THE EPITOME OF A PERFECT GIRLFRIEND

THE NEXT day, I didn't saw Chihuahua in the hallways. I didn't see her showing up like a unwanted mushroom anywhere. I sometimes saw from a far that auburn haired girl that was always with her but she was back to just being alone. It's like Forever just suddenly disappeared in thin air, inexistent.

An invisible being.

I got this feeling that it might have been just my wildest imaginations. Meeting that girl and all of this string of encounters. But then when I saw my wet clothes from that night I was very certain it wasn't. She wasn't just a pigment of my wildest imaginations.

It's quite irritating in a way since she promised to help me out to get back with Eunice and just after I finished helping her with that first thing on her blasted bucket list she just suddenly disappeared. It's not that I really needed her help, I can manage to find my own ways to get back with Eunice without anyone's help. It's just that the trouble she put me through just to do something ridiculous was unnerving.

My pace was faster than Arden which caught his attention and maybe that he notice my bad demeanor that he started asking question. AGAIN. "What's wrong, man? You look like an angry bull."

"Nothing," I retorted.

He copied my pace so he can catch up to me. "Nothing is everything to you. And speaking of nothing, you haven't told me nothing about what happen between you and Forever. When will you care to share me your experience, man? When we'll be all gray and old?" This is also the reason why I was sure she wasn't just my imagination. The next day after that night he kept bombarding me with question after question.

I whipped my head towards him. "I'll make you look old if you don't shut up," I said warning him.

He raise his hands in defeat slowing his pace. And before I knew it when everything became silent between us. I looked over my shoulder to see him stopped following me and instead engage his focus towards her crazy fans. Ugh. I don't really get why he likes so much attention from those total strangers to him and not to mention useless.

And speaking of useless, where the damn is that useless little b*tch?

"Wow. He really is popular." I whipped my head back up front when I heard someone speaking. And there she is the useless and uncourteous girl who suddenly reappeared from being lost for two days.

"Where have you been?" I exclaimed.

She winced from my sudden assault. "Yeesh. I was only gone for two days." She chuckled. "Miss me that much."

Tsk. I crossed both my arms on my chest. "I thought you went away without doing your end of the deal."

She frowned and tilted her head sideways. "And why would I do that? And where will I go anyway? Look, I was caught up with a family vacation that's why I was absent for two days," Forever explained. I eyed the crowd as they see us chatting and it doesn't really see fit to me that they look at us or rather look at her with sour faces. I looked at chihuahua and being the dumbass she is, she didn't even notice the mean looks they are giving her. Such an oblivious girl.

She was about to continue talking but I walked passing over her. "Let's not talk here," I said, my narrowed eyes were scanning the crowd and when I lock eyes with some of them they instantly look away and acted that they didn't see me.

"Oh. Okay."

I walked towards a hallway far from the back of the school buildings and she just followed me. "So, did you miss me that much for you to be all grumpier than usual?" she said enthusiastically.

I made a side glance at her, my eyebrow arched up. "And why would I miss you? You are nothing to me."

"Ouch! That kinda hurts you know!" she said her hand in her chest and made a pained expression acting like my words actually hurting her. I just rolled my eyes at her.

"You do know that I am not nothing to you anymore since I am your friend. And friends are a great thing to a person."

"Not for me. You have only became a nuisance, a liability than an asset. And compared to how I miss Eunice you didn't even reach the 1% mark. You haven't even done your part of the deal yet." I looked forward but my eyes hadn't failed to see a sad expression on her face.

FOREVER

MY HEART clenched from what he suddenly blurted out. It pains me that I only became a nuisance to him than a friend. Well, I can't blame him. Considering everything that has happened between us it was inevitable that he doesn't thought of me as someone he can call a friend. From our bad first meeting up until that time when we sneaked in inside the school even though we were drenched and hungry just so we can watch a fireworks display together up up from the school rooftop. And I can't just expect him to just accept me that easily. And beside from a book I read before friendship takes time to grow, you need to tend to it and nourish it before it will blossom into a beautiful flower called friendship.

Not only that, the painful part where my heart was like crushed into a million pieces is the fact that he really cherish Eunice. He really loves her to the point where he accepted my deal just to get back to her. I would have called it romantic if I wasn't in the situation where I became the bridge that will reconnect both lands together.

In all honesty, I have a crush on the God of Destruction that is Blade Zacharius Montecillo. Ever since he gave me that umbrella from that rainy day I always wondered if I can ever see him again and give his stuff back. The words he said to me that day left an imprint in my mind. It was like the sign I needed to pull myself together and ask for freedom from my parents.

And now I'm off to doing everything on my list with him and even if it pains me I will still keep my end of the deal.

I walked the grasses with my head low and my shoulders slouched feeling all gloomy like a rain cloud but my mood instantly lighten when we got to the entrance of the botanical garden. He opened the double glass doors. It was huge, two stories high, it was a greenhouse with glass walls overseeing the beautiful blue sky from above. It has a large space with a fountain as a center piece encircled with wooden benches, chairs and tables where students can lounge to either relax or study in peace. The botanical garden is far back from the school buildings so the noise from the classroom can't reach here. Not to mention the various plants that were growing here. I took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of fresh flowers.

"Wow! This place is wonderful!"

"Yeah," he said.

Blade walked pass me and sat to one of the chairs and he motioned his chin gesturing me to sit down with him. I walked up to him, sat down and for a brief moment we just watched the flowers and the blue sky. It was so peaceful and relaxing in here it felt like all your troubles are gone once you enter into this garden. It's a relaxing way after I got stuck in the traffic earlier and a way for me to momentarily forget what he just said earlier.

"We always come here before," he said his voice low.

I turned my head sideways to look at him. "We?"

He looked at me. "Me and Eunice." I didn't said a word because my tongue is tied. It felt there is this big lump in my throat that is stopping me from saying a word. My felt my heart constricting like someone held my heart and suddenly decided to squeeze it a little. Making me a little breathless.

I really thought I was the first one who he showed one of his hiding spots. Just like the male lead characters in romance novels. I forgot that I'm not the female lead of this novel. I'm just a supporting character.

It was good that he didn't waited for me to answer instead he continued his monologue. "We always hang out in here just talking and laughing especially if we wanted to run away from the people's eyes. She would talk about her family and the books she read. She would smell the flowers and sometimes brought new ones to make an addition to the garden. I would help her plant seedlings whenever we she brought one."

There was a moment of silence before I asked, "What did happen between you and Eunice? Eunice is like the epitome of a perfect girlfriend. Smart, beautiful and nice. What did happen before you guys broke up?"

He faced the other way avoiding my gaze. I inch closer to him. "You know I can't help you if you won't open up to me. You can't expect a person to be all psychic on you and read what's on your mind. I won't know how to help you get back with Eunice if I don't know what cause the two of you to broke up in the first place. Helping doesn't apply in just one way. You need to help yourself before you can help others."

He heaved a sigh. "We had a fight and then she broke up with me."

"And?"

"That's it."

My shoulders drooped from what he said. "That's it? You're not helping at all."

"Then what do you want me to say!" he shouted to my face that made me jump. He looked like a lion ready to gobble up his prey so I decided not to angry the lion further. I don't want to face all the fury of this lion. Besides, I heard a lot of rumors from the reason why they broke up but they are still just rumors. There's always a possibility of them to be fake. So I was really hoping today I could get a concrete answer from Blade but seeing how that break up affects him. I won't pry any further.

I raise both my hands above my chest. "Okay. I won't ask anymore," I said trying to calm the lion down

He looked at the fountain with a distant look on his face. His eyes were looking at the flowers and plants around the garden maybe remembering the times when they were still together.

I did the same. I looked at the beautiful garden picturing Blade with Eunice planting flowers in a patch of soil. I could picture Blade with his grumpy face displeased with the trouble of planting flowers with no assurance it would grow like Eunice wanted it to be. I could picture him beside her in a bench her head on his shoulders as she just silently reads a book and Blade watching every reaction or expression she makes. And for that time Blade's eyes would be full of adoration for her. You could see the love in his eyes every time she looks at her. When Eunice smiles his lips would quirk up into a smile mirroring hers.

I could see it through his eyes. I could feel the small needless poking my heart but I tried to shake it off. It's normal, right? For more than a year I had a crush on him. I had a crush on the stranger that gave me that umbrella that day. And it's just a simple crush. It's just like in some of the romance novels that I read, a crush wears off. Eventually this feelings I have will wither away and by that time this two people that were separated from a mere fight will reunite again. And me being the supporting character of the story will happily watch as there happily ever after begins again.

And now, I'll be doing my part of the deal.

I looked at my wristwatch. "Won't you look at the time. I need to go now since my classes will start soon," I said and stretch my arms in the air. I walked away without looking back. He was about to protest but I silence him with a text message that I sent him.

"W-What's this?"

I looked over my shoulders meeting his puzzled look. "Isn't obvious? It's Eunice's phone number. Try starting with communicating with her again before we go to the next phase. Much better try sending her three heart emojis to make it sweet," I said chuckling then looked forward and continue to walk.

"Now we're even."

As I did, I can feel my heart aching and my eyes stinging. This will only be temporary. I won't be feeling this pain in the future.

I hope.