Confession

Craige watched as the others practiced their scenes. He was on standby because Zeanne was late for practice and Joshua had been trying to reach her for the past ten minutes to no avail. He looked around and there were no signs of her. He also tried sending her a message but she didn't read it. So Craige decided to look for her himself. He called Katherine to ask if she knew where Zeanne was and she said that she saw Zeanne walking towards the garden when she left school.

"Garden? What would she be doing there at this time?"

There was a notable pause on the line before Katherine answered. "Who knows? Maybe she's receiving another confession again today."

And the call ended.

Craige could only absent-mindedly walk towards the garden with a frown on his face that he was not aware of.

'She's receiving a confession?'

His strides grew slightly bigger.

'Again? Is this some kind of a regular thing for her?'

He turned the corner just in time to see two people standing in the garden which made him stop on his tracks. He could not make out their faces because of his bad eyesight but he's pretty sure that the girl that was standing with her back to him was Zeanne because of the familiar backpack that she's wearing. The guy had a familiar build and was very tall compared to Zeanne. Probably taller than him.

Although he could not hear what they were talking about, he felt uncomfortable about standing there. But after seeing how the atmosphere seemed to be really serious between the two, Craige decided to wait patiently for them to finish talking before taking Zeanne to the auditorium. At least that's what he decided to do until something really shocking happened that made him move from his place before his brain could even process the situation.

His feet moved on their own when he saw the guy bend down and looked like he was about to kiss Zeanne. He was far from them and knew that it was useless even if he ran to stop the guy but he still found himself walking towards them. Craige couldn't see if their lips touched but judging by how Zeanne was not moving from her place nor showing any resistance, he stopped charging a few meters from where they stood. And although he was not running, he found himself breathing heavily as he stared at the two who motionless stood close to each other for who knows how long.

Then his breath got caught on his throat and his brows furrowed when he recognized the guy who moved to whisper something in Zeanne's ear.

'Arthur?'

But what was more shocking was the fact that Arthur was also looking at him the entire time he was whispering to Zeanne. And he was smiling as if trying to provoke him. Craige kept a straight face despite feeling an unfamiliar rage in his chest. He felt an urge to tear the two apart and it took a lot of willpower to stop himself from meddling in something that he clearly had no business to get involved in.

Zeanne turned her head towards Arthur and said something inaudible while frowning. Then Arthur took a step back with his hands in his pocket and smiled at Zeanne. This time Craige was close enough to hear Arthur's words.

That or the other just purposely spoke with a louder voice for him to hear. "Isn't the curiosity driving you crazy? Won't you want to know whether it will feel right or not? I guess, we'll never know unless you try it, right?"

Craige frowned. 'What's going on here?'

Zeanne remained motionless as Arthur moved past her and walked towards Craige. He stopped just beside Craige and put a hand on his shoulder. "Can you please take her home safely? I saw Katherine leaving earlier. And my dad's already waiting for me outside."

Craige nodded without looking at Arthur. He didn't think that he'd be able to look at the other guy without exposing the turmoil that he was feeling inside. Craige could not explain why he was feeling that way when the other guy was just simply asking him a favor. But Arthur acting as if he was passing him the baton to take care of Zeanne seriously annoyed him.

After Arthur left, he just stood there for an entire minute and noticed that Zeanne also did not move and still had her back to him. He waited for another minute and when she still didn't move, he called out to her. "Zee."

He saw Zeanne flinch before turning to him with a panic-stricken face as if she's been caught red-handed doing something forbidden. His chest tightened and he decided to keep whatever he saw earlier to himself. "What are you doing here? We've been waiting for you since earlier."

She blinked a few times as if still in daze. "Sorry."

'Why do you look guilty? Seriously. What did just happen here? What was all that about?'

He tried his best to produce a smile despite the crushing sensation in his chest and the chaotic thoughts in his head. "Let's go."

She nodded and they walked towards the stadium in silence.

Two hours later after their practice, Trixie came up to him out of nowhere. She's been extra friendly with him for the past month and it would take an idiot to not know her motives. "Craige!"

"Hm?" He responded half-heartedly as he scanned the hall for Zeanne.

"Will you be going home with us today?"

He found her arguing with Joshua about a line in the script and Teacher Beshy was doing her best to mediate between them. Craige did not know that he was smiling as he watched her acting normal again. Seeing her being in a daze whenever it was not her turn to act made him worry.

"Craige?" Trixie said his name again for the third time and she followed his gaze. When she saw what he was looking at, she frowned.

'What's the use of her not being in love with him if he's already acting like this towards her, even without her knowing?' Trixie could not help but feel hurt by that reality. But she decided not to give up that easily. She pulled Craige by the arm and led him out of the auditorium. The other was shocked by her action but did not resist.

They stopped in front of the drinking fountain just a few steps from the entrance of the auditorium. "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" He looked down at her then turned to look behind him when the door opened and a few of their classmates came out while chattering. His attention was fixated on the entrance which tore at her chest and made her feel impatient.

"I like you."

That made him snap his head towards her and she smiled. "Finally. You're looking at me."

"Trixie… I…" He started with a frown.

"I know that you don't feel the same way. Unlike her, I'm not farsighted." She chuckled bitterly at her own dry joke.

She hated this feeling of having to beg for affection. She's the youngest in her family and the only girl with three older brothers. Ever since she was small, everyone showered her with love and affection and she was used to getting whatever she wanted without much effort. She thought that having three brothers helped her in reading how to deal with boys. She didn't know that figuring out how to win another person's heart was a lot more complicated than she expected.

Especially if it was a heart that has already been won over by someone else. "But can't you at least give me a chance?"

Craige stood in silence as if trying to figure out what to say and she saw him jolt when they heard the door open again.

She also saw the obvious effort that he made to not turn his back on her and see who just left the auditorium. He admirably stood his ground which made her fall for him even more even though she already knew that he was about to break her heart.

But his words, although expected, still pierced her chest. "I'm really sorry, Trixie. But I don't want to give you any false hope."

"You can be really straightforward, you know. Can't you at least give it a thought for a day?" She said, trying to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall any minute. She quickly turned her back towards him because she didn't want him to see her cry. She didn't want him to interpret her tears as playing the pity party because that would just make her feel more pathetic. "I get it. Just go."

"Are you sure?" His voice sounded really kind for someone who just rejected her coldly.

Trixie took a deep breath and steadied her breathing before she spoke. "Just so you know, she's aware of my feelings for you. And just now, she saw you talking to me. I think it's best for you to run after her."

Trixie could only smile bitterly when she heard hurried footsteps leave.

But just when she thought that she's alone, someone took a step beside her. She was surprised to see Jake who offered her a handkerchief without looking at her.

She sniffled as she took the handkerchief. "Thanks."

He tapped her shoulder. "You were really cool by the way."