Puppet Boyfriend

  'O.M.G!' was all Sakura could utter inwardly at the enchanting sight before her. Like abstaining from his perfectly sculpted face wasn't enough torture, she now had to live with the fact that this sturdy figure in her way hid beneath those hoodies all along. She was completely bewitched, savoring the view before her. It was the first time Daniil showed this much skin. Starting from the perfectly woven cornrows resting on his head to the commanding breath across his upper torso, the outstanding chest in an alluring harmony with his shirt, and his biceps.

His biceps.

  Taking a closer look, he had a tattoo on his right arm. It looked like an inscription but it wasn't visible enough. Yoshida couldn't stop herself from gawking at him. After the fight, she'd been letting her pride get in between them. Daniil stopped looking her way, and she felt too embarrassed to act all friendly, especially considering his apathy towards her. She didn't want to be the desperate one of the two and decided to keep her distance. But he just made her inner struggle worse! The buried one-sided crush exhumed within seconds again.

  "Yoshida…" Jordan's voice interrupted her trance from behind her. She then recalled she was actually on her way out with him when she bumped into this hotter version of Daniil. "You're standing in his way." He nudged.

  "Oh… Yeah…" Her legs subconsciously switched paths – not taking her eyes off him– even though it was large enough to allow them pass simultaneously.

  She was still lost in his eyes when his looked away from her. She looked in the direction he seemed fixed on, only to see Ashley walk in through the other entrance. No guy could ever resist her charm. She believed her exquisite looks sufficed in earning her an edge over girls on campus and still found it hard to accept that Daniil could ignore her standing right in front of him for Ashley! Her blood boiled. She balled her fist, feeling humbled, and her pride squashed to a fault. And so without sparing him another glance, she exited with a temper.

  "Charlotte… Charlotte… Charlotte…" Jordan chorused, chasing after her.

  She paused abruptly, turned around, and met his cheek with her palm in a slap. "It's Sakura!" she cried out, exasperation dripping from her tone and visage. Being called 'the Sakura of IUC' was considered a huge feat that the name Charlotte began sounding like a menace to her eardrums.

  With one hand pressing against the slapped cheek, Jordan was more concerned about the audience they were attracting than the fact he had just been slapped by his girlfriend. His eyes roved the scene, students were already whispering and some had their phones out ready to take pictures. "I'm sorry. Let's leave here for now." He erased their distance to whisper and cautiously reached to take her hand. When she didn't protest, he held on to her and they walked out.

At the library…

  "Why did I even agree to come with you?! You were supposed to get it ready by last night, Jordan!!!" yelled Sakura, halting suddenly before they walked in.

  "I'm sorry. I was busy yesterday."

  "What? You were busy?" she scoffed. "Too busy to do your girlfriend's assignment?!!!"

  That's right. Jordan was more like a puppet boyfriend who'd do anything to appease his flawless girlfriend he considered a medal. And as for Sakura, she merely used his brains, and status as the course representative to keep her result sheets in flying colors. She exploited Jordan's idiocy maximally to achieve her aims.

  "That's why I asked you to come with me. The deadline is in two hours and I'm yet to complete mine. Let's do it toge…"

  "You must be crazy!" she cut him off, slamming the textbook in her hand on his head. "You do not have the time to do my assignments but you have the time to date?!"

  "I'm sorry I…"

  "It had better be ready in an hour." She walked out.

  She'd agreed to help him with the assignment but her mood turned sour after her encounter with Daniil. She was too enraged to think rationally. Sakura wanted to be worshipped, the adoration from the fellow students was like sweet incense to her. Yet Ashley managed to make her feel worthless despite her fame and influence. She swore to repay the humiliation meted out on her in two-folds. She was going to make Ashley's life a living hell one way or the other.

~~Daniil's POV~~

  I finally had to put my jacket back on, becoming the center of attraction for many unwanted eyes hovering around me. I caught Yoshida stealing glances at me but the last thing I'd have done was reignite anything between us so I acted clueless. I could tell she fought with Jordan as the duo seldom crossed paths, and he glared at me whenever he had the chance. The one person I prepared this banquet for couldn't be more oblivious to my existence. 'For fuck's sake, Ashley. Look at me!' My neck felt sore from the countless random tilts to catch her staring even once; all to no avail. How could any lady not look at me? I never thought a day like this would come. I was very determined to get her to join my train of admirers.

  Waiting on her would be a complete waste of time, I deduced. 'So we're gonna talk to her.'

The fifteen-minute interval was only gone by about five minutes and she was drawing again. 'What's she always scribbling on paper?'

  I left my seat to stand behind hers instead. I didn't have to bother about sneaking in for I knew her guard was let down whenever she had her headphones on. My expectations of seeing a flower, a girl with sleek fashion taste, fashion styles, or any other girly stuff was dashed when I saw the eerie drawing on her paper. From the looks, she'd been drawing that for days, seeing the paper was almost halfway filled.

The left corner of the paper had a mirror, a bag sat on the floor before it… chairs…'a sitting room?' I thought. They were irregular shaded patterns at random points that looked like splatters. 'Blood?' It was hard to tell considering the black-and-white layout but I felt it was plausible as she was currently shading a handprint. I pulled my head back to examine it from a wider vantage. From the jumbled way she placed each item on the paper, I deduced it was a crime scene. I smirked when the full image popped in my head. She was drawing a murder scene.

  I bent over and leaned in with my lips really close to her ears. "Don't forget the windows," I whispered.

  She jolted actively smashing the pencil's lead hard on the paper. 'Did she hear me?' She couldn't have. She probably acted on impulse, feeling another's presence so close. She froze. The deed is done, I thought. I braced myself for a conversation but before I could withdraw my face, she swung her elbow to hit it.

  "Owww…" I grimaced in pain then retreated.

  Swiftly, she pulled down her headphones and turned around to face me. "You?!!"

  "Ouch…" I massaged my elbowed nose.

  "Why do you keep showing your ugly face around me?"

  'Wha… what? Ugly?' I abandoned my 'hurting' nose and just stared flabbergasted. Did she just call me ugly? Did she really think I was ugly? I looked around to confirm no one was listening in on our conversation then redirected my attention to her.

  "Wha…what? Ugly? Ugly???" I accented with increasing pitches, huffing in disbelief.

  "Thank your stars I resisted the urge to use the base of my pencil. You'd probably have lost those lousy balls attached to your brain by now."

  I racked my brain for what to say but as usual, my words stood me up. I was rendered speechless. She shot me that condescending glare again, staring daggers at me before putting her headphones back on and returning to what she was doing.

  I stood still, wondering how possible it was for me to neither talk back nor defend myself. More importantly, I wondered why she despised me so much without giving me a chance to prove myself. My hand of its own will, moved to my face, rubbing my nasal bridge between my index finger and thumb. Not like it still hurt, I just wanted to have a feel. My eyes darted, then held Yoshida's gleaming with jealousy and fury paces away.

  I dropped my shoulders, leaning back on one leg with both hands in my pockets before flashing her a wry smile. I saw the depth of her crease deepen and could feel her blazing anger from my standpoint. I was already having this much fun when Ashley remained unreceptive. What would happen when I eventually get her in my arms? Yoshida would probably melt from all the heat.

I laughed in my mind, then shortened the smile to a smirk.