Wide awake

"Shit! Why do I have such a bad luck?!!" Ayana hissed in whisper as she leaned down in the backseat of car.

'Sigh, there you are....'

She hugged the white hoodie in her hands and slammed the door accidentally hard. She still couldn't forget that moment when everyone's gaze fell into the box and got stuck upon seeing the items.

The box had three tank tops covered in plastic, which kinda resembled a basketball player's jersey as it had an anonymous team name with a number boldly written on it in different fonts. The colours varied as red, black and white which looked pretty awesome from Ayana's point of view.

She herself was fan of wearing such sports tshirts since it looked so cool! If not for Eric, she would've bought them for herself, even if it was loose and sleeveless.

Nothing could beat that logo of Royal Tigers in her entire wardrobe.

Obviously Eric at first denied the dress right away, but upon Ayana's reasoning regarding the cold weather in their upcoming destination, he finally agreed to give the black one a try since it looked least wierd amongst them all in his perspective.

As he was busy changing in the dressing room, Ayana excused herself to grab the hoodie she had in order to cover his tshirt if he still wasn't comfortable with the outfit. But upon her arrival she was stunned by a completely different person standing in front of her at the counter.

She couldn't believe he was the same man she was earlier used to call a lamb's kid. He definitely wasn't, not anymore now that she has seen his perfectly carved body with good muscles on the both side of his arms.

His broad chest and shoulders made him look even more taller than his original height. His messy raven hair and smokey eyes matched perfectly with the t-shirt, and his ivory skin looked even more radiant with the contrasting teal colour of the Capri. It was a perfect combination!

His presence was so mesmerizing that even the shop owner was shocked upon seeing such a magnificent identity. She wondered if he was a model for an advertising company and praised his appearance within her mind, but little did she knew how much her stare bothered Eric.

He always felt creeped out whenever people looked at him in such way, especially women, but now that Ayana was with him, he wanted the shop owner to praise his beauty openly and Ayana stare at him as well. He absolutely loathed the combination he was wearing but upon seeing the amazed reaction on shop owners face, he took it as a positive response.

'But where is she? I wanted to show this first to her.' he mumbled disappointedly as Ayana was nowhere to be seen at the counter. Disinterested, he stood there in silence while the shop owner showered him with endless compliments.

He shifted his sharp gaze with a sigh from discomfort as he felt another person's stare was boring into his head, but he was caught unawares as it was Ayana who was looking at him while holding her white hoodie like a coat hanger.

His bare arms and neck region suddenly felt cold as he realised how much skin exposure he had. He didn't knew why but he felt an urge to immediately change into that damp dress again, since it was so embarrassing to wear this punk outfit in front of her. He purposely had his hair down hoping it would look good on him, but he wasn't sure anymore since Ayana was as silent as stone since the time she came here.

'As expected, I look like a clown in this. Tch!' he rubbed the back of his neck and reluctantly approached Ayana with a tincture of red brushed over his face.

"That's for me right?" He asked in his deep cold voice which made Ayana flinched at her place and grab her chest to put halt on her racing heart. Because if not, it might've already exploded from this intense light of dazzling beauty so close to her.

"Ye..Yes! Please take it! (And hide your body this instant! I feel like I am gonna have a heart attack anytime!!)" She quickly handled her hoodie over to him and averted her gaze as she had just locked eyes with him through the gaps of his pointy hair fringes.

However, while she was trying to hide her face from the guilty tag of having such alternate thoughts regarding her boss, Eric was disheartened upon seeing her repulsive response. He couldn't believe Ayana would feel so much uncomfortable upon seeing him. It really saddened him a lot.

He, at first thought maybe she was blushing because her face looked so red, but with the low self-esteem he had by now, he changed the interpretation of her actions and assumed it as if she felt embarrassed upon seeing so much skin exposure of a displeasing body.

He grabbed the hoodie with a bitter smile and returned to the changing room to hide his disgusting body.

'Am I really that ugly?' he touched his face while examining himself in front of the mirror. This was completely beyond his imagination as he never thought someone would find his appearance so unsightly, nevertheless from the girl of his interest.

'I really don't understand her at all. Not only with girls, I even had some cases where some boys found me attractive. But I never paid any attention to their confessions and praise. Is this how it feels to be rejected? Not that I was aiming for her love, but to think she would not even battle an eye with me... it's painful.'

It was strange to feel such thing since he was sure about his feelings. But after realising this much amount of bitter pain emerging in his heart, could it be he had really fallen for her? Was Sebastian right all this time with his warnings? Don't people who gets rejected to join a friend circle feel the same way as well?

'But I am not a kid who wants to join a friend circle.' To his own surprise, he was getting those answers really quick, which he desperately wanted to avoid. If what he was feeling was true according to the deductions he obtained from reasoning, this would be an end of their journey right here and now.

'Is this what people call forbidden love? I was used to ridicule when I accidentally discovered such genre on internet. The titles of those books were so ridiculous and cringey, but now that I am stuck into one, I am just speechless.

But there's no helping it. I have certain goals which I must achieve in my life at all cost and I can't afford something petty such as love to become a hurdle in my way. It would be hard at first, but I am sure I'll overcome this small crush of mine really soon. Such a pity...'

He muttered to himself as he clenched the hoodie in his hands and immediately put it on without putting much thought into it.

Thankfully, the hoodie was so oversized that it fitted perfectly for him. For a second he wondered how could Ayana wear such a loose cloth, but upon realising that he was getting mesmerized by her scent and warmth from the hoodie, he shook his head repulsively and banged the door open to march out of this suffocating space.