Through The Fire

EPISODE 2

The foods were really great, so I still managed to eat despite everything that happened to me a while ago. I cannot explain what I'm feeling right now, I have never experienced this kind of emotions before. I met tons of women but no one made this kind of impact on me. The attraction is so strong and I hate myself for it. I decided that the best way for me to establish control on myself is to avoid those pair of hazel eyes alI night at all cost. f**k. I need a drink.

After dinner, I asked Anne for beers, and she points at the fridge, so I quickly made my way there. There are beers, hard liquors, and wines inside. The four of us loves to party back in college, and that's what we all have in common, our love for booze. I decided to go for beer first then finish it up with hard ones later. I took 5 cans of beer to share to everyone. I made my way back to the living room and gave them the beers. We just watch random movies on netflix while catching up.

The beer is somehow making me relax and at ease, so I'm thankful for that. I'm sitting on the couch beside Faye and Mich, while Anne and Gail are at the opposite side. Everyone is enjoying their first can of beer while sharing stories and watching a movie. I felt a buzz beside me and notice that I got a text message. I check my phone and saw that it's from my mom, she's reminding me to be home tomorrow for our family dinner. It's our family tradition that every Sunday we have to be in my parents’ house for dinner. My Uncles and Aunties will all be there together with my cousins. I only have 1 sibling, my sister Erica, and she's just one year older than me, so we grew up really close. She got married last year to her Canadian boyfriend, and they moved to Canada for good. I assured my mom that I will be present tomorrow, I was not able to join them last week due to some work emergency, so she's making sure that I will not bail on them again. For some strange reason, my subconscious is telling me that someone is looking at me, I have this weird feeling that I'm being watched, so I look away from my phone and immediately met a pair of hazel eyes that I have been avoiding all night.

Fuck.

Gail just smiled at me when our eyes met, I smiled back at her as if I have no control over myself. I can't read what's on her mind while she's looking at me, but there's something in that look that I can't explain. After that weird exchange of smiles and looks, she turned her focus back on the movie that we are watching as if nothing happened. I glance around me to check if any of my friends noticed that, but thankfully none of them seems to care about anything other than the movie.

Few minutes passed, and I'm still thinking about what happened a while ago. It probably meant nothing for Gail, but I can't stop myself from thinking otherwise. Our eyes met for just a few seconds, but it left a tremendous impact on me. What's happening to me? I just met this girl, and she's already driving me nuts! I need more drinks!

A few hours later and we managed to empty a bottle of Jack Daniel's. We all have high alcohol tolerance, so I know my friends are not yet drunk, but Gail is a different story. You can clearly tell that she's already drunk with the way she speaks and moves. She's making fun of Anne's hair and she acts like a baby when Anne stops her from doing it. She's cute though. Stop! Dammit, here I go again!

I can't stop myself from looking at them though, Anne is telling her a funny story and Gail laughs so hard, I'm not sure if the story is hilarious or she's just really drunk, but her laugh sounds amazing. Oh my God, Aki, stop!

I needed to get a fresh air to clear my mind, so I told them that I will just go out to have a smoke. Once outside, I lit my cigarette and I immediately felt relax after my first hit. My mind is still occupied with thoughts of Gail. Do I have a crush on her? Do I like her? What’s going on with me? I'm still trying to process everything when suddenly I heard a voice behind me.

"You know that's bad right?"

I look behind me and there she is, the cause of my insanity is standing in front of me with a sweet smile on her face. s**t. I was not able to respond to her comment, so she points at the cigarette in my hand.

" Smoking. You know that's bad for you right? " She asks again.

I tried to compose myself to form a coherent response to her.

" Yeah. It's bad, but we were born to die anyway so might as well make it interesting right?. " I replied.

She just laughs at my response, which is music to my ears.

You know, that's exactly what Anne told me when I confronted her on her smoking habit. No wonder you're friends. She said while still laughing. Good thing I made her quit, and she hasn't smoked again for almost 3 months now, Gail continues to share.

Really? How? I quickly replied.

This small talks between us is not helping me at all.

I told her that I cannot be with a smoker. That's when she decided to quit, she said while smiling.

She’s so whipped. I mocked.

She just laughs at my remark.

I noticed that Gail is leaning on the door, she's probably having a hard time standing still because she's already tipsy, so I decided to make fun of it.

You're drunk. I teased her.

She realizes what I'm doing and immediately fires back.

You're pretty. She quickly replied.

I didn't expect that, so I froze. I felt myself blushing with that comment, I quickly turned my back on her while chuckling to hide my embarrassment.

You better go to sleep. I replied while still laughing.

She just laughs so hard when she noticed my embarrassment. This girl is really something, I thought to myself.