Chapter 7 Bad First Love

(Still Flashback)

"Allison Valerie."

It's over. My fate is really hanging by a thread. Draco didn't even budge to stop his friend's rant. He truly made me lose face today.

I could only lower my head, realizing that all eyes were now on me.

"Alli, we should just get out of here. You know Sonia will do anything to teach her rival a lesson," Wendy whispered, pulling my hand.

"Where are you guys going?" Sonia's question stopped us in our tracks. I didn't even notice when she appeared right behind me.

"Wherever we go, it's none of your business," Wendy shot back tersely. She's never liked Sonia.

Sonia pointed at me, her angry glare on full display. "Hey... you shut up. I'm not dealing with you. My issue is with your annoying friend."

Sonia, unwilling to back down, raised her voice while pushing my shoulder. It was hard enough to almost knock me over, but Wendy quickly helped me stay upright.

"Hey... chill out!!" I could see Wendy was furious, she even pushed Sonia back a few steps.

"You're coming with me!!"

Ignoring Wendy, Sonia forcefully dragged me to the center of the field. Wendy kept trying to help, but Laura, Sonia's best friend, and their gang blocked her.

I felt the drizzle start to fall. I hoped the bell would ring soon so this crowd would disperse, and I could escape Sonia. Don't ask where the teachers are they probably think we're just rehearsing for next month's show.

Meanwhile, Draco and his two friends were still here. He must feel so satisfied having embarrassed me in front of everyone.

I could only keep my head down, tears starting to fill my eyes, too ashamed to look at anyone in the field. I was so embarrassed.

"Guys, look. A girl like this writes a love letter to Draco. Isn't that ridiculous?" Sonia asked arrogantly.

"No way!!" Laura was the first to respond, full of enthusiasm. "Right, everyone?" she added, trying to rally support.

"Yeah... totally," they chimed in one by one, laughter punctuating their words, especially from Draco's female admirers.

"Seriously, a girl like this thinks she can compete with me?"

I wanted to mess up Sonia's curly hair right then.

But I realized that doing so would be like challenging her back. I could get expelled for hurting someone. Staying patient seemed much better right now. Trust me, teenage Allison was much more naive than adult Allison.

Occasionally, I glanced at Draco, hoping he'd help stop Sonia. But he just sat there, doing nothing, his expression blank, who knows what he was thinking.

It felt like only his body was there, while his mind drifted far away. Or... did he really not care to save me at all? That was outrageous.

"Do you have a brain at home? Get a clue!" Sonia pushed me again, and this time I truly fell. From the edge of the field, I could hear Indy shouting my name, but she clearly couldn't run to help, Sonia's gang had her pinned down.

"SONIA, THAT'S ENOUGH!!"

Draco finally spoke up. His shout stunned Sonia and the others into silence.

"I want you all to leave right now!!" he demanded loudly.

Heavy rain began to pour as they scattered from the field. Sonia, still fuming, could only stomp her feet in frustration because she hadn't fully vented her anger on me. Thankfully, the rain was getting heavier; she wouldn't want her salon-styled hair to go limp.

I remained rooted in my sitting position on the field. Not even the downpour could make me move.

Draco extended his hand, wanting to help, but my heart rejected his offer. The rain poured harder, soaking our uniforms.

"Come on, get up. How long are you going to sit out here in the rain?" he said, still holding out his hand, but I ignored him. I just sat there, tears blending with the rain, unwilling to look at him.

There was a deep pain that I had never felt before.

Is it supposed to hurt this much to like someone? Is my first love really this disappointing?

"Stop acting like a late hero, this is all your fault." Wendy appeared, brushing Draco's hand away. A white umbrella sheltered her.

"...."

"Alli, let's go inside. Don't sit out here in the rain," Wendy said, wrapping her arm around my shoulder, urging me to stand. I glanced at her briefly, she kept signaling for me to return to class.

"Alli, you'll get sick if you stay here," Draco tried to coax me again. Instead of feeling happy, I was even angrier.

"If I get sick, what do you care?" I replied coldly, without any intention of meeting his gaze. "Don't force yourself to care, Drac. It's too late. There's no point anymore. I've seen how you value my feelings, and I've realized I've fallen for the wrong person," I said at length before walking away with Wendy by my side.

I didn't care what was on his mind now. To me, there was nothing special left about him to remember. Just consider what I wrote in that letter as mere nonsense.

I began to learn to erase everything about him and the feelings I had from that day forward.

Even after that incident, he kept trying to meet me just to apologize. Not just at school, he even tried to see me at home.

No matter how hard he tried back then, I still didn't want to meet him again. Even when my family planned to move houses, I refused to see him.

(Now)

And today, for the first time in 12 years, I ran into him again in a situation I never expected. Matched up with someone I hate, it truly felt like a nightmare for me.

Yeah... you heard that right. My parents deliberately took me to that restaurant to introduce me to Draco.

Draco wasn't a stranger to them. My parents even knew his parents because our houses used to be close together.

And yes... my parents also knew everything that had happened between me and him.

But if you ask why they decided to match us up, I don't know the answer either.

"Hey Alli, what are you doing here alone?" The appearance of someone whose face I didn't want to see again broke my thoughts about Draco.

Yeah, it's Brian. He wasn't alone, he was with Selena, whom I knew was his new girlfriend. They were now right in front of me. Was this city not big enough? Why did I have to run into this guy here?

Out of all the parks in this city, why did they have to come here too? And why did they have to see me and act all friendly? So annoying.

Is he trying to show off his new girlfriend in front of me? Oh, come on, I don't care about him anymore. I wouldn't care if he did cartwheels. Seriously!

I preferred to leave rather than deal with this couple. For some reason, whenever I faced him, my heart felt heated.

Maybe the effect of our breakup still lingered. My heart still couldn't forgive Brian. His reason for breaking up still didn't make sense to me.

Brian and Selena just looked at me with puzzled expressions because I walked away without answering his question. Whatever...

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