Traces of Midnight Fallacies

CHAPTER TWELVE

When I turned to face him, my eyes grew hot, but all he did was cheerfully push me out of my seat. I did nothing but sigh heavily, a sign of disapproval, before I decided to stand up, which made everyone shriek.

All my classmates focused their attention on us when I finally stood in front of the two men who were now waiting for me to approach their side. The professor is in between us, so somehow I can still breathe easily in my position even though I felt dizziness while looking at my classmates.

I kept my gaze on my classmates, who were now staring and watching us even though I could feel the stare of the man next to me. Despite the fact that I could feel his gaze on me, I did nothing but avert my eyes from him. Instead of turning to him, I kept my eyes on my classmates who were now waiting for what would happen.

I could clearly see their laughter slowing down until my eyes blurred and as expected, I went back to my illusion of what happened before.

I watched my classmates laugh as they stared in front of me, far away from where I was. I slowly turned my back to face the whiteboard and my lips almost parted in shock when I saw how Charmaine hugged Lawrence's neck, who was now disgusted with their position in front of the class.

"And this is what we call one-sided hug and this is what friends or lovers usually do…" the professor continued his discussion while Lawrence and Charmaine were busy doing the demo. "This is often thought of as a force or unwanted hug because of their position on each other," the professor added.

I don't let myself listen to his lectures because my gaze remained on the students in front who are now demonstrating what he was teaching. I feel like I'm in a melodrama with Charmaine and Lawrence in front of us as a male and female lead of the story.

They faced each other. While Charmaine is smiling widely at him, Lawrence, on the other hand, seems like he is not in the mood while staring at her eyes. I slowly let myself walk in their direction so that I could freely observe them. Charmaine was looking at him playfully, as if she was telling Lawrence that he couldn't do anything but bear with what she wanted to do to him. Lawrence, on the other hand, looks disgusted and the irritation in his eyes while looking at her was visible, but it seems like that emotion of his was obscured by the spark I saw in his eyes while he remained looking at her.

I don't know if what Lawrence shows up in front of other people for Charmaine is just for show, but when I looked at his eyes, it seemed like he was telling me something else. I saw some unnamed emotion lurking in his eyes while looking at her. I didn't feel disgust, but I did feel some relief and passion for… I don't know.

I don't want to speak with finality because it seems like the future would change when I decided to change it for the betterment of everyone. What’s the sense of my power to see the future if I don’t use it for the sake of us?

"Charmaine?" My professor called me, which brought me back to reality. "Are you okay?"

I see myself in the middle of our class, staring blankly for about five minutes if the professor hadn't called me. I was standing in the middle like I was an i***t while looking at them. He's asking me if I am okay. Am I still okay? Do I seem okay in their eyes?

I stopped in the middle to face them. I could see in Lawrence’s eyes the mixture of seriousness and worry, but he wasn’t the one I was focusing on. I slowly looked at my professor before I bowed to him.

"I'm not feeling well, Sir," I said politely before straightening up and turning to them with a grim smile on my lips. "I do suggest replacing me with Dela Fuentes for the demo…"

"What?"

I heard Kevin's grunt but I continued with my suggestion for the bullshit he was throwing at me.

My lips lifted when I saw how Kevin kissed Lawrence on his cheek. It was a demo but a bit sensual, which made everyone laugh. Lawrence irritatedly pushed him away from him, which made us laugh even more. Kevin proudly stood in the front of the class when the demo ended. Lawrence averted his eyes from our classmates, who continued to tease him while Kevin proudly sat beside me when the class ended.

"Thank you for considering me, Miss del Real, to replace the demo that should have been you," Kevin said before he sighed heavily, which made me laugh. "I just saved you from the mess I've made."

I smiled at him, "You're my hero, Kev," which made him chuckle at my response that he didn't seem to expect. "And that won't change."

He sighed heavily before smiling at me widely and seemed unable to believe what I said to him.

"It seems like you considered me as an antagonist for your love story with Lawrence before," he smiled, as my smile faded in front of him. "What happened? Have you changed your mind, Charmaine?"

"It looks like he doesn't want me roaming around whenever he was," I said before I lifted my head and turned to Lawrence. I almost hiccupped when I saw his serious eyes darting at me. I turned to Kevin once again. "I don't want him to make me feel like I was a burden in his life. This is probably my chance to let myself distract my attention from him so that I should turn it in to myself. "

Kevin leaned on his seat before smiling at me, as if he was mocking me. "I don't feel like you're the Charmaine I've met before," he said, which made my smile fade as I looked at him. "What happened? Are you slowly losing your feelings for him?"

I felt horrified at what he said, which was further amplified by his grin in front of me. "It's just that I appreciate myself more than him. That's it, Kev."

"Okay." He leaned on his seat. "If that's what you feel then, "he said before he shrugged. "That's good. You don't need to turn the attention you have to yourself on him. My feelings for you are slowly growing even more because of your mindset. "

I turned to him, shocked by what he said, but he just laughed when he saw my reaction. I let him chuckily mess up my hair, as if I was a child in his eyes.

My class ended smoothly with my classmates continuing to laugh while remembering what happened a while ago between Lawrence and Kevin. A few of my classmates approached me to ask my reason for refusing the demo, and unlike my reason with Kevin, I gave them a different one.

"If that's the case, then how about tomorrow?" My classmate suggested something, which made me choke while drinking my water. "Just like what we were used to in class. You were always his demo partner on Mr. Romualdez's subject, and even Mr. Romualdez knows what's going on between you two, "she added while nodding.

I did nothing but shake my head in disapproval of her suggestion. I don't think it's appropriate to say that our professor has his blessing for the demo. I don't think I can get used to him as my partner in demo, like what they say whenever they see me.

I pucker my lips while waiting for Kevin outside the locker room. I was standing here for a long time ago while distracting myself from drinking water while waiting for him. We would go home late today because Celeste's last subject for the afternoon was Physical Education. And because she's Celeste, she'll take a shower first in the restroom before facing us because she hates her sweat.

Celeste was a bit conservative when it comes to her body, far from Kevin, who doesn't care about how he looks in front of us. Despite that, he smells manly somehow, and I think that's more appropriate.

I almost choked while gulping the water when I turned to my side and the bottle of water I was drinking almost hit Lawrence's chest. I repeatedly apologized to him before I turned my back to him and went inside the locker room to hopefully avoid his presence, but it seems like the carving of destiny for this day does not conform to my wishes.

"Are you done, Kev?" I asked, a bit tensed because of Lawrence's presence by my side. "I need to pee!"

"Then pee on the floor and don't make me speed up with what I'm searching for," Kevin hissed, which made me roll my eyes. "I can't find my shoes. I still remember I just put them here."

"Why do I need to wait for you the whole time?" I whispered to myself before I leaned into the locker next to me. "Faster, dimwit!"

It’s true that I needed to release my pee, but it was not because I was conscious of Lawrence's presence in front of me. I'm not doing this for the show, and God knows how much I hate acting. It's just that I need to take out all the water I've consumed earlier while waiting for Kevin.

"I can't find my…"

I didn't wait for him to finish his random shits when I decided to run out of the locker room to seek an available washroom. It takes me two minutes to finally find a washroom. Georgina and I almost bumped into each other inside when I entered the washroom.

"Oh? Are you feeling well now, Charmaine?" she asked.

I quickly entered the last cubicle that was available before I closed the door. Because of what I did, it created a commotion throughout the washroom.

"My urinary bladder seems to explode if I don't let it out," I said, which made her laugh.

"Maybe you were too anxious, that's why you consumed too much water, "she said, to which I didn't answer, because she seemed right.

Because I could hear the flow of the faucet in the sink from where I was, I stayed inside the cubicle while Georgina stayed outside of the comfort room to wash her hands. When I finished my work, I hurriedly arranged myself before I unlocked the cubicle door. Even before I got out of the cubicle, I heard Georgina talking to someone from outside of the washroom where we were. I ignored this before deciding to get out of the cubicle and head to the faucet to wash my hands.

"What are you doing here, Couz?" Georgina asked, which made me a bit stunned as I washed my hands under the faucet.

From the faucet, I could clearly see my paled face in the reflection in the mirror. I could clearly see my anxiety when I heard Georgina's interlocutor answer back outside of the washroom.

"I accidentally passed by," he replied. Georgina laughed at the tone of his voice.

"Really?" she asked. "In the women's washroom, Lawrence?"

Even before Lawrence could answer, I could already hear their footsteps walking away from the washroom. I did nothing but maintain my stance in front of the mirror before I decided to stay there for a while to calm my system. When I finished washing my hands, I went outside.

I almost jumped because I was shocked. I opened the door and we almost bumped into each other because he was standing right in the doorway. I couldn't help but stare at Lawrence, who had a serious expression on his face while avoiding looking at me.

"W-What are you doing here?" I asked while laughing and pretended to his front that I was not stunned at his presence in front of me.

"I'm waiting for someone inside," he sparingly replied.

I let him sidestep to give me space to get past him, which made me shrug. I no longer questioned him about who the hell he was waiting for inside, and instead of asking him, I just hurriedly walked away from the washroom.

I was already in the middle of the corridor when I stopped walking when I remembered something.

"I didn’t see anyone in the washroom earlier except Georgina," I said before I turned to the way I had exited earlier. "Who is he waiting for?"

Instead of wasting my time, I decided to shrug and hurry back to the locker room. As usual, I waited for Kevin, who until now still hadn’t found the shoes he was referring to. Celeste almost beat him because of her cramps when she caught us in the locker room.

"All my classmates are already home, and here we are! We're still here!" she hissed while languidly sitting on the floor.

She is wearing her usual PE uniform, while me and Kevin, on the other hand, are wearing the typical student uniform. I puckered my lips while sitting on the floor imitating Celeste's seat, and instead of joining their argument, I kept myself busy thinking about who Lawrence was waiting in the washroom earlier.

"Does Lawrence have a third eye?" I subconsciously whispered to myself that the two who had just quarreled a while ago laughed at what I had said.

"You're too old to believe in such things, Charmaine!" Celeste evilly laughed, which made me roll my eyes. "Lawrence doesn't look like he came from the race you're talking about."

"I heard them arguing about witches last week," Kevin chuckled, which made me embarrassed, especially when I heard Celeste's laugh. "I just heard you question him about the race he has."

"Asshole," Celeste hissed to Kevin before she looked at me. "Don't do it again if you don't want Lawrence to hammer you on the head due to his irritation with your questions."

"That's for your own sake, Charmaine," Kevin said before he leaned over the locker and turned to Celeste. "Always listen to your grandmother."

"Find the shoe you're saying and stop mocking me, Kevin!" she said, which made us laugh.

Celeste and I spent a few more minutes chatting about random stuff until we heard Kevin's burst of laughter, which we wondered about as we looked at him. Kevin slammed his locker shut before turning to us as his whole face blushed.

He said, "I forgot that I was wearing the shoes I was looking for," before he lifted his shoes, which made us grunt.

I even watched Celeste chase him inside the locker room before I let them in and we went out together to greet the cold breeze coming from outside of the room. It was quite dark in the corridor and the faculty was also starting to turn on the lights in the hallway. The sun had gone down earlier and the darkness reigned in the night sky now, which made me smile to myself while looking at it.

Just like the old days, we walked together in the middle of the corridor while talking about our day. Kevin also told Celeste that he substituted for me in the demo, which surprised Celeste before she looked at me.

"Really?" Celeste asked. It seems like she was amused by what Kevin said. "It seems like you used to be the one who fought whenever someone tried to volunteer for the demo…"