FRIEND WITH BENEFIT

8. Thunder

"Leo, what's wrong with you?!"

Suuzan came back to class during break time. She got busted for not doing her math homework and was sentenced to summarize a few chapters into a paper, due before school ended. Don't even ask how mad Ms. Juju was at Suuzan. She was already known for not being the brightest bulb. You'd think she'd be more diligent to win over the teachers, at least just to get decent grades.

"What's up?" Leo replied, sounding totally chill.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you? Why haven't you talked to me since Saturday night? What did I do wrong, Yo? Is it because I didn't come home on time?"

"Nah, you're making stuff up. Besides, why bother? You've already got a boyfriend. Why are you looking for me?"

"Boyfriend?" Suuzan was confused. "Who?"

"Damar. He said he asked you out. Well, whatever. You've had a crush on him forever, right? Why are you still bugging me?"

"You've had a crush on me all the time?"

Damar suddenly appeared behind Suuzan. They were in the classroom but close to the door, so they didn't realize Damar was coming. Suuzan turned around, totally shocked, of course. She'd been trying to play hard to get so she wouldn't seem easy, but Leo's words messed everything up.

"If you've had a crush on me, why didn't you just say yes, Zan?"

Suuzan was beyond embarrassed. Her face turned dark with a blush. She didn't want her feelings to just spill out like that. Lots of girls liked Damar, and they were all way cooler, smarter, prettier. Basically, Suuzan didn't want it to look like she was the one who had a crush first.

Unable to handle the embarrassment, Suuzan bolted out of the classroom, leaving Damar and Leo behind. Leo sighed, while Damar just looked confused.

"What's wrong with her, Leo?" Damar asked.

Leo didn't say anything. He rushed out to chase Suuzan. He felt bad for making her like this, but really, it wasn't his fault. Who knew Damar would just pop up and totally embarrass Suuzan?

Damar was confused by Leo's behavior. He was so quick to go after Suuzan.

"What's wrong with Leo? Why is he always getting involved with Suuzan?"

Meanwhile, Damar chased Suuzan, who headed to the back of the school, near the cafeteria, but the hallway there was super quiet. The classrooms in the back were never used. Who knows why. Rumor had it the back area was haunted. That's why no one dared to go there. Suuzan, too embarrassed to care about ghosts, thought being mortified was way worse than a few spooks.

Suuzan stayed silent, but Damar's words kept replaying in her head, shocking and embarrassing her.

"And now what?" Suuzan grumbled.

Leo was breathing heavily after catching up with Suuzan.

"You run fast, Zan."

"Why are you following me? Didn't you say you didn't want to talk to me?"

"But if you chill here, a ghost might snatch you. So, yeah, I kinda have to be here."

"Let a ghost snatch me. Better than being embarrassed."

Leo took a breath, looking at his friend. He leaned against the wall, watching Suuzan.

"Embarrassed about what? Damar said he asked you out. Why be embarrassed?"

"Yeah, but I haven't told him if I want to date him or not."

"Your own fault for not answering right away. You're making it complicated for yourself."

Suuzan glared at Leo. "That's because of you."

"Huh? How is it my fault? What did I do?"

"I wasn't done talking to Damar, but you showed up then. So, nothing happened after that."

"So, you didn't dating because of me?"

"Yeah, but I actually wasn't in a hurry to give him an answer anyway…"

Leo was confused by Suuzan's choice. He didn't get why she'd drag it out if they both liked each other.

"So complicated. If you want to, say yes. If not, say no. Why make it so hard?"

Suuzan was confused about herself too. She didn't want to be like this, but she was hesitant. "Why? Are you not sure about Damar?"

Suuzan didn't say anything, but Leo understood.

"If you like him, why not just try it?"

"But is that even possible, Leo?"

"Why?"

"Damar's like, the school idol."

"So?"

"Lots of girls like him."

Leo sighed. "So what's the problem?"

"Look at me! Am I even good deserve for him? The girls who like Damar are all pretty. Why did he choose to ask me out? Why didn't Damar pick one of the other girls who liked him?"

Leo shook his head.

"Feelings have nothing to do with looks, Zan. And why are you even thinking about that? You like him, he likes you. Just date. Opportunity doesn't knock twice. You yourself said lots of girls like him. If you don't give him an answer soon, he might move on."

"No way!"

Leo pulled Suuzan away from the wall, closer to him, looking intently at her. The nine A.M. sun wasn't making them hot, but their throats were already begging for iced tea.

"Whatever. I told you. The decision's yours. Whether you wanna date or not. Break's almost over. I'm going to Mbok Nah's stall. I'm thirsty."

Leo didn't want to talk anymore. His mouth would foam if he argued with Suuzan. No point. Besides being stubborn, Suuzan was actually indecisive. She found it hard to decide what to do.

"Leo…" Suuzan called out to Leo in a whiny voice as he started to leave.

Leo turned around. "What now?"

"Don't leave me."

"Alright, hurry up then!"

Suuzan immediately trailed behind Leo. They headed to the cafeteria. Unbeknownst to them, Vivi secretly saw Leo and Suuzan together behind the school. She smiled, looking at her brand-new phone with a camera that was pretty clear, as in this era, only a few phones had camera features.

"Suuzan, how can you be so close to Damar and Leo? Who are you? You're not even pretty. Your grades are just so-so. You're acting all high and mighty trying to get close to the two hottest guys in school. You totally don't deserve them. Just wait. I won't let you be with either of them. I'm the one who should be liked by those cool guys."