Chapter 12

Days have passed since that texting incident happened. Lorelei didn't know how to clean up the mess Amari made. However, she still managed to message Jace back to clear things up between them. She was utterly mortified and enraged at the same time when she didn't receive a reply from him. Lorelei kind of expected it already but still, she got upset about it. It was a good thing she didn't see him for the rest of the week, and she's hoping she won't see him today as well. If she's lucky, that is.

"That's it for now, I guess? Thank you so much for your time, everyone! Meeting adjourned," said the editor in chief who presided the meeting.

Today, Lorelei had a meeting with the journalism club of their university. She has been a part of the school paper ever since her freshman year. Knowing Lorelei, she's been actively participating in the club which resulted in her being the editor in chief last school year. However, things became different this year because her schedule became more hectic.

As soon as the meeting ended, Lorelei and her clubmates left the room. All of them looked gaunt because of the details discussed during the meeting. They had to cover their school events and an interuniversity competition to be held at theirs. Just thinking about it made her want to quit already but she definitely can't because she likes what she's doing anyway.

Lorelei walked hurriedly towards the bus stop in front of their university. It's almost rush hour so she needs to go home as soon as she can. Upon arriving, she sat on the bench and leaned on the bus stop's wall while closing her eyes. She wanted to lie down so bad but she held herself back with all the strength left in her body.

"Gosh, I can't wait to go home and rest. Please let my night be peaceful," she murmured to herself in a breathy voice.

At that moment, she heard a creaking sound from the bench. Someone must have sat on the other end of it.

"You going home this late too?" said a familiar voice. So familiar that she immediately recognized whose it was.

'Goodness, what did I do this time to jinx what I just said,' she thought.

Lorelei turned to him, "What do you think?" she replied sarcastically.

Jace just crossed his arms and raised a brow at her. Lorelei felt somehow guilty giving him a sarcastic answer.

"Ugh, fine. I'm going home this late too, obviously," she crossed her arms this time and closed her eyes again.

They were the only people at the bus stop and no one dared to strike a conversation after Lorelei's reply. They just sat there waiting for the bus to arrive. A couple of buses stopped and dropped some passengers. Finally, Lorelei's bus stopped in front of them. As soon as she got up from the bench, Jace got up too.

"You're riding this too?" she said with a frown on her face.

Jace turned to her, "What do you think?" he said trying to imitate her answer earlier.

Jace walked towards the bus and tapped his transportation card on the scanner. Lorelei then followed him in immediately and tapped her card as well.

The bus was packed with passengers already and only one seat was left. Lorelei tried to take the seat but Jace ran and sat quickly. Lorelei was forced to stand and hold onto the handgrip as the bus took off.

"I can't believe you didn't even offer me that seat!" she whispered to Jace. The guy was now browsing his phone.

"Sorry, missy. First come, first serve" Jace replied without even looking at her.

"Wow. What a gentleman you are," Lorelei said scornfully. 'This asshole can't even see that I'm dead beat already. Ugh!' She gestured her hand towards his hair, acting like she was grabbing it.

Jace didn't bother to talk to her. He figured it would only be a waste of his time and energy so he pulled out his wireless earphones and put them in his ears. He wasn't really listening to music, he just wants to ignore her without making it obvious.

The bus stopped and some passengers got off the bus. A few new passengers filled in the empty seats but the rest were standing. Jace noticed that a pregnant woman who looked like she's in her early thirties was standing beside Lorelei. He removed his earphones and moved Lorelei to the side.

"Hey. Ow!" Lorelei complained when her right foot nearly tripped the other.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Jace tried calling the pregnant woman's attention. Lorelei turned to her and looked back at Jace.

The woman finally turned to Jace, "Ah, yes?" she said with a small smile.

"Uh, please take this seat," Jace smiled back at her, "I think you need it more than I do."

"Oh, how kind of you! Thank you so much," the woman gleefully replied.

Jace stood up and assisted the woman to the bus seat. He was now standing beside Lorelei. He then held the handgrip to maintain his balance while standing on the bus.

Lorelei had never been this close with him physically and the first thing that she noticed was his scent. It wasn't really anything special. He smelled like newly washed clothes, probably from the fabric conditioner he uses. Still, he smelled really good though. It made Lorelei feel more drowsy, and the urge to hug him and rest on his chest was way too overpowering for her to handle. She was barely getting a hold of herself because of exhaustion.

"Fuck, I must be insane," she whispered to herself and smacked her forehead to pull herself together again. Jace just looked at her with a weirded-out expression on his face.

The ride home wasn't an easy one. Lorelei tried so hard to keep herself awake the whole time on the bus, and Jace's scent wasn't helping at all. The bus finally stopped at her destination.

Lorelei's eyes glinted with joy as she prepared to get off the bus.'Thank heavens! My suffering will be over soon,' she thought. However, she noticed that Jace was also getting off the bus along with her.

As soon as they got off to the bus stop in their neighborhood, Lorelei held his arm. Jace looked at her, his gaze moved to her hand holding his arm.

"You're getting off here too?" Lorelei asked in a displeased tone.

Jace pulled his arm back from her grip, "Duh, obviously," he then proceeded to walk.

Lorelei stood there for a couple of seconds trying to process what he said and just went on her way after.

Lorelei was too tired to even walk seeing how she was now walking like a zombie, head down and barely keeping her eyes open. She was too tired to even notice that she was walking in the same direction as Jace.

Just a block away from her place, she suddenly bumped into someone's chest. She looked up to apologize and check who it was. There, she realized it was Jace.

"Why are you following me?" he asked her with an annoyed voice.

Lorelei grimaced at his query, she didn't know whether she should laugh or be irritated at his stupid question. "Follow you?" she retorted, "Why the heck would I follow you when I'm only heading home?"

Jace narrowed his eyes as he looked at her with suspicion, "Heading home exactly where I'm heading to?"

Lorelei combed her hair backward with her hand, "Look, Jacey. I'm gonna clear things up for you okay? I'm not following you. See that building next block?" she pointed to her apartment's building, "that's where I'm heading. Now if you excuse me, I have to get the fuck home and rest the hell out of me." She stormed off and walked ahead of him.

Jace continued walking but this time it looked like he was the one following her. Lorelei turned to him and shot a brow up, "You're following me this time, huh?"

"Don't be too full of yourself. I'm only heading to my place," Jace pointed to the same building Lorelei pointed to.

Lorelei's eyes widened. It felt like all her sleepiness got washed away by that statement. "You live there too?! Since when?!"

Jace covered his ears and moved his head away, 'What the heck. Why is her voice always this sharp when she's yelling?' he thought.

"None of your business," he retorted.

"How come I never see you?!" Lorelei added to her question.

Jace rolled his eyes, "Why, are we supposed to see each other?"

Lorelei swatted his arm with her bag lightly, "I'm just surprised I never saw you around! I mean, you could be literally living next door!"

Jace tried to walk faster than Lorelei to get away from her. He didn't expect him moving apartments would make him see the girl more often now.