5 Between the Chips and Drinks

The eco-park is full of different kinds and species of trees and plants. At the end of it, there is a small hill with a cliff-like structure on its other side, where a huge acacia tree stands completing a picture-perfect scenery.

"There you go, Amazon." Ace said as soon as he stopped the car on the hillside.

I had to tell him the directions on our way here because the place is quite far from the well-maintained part of the park. No one comes to this part because it is secluded and dark due to the huge and leafy trees around it.

"Great." I went out of his car with the things that I bought and my phone.

He followed without turning off the lights from his car because it is the only thing that could keep us see.

"What now? Are you planning to salvage and torture me?" I can imagine him frowning by the tone of his voice that made me roll my eyes while turning on the flashlight on my phone.

"That's actually a good Idea, but no. I have a better one. I might plan that next time, thanks for the idea." I answered before I started walking up the hill. He followed behind me and also used his phone to light our path.

As we climbed up, the cool night breeze started to touch our skin. The trees around also started to get fewer and fewer every step and allowed the clear sky to illuminate us and our path.

"This is not bad." He said upon seeing the view as soon as we reached the top. I looked at him and amusement could be seen from his eyes and face.

Except for the single acacia tree, there are no trees on top of the hill which finally permits the clear night sky to illuminate us and our surroundings. With this hill and the natural high elevation of our area, the city lights could be seen as if there is a sea of stars below us. While this is already a breath-taking view, the bright crescent moon and trillions of real stars from the night sky above complement the whole scenery turning it into a beautiful piece of art.

"I didn't know that this kind of place exists here." He added while looking up in the sky.

"I know right."

"How did you find this place?" he asked.

"I like to wander." I simply answered.

I was about to sit on the ground beside the tree when he turned to me and immediately stopped me with his furrowed eyebrows.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Taking a seat?" I answered as if it was the most obvious thing.

Isn't it obvious?

"With that skirt?" He pointed at my skirt uniform.

It is when I realized that we are still in our school uniform and on my above-the-knee skirt. I forgot to bring something that we could sit on.

He just hissed at me. He removed his coat and laid it on the ground.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Just sit there, it is better than nothing." He said.

"If you say so, " I said before I took my seat and leaned my back against the tree.

He just shook his head before he sat beside me facing the view of the city.

I pulled the bag of chips that I bought from the convenience store earlier and put it between us along with five canned chocolate drinks.

"So, your plan is to have an evening picnic." He said and grabbed one of the chocolate drinks.

He was about to drink it when I snatched it from his hand.

"This is mine, stupid."

"Hey, can't I have one at least?" he complained.

I rolled my eyes while munching the snack.

"Here's yours." I hold the other bag in front of him. It contains canned beer that I also bought earlier.

"Beer?" He asked in confusion

"You still need that, don't you?"

He just smirked as an answer and took one can to drink it.

"But I am warning you, Javier. Dare to do that again, I'll hit you this time or push you on that cliff." I threatened him, which made him lightly laugh.

"That was really dumb, I know. I'm sorry." He said and took another gulp of his beer. "You're really unpredictable." He added quietly that made me look at him

"What?"

He looks back at me.

"This doesn't feel like paying a debt. Renz and Vince made me buy them expensive coffee this morning for how I treated them last night. With you, this is not what I expect to happen today." He explained.

"What did you expect then?" I turned my gaze back to the scenery in front of us again and waited for his answer.

"Wrath of an Amazon, maybe? Or your brother hitting me. Basically, I expected to go home today with bruises and cracked bones either from you or Sam, or both." He narrated smoothly as if he had already made that picture in his mind for a very long time.

I smirked.

"Yeah. That is possible if he will know. I'm not a kid to tell everything to my brother and expect him to solve my issues, stupid." I pause and gulp my drink. "There's no point to be annoyed anyway, it already happened. Just dare to do it again, I'll make sure that you'll experience everything that you imagined and even worse. That beer and this place, on the other hand, just think of this as my birthday gift to you, crazy stupid thief."

"Crazy stupid thief?" He repeated in amusement. "I will let this pass today, bratty Amazon."

"Blame that woman who cheated on you," I said pertaining to his issue last night that made him crazy and a thief.

I felt him look at me and stared.

"How did you- damn. Did I say that much?" He asked in surprise.

The side of my lips curves into a smirk. His reaction confirmed all of my conclusions.

"Do you want to hear my inferences?" I look at him.

I saw no refusal from his expression, so I continued.

"Last year, you were your normal self - jerk, asshole, and womanizer. This year, however, you became worse - a more stupid jerk, asshole, and womanizer."

He immediately stopped me and said, "Are you insulting me?"

I raised an eyebrow at him

"I am just describing you, stupid. Are you insulted?" I retorted sarcastically.

He grinned and drank his beer.

"Nah, I'm actually flattered. Thanks for the compliment. Go on with your deductions."

I rolled my eyes at him before I continued.

"So, I presume something happened during our summer break. I heard you stayed in the U.S. at that time. When you came back, you became worse as I said. Last night, you got drunk like hell and became a crazy stupid asshole after receiving a call according to Elle. From those facts and from your stupid statements last night, it's safe to assume that you met a woman while you're in the U.S. during our summer break.

Unfortunately, it seems like you met your match and fell in love with that woman. Since you thought you found your match, you decided to stop playing around but she eventually cheated on you with your friend. What do you think?" I look at him and raise an eyebrow.

He looks at me, frowning. He was about to open his mouth to talk when I interrupted him to add more.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot. She called you last night to tell you that she came here and wants you back."

"Are you spying on me?" He hissed after he was able to process everything that I said. Then, he took another gulp from his beer. "How can you be a concrete observant? You almost got everything right." He mumbled after he looked away from me.

His jaw clenched, and his face suddenly turned serious in a matter of seconds.

That is another confirmation, I guess.

"So, I am right. Someone cheated on Ace Javier, that must be an interesting woman." I smirked

"Renz, Vince, and even Elle don't know that."

"It's obvious Javier. When a guy became unreasonably stupid and crazy, most probably that's because of a woman." I said. "So, this is supposed to be a secret?"

He did not answer and continued drinking.

"How did you know that she's coming and wants us back?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Well, you're just fine the day before yesterday and earlier at school, then Elle told us that you suddenly acted differently after receiving a call before the party started. It's easy to conclude that it's her and that's what she wants."

He smirks bitterly. "Then, how did you know that it was a friend? I couldn't see any clue that could link him from your facts."

"Honestly, that part was just a guess."

"You can be a good asset for a crime department." He hissed and smirked. " But you got something wrong."

"What?"

"That I fell in love."

I tilt my head in confusion. "How can you say so?"

How can he act like that if he didn't fall in love? That kind of reaction from a call of a cheater ex-girlfriend will not just come from nowhere. Something deeper ignited that.

"I found her interesting, and I thought I found a match, yes. And that's it."

"You are saying that you just found this woman challenging and mistook it as something deeper than that?"

"Kind of like that."

I lightly shake my head. "Now, I wonder how a guy like you ends up being like this just because of a woman. You have been played by your own game. How ironic, is that your karma already?"

"I don't think she is, she doesn't even deserve to be my karma. If karma will even come to me, I'll know it, and I know it wasn't her."

"So, you believe in karma? You believe that sooner or later, everything that you do, including the nasty ones, will come back to you?

"Yeah, and when it comes, everything will change."

I frowned at his answer.

"You have a weird concept of karma." I commented as I finished my third can of chocolate drink. "You are not brokenhearted or sort then? You're not in pain?"

I look at him.

"I thought I was, but I realized that it was just my pride and ego."

His face is slightly turning red because of the beer. He is also being quite open and chatty. He must be starting to get drunk.

I smirked. "That's better."

He looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I mean, at least you're not brokenhearted, it doesn't suit you. You're too jerk for that."

"You kept on roasting me today." He grinned and drank his third can of beer. "I'll let this pass today."

He is quite drunk already, but he was still composed and normal, unlike yesterday.

I never thought that we would be this casual with one another. It still feels a little weird because the more we get casual, the more things I get to know about him – things that I never knew and saw from him.