Chapter 12

"Détente, por favor (Stop it, please). You don't wanna do this," Cliff whispered to me.

I suddenly felt like crying. I prayed that he would reach for me and let me bury my face in his chest at that moment. But he just stared at me, looking right into my hurting soul.

I was about to reach out to him but I paused when Katherine sobbed. Cliff automatically turned to her. She then buried her face in his chest and cried like a lost child. Suddenly confused, Cliff went ahead and caressed her head and back to comfort her.

I scoffed at them.

"Fine! Get a room, you two," I said. Then I turned and hurriedly walked away.

Reaching the hallway of the sports building, I immediately headed to the ladies' room. I stood before the sink and washed my face with the cold water from the tap.

And then I stared at myself in the mirror until my senses calmed down. But then I shook my head in disappointment. The anger and resentment I felt were still there with no hint of subsiding. Hopeless, I exited the ladies' room.

I almost jumped in surprise when a hand suddenly held my elbow. I shrugged it off and angrily faced whoever it was.

"Fiona." It was Cliff. So the dickhead followed me after all!

"Don't touch me." I stepped back when he reached for me again.

He stared at me for a second and then said, "What you did back there was wrong—"

"Well, Kath started it! And what? So what she did to me was okay, and I was wrong? Is that it?!" I retorted.

He heaved a sigh and spoke again.

"What Kath did was also wrong. But the harsh, personal things you said to her... You shouldn't have—"

I stopped the rest of what he was going to say.

"Yeah, alright, I was wrong. Everything's my fault! I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have said that. I should have backed down. What else?! I shouldn't have shown up in front of you, right? I'm just a nuisance! Just go be with Katherine then! You're both allergic to my presence!"

"That's... That's not what I want," he replied, his voice pained and low.

"But it's true, right?! And since you were already ignoring me anyway, just keep it up. I won't be a bother anymore," I said.

He stared at me for seconds. Then he shook his head and said, "I was never ignoring you. I was waiting for you to talk to me. Please, let's just talk again when you're calm."

"No, I'm fine right now. Let's get this over with so nobody else gets stressed anymore. I'll stay out of your way and you'll stay out of mine. No more attachments. No hard feelings. Just go be with Kath or whoever the hell it is you wanna be with. I don't care!"

I turned and walked away from him, fighting back the tears that formed in my eyes. But I paused in my tracks when he spoke again. A bit louder this time. There was sadness in his tone.

"Oh, come on! Why are you so hard to please? What else can I do to make you happy? Why are you taking this against me? Fiona... Por favor, amor (Please, love), don't make decisions when you're angry."

"Please, go away," I said, unable to think of anything else to say.

There was silence for seconds.

"How come you don't want me, Fiona? Why do you push me away when all I want is to be with you? What else should I..." he asked.

His voice trailed off. My heart slowly shattered when I realized he was crying. The tears I tried hard to hold back finally streaked down my face.

My hand rose to cover my mouth and suppress my sob. Then I ran away. Just like how I always ran away in the past from anything that felt painful.

I hated emotional confrontations like this. I always said the things I never wanted to say. My temper preceded me all the time, and I only hurt the people who were important to me. So it was better to just run away, even if it killed me to do so.

By Saturday morning, we were summoned to the office of the Discipline Committee. When I reached the venue, Maddie and the others were already waiting for me by the hallway.

"Girl, how are you feeling?" Madison asked worriedly.

"Hey, don't worry. The committee head is a nice middle-aged woman. She's slightly talkative and with a sense of humor," Sidney said.

"You've been summoned before?" Madison asked her.

"What? No! She's my neighbor," Sidney answered.

"Do you need moral support in the office?" Hillary asked me.

I shook my head before I spoke.

"I'm fine," I said, my tone lifeless. Then I stepped into the office.

My friends were left outside. They were not allowed to enter unless they were directly involved in yesterday's brawl. Therefore, the ones who were summoned were only Katherine, Neo, Cliff, and me.

Inside, I noticed the three were already there. And the nice middle-aged woman, too, who went by the name of Professor Phelps. She was a professor and, at the same time, the head of the Discipline Committee. She sat comfortably behind her desk. Looks like I'm the only one they're waiting for. Oops! Sorry, I'm late.

"Good morning, professor," I greeted apathetically.

There was no other vacant seat but the one beside Neo. So I sat there with him. Cliff and Katherine sat next to each other opposite us. I caught Cliff staring at me. I immediately looked the other way.

Neo looked at me and smiled.

"Hey, sunshine. How are you?" he asked, whispering.

I was about to answer when Professor Phelps spoke.

"So, will someone please explain to me what caused yesterday's brawl?" the professor asked.

None of us answered. Disinclined, the four of us just looked down in silence.

"Was it a sports issue? Teammate issue? Academic issue?... ... ... Something personal perhaps? Friendship? ... Lo-love quadruple?"

Again, no one answered. Professor Phelps heaved a sigh.

"Alright, no one wants to speak up... Three of you here are under scholarship programs. And one of you is a transferee with promising overseas credentials. We've checked your academics, and I say that you all have impressive grades so far...

"But what happened yesterday afternoon was truly shameful and disappointing. You acted like first-year high schoolers! Now, may I remind you that this is an elite institution? Expectations are high for supposedly young intellectuals like the four of you. There should be class, discipline, and professionalism; to be exercised at all times within or outside this campus."

"I'm sorry, professor," said the four of us at almost the same time. Then the professor went on to deliver a somewhat lengthy sermon.

"On behalf of the committee, I hope that what happened yesterday WILL NOT happen again. This will serve as a first and final warning. Next time, it will be either suspension or expulsion depending on the gravity of the situation...

"And since none of you want to speak up, I take it that you all want to settle the matter on your own, so we'll just let you go ahead and do that. In fact, that is a sign of maturity... being able to settle things on your own is what I mean...

"My only piece of advice is that you settle everything calmly and professionally. Nothing can go wrong with a good conversation, right? Stop acting like preteen kids! Be the intellectual young adults that you already are... Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," we answered in unison.

"Alright! Well, that concludes our session. You may now go," she said.

"Thank you, professor," we said.

One by one, we stood up and shook hands with the professor. We left the office after saying goodbye. Then we went our separate ways. Except for Neo, who joined my girl friends and me for lunch.

Our group went straight to the Bruff. After buying our meals, we occupied a table. And then we chatted as we ate.

"There!" exclaimed Madison, pressing a finger on one of Neo's facial bruises.

"Aww!" Neo reacted in pain. He moved his face away from Madison's hand.

"That's what you guys get! You guys are way too competitive," Madison said.

"That blockhead even added to it last night," Neo said, referring to Cliff.

"What do you mean? Did you fight again last night? Where?" I asked, worried.

Neo looked at me and smiled. "Don't worry. We're okay now after last night."

"So what happened last night?" I asked again.

"The coach invited us all out for a drink and said we'll have a team huddle. It was necessary to fix misunderstandings, so teamwork won't be affected in our future games...

"So, there! The talks centered on the two of us during the huddle. Our blood boiled again, so we did round two of our boxing. The coach just let us until we both got tired of it. But we were able to talk it out during our fight, so we're good now," he said.

"You were boxing and talking at the same time? Wow! Savage! How are men able to do that? It's a good thing you didn't end up killing each other," Madison said.

"We were just venting our resentment, not actually killing each other," he replied.

"Yeah, whatever! Still, that was brutal," Madison said.

"So what did you talk about?" I asked, curious.

Neo chuckled. "Sorry, sunshine. I can't tell you that. That's just between blockhead and me."

"Oh, that's not fair," I reacted, but I did not insist further.

"You started the story. Why not finish it completely? Please be a dear, Neo, tell us the full details," Sidney insisted.

Neo chuckled again and said, "It's guy talk, Sid. I really can't tell you."

"Just tell us! If you do, Fiona will kiss you," Hillary said.

"What?!" I reacted.

Neo burst out laughing.

"Let's not force him anymore. Let's just be glad that they're okay now," Madison said.

Hillary shrugged and Sidney nodded.

By afternoon, I locked myself in my apartment and did some digital freelance projects on my laptop. My friends went to the covered court to spectate the rematch and continuation of yesterday's suspended games. This time, they did not force me to go with them. They simply understood why I was not in the mood.

Monday, after lunch...

We did not have class around this time. So I and my friends hung out on the benches along the pathway to the library. David passed by and was then stranded chatting with us.

"Alas, you haven't watched the rematch and championship games last weekend," he said, sitting down beside me.

He put down his iPad Pro on top of my sling bag. The bag was between us. Meanwhile, his backpack still hung on his shoulder.

"So who won?" I asked. Although I had already seen the results on the bulletin board this morning.

"In the rematch? You'd be surprised. The varsity captain's team lost. Neo was unfortunate. His teammates were all rookies," he said.

"Well, in all fairness, Cliff was really good! Almost in the same level as the NBA pros," Sidney said.

"Yeah, right! But we still defeated them in the championship match," David said with a chuckle.

"There was you and Steph. And we heard that your teammates were also hobby players like you," Madison said.

David simply shrugged and just laughed.

"Aherm!"

We all turned when Hillary cleared her throat quite loudly. She discreetly pointed at the pathway. Our gazes followed the direction she pointed. We saw Cliff, who was surely going to the library.

"Hi, Clifford dear," Sidney greeted him as he passed us by.

He smiled and nodded at my friends, then continued on the pathway. Ouch! He just ignored me! He said he wasn't ignoring me! Oh, right. I told him to go away. Fine.

"You're trying hard not to show it. But baby, baby, I know it. You've lost that lovin' feelin'. Whoa, that lovin' feelin'. You've lost that lovin' feelin'. Now it's gone, gone, go—"

That was a classic song made famous by The Righteous Brothers way back in 1965 and remade by Daryl Hall & John Oates in the '80s.

Hillary was singing her heart out. Then she abruptly stopped, noticing how my narrowed eyes focused on her. It was obvious that she was making fun of me again. She coolly glanced around as if nothing happened.

A short while later, David's friends passed by. Like him, they were also members of the campus journalism club. I was not familiar with any of them.

"David! Come, we got an emergency meeting," a girl called out. She threw me a simple glare before she went on her way.

"What's wrong with her? I bet she likes you," I whispered to David.

He just laughed as he stood up.

"I have to go to that emergency meeting. Later, ladies," he said.

"Hey, wait—" I called. But it was too late to stop him. He left in a hurry, hoping to catch up with his club friends along the way.

"What happened?" Hillary asked.

"He left his iPad," I said.

Five o'clock in the afternoon. My last class was just dismissed. I immediately looked for David so I could return his iPad to him. I went to their club office but there was no one there. I also peeked in the library. Still, there was no sign of him.

"Where r u?" I texted Madison.

I decided to join my girl friends wherever they were at this time. I would look again for David tomorrow.

"Park," said a brief reply from Madison. That one was a lazy texter.

I found them sitting on the grass at the campus park. Smiling, I joined them right away.

"Have you seen David?" I asked.

"Yes, a while ago. He asked about his iPad. Said the articles for the campus journal were all saved in there. But since you were still in class, he said he'll just wait for us in the sports building," Madison said.

"What's he doing there?" I asked with a frown. I don't wanna go to the sports building! Damn!

"Probably interviewing the coach and the varsity team for a sports feature in the campus journal," Madison replied.

"Go give him back his iPad, girl, he might need it now," Sidney said.

"No way! Just let him come here instead," I said.

"Hah! She needs moral support, girls. She's scared of meeting he-who-must-not-be-named," Hillary said.

"Who? Lord Voldemort?" Sidney teased.

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the grass. But to my dismay, they stood up and pulled me with them.

"Come on! Let's go see David in the sports building, whether you like it or not," Sidney said.

They literally dragged me against my will. When we entered the sports building, we met Jason in the hallway. He came from the locker room and he walked hurriedly. He was probably late for their training session.

"Hi, hot chicks," Jason greeted as he passed us by.

"Jason, is David here?" I asked.

He stopped and looked at us.

"He's in the office with Neo and the coach, they're discussing something. You can wait for them in the covered court, Steph's there. And Cliff," he said then hurriedly continued on his way.

"Hey, wait—"

"Let's go," Hillary said. She took my wrist. And then pulled me along with them to the place where I did not want to go. Help!!!

My eyes just looked straight ahead, as we entered the covered court. I did not bother to look around. My friends went chatting with some of the varsity players. I just let them be. I wanted to be invisible. I busied myself browsing the contents of David's iPad.

"Fiona!" Stephen called out.

I ignored him and hoped he would get my meaning. Clearly, I was not in the mood to fool around. Leave me alone!

"Fiona babes! Hey! D'you have a stiff neck today?" he asked, stepping towards me.

His voice was a bit louder this time. Oh, this stupid jackass!

I was forced to look at the jackass with a fake smile. I immediately noticed that Cliff stood just a little bit ahead of him. He paused and looked at me for a second. Then he resumed talking to Jason, his training buddy.

"You ladies here for an autograph? We got a new star player," Stephen asked, his voice loud and good-humored.

"Shut up," I mouthed to him.

The jackass just laughed at me. And much to my dismay, he called out Cliff. Furious, I got up and walked to him. Oh, I wanna kill him right now!

"Hey, Clifford! Bro! Are you up for an autograph? There's this chick— aww!"

I pinched him on the side of his waist, cutting off the rest of what he was going to say. He automatically winced in pain. In the corner of my eye, I saw Cliff and Jason snickering.

"I said shut up," I whispered crossly to him.

"Fine, fine," he said, chuckling. He held my hands so I would not be able to pinch him again.

I glared at him. He just laughed and hugged me.

"I was just fooling with you, babe. Don't be mad."

"Whooo! Get a room!" Jason teased aloud.

Laughing, Stephen released me and made me sit on the bench with my girl friends. Then he walked back towards his training buddy, Denzel.

"That's enough, dude! We're running out of coins. We can't afford the bet if there'll be boxing round three," Denzel joked aloud. Everybody burst out laughing, except me.

Grinning wide, Stephen walked over to Cliff and offered a high-five. Cliff smiled and high-fived back as if he heard and saw nothing. Suddenly, my wits wanted to fly away when I saw his dimple again— STOP right there, self!!!

Right away, I composed myself before my shiver took hold. I shook my head as I watched the guys. Oh, I can't even... Men really are from mars!

"Hey, will you stop staring at Cliff like that? Don't glower at him, it's your fault that he was angry. Be a darling and go talk to him already. Girl, all he needs is a little act of tenderness from you," Sidney said.

She was almost whispering so only we girls were able to hear her.

"No way! He can go talk to himself instead," I said.

"Oh, how stubborn! Go ahead. Keep saying stupid words and regret them in the end," Madison said, shaking her head in disbelief.

She was right. Ouch, Maddie! Your guilt trip always hits the target deep in the gut.

David finally showed up in the covered court. He immediately approached me. I handed him his iPad before he could even speak. He accepted it with a wide smile. He was so happy to have it back that he suddenly hugged me. I was slightly surprised. But I hugged him back so he would not feel embarrassed.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome," I replied.

He released me when Neo tapped him on the shoulder.

"Dude, what sort of details are they again? The ones your editor-in-chief wanted?" Neo asked him.

When he turned to Neo, the latter placed an arm on his shoulders. Then turned him towards the direction of the coach, who now sat on a monobloc chair.

"Take it easy, man. Someone might go on beast mode again," I heard Neo whisper audibly to David as he pulled him away.

I casually looked at the training athletes. Then my eyes met with Cliff's. His face held a blank expression, but I felt the intensity of his gaze. I looked away.

"C-come on, let's get out of here. I already gave the iPad back to David," I told my friends.

"Sit down a bit, girl. Chill! Enjoy the nice view," Sidney said.

I sighed and sat down with them. Then I took my phone out of my bag and played a word game. After a short while, Madison urged the group to leave saying she needed to meet someone. I exhaled in relief when Sidney agreed.

I never understood what got into me one rainy Saturday afternoon. I was all alone in my apartment. I crouched on the living room floor holding a wine bottle in one hand and a shot glass in the other. I wanted to get myself drunk so that I could forget about Cliff once and for all.

I believed he really ignored me during the past few days. There were times when I caught him staring at me. And that was just all he did. He never talked, he just always stared. It was killing me because I missed him so much!

A short while later, I heard the buzzer come on. Feeling tipsy already, I placed the wine bottle and the shot glass back on the center table. Then I stood up and struggled to walk unsteadily to open the door. I grinned sheepishly when I saw a familiar face smiling before me.

"David! David! Oh, it's so good to see you! Come in! Come in!" I greeted, hastily stepping aside to let him in.

"I was waiting for Stephen at the nearby fast food. But he couldn't come due to the weather. So I decided to come and visit you for a while, see how you're doing. Are you busy? Am I disturbing you on something?" he said as he walked in.

"No, not at all. I was just having fun by myself," I said, grinning.

He stopped by the living room and stared at the wine bottle for a second. Then he turned back to me.

"You were drinking? Mind if I..." he said, smiling.

"Oh, no! Not at all. Drink with me. It's nice to finally have some company. Come, David! Let's drink all our darn sorrows away," I said, crouching back on the floor.

He squatted at the other side of the center table. I poured him a shot of wine using the same glass I used a while ago. We laughed when the red liquid spilled a bit. My senses were woozy already.

"So, tell me, Fiona. Why were you drinking all by yourself?" he asked. He drank bottoms up from the glass I gave him.

"Haha! Oh, David! Must there always be a reason for drinking solo?" I asked rhetorically, laughing.

"Well, not necessarily," he said, chuckling.

We talked about our friends as we went on drinking. A few minutes later, we fell into a comfortable silence. We simply ran out of words to say to each other. David was smiling as he stared at me.

Feeling drunk and very tipsy, I folded my arm on top of the center table and rested my forehead above it. And before I could stop my beautiful brain, moments with Cliff started reeling in my mind again like an old film. I sighed heavily.

I lifted my head and reached for the wine bottle. Then I softly traced the Spanish label on it using my fingers. And with a dreamy smile, I spoke.

"You know, this wine reminds me so much of him. Sangria. Yes, that's how his kisses taste like," I said absentmindedly.

"Wow! Looks like someone's been hit by Cupid's arrow. At last! Who is it, Fiona?" David asked teasingly.

"Cliff," I uttered.

"Looks like you got it bad. Lucky guy! Now I'm jealous," he joked, laughing.

A couple of seconds later, a crazy idea popped into my mind. I hastily stood up. David looked at me, a confused frown on his face.

"Right! I need... I-I need to go and... talk to him," I said, groggily walking towards the door.

"What? Wait. Where are you going? It's pouring outside," he said.

He moved to stop me. I turned the doorknob and opened the door. I was about to step out when David gripped my arm. He pulled me back in. Then he paused as he looked at me. He was startled when he saw my tear-stricken face.

"I'm... I'm sorry, David. I need to see Cliff. Please... I need to talk to him," I pleaded.

He looked down and slowly let go of my arm. I burst out the door and dashed towards the campus. It was raining as David had mentioned. And I had not brought an umbrella. But I no longer cared. I would even go through a hurricane if that was what it took. I badly wanted to see Cliff. To hear his voice again. To know that he missed me, too.

In my drunken state, I forgot about the buzzer at Cliff's apartment. There I stood outside the door, soaking wet from the rain. I heavily banged my shivering palms against the wooden material in front of me.

"Cliff!" I called out loud.

No one answered. But I was not about to lose hope. At that time, I was full of drunken courage.

"Cliff! Open this damn door, please," I cried out as loud as I could

I was cold and shivering. Surely, I would catch a fever and a cold again. But I could not care less. All I wanted was to be with him again.

A moment later, the door slowly swung open. My pulse raced in anticipation. But then my heart sank when a person I least expected came into view.