CHAPTER 26

Dave followed us. And then he called Zion.

"Zion!" When we turned around, Dave suddenly punched Zion's face.

"Don't you see Arien was hurting from your grip?" I was stunned, and Dave shouted, and when I looked at my wrist, there was bruised. The others approached us because they heard Dave was screaming.

"What happened?" Jake asked.

Zion stood up from falling because of the punch he received from Dave.

"I warned you about this, Zion. Now this is what I am afraid of. The time has come. I don't want to interfere with your affair, guys, but you are fighting now over one woman. I will not sit back and do nothing. And Dave, why did you suddenly punch Zion? If you two couldn't settle this first, I suggest you guys stop courting Arien. Now I will send Cassy and Arien." Jake dragged me and Cassy to his car after we said bid our goodbye to Nicole.

Zion and Dave didn't talk to each other after we left them. Zion went back to his car and Dave as well.

"I'm sorry Arien, you witnessed my friends' childish behavior. And I'm sorry for what I said earlier." Jake apologized.

"No, Jake. I should be the one who apologizes. I didn't want your friendship to be ruined by me. I know you cared a lot about them. To end this misunderstanding, I will avoid Zion for good. But I wanted to let you know I can't avoid Dave because he helped me so much in the past." I explained.

"I understand, Arien. By the way, Arien. I've been very curious about this ever since, and I really want you to tell me. I will ask you directly and please answer me. Why do you need to disguise yourself?" Jake asked. I was stunned and looked at Cassy.

"Friend, don't look at me like that. I didn't tell anyone." Cassy defended herself.

"Arien. Cassy didn't tell me anything. I just discovered it on my own." Jake explained it to me, and I sighed.

"How did you discover it, Jake?" Cassy asked.

"Remember when you were sleeping by the lake under the tree? And when you wake up, you see me beside you. I've been watching you sleep for a long time and I saw something on your head and I checked it. That's why I found you wearing a disguise and putting thick makeup on your face."

"I think it's my fault, too." I said, and I explained to Jake why I was wearing a disguise.When we arrived at our apartment, we invited Jake inside to have a snack and to continue talking about our topic from inside the car earlier. Cassy assisted Jake, and I went to my room to remove my disguise.

"Please wait for Arien, Jake. She will be out soon. You will see how beautiful our Arien is." Cassy stated, and Jake nodded. I went out of the room to talk to Jake. It surprised Jake when he saw me.

"Arien, I think you don't need to disguise yourself since there were still people who wanted to make trouble with you. Like Jessica." Jake said.

"Yes, but it's different now, unlike when I was in high school. Not all girls are jealous of me because, in their eyes, I am ugly. Jessica is giving me a hard time because of Zion. Maybe after ignoring Zion, she won't cause anymore trouble with me." I elaborated to him. After I cleared everything with Jake, he said goodbye to us. And Cassy treated my bruises.

The next day, our morning class was very busy.

"Arien, why are we not in the same group?" Nicole was glum.

"Sorry, Nics, we can't choose our group now. Our prof was the one who divided us. You can still ask me anything."

"Thank you, Arien. Anyway, when are you going to buy your materials?"

"Today, during lunch break, I will ask Dave to give me a ride on his motorcycle later to avoid traffic. I need to work on half of a project early because I have to work. I don't want my group to talk bad about me later on." Nicole nodded.

Lunch time has come. Nicole and I cleaned up our desks. Cassy was waving at us at the door. I rushed to see Cassy to ask about Dave.

"Cas, where is..." I didn't continue my sentence when I saw Dave.

"Dave, can you give me a ride now? I need to buy materials for my project."

"Now?" Dave asked.

"Yes."

"You will not eat your lunch first?"

"Later, after I finished purchasing the materials I needed, maybe you were hungry now, Dave. I'm sorry for asking you without thinking."

"I can give you a ride, Arien." Zion offered.

"No need, I will just use my scooter." I responded.

"OK, I will give you a ride, Arien. I'm not hungry yet and we can eat later in the mall after we buy the materials." Dave said.

"Guys, sorry. I will borrow Dave first. We will join for tomorrow's lunch. Thank you guys." Dave and I went to the parking lot, and the others were headed to the cafeteria. Zion looks glumly because I rejected him. And Nicole noticed him. Nicole remembered Zion's crying over Arien's scar.

"Zion, Arien told me it's easy to ride a motorcycle to avoid traffic. That's why she chose Dave over you. Don't think too much." Nicole comforted him.

After that, we finished purchasing the materials and ate our lunch. We went back to the university. I started working on my project in my free time. After the classes were over, I rushed to get to work.

Everyday I bring my lunch box and eat in a quiet place to work on my project. Many days passed, I didn't join the group for lunch.

"Cas, recently, Arien did not come to eat lunch with us. Why?" Zion asked.

"She brought her lunch box every day and worked on her project while eating lunch. I don't know where she eats every day. But she likes a quiet place when she has a project to avoid interruptions." Cassy explained. Zion thought Arien was doing her project in the lake area. He planned to check on her after his lunch.

Zion went to the lake excitedly. But unfortunately, he couldn't find Arien. He was so disappointed because he thought he could find me.

"I miss you, Arien. Where are you now? Zion murmured to himself. Suddenly, his phone rang. When he saw Jessica, was the one who called him. He rejected the call. Then he received a message from her. It stunned Zion when he opened the message