Twentieth chapter

In the morning I woke up tiredly. I could barely feel my limbs. Luckily, I didn't drink a lot of alcohol and I could be sober. Mostly. That couldn't be said of Liz. I remembered what she said, the kiss oh my god and I blushed again. Whether she meant what she said or drank too much and brought all the nonsense together? The problem is I have no idea. While I was brushing my teeth, I wondered how I should behave or how she would react to me at all. Did she regret it? After all, she has a boyfriend and I won't be here long. After I was done with everything I went into the kitchen in fear. It was about nine in the morning, but Noel is already having breakfast. Is he never tired?

"Liz said me yesterday that you and she give me the present today." Noel said excitedly.

"Together?" I asked in surprised.

"You chose the gift together. She said that." He said.

"Oh. Really. I forget it." I lied.

"Did you consume a lot of beverage, right?" He asked with a smile.

"If you could." I whispered.

"Sorry. I haven't heard. Can you repeat it?" He asked.

"We didn't drink that much." I lied again.

"Dad told about Liz. She probably won't even get up just in the afternoon." He said.

Liz entered in the kitchen at that moment. She went to the cupboard and took out a bowl and spoon and sat down in front of me. She put the cereal in the bowl and poured milk on it. She didn't really care that I had been watching her constantly with the suffocating air since she entered. She looked up at me with a tired expression on her face.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked phlegmatically and started to eat. I looked in shock. She really handles so loosely what happened yesterday. What did I think?

"Nothing." I whispered and hard but continued eating. The cereal had a bitter taste. I almost started to cry so I bit my lip. Why does this indifference hurt?

"When I get the gift?" Noel asked.

"Later." She said without looking up.

"Don't do it." He said. We noticed a phone ring. Liz reached into her pocket and picked it up.

"Hi Aaron." She looked at me and I looked at my food.

"Why did you step down yesterday without saying goodbye?" I heard dully.

"I don't know. I don't even know when I stepped down. I don't remember much." She said thoughtfully.

"Can we meet?" He asked.

"I'm in room captivity." She said and rolled her eyes.

"Fuck. Whatever. Bye." We didn't hear anything else.

"Did something happen yesterday that we had to step down?" I looked into her eyes for a while. I can't believe she didn't remember it.

"Nothing." I said finally. Perhaps this is the best solution for both of us. She stared strangely for a while with her frosty blue eyes, as if she guessed something but she shrugged finally.

"Whatever. Someone maybe knows." She looked down her bowl and finished the cereal. I looked in shock. I hope Izzy won't bring up this topic tomorrow or at least not near Liz. If that turned out she will hate me, but I don't want that.

After lunch we that is Liz handed the gift for Noel and he opened it in front of us. Of course, there was a video game and a comic in it.

"Oh my god. Thank you, Liz." He hugged Liz. She just standing in frozen.

"Your welcome." She touched his hair.

"Are you playing with me?" He asked with an unscratchable grin on his face.

"I don't think so." She said.

"I'll let you win." He looked up with a smile. I smiled faintly. She rolled her eyes. "Please!" He pleaded. She sighed.

"I have no other choice, right?" She asked.

Noel jerked Liz happily up the stairs. Liz looked back one last time, but I overlooked. I tried to focus on learning, but it didn't work. This won't be good in the long run. Why can't I forget what happened? After roughly two hours of suffering, I was able to concentrate on homework and learning.

"Ok. I'm going." I heard Liz's voice about an hour later.

"Hey, Alex sent because I don't understand the Math's topic and tomorrow will be a test. Can you help me?" She asked after she stepped in the living room.

"Ohm. Sure." I closed the Spanish book.

I started explaining the topic. She kept looking at me, which was so confusing that I blushed and rather told her to write down the tasks and try to solve them. Sometimes her phone was vibrating, and she looked at it.

"You are staring at me." She said without looking at me.

"I'm sorry." I looked away.

"Is it good?" She asked after a while.

"Unfortunately, no." She groaned.

"I give up!" She leaned on the table.

"You shouldn't give up." I said.

"This is a fantastic advice." She muttered in her arms.

"You started the count right, just messed it up here." She looked up and onto the booklet. "You should practice." I said.

"It is hard." She said.

"If you sit down every day…" I started but she interrupted me.

"No. I can't concentrate." I frowned.

"Why not?" She shrugged.

"I don't know." She said.

"Maybe you don't eat enough." I said.

"It's not true!" She said indignantly

"Okay." I said. Her phone was vibrating again, and she looked at it. "Would you put your phone away?"

"Just a minute." She said without looking at me.

"You will never know anything if you are constantly dealing with your phone." I said. She shrugged.

"According to Alex I don't get into college anyway." She said.

"If you won't learn you won't." I said.

"It's easy for you. You are rich and smart. Alex doesn't want to pay for university and college." She looked at me.

"Then I will pay." I said.

"I don't need your regret." She said.

"I wouldn't do that for regret. I just want to help." I said.

"You are so selfless." She said sarcastically.

"You are unbearable." I whispered. "I just wanted to help you, but you don't need it. Then you better get out of here." I said while I stared at the table.

"Gladly." She went out angrily. I heard a car key rattle and a loud door blow.

About half an hour later Alex appeared in the doorway.

"Where is Liz?" He asked.

"I don't know. I think she took the car." I said in a monotonous voice without even looking at him.

"What?" He asked in shock and ran out.

It turned out she was with Jewels again. Alex called Matt so they could bring her home.

"I hate you." She screamed and I heard her ran up the stairs.

As I expected Liz didn't show up for dinner. I'm sure she came to eat again at night. Paul called me, as he did last time, but Jason didn't call me today.

For the next three days unfortunately, Izzy didn't show up at school. Someone said she is ill. I should talk with her about the case. During the breaks I spoke with Steven and AJ and in the lunch break with Valerie, with whom we didn't really have a common interest and she was constantly watching Nick. I didn't say anything on Monday, but I couldn't leave it without a word on Tuesday.

"I think you would fit together." I said.

"I don't think so." She said with a blush.

"You stare at each other all the time." I explained.

"It's not true." She tried to deny. I turned to him and looked back at her.

"He still watching at you." She sighed.

"Our relationship wouldn't work. He's cool and I am not." She said in frustration.

"You are very beautiful. If he doesn't appreciate it, he doesn't even deserve you. However, it doesn't seem to me." I smiled.

"Thanks." She said shyly and sighed. "The ball will be three month later and I don't have a partner yet."

"Why you don't ask him?" I asked.

"Are you crazy? I'm not so brave to do it." She said. I smiled.

"Where is his closet?" I asked grinning wickedly.

"Next to Liz's closet on the right. Why?" She asked.

"I just curious." I said with a smile on my face.

"Please don't do anything!" She pleaded. Maybe you will thank me.

"I don't know what you mean, but now I have to go. Math test." I said and stood up.

"Good luck!" She said and I went to the class.

We were standing in the parking where I asked Liz how the Math test had gone for her, but she looked at me angrily and walked away. It means bad. At Alex's home I ripped a sheet out of my booklet on which I wrote the next lines.

Dear Nick,

As you know the ball is here soon and Valerie have no partner yet. She is too shy to call you personally, so I decided to write this letter for you to do something. I know you like her, and you both always look at each other. I think you fits together.

From A.

I didn't want to wrote my full name there. I hope everything will be fine and Valerie won't be mad at me.

"Is that what Liz said?" Jason asked at night in the phone. "You are too kind with her."

"She is…" Rather, I didn't continue.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"Nothing." I sighed.

"I'm your friend. Don't forget." He said.

"You will hate me." I said.

"I would never hate you." He said.

"Don't tell anyone." I pleaded.

"A secret? I never tell anyone, I promise." He assured me.

"Not tell to unfamiliar either and the other workers but mostly for my parents." I listed.

"Is it that serious?" He asked. I take a deep breath.

"She kissed me." I whispered.

"What? I couldn't hear you." He said.

"She kissed me." I said in a normal voice. I looked around that no one had heard this by accident. There was a silence at the far end of the line. "Jason?"

I heard buzz at the far end of the line. He hung up the phone. I lifted the phone from my ear nervously and trembling. I have no idea what I will do if he will tell it to someone. I shouldn't have told him. Damn!

At the school, I noticed where Liz's closet is, and I quickly threw the letter into the one next to it. I hope the best.

"We'll send this song to Valerie even though we don't know who she is, but it's for you." It sounded from the school radio.

We had lunch with AJ and Steven as well and we looked at Valerie in shock.

"I'm not the only one who is Valerie in this school." She said and looked at me. "Why are you smiling?" She frowned. I shrugged.

Valerie suddenly looked behind me and opened her mouth. I turned around. I saw that Nick was walking to our table with a strand of red roses on his hand. When he got there, he half-kneeled. As the music ended, I noticed that everyone was watching us.

"Would you come with me to the ball, Valerie?" He asked with a smile. Valerie just looked at him in shock, but Steven touched her shoulder indicating to she needed to say something.

"Yes." She said. He handed over the rose which was a tape and he stood up.

"We'll talk later." He said with a wide grin. He finally winked and walked out of the canteen.

The whole canteen followed with their gaze while he walked out and then everyone continued their lunch. I felt a look. I turned around. Liz looked at me angrily. I don't understand. When she noticed my gaze, she looked down at her food and continued to eat. It would be nice to know what's on her mind.

"There is something on the tape." Steven said and he took the flower from Valerie's hand.

"A phone number." AJ said.

"Omg. His phone number." Valerie said as if she can faint at any moment. "I can't believe it. I don't know what I should wear." She panicked.

"Calm down! Trust us!" Steven pointed at AJ and himself. "We are professionals in clothes. That is, only me."

"Hey!" AJ said indignantly.

"Who told you to pick this up?" Steven asked.

"You." AJ mumbled.

"Who opposed it?" Steven asked with a smile.

"Me." AJ mumbled.

"Who looks fucking good now?" Steven grinned.

"Me?" AJ asked.

"Yeah and me but it's incidental. Who was right?" Steven asked.

"For you." AJ rolled his eyes. Steven leaned to him and kissed his face.

The end of the lessons I headed for the exit alone. Liz has a cheerleading training today. I heard someone was running, so I turned to the person.

"It was not a good idea." Liz said when she stopped and folded her arms.

"What?" I asked.

"She doesn't belong to us." She said.

"Who?" I frowned.

"Valerie." She said.

"Why do you say that? You don't even know her." I said.

"If more people vote for them on the king and queen election, we won't win with Aaron. Fix it!" She said with narrowed eyes.

"How?" I asked.

"As before. You will write a letter to both of them on behalf of the other." She said.

"I can't do it." I said.

"Do you want everyone to know that you are a princess?" I looked at her with widened eyes and shook my head.

"As I thought. Fix it!" She said seriously and she walked away. I never thought it was she who was going to threaten me.

I tried to call Jason in the afternoon and evening as well, but he didn't pick it up. I don't know what I should do.