Chapter 2 2

CHAPTER 2

"Chlow, you're really beautiful," hay! Here we go again. Joking around with Liam, who can be quite persistent. I'm at Evo's house now. We're working on our Chemistry project for the upcoming Science Fair. Currently, we're going through the step-by-step procedure of our experiment. We really need to perfect this so we don't mess up on the day of the fair. We're making a Candy Molecules project. We have to create fun, colorful, and delicious molecule structures out of candy, like H2O and CO2 molecules.

"Why aren't you working on the project, Liam?" I ask him.

"I think I'm already done."

"Who's your partner?"

"Caroline." Hmm! Now I know. Caroline is probably doing the project all by herself.

"You really got Caroline," I say and smile.

"I don't know why, Chlow, you're the only one who's indifferent to me like this," I scrutinize him. It's like his voice suddenly got serious.

"Because Chloe is too smart to just fall for your tricks," Evo answers while busy with our project. Liam just looks at him out of the corner of his eyes and then turns his gaze back to me.

"Why don't you notice me, Chloe? I'm handsome, you know, charming!" Liam continues, and his voice is back to its flirtatious tone. Hehe!

"If I didn't know you, I might have fallen for it. But thank God! Because I know Liam Montemayor too well. A man who has done nothing but just play around." I return my attention to what I'm doing.

Liam brushes aside a strand of my hair covering my cheek. He tucks it behind my ear.

"I can change, Chlow," he says. Both of us are surprised when Evo suddenly pounds on the wooden center table where the three of us are gathered.

"For heaven's sake, Liam! Can you please leave for a moment? How are we supposed to finish this if you're causing a disturbance?!" Evo snaps at Liam. What's his problem? I've never seen him this irritable before.

"You're so grumpy, man," Liam teases and then laughs. Liam takes some cookies instead of leaving.

"Chlow, have a snack," Liam insists, trying to feed me. I was about to refuse, but he's being cute! I just smile and was about to bite the cookie when Evo snatches it from me and eats it in one go.

"Are you leaving or do I have to kick you out!?" Evo threatens. I just sigh.

"You're so grumpy! No wonder Cheenie still hasn't answered you. You're too serious and boring," Liam says.

"How can she answer him when he's so shy," I joke and he looks at me. Gosh! He seems annoyed, he's staring at me so seriously.

"Just kidding, man," I joke again. Liam and I burst out laughing. His face gets even grumpier.

"Joke only, Evo. You're just too serious," I apologize. He doesn't say anything and focuses on what he's doing.

"I'll leave for now, Chlow, before I get kicked out by grumpy over here," Liam jokes again and Evo gives him a stern look from below. Liam quickly leaves. I glance at Kelly, who's also busy, and hear her trying to send Dyllan away.

"Go there for now, Dyllan, we'll finish this," Kelly says. Rex and Agatha are here too. Agatha is leaning on Rex's shoulder, and Dyllan keeps smelling Kelly's hair while the four of them sit on the floor.

"Am I really boring?" I suddenly look at Evo when he speaks up. I give him an inquiring look. What is he talking about? But he just shakes his head. His phone suddenly rings on the table. He picks it up and answers the call.

"Hello, Cheenie," ooh it's Cheenie. Evo stands up and goes to the door. I follow him with my gaze until the door closes.

"Hay! Cheenie and Evo! Do they really suit each other? It doesn't seem like it," I mutter. Hays! What am I talking about? Tsk. You're being nosy, Chloe. After a few moments, Evo returns and sits down. He avoids eye contact and busies himself with what he's doing.

After a couple of hours, we finally finish what we were working on.

"Thanks God, we're finally done," I say as I stretch my arms. We tidy up before leaving the study room together. The room was truly dedicated forSure, here's the translation:

---

This is where Evo and Kelly usually work on group projects or group studies.

We all went down together, and just as we reached the bottom, Cheenie entered.

"Hi, guys!" Cheenie greeted and immediately approached us. Oh! She went to Evo. She kissed Evo on the cheek. Confusing! They didn't do that before.

"What are you doing here, Cheenie?" Agatha, her classmate, asked.

"I'm just visiting my boyfriend," she replied shyly. Wait! Boyfriend? Who?

"Boyfriend!" everyone exclaimed, except for me. Cheenie held on to Evo's arm.

"We're together," Cheenie answered.

"Really! Since when?" Kelly asked.

"Just earlier," Cheenie replied. How? We've been together with Evo almost the whole day.

---

-Evo's POV-

"Am I really boring?" I suddenly asked. Chloe looked at me, her eyes questioning. I just shook my head and refocused on what I was doing. Seriously! I'm just trying to be kind and nice. And they find it boring! What do these girls want? Like Liam, who just sweet-talks them, gets them to say yes, and then leaves. I'm not that kind of person. I have a lot of respect for girls. Then, my phone suddenly rang. I picked it up from the table – it was Cheenie. I swiped the screen to answer the call.

"Hello, Cheenie," I stood up and left the room.

"Hi, Evo,"

she greeted me.

"Did you call for something?"

"Not really. I was just bored. What are you up to?"

"We're just finishing our project."

"Oh, I see. Sorry for the disturbance. I'll call you back when you're not busy."

"Cheenie, wait," I stopped her.

"Yes."

"Well, um," I wasn't sure if I should continue.

"Evo," she called my name when I fell silent.

"Um, Cheenie," I let out a breath and looked up. I wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but here goes.

"Cheenie, if... um... if I ask you to be my girlfriend, would you agree?" I asked hesitantly. I heard her cough, as if she choked.

"Um. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Cheenie! Just forget what I-"

"Yes! I agree," she cut me off. Ugh! I shouldn't have! Damn! What am I saying? Why did I ask her to be my girlfriend if I don't really like her? Evo! Stupid! How am I going to take that back?

"Evo, hello!" she called me when I was silent again.

"I'm still here."

"So, you're my girlfriend now? I'm your boyfriend?" She asked and I sighed.

"If it's okay with you."

"Of course!" She said enthusiastically.

"Can I come over later? So we can talk in person. Since you're busy, I'll just go. But if you don't like my idea, it's okay."

"Sure, come over," she said before saying goodbye.

Cheenie is fine. She's nice, and a lot of guys like her and want to court her. But she's always turned them down. I overheard her conversation with Chloe at school. And from what I heard, she actually likes me. I like her, but not as a girlfriend. But everyone thinks I'm courting her. I'm not correcting their wrong assumptions either. Because Cheenie herself just smiles and laughs it off. I'm just embarrassed, what if I offend her?

Well, let's see. I feel like we'll get along. And besides, the girl I like doesn't like me back.

I went back inside and we finished our project before going down. Cheenie was already there, and she immediately approached me and kissed me on the cheek.

"What are you doing here, Cheenie?" Agatha asked.

"I'm just visiting my boyfriend," she replied, seeming shy.

"Boyfriend!" everyone exclaimed, except Chloe. Cheenie held on to my arm.

"We're together," Cheenie answered.

"Really! Since when?" Kelly asked.

"Just earlier," Cheenie replied.

"Wow! Congrats!" Kelly cheered.

"Excuse me! I'll go ahead," Chloe suddenly left without even looking at everyone.

**

Why is Chloe so quiet? She's been in the classroom since earlier, and now she's here in our specialization.

"Chlow, can I borrow your English book?" She handed me the book without looking up.

"Thank you," I said, but

she didn't reply. What am I going to do with this book?

"Um, Chlow, can I borrow your... um, Math book?" She raised her head and handed me the book without looking up. Ugh! Why is she like this? Does she have a problem?

"Class dismissed," our teacher announced. Everyone stood up. I just looked at Chloe while she packed her things. When she stood up, I stood up too and followed them, along with Kelly.

"Hi!" Cheenie greeted us as soon as we got out. She immediately approached me and linked her arm with mine.

"Hi, Chlow!" Junjie greeted. What is he doing here? He approached Chloe and... kissed her on the cheek. Why did he kiss Chloe on the cheek? Kelly, Troy, Mannilyn, and even Liam looked surprised.

"Congrats Chloe! So you and Junjie are together now," Cheenie said. They're together? Since when?

"You guys too? Since when? Chloe, why didn't we know?" Kelly asked.

"Sorry, I only told them last night. I was going to tell you all today," Mannilyn and Kelly squealed and hugged Chloe. They were so thrilled.

"We even have the same number for our upcoming monthsary. Let's go on a double date sometime. What do you think, Evo?" Cheenie suggested. I just managed a small smile. So they're together too!

"Let's go!" Liam suddenly said in a tone that seemed annoyed. He even bumped into Junjie. I wonder what his problem is?

****

"CHEERS to Evo becoming a full-fledged bachelor!" Enzo shouted, raising his shot glass. He's really crazy!

Everyone laughed, except for Liam, who seemed to be going through something. We cheered and all took a sip of our drinks. We're in a bar now. Dyllan's band is performing.

"What's it like having a girlfriend, Evo?" Yuan asked. I'm not the only one who hasn't had a girlfriend yet. Yuan hasn't either. As far as I know, he hasn't had a girlfriend yet. He's too dedicated to his career, and he really takes care of his love team with Hershey. Their fans are too intense, and they often receive nothing but criticisms and threats from everyone who's linked to Yuan. It's also possible he has a girlfriend that we don't know about.

"It's alright, pretty normal," I answered.

"Isn't it said that when you're in love, you can't sleep or eat because you're constantly thinking about your beloved?" Enzo added.

"Why, were you like that with Coreen?" I playfully asked him, followed by laughter. She was his girlfriend back in 8th grade. Their relationship only lasted a week. But Liam, he's something else. Ruthless. He doesn't hold back. He'd go after anyone who shows interest in him. He might have even dated more girls than the fingers on one hand. He could already court girls even in kindergarten. He made a girl cry because he stole a kiss from her when we were in kindergarten.

Two girls approached us. "Hi guys!" they greeted. One of them sat next to Liam.

"Hey Liam, maybe you'd like to stay overnight at my place later?" she asked without hesitation. Liam looked at her.

"I'm not in the mood! Maybe next time. Um... Sarah," Liam said, sounding unsure of the name.

"My name is Kristine! We hung out just last week and you've already forgotten my name!" The girl left, annoyed. We all laughed when she walked away.

"Damn it, Liam! I've been a player too, but I never once forgot a girl's name," Dyllan commented with a laugh.

This guy's being a player in a different way. He gets into relationships without real feelings. But now he's serious about my twin. It turns out, he's liked Kelly for a long time, he just couldn't admit it. Sometimes, his sweetness towards my sister gets annoying.

"These girls are so frustrating! A little touch and they're already dropping their panties!" we burst out laughing. What's up with this guy? It's the first time he's turned down a girl. And now he's annoyed with a girl who's easy to get. This isn't the usual Liam.

"What's your problem? Do you have a fever? You turned down a girl," Enzo said.

"Yeah, dude. You've seemed irritated for a while now," I added.

"Why did Chloe like Junjie?" he suddenly asked. His statement furrowed my brows. Is that what's been bothering him? Could it be true that he--

"Do you have a crush on Chloe?" Yuan asked suddenly. He didn't answer, downing the contents of his shot glass and letting out a sigh. Yuan, Enzo, and Dyllan burst out laughing.

"Do you have a crush on Chloe!? Oh, don't even think about it. You'll just get rejected. There are plenty of decent girls out there for you. She won't be interested," Dyllan teased.

"You guys are idiots!" he said, clearly frustrated. I leaned against my seat. It's true, he has a crush on Chloe. I can't blame him. A lot of guys like Chloe, not just because she's beautiful, but also because she's incredibly kind and a genuinely good person. I raised my shot glass and brought it over to Liam. He raised his as well, and we cheered.

"Not Chloe, dude. I'll be the first one to block you if you try to court her. You're not a good match. She's too good for you. It hurts, but accept the truth," I said seriously. I'd definitely stand in his way if he tries to court Chloe. Chloe doesn't deserve him. Harsh, but it's true. He'd just end up making her cry.

"What are you talking about?! I was just commenting!" he denied. But I'm not convinced. His actions and mood have been different since we found out that Chloe and Junjie are officially together. Even if I were the decent one, Chloe deserves someone better. Tsk. I overheard Chloe say that she doesn't like me, that she has no feelings for me. Turns out, she's always liked someone like Junjie.