CHAPTER 50

Genesis's POV

           The cafeteria was one noisy place. I walked in and instantly, the irresistible smell of freshly baked doughnuts hit my nostrils. My mouth watered but that wasn't why I was here. Throughout the day, I had been thinking of all the possible reasons why she wanted to talk to me. One reasonable reason stuck out. Keegan. If she wanted me out of the way, she had nothing to worry about. There was nothing going on between us and if he ever found out about my wrongs, he was sure to hate me. She had him more than I did. She had a greater chance with him. As much as I cared about that boy, staying away was best.

My eyes travelled across the many faces, jumping from one unfamiliar face to the other till they landed on Miranda's. She was seated at the far end of the canteen, head bent and in front of her was a tray of steak and a bottle of fruit juice which she hadn't touched. I ambled along the narrow pathway leading to her table. When I was two tables away, she lifted her head and our eyes caught. She stood up and smiled lightly. I returned her smile with a faint one and dragged the chair across from her, needing to get it over with.

"Hi." She started.

"Hey."

"Do you- do you need anything? A drink or...?"

I shook my head immediately. "No." Declining. "I'm fine. You said you wanted to speak with me." I dove straight to the point, needing to get this done and over with.

She released a breath and pushed back a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Genesis, I need your help."

My brows creased in confusion. I thought...

"I need you to help me with something. With someone." She quickly amended.

I stayed silent and chose to listen instead. From the way her lips inched with words unsaid, I knew she wasn't done.

"Keegan, he - he still loves you Genesis. Keegan is still deeply in love with you." Judging from the looks of it, it bothered her. She didn't like it. "I had thought it was just a matter of time. I thought that maybe if I give him some time, he would let go of his feelings for you and move on but as time goes by, I feel like I am losing him completely."

I couldn't hold back and I just let it slip. "Well, I think otherwise." I commented, eyes fixated on the table surface.

"What?"

"No, don't mind me. I don't still understand how I can be of help."

"Make him fall in love with me." She said, leaning closer.

I frowned in confusion.

"How...I don't think I understand you Miranda. How do you mean?"

"Just get him to fall in love with me please. Tell him to move on. Tell him you don't love him anymore. Make him understand that you have found someone new and he doesn't have a chance with you anymore Genesis please. I'm begging you."

"I can't." I stood up, uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. I can't do that."

She quickly grabbed my hand, making me stop. "Please sit." She pleaded. "Please."

I stared, thinking over what I stood to lose if I complied, then silently did as she requested, never taking my eyes off her. I knew she wanted to talk about Keegan. I saw it. I felt it. What I hadn't seen was the absurdity of the impending conversation. I didn't know she was going to ask for this. I had initially thought it was going to be the usual 'stay away. he's mine' type of conversation. I was prepping myself for that. Then, something hit me.

My eyes widened just a fraction and I asked. "That day, that day at the restroom? What was it all about? Did you plan it? Plan to help me?"

I saw a glint of guilt in her eyes as she shifted in her seat before casting her gaze to the surface table and back to me.

"I followed you." She confessed. "I saw you heading for the library and I followed you but what happened after that was never thought of. You needed help and I was there." She scooted closer. "This may look a certain way but I am not a bad person Genesis, contrary to what you may think right now. I...." She breathed out and closed her eyes for a split second and reopened them again. "I just wanted to see the girl the boy I love loves. I wanted to see for myself who she was and what got him so out of his mind on her behalf, so interested in everything that concerned her. I thought you were one of those girls he plays around with but then I saw you and I immediately knew why. You aren't anything like them. You were an unusual. He was finally starting to see me. He was beginning to love me and then you came. You showed up and just like that, he barely even picked my call."

"I am not the one you should be worried about. There's Erika and she desperately wants him."

"You are the one he loves." She yelled and caught herself almost instantly, whipping her head around. Just a few people had their eyes on the two of us, perhaps expecting a brawl to entertain themselves. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry but he loves you, not me, not Erika. I just...I just love him. I love him so much you have no idea. He is the only guy I have ever loved. The first boy I have ever been with."

I frowned. "The two of you were together?"

"Yes. For two years. In high school."

"But - but he told me I was...."

"Keegan and I have known each other since we were five. Our parents are business partners. We were friends until we dated for two years before graduating from highschool. Sadly, we broke up and we just stopped talking but during those times, I was still heavily in love with him."

"He must have loved you during those times you two were together." I opined, feeling a pinch of hurt, realizing he lied to me. "I don't need to make him fall for you again since he once was. I can't impose a certain feeling on someone. I can't force love on him for you. Love has to come in naturally, else there is nothing I can do. I'm sorry."

"All I ask of you is to help me. Help me by convincing him you have moved on and he should too. Just let him realize there is no point of him waiting on or having hopes of you coming back to him."

"I can't. I can't force it. It doesn't work that way Miranda."

"You can."

"I just told you I can't."

"You can't or you won't?" She assumed, angrily. "Are you in still love with him?"

"I care a lot about him. He was my boyfriend."

"Are you still in love with him? That's what I asked."

I rose, not seeing the need to keep the conversation going and began to leave the cafeteria. "I believe that's my business only."

"I know about you and Dario."

Immediately, I froze, stood still. My stomach dropped. I whirled to face her. There was a triumphant smile on her face, victory in her eyes that she had stopped me from leaving entirely.

"What did you say?" I asked, going back to the table.

"I said I know about you and Dario."

"Oh, uh..." My heart jumped. I sat back down. "And mind telling me what you know?"

"I have watched the two of you and I have seen things. Things which are really hard to believe are just some mere friendship going on you between you two. I would never ever have believed it from someone else if I hadn't seen for myself but you are doing something to him. You could just..." She shrugged. "...tell Keegan you have fallen in love with his friend and...and you are not...."

"I can't believe this." I scoffed and stood up. "I am not telling Keegan a thing, okay? It looked like the two of you couldn't leave each other for a second at his house, during the party yesterday. Why are you questioning his feelings for you today?"

"Because I saw the two of you kissing." She screamed this time, not seeming to mind who and who were listening and watching. "He loves you and not me. Don't you get it? Let him go if you are not in love with him anymore."

"Oh my God! You're unbelievable." I tried to leave. "I can't. I just can't."

"Do you remember that night at Orchid, at Erika's party?"

I stopped, turning around, "What does this have to do with Erika's party at Orchid?"

"He told you he wanted to go meet a friend, didn't he?"

I flashed back to that night at Orchid and recalled that moment, thrusting back what happened right after into the deepest parts of my mind.

"Yeah?" I concurred, still not getting it.

"That 'friend' was me. Me Genesis. Me." She pointed at her chest. "And we had wild, passionate sex all night. All night long. One I would never, ever forget." She confessed, laying more emphasis on 'all'. "I thought I had sealed it. I thought I finally had him but the next morning, there he was, running back to you. Do you have an idea how much that hurt? I felt used. I felt like complete trash, like I was nothing. Apparently, I was just a stand-by pussy he could fuck while he waited for your virgin one and I couldn't say no each time because of my love for him. That was when I decided to know who really you were and as much as I tried to hate you Genesis, I couldn't. I honestly couldn't."

I was plunged into an instant shock. All I could do was just stand and stare while my mind tried to process the words of her mouth.

"Genesis, please just..."

"I can't do it." I finalized, matter of fact. "I'm sorry." Then walked out, hoping she wouldn't ask again some other time.

***

I held my phone in my hands waiting for a single ping while I stared at the single 'hey' I sent to Dario. Six days has gone by since our fight and he hadn't said a single word to me. Six days was a long time. I thought we would have resolved our issues at this time and go back to being friends again. I met him for the first time since the party yesterday and I had tried speaking with him but he only brushed past me and never looked back.

I typed, I'm sorry I hit you. And hit send.

"Hey, would you know if Keegan dated anyone before me?" I keeked at Lana who sat on her bed, tending to her nails.

She glanced at me, "Yeah why?"

I shrugged, "I'm only asking."

"Oh."

"Well...?" I probed for an answer.

"You were his first girlfriend Gen. Why do you ask?"

I shook my head, "It's nothing."

I let my eyes drop back to my phone and not a single reply from Dario. I sighed.

"Hey, do you who Miranda is?"

She lifted her head and stared at me. "Yeah, she used to pine over Keegan while we were all in high school. What's up?"

"Would you know if they dated? Like were they ever together? Sometime maybe?"

She frowned and thought for a while. "No. My brother has never dated any girl until you. Anymore questions? Cause I'm starving."

I smile a little. "No."

My phone rang and I rushed to look at it with my hopes up but it came crashing down as soon as I saw the person who made it ring.

I sighed and answered, "Hey Pete."

"Uh, h-hi. I d-didn't even think you would pick up. I..."

I laughed. "Why won't I?"

I could hear some shuffling and little muffled noises from his end.

"Gen, you still there?"

"Yeah. Do you need anything?"

"Uh, I-I do not t-think so?"

I frowned at the tremble in his voice. "Pete, are you okay?"

He coughed and cleared his throat. I heard him 'shush' some voices in the background and some low laughter followed suit. I soon realized he wasn't alone.

I waited for him to speak.

"Gen, I-I called to let you that I..." I heard him breathe deeply. "Gen, I like you and I would really want you to go out with me."

He did it! He did it! And a cacophony of laughter and titter rang out. I pulled the phone away, wincing at the noise.

"I'm so sorry Gen. I was dared by my friends to tell you I liked you. They are crazy. Really crazy. My God, I'm so embarrassed right now."

I chuckled, "That's okay. There's really nothing to be embarrassed about."

"So you're not mad?"

"Mad? Why?"

"I thought you would be upset I...." I heard him nervously laugh over the phone. "...don't mind me. But I wasn't joking. I really do like you Gen and I would really love to take you out sometime and maybe we could date? I...I mean if you want to."

"Pete, really I am not in for that now. Dating and all of it. I..." I exhaled deeply, searching for the right words to employ so as not to hurt his feelings. I released a laugh to ease the tension he may be feeling at that moment. "Pete, I have a lot on my mind, okay and really, dating isn't one of them but we could still go out." I quickly added. "Just as two friends hanging out? Is that okay?"

"Yes, yes. I'm okay with that." He laughed. "So tomorrow?"

I smiled. "That's not a problem."

I hung up and immediately glanced over at my notifications. Not a single reply from Dario. He was still mad. I began typing out a message but deleted the words right after I began. He saw the previous ones and didn't reply. What was the guarantee he would respond if I sent a new one?

"Someone's got a date. Someone's got a date." Lana sang, grinning at me.

I rolled my eyes and stood up, crashed heavily on my bed and pulled the covers up. I was very much aware she was fishing for some tittle-tattle but I wasn't in a relaxed frame of mind to grant her one.

***

Please, don't forget to vote and comment.