Blue Hour

Chapter 75

“Are you really dating or did your father set you up with Pine Martinez? I mean, look at her, she is perfect and smart. If I were you, I would gladly accept so that the whole school would be jealous.” Miko said, waiting for my answers.

“Silly. Why would I even do that. Plus, I am not like you. You go to every pretty girl you see. We just met yesterday while waiting for my driver. I should not have talked to her if it ended up like this.” I sighed.

“When did I become like that? I just admire them. Here’s the thing, Ray. She looks so nice, and wouldn’t you want to have another friend? I am not giving you away, but since we are growing up already, wouldn’t it be nice to have the company of other people? You will be inheriting your father’s business in the future, so you need to step up everything. You need to socialize more.”

“Me, acquiring the company? That’s impossible. You know sister Rosalia and my older brother have been fighting over who will inherit the company. Plus, I am not really interested, that's why I am working hard so that I can start my own business.” I laughed.

“If you don’t want to acquire the company, just expand your circle of friends.” Miko said.

The bell rang again and it was time for half of our classes. It was the same everyday, our teachers giving activities. When it comes to group activities, of course, the other students will stay away from us and only Miko and I will team up. The teachers must have caught up with the situation, so they sometimes exclude us and give us different activities to avoid conflict. I have been used to this set up ever since grade school. Sometimes, I just watch the other students at the corner while they are enjoying themselves. There was a time that I even blamed my last name because of this, but there is nothing I can do.

The day has passed and they were still looking at me like I did something offensive to them. The gossip that I was dating Pine spread throughout the school like wildfire and there is no stopping it. I just need to ignore everything.

I was on my way home when I accidentally bumped into Pine. I asked our driver if I could ride the train, and told him that I will not tell father. He agreed, that’s why I ended up commuting. To my surprise, she was also riding the train.

“Oh, what a surprise to see you here.” Pine said and smiled. I just nodded in response, giving her a faint smile. I wanted to get away because I am not used to having conversations with the people that I don’t know. This was also one of my problems from the beginning.

“Did you sneak out from your body guards?” She asked, smiling.

Why is she pushing for a conversation, but I really wanted to get away. I don’t know what to say. The train was filled up with people already and I cannot transfer to a different seat. Again, I nodded in response. She just smiled at me, and did not react to how I responded.

“It’s okay, Mr. De Luna. You don’t have to push yourselves to answer my questions. Sorry for bothering you.” Pine said.

There was an awkward silence after that. My throat was itching and acting up. “Sorry about that, I am not just used to having conversations with other people.”

I saw that Pine was surprised that I had responded. Again, she looked at me smiling, making my heartbeat faster. The sweetness of her smile was really different.

“I understand. I know what you felt because I experienced that too when I was younger. You know, the thing with our last names. I sometimes thought of getting rid of it, but there was nothing I could do. I just mustered up my courage, and here I am now.” Pine explained.

“I see, but I really don’t know how to start conversations. Sorry, if I might have looked like I was rude to you.”

“That’s okay, Mr. De Luna. So can we be friends?” She asked.

“E-eh, about that, yes we can. But are you sure that you wanted to be associated with a weirdo like me? That’s how other people see me.”

“That’s fine. Just don’t bother them because they might be jealous because of your status. Plus, you don’t have to be shy. Look at you, you are really good looking, like the artist that appears on commercials.” She smiled.

“Why would I look like them. I am just plain looking”

“No, you look good. Are you free on Saturday?”

“Yes, why?”

“Let’s go out together, we are going somewhere.” She said,

“Are we going on a date?” I asked innocently.

“No, not that. We are doing something different.” Pine smiled. She took out her phone from her bag and gave it to me. She was asking for my number, and I guess I have no choice but to give it to her.

The train was already at my stop so I bid goodbye to her. As soon as I got off from the station, I received a text message.

“Thank you.” That was the message she sent me, and I don’t know, but I smiled after receiving it.

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Saturday came and Pine asked me to meet up at the mall near our school. It was so hard to get permission from my father, but I was surprised that he agreed. I told him that I will be going out with the daughter of Martinez, and he agreed in an instant. He just asked to take some bodyguards. It sounded fishy, but I did not bother.

I arrived at the location that we have talked about.

“Did you wait for long?” I asked.

“Not really, I just arrived.” Pine answered.