I can fight too

chapter 12

I take a deep breath before facing Benz and I don't know who else but I am sure Mia would definitely be there. Thinking of her right now opens up lots of questions in my brain. I thought she cared about other's feelings because that's what I thought a sweet girl like her would do. Seems like I was a bit too quick to judge.

"I will put the blame on you if anything goes wrong" I look back as push the door to my favorite spot.

"trust me"

How can I trust him when he is the one pushing me to the situation that I hate to face so much?

I shake my head as I look at the left corner of the room and spot, not two but four of them! I don't think I can handle it anymore!

They were so focused on their own world that they didn't see e yet. I think that's my cue to just get out of here. So I turn back towards Ryan and look at his green sparkling eyes.

"Hey, I think I don't have to know anything about you. I mean we are just friends. The questions that I have are not worth the struggle I have to go through. So let's head back" I whisper at him as I drag him back towards the door without waiting for his response.

"Hey, Car?"

Too much for sneaking out!

"Ryan, tell them that they are mistaken" I whisper yell at him as I stand rigidly by the door, facing away from Benz as I close my eyes praying to God that I get the power to disappear from here.

"Hey, you must be Benz"  Ryan cheered as he releases his wrist from my tight grip.

"You must be Ryan" I hear the voice nearing us and because I want to run away from them, I try opening the door when I feel Ryan pulling me from my shoulder and turning me towards Benz.

"hi" I stammer as I look at Ryan with a warning and a smile that promised an act of revenge.

"So you still angry with me for what I did?" Benz looks at me with those sad eyes.

"well, what did you do? I think I forgot do could you remind me again?" I sass back as I fold my arms and observe Benz. He surely seems uncomfortable and by the look on his face, he is battling with his own thoughts. As he opens his mouth to respond, I hear that cheeky voice again!

"Hey Benz, we won't mind having a triple date you know, you can invite them here" Evelyn shouts as she checks Ryan out from head to toe. 

I don't know why but, her voice somehow touches my nerve and the only thing I feel is irritation and thirst to fight. It's crazy I know! And did she say date? Seems like Mia likes Benz too. Good for him!

"Yeah, why don't you two join us?" Benz looks at me and back at Ryan, who, by the way, is busy assessing all the people on that table.

"sure" Ryan answers as he grabs my hand and leads me to the table.

"Let me guess, are you cousins?" Evelyn asks as she looks at Ryan and smirks.

I hate this girl!

"well, we are friends actually" Ryan fills in as he takes a seat beside me.

"oh... I thought you were dating this guy" Mia ask as sweetly as ever and smiles at me.

By the tone she is using, I think she is pretty good at acting too because she is talking to me like nothing happened; like she did nothing wrong! I don't know how to even respond to her.

"And here I was, thinking that Carrie is a well-mannered girl! Are you ever going to introduce him to us?" 

Yup! Evelyn has some issues with me. I don't know what I did to make her hate me so much; I mean besides yesterday.

"well, that's because, Carrie, knows that I like introducing myself" Ryan responds as he smiles back at Evelyn but I didn't miss fact that his hands are clenched.

"I am Ryan by the way" he extends his hands towards Brandon, who by the way is always in silent mode.

I wonder why he chose a girl like Evelyn.

"I am Evelyn. I am a cheerleader and I am the captain of the women's basketball team" I bite my lips to hold my laughter because who introduce themselves like that? I don't!

"Hello, Evelyn" Ryan smiles a fake smile her way as he gains the attention of a waitress to place an order.

"so how did you two become friends?" Evelyn asks as she takes a sip from her coffee.

"well, in the library" Ryan explains as he orders two cups of coffee for both of us. I am thankful to him that he didn't order any food because I don't think I can handle being with Evelyn at all.

"So Carrie, about yesterday, we hope that you can forgive us. I mean, we were all drunk and we don't even remember what we said or did. By the time we woke up, Benz filled us up with a summary of the previous night. Trust me, we didn't mean any of the things we said yesterday" Mia explains as she holds my hands and looks at me with pleading eyes.

I know that what they did is something that made me understand them better and I know that I can never forget what they did to me. However,  they are still my friends and Benz is my best friend. I just cannot ruin our friendship because of this. I think we can talk this through; after few days I mean.

"well, It's okay, I understand" I force a smile as I watch Mia taking a sigh of relief and this makes my blood boil because what she did is something I can never forget but I had to forgive her because I know how crazy Benz is over her.

"well you know, I read in one of the research books that when one is drunk, he speaks nothing but the truth" Ryan remarks as he fakes a laugh and shakes his head as he looks around the table and smiles even broader when he observes Benz rubbing the back of his head.

"I thought you were on my team" I whisper at him as I pretend to smile as I talk to him.

"I am darling"

"oh... look how cute you two look together! Are you two dating?" Mia asks as she clapped her hand excitedly and somehow, I feel that she is faking it all because who in their right mind would be so cheerful after receiving a sour truth? Unless she is trying to act unaffected to prove that what Ryan said is not true. Cunning wolf!

"We are just friends Mia, You see, not everyone is in search of love" I smile at her as I accept the coffee that the waitress brought.

"ha! Or it could be that nobody likes you enough to ask you out for a date" Evelyn smirks as she wraps her arms around Brandon. 

She might be true but I am not going to let her win! 

"or maybe, I choose to accept the love that is pure and not just for the show" I fire back at her as I see her tense before relaxing.

"what do you-"

"you see, that's why we are friends. Carrie is a smart girl. She can easily recognize the fake from the real and that makes me feel proud that I am her friend" Ryan interrupted as he takes a sip of his coffee and smiling at me; a genuine smile and this makes my heart flutter a bit because no one ever said that to me. Even if Ryan is saying it to save me from embarrassment, I am happy that he said what he said. It makes me feel like I am something.

"Yeah, I agree with Ryan" Benz interjects as he smiles at Ryan and then back at me.

"seems like you two get along just fine Car" Benz remarks as he looks at me with examining eyes. I don't know what he is looking for though.

I hear Evelyn scoffing but I decide to not look her way. I am happy right now and I want to be happy for a while.

"Yeah, I mean now that we are friends, I can't imagine my life without a friend like her. I mean, she is real, she doesn't show off like most of the girls do, she loves reading, she is hardworking, she is smart, she loves reading and she is farsighted.. the list can go on but to cut it short, Carrie inspires me to be better every day" Ryan smiles the whole time he says that and his hold is still on to Benz as if he is communicating something to  Benz.

"Yeah, She is such a lively girl. So why don't you ask her out Ryan?" Mia suggests as she smiles at Ryan and looks at Evelyn who is now smirking.

What's up with Mia today? Why is she insisting on that same point? And why is Evelyn smirking?

I can tell that they are up to something and it is definite that they are in the same boat. I guess I will have to do some homework on Mia.

"well Mia, I don't want to date right now," I tell her through my greeted teeth as I look at her but her attention is not on me. She is looking at Benz.

I follow her gaze and all I see is a calm Benz who is looking at Ryan. I am confused right now. What is happening? Is there a staring contest I am not aware of?

"well... Like she said, I respect her wish and I am more than happy to be her friend" Ryan answers as he clears his throat.

"ha! Don't worry Ryan! Carrie is used to being insulted. You can just say it on her face that you hate the idea of dating her" Evelyn remark as she looks at me with a smirk. I could sense head radiating from Ryan as he clenches his jaw so tightly that I am more concerned about his teeth than him learning about my ugly life.

"Evelyn" Brandon warns her as he looks at her with a warning look. 

"what? I am speaking the truth here I mean even Benz said that he would never date a girl like Carrie. Don't you remember? He even said that if Carrie loves him and asks him out, he would put her in a dustbin to show her where she belongs! Come on! How can you forget? We all had a good laugh about it yesterday!" Evelyn is laughing and shouting as if she is seeking attention from the people in the room.

I don't know why but all I hear is the bell-like sound that is revolving around my head. I look around and I notice some shocked faces, some people stifling their laughs, some people looking at me with pity, and some with horrified expressions. One thing is clear though, all the people in this room hear what Evelyn said.

Somehow, their expressions remind me about the day my uncle insulted me at his party. The scene is nothing different from that horrible night except that this time, it's with the schoolmates and some people from my neighborhood.

As I begin to process what Evelyn just said, I look at Benz, waiting for him to say that he didn't say it or at least lie about it to save my feelings but all he is doing is causing and looking at me with pleading eyes. You see, I wanted him to stand by me just like he always does. I feel tears brimming my eyes as I feel the now familiar piercing in my heart as if I got stabbed in my heart. But I am not going to give that satisfaction to Evelyn and definitely not Mia because I can see from my peripheral vision how hard she is trying to not laugh.

As I move back to stand up and run, I feel Ryan grabbing my hand and squeezing it hard making me sit here rigidly. Is he planning to add more petrol to the fire?

Ryan is holding my hands as if to comfort me and it works to some point. 

"well really? I thought you were all drunk yesterday and that you didn't remember any of the events that took place yesterday?" Ryan snaps back as he looks with killer eyes at all of them. 

I don't know what's happening anymore but I do know that they all got exposed right now and that Benz has nothing to say on his defense and Ryan is fighting for me right now. Ryan; who has been my friend for just a few weeks is standing up for me! 

"well, that's normal Ryan, I am just glad that they feel into their own trap. I knew that they were lying from the moment they muttered sorry with insincere eyes." I smile as I try to sound calm and unaffected. I feel Ryan squeezing my hand indicating his encouragement.

"yeah, and I what did you say Evelyn? Did Benz here say that he would show Carrie her place by putting her in a garbage bin?" Ryan asks with raised eyes at her and all Evelyn can do is just stare and nod her eyes.