11

"You were different from all the rumors I've heard about you. Besides, being slapped at by your ex was definitely an awful experience that made me have a terrible impression of you. And to tell you what, first impression really matters to me." She tittered.

I wasn't even starting to know her yet but I'm already doomed.

I scratched the back of my neck, "I'm sorry about that."

She moved forward and closer to me and whispered, "Care to explain for yourself?" We stared at each other as she moved back to her seat.

I gulped hard, "To make the long story short, Diana just likes to bother me ever since we broke up. That day was just one of that annoying days." But I'm glad because she stopped disturbing me. I'm also glad that she's more than fine again.

She stared straight into my eyes again. She's making me nervous as hell. The way she looks, her actions, everything. I hate it when I could notice even the smallest detail.

She paused for a second, "How about the rumors?"

I arched a brow, "What rumors?" I never knew I had one. Did I have issues with others that I didn't know?

She licked her lips, "A lot of students said that you're a playboy." Her eyes got smaller, her white teeth were showing as she stretched her heart-shaped lips.

"What? No, I'm not." I said whilst shaking my head as a sign of disagreeing.

"Phoebe, Nica, Claire, and Diana said so..." Replied Zyrine. She held her chin and looked up like she was thinking.

"They were my exes. I guess they're just trying to ruin my reputation on others." I confidently said and shrugged. I was surprised to know that I had issues with others but I couldn't care less. It wasn't the truth and will never be the truth.

She scoffed, "You literally cheated, manipulated, and did bad things to them and you have the audacity to tell me that? You're crazy!"

I rolled my eyes. I stood up and stared straight into her deep eyes, "I did nothing terrible to them. I never did and I never thought to do so because I'm not the person everyone had to assume of. So if you think of me the way people around you think of me, then I'm sorry but I have to leave." I was fixing my things, ready to leave, when she grabbed my arm.

"What?"

She bit her lips and paused, "I'm sorry." She lifted her face up to look at me. As the sun shone right on her face, I could see her dark brown eyes gleaming. The longer I stared at her, the more I felt that I was melting slowly. My irritation had already gone and it was replaced by a small smile and a chuckled. It was automatic that I pat her head and went back to my seat as if nothing happened.

She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling uneasy to look at me.

"I apologize for the things that I said. Can you please tell me the side of your story?" She asked. This time, I could clearly see no judgment on her face.

I looked outside. It may look like the sun was the brightest for other people, but for me, it was the young lady in front of me. Some students like me were eating and talking to their friends. It was such a busy place outside the café.

I looked back at her and sighed. Am I finally letting someone know about what happened to my past relationships? Well, of course, my friends were an exception because they know almost everything about me.

"My first relationship which was with Phoebe, she cheated on me. Nica didn't really take our relationship seriously, she just wanted my money and the things I bought for her. It was after we broke up when I realized what she truly wants from me. Claire was the worst. She never let me go near my friends. She hits me every time we're in a fight, She would hurt me whenever I planned to go out with my friends. Lastly, Diana. She manipulated me, well, every time we'd argue, I guess? She would buy me gifts that I don't even like, that's her way for an apology." I was looking at her untouched food as I told her my horrible experiences with my exes.

I was startled when a cold hand touched my face.

She lifted my face up, "I'm sorry. I never knew about it." It was always like that. It's always one-sided. I nodded and moved away from her.

"Anyway—" I was planning to change the topic. "Why did you ended your story too soon?"

She chuckled, "That's why you wanted to meet me? You wanted to ask about the ending?" I nodded.

"Well... It's because I want the readers to continue my story the way they wanted." She simply replied. I nodded again.

"Hey," she snapped her fingers in front of me. I brought my attention from the food to her.

"Are you going home after this?" asked Zyrine.

I shrugged as an answer.

"I'm going to buy some things at the mall. Wanna come?"