In Between

Chapter 3

A few moments later, recovering from the sudden shock, he placed a smile towards her.

"Hi... long time no see, I'm Theo. Again." He spoke, still looking at her, extending his hand to her while cracking up in a soft laugh as he uttered his words. "Uhh... um... H-hi..." She replied stuttering, feeling awkward in this scene, and wasn't able to respond to his handshake. "I didn't recognize you very well, because, you know, I'm not able to see you as you shoo me away," he said jokingly, making her turn her gaze away while he just chuckled, noticing her shy behavior.

"I'm just kidding, I didn't mind such a thing, don't worry. Anyway, are you also buying kimchi?"

"Yeah," she replied hesitantly, turning her gaze somewhere to avoid him.

"Well, that's good. Can I join you?"

"Join for?" She asked.

"Eating? Can I join you to eat kimchi? I know some places," he said, gifting her a smile.

***************

Vivian Pov.

We're now settled on the bench at the park, where fewer people are walking back and forth. As he sat beside me with a safe distance, yes, I'd finally agreed. Well, the main reason is I'd really felt guilty about my treatment, so doing this wasn't a big deal - I just wanted to make it up to him. "I'm glad that you do the right thing." Shut up! "Fine." Munching on the food, I heard him speak, and as I took a glance at him, I found him enjoying the kimchi too.

"It's been a week since we last met; I thought maybe I'd totally annoyed you, that's why I stopped. Sorry for that," he said, gifting me a thin smile.

"No, it's fine."

"You know, before I stepped into Stone Hurst, I was totally new. I didn't know anyone, which made me feel like an outsider."

"Then why did you study there?" I said, looking at him while still eating the kimchi.

Somehow I managed to reply and talk to him, as I could feel that maybe there's nothing wrong with having conversations with him. "Because I need to, my father told me to study there."

"But you don't want there?"

"Not that just, but the fact that I have great respect for him, so I followed his order."

"But you're still free to say no."

"Anyways, I'm glad that you're now talking with me," he said, seem to changed the topic from his first statement, while he threw some soft chuckles at me, which made me hum in response.

"Well, you seem nice."

"You seem? I'm definitely nice," he commented, making me crack a small laugh.

"You really look good when you're smiling," he said, placing a playful expression on his face.

"Stop being flirty, can you?" I said, earning chuckles from him as he fixed his sitting position, gazing at the whole park.

"It is so peaceful here, right? I hope everything goes like this always," he uttered, making me stare at him as he relaxed himself, observing the peacefulness of the park, which made the scenery calm.

His personality was kind of mysterious now. His words earlier didn't fit her character of being silly. It made me curious about him. "Oh, before I forget, can I know your name now?" he asked, making my eyes grow wide in surprise at his sudden words, like he was viewing the ambiance in silence and then suddenly talking to me instantly. Right? How weird his mood swings were. I stayed for a while, contemplating my thoughts on whether to give him my name or not, when I heard him speak again.

"Well, if you really don't want to, it's okay to—"

"I'm Vivian," I said, interrupting him, as his expression quickly changed, portraying his satisfaction at getting what he needed—knowing my name.

"Well, Vivian, 'Vivian' really suits you," he said, smiling at me, and I unintentionally smiled back at him, finding his behavior really fun. Wait, was I overwhelmed by his compliment?

"By the way, I need to go now; it's also late now. Goodbye."

"Can I walk with you? It's dangerous for you to walk alone."

"No need, I can take care of myself, goodbye again," I said, gifting him a quick smile, then turned and walked away from his sight, heading home.

*************

Vivian Pov.

It was the first day of the 4th week, and I was heading to the room. As I walked across campus, I allowed myself to observe some things around the university. The whole weekend had been really tiring, filled with school work and my part-time job, all in an effort to earn enough money for both my school expenses and personal needs. As I continued taking steps, I felt a presence behind me following. This made me wonder who it could be. I turned around, and the possible figure flashed into my sight. And yes, I wasn't wrong – I found him smiling at me.

"Hi! Good morning."

"Why are you following me, this early?"

"Come on, don't be so mean this early too."

"Are you trying to annoy me?"

"Nope. I just want to walk with you, as my room is placed next to your room, too. We're neighbors," he said smiling. Well, his face seemed bright now, as his lips didn't stop forming smiles, being energetic and cheerful this morning.

"Theo, right?"

"Yes, Vivian?" he replied, seeming happy to hear his name called by me.

"Can you stop following me?"

"Why not? We're just going to our rooms together." I let out a gasp, controlling myself from being harsh on him again – well, I'm not that harsh, I'm just being honest and straightforward with my thoughts.

"Come on, Vivian, can we be friends, please?" he said, making a cute face and showing puppy eyes. Before I could reply, I noticed some girl students eyeing us, or rather, eyeing him, portraying admiration towards him. When they suddenly noticed me with him, they started whispering something to each other, and I was able to hear some of it.

"Oh, it's that Theo, the handsome athlete?"

"He looks so nice, his body composition suits being a skilled full-time swimmer."

"Yeah, it's Theo, the famous swimmer athlete in his recent school."

"I can't believe he's studying here at Stone Hurst."

"But who's that girl he's been talking to? Is she his girlfriend?"

"I don't think so."

So, he's famous here in our school? I took another glance at him, while feeling uncomfortable seeing other students now paying attention and gazing at us. It made them think something was going on between us, as they stared and gazed, almost judging us and portraying their thoughts through their eyes. "No," I replied to him, then took a step in a paced manner, dedicated to walking away from him and avoiding other people making a big commotion towards us.

*************

The class had already been dismissed, and the day had been filled with so much work and happenings. Even though we were only in our 5th week, the schedules were going to be hectic, and with tomorrow being Friday, it was necessary to review for our assessment day. The assessment day was a monitoring process to see if we had learned from the recent lessons the professor discussed, and if we understood the whole week's discussion. It also helped to identify which topics we needed to focus on more. As I walked, I saw his figure approaching me – he often did this whenever we met or saw each other, sometimes asking for favors or just having a conversation with me.

Sometimes I grew accustomed to his sudden appearances and his tendency to annoy me. I used to think about avoiding him, given that he was now the apple of many girls' eyes on campus. I wasn't even surprised, considering his charm and attractive personality – after all, he was a representative on our campus and a multi-gold swimmer athlete. And I didn't want to get entangled in any issues with him or about us, given how he often stuck around me.

"Hi! Are you going home?"

"What do you think, Theo?"

"Well, yeah, you are, so can I walk you home? Or should we eat dinner first?"

"You're asking for a date?" I straightly uttered, being the kind of person who is straightforward and tells it like it is – anything or everything that sinks into my mind, and how your words translate to me, I'd say straight out.

He cracked up in a playful smirk, staring at me. "So you think that way? Well, basically, we're not official as friends, but thinking that instead you want us to be in a relationship? Why not? You're cute, indeed – maybe you can meet half of my standards," he said, winking at me.

"Pabo." I said sarcastically.

*******************

It was the weekend, and Vivian had a shift at her part-time job. She could finally get her salary later to pay her rent and budget for the next week of school. After a long day at work, she was now heading home after closing time. Meanwhile, she was headed inside the condo, looking for Dada, as she had to pay the rent bills.

"Dada!" she called out after some time, and Dada's figure flashed into her sight, with the white cream still placed on her face and wearing a floral night dress.

"Yes, Vivian, you're calling me?"

"Here," Vivian uttered, handing her the money, which instantly changed Dada's expression as she looked at Vivian with a wide smile.

"That's right, being responsible with the bills, you're clear now. Next month again," Dada uttered, gifting her a small smile, then took her leave while Vivian went straight to her room.

Finally headed inside, she took a quick freshen-up before going to sleep. Sitting on the bed, she grabbed her phone to check some reminders or anything. Vivian wasn't just serious in terms of study, but also an organized person – she ensured that everything was fixed and set in its exact time. Sometimes, other people thought of her as being overly mature for her age, even though she was only 19, her maturity level could rival someone in their 50s.

"I need to go to the grocery tomorrow, Sunday, to buy my needs, now that I have some money," she uttered, talking to herself. Then she plopped her body onto the bed, gazing at the ceiling. She didn't have any scheduled studying now, so she could take an early sleep, reserving her energy for tomorrow.

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To be continued......