Chapter Thirty One

❀

BEAUTY +

When NJ returned from his kitchen to give us the booze, we immediately began drinking and as we drank, we began talking about random things mostly, about things that make no sense just to joke around and have a good laugh.

When we were out of topics and when we became drunk, we decided to play the game truth or dare. Honestly, I expected that we would play that game. After all, we were college students who got drunk in a condo unit. This game never gets old, especially when the players are drunk.

NJ was the one who started spinning the bottle and the first one the bottle chose was Audrey.

I saw him smirking and asked, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth" she answered as if she was already prepared for this. It seems that she's willing to tell us something about her in a very honest manner.

"What was your very first impression when you first met me?" He asked with his gaze attached on her's.

Not like I care or anything.

"You're cute," the drunk Audrey immediately answered. "And ha--wt," she added and began twirling a strand of her hair around her fingers as she kept on giving NJ a flirtatious smile that almost made me vomit. "Not to mention, the most valuable player in our school's basketball league," I heard her make a hiccup but continued. "Intelligent, wise and friendly too," she continued. "But if you were to ask me, I'd rather want us to become more than friends." She bluntly said and ended with a wink.

I heard drunk Tom whisper and said, "What a bold woman. I like that."

"Well, thank you Tommy," she answered, then giggled as she looked at Tom. "But I don't have any interest in you," she said, then looked back at NJ. "I have my eyes on this guy,"

My fists automatically gripped my skirt and for some reason, I kind of felt annoyed by that. Seriously? Was she trying to flirt with NJ right in front of me? Unbelievable.

Maybe it was just her drunk state talking but remember: Your drunk state is when you are most sober.

I watched Audrey as she moved closer to NJ and placed her head on NJ's shoulder. NJ didn't even budge! Could it be that he likes Audrey?

He didn't budge even a bit but he never flirted back and inwardly, I felt a sigh of relief and I knew it would be selfish of me to feel happy that NJ didn't flirt back.

But the night is still young, and there are a lot of things that could happen in one night.

"I'm taking that as a compliment," NJ answered.

As I watched them, I caught myself grabbing a bottle of booze, pouring it in my glass and began drinking it. Boy, it tasted bitter in my tongue and felt hot in my throat.

Audrey seems to be waiting for NJ to flirt back but when she realized that she was waiting for nothing, she pouted and moved away. I must admit that I almost laughed at that sight.

"Your turn," NJ said to Audrey. "Spin the bottle."

Audrey spun the bottle and it pointed to NJ. "Nico!" She began in a hyperactive manner which startled me. "Your turn!" She added and giggled playfully. I cannot believe that this is what Audrey likes when she's drunk. "Truth or dare?"

"Hmm.." NJ started. "How about a dare?" Audrey took the game as an advantage to make him kiss her. "Give me a passionate kiss" she said it like it was an order.

Tom made another whistle and I grabbed the bottle and poured it on my empty glass then drank all of it in annoyance.

And yes, I watched them as they shared a passionate kiss that lasted for like a minute. NJ didn't seem to mind that made me even more pissed but at the same time, he was the first to pull away.

"Back to the game," he started and began spinning the bottle that pointed to me! A smile formed his lips and asked, "Truth or dare?"

"I see that it's my turn already, huh?" I said and let out a hiccup. "Gimme a dare! Gimme! Gimme!" I said then heard Audrey clapping and laughed.

"That's my girl! Come ern, give her a dare!" Audrey encouraged excitedly.

"The same dare as Audrey asked me," he said then looked at Tom. "Except, I want you to kiss your boyfriend." He said and looked at Tom.

"Wait, what?" I reacted. "I changed my mind. How about the truth?"

"No cheating!" NJ said. "What's wrong with kissing your guy? It's not like you guys are strangers to each other, you know?" Then he added, "Unless you are only pretending?"

I noticed Tom stiffened and his face became even more reddish than it was earlier. Maybe he was just drunk, that's all.

"Are you calling us a liar?!" I reacted, showing him that I was pissed off at him but not because of the dare he asked me, but because of the pain he caused me when he kissed Audrey even though it was nothing but a dare.

Without saying any further words, I caught myself wrapping my arms around Tom's neck, pulled him closer to me, and placed my lips onto his. I felt his shoulder tensed but after a while, I felt him kissing me back. After a minute or 2, I pulled away from him then grabbed another glass of alcohol and drank it.

"Whoa" I heard Tom mutter under his breath and from my peripheral view, I could see that he's been forced to hide the smile on his lips. I hope he didn't forget that none of what we are doing is real. I hope he didn't forget that everything is fake.

"My turn to spin the bottle," I said, blinking my eyes because my vision started to become blurry. I started to spin the bottle and it pointed to NJ.

"Ooh, I'm getting my revenge," I thought and grinned. "Now, choose. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," he answered and crossed his arms on his chest.

"Remember when you said that you like Beauty and that you two had a history?" I started. "Tell us your whole story." I dared. I know that I was using the situation as my advantage to gather the details that I've been dying to know but I was desperate so I did.

I saw his shoulder stiffened for a while, then breathed out. "Fine, I'll tell you."

Audrey and Tom both fell silent as if they were curious about that, but not as curious as I was. You couldn't blame me. It was about ME!

"B and I dated way back when we were in highschool," he started. "We went to different schools and our schools both stayed in a camp during the summer," He then grabbed a cup and began drinking the liquor in it before continuing our story. "We met at the river. I saw her trying to catch a fish on that river. Who would even try to catch a fish in a running river?" He chuckled and drank another glass. "After we introduced ourselves to each other, we went back together at the camp and told each other the location of our cabins. Sometime during the night, I would sneak out just to go to her cabin. Then one night, I decided to ask her out but nothing serious, just a summer thing."

He paused for a while and we were still silent. Then he continued the story. "I never thought that I'd like her that much to the point wherein I've thought of making our relationship serious," he said then in a serious tone, he added, "But just as when I became serious, she told me that she didn't want our relationship to become real." There was a hint of sadness and pain in his tone and it also made me feel sad as well. "I asked her to wait but she didn't," he continued but not before having another glass. "Then our summer thing ended during the winter. I was hoping that we could work on ourselves even if she didn't want to."

"How did you track her, then?" Tom asked.

"I kept following her in secret and when I felt that it was the right time, I began making a move. It was just sad that we met again on bad terms."

"It's your fault. You were mean to her, remember?" Tom said.

"'Cause I was too nervous to act normal so I acted like a jerk. She used to call me 'Cole'" He said. "I kind of missed that."

The story of us when we were in highschool was processing in my mind. I tried to dig in deeper but I couldn't seem to remember what the hell he was talking about! And to be honest, it was freaking me out.

"You could have just told her that you're Cole," Tom pointed out. "If you told her that you two were highschool chummies, maybe things could have been better for the two of you."

"I know," he said. "I regretted being mean to her so I've decided to make it up to her by visiting her often. But it didn't seem to work either." He said sadly. "But you know what hurts the most?"

"What is?" I asked.

"It was when she told me that she never dated anyone," he said. "I asked her if she ever dated someone but she said that she never dated anyone. That confirmed my hunch that she totally forgot about me - about us."

"That sucks," Tom said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"W-well, if you talk to her and remind her of everything, maybe things will get better." I said, trying to cheer him up but he shook his head and fell silent.

"Looks like you guys were meant for each other," Audrey said to my surprise. "After all, you were paired and even became best friends," she said. I was thankful that she was trying to cheer us on - or so I thought because she said, "You know, meant to be bestfriends."

NJ fell silent but I saw that using his eyes, he shot Audrey daggers that made her shut up.

"I studied hard and worked hard to excel in almost everything because I was hoping that when I become a better man, I'd search for her and marry her."

"Well, you did find her because you kept on following her in secret" Tom teased.

"Yeah, and she promised me one thing," he continued.

"What?" I asked.

"That when I find her, we're going to get married. That was why I felt sad when she totally forgot about me."

Another deafening silence.

The silence broke when Tom spoke. "I think we better call it a night."

"Right," he agreed. "Would you like to spend the night here?"

"No thanks. I'd rather go home," I said. "Thanks for the time."

"I'm taking you home," Tom said. "I got my car, right?"

"You're drunk. You can't drive." I pointed out.

Actually, each and every one of us were drunk so we came to an agreement that all of us would spend the night at NJ's condo.

There were two bedrooms. I shared it with Audrey and Tom in NJ.

As soon as Audrey plopped to the bed, she instantly fell asleep. Wouldn't blame her at that one after all, she got herself so wasted. Seems like she really enjoyed and had fun.

As for me, I've decided to get clues around NJ's apartment while all of them are asleep. I really couldn't remember what NJ was talking about so I'd do anything to find it out and I'd find it myself.

I made myself lighter like air and made my way outside the bedroom. I first searched in the sala. I walked up towards the picture frames placed on the table. I couldn't help it but smile at the sight of his family photos when he was still young. I also saw NJ's photos when he was a child. As a child, he looked carefree and innocent. I must admit that I find him cute with his pinkish chubby cheeks that I'd love to pinch.

Next, I walked to the drawer near the couch we sat on. There are four closed drawers. I opened them one by one. The only things I saw were piles of papers and pens. By the looks of it, the papers were piled up inside the drawer a long time ago.

When I made it to the fourth one, a photo caught my attention and made my eyes widened in shock. It was a picture of me and NJ inside a cabin except, it was a teenage version of us.

I couldn't remember the photo but one thing I am sure of: I am the girl he was with in the photo.

I can recognize the gown I was wearing in the photo. It was a mermaid gown with beads on the hem. I still have the gown, but I could never remember wearing it when I was in highschool. Honestly? It was creeping me out.

I took out my phone and snapped a photo of it so I could get a copy and made sure to place the photo back into its place. After closing the fourth drawer, I made my way back to the bed but when I did, I saw Audrey occupying the bed's space that made me sigh.

I went back to the sale and decided to sleep on the sofa bed instead. I am not in the mood to share a bed with Audrey, anyway. Plus, this sofa bed is way softer than the guest room's bed.

It didn't take long when I finally drifted off to my dreamland.

FLASHBACK

3RD PERSON POV

"All set?" Nicholas asked Beauty who is now currently frowning at the mermaid gown she's wearing. When Nicholas noticed her reaction, he raised a brow. "Don't you like your gown?"

"Hmm. Meh. It's fine" she answered, clearly unsatisfied. She twisted her body to the left then right then finally looked at Nicholas. "This is uncomfortable. Wanna remove this already."

Nicholas smirked teasingly and said, "Do it" which made a punch land on his nose.

"Shut up, perv! This is fine. Let's go! We're gonna be late for the bonfire. And seriously? Who would wear a gown and a tuxedo in an event that would be located in the woods? Haven't they thought of the summer-themed attire instead?"

"It's not our decision to make and who knows what runs inside their heads. We are only here as students. You know that." Nicholas said.

"Freedom of speech, hello? And they wouldn't even listen to any of their students! It was proven last week!" Beauty pointed out, exasperated.

"Come on, don't be like that. Whatever kind of attire they require us to wear, it'll be fun! I'm with you."

Beauty looked at him, a hint of blush came across her face. "If you call removing dirts on your gown inside the woods a fun thing to do, then fine Mr. Flattery."

He let out a chuckle. "Don't be like that! Come here, let's capture this moment in a photo" Nicholas said as he gestured his arm to Beauty, pulling her closer to him that made Beauty let out a yelp.

"Hey! Careful! I'm wearing high heels!"

"Sorry, princess. Now stop being grumpy and smile!" Nicholas said as he opened his phone's camera into a selfie mode and raised it up to the air then finally, took a photo of you.

They walked together inside the woods with their fingers interlaced together. Beauty was expecting that the location would be really grassy and messy but their schools seem to exceed her expectations or she must have just placed her judgements too early.

There is a red carpet rolled inside the woods. Christmas lights were hung on the trees, making the place look like a fairytale.

"Whoa..." Beauty reacted in amazement as they continued walking further inside the woods, following the red carpet.

"I know right? How did they even manage to open the lights? I couldn't find any cables or extensions anywhere!"

Beauty shrugged. "Who knows? It's a tech thingy. Those Christmas lights probably came from the future. You know, the Christmas lights that could be turned off by using some kind of a signal or what."

"Like how a remote control works with remote toys?"

"Exactly"

"Whatever the trick they added, it's pretty awesome"

As they got closer and closer to the actual venue of the event, they began hearing instrumental songs. As soon as they finally made their way, a sight of students in gowns and tuxedos came into view. Some are chatting in groups and others are spending their time with their own partners.

Beauty and Nicholas parted ways and went to their respective schools but they came to an agreement to dance before the night ends.

Beauty sat on an unoccupied seat on table 1 and so as Nicholas.

"Hey, who's that guy?" Beauty's highschool bestfriend, Cindy asked as she nudged her shoulder teasingly.

"Just a friend," Beauty said.

"You two don't look like it," Cindy said. "Come on! It'll be our little secret."

"Oh, shut up Cindy," Beauty simply said.

The chattering of every individual stopped when the admin of the cabins called everyone's attention. "Can I please have everyone's attention?"

The students standing settled down on their seats and paid attention to the speaker.

"First and foremost, I would like to thank Kick 'N Fly Highschool and our sponsor, CC's Catering and our events team for making this event happen"

The speaker spoke some more before she said, "Now, let's get this party started!"

Beauty stood up to look for her fling, Nicholas. As she found him, she saw him talking and laughing with other boys which you are assuming his bffs.

"Hey" She called, trying to get Nicholas' attention. When she finally did, Nicholas looked up at her and smiled wildly.

"Is she Beauty?" One of his guys asked.

"Yes, it's her," he said, then stood up from his seat and walked next to Beauty.

"Beauty, meet my friends," he said, gesturing his body to his friends. "Boys, this is Beauty"

"Hey, nice to meet you," One of them said.

She took a seat in a vacant chair next to Nicholas.

"How long have you been seeing each other?" One of them asked.

"Just last month," Beauty answered. "I'm surprised that he's talking about me. We're not even in a relationship nor in love."

They were pretty surprised.

"Then, you're single?" One of them asked.

"I don't know, maybe? Honestly, this is a one-time agreement so this is nothing serious." Beauty said bluntly and Nicholas remained silent.

"Yes, she's right" Nicholas agreed almost hesitantly.

"Then if you are single, then any one could make a move on you, right?"

"Yes but I am emotionally unavailable right now so the answer's no." She said. Then when she saw a pudding, her eyes glimmered.

"Is that a pudding on your plate?" She asked.

"Yes, want some?" His friend asked.

"Of course but I don't like yours. No offense but I don't share. Where did you get them?" She asked and Nicholas was the one who answered.

"Let me get some for you," Nicholas offered.

"I wanna serve myself. I might find more food, wanna come with me?" Beauty asked and of course, Nicholas agreed.

Before they walked away, Beauty overheard his boys talking about them in whispers. She heard them anyway.

"It's such a shame that Beauty's treating what they have as nothing but a fling,"

"Nicholas seemed to have fallen for Beauty"

"Yeah. Hard."

Beauty suddenly felt bad about that but she knew to herself that she can't be in a relationship right now or her parents would kill her. She had to prioritize her academics, especially her grades.

"Would you like to go somewhere alone?" Nicholas invited.

"Sure thing," She answered and scanned around the area. Not faraway, she saw an empty swing with decorations around it. "How about there?" She said, pointing to the empty swing.

"Sounds good. Let's go" Nicholas said and as they carried their plates full of food, they walked together and sat there.

The stars were very beautiful that night so they stargazed while eating. They were silent for a while, trying to relax.

Beauty leaned on Nicholas, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder.

The silence broke when Nicholas spoke. "I'm glad that I met you"

"Me too. I'm lucky that I met you," Beauty responded and it was true.

"How I wish this would last forever" Nicholas said.

"But you knew that it is not possible, right?"

Nicholas fell silent and sighed.

No one spoke until they finished their food.

"Let's go back. Your friends might be looking for you." Beauty said.

"But I want to stay with you a little longer. Tomorrow will be our last day together, right?" Nicholas said.

"Right. Very well, let's savor this moment, okay?" Beauty said.

The two of them agreed to stroll around the woods, as if they're not going to get lost so they did.

While strolling, they found a lake. They decided to sit there and for a little while, they were surprised to see the fireflies on the trees.

"They are beautiful! It's like we are in the magical forest," Beauty said and opened his cam to capture it.

"Let's take a selfie too!" Nicholas said then took a selfie of them, having the fireflies as their background.

Beauty was busy mesmerizing the beauty of nature when Nicholas blurted out something she would never ever forget.

"I'm in love with you, Beauty"

Beauty's eyes widened in shock as she looked at him and she answered, "Uhm ... thank you?"

Nicholas managed to fake a smile but was able to compose himself. "I promise, I'll look for you after I get into college."

END OF THE FLASHBACK

BEAUTY +

I woke up with the memories of yesterday.

"I remembered!!"