CROSSFIRES AND CLOSE WALLS
593 Words
Chapter 7: Crossfires and Close Calls
(Seren Aveline Marquez’s POV)
Lunch break. Chaos. Noise. Typical.
I was sitting with Bea, Ira, and Lia under our usual tree — our sacred spot, our judgment-free zone. Bea was ranting about her TLE teacher’s weird obsession with banana-based recipes. Ira was half-listening, half-answering customers on her phone kasi nagshi-shift pa rin siya sa café after school. Lia was scrolling through Shopee with that look — the one that meant danger to her wallet.
But my mind wasn’t there.
It was back in the library.
Back with him.
Kael Ronin freaking Navarro.
“Girl, you good?” Bea asked, poking my arm. “You spaced.”
I blinked. “Huh? No, I’m— I’m fine.”
Ira smirked. “She’s been like that all week. Na-delay na utak niya. Must be the biker boy influence.”
Lia gasped. “Wait. Wait. Is he your academic rival or your emotional downfall?”
“Neither!” I hissed. “He’s just… annoying.”
Bea squinted at me. “So bakit blooming ka?”
“SHHH!”
They all burst into laughter like hyenas.
God, I need new friends.
---
(Kael Ronin Navarro’s POV)
“You're dead,” Reign whispered beside me as we walked past Seren's table.
“Huh?”
“Dude. The way her friends are staring at you like you just keyed their cars. That’s enemy energy.”
I followed his gaze. Yep. Glaring. Judgy. Intense. Especially that one girl — Ira? She looked like she could dismantle a whole motorcycle with just her eyes.
“She’s probably warning me telepathically,” I said, laughing. “Like, ‘Touch her and I will rearrange your face.’”
Reign snorted. “They’re protective. Can't blame them. Seren’s different.”
That word again.
Different.
And it wasn’t just her intelligence, or the fact she looked like peace and war at the same time. It was the way she saw through people. Like she listened with her whole self.
Most people pretend.
She didn’t.
And now I had a target on my back because of it.
Challenge accepted.
---
(Seren’s POV)
After class, I went straight to the gym. I needed to burn off this… tension. I wasn’t even sure if it was anger or confusion or something much worse.
I stayed later than usual. Just me, the echo of my steps, and the soft whir of lights above.
Until I wasn’t alone anymore.
“Nice form,” Kael said, appearing at the door with a helmet in hand.
I nearly dropped my racket. “Seriously? Do you have a tracker on me or something?”
“Relax. I was just passing by.”
I gave him a look.
He shrugged. “Okay, maybe I heard you’d be here. Heard you’re a beast on the court.”
I rolled my eyes. “Flattery doesn’t work on me.”
“Wasn’t flattery. It’s fact. That serve? Brutal.”
Silence.
And then…
“You play anything?” I asked.
He leaned against the wall. “Basketball. Sometimes. Street stuff mostly.”
Figures.
“You ever try badminton?”
He smirked. “Afraid I’d beat you?”
“I’d demolish you.”
“Is that a challenge, Ice Queen?”
My lips twitched. Just a little. “Fine. Tomorrow. After class.”
“Looking forward to it.”
As he turned to leave, he glanced back. “You know, your walls? They're tough. But you? You’re tougher.”
And just like that, he was gone.
But his words stayed.
---
To be continued…
- Writer
