Only Male Friend
A few weeks went by, and Astrol still kept on running into Zane. The funny part was that they kept on running into each other at Astrol's favorite places, or places where she regularly visited, and somehow they would always end up hanging out with each other every time they met. The weirdest thing was that Astrol actually really enjoyed his company.....she enjoyed it so much that she would often look forward to running into him at those places, and when she didn't, she'd get really disappointed.
Surprisingly, he was the only royal that she didn't find irritating or annoying. He valued her opinions and agreed with her reasoning a lot of the time. They had never actually interacted with each other at school though because of the class gap. That's why they hardly saw each other, and even when she would, it would be from a distance. The last time they ran into each other was three days ago at her favorite ice cream place. She couldn't help but wonder when she'd see him again.
...
They were currently having lunch at the school cafe; Astrol sat with Bora and Nari, while Xander sat with his friends on a table opposite hers. Xander couldn't help but sneak glances at Astrol every once in a while. She looked so beautiful lost in thought like that. Xander had a crush on Astrol and liked her for quite some time now. It all started the first day he met her in grade 5. His sister had once again lost her calculator and stole his. He was really annoyed and was looking for her everywhere because he had a maths test in the next fifteen minutes.
He'd spotted her talking with a girl wearing a black T-shirt that blended in with her long black hair. He could still remember what was written on that T-shirt. As he got closer to Bora, the girl's face had gotten clearer, and soon he stopped in front of them panting hard. The moment his gaze fell on her, he froze instantly and completely forgot why he was there in the first place. Bora had saved him from looking like a complete creep without her knowing, and he finally snapped out of it as she introduced him to her as her twin brother. Astrol already knew that Bora had a twin brother because she'd spoken a lot about him. Besides, looking at him she could instantly tell it was him since they looked so alike...yet different at the same time. Although Astrol had been very cold on their first meeting, it only made him more interested in her. And after years of hard work, he could proudly say that he was her closest and only male friend. A smile had unconsciously formed on his lips at that thought.
...
Some time had passed, and Astrol and her friends were done with their food. They were about to leave the cafeteria, when Astrol spoke up, "Guys can we please take the clinic route, I don't feel too good". Since that morning, she had been feeling feverish but decided to ignore it. However, it only seemed to get worse each passing minute. "Sure let's go", Bora replied; "Bora we have English class next and we're already late. Plus, the clinic is too far from the middle school building....you know how Mr Williams can get", Nari reminded with a troubled expression. "It's okay, I can go with Astrol. My next period is free and I have nothing important I want to do with it anyway", Xander interrupted when he'd reached the three girls, and all heads turned to him.
"Yay, that's a great idea. That way we won't be late and Astrol will have company", Nari stated cheerfully. Bora on the other hand, stared at her brother suspiciously. Xander rubbed the back of his neck feeling her gaze on him before he quickly added, "Lucas went to the clinic earlier on, so I want to check on him too". "In that case, let's not waste any more time. Let's get going", Astrol said and Nari pulled Bora out along with her after waving goodbye.
Astrol and Xander arrived at the school clinic, and they were told to wait in the waiting room, before they could see the school doctor. Thus, Xander and Astrol headed into the waiting room when Xander suddenly felt Astrol stop. "You?!", Astrol said as her eyes landed on the familiar figure smiling sweetly at her. "Astrol....you're here too?, are you stalking me now?", Zane jested. Astrol smiled shyly before she told him about her fever. "You too?...I don't know if it's the weather, I've also got a fever", Zane replied. The two were so busy chatting that they didn't notice the sour face of the guy left behind.
After a while, Astrol finally remembered that Xander was there too. 'Gosh how silly of me', she thought before introducing the two to each other. Zane smiled widely at Xander as he accepted his handshake. Xander however, kept a straight face while shaking his hand. 'Since when did Zane Lee become this nice and welcoming', Xander thought as he let out a silent sigh. All this while he thought that he was the only guy that Astrol enjoyed talking to, but he was wrong apparently. He hated the fact that her mood seemed to have gotten better after seeing Zane.
It made him feel like he was already at risk of losing when he never even got the chance to play. 'How long have they known each other for them to be this close?, last time I checked, I was the only guy that Astrol hung out with!', Xander thought with a crumpled face, trying hard to mask his bitterness. However, his struggles didn't seem to escape Zane's attention. From the moment they shook hands, he could somewhat sense what was going on. The idiot actually had the guts to accept his smile with a straight face?! 'Don't worry, you'll have her back before you know it', Zane promised with a sly smirk on his face.