Chapter 15

Days passed by, and Keivan and I started getting closer again. Although he never really said what we were, all I knew was that I was happy. Maybe he just wanted to forget or distract himself from the pain he was feeling because of his cool-off with Angela.

One day, we went out together to watch a movie, his treat.

"Wow, that movie was so emotional," I said as we walked around the mall after watching.

"Yeah, I didn't expect the girl to die at the end," Keivan replied.

It was a truly tear-jerking movie. We sat on one of the benches in the mall, catching our breath.

"Laine, can you be my partner at the JS prom?" he asked, catching me completely off guard. I was so shocked that I couldn't answer right away.

"It's okay if you don't want to," he said, looking down.

"I-I didn't say I didn't want to," I explained, feeling flustered.

"So, can you be?" he asked again, and I nodded. I saw him smile, and in that moment, I wished this could be our reality forever. I was waiting, hoping he'd say we could be together again.

I was overjoyed that day. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out, playing in the arcade, and enjoying each other's company. I didn't want the day to end. After all, I was still madly in love with Keivan, and I couldn't deny it.

Alzid had called me several times during the day, but I didn't answer. I didn't want anything to ruin my mood. Lately, I had been ignoring him, often giving him the cold shoulder. Honestly, I couldn't wait for the contract to end because he was starting to get on my nerves. Only three more weeks and it would be over. I felt that Keivan would finally come back to me and realize that we were meant for each other.

The prom was next week, and I was so excited.

When I got home, I wasn't expecting to see Alzid in the living room. I didn't know why Aunt always let him come over.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls, Laine?" he asked angrily as he stood up from the sofa.

"I'm busy," I replied, wanting to just go to bed since it was late and I was already feeling sleepy.

"I know you were with him," he said softly, but loud enough for me to hear.

"Yeah, I was. So, can you stop bothering me?" I said, a bit annoyed.

"You're not following the rules of the contract anymore. You're avoiding me, right?" he said, sounding more hurt than angry.

"I'm just sick and tired of you, Alzid. Honestly, I want to end this contract already," I blurted out, unable to hold back my true feelings about our arrangement. He looked at me, his eyes filled with a sadness that made me feel guilty.

"B-but don't worry. I'll still help you convince your mom for the next three weeks," I added, trying to soften the harshness of my words.

"It's okay... We're done with the contract," he said with an emotion I couldn't quite place—dark, cold, and final. His words stunned me.

"W-what do you mean by that?" I asked, though deep down, I already knew.

"Forget about the contract, forget everything. It's all over. Thanks for your help," he said before leaving without another word.

I was left feeling confused and guilty. Why did it feel so wrong? Instead of feeling relieved that the contract was over, I felt burdened, like I had hurt him.

Days passed, and he didn't reach out or show up anymore. He used to pick me up and drop me off, but now he was gone... completely out of my life.

"You're such an idiot! You fought with that boyfriend of yours when he was still useful!" Aunt scolded me one day when I got home from school.

"What are you talking about, Aunt? And for the record, Alzid was never my boyfriend," I replied.

"Doesn't matter. Did you know he gave me money every time he came here?" she said angrily, but I was shocked.

"What? Why would he do that? And Aunt, you shouldn't have accepted it. That's embarrassing," I said, stunned.

"Why wouldn't I accept it? He asked me to let him come here and pick you up or drop you off. He's such a nice kid, good-looking too, but you... you stupidly pushed him away. Do you think you're all that, huh?" Aunt continued to scold me.

I wasn't expecting to hear that. Why did he have to go that far? I felt terrible.

I went to my room, changed my clothes, and started working on my assignments. While looking through my papers, I found the contract we had signed, reminding me of the agreement I broke. Even though he was moody and difficult, he had been kind to me. I wanted to apologize. I picked up my phone and typed:

("I'm sorry, Alzid...")

I was about to send it, but I deleted it instead. I felt too embarrassed. Maybe I shouldn't do this, right? After all, he seemed angry and didn't want to talk to me anymore. So, I didn't send the message, and that night, guilt kept me awake. I didn't know why I was thinking of him. Was it because I felt I had hurt him?

In those moments, I felt sad because I realized I had been mean to him. I also found myself missing his silly antics. But gradually, I started to forget about him, especially because of Keivan. We stayed close, going out together, but nothing between us seemed to progress beyond that.

Sometimes, I wanted to ask him what we were, but I was afraid of his answer. So, I left things as they were. What mattered to me was that we were together, and I was happy.

Finally, the JS prom arrived.