Chapter 5 Rival in love

Aria lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling as her mind replayed the events of the school day. Suddenly, she sat up, her eyes narrowing in realization. "That boy is the school bad boy! Oh god, seriously, I wasn't looking forward to meeting him." Aria scolded herself, trying to calm down. "How stupid of you, Aria. Seriously, you should stop thinking about him, then. Hmm, Aria, inhale deeply and exhale. Calm down, calm down. You're not a teenager with a crush... oh wait, you totally are!"

Days passed, and Aria made a conscious effort to avoid the school bad boy, Ace. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, having worked hard to maintain a low profile. However, Ace's thoughts lingered in her mind, and she learned from Reyan that Ace came from a wealthy family. "Great, just what I need. A rich, handsome bad boy who's probably got a million girls swooning over him."

One day, while fetching water, Aria was startled by Ace's voice. "Hi," he said, having stood there for a few seconds without her noticing. Aria's eyes widened as she took in his handsome features. This time, she didn't run away. Instead, she replied with a simple "hello" while internally freaking out. "Play it cool, Aria. Don't let him see you sweat."

Ace asked, "Nothing more than hello?" his voice laced with amusement. Aria felt pressured by his intense gaze and blurted out, "How do you do?" Ace smiled, his confidence unmistakable. "I'm doing well, as you can see." Aria rolled her eyes mentally. "Yeah, I can see. You're doing well, and I'm over here trying not to trip over my own feet." Aria muttered under her breath.

As Aria turned to leave, Ace called out, "Aria Fredricko, you forgot your bottle." Aria hastily picked up her bottle, muttered a quick thanks, and hurried away. "Smooth, Aria. Real smooth."

In class, Aria found it difficult to concentrate. Her mind kept drifting back to the encounter with Ace. She had tried to avoid him, but now everything felt like it was collapsing around her. Everything came back like a stream of water flooding back in her mind; she tried to stop thinking of him and tried hard not to come in contact with him for the past few days, but now everything got back like how everything will collapse as the barrier is broken.

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, Diana, the leader of a group of seniors, received disturbing news. A girl informed her that Ace had been seen with another girl, romantically holding her in his arms. "Are you serious?" Diana asked, her voice laced with venom.

The informant continued, "Yes, Diana. Everything I tell you is true. She's trying to snatch everything from you." Diana's eyes darkened, her anger and jealousy palpable. "Snatch everything? Ha! I'll show her what it means to mess with Diana."

The informant added fuel to the fire, knowing she was rubbing salt on Diana's wound. "I was working out near the girls' toilet, and there I witnessed Ace holding a girl in his arms romantically. They were looking at each other in the eyes, and it seemed they had just finished kissing." Diana's face turned beet red with rage.

As other girls looked at Diana, her eyes turned blacker than charcoal. Without saying anything, one of the girls said, "You must teach her a lesson, Diana." The girl pressed her tongue hard on the word "lesson." Diana's voice was full of hatred and jealousy. "She will know she's playing with fire soon enough."

Another girl, Miranda, came running in. "Diana, Diana!" "What is it, Miranda?" Diana asked loudly, still seething with anger. "Something is wrong, Diana. Deadly wrong," Miranda said.

Diana's anger boiled over. "No, if not what I heard now, then nothing is wrong that will surpass that. What is it?" Diana asked. "I saw Ace talking to one girl at the ground floor. They were talking and even smiling at each other," the girl said hurriedly.

Diana's anger reached new heights. "What!!" She immediately stood up, and the rest of the girls followed. "Where is the girl? Take me to where she is." Diana and her squad dashed toward the door of the classroom.

As they exited the classroom, they came face-to-face with Ace, who stood tall, his cold aura sending chills down their spines. "Excuse me," he said, his eyes unyielding, as he walked past them. Diana's eyes followed him, her anger and determination burning brighter than ever.