The Best Mistake (GL)

Strangely Attached

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SHE had her eyes checked and there was nothing to worry about. What a relief that what happened didn't trigger anything for her to lose sight. Apparently, that kind of misfortune couldn't stop her from going back to the farm.

The fact that she would only come across misfortunes didn't matter. Even though Ayen was always annoyed whenever she was around, she didn't care. Surprisingly, she was used to that setup.

Driving her purple customized Beetle, she made her way to the place that was hard for her to get rid of. Her friends might have been wondering why she was missing all this time. It was because she had been spending most of her time going to the farm only to exchange clever confabs with Ayen. But kidding aside, it was also her opportunity to learn the essentials of the farm. At least she had one good reason to waste her time there.

She was thinking about her absence when she received a call from her friends.

"What the hell, Heathe? Where have you been all this time? Why aren't you seeing us anymore?" Their unrelenting questions made her laugh.

All through that, there was only one response from her."I'm busy..." Then she ended the call.

She was indeed busy teasing Ayen.

She scrambled out of the car as soon as she had it parked in the wide driveway near the Santiagos' abode. She immediately took notice of Ayen who was sitting under the big tree, fanning a woven nipa hat on herself. The sight effectively made her smile in an instant. Although the woven hat was the reason she almost got blind yesterday, it was also the reason she got to establish a little gentle moment with Ayen. She was still gushing over it up until today, to be honest.

She strode toward her, which caught Ayen's attention immediately. She complacently took off her aviator and winked at Ayen. She wore one just in case, besides Ayen told her.

Ayen scoffed and lectured. "Keep your shades on or you might get blind this time."

"That's cruel. But, if I'm going to keep it on, you'll surely miss my ravishing eyes."

"Oh, really? If you were only a kitten, I might appreciate your green eyes. But.. well, I just really wish you were."

"Whoa. I thought green was your favorite color. That means you like my eyes, too." She conceded and winked again.

Ayen scowled, which only made her look cuter. "You wish! Wait a minute! Why are you here, anyway?"

She stretched out her arms before sitting beside Ayen. The sun was burning up and yet there she was, trying to put off another round of heated argument with this girl. On any day, conversing was the last thing she would do in this kind of weather as she could get easily irritated.

She snatched the hat from Ayen's hand. She thought Ayen was going to take it back, but it did not happen. It looked like Ayen was not in the mood to roll with the foolishness.

She fanned the hat out for both of them, instead. "Haven't I told you the other day that I was going to study how to run this farm? Why do you have to ask me questions every time I get here?" She counter-asked.

She earned another eye roll from Ayen. Unwilling to let this kind of attitude elude her, she pinched her cheeks. "Ouch!" Ayen struggled.

"Don't ever, ever roll your eyes at me again." She reminded her while moving Ayen's face sideways, then let go of it, afterward.

Ayen glared at her, touching her red cheeks. "Such brutal. Why don't we have a boxing match instead?" She seriously bade.

But her challenge only came as a joke to her. "You'll lose, trust me." She confidently uttered as she rolled her sleeves up to show Ayen her non-existing bicep muscles.

Ayen sneered. "That's not even a thing to be proud of. You know, you look like a wimp."

She sat properly and rolled back her sleeve. "Am I? Says the wuss."

Ayen did not reciprocate.

In weather like this, a heated squabble was only a headache for her. But establishing an argumentative conversation with Ayen, whatever weather it would be, was totally fine.

When they both shut up she finally felt the cool wind, which reminded her of the month.

"Uhm, can I ask you something?" She turned to Ayen.

"Long as you're not going to pick on me."

"Yeah. This is kinda serious."

"Hmm.." Ayen's eyebrows rose.

"Where are you going to study?"

Ayen took a moment before heaving a breath. "I don't know, yet."

"Why is that?" Curiosity filled her head as she looked at her.

Ayen still had no plan to attend another academic year. It was supposedly a common objective at their age, but Ayen seemed to have a hard time deciding. Unlike her, who always had someone to take care of everything and all she had to do was to go to university as soon as the class started. What a shame that it didn't even matter to her what course she would take.

Studying simply didn't matter to her. But she knew Ayen had the qualities of a good and honorable student. As far as she could remember, when she stayed in her room after their morning argument she saw her achievements proudly fastened in one corner. She couldn't explain how impressed she was while looking at them. Acquiring such intelligence should not go to waste, therefore Ayen should study.

Ayen pulled her knees up and rested her chin against them. "My parents told me that we still have to save money for me to go to college. Getting a law degree will be expensive. Besides, I'm still young. I still have a lot of time to study in the future."

"Whoa! You serious about taking up Law?" She said, surprised.

"Why not? Is it really impossible for someone like me to take that kind of course?"

She shook her head while nervously waving her hands out. "No, that's not what I meant. I'm just curious. Why?"

"Because that's the course that I need. I guess?"

"Need? Why is that? Is it because you're planning to file a lawsuit against me someday?" She joked. When Ayen did not laugh, she cleared her throat and scolded herself.

"No. It's not as if it's a big deal, anyway. Don't you have friends taking up a Law course?"

"Well, I have. But..." She muttered.

Ayen made a face. "You're making me feel like I'm not qualified for that course. Kinda offensive, huh?"

"I'm sorry. T-that's—"

"Okay, enough about me. What about you? What course are you taking?"

"Yeah. I'm about to ask my mom about that."

She couldn't blame Ayen if she had gotten startled by her response. She was not the first person who showed such a reaction after hearing her irrational statement in regard to studying.

"Why do you need to ask your mom about that? Aren't you supposed to choose for yourself?"

"I think... not. Because my mom is the one who chooses the course for me."

"Seriously?" Ayen scoffed. "Is that some kind of your family tradition?"

She shrugged. "Nah. Whichever course would be fine with me, anyway. Besides, she doesn't choose something that won't enhance my skills."

"Unbelievable. Can't you decide on your own?"

"Not like that. It's just that coming to school to study is not my thing. I mean, I know that should be important but... let's just go back to your course. What made you decide about it?" Unable to reason out, she instead redirected the topic to Ayen's choice.

It took a moment for Ayen to respond. Maybe she was thinking that she was just trying to change their subject. She thought she wasn't going to keep up with what she wanted to talk about.

Ayen sighed. "Can I tell you a story?"

"More than willing to listen." She smiled with sincerity.

Ayen took a deep breath before starting to speak. "I had a sister. She was 14 when she got involved in an unfortunate situation."

She was about to interrupt her because she just couldn't shut up with questions going around her noggin when Ayen continued.

"She was sexually abused... a-and killed."

It initially stupefied her. The topic was so sensitive that she couldn't make out something to say. Truth was, Ayen might have looked fine but she felt that she was uncomfortable.

"A-are you okay? You can stop telling me."

Ayen gently shook her head. "I'm okay. This has been kept in my heart for so long. I've been wanting to voice this out but I can't." She scoffed. "I honestly don't even know why am I telling you this." She looked at her with a bitter smile on her lips and welled-up eyes.

Fascinated by what she had just heard, her lips shut into a thin line. It was hard for her to say a thing.

Ayen looked away as she resumed. "It's been five years, but still my family can't move on. Justice was not served, the criminal conveniently bought it and swept it under the rug."

She was alarmed after hearing Ayen's voice crack. She watched her quietly as the girl composed herself before carrying on with her story.

She felt a mix of emotions while listening to Ayen. She would get taken aback occasionally by her horrifying narrative. On the other hand, she was honestly glad that Ayen let her see her frangible side out of a dauntless girl like her. Ayen was so mysterious, she could barely read her. But with all that, her interest in that girl kept growing.

She was wrong when she thought that Ayen didn't have any other emotion than getting mad. As she proceeded with her story, she was also slowly and unmindfully unveiling herself. She almost forgot that, despite her braveness, Ayen was still a girl. Gentle, delicate, and possessed a soft heart.

"...I made a promise in front of my sister's grave that no matter how long it took, I'd make sure that the r****t would pay. I don't want it to happen to anyone. It is something more than one can bear." She sniffled.

"Oh, my God. Please don't cry, Ayen." She promptly spurned before they could get into a crying session.

They were out in the open and if Ayen started weeping, she would surely be dammed.

Ayen looked at her with bloodshot and teary eyes. Obviously, holding her tears. "Of course, not! I'm not a crybaby." She frivolously assured.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Good. 'Coz I don't know how I would calm down a crying cow." She teased, trying to somehow lighten up their mood.

Ayen shove her shoulder a little. "Who cries like a cow? You're really fond of pestering my life, Heather Arquinn La Rivas!"

"You know, I somehow like it when you call me by my full name." She giggled.

Oddly, it was true. She could actually feel a tingling feeling in her stomach after hearing her full name from Ayen. A simple thing with a great impact, indeed.

Ayen stared at her in wonder, while she couldn't stop herself from laughing.

She went back to sitting beside Ayen, this time, much closer. It seemed that Ayen didn't mind, which delighted her heart. Silence suffused around them for a moment. She couldn't keep herself from smiling while her eyes took secret glances at Ayen as the latter stared afar.

Ayen became her favorite view from the night she first saw her. Therefore, she kept going back to the farm even though Ayen always shoved her away. Undeterred by such gestures, she remained persistent and hoped that Ayen would somehow get used to her presence.

When Ayen turned to her, she immediately averted her gaze to the opposite direction.

Ayen snickered. "All right. I'd just thought that you were not looking at me."

She chuckled. "Whoa. So full of yourself."

Ayen giggled in a rather childish way. "Okay. Anyway, are you going home now?"

"What? I just got here. I haven't even done a thing. Well, aside from talking to you. Do you want me to leave right away?"

Ayen gently shook her head. "No. I'd like to ask if you want to have a tour around your farm."

Her smile widened. She looked at Ayen again, a bit quizzical about her suggestion. "What? Are you asking me for a date?" Yet she couldn't help herself not to utter a joke.

"Date your face! I only want you to get familiarized with your property and here you are thinking that we're going to have a date. Can you not exaggerate things?"

"Don't deny it. I know you like me." She kept teasing while wiggling her brows.

Ayen's face wrinkled. "Yeah. Keep daydreaming, Heather La Rivas!"

She moved closer to Ayen and even bumped their shoulders in the process. "Am I not that likable?"

Ayen looked at her as if she was confirming something. Her brown eyes bore through her momentarily. She liked the way Ayen stared at her. Unfortunately, it was also making her feel uncomfortable at the same time.

"Stop staring at me that way!" She looked away and mumbled a cuss, thinking that kind of stare would melt her anytime.

She had never gotten easily intimidated by anyone who would stare at her, intently. In fact, she was used to every kind of stare she received, especially from the girls who showed interest in her. But Ayen's stares gave her a different vibe. She was neither happy nor annoyed with it, not to mention, she even felt eccentric.

"Hmp!" Ayen sighed, darting her eyes away.

She kept looking at her.

Ayen possessed the fierceness lurking behind her innocent demeanor. Things that were keeping her interest in the girl. She knew she could handle Ayen, but after feeling quite bizarre by her stares, she could feel otherwise.

"So, when are we going to start the date?" She suddenly stated, trying not to sound nervous.

Because, as strange as it was, she felt overstrung verbalizing that travesty.

Ayen glared at her.

She covered her mouth, faking out to be astounded. "Oops! I'm sorry. It's actually a tour." She corrected, then chuckled.

"You don't get tired of joking around, do you?"

Heathe shrugged while smiling coyly.

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