Are You Protecting That Girl From Me?

Sharp stares continue and no one backed down. It is as if whoever looked away first will die. No one wants to lose between the two of them.

In the end, the girl only chuckled, finding Lorenzo’s staring back amusing. The stares ended when she kissed him on his forehead.

“You’re that surprise to see me...?” she fixed the hairs on his forehead. “That’s good, this is actually a surprise...”

“Just a clarification, Alexandra, we’re surprised in a bad way not in a good way,” said Alex.

She only frowned at it and sighed. She stood up properly. Then her eyes suddenly went to the laptop above the desk.

As far as she remembers, they were looking at it seriously as if there's something really interesting there.

“What are you looking here? You all seem interested—”

She didn’t succeed in facing the laptop in her direction when Lorenzo took it back in a swift and closed it.

“Did I give you permission to see through my stuff?”

It’s not actually his but Xander’s. But the owner remained his silence.

Alexandra only chuckled at it and waved her hand dismissively. “If you only told me you’re watching porn, I won’t be curious.”

“When did you come back?” Ralph asked.

“Uhm…two hours ago? I went to Lee University first.”

“What?” Kenneth reacted. “I thought you’re not going to study there anymore?”

“Well, you're still studying there so why not?" she asked. "Oh, it's weekdays, right? You didn’t go to your class again?”

“School is boring.”

She chuckled at it. “Right, you don’t need to be a dedicated and disciplined student. You’re not after the education after all. I heard you also won against Red Phoenix? I am quite hurt. You won when I wasn’t around.”

“Come to think of it, perhaps it’s really you?” Alex while touching his chin. “You’re the curse to us that’s why we couldn’t win a single game.”

“That’s rude!” she frowned again. “Who did you replace anyway? I’m sure you brought someone. You can’t fight against them without winning poker.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s not that relevant.”

“Oh? For me she is. She took my place—”

“She did not. It was you who abandoned us.”

“I already told you, haven’t I? I won’t be able to go home at the time you want me to be here.”

Lorenzo didn’t bother to answer it anymore but his jaw clenched. Why are they fighting about it anyway? He doesn’t care if she’s with them or not. He didn’t even wait for her to come and he’s glad he did the right thing.

They won, for the first time, when she wasn’t with them. Perhaps what Alex said is somehow making sense.

Alexandra’s eyes narrowed into slits when she felt something weird. She realized it after observing Lorenzo’s face.

She rested again her hands at the table and looked at Lorenzo closely.

“Lorenzo,” she called almost like a whisper. “are you protecting that girl from me...?”

“What are you saying?”

“You could have said it since normally, nothing matters to you. But you didn’t. You don’t want to—”

“Because as I said, she’s not that relevant.”

“Oh? Is that so?” she smiled again but this time, her smiles are like crazy. “I know you for so long. We’ve been together since we were young. I can tell when you are protecting someone from me.”

After a couple of seconds in a staring contest, Lorenzo smirked. An idea came up.

“You really want to know her name huh?” he asked playfully. “Her name is Cheska.”

The crazy smile vanished. After a second, her face darkened.

“Yes, the girl who took your place is named Cheska. Isn’t that the name you hate the most?”

“Lorenzo,” Ralph called. “Don’t.”

He knows what’s about to happen and he wants Lorenzo to stop it before something worse occurs. They all know how things always end when Alexandra is provoked.

Her relationship with Lorenzo has never been pleasant. It never once did.

Lorenzo doesn’t care about who she is, he doesn’t care about her. He lost his respect for her a long long time ago.

“You hate it so much because she always 'takes' everything away from you,” he went on. “What a perfect coincidence, don't you think? Another Cheska has taken your place and even helped us win from the fight. You must be really pissed, aren’t you?”

“You do love provoking me huh?” she plastered another malignant smirk. Her stares are sharper. “Let’s see who’s better at it. I assume she’s your classmate. Am I right?”

His face earlier came back. He already knows where she’s getting at. His winning smile didn’t last for long. He should have expected it.

Alexandra hates losing. Of course, she would find a way to counter him, to turn around the table.

“I expect you to protect her just like how you protected our late friend from me,” she leaned closer to him and stop right beside his ear. “Poor girl…she will taste my wrath just because some guy provoked me...”

“Alexandra,” Kenneth called out her attention. “Aren’t you tired? You really are going to put that innocent girl in your fight with Lorenzo? That’s childish. She doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

Her brow arched. “Oh…even you huh? Not surprising. I have now more reasons to play with her.”

His brows almost meet. Looks like his interruption made it worse. He’s simply asking. Unlike Lorenzo, he doesn’t want to provoke Alexandra.

She’s harmless. At first. But when someone provokes her, she’s dangerous.

There’s always a fight between Alexandra and Lorenzo. They hate each other at the same time Alexandra loves him.

She hates him at the part where he doesn’t give a single care about her. She’s like nothing in his eyes. She doubts Lorenzo sees her as a person and that’s cruel.

She clicked her tongue while nodding slowly, satisfied. “This would be fun, no? I missed playing around. World loves me so much that it put someone named Cheska at the same school as us. If only she’s alive…this is like a reunion after all, don’t you think?”

Alex chuckled. “Let’s see if you can do that. She’s actually the reason why we won.”

She only rolled her eyes, she doesn’t want to hear more about that girl. She just wants to see her and face her. She wants to play her. She’s going to do that in any way she likes.

Her eyes darted to the guy beside her. He’s just silent since she came. He hasn’t said a single word.

“You? Do you want to tell something?”

Xander looked at her innocently, thinking of what he should say at times like this.

“Uh, good luck?”

She rolled her eyes for the last time before walking away. Just like how she opened it, she closed the door harshly slamming it at the doorway.

“You know provoking her is bad, Lorenzo…”

Ralph is the first one who broke the ice. It only made Lorenzo sighed and brushed his face.

He knows. He knows he’s wrong. He just got too carried away from his hatred towards Alexandra. He’s been holding a grudge against her. He hates her ever since they were kids.

And even if it’s long ago, the hatred didn’t even fade. Why would that happen anyway? Alexandra hasn’t changed a bit since then.

She even became worse. She learned nothing. His hatred only grew. His hatred only deepened.

They know what will always happen to the persons she plays. Their lives become miserable. She already had lots of victims which are all students from Lee University.

Like them, everyone is scared of her at the same time, they respect her. Because if they don’t, she would be pissed.

The respect they feel for her is not even real but their respect for Lorenzo? For his friends? It came from their hearts. They earned it in the first place.

They’re so much alike at first glance but closely, they’re completely different from each other.

Unlike him, she’s uncontrollable. She doesn’t have her limits. She’s ready to do everything to make someone’s life living in hell.

Once she went out, it’s hard to make her stop. That’s why they know…her threats are real. It’s not a bluff. She’s dead serious about it.

They know… they know that Cheska’s life the following days would not be pleasant as it is now or worst, it would never be.

Not anymore.

Lorenzo scoffed, realizing something. He finds the irony amusing.

“I just gave myself a reason to go to that university every day huh? Job well done for me…”

Karma is really a bitch. Alexandra’s attitude has never been a problem for him. It never has. He doesn’t care about her victims.

It’s her life. And turning someone else’s life miserably isn’t his thing so there is no reason to get along with each other.

Technically, there's no reason to be bothered or be problematic about Alexandra's game.

But now? The tables have been turned.

He cares now. He should be.

He has to do something about this one. He feels like he is the reason why Cheska became her victim—well, he is indeed the reason.

If he only held himself back, Alexandra wouldn’t come up with the idea of playing with her life.

It’s like a reverse card. Alexandra has never done it to him.

He never let her. She never succeeds until now. He never shakes to her threats, to her doings. He has no reason to be shaken by it.

Because first and foremost, he doesn’t care.

But this time is different. She successfully turned the tables against him that she’s dying to do ever since.

He’s left with no choice but to give her what she wants. He has no choice but to give his attention to her and do something to make her stop.