I tamed the female lead

Chapter 25

I couldn't cry because if I did, Orange would feel really bad but it was really hard to hold back. I hated seeing her sad and it was even worse because it was because of me. I felt horribly guilty and had to apologize but all my strength was focused on holding back my tears. This just felt so sad for some reason. Orange was never mad at me and she was never sad. I would have never thought that something I said or did would hurt her. I always made sure not to hurt anyone and she was the last one I wanted to make cry. I was biting my lip very hard to divert my attention. Orange saw it and suddenly put a finger between my lips to force me to relax. It worked because I got so surprised that I let go of my lip. I had bitten very hard and started bleeding a bit. It wasn't anything extreme but Orange frowned:

"You are hurt..."

I thought she would cry again so I quickly said:

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt."

It was hard talking with a finger in my mouth but it wasn't weird for some reason. Maybe that was the weirdest part of it all. I was so used to Orange touching me that she could have been glued to me and I wouldn't have noticed. Was this weird? Or was it normal? Should I push her away Or would that make her cry even more? Wasn't it normal being so close between best friends?

Hearing my answer, Orange frowned. Of course she didn't believe me. She didn't let go of my lip and just stared at it for long seconds. I had no idea what was going through her head but I didn't dare move waiting for her to make her decision.

"Why were you biting your lip?

-I..."

I couldn't say the truth so I just smiled:

"I just do that sometimes. It's nothing serious."

I was really good at lying. But then why did Orange look so hurt? She gently grabbed my hand and pulled me to a nearby bench before helping me sit down. She was handling me as if I were a dying person and this made me smile despite the weird atmosphere:

"I am really fine, Orange."

But she just became gloomier:

"Please stay here. I will be back very quickly."

She left and I thought I would wait for a long time but she in fact came back a few seconds later. I had no idea how this was possible but didn't ask. I wouldn't have had time to even if I wanted because Orange extended a cloth against my lips. She stopped a few inches away and looked at my eyes:

"This is going to sting a bit. Are you ready?"

I nodded and felt the cold liquid against the wound. It stung a bit but it was nothing and I smiled. Orange thought I twitched because I was hurt and I could see her eyes be filled with pain. She was adorable being all worried about me and I would have loved to tease her if she didn't cry a few minutes before.

"I am sorry. Just a bit more."

She finished treating my wound and once she was done she bent closer to blow gently on it to help dry it. I flinched for some reason. Feeling Orange's lips so close to mine was weird. Was it supposed to be weird? I just said that it was weird that being so close to her wasn't weird. So maybe her being so close to me being weird made things less weird. What I just thought didn't make any sense but I relaxed anyway.

"Is it better?"

I quickly nodded scared to see Orange worried:

"Yes. It doesn't hurt at all anymore."

Orange still looked worried and I noticed how red her eyes looked. I wanted to bit my lip but Orange immediately jumped and quickly grabbed my lower lip, pulling it down gently:

"Please don't bite it again. You will reopen the wound. If you want to bite something, bite my finger instead."

I frowned.

"Your finger?"

I shook my head:

"I can't bite your finger."

Orange frowned and started looking for something in her pocket:

"Or you could bite this."

She finally found the object she had been looking for and handed me a caramel. I became interested seeing food and this finally made Orange smile:

"It is quite hard so you can chew it for a long time if you ever want to bite something.

-Thank you."

I took the caramel and started chewing on it. It was in fact very hard and I had a hard time swallowing it. Orange sat down next to me and after a few minutes of chewing I finally turned to her:

"I am sorry about earlier."

She shook her head:

"You don't have to apologize.

-No, I have to."

Orange was about to shake her head but I motioned her to stop. She immediately froze and obediently stared at me:

"I didn't think you would be hurt. That's not an excuse but I never wanted to hurt you. I wanted to tease you and I am truly sorry. It won't happen again.

-I am not mad at you.

-But you can. You can get mad if I do something wrong."

Orange smiled:

"I could never get mad at you. And you can tease me all you want. I promise you to never do anything to hurt you or disappoint you so please, just promise me never to cry because of me.

-But..."

I was ready to argue but Orange shook her head. I never saw her so determined before:

"Promise me."

I was so shook by her determination that I just nodded, not knowing what to say. Orange immediately relaxed and smiled as if nothing. We stood up and we went back to the tea party pretending as if those few minutes never happened. The others seemed happy to see us and the day ended on a good note. All the weirdness disappeared and we went back to having fun with our classmates. Orange did stick to me a bit more but nothing out of the ordinary.

Saber kept her distance from Orange a bit but she was still very lively and she seemed to have an interesting conversation with other girls so maybe I was just imagining things. She seemed to really like me however, always smiling when our eyes met. To make sure that Orange didn't feel left out again, I would smile at her after every smile at Saber. We did stay good friends with Saber and we would meet up with her and talk even at school. She made a lot of friends but she seemed really happy every time she saw me so I wasn't making things up.

We weren't in the same class but she would run up to me every time we crossed paths. That was usually when I was alone and I realized that she never did so when I was with Astéria. Maybe as everyone else she was scared of her or she was as racist as everyone else. If that was the case, then I didn't really want to stay friends with her but I felt that it wasn't the case so I decided to test her. One day as I was walking with Astéria to go eat, I decided to pass in front of Saber's classroom and seeing us together she just smiled shyly but I took advantage of the situation and went up to her myself all smiles:

"Hi, Saber! How are you today?"

She seemed surprised by my sudden friendliness but I could see how touched she was by it too.

"Hi there, Poehina. I am fine, thank you. Everyone is so nice so I am having a great time at this school. What about you?

-I am happy that you found your place easily. Have you met Astéria already?"

I designated Astéria who was waiting obediently behind me. The latter didn't move an inch but I could feel some tension in the air on Saber's side:

"Oh... I haven't. Nice to meet you, Astéria. I am happy to meet one of Poehina's friends."

Saber extended Astéria a hand and smiled. Astéria stared at her hand for a few seconds and took it before shaking it. Saber grimaced for some reason but Astéria soon let go of Saber's hand and the latter regained her smile.

"We are going to eat. Do you want to come with us?"

I didn't wait for Saber's answer and turned to Astéria first:

"Would you mind? Saber is a new student and she doesn't know a lot of people yet."

Astéria smiled politely before shaking her head:

"I do not mind at all. You are such a good person, Poehina. You always look out for everyone."

I shook my head.

"I met Saber during the tea party at my house. She was really nice and I wanted to get to know her better."

I could read how touched she was on Saber's face but for some reason she didn't dare agree. Was she really scared of Astéria? I couldn't help being disappointed but the next second Saber said this:

"I would love to eat with you guys! I didn't want to disturb you because you seemed so close and I don't want to be the kind of girl who comes between two friends."

I titled my head. I wasn't expecting this and was pleasantly surprised. Saber was truly a nice person.

"Oh, that's so nice. Don't worry, you are never intruding. We are just happy to get to know you."

I turned to Astéria to make sure she was okay with this. She did say that she wasn't comfortable eating with Orange and my friends because of what happened but she didn't say anything about strangers.

"Am I right?"

Astéria nodded with a smile:

"Of course. I would love to get to know someone that Poehina likes. She is an incredible judge of character."