Traces of Midnight Fallacies

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Kevin looked with suspicion in Marcus' direction before he turned to look at me with his serious gaze. Based on the way he looks at me, it appears that I did something wrong to him without my knowledge.

"What are you staring at?" I asked when I felt anxious about his looks.

He stared at me darkly before he turned his gaze to Marcus, who was now busy nagging his twin sister, Macey.

"What took you so long?" he asked.

I sighed heavily because somehow he didn’t ask why Marcus and I were together when we both went inside. I don't know what I will answer when he asks about that thing. First of all, Marcus and I are not close enough for us to walk down the corridor together. Second, we don't want each other's presence, and I don't like him for what he did to me last time. If not because of what he did, there’s a chance I won’t be embarrassed in front of them. Yes, I wasn't literally embarrassed, but... that's how I felt about how they looked at me that time! Based on their looks, it seems like they were laughing and mocking me when I left them.

"I went to the library. I saw Celeste re-reading her book. It seemed like she was busy reviewing her notepad when I saw her. " I shook my head before I sat down in my seat beside him. "It seems like she's studying hard now."

"And do you think she will do that?" he hissed, which made me turn to look at him. "I knew her. She won't study well, especially now that she has this boyfriend-material-human on her side, "he added.

I did nothing but listen to his rants about her while puckering my lips. I saw his face redden a bit, because of irritation and annoyance, I think. He looks jealous whenever he remembers how Celeste told us that she's in a relationship now. I don't know if he wanted to hide it, but I think he failed to hide it in front of me. Maybe he can fool other people, but me, he would never do that.

Before he admitted his feelings for her, I already knew that.

"You sound jealous," I chuckled as he turned to look at me with annoyance in his eyes. "Did your ego get trampled on because you didn't expect a man to like her despite her attitude?"

"What are you thinking, Charmaine?"

I smiled at him, mockingly. "That you were jealous and you can't admit to yourself that you have feelings for her because of your pride."

He smiled a bit because of what I said. When I saw how he leaned back in his seat while biting his lower lip, I couldn't help but smile. I did nothing but stare at his actions, which now seemed to give in to what I told him.

I told you so...

"True, I do have feelings for her," he said, which made me grin while looking at him. He smiled widely at me. "But not romantic feelings like what you're referring to."

My eyebrows lifted a bit because of my confusion about what he had said. "What kind of feelings then?"

"Resentment and annoyance." His smile slowly faded while he was looking at me. "That's what I felt for her, and don't ship me to her because we were different. I don't like her, and she doesn't want me by her side. She's a bit talkative, and I hate that. I don't want her attitude, same with her face. "

I puckered my lips before I averted my gaze from him. "What else did you like about me then?"

He didn't respond to my question, so I decided to lift my head to turn to look at him. My face reddened when my eyes met his staring at me. He is a bit more serious now compared to earlier. He kept his gaze on me before he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, keeping his eyes on mine.

"You were completely different from her," he whispered while busy looking at me. I did nothing but bite my lower lips when I heard his answer. "I don't know, but when I saw you at the peak, I already knew that I liked you."

I felt my face redden a bit because of what he said. While waiting for our lecturer at that time, I remained silent. Kevin sighed heavily when he noticed that I had no plans to follow through on what I had asked earlier.

We were silent the whole time. It seems like the wind has just changed when we notice Celeste leaning against the railings while waiting for us outside of the computer laboratory.

I went out first because Kevin was not done yet with his things. Celeste looked at me from head to toe, but instead of asking her, I did nothing but chuckle a bit. We waited for Kevin to finish his things before we decided to head to the cafeteria.

Celeste continued to chat about her day without us, while Kevin did nothing but cut her off to somehow piss her off because it seemed like she was in the mood today.

"Why don't you waste your time with your new boyfriend?" he asked, teasing her.

Celeste laughed a bit. It seems like she's in romantic excitement because of what he said. When Kevin noticed that he hadn’t pissed off Celeste, he did nothing but roll his eyes until we got to the cafeteria.

"Order what you want," Celeste said as we sat in the vacant seat that Kevin chose. "This is my treat!"

"What happened?" I asked her, curiously.

Kevin looked at her a bit confused, especially when he heard what she said a while ago. "Seriously? Are you sick? "

"Paying for your lunch doesn't mean that something weird happened to me or that I was sick!" She hissed, which made me chuckle, while Kevin raised his eyebrows before he rolled his eyes. "I want to treat you guys because I completed my pre-test!" she said.

"Congratulations then!" I said, while clapping my hands, which made her smile. "It's time for us to celebrate."

"Why don't you invite your boyfriend to join us here instead?" Kevin hissed, which made us turn to look at him.

Celeste was annoyed because of what he said, while I did nothing but pucker my lips while looking at their faces. It seems like something may happen between them. This is the first time I've heard them hurl hurtful phrases and curses at each other since Celeste began dating another man.

"Why are you always blabbering about my boyfriend?" Celeste grunted, which made her more annoyed when Kevin hit her feet under the table. "Stop it, stupid-a*s!"

"Break up with your boyfriend or I will cut your hair!"

Celeste's shock was plastered all over her face while looking at him. Her face gradually reddened because of so much irritation, especially when Kevin mentioned her curly hair.

"Are you blackmailing me?"

Kevin hissed, "Isn't it obvious?" which made her annoyed. "Consider it as a threat, Ms. Bonifacio..."

"Oh my god!" Celeste yelled.

Some students near us turned to look at us. I knew that they were listening to the argument of the two in front of me, while I did nothing but remain silent while looking at them. It seems like there is no end to their fight right now in front of us. Some students secretly chuckled in their seats when they noticed Kevin, who was now busy kicking Celeste's shoes under the table. Celeste did nothing but return what Kevin did to her until they had tension between the two of them.

"Stop meddling with my relationship, Mr. Dela Fuentes, because I'm not interfering with your personal life," Celeste threatened him back, which made him smirk while looking at her painfully. "Not because we were friends, it doesn't mean that you can interfere in my life. You're just my friend, and he's my boyfriend. I will never choose you over him!

"Really?" Kevin asked while looking at her sarcastically. "You are willing to break our friendship just because of him?"

"Yes," Celeste replied mercilessly. "I will never choose you. If it's not because of Charmaine, I will never approach you because I don't like you. "

Kevin smiled miserably while looking at her. I know that Celeste was stunned when she met his eyes, but she remained upright while looking at his reaction in front of us.

"That's enough," I said, trying to ease the tension that had built up.

I thought they were purely teasing each other. I don't know that they were true to their words and it's no longer a joke for them. I tried to stand up, but what Kevin said made me stunned because of shock.

"Then our friendship was over," he said before he stood up and turned to look at me with a fake smile creeping on his lips. "Thank you for the two years we had. I had fun seeing you the whole time, "he added to Celeste before he left us.

I did nothing but maintain my posture while looking at him walking away from where we were. Celeste sighed heavily, and when I turned to look at her, I saw tears pooling on her cheeks before she knelt at the table and cried like a child. I didn't do anything, and I didn’t intend to follow Kevin. I tapped her shoulders in an attempt to alleviate her pain, despite knowing that it would have no effect on the pain she was experiencing at the time.