Pulling Me Into Him

Althea POV Have you ever fallen in love with someone for almost a decade? That’s exactly what happened to me when I first met my ‘the one’ when I was 6 years old. He was the only guy I liked and the only guy I have, but we didn’t really enter into that kind of relationship of being lovers. We have become friends since then and we helped one another even in dire situations, almost like husband and wife, but to him it was probably like a brother and sister relationship. Of course, what I meant is, we treat each other like family despite not being blood-related. We were just the best of friends and I was the only one who had the desire to push it further. So, I worked really hard and invested almost all of my time towards him to the point that he was the only one I talked to in class. I only ate lunch with him, I only studied with him, I only played with him, ONLY HIM. But in the end, he didn’t choose me and I bet he didn’t even consider me to be one of his choices. Name: Althea Coulson Nickname: Thea Pros/Cons: Childhood friend of a cute guy in class Followers: 32 His name is Ezekiel Kingsley, but I had the authority to call him Zeke. He was not a very popular guy on the campus but was still thirsted by a decent number of girls and idolized by his peers. He has a pretty face with dark hair which is as smooth as silk, eyes as blue as the clear sky, and his smile is as bright as the morning sun. He is a bit shy but still has enough confidence to hang out with anyone at any time, unlike me. From what I can remember, Zeke could play almost every sport in school. He may not be as good as the others, yet he still manages to keep up and play alongside everyone, which was kind of cool to watch back then. Compared to him, I was literally a nobody and was just one of the girls in the background who happened to be a childhood friend of a cute guy on the campus. Name: Ezekiel Kingsley Nickname: Zeke Pros/Cons: Athletic, Outgoing, Charming Followers: 1 028 Well, to be fair, nothing really happened between us since I didn’t physically confess. But come on, even any guy will notice my gestures and love signals. In the end, there was no tease, no hints or signs from him, we didn’t do anything courtship related. I was basically just the girl who was by his side, his childhood friend who kept sticking in his nose. Well, today is a mark of a brand-new day, ladies and gentleman. I will finally be able to let go of these unrequited feelings of mine. It’s kind of sad and truly a waste of time, but there are still a lot of boys out there where I would stand a chance, right? Someone who is worthy of my love and loyalty. So now, I’m on a hunt like a cat trying to catch a fish in the middle of a vast ocean. “Thea! Aren’t you late for your farewell party?!” my mom screamed from downstairs all across my room. “I’m just buying time but I’m ready” I replied with my comb still in my hair and my clothes half worn. *Sigh* I thought I would never see him again, but I guess this will be the last time and I can finally move on. For some reason, my instincts kicked in and I turned myself into the best I could possibly be. I applied my makeup perfectly, curled my hair and picked the best dress in my closet. It was supposed to be a farewell but why do I look like I am on my way to a f****ng date? Even my whole family was shocked to see me as I made my way downstairs. “Oh my, is that why you are so late for the party?” my mom gasped as she held a pot from the kitchen. “How unusual, so you’re dating that guy now, huh?” My brother says like he knows something while playing video games on his phone. “Who’s dating who?” My dad asked frantically as he missed the cup he was pouring from the mixer. “Do I look that bad?” I sadly asked, but I clearly wanted to be comforted. “No, you actually look really beautiful darling, we were just curious what made you do these kinds of things that you normally wouldn’t do on regular occasions. Is it because of Zeke, perhaps?” my mom said with a grin on her face as she placed the pot on the table. "I may have gotten a little overboard, but no, he’s my friend and I am not dating any guy unfortunately." I replied and my father was somehow relieved while my brother was staring at me suspiciously from the couch. "*Clears Throat* Well then, hurry up and drive her already!" my mom screams as she hits dad with her ‘love tap’ right at his head. "Alright, alright" my dad was crushed by my mom’s hand as he rushed himself through the garage. You can tell, my family is really supportive when it comes to me. Actually, I am not the type of daughter who shares all her experiences with her parents, nor am I close to my traitorous brother. I am used to dealing with my own problems, since I was too shy to tell them or scared about how they'd react to them. So, I decided not to tell or share anything with them, especially about Zeke, unless it is good news. If only I had the confidence to even open up to them, maybe I would feel much better than I am now. I arrived at the venue 38 mins late. It was a rented building full of flowers, lights and ribbons, almost like a debut. Well, as expected, they were already done with the games and activities, so they had started eating when I arrived. "You look great today, Althea, may I know who is the lucky guy?" my teacher, Ms. Anne asked as she approached me while holding a glass of juice which I seriously thought was champagne. "You look great too, Ms. Anne, but I'm not really into anyone right now." We both giggled and she escorted me to my classmates. For the entirety, I was just listening to them talking random things to one another while slowly sipping the drink that they gave me. My senses tingled and I happened to hear a conversation at the next table who were suspiciously talking about Zeke; "Have you guys seen Zeke? He looks so hot in his outfit today." "Right, I saw him talking with a girl a while ago. How lucky." "Maybe it was his classmate? He's not the type who goes out with girls ever since he had a girlfriend." “That would be an interesting issue, don’t you think?” “Shh, you might get us into trouble. We just graduated.” “He also reached a thousand followers in ‘SocialTalk’ just recently. He's becoming more popular these days despite having a girlfriend”. The rest were shocked about it, but to me this was not new. *Social Talk is an app used by students to communicate; chat or call, post and share pictures or videos, and track followers or likes. I looked and, it turns out, they were all major figures in our school who are also pretty famous in their own right alongside Zeke. I haven’t really seen or interacted with them a lot since I was busy focusing on Zeke most of the time back then, but they look really cool. I guess his sudden popularity made famous students like them wary about him too. Though I only know a few of them, I bet the rest are as good as the others. For instance, the tall guy with thick lips is Jubail Parler, also known as ‘Mr. Pres’ and is our Student Council President. He was known for his strong leadership and powerful voice to move a student’s heart. He is one of the most influential students in school and it has earned him 936 followers currently. The girl with long legs and overly yet perfectly applied make-up is our class ‘sexytary’, Alexa Bilden. Her make-up skills are known and desired by most people, especially during school events, as well as her beauty. This made her popular and she earned 1,120 followers, which is higher than Zeke. Lastly, Keith Sagishi, known by many as a ‘playboy’. He is very handsome and is also very good at playing basketball, which I once admired. However, he always had a change of relationship every month, which was kind of impressive, but a major turn off. He was the total opposite of me and I can’t believe I once hoped to be one of his girls, but with that said, it earned him 1,055 followers. Suddenly, my classmates noticed that I was very quiet and was all alone. So, they started to interrogate me by asking me a question which, to my surprise, was exactly on point with what I was trying to avoid. "By the way, Thea, you like Zeke, right? I saw you writing his name in your notebook once", one of my classmates asked "No way, he’s just my friend". I was embarrassed, but I had to keep my cool. "That’s so cute, both of you are childhood friends. Will there be any chance of you going out with him?" she asked, and how I wish that was the case, but I had already decided to get over him. "Well... it's just that..." Why am I getting nervous? "You don't have to hide it now; it was very clear to us that you like him. You’re even blushing as we speak". They suddenly looked at me with greedy smiles, they were so excited that it kind of freaked me out. "Even if I did, he already has a girlfriend and I already liked somebody else". I can't believe I said that in front of the whole class. This just made them ask more nonsense questions; "So, you did like him once, right?” “Who’s the new one?” "Is it one of us?” "It's not my boyfriend, is it?” "Is it the professor? He looks kind of hot to me too." They sound very desperate trying to know who it is, but I can't really think of anyone who I can play out as someone I like. Should I just make someone up? "Well, he's from my neighborhood, so you guys probably don't know who he is" I said, with a straight face. "Say, is he better looking than Zeke?" they asked. "Umm... yeah definitely" I replied confidently. I can’t believe I’m praising a man that didn't exist. "Really? Give us his name." "Well, you might get ahead of me so I might as well not tell you, right?" I sipped into my drink, trying to act cool. "Thea, your meanie!!" they replied in unison and we all laughed. I excused myself to get some desserts, well, just to get myself out of that mess. After all, I did not come here to meddle with that guy in my life again. It's quite the opposite, in fact. It started to rain as I looked through the window and remembered the times we played in the rain, back when it was pure and fun. But before I could even do that, I noticed a person was behind me from the reflection of the window. It started to get clearer and I noticed a familiar face. I turned around and, to my surprise, it was Zeke!