Chemistry

A Closer Look

I got up to walk around, and that's when I saw a guy. I couldn't see his face clearly, but he was out of breath like he had been running. I ignored him and continued walking, but suddenly, a group of high schoolers ran past, looking for someone.

I didn't care at first, but suddenly, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me into their arms. It was the man from earlier. I was about to punch him for touching me when I realized it was him—the guy from the convenience store. Before I could ask anything, he spoke. I was suddenly sitting on his lap.

"Wait, I know you have a lot of questions. I didn't mean to startle you, just help me today," he said calmly.

"Wait a minute, can you please let go of my hand? You're hurting me with your grip," I replied, wincing slightly at the pressure. He loosened his grip, and I sat beside him

"Are you the one they're looking for? You didn't steal anything, did you?" I added.

"Yeah, they're looking for me, but no, I didn't steal. It's just some problems. Just help me," he replied.

"You know, I’m getting really annoyed. Help me, help me today... but how exactly?" I replied, looking annoyed and crossing my arms.

The group was getting closer; I could already hear their voices. Suddenly, he grabbed my waist and pulled me back onto his lap.

"Holy s**t, what is this!" I shouted, startled by the sudden intimacy.

"I'll explain later. Wrap your arms around my neck," he responded.

"What the f**k, no!!" I replied.

I was still complaining, but I wanted to help him. He looked at me, then looked away, appearing to have second thoughts. Finally, I did what he said. It was so awkward. This was my first time being this close to a guy. Honestly, even though he was sweaty, he smelled good.

The guys saw us and walked closer. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hid his face against me. I noticed he still kept some distance, not wanting to press against my chest. I covered his face with my hair. They were right here. I acted surprised and screamed.

"Ahhh!! The hell is your problem What do you think you're doing?" I looked at them fiercely.

One of them spoke while the others stared at us. The guy was holding me with his eyes closed.

"Miss, this is a public place. This isn't a hotel for that kind of stuff," he said, and they all laughed mockingly.

"Oh please, you really think we're doing what you're thinking? It's just your dirty-ass mind," I replied.

The other one spoke, "Don't even bother with them, we still need to find Reign. He really messed up Steve's face." They finally walked away.

"Looking like a wart, smelling sour as hell, and probably has lice in his hair!" I muttered under my breath as they left.

When I looked back at him, he was smiling. Wasn't it said that he never smiles? Why is he smiling right now? He even had a dimple, and I noticed that his nose was very sharp. I pushed him away, looking annoyed, and sat beside him—but a bit farther away this time.

"My life is already unlucky, and now it's even worse. Ever since I saw you, I always bump into you," I said, annoyed. "Why were they looking for you, anyway? They even said you beat up one of their friends," I added calmly.

He was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Oh yeah, it’s because his face was so ugly, it was putting me in a bad mood, so I punched him," he replied sarcastically. But his face still didn't show any emotion. Was that a joke? I didn't think so.

"You don't even have a reasonable answer, do you?" I said calmly. "I'm not stupid enough to believe that. Well, I don't really know you well, but I think you're a decent person just by looking at you."

"The way you speak, you don't seem to know who I am, do you?" he replied, looking at me.

"Yeah," I replied with a weird, skeptical face.

"My name is Reign, by the way, in case you're interested," he said with a serious face.

As if I'm interested in him or something.

"Reign?. I'm Ivy," I replied.

We sat beside each other for a few minutes. This feels so relaxing—glancing at the sky, watching the sea motion—and I noticed how he respects my personal space. When I looked at my phone, I saw it was getting late; my mom might be home already.

"It's getting late, I need to go home," I added as I stood up. He stood up, too.

"Take care," he said as I walked away. We headed in different directions.

When I got home, as expected, my mom was there.

"What time did you leave school that you're only arriving just now?" she asked calmly as soon as I walked inside.

"I just walked around for a bit, hoping to find something to eat," I replied. I sat beside her on the couch while she watched television.

"What’s our viand, Mom?" I asked.

"We bought some fried chicken there for you. Go ahead and eat. We already ate earlier," my mother replied. "Also, I bought some takoyaki there, since you said you wanted some," she added.

"Alright, I'll go eat now," I replied, smiling.

After eating, I washed the dishes, showered, and went to bed. I scrolled through my phone, watching short videos on social media. By 10 PM, I got bored and eventually fell asleep with my phone still in my hand.

I woke up late the next morning because I didn't set an alarm and we had no classes. My mother wasn't home because she had to go to work. I turned on the TV to watch while I ate breakfast on the couch. Suddenly, my phone rang—it was Raina. I picked it up.

On the phone:

"You son of a b***h!! We’ve been messaging you non-stop. You haven't even replied once. You girl!" Hezi screamed, her voice sounding angry.

"Oh, you guys were messaging? My phone was on DND (Do Not Disturb), and my Wi-Fi wasn't on, so I didn't notice," I replied, laughing.

"You actually have the nerve to laugh! Come on, they said let's go out. Raina and I will go to your place. I'm just going to shower and so is she,"

Hezi said.

"Where are we going again? All you do is go out. Don't bring your boyfriend here to the house, okay? He'll just smell sour," I replied sarcastically.

"Look at your face! My boyfriend is handsome, you know!" Hezi replied.

"Of course he’s handsome in your eyes, he probably used a love potion on you," I replied, laughing.

"You're just looking for attention! Fine, I'm hanging up. Just wait for us there later," Hezi said and hung up. After the call, I checked my DMs and saw that they really had been messaging me nonstop.

I continued watching TV and completely forgot about my meetup with Raina and Hezi. I was drawn into the movie. After a few moments, I heard someone calling my name from outside. I went to check and saw Raina and Hezi standing at the gate, all dressed up. That was when I realized we were supposed to hang out today; I had just talked to Raina earlier but completely forgot afterward. When I opened the gate, they were looking at me fiercely.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot! What I was watching was just so good, huhu," I said, opening the gate.

Raina pinched my waist and Hezi pinched my cheeks.

"You're such an annoying girl! I just spoke to you on the call, right? You even said yes, and now you're not even dressed. Amazing!" Raina said as we walked into the house.

"I said I'm sorry! I'll shower now. Just sit there for a bit. Wait for me, this will be quick," I replied.

"There she goes again, so forgetful. And she’s still so young," Hezi added to Raina as I walked to my room to shower.

After finishing my shower, I picked an outfit and dressed up. I saw them talking on the couch while watching TV. They looked at me as I checked my reflection in the mirror. "So, are you done?" Raina asked.

"Wait, I’ll just put on a little powder and lipstick, hehe. I’ll make it fast, okay? Here I go, don't be mad anymore," I added. Once I was done, I asked them to unplug the TV and I turned off the power and locked the gate.

"You look extra today, ha," Hezi said, smiling at me.

"What do you mean by 'extra'? I've always been like this," I replied.

"I just think you look blooming," Hezi replied.

"I guess I’m beautiful every day, just kidding!" I joked.

"It's actually true," Raina said.

"Oh stop it, you're just flattering me," I replied smiling.

We went to the mall because Raina said she was meeting someone there. We walked around for a few moments until we saw the guy. He was kind of tall, though not as tall as Reign. He was quite decent-looking. He greeted us, and I just nodded.

Hezi sensed the awkwardness of my response; I don't really like talking to guys and my actions can seem mean.

"Haha, don't take it personally. She's just not the friendly type," Hezi told him.

"It's fine, I don't mind," he replied.

I heard his name was Niel—it sounded like a "bad boy" name. I didn't like it. Raina seemed happy with him, and Hezi was the same with her boyfriend. What was I even doing here? Just watching them be lovey-dovey? I kept quiet as we walked through the mall. Being around guys I'm not close with makes me uncomfortable, but Hezi and Raina still tried to ease the awkwardness and include me.

We ate at a restaurant with their boyfriends. After a while, they excused themselves to take pictures in a couple's photobooth. I was left outside, sitting on a chair alone, waiting for them.