Giselle took her time in the lavatory.Spending more than twenty minutes already, Giselle peeped outside to check the surrounding. Once she learned that it was clear, Giselle stepped out. All along, she was on alert not to encounter a specific someone.
Giselle almost confirmed that she is going home alone, not something she relishes; still, there was no choice for her other than avoiding.
"Going somewhere alone?"
Giselle heard, and it froze all of the nerves in her body. She turned to find Lillian Grey, waiting outside the school.
"For how long is she been waiting?"- Giselle thought.
Lillian was fuming out of her mind; enraged yet patiently, she waited, not flaming the already burning fire.
..
The cause of the fire is none other than Giselle, who excused herself to visit the restroom while sending off the trio first.
Anna, Lillian, and Diego spent a few minutes talking about today"s meeting, and eventually, the conversation turned into a discussion as the trio chattered about their dreams. Although Lillian Grey did not pay attention to it, she kept up with the chat while seeking for Giselle.
No matter how many minutes pa.s.sed, Giselle did not appear. Anna proposed to go, and Diego chatted alone with Lillian Grey. When finally the two left, Lillian Grey, at first, thought of retiring as well because she was angry on Giselle too. However, she waited, grinding her teeth while pa.s.sing the time outside the campus.
Both Lillian and Giselle stopped interacting after the final exam. Lillian Grey doesn"t know the reason behind Giselle"s silence, but the sudden distance that appeared in between the two affected Lillian Grey. She did not like it. Though it made her go crazy mad on Giselle, Lillian behaved and waited to resolve the issue today.
***
Lillian Grey caught Giselle leaving the school. Initially, she wanted to smack on her head and explode. Considering the person to be "Giselle," Lillian withdrew the idea.
Confronting her if she had any work afterward, Giselle replied with a "no."
"Then, go out with me," Lillian ordered.
"W- What?" Giselle gulped.
"Follow me," Lillian spoke and walked ahead.
She glared at Giselle, warning her not to try and avoid this invitation.
Giselle obeyed.
With Lillian Grey leading, Giselle followed, and the two soon entered the café, where Lillian took Giselle previously to celebrate Giselle"s birthday.
Letting her take a seat, Lillian went to the counter and ordered a few items from the menu.
The two waited without expressing a word to each other.
..
Soon, the food arrived.
Giselle kept peeking at Lillian Grey, unable to discern the situation.
"Why did she call me here?"
"What is going on?" – Giselle worried within.
Lillian Grey did not order too much, keeping it cla.s.sy. She ordered most of Giselle"s favorites from the menu; she remembered it from the last time they were here.
Fruit tarts, Single slice of Pizza with Olives and goat cheese for each, and Blueberry m.u.f.fins. The food got complimented with Cherry lemonade drinks. Giselle loves cherries, and so Lillian ordered it.
"Thank you," – both greeted the person in unison.
Staring at each other, Lillian Grey eyed Giselle to dig into the food. Giselle hesitated at first, but she has no choice and so, gave into the situation.
"This is- all of my favorites." – Giselle thought.
The food looked appealing and colorful, especially the fruit tarts.
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"I don"t specifically like the fruit tarts you can have it. I"ll eat pizza and m.u.f.fin," Lillian interacted casually and took a bite of the single large slice of pizza.
"Then, why did you order two tarts?" Giselle asked.
"I don"t know!"
Lillian"s snarky reply made Giselle roll off her eyes.
"Hmm… not bad, if only they added pepperoni!" – Lillian enjoyed as she ate.
The two entertained themselves with the food and drinks.
Giselle"s mood became better than before. At first, she felt awkward from the silence while waiting for the food.
Any two people who go to the café would often chat with themselves, but not with these two today. They engaged in observing strangers and often glanced at each other for a mere second.
However, after the food arrived and enjoying it together with Lillian, boosted Giselle"s mood.
…
The date ended.
Giselle offered to pay, but Lillian Grey imposed it on herself. She hissed at Giselle when the girl removed her wallet.
"KEEP. IT. INSIDE."
"I am paying for us," Lillian decreed.
Giselle replaced the wallet inside her bag and stood quietly next to Lillian while she paid the bill.
The date wasn"t expensive. It was a decent café with some great food and drinks. It is not like Lillian took Giselle out for a candlelight dinner. These two are still youngsters.
Nonetheless, Lillian would never let Giselle pay when they hang out.
Even though Giselle suggests splitting the bill, Lillian would only glare at her once, and Giselle would go mute.
…
Coming outside, Giselle thanked for the treat and said her goodbyes to leave.
"W- wait," Lillian didn"t let go of her hand and grabbed it tighter.
"Wait, Giselle," she called.
Giselle blinked.
"What?" she asked.
Lillian looked around in panic.
"Giselle, go to the park with me."
Giselle went speechless, hearing what Lillian Grey say.
"Uh?" she snorted.
"Follow me, let"s go," Lillian said and dragged her at once. Giselle faltered her steps initially and then started to match with Lillian"s pace.
The state park was around the neighborhood, within a few minutes of walking, both reached the state park. Since the cla.s.s a.s.sembled early morning and ended within a few hours, the time when they reached the park, it was already afternoon.
The sun was up, showering the heat at its peak time.
Finding a bench nearby a tree with lots of shades, Lillian and Giselle sat down, finally blowing off the steam.
"…"
"Tell me," Lillian asked while wiping her sweat off her forehead.
"Huh?"Giselle blinked again.
"Tell me, why were you avoiding my calls, text messages?"
"Tell me, why are you avoiding me?"
"Did I do something wrong?"
"Did I do something that made you mad?"
"What is it? Tell me so that I can know, and I can change it."
"I don"t like us being this distant, Giselle," Lillian finally spat out what she felt deep down.
"..."
"Are those-?" –Giselle noticed the teary eyes of Lillian Grey.
"What is she doing?" – she watched Lillian restraining herself back from exploding.
"Tell me," Lillian asked once again, clearing her throat.
"It is nothing," Giselle mumbled under her breath.
"Why are you like this to me, Lillian Grey?"- Giselle suffered.
"What?" Lillian asked as she did not hear it properly.
"It is nothing. I am not mad at you or nothing you did make me angry, so don"t worry."
Giselle"s excuse felt ineffective. It did not satisfy Lillian even for a second, and so, the grip only tightened further.
Giselle didn"t know when Lillian grabbed her hands, but the impact of the grip, she felt it both physically and mentally.
"It hurts, Lillian," Giselle cried out in pain.
"It does for me too," Lillian replied.
"It hurts me too, Giselle," she quoted.
By now, Giselle saw how much Lillian lost her color and appeared pale. Her tired eyes that lost its light, the charming smile she used to have on her face vanished like it wasn"t even there. Without contacting each other for a day turned Lillian Grey upside down.
"Why are you doing this to me, Lillian?"
"Do you want to know why I keep avoiding you?"
"Seeing you in a state like this because of me, why are you giving me importance?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Why are you giving me a purpose?"
Giselle sulked, regretting her action as it caused Lillian Grey, a lot of troubles.
"Tell me, Giselle," Lillian kept on insisting.
The pressure kept pushing Giselle to her limits, finally letting her give up and reveal.
Giselle sighed.
"I don"t care anymore." – She thought.
What she is about to say is something Giselle hidden deep inside. Hence, she averted her gaze from Lillian Grey before exposing herself.
"I- I wished to go to Prom with you, but I can"t, right?" Giselle said.
Lillian Grey"s grip loosened, hearing those words come out of Giselle"s mouth.
Lillian was shocked. It looked like she expected it because her face got darkened when she heard Giselle confirm her guess.
As if Lillian wanted to confirm, she kept on pursuing Giselle until she confessed. Dropping her face, she stared at the gra.s.s ground.
"But- Diego and I-" Lillian struggled with every word.
"I know," Giselle stopped her from finishing the sentence. She preferred not to hear it again.
Lillian did not speak and kept her gaze fixed on the ground, refusing to look at Giselle"s face. She feared that it might only break her down further.
On the other side, surprisingly, Giselle appeared at ease. She knew Lillian Grey accepted Diego"s invite as a friend. However, Giselle saw something more detail that day when Diego made the request. It was since Giselle stood near to Diego, she could notice the subtle change of expression on his face. Giselle saw it for the first time, and at that moment, she knew she had to disappear away from Lillian Grey.
It broke her heart, causing her to avoid the girl she loves.
"I know, Lillian."
"I know the way he looked at you that day,"
"I"ve been there,"
"Staring at the person that you love secretly,"
"The way he looks at you, I see myself,"
"I thought he was only your friend, but it is not-"
"I"m jealous, I am."
"But what can I do?"
"I am one of the luckiest girls in the world to have the person I confessed to and got rejected, still care for me, stand by me, and support me."
"But I cannot ask more than that, Can I?"
"I cannot."
"I shouldn"t have any hope, right?"
Giselle"s hands trembled from her string of thoughts.
"Why am I angry?"
"Why am I jealous?"
"Even after knowing that there is no chance."
Giselle watched Lillian Grey, still speechless and sweating so much. Removing her handkerchief, she wiped Lillian"s neck and her forehead.
Lillian got startled from the touch and lifted her head.
They both stared into each other"s eyes.
Lillian Grey was still struggling inside. She wasn"t able to utter a word while Giselle smiled as she wiped off the sweats.
"I should be grateful for even having you as my friend."
"I shouldn"t have let those feelings wander."
"I shouldn"t have hoped."
Drying off those sweats, Giselle placed the small piece of cloth firmly on Lillian"s hands and stood up.
Lillian"s eyes widened. She sensed that Giselle is planning to leave. She wanted to stop her but couldn"t; her whole body went numb.
"I should wish for your happiness."
"Being with me can bring you pain,"
"I don"t ever want you to face the things I have faced, Lillian."
"I don"t want those stupid people calling you by names."
"I should be grateful."
"Maybe, Diego can love you better than me."
"Maybe, he is a suitable choice for you."
Stopping her endless thoughts, which kept sprouting the existent facts, Giselle spoke out loud this time.
"Yeah, I shouldn"t have had any hope,"
"I shouldn"t pursue any more."
"It is not your fault so let me be-"
"You don"t have to worry for me, Lillian,"
"I"ll be fine," Giselle smiled lovingly.
"Thanks for the treat, Goodbye,"
She said and turned around to leave the place.
Lillian felt helpless for the first time. She sat there and watched Giselle"s silhouette disappear from her vision.