Chapter 5: Nightmares and Day Dreams

"Liar! Thief!" I screamed on top of my lungs while standing in the middle of a classroom. I threw the bag I was holding and turned around to face the person trying to stop me. I saw a familiar face, I don't know why I'm angry at her or what we are fighting about, but I couldn't seem to control my feelings and emotion no matter how much I try to calm myself down. I feel longing and hatred towards her at the same time.

"What's wrong Mitch?" she asked me as I looked at her. Her voice was full of fear and worry. Her hands were shaking, her eyes weren't focused and he was in an all over panicked state. She seemed confused and unaware of why I was angry at her.

"Where is it?" I yelled at her from the top of my lungs. "Give it back to me! Give it back!" I keep screaming. I looked around trying to look for something when another bag caught my eye. She was still trying to stop me and reasoning with me, but I couldn't see reason. I rushed towards the bag and immediately rummaged through it.

"Calm down Mitch. Please. Let's talk about this first. What are you even looking for?" She replied to me in an almost whisper. I just stayed silent while going through the things in the bag, checking ever pocket, and anywhere that could be a hiding spot.

"Stop it Mitch! Please just stop! Please!" she pleaded as her voice started to rise too. She kept putting back the things inside the bag while I was taking them out.

"What the hell Mitch? Would you just calm down!" She finally yelled at me then snatched the bag from my grasp and putting everything in place, inside it, again. I stood there still full of anger.

"Come here! Just come with me." She said to me then grabbed my wrist and started dragging me out of the classroom to a much secluded area near the stairs.

My sight became blurry as if the world was shifting into something else, I couldn't hear anything but the ringing I my ears. I saw the girl in front of me open her mouth trying to explain something to me, still puzzled with everything that was happening between us. I couldn't hear anything we were saying but I was also opening my mouth to answer to her. Her face then turned into pleading, but it didn't stop me. I kept advancing towards her and she was trying her best to defend herself from me. I continued clawing and grabbing at her.

Her eyes begun tearing up and I felt her shake while I was holding on to her. She keeps mouthing words that I couldn't hear, but I know that she was pleading for me to stop over and over again. I was too consumed with my anger and rage that I suddenly grabbed a handful of her hair and started pulling on it. By what I could see, she was crying out in pain. Moments after, she also started pulling my hair away from her trying to make me let go of her, but I just pulled more intensely closing the gap between us. I just kept screaming at her and calling her names while I could feel my blood boiling and the anger seeping through my bones, fear was evident every time she opened her mouth.

I was so focused on pulling her hair that I didn't even notice a guy coming towards us, not until he was already in between us. He broke us apart and faced me, showing me another familiar face. He covered the other girl completely out of my view. He tried reasoning with me, but all I could hear was still ringing and muffled sounds.

Him being there didn't seem to help calm me down in any way. It might have angered me even more. I just looked at him then started to reach and grab at the girl behind him, while he was now trying to stop me with all his might. When he realized that talking to me didn't help at all he then turned his back on me and completely shielded the girl from my attacks, but I still didn't care.

I wanted to stop attacking them, but there was only one thing that my mind was focused on, I just wanted to hurt this girl. The reason? I still don't know. I was stopped from my fits of rage when I felt something push my side and I completely lost my balance. I started falling from the top of my stairs as my arms tried to grab something, anything to stop me from falling, but there wasn't anything to grab hold onto. I looked at the two people hugging on top of the stairs as I rolled uncontrollably down the stairs, suddenly everything went black.

The scene shifted as my eyes opened, I was walking towards the entrance of a building with some other girls, helping me while I was walking with crutches. We were conversing with each other when we were suddenly startled by something falling right in front of us. I looked down the ground and saw the body of a familiar boy lying there, eyes shut and oozing red glistening liquid from his head. He was bathing in his own blood as he bled non-stop. I was left standing there in front of him as the other girls ran in different direction. People started to gather around us, and even though I wanted to move, I couldn't and it's not because of my broken leg, my feet were rooted in place. I leaned on my crutches dropping everything I was holding in my hands. I couldn't take my eyes off the scene that I witnessed.

A few more seconds passed and my crutches couldn't take my full weight and I lost my balance, but someone stopped me from falling to the ground. Someone ran towards me and hugged me tightly supporting my weight to keep me standing, the same time that a girl ran towards the boy lying on the ground. The guy hugging me then turned both of us around removing that gruesome scene from my line of sight.

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I woke up with a fright, my body was shaking and my hands were sweaty tears were falling from my eyes. There were beaded sweat all over my face. I looked at the clock by my nightstand and it was just three in the morning. The face of that boy still lingering in my mind, and I couldn't stop my tears and sobs as I relived all those memories. I cried for a good twenty minutes until I cried myself to sleep again.

Morning came and I was lucky that it was Saturday. My face was swollen especially my eyes that are also bloodshot from all the crying I did. I washed my face to try a lessen the swelling of it before going down to have breakfast. My parents were in the dining room, already having their fill with the breakfast prepared by Mama Beth.

"Good morning hon." My dad greeted me while stuffing a toasted bread in his mouth and then drinking from his coffee cup while inviting me to seat down and eat with them.

"What happened to your eyes darling? Have you been crying?" My mom eyed me closely panic and concern filling her face and voice.

"No mom, I just stayed up too late last night." I reasoned out while putting on my best morning smile, trying my best to not make my parents worried.

I grabbed a pancake and started having my breakfast. It was an ordinary breakfast with my parents. Mostly the conversation was from their work and how I was doing at school and social life and was questioned about the improvements in my love life, which I refused to share with them. I went back to my room immediately after eating, then spent the next hour scrolling through social media, but I still can't shake that vivid dream from my mind. The face of the guy still swam in my mind. I honestly couldn't remember the details of that accident, I just know that it did really happen. Trying hard to put those thoughts aside and forget about that dream, I decided to just go to the mall to relax and distract myself.

I walked around the mall after getting my choco frappe, observing people near me and trying to come up with scenarios that fits whatever it is they are doing. I got a bit bored so I decided to go to the bookstore and just read there. I was walking towards the bookstore when someone bumped into me, spilling at that's left in my cup.

"Sorry, sorry! Are you okay?" said the person who bumped into me, handing me a handkerchief.

I looked up and saw a very good-looking guy with a blue handkerchief in his hand. From his cleaned and styled haircut, to his bright smiling eyes, high-raised nose and thin lips. Unlike Vin with his bad boy look and attitude, this guy looks like a prim and proper, smart, and gentleman kind of guy.

"Here, you need it more than I do." He said looking at me apologetically as he placed the handkerchief in my hand.

"Uhm, thanks." I said then started trying to rub off the spilt frappe from my shirt, but it wouldn't come off so, I excused myself to go to the comfort room, giving him another thank you before heading straight to the comfort room.

I did my best to remove the stain, but it wouldn't come off. I just sighed out of disappointment and dried my shirt then went out of the restroom. I guess I'll just go home, because one thing I get stressed about is having dirty clothes.

"Here." I heard someone say as I stepped out of the comfort room. The guy from earlier handed me a paper bag as soon as he saw me come out.

"Sorry again." He apologized while giving me a big smile then walked away, leaving me confused and puzzled to what just happened.

I opened the paper bag and saw an off-shoulder black top and a denim short to pair with it. I just smiled unknowingly and my eyes followed him to where he was going. As a girl who grew up in the world of fashion, I'm quite impressed with his taste in clothes. The thought of that guy going inside the store and buying a set of girl's clothes was a bit funny and absurd but what I regret is that I didn't even got the chance to thank him. I never crossed my mind that there are still guys who would be that nice to a stranger and I couldn't help but smile by myself.

{Where are you?}

I texted Shin to know if he could pick me up if he's not busy rather than calling for a taxi to go home.

{Mall, why why?}

He replied right away but before I could reply back to him, somebody already grabbed me and was pulling me away to who knows where. I looked at the guy and saw Vin with a very grim expression on his face. His expression reminded me of a kid who didn't get what they wanted and was about to throw a tantrum. Instead of his usual smile or smirk, he was scowling. His eyebrows were furrowed together, fore was all creased, but it still doesn't hinder the beauty that this man is radiating. Unlike our previous encounters, he looks really intimidating right now. He wasn't saying all his usual cheeky and cheesy lines which made me uncomfortable, a little worried and a lot scared so, I also remained silent as I let him drag me off.

I felt my phone vibrate in my hand, I'm about a hundred percent sure that it was Shin. I wasn't able to text him back so maybe he got worried, but I couldn't answer my phone because it's the same hand that Vin is holding. And juts my looking at his face, I don't think I could contradict him right now. For the first time since we've met I was worried to speak up. I didn't even notice that we were already at the parking lot.

He finally let go of my hand and opened the door to the driver seat, but before going in he just looked at me, ordering me to get inside the car and at the same time daring me to go against him with just his eyes. Instinctively, I opened the door to the passenger side and got in. For the first time that day, I saw him smile for a split second then composed himself again and put on his serious face again. He got inside the car, somehow struggling to keep himself from smiling. Cute! That's the only thing I could think of to describe him at that moment. He looks like an angry kid being offered a candy and having the biggest dilemma of maintaining his anger or getting the candy. Even though he has a serious face on like earlier it still feels different now.

He then stared at me with the same neutral expression, but he was breaking. He couldn't control himself and just let his smile slip his lips. I felt a sudden warmth enveloped me as I saw his face lit up. Our eyes met, I felt comfortable, safe and secured but it was different, so very different towards how I feel with Shin. I didn't even realize that a smile was also plastered across my face until I saw my reflection in the window of his car. Damn! Seriously Vin! What the hell did you do to me?