22

While I was out with Mina, she kept on bugging me about Theo.

What was Theo like when we first met, how did he look like, what happened between us, and basically the whole history of us. I kept on rolling my eyes before answering her because it was annoying for me to go back and talk about the past.

"Can we now stop talking about /him/?"

She shook her head. "I still have some more things to ask." She pouted which was unusual. Mina only pouted when she wanted some thing so badly. And maybe, I should let her have this one.

Ugh, to think that I am such a soft hearted person when I'm with her. "Alright. But please, after we eat, can we already stop talking about him?"

She chuckles, totally enjoying to see me annoyed. "Okay, fine." Mina pushed her plate to the side to eat her sundae. I was silently waiting for her to ask something. "So, what's one thing you remembered about Theo?"

I roll my eyes upon hearing his name which earned a laugh from her. "As much as this cringes me, he was second to Daniel who pushed me to pursue my dream of being an author. He was the person I was comfortable talking about my plans, my dreams, and he was the one to see who I really am as a person. You can say that he made the starting point for me to reach my dreams and do what I really wanted to." Thinking about memories from the time he pushed me to stop letting my parents hinder me from being who I want to be made me feel somehow giddy inside.

There was a moment of silence before she let out a deep sigh. "I wish I was there to witness everything." Silence once again. "I'm quite curious as to how the younger you acted around the younger Theo."

"Oh, please." I roll my eyes. "Let's not go to that topic."

"Why?" She chuckles. "You can't really erase something from the past no matter how much you hate going back to it. And don't think of it as something you hate, it's still you. The version of you who was vulnerable, someone more…I guess, real."

That made me smile. Yes, it was something I wouldn't want to reminisce about, but it was the only time I could act like myself, who I really am, freely. I shake my head to stop myself from diving deeper into my memories. "Anyway, can we talk about something else now?"

"Alright, I'll yield for now. But expect that the next time I get the chance, I'll ask more about him." She gave me a wink that made me playfully pull her hair.

"So, what's our next agenda for today's date?" I ask her, pulling her body close to mine as our arms are intertwined with each other.

"Arcade, of course!"

She then pulled me so happily that my arms probably almost separated from my body. Mina has always loved playing in the arcade. Whenever we had a date together, there wasn't one time she wouldn't pull me inside an arcade to play, and I've also learned to love it.

"I'll play here." Not really surprised, she was already standing in front of a basketball machine. "Go play beside me. I think she's not playing." She's referring to the lady just standing in front of the machine.

"It's okay, I'll just wait for the guy to finish."

She rolls her eyes. "Excuse me? Are you perhaps going to play?" The lady shakes her head. "Well, can you please excuse us and scoot over? My friend was hoping to play."

I was also shy when she shooed the girl just for me to play. With a shy look on her face, she scoots over to give way. "Sorry," she says in a quiet voice.

I give her a smile before pulling my cap down. Mina and I placed our coins together and started playing basketball. The first round was easy for the both of us but when it entered the second, Mina was yelling at me because her arms were, she said, almost falling apart. I just simply laughed at her. She's really not that athletic. "Come on, you can do this!"

"I give up!" She throws the ball on the rink without thinking.

I was laughing at her while I was still playing. Yes, I am very competent even in the smallest things. I know this is just a game, but I cannot help but glance on my side and see that the other guy was already playing past 200. And my score is also 200. I should not stop until they do.

Mina was patiently waiting for me to finish, she even started to hype me up because she knew what I was trying to do. And to my surprise, some people were watching too. Eventually the game ended with him stopping at 371 and me at 401. People were clapping and I just awkwardly smiled as she pulled me to go play another game.

"So much for not wanting to get attention," she says. We gazed at each other while walking and suddenly burst into laughter because I knew that the same thing was going on in our mind. "Your competitiveness is never changing."

I shrug. "I'm sorry, old habits die hard."

We played multiple games, laughed hard enough for us to be tearing up, and once again made memories for the both of us to keep. It was a long time before we decided to go.

"Wanna go to the library?"

My brow raised, thinking if I should say yes to her offer. In the end, albeit doubting my choices, I said yes. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea, though."

"Why? You can't be recognized, if that's what you're concerned about."

I looked at myself and thought that, yeah, I was dressed presentably but no one would recognize me in this get up. "Alright, fine."

..

.

Once again, Mina enthusiastically held my wrist and pulled me to the bookstore with her.

"Look, Gem!" Her eyes were sparkling while holding a book from her favorite author.

"That's the book you've been finding, right?" I walked towards her and looked at the book. I snatched it from her hand and put it on the cart I was holding.

She looked at me with confused eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll pay for it."

Her smile reached from ear to ear. My books were placed behind where we were and she held onto some with a smile on her face. "Your designer's really great at making your book covers express feelings."

I nodded. It was true. When I first met my book designer, I had doubts that we would be able to connect or they would be able to do what I wanted since I was very picky. To my surprise, we did click. It's like we had this connection that when we tackled how I wanted it to appear to the readers, they got what I was pointing out. I wanted the covers to express just as much as the context of my book. I wanted the covers to be able to tell stories alone.

But there are really some people who don't appreciate what you do. And I could really care less because they do not know anything, so why would I waste my time and energy on them. Sadly, Mina wasn't the 'cool' type to let go of some things she hears.

"I don't really get what's the hype in her books?" The girl shrugged, looking totally unamused while holding a book of mine. "I get it, she can write, but I don't feel anything while reading her books. It's… meh. Don't like it, not that great. I basically wasted my money." She rolls her eyes on top of stomping on my confidence.

"Maybe it's because she's from a rich family that she was able to become this famous. God, the thing that money does, 'no?"

I sighed while listening to their criticism. I was just about to walk away with the cart when I saw Mina flaring her nose, her eyes shooting daggers at the girls for what they had said. I held her arm to calm her down. She looked like she was going to come at them and pull their hair, but I wouldn't want that, we wouldn't want that. As a friend, I know she wants to defend me, to fight with those girls. But as my manager, she knows what her actions can do to my reputation so she chooses to roll her eyes and whisper curse words and more words as we walk away.

"It's fine, Mina. It's not as if I am not used to hearing those kind of things." I chuckle to ease the stiffness I was feeling.

We were about to just continue our date when someone interfered with the two women talking. It's a familiar looking back. How his shoulders were formed, his back, his nape, and the way his hair was styled. It was all too familiar to me that my heart skipped a beat when I saw him.

"Excuse me. Can I ask how many books of this author you've read?" he asks in a calm voice.

The woman with blonde hair, plaid skirt and an oversized shirt looked dumbfounded. The woman with a short hair, long sleeved polo, and trousers raised her brow. Albeit confused by the situation, they both answered. "One," they say in unison.

Theo nods his head like he was trying to process or think about what he should say. "Then who are you to say that she has no skills or that she only got recognized because of her social standing? I can accept constructive criticism, but I cannot accept this behavior. That you act as if you know how hard she worked to be able to get recognized, how much confidence and push it took her to let the world read the stories she wrote because she never felt like anything she wrote was worth reading." He sighs and looks at the two with disappointment. "I hope you give her other books a read to enlighten yourselves that she really is a great writer."

Mina and I looked at each other with utter amusement. We were flabbergasted, okay. But it also warmed my heart to see him stand up for what he thought was right to do. That he still knew how hard I worked and how I slowly built my confidence to be able to let everyone read my work.

Theo was about to turn his back at the two, who were simply standing there with their mouths slightly open and a hint of guilt in their eyes, when he suddenly stopped. "Also, I hope you think before you speak. Words can bear a lot of weight, and I'm pretty sure that you won't like it when what you've done is done to you. Have a great day."

I'm not sure if he saw us or anything but he just walked away. He seemed like he was planning to go to where the colored papers and things needed for designing are. So, I did what I thought was kind of right. I left the cart with Mina and told her to pick some books or stuff she'd want and I'll pay for it when I come back.

"Theo!" I was panting when I finally was near him.

He hastily turned his head when he heard me call his name. "Ha— I mean, Gem. What are you doing here?" He looked around to see if I was with anyone else. I cannot help but let a smile escape my lips.

"I'm with Mina. I left her alone so she can pick the books she wants." I shifted on my feet, not knowing how to thank him for defending me. "So, uhm, I was there when you talked to the girls. I was just wearing a mask so you probably didn't see me. I just, uhm, I wanted to say thank you."

As the words got out of my mouth, the last one seemed to be the softest. I was shy, okay. Because after acting cold and distant from him, although we've already settled, it still bothers me that now, here I am thanking him for standing up for me. Also, I was afraid that I was being too complicated because of how I was acting. But, whatever.

He flashes me a smile. "I think I only did the right thing, Gem. We all had our fair share of immature days, and the book they read was one from yours. And that's okay, we learn along the way."

I stayed silent. My head was looking at my feet and his.

"Hey, are you okay? I mean, they were pretty harsh, you know? I don't even know how they managed to say all of those things without even knowing the whole backstory of it. Just don't listen to them, okay?" He cautiously holds my arms, comforting me.

"I…" I trail off. "I don't know what to say." I sigh. "You want to come with me and Mina? As a small thank you." I smile at him.

At first he looked so hesitant to come with me and maybe break off the fun we girls were having. But I gave him a pleading look because I would really want to thank him not only for what he did but also for how I acted towards him. I realized that maybe I was too harsh.

"Alright, fine. Let's go and pick some books, too."

With so much care, he holds my wrists. I look at him for a second but I just let it be. When we arrived where Mina was, she looked so confused that she kept looking at us back and forth.

"So, why are you here?"

Before he could even answer, I answered instead. "It's a small thank you for what he did." I smile.

"Ah, so when you ran and left me here, you went to Theo?" There was a smirk on her face, looking at Theo.

I clear my throat. "Uh… yeah." I scratched the back of my head and shot a dagger look at Mina. I wish she could get the signal, though. But it was as if the world wasn't really cooperating with me or maybe it was Mina who refused to cooperate with me.

"Huh, I thought you're not yet ready to ope—"

I hastily covered her mouth to prevent her from saying something more.

"Just don't mind her." I awkwardly laugh. "Let's go?"

Mina was just laughing her ass off. "Maybe you'd want me to go? You know, have a time together, alone." She raised her brow.

And to further make my head ache, Theo laughed along with her.