Character;

Stella Downer.......again😁

*

It was Saturday, it was beyond 12pm but I was still crouched on my bed with my phone beside me.

I was over thinking about everything.

But above all, I was waiting for 'his' call.

Maybe there is a good reason he hasn't called yet, maybe his phone is dead, maybe he isn't feeling fine, maybe something bad happened at home....

Maybe....just maybe!

I heard a knock on the door for the first time since last night. I didn't bother asking who it was.

"Someone is here to see you," I heard Ivy's faint voice from the other side of the door.

Who could it be? I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

"It's a guy," she continued.

A guy? Is it Lan?

I shot out of my bed with the speed of light, without even bothering about the fact that I was clad in just shorts and a simple shirt. I jumped into my flip flops and ran towards the door.

I opened the door and it revealed a tired looking Ivy standing infront of me.

"He's at the door," she briefly said before leaving.

I sprinted towards the door. Immediately I got to the door, I emotionally and mentally braced to face him.

I didn't know if to be happy and jump into his arms or relish all the anger in me and welcome him with a cheek tearing slap.

All I knew was that he should have a suitable explanation for all that had happened.

I opened the door and in front of me stood a blonde guy dressed in an orange tee and jeans.

"Hey," he greeted, but it wasn't Landor Jackson as I expected. Timothy Stones was standing on my porch.

I had the urge to close the door on his face, not because I didn't acknowledge his presence, but because I was badly expecting someone else.

"Hey," I faintly replied back.

"How are you?" He asked, staring straight at me like he was trying to get the answer to his question himself.

"Well...." I began

"I don't know what to say....."

"You don't know what to say....."

We both chorused respectively at the same time.

I couldn't help but give a small chuckle, it was amazing the way he could tell my every move.

Or maybe I should be scared he could do that, I've never been such a predictive type.

"The initial disappointed look on her face....it seems like you were expecting someone else," he stated, still staring like he didn't want to miss any of my reactions.

I tried so hard to still keep a blank face on even if I was a bit surprised by his discovery.

"No....you're wrong this time," I lied straightforwardly.

"You're lying."

"Okay....fine," I surrendered and he flashed me a smile.

I might be falling in love with those dimples right now.

"Coming in?" I surprisingly asked after noticing that we'd been standing by the door for a while.

He scrunched his face a bit like he was trying to balance his thoughts.

"Mind walking out?" He opposed.

I looked back to my house, it was as good as dead. Mom had been locked up in her room, Ivy had also been extremely quiet and Kelly had been sitting in front of the TV with her phone in hand.

The little fight we had last night came flashing back in my head like a movie. Kelly and I always had our misunderstandings but it had been a long while since we've had an argument as serious as that.

"Yeah...sure," I replied, he scooted away a bit so I could walk out and close the door after me.

We started walking down the street in a comfortable silence.

I could feel the rays of the early afternoon sun hit against my skin and it surprisingly felt refreshing. It'd been long I'd gone for a walk and I mentally reminded myself to be walking out more often.

I looked up at Timothy. It was kind of the first time seeing him in casual clothing. His ocean blue eyes was glowing under the effect of the sun, his side view made his perfectly constructed nose stand out and showed his well defined facial outline.

The sun really does make everything look and feel better.

"You could take a picture," he said, almost like a murmur.

It took me a while to process what he said in my head.

"Hey!" I yelled, pushing him playfully by the side of his arm, causing him to move a few metres away, laughing softly in the process.

It made me laugh a bit too.

"Wow," he said, squinting his eyes a bit.

"What?" I asked with genuine confusion written all over my face.

"You should laugh often, you look cuter when you're happy," he simply said, still walking straightforwardly like what he just spilled out was one of the most random things in the world.

He really didn't know how it sounded in my ears or how much effect it had on me.

It really did make me want to smile more often but all the problems on my neck wouldn't just let me.

We walked for a few more minutes and I started getting tired.

"So you visited me just to force me to work out, huh?" I playfully asked.

"Let me guess, you're getting tired already," he replied and I tamed myself not to be surprised.

"Well....yes," I replied straightfowardly.

"Fine, let's seat," he suggested, walking towards a bench in a nearby park.

The park was surprisingly empty today, given the fact that it was a Saturday though it was usually fuller in the evenings.

I sat down before him immediately I got close to the bench. It seems like he doesn't get tired or maybe I'm just the one that needs to get fit.

He sat down silently beside me after a few seconds.

"How have you been coping?" He suddenly asked.

I already knew what he was talking about.

"Everything just keeps on getting from bad to worse," I sincerely replied.

"I guessed so," he said.

".....given what happened yesterday," he faintly continued.

I flushed from pure embarrassment, he'd seen what had happened between Cheryl and I, now I don't even know how to act around him anymore.

"Oh...." I faintly spilled out without exactly knowing what to say.

"Aren't you afraid that she might spill?"

"Yes I am! And that's why I let her do anything she wants to do with me..." I raised my voice.

"'Cus I'm afraid....I'm so fuckin' scared, living with all that guilt is something else but then if everyone finds out about it....it's something I don't think I'll be able to survive with," I said, my voice surprisingly low.

"And Lan?"

I shot my head up at his sudden question. Maybe it was because I wasn't expecting it or maybe because it was just weird talking about 'him' infront of him.

I didn't even know what to say about him? I hadn't heard from him since yesterday even after our moment together. Is he doing fine? Or didn't it mean anything to him? Was Kelly right? Did he just use me?

No!

I tried to clear those horrible thoughts from my head. I didn't know if I'll be able to take it if it were true.

But it's not!

Lan loves me right? He does, and he completely understands me too.

"I don't think you wanna talk about him," he concluded, snapping me out of my thoughts after a few minutes of utter silence.

But it was more like, 'I didn't know what to say about him.'

"You probably think of me as a loser now," I said looking away from him.

"Hmmm....I just think that you're passing through that crucial part of life....where life wants to test you and see what decisions you make in different situations. It's not over until you say it is and I don't think you're backing down yet," he summoned.

All his words oozed through my ears. Wasn't this guy supposed to hate me, almost half of the school population does. I don't think I have been one of the best classmates someone could have.

"You've always hated me right?"

"Let's just say I didn't like you much, but I know that there's always a situation behind every condition and later on, I found out that under that strong hearted girl you portray, is a very sweet caring person, possibly feeling insecure and having a kind of fear no one else can understand."

I stared in awe as those words came flying out of his mouth so fluently.

"So--" I was interrupted by the blaring of a familiar music.

He brought out his phone from his pockets, I noticed that it was ringing tone.

His face scrunched in disgust as he stared at his screen before cutting the call.

I had the urge to ask him who that was but I was interrupted by the same blaring sound again. He ended the call again and squeezed the phone in his hands like he would break it in any second.

What is wrong with him?

The phone rang again.

"Who is it?" I blurted.

He cut the call again.

There was a moment of silence.

"It's my mom," he replied after a while.

"Please pick the call....maybe she really needs to tell you something important," I suggested.

"Well...they should understand that I don't want to have anything to do with them anymore," he was actually raising his voice this time.

The phone started ringing again. He looked at me and I made eye contact with him with expecting eyes.

"Excuse me..." He said, standing and walking few metres away before putting the phone over his ears.

He was saying a few words though I couldn't hear, he had his back on me yet I could sense how tense he was because of what he was talking about with the person on the other side of the line.

A minute later, he put his phone into the back pocket of his jean before turning to face me.

He started walking towards me.

"Excuse me...I have to go now," he blandly said before walking past me towards the exit of the park.

"What's wrong?" I asked but he kept on walking foward.

"Tell me what happened?" I asked again but he didn't even spare a glance backwards. He was still walking foward as fast as possible.

I wasn't taking it. I ran as fast as I could till I made my way infront of him.

"Don't walk out on me. I just need to know what's going on," I said as soon as I got to him.

"Well, it's none of your business! Stop trying to get into every part of my life! I'll tell you if you really need to know!" He shouted at me.

He really did shout at me.

He walked past me again.

I just stood there in shock. I didn't expect it, I have just never seen this side of him before.

I was meant to be angry but I wasn't. Just sad that he'd shoved me away like that.

I still stood there, without even moving a muscle but then I heard footsteps coming towards me.

I turned to see Timothy standing once again in front of me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to behave that way," he apologized but I didn't reply, didn't even look at him straight to the face.

"My dad is in a critical condition.....he's in the hospital."

~~~~~~