agree with Pearl, you really need to see this. The game is intense. We are only three points ahead against East High."

"Seriously? The last time the scores were like that was when we were freshmen!"

'And that is when Yujin and Edward weren't still a part of the team.' Glory thought. 'Until they came, they totally crashed every single game they were in, resulting for the East High to return back with their crushed pride. It's amazing how they still kept on challenging our school knowing that they will lose anyway. It's not that I belittle their athletes though. They're amazing and have a lot of potential to be in a national sports team, it's just that the two guys are exceptionally talented and skillful. Surely the coach of the Fearsome Phantoms, which is our school's basketball team name by the way, made Edward's quick and nimble movements as their asset. Yujin? Well he's a powerful player, with his tall and muscled body and long strides, it's really not impossible for him to just bypass other players. They were just the perfect duo.' She thought in confidence while walking with Jade.

The two could already hear the loud and echoing noise coming from the gym, people were scattered all over the place as if it's some kind of top notch, masterclass whatever match that they shouldn't miss. While in their amusement, Jade and Glory entered the gym, passing through a lot of people. Their eyes widened as they saw the unbelievable amount of audience. The whole area, even the bleachers were already filled and there's no place even for a needle! Maroon wearing students that came from East High were present, probably to cheer for their team, some hot and blonde chicks who were actually right beside the two eyed them. Glory instantly raised her eyebrow and glared back, well it is true the chicks are smoking hot and gorgeous, of course with their voluptuous body, and red lips that if Glory would think, has already tasted countless mouths of hot jocks. However she's not intimidated, she has her own set of charms, deadly ones. After a moment the blondes pulled off their stare and walked somewhere else.

"Don't mind them," Jade whispered, while raising her head, searching for the red-head.

"You know me, I excel in staring contests especially when facing girls who think they're cool." She said irritably while gesturing her hand. "And it's annoying that I can feel their slutty attitudes even when they're wearing uniforms, it's as if they're wearing dresses that expose their cleavage and barely covering their butts."

"You keep on complaining but it sounded like you're jealous," Jade made a teasing smile and eyed Glory.

"I'm not! Besides, they're just East High girls. I bet they're not virgins anymore!" Glory pointed at the girls then folded her arms and scrunched up her nose, avoiding her eyes at Jade. Deep inside her thoughts, she admitted that she was jealous.

'I mean it's every girl's dream to attain a figure- a body like an hourglass! Ugh!' She thought desperately as she turned her face to look at Jade's chest. She pouted as she realized how gifted her friend is. 'She would never understand my pain! Argh! Where am I when blessings pour down freely?!'

Jade automatically felt awkward as she noticed where her friend was staring at. "Quit staring at my chest!" She said, quietly screaming and then covered her chest with her arms.

It was currently time out and cheerleaders from Alvarez High are performing their awesome and breathtaking stunts. The maneuvers were even more bold and polished by the loud pop music that was playing during the performance. One was thrown in the air with a confident smile wearing her sleek black outfit with some gold outlines. Her blonde ponytail hair was waving in the air along with the pompoms in her hand that symbolized the colors of Alvarez High, black and gold. Pearl, who was sitting in the right side of the bleachers, can't stop herself grooving, swaying her arms, even Noctis and Janine are banging their heads with the upbeat music. Several stunts were exhibited before the most awaited resume of the play.

Jade's eyes glistened as she finally saw the person she was looking for. On the back of his black jersey is the number zero-two, above it is a capitalized word "PARK" imprinted on it.

"There he is!" She exclaimed involuntarily, then she closed her mouth realizing that she embarrassed herself. Glory shifted her head and looked at her, eyes teasing.

"Excited, aren't we?" Glory formed an evil grin, teasing her friend this time that only made Jade's cheeks burn intensely.

"Hush, stop it! Other people might hear you!" Jade adjusted her glasses, gesturing her hands in reaction.

"You're overreacting. I didn't even say a name," Glory shook her head and looked at the sight in front of them. Yujin and Edward didn't even need some plans, it was all obvious in their eyes that they already understood each other, enough to make moves that would certainly lead them to shoot the dang ball. "Well, I couldn't blame you. I mean look at our dear red-head friend."

Jade reluctantly focused herself on the game, only to be amazed seeing Edward running so fast while dribbling the ball in his hand, slipping through the East High varsities effortlessly. He made a fake jump and immediately passed the ball toward Yujin who was standing on the other side of the court. With his huge hands, Yujin was able to catch the ball and shoot it at the ring, earning their team another three point shot. Students from Alvarez High cheered loudly again and Jade could see the excitement and fun in everyone's faces.

Yujin wiped off some sweat on his face before facing Edward and made a high five. The two instantly run to the other side of the court, following this time a huge guy from East High who is dribbling the ball. He was cornered by some other players from the opposing team but he was able to pass through them, giving the ball to his other teammate. This time the ball was in the possession of a somewhat six foot guy, he was running fast but behind him was Edward who was reaching him gracefully. The guy suddenly stopped which made Edward surprised, the next thing that the audience saw, even Glory and Jade, in a blink of an eye- was Edward who was already lying down.

There was an awful silence, the unexpected turn of events made some audience's jaws drop. Some were looking at each other, and whispers filled the whole gym.

Jade couldn't understand what just happened, she tried to raise her head to confirm what is currently happening but she wasn't able to as people around started to be aggressive.

Janine stood up from where she was sitting to look down, worried crept inside her as she held her chest seeing Edward, lying on the floor, he was not moving but he's obviously suffering from an intense pain, gritting his teeth. Before she realized it, everyone on their side started booing. The whole atmosphere quickly changed into an intense feeling that shook her core. She was even more shocked as she saw the players below already fighting, pushing each other.

"I-I don't understand. What just happened?" Pearl already stood up to look at the situation, she glanced at Noctis who remained silent, however his obsidian orbs darkened as he clicked his tongue.

"What happened to Edward? Is there an accident?" Pearl muttered.

"There was no accident. They intentionally hurt Edward," the ravenette announced firmly, which made Pearl and Janine look at each other confused and frowned.

"B-But we didn't see-"

"It's possible, because they did it perfectly and cleanly." Noctis cut off Pearl from speaking. "It wasn't the guy who was holding the ball. It was that guy who's behind Edward." He pointed at the tan and bulgy guy who was currently arguing with Yujin.

"Yuu probably noticed it already. That bastard who was holding the ball was just a bait, they already knew that Edward would follow him. Edward could easily take the ball from him since the guy was open however, that was the catch. They were both open, which made Edward conclude that it was safe, however he didn't realize he was already in the enemy's trap. There was a guy behind him who tripped him to fall over."

"But that's a violation!" Pearl exclaimed, her brows furrowed with concern as she turned her face to see Edward. Several teammates were already helping him while the others were in chaos as somebody already landed a punch on someone's face. The referee already halted the intense fight that was rising with a deafening whistle and was able to calm down the two teams, however the guy who landed a punch- who happened to be from Alvarez High got eliminated from the game for the harassment.

Pearl glared at the athletes of the East High and returned to her seat with much irritation all over her. "If the referee wasn't able to see that heinous act, then they'll just get over with it without being punished." She scoffed.

"That was their goal in the first place. They saw Edward as a huge wall blocking their victory, so breaking him was their option. Tch! They're just crushed asses who couldn't play fair!" Noctis said while his eyes were still fixated on Edward, it seemed that he got a serious injury that earned him to be sent to the clinic. He shifted his head and looked at Janine directly but before he could even say a word, the girl already stood up.

"Still, what they did is a violation." She said and picked her bag. "I'm heading to the clinic," She announced firmly, yet with such a sad expression on her face, her emerald eyes glistened with thought for a moment.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Pearl suggested looking up to her friend.

"No, it's fine. Right now Yujin needs support- oh, speaking of him," Janine was surprised as she saw the red-head rushing toward their seat.

"Hey," he said, panting heavily.

"Sup?" Noctis only replied.

The red-head breathed air first. "Probably you already knew what happened, I tried to explain to our coach but he wouldn't believe me, even the referee. Those stupid half-asses already claim what they want." His ruby red orbs glared back at the East High athletes, a wicked grin was painted on their faces.

"Okay, but why are you here?" The ravenette asked, brows furrowed.

"We need a substitute since one of us is disqualified, and Edward was injured, we're short in members," Yujin explained.

"So?"

"Come on Noux, join the team! We all know how skillful you are!"

"I don't want to," Noctis shifted his head looking away at the red-head, his arms folded over his chest. "I'm not even a part of the team."

"It doesn't matter! You, being a student of this school, is already a valid reason. Please just do this once!" Yujin pleaded, this time he intentionally batted his eyelashes to the ravenette which earned him another sharp glare, but it didn't stop the red-head to continue to flash his puppy dog eyes to the other one.

"Oh just agree with him, the smell of his sweat is already running inside my nostrils!" Pearl exclaimed, pinching her nose, the red-head turned his head to look at her, narrowing his eyes before his lips formed a grin.

"What?" Pearl was irritated, but Yujin didn't answer and instead he just lifted his arms and showed his pits to the girl.

"Smelly huh? Then smell this!" Yujin laughed hilariously while forcing his pits to the girl's face, Pearl on the other hand, immediately reacted, pushing away the guy in front of her. "Ew! Yujin go away! Gross!!!" Noctis and Janine were just enjoying the show in front of them, giggling until Yujin stopped, leaving the poor Pearl just covering her face.

"Come on! Get your ass up!" Yujin turned back again to the ravenette.

Noctis rolled his eyes, he thought that it would be pointless to argue back. "Ugh. Fine..."

"Yes!" Yujin said with both of his hands raised.

"But in one condition," Noctis replied, which made the other one groan.

Yujin let out a deep sigh. "What is it?" and gave off a bored look.

"There is a newly opened ice cream parlor near DingDang. Their strawberry milkshake is already getting some good comments. I want you to treat us all there tomorrow. " This time, Yujin rolled his eyes, thinking of the idea that Noctis always takes the advantage whenever he does some favors for him.

"Fine! But make sure I won't regret everything after this."

"Deal." The ravenette said confidently.

"Now we're talking! Come on! I have an extra jersey in the locker." Yujin already pulled up the ravenette from his seat, and pushed him to walk, their voices were already fading from the crowd.

"Yeah go away! Sweaty sweat!" Pearl yelled. "Sweaty sweat." She muttered to herself again that made Janine who's beside her giggled again.

"You two were just a matching matchsticks," She commented that made Pearl pout.

"He always picks on me! Sometimes I really do wonder that being cute is really troublesome," Pearl said confidently to herself with her usual facial reaction. Janine only shook her head.

"Talk about self-confidence." She thought in the back of her mind. "I should be going to the clinic now. See you later," who Pearl just nodded at her.

"We'll come after," she replied smiling and then, Janine already left the gym. Being left alone, Pearl sat there quietly and succumbed to her thoughts about Edward. 'Those cheaters! How dare they hurt him? Hmph! Well my baby loves and that sweaty smelly idiot will take revenge for him!' She frowned. Not moments passed until Glory and Jade reached her.

"Mind you if we take the vacant seats?" Glory asked that made Pearl blinked a few times.

*****

"So that's what happened," Jade commented in realization after Pearl explained to them the acts behind the scene earlier.

"Screw that, and here I was respecting those pigs earlier that they were mighty even though they're just a bunch of losers." Glory scoffed, sitting with her leg resting on the top of the other one. "Oh! Pigs were much better than them, they might be insulted that I compared them with those jerks."

"People like them always exist. Just to win, they will do anything even if it means tainting themselves with a bad reputation," Jade added as she released a sigh.

"As if they care about that," Glory rolled her eyes and rested her cheeks on her knuckles.

"SHHH! The game is already starting!" Pearl waved her hands excitingly, making the other two purse their lips shut before they focused their gaze to the court. People from Alvarez High started making noisy whispers as a number of them realized that Noctis is joining the game.

"Oh my goodness! Look at him!" Both Glory and Jade almost stood up from shock when Pearl said that almost screaming as she stood up to see the ravenette from her distance. Noctis could be the most beautiful creature ever created in her eyes, the way he captivated her heart without doing anything at all. Even at the given angle and distance, his features were even so prominent, his deep black hair and pearly white skin, and nevertheless, those obsidian orbs that are so mysterious. Indeed, a fallen Adonis in front of her sight.

Glory looked around. "I didn't realize that Noctis was this popular, he just stood there and he's already the center of attraction." She murmured as she looked at the ravenette, who's wearing the same black jersey which she believed was from the red-head. It's perfectly suited to him, after all he's about the same height as Yujin, and his physique? It's sculpted perfectly, with those lean muscles that only show how powerful he is.

Not moments passed until the exciting and thrilling match between Alvarez and East High resumed. Leading the final quarter is the Maroon Jammers with a hundred and two points, following behind was the Fearsome Phantoms with at least four points needed to earn. However it wasn't really that a challenge for the team since Noctis already slammed a dunk to earn another point. Fan girls and boys started to cheer and screamed wildly for every shot the players made.

"Brr!!! I'm sensing love rivals everywhere! I should've stopped him from joining the game!" Pearl announced irritably, gritting her teeth while holding a digital camera in her hand.

"That is your concern? And what's with the camera?" Glory looked curiously at the white metal thingy her friend was holding.

"Oh this? I brought this since I already anticipated a situation precisely like this one!" She announced coolly, brimming with glistening glitters as if she predicted the future. "With this, I will be able to shoot some photos of my baby loves doing his hot and hunkalicious postures while dunking! Haha! What am I? A genius? Come on, I deserve some applause!" She laughed to herself like a maniac while the other two stared at each other with blank faces as they gave a round of applause to their friend.

Currently the score is tied to one hundred and ten. Yujin was doing a free shot, and with his height, it's a cinch for him to shoot the ball, earning them another point. It was one after another for the red-head and the ravenette, they seemed to be the kings of the court as if nothing or no one could stop them.

Noctis slipped through a couple of other men, like a fast-flying raven with invincible moves and incredible power at shooting. No doubt he's supposed to be a fine athlete, however even though he is skillful, Noctis wasn't interested in that. As far as she remembers, Glory thought that he temporarily joined a wide range of clubs in the school, all the sports clubs without exception fervently pursued his membership but to their dismay, he would just turned their requests down, he would arbitrarily join a different club in another week, concluding that he didn't joined a single one of them.

'So, why doesn't he join permanently? Wasn't it satisfying enough for him?' Glory thought while watching the ravenette. 'Nah, I guess he's just not that interested.' If she was that talented, she would most likely join the music club.

Glory was following his movements and it was really amazing, the athletes from the opposing team were helpless, irritated as well and starting to lose hope, until they formed a wicked grin on their faces.

Noctis and Yujin's orbs met as they both saw the mischievous smiles from the other team.

'They will do it again huh?' Noctis thought while dribbling the ball.

'These bastards!' Yujin cursed inwardly, narrowing his ruby red orbs while reading the movements of the opponents. He nodded at his other teammate, giving his signal for Noctis to pass the ball, leading the other opponents to lessen their focus on the ravenette. The game was getting way more tense as only a matter of seconds were to run before the game would officially end, the audiences were screaming so loud, cheering with their hearts for their chosen team to win.

Even the girls who were watching couldn't pull off their gaze on the court. Jade was secretly praying, drops of sweat moved way down on her cheeks as she took a glance on the remaining seconds.

The boys below were running fast to the other side of the court. Currently the ball was in the possession of the other member of Alvarez High. The same guy from East High who acted as the bait earlier to lure Edward was already on his way to do the same trick, but the guy whom he was following, flashed a grin which made his eyes widened.

They knew they would pull off the same trick, so they needed to ace up something in their sleeves. He quickly passed the ball to Yujin who was running behind the guy and made him really caught off guard. Yujin successfully caught the ball in his hands and with that he went straight ahead to the ring. This time, the tan and bulgy guy who tripped Edward was following the red-head, Yujin grinned secretly and as he was about to jump and shoot the ball, he swiftly made a fake shot and passed the ball to Noctis who was patiently waiting from a distance.

As swift as a black jet, he caught the ball and turned his body to pass through the other opponents, it was like a slow motion when he jumped so high and then just before the final quarter ends, Noctis made a powerful and one shot dunk, hanging his body on the ring for a few seconds!

The buzz rang indicating that it's already the end of the match, screaming and whistling from the audiences echoed loudly throughout the whole gym! "KYAHHH!!! DID YOU SEE THAT! MY BABY LOVES MADE THE FINAL DUNK!" Pearl screamed as she stood up again from her seat and start jumping happily. Glory and Jade stood from their seats as well and clapped their hands for the greatness of the game. The athletes from Alvarez High were also celebrating, giving each other a back-hug and high fives. The smiles on their faces were priceless, except for the East High who will savor bitterness again until the next friendly match. They didn't even congratulate the players from Alvarez High and waltz out of the court.

After giving some taps and brief smiles to his teammates, Noctis walked toward Yujin who was celebrating as if they'd won in a national competition match. "I guess this earned me a free strawberry milkshake," Noctis smirked, spinning the ball on the top of his finger before passing it to the red-head.

Yujin caught the ball and grinned at the ravenette. "Well, I wouldn't argue on that one, that's the deal." He said as his lips formed a gentle smile. "Thanks Noux." Noctis just replied with a shrug.

Not a few moments later, an older man looking to be around in his late thirties, wearing some gray polo shirt tucked in with his hazel brown pants reached out to Noctis hastily. "Hey thanks kid. Swift moves as usual." He said casually while shaking Noctis' hands.

"Anything to be of your service coach," Noctis replied, hinting a gentle smile on his lips.

"Are you sure you don't want to join the team? I could really see a bright future ahead of you in this career," the man asked while rubbing his black-colored mustache with his hand.

There was a glimpse of thought in Noctis' eyes when he heard of that before he looked at the man. "I do really appreciate the offer Sir, but my answer will still be the same." He said honestly.

"O-Of course!" The man nodded vigorously. "Still, there will always be a spot for you in the team, if you change your mind. You're still welcome." He offered his hand again and they shook hands before he left the ravenette.

'Bright future huh. I wonder.' He echoed in his thoughts as he pursed his lips and looked at his surroundings. He stood there for a while, as if his soul was driven out from his body, however it wasn't the case at all as he heard a familiar voice screaming his name.

"NOCTIS!!!" Pearl shouted intensely as she rushed to the ravenette, she immediately wrapped her two soft arms around his neck and made a powerful hug that almost made Noctis trip over.

"P-Pearl..." He couldn't react appropriately and stayed in the same position until Pearl released him, realizing it was too embarrassing for her to do that to him.

"I-I'm sorry! I just got too excited," her face turned red as she scratched the back of her head, while looking at the ravenette apologetically. Noctis flashed a brief smile and shook his head.

"Not a problem," he answered, which made Pearl somewhat glad.

"Congratulations!" Jade joined them with a huge smile on her face. "Really that last dunk was really amazing, if I were you I'd give no second thoughts about joining the team," she said proudly.

Noctis just shrugged and shifted his head to see Glory. "East High deserved to be beaten," she said coolly with a smirk. "At least you should've injured one of their members," she added, which made the other two looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh come on! Tell me you didn't wish that too," she folded her arms over her chest and looked at them.

Noctis paid his attention to Glory with a smirk plastered on his face, "I knew you were sadistic." Those words made the soft-honey haired girl blushed intensely and made Jade and Pearl look at each other and giggled.

"Don't say I'm sadistic!" Glory tried to pinch the ravenette but it was too late as Noctis already dodge the girl. 'This guy is always too fast.' She thought.

"Okay fine!" Noctis raised both of his hands, trying not to laugh at her. Glory just gave her a deadly stare.

"But you are." Noctis let out a laugh.

This time the girl lost it and chased the ravenette, trying to pinch the guy one more time, they made a few steps back and when she already had the chance, Glory was about to pinch Noctis on his arms but it was halted as she saw Yujin talking to some blonde chicks.

'It is those girls!' She screams internally. Noctis was curious as he stared at the girl's face, whose eyes were looking directly at something. He turned his head only to see the same sight Glory discovered and he whistled as they were both watching the red-head.

"Is this a natural color?" One of the blondies said, flirtatiously touching Yujin's red hair, twirling it with her pretty, and flashy fingernails.

"Uh, yeah it's natural," Yujin answered awkwardly while trying to pull away the girl's hand on his hair, however the other chick who was beside him, already strangled her arm in his arm and touched his sweaty biceps.

"I really think that you're good in the game earlier," she said with her sweet voice, blinking her eyes as if it was trained to tempt, inviting Yujin with her tender touches that runs on the guy's arm.

Glory almost let out with a big jaw drop. "Did you hear what they just said? I can't believe I'm witnessing first hand flirting!" She turned her head to check Noctis but on the contrary, he seems interested in the show.

'Boys,' she rolled her eyes and mocked internally.

"So how's the two of you doin--- oh what in the name of cheese!" Pearl, who just came, blurted out seeing Yujin surrounded by hot chicks. "Okay, are those girls trying to hit on that idiot? This- I'm not hallucinating right?!" She asked Glory as she blinked a few more times for a reality check.

"I don't want to give a word, it's already a painful sight," Glory expressed, disgusted. She turned her head to look at Pearl but to her surprise, she didn't notice that Jade was already standing beside them, her eyes darkened and gritting her teeth in annoyance as she saw the show.

"J-Jade!" Pearl and Glory both said nervously.

"I think you've got a competition there," Noctis said, triggering Jade. He's pouring gas on the flames and tightening the situation even more. It seems he's enjoying what's happening. Glory gave him a boring look and he just returned a smirk.

"How dare he! And those East High girls!" Jade whispered to herself and started to walk toward the red-head with heavy footsteps, eyes were stricken deadly directly at the blondies.

"But you're the one who said don't mind them!" Glory shouted.

"Not this time!" Jade replied with her hand in dismissal.

"Hey!" She shouted, which made Yujin freeze in his place.

"J-JADE!" Yujin gulped nervously in response.

She folded her arms and raised her head in confidence, adjusting her glasses. "Aren't you having a fun time there?" She asked sarcastically with a fake smile.

"A-Actually-" Yujin removed the girl's arms around him immediately and tried to explain but he was immediately cut off. Noctis was holding his laugh in the background.

"Just be careful now Mr. Red-head cause who knows what terrible things might happen to you if that continues," Jade continued to warn and raised a brow, the red-head couldn't answer back. Now Noctis was losing it, laughing as soon as he saw his friend's reaction.

'Sheesh. Sometimes I forget that Jade is also a monster.' Glory commented in her head, hinting a sorry smile on her lips.

Yujin couldn't respond properly as he looked at Jade nervously. "O-Oh is someone calling me? I-I think so! I'll be going now!" He laughed awkwardly, pointing on his back the way to the locker room and timidly walked away, leaving Jade and the blondies alone. Jade raised her brow with a smirk while the blondies glared annoyingly at her before they walked away.

*****

"He got some minor injury on his left ankle but there's no need to worry, all he need to do is to take some rest, but I highly suggest that we should bring him to a specialist so his bones could be examine further," a woman in her late-twenties, wearing a simple white coat with her deep curly black hair glanced at Janine.

"We will consider your suggestion Miss, thank you very much for looking at him," Janine gave out a warm smile and bowed down at the woman.

The woman flashed out a smile. "Don't mention it. It is my duty to assure the safety of the students here." She then gave a gentle smile at the two before she looked at her silver wristwatch. "Well then, I will leave you two since the staff of the school will have a meeting. Edward, take a rest dear," the nurse turned her head and announced it full of care. The brown-head gently nodded and smiled. The sound of the closing door echoed in the whole room, leaving the two alone.

Janine slowly sat on the other side of the bed and held Edward's hands. "How are you feeling?"

"Alive and kicking. Whoops, I shouldn't be kicking huh?" Edward released a joke, a small smile worked its way across his face and into his eyes, and then he squeezed the girl's hands inside his huge palms.

Janine blushed a little but it disappeared on her face as soon as she looked at the white bondages that were covering the guy's right foot. "Still, I just couldn't understand why they would do this to you." Words escaped through her mouth and worriedly looked at Edward.

"Stop worrying about that okay? You wouldn't want to have wrinkles at an early age, would you?" He reached and caressed Janine's face gently then pinch her cheeks a little, removing the frown the girl was doing. "Besides, I will heal fast."

'I guess that's true, but it still bothers me that he does really heal fast.' She thought in her mind while she gently held the guy's hands on her cheeks. "Stop pinching me," she said smiling, only to earn her a laugh from the brown-head. She met the ocean eyes of the guy and was about to say something until the door opened, surprisingly both caught them off guard.

Noctis entered the room laughing, and then Yujin followed with a scowling face.

"You bustin' my balls, motherfucker!? Wanna have a go?" Yujin pointed at the ravenette but it doesn't even bothered the guy as Noctis just sat on the white chair beside Edward's bed, holding his laugh.

"As if I will, idiot," Noctis replied simply, resting both of his arms on the chair's armrest.

"What happened?" Edward asked curiously and made a short glance at Yujin.

"Our red-head friend here was almost killed by Jade," Noctis answered snickering.

"Tell me," Edward responded with interest shown in his eyes.

The two burst into laughter, Edward was holding his stomach trying not to sound loud but still, it was piercing in Yujin's ears that made him even more irritated. He just stood in the corner of the room, showing his middle finger at the two while blushing because of the embarrassment as he glared at his two friends. Janine giggled witnessing the once in a lifetime expression the red-head is doing. It was really rare to see Yujin blushing in embarrassment.

"Oh come on Janine! Don't laugh with those bastards! It's more humiliating when it's coming from you!" Yujin complained, gesturing his hand, which made Janine shake her head and giggled more.

"I'm sorry, it's just cute when you're making that face," Yujin was taken aback and couldn't give a response, instead he looked away in a different direction while the two laughed at him even more after hearing what Janine said. They were in that state when Pearl entered the room with a cheering aura all over her, holding a big paper bag filled with who knows what.

"I was following these two when I realized that we still need to celebrate their victory today, so I bought this!" She excitedly placed the bag on the nearest table she found and beamed at everyone.

"Where's Jade?" Yujin asked.

Pearl pouted while looking at him, "She's in a bad mood you know, after-" Before she could finish her talking, Yujin already made some steps, reaching the door.

"W-Wait where are you going?" Pearl asked, even the other three laid their eyes and followed Yujin's direction.

"Where do you think? I'm going to their place and talk to her," Yujin simply answered and released a sigh. He made some steps reaching the door before glancing at everyone with his ruby-red orbs and then, he left the room. They heard him muttering some words. There was a complete awkward silence before they exchanged stares at each other.

"By any chance, do you think he's pissed?" Pearl asked worriedly and rummaged through the paper bag and placed the food she brought one by one.

"There's nothing to be worried about. He's just the kind of guy who has problems confronting his feelings, especially to the people he cares for," Edward answered nonchalantly while leaning his back on the bed's headboard. Pearl only gave a thoughtful look on her face and continued to pick up the food she brought.

"Burgers, fries, and a diet coke? You should have bought something which is easy to digest," Janine commented as she looked at the food hesitantly.

"Oh come on, Edward's not a baby," Pearl replied, in her fingers a piece of fries and ate it.

"By the way, where is Glory?" Edward asked. "I haven't heard her voice today."

"She said she has something important to do, she didn't even tell me what it is but she promised she'll make up with us tomorrow," Noctis answered, standing up from his seat and walking to the other side of the bed to get himself a burger.

"Okay. So Jade is mad at Yujin, Glory is not here, and you're injured," Janine commented, shaking her head while folding her arms over her chest, almost releasing a sigh. 'What a unique way to celebrate.' She thought.

*****

The sun has started to fall from its zenith, showing and letting off the purple pink skies to spread a beautiful scenery above. The busy crowds have a life of its own and continue to flood the streets of Alvarez, minding their own businesses. The vehicles continued on its momentum, while the skyscrapers stood there with lights coming from the inside. Sellers and buyers are having a chatter about the sales of the day, and old friends have shown up. The usual busy days.

The bustle brings a life to this city no doubt, as well for Glory who was walking hastily on the corner of the street.

"Oh come on! I will be late!" She muttered to herself as she tried to pass through some people around her. She was talking about the launch of the album of her favorite band that she waited for years. As she walked through the streets, she halted as she noticed a street corner turning into an alley. She stood there for a while as she thought about walking through it.

"It's not that I'm not familiar with this way. It's just that..." She looked thoroughly on the dim street with no lamp posts at all. Her brows furrowed as she continued to debate to herself if it's really worth the try, it's a shortcut after all.

"It's scary."

She gulped and braced herself up. "It's do or die!"

She gathered all the bravery and risks she had and entered the narrow street. She was walking at a fast pace as she felt there was something eerie about the place. She was checking the surroundings with her eyes turning from left to right and she's glad that there was no one, however she can feel the suspicious gaze and it's giving her the creeps. She just continued on walking fast and was about to feel a release of relief as she was near to the exit not until she halted because one rough looking man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blocked her path.

"Hold it right there, where do you think you're headed?" The guy asked. He was about in his mid-twenties, wearing a black sleeveless shirt and denim pants. Above his head is a black bonnet and some tattoos were painted on both of his arms, skull that is.

Glory remained in her place and answered calmly. "I'm just passing through." She was trying to hide the extreme nervousness she was feeling. She could already feel her knees shaking.

"Alvarez High huh, I heard students there are really cocky," another man came, this time from her back, she moved quickly away from the guy and looked at him surprisingly.

"Shits who think they're all mighty and cool, wearing expensive clothes." This time two men appeared from her left, smirking as they eyed her with a malicious look. The other one was holding a baseball bat covered with barbed wire on its tip.

Glory clicked her tongue, now she is surrounded with nothing but surely dangerous men. She was just staring at them, like a cornered prey in the group of predators. Stepping forward menacingly, the guy who was wearing a bonnet raised his brows and grinned devilishly. He eyed her from bottom to top, checking what's more inside her skirt.

"Hey, what do you think if you entertain us for a bit?" The man asked threateningly.

Glory inhaled quickly and let out a cocky smile. "I'm sorry but I don't play with losers." There were a lot of bravery stunts in her life that she made but that one wasn't the best example of it. She was asking trouble for blinking hell! The men around her seemed to be surprised by what they had heard, after all a small girl like her provoking a group of dangerous street guys is a rare sight.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your ego." She gave them a bitchy expression. 'Yes Glory! Invite yourself further to a bloody bad day!' She screams internally almost regretting what she said because now she knew she couldn't escape from the trap she made herself!

The man's face dropped in a smirk, "You bitch!" And without a warning he rushed toward Glory who was standing in front of him off guard. He was aiming at her face with his fist but Glory quickly shoved her bag and hit the guy's face that made him falter for a second! She immediately took that single chance to hit him in his private part hard with her foot. Now she could hear the loud groaning that was coming from the guy, enduring the intense pain! She smirked arrogantly but it disappeared as soon as she heard the others.

The other men didn't budge to wait for their boss' order and attacked Glory, the other guy was already armed with a knife. He swayed it unprofessionally, just attempting to hurt Glory. She avoided every deadly attack he was swaying, little did she know that she was simultaneously being attacked by the small gang. Being in a defenseless and disadvantageous situation, she received a hard punch directly on her face that made her hit the dirty ground.

She spat a little amount of blood and was desperately trying to stand up but then the other guy who was got kicked in the balls managed to regain his strength and pinned Glory down, holding both of her arms above her head, the other one covered her mouth with a cloth so that she couldn't scream and what she scares the most is that, both of her legs were being held by the other two. She was completely in a vulnerable situation. Not a good picture to be in fact.

"Not only cocky but pathetically stupid! That's the reason why you're gonna die! But you know, we're not that bad! If you'd like, we'll send you to heaven just before we finish you!" She was just shocked and scared, she fought against the tight grip but it was like trying to rip through a metal and it's merely impossible, the more she resists, the more she's being suppressed. She's breathing heavily as she hears an unwanted familiar sound- the sound of a zipper. Her eyes caught the last things that she would ask. She saw the guy undoing his belt and dropping his jeans! She once again tried to resist with all of her might but she's too weak to break the four guys preventing her. She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the guy kiss her on her neck! She was pleading for them to stop internally but the guy was too strong, she couldn't handle this kind of humiliation, she would rather die with a gunshot than being violated by disgusting men. Tears started to escape from the corner of her eyes. She was scared. Terribly scared.

She was already praying that it would happen in an instant but it came sooner as she heard the guy groaned in pain. The force above her was no longer there and when she opened her eyes, she registered to her sight an unfazed expression coming from a stranger. Unfamiliar olive green hair that was long enough to reach his shoulders. He decided to tie it into a man bun with a few locks falling on his face, emphasizing his sharp jawlines and piercing silver eyes.

The other three were stunned by how he just effortlessly kicked their leader away on top of Glory.

"What the fuck?!" The guy stood up in annoyance as he touched his kicked face glaring at the guy who did it to him. "Who are you?!"

The guy didn't answer and instead he whipped up his phone and aimed at the guy. Not seconds passed and they heard the camera shuttered. Then the guy with the olive green hair whistled, "Do you think this will become a trend?" Then he showed everyone what he captured.

The leader of the gang became very irritated! He just realized that he's only wearing underwear! He quickly pulled up his pants. His underlings were trying not to laugh. "Fuck you! Who do you think you are interrupting us?!"

"Oh just a concerned citizen," the stranger replied nonchalantly and started dialing some contact number. The phone buzzed for a few seconds before someone answered from the other line. Glory who was still lying on the ground was quite fazed. 'Who the hell is this guy?!' She asked. 'Whatever, he just saved me from an actual demonstration of doom's day.'

"You are calling the Alvarez City police department, how can we help you?" It's the voice of a woman.

"P-Police? Damn you!" Upon hearing it, the gang immediately got chills running through their spine.

"Ah yes, I'd like to call for help. Someone was being harassed by a group of hoodlums." The guy completely ignored them and spoke to the person on the other line. "The location is on 16th avenue, you know that narrow street right? Yeah, the number of people you say?"

He then started pointing at the men one by one. "One, two, three, and four... There are four people already beaten here." He announced coolly still with a blank expression on his face.

"Damn you! Mocking us! Think you can take all of us huh?! Get him!" The guys drifted their attention away from Glory, and lunged at the stranger. One attempted to punch him on his face but he dodged it as if he could predict the guy's movement. He then grabbed his forearm and flipped him over his shoulder, making him face the ground, one man down already.

The other guy picked up his baseball bat and swung it at the stranger's head but he ducked, then he effortlessly reached the guy's arm, stopping him from another attempt of swinging again then he punched his ribs hard repeatedly knocking him with blood escaping from his mouth. Two people remained, the leader and the one who had a knife. They both attacked him simultaneously but again, he avoided those attacks effortlessly, he then managed to steal the knife from the other guy and surprisingly elbowed him in the face, knocking a tooth out. Glory was in pure amusement.

"With that poor stance, you can be easily knocked over," he announced and spun the knife in his hands professionally.

"Behind you!" Glory immediately screamed. The stranger didn't even budge the assault coming from behind him and instead he just moved a bit and tripped over the guy, who happens to be the leader and the last man who's conscious. He then stepped forward and stepped on the man's chest. His silver eyes darkened.

"Hey," he talked, and the guy below him immediately felt intimidated. "Have the nerve to do your sexual hunger on an innocent lady." He kneeled over and looked intently at the guy, this time he's the one who's shaking in fear.

"No good deed goes unpunished..." The guy murmured.

"W-What?" He asked nervously.

"What do you think will happen if this knife passed through your skin?" He asked innocently while pointing the knife on the guy's throat. Bullet of sweat ran through the guy's forehead as he felt the sharp tip of the knife on his wet and sticky skin. He's breathing deeply.

"P-Please don't kill me..." His voice became dry because of the intense fear inside him as he stared at the guy's beautiful pewter orbs. It was surprisingly scary for the first time, like he was stared down by a snake, there was a pure deep hate inside reflected from it.

"Of course I wouldn't kill you on a whim. If I do so, it will end your suffering in an instant. That's why you will live for the rest of your life in jail, with your dying soul." The unpleasant frown disappeared from his face and was changed with a smile, then he punched the guy on his face with his knuckles so hard and left him unconscious. He regained his posture and stood up before looking at Glory who managed to gather her remaining strength to sit on the ground.

"How are you?"

Cold deep voice escaped from his lips, and Glory was just stunned at how pleasant and beautiful it was to her ears. The sun has completely settled down and it's already dark however she could still see the features of this guy. He was strikingly handsome in the darkness, the messy bangs on his forehead made him look even more cool, but that wasn't enough to praise him as he crouched down to level his face on her. For the first time, her heart beat so fast, how could she see a gorgeous man right in front of her? Well, she admitted that her friends were already good-looking but something about this guy made her so soft.

To her surprise, he placed a finger on her lips and wiped off the remaining blood on it. She was like a feral beast. Wounded and scarred by people, causing her to refuse a person's touch and hiss at the sight of them. Yet, to a completely unknown person, she let herself be tamed and chose to let her guard down by putting her once broken trust to this foreigner.

His face hardened as he saw her unbuttoned polo, revealing her brassiere, other than that she also noticed some few bruises on her legs. "Do you want me to bring you to the hospital?" His voice this time was gentle but still deep.

"I can handle it." She released, her voice dry. "I'm more concerned about those losers, someone should keep an eye on them so we can make sure they won't escape." Then they both looked at the four unconscious men.

"There's no need to worry about them. I am more worried about you," The guy turned his head back to Glory.

"I may not look like it but I am fine," she replied forcing herself to stand up, and hide the pain the bruises had brought to her body. "I'll just go home," she added quietly. The guy just nodded as a response and smiled at her.

"Thank you very much for saving my life, if there's anything that I could do-"

"Just promise me you wouldn't repeat going to such places like this alone, okay?" He said sternly. Something about those words that escaped from his lips made her feel safe, a cozy and comfortable feeling despite being in such a horrible place, where evil lurks and goodness doesn't exist.

It wasn't a normal day after all for Glory. She found herself lying on her bed, hugging a soft pillow and was just looking at the ceiling remembering the not-so-ordinary day. She told nobody about what happened, she put the events of that day inside her mind and heart. She thought that she could've died and could have left behind like a ragged doll. She could've experienced things she wouldn't want to but still, all of it was altered and twisted, all because of that guy who saved her.

Her fingers sunk into the soft pillow upon hugging it. Her thoughts were just floating around with no direction. To be honest she was really irritated to herself that she couldn't remove the face of the guy in her mind. He was quite scary but then after he looked at her, that side of him completely changed into someone who was sweet and kind, and she knew it existed because he was smiling at her.

No one had ever done that to her and the mere fact that someone like that guy came in like a cure, made her stunned, a prince charming perhaps.

*****

The following weeks came so fast. As what she promised to herself, she didn't tell anyone what had happened and continued to spend her daily routine in the school.

"You know what, you seemed weird the past few days," Jade commented, she put her bag and sit on her chair.

"Don't say weird things like that, I'm still me," she replied with a bored tone, and rested her face on the back of her knuckle and looked at the window. Soon their homeroom teacher already came and everyone settled down. Her eyes were still gazing at the endless sky, until their teacher announced something.

"As part of our school's student exchange program, I am excited to tell everyone that we had a new student!" She announced happily but still professionally. The class were already muttering some words about the new student, even Noctis and Yujin exchanged some stares at each other.

"You can come in," their teacher looked at the entrance of the room and there came in, a tall guy exuding charm and excellence. Glory turned her head to look at the new student in their class because something was demanding her full attention, and there she just looked at the guy with eyes widened, her jaw could almost drop on the floor if it's possible.

How will she be able to forget the exact same features of the guy who saved her life in the brink of danger?

"Hello everyone, my name is Andrew Floyean." He announced and bowed down to everyone. It was like time had stopped when his green orbs caught the eyes of the soft-honey girl. There was something magical that had occurred for Glory, something that hooked up her interest, something that was enchanting.

'I never believed in fairytales. I never believed something so cliché that would happen to me. Does prince charming really exist? If so, could it be that guy? I always thought of it as fiction and just a product of human's loneliness and wanting. However, that day, I was caught into something that would make me feel like I am a character in a novel, where I could be someone's precious gem. It made me wish upon a fairy godmother and turned me into a princess for just a bit and savor the sweetness of this blurring and wistful daydream, and I admitted that I was hoping that I could dance with him. Then I remember that line from a song.'

'Oh, look at us we were so perfect together, like how the sand meets the ocean. With every second ticking, I would like to be with you, happily ever after. If happily ever after truly exists, I want to spend it with you.'