𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐌

two

run. when she ran out of things to keep her busy, she runs. she love running, it gave her the illusion that she can outrun her problems. she love running because while she's at it, she doesn't think, she has no time to think.

it's funny how people think she has no problems because she's this or that, when in reality, none of it matters. not the money, not the beauty, not the luxury she's born into, hell it doesn't even matter how smart you are. problems aren't picky, they present themselves what ever your social status may be.

she's out of breath when came to a stop, but that's okay, that's the point. the only thought running through her mind now was to breathe, to calm herself down, the burn in her legs that threatened to shake. no thoughts of him.

don't get the wrong idea, she's long forgotten about him, well, not forgotten-forgotten. she occasionally thinks about him, but not in a way she used to anymore. long gone was the lovesick girl who chased after the guy that can never be hers to begin with.

the more she thought about it, the more irrational and immature she saw her younger self was. they were from two starkly different worlds, his world was filled with so much noise and violence, she felt dumb for even thinking that it's okay to live in his world as long as she gets to be with him.

she doesn't think about him in a way she used to, it's more out of nostalgia now. she doesn't hate him, she never did, she never can. she's actually quite grateful now that he turned her down then. who knows what could've happened had they worked out.

her world, her life, it's all so serene. there's no more drama, there's no more tears, there's no more danger. she liked this, tranquility.

as she turned to head towards the convenience store, flashes from an alley caught her attention. it was them, people from her department, she only recognizes zack amongst the crowd of five people.

"i hope you understand. this is insurance. if you report us, we will spread this photo. got it?" the guy with obnoxiously pointy hair and chin said as he kept snapping photos of a shorter guy in green.

daniel resigned the moment they began snapping pictures of his willy, claiming it was for insurance if he ever reports them. insurance my foot. then again, what else can he do but be forced to agree on forgetting the whole thing and pay for what they bought.

with the plastic bags filled with booze and snacks dangling in some of the guys' grips, the female who was previously running quickly figured out what was happening. they were bullying the cashier, she assumed, it was a no brainer.

when the four of them began walking out of the alley, a slender figure of a dark-haired female with piercing dark brown eyes stood before them, effectively halting them from moving any further.

daniel turned to look at what was happening, why did the group suddenly stop and stilled? what he saw was something he never expected, it was the same girl in his class, the one he deemed to be a goddess. she had her hand out as she looked at the boys with knitted eyebrows.

there was a moment of silence as the three goons looked at zack before looking back at the female who refused to move from her place. zack and the girl stared each other down– it was the former who averted his gaze first.

anyone who stared him down would've gotten a beating, but he's not sure if he can take her on after what he saw that night. it was also a blessing in disguise, staring each other down that is. he got to study her features more, and even under the poor lighting of the streetlight, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

the guy almost instantly handed his phone to her when zack averted his gaze, she went through the photos they've taken and deleted each and every one of it. even going as far as to remove it from the recently deleted album.

"thanks!" she said enthusiastically, much to their confusion. a sweet bright smile was plastered on her lips as she smiled at them, it entranced them for a moment, had she not walked away, they wouldn't have regained their composure just yet.

daniel quickly slipped past the group of teens that bullied him while they were still dazed. he figured that the female just now needed something from the store, he's still a cashier despite what just happened, it doesn't give him a free pass to bullshit his job just because he got caught up in a situation.

"dang it! she deleted the insurance pictures." the pointy-haired guy said as he sifted through the pictures, there was nothing left of what they just took.

daniel was right, she needed to buy something. because the moment daniel walked in, the female was going through the stacked shelves. he quickly assumed his position behind the counter, getting ready to ring whatever it is that she needs to buy.

after a few minutes, he saw her make her way to the counter, hands full of items. while he began ringing all the stuff she needed, daniel could feel her eyes on him. why was she looking? does she pity him? does she look at him like how the other girls did when they feel bad for him?

no, when he looked up, there were no signs of pity in her eyes. she was scanning the bruises he got when zack beat him up awhile ago, and she was deep in thought. however, when she noticed that he was done ringing her stuff up, she gave him a smile. it was so bright, so beautiful, it made daniel's heart flutter lightly and a warm feeling enveloped his entire being.

"here's my card." she said, handing him a black card. this was the first time daniel has ever seen a black card, much less hold one, he's only ever heard of it before.

dang, black cards look so classy and exquisite. sorry, was that too much? who can blame him? it's his first time seeing such a card he's only ever heard of in televisions. now he gets to hold one too!

"can you also ring the items that the other guys took? i doubt they paid for it." she added, snapping daniel out of his trance. her words registered themselves in his mind and he can't help but fight off the smile that tugged at his lips to avoid looking like a creep.

he can tell she's a good person, the mere fact that she even thought of paying for what those guys took from the store was enough proof for him. most people wouldn't even bother thinking about it, but she does. she also saved him from having a cut in his pay, god bless her.

once he was done, he handed the bag to the female who then began rummaging through the items in it. she fished out the ice cream and strawberry milk before handing him back a bag still full of goods she picked out.

"here, thank you and have a great night." she said, turning on her heels and heading for the door. she was already sauntering away from the store when daniel recovered from his initial confusion.

he looked down at the bag with furrowed eyebrows, there were medical supplies, an energy drink and snacks in the bag, why did she leave them to him? then it dawned on him, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling any longer.

she's so kind! he thought to himself, he's basically melting at this point. the female left supplies for him to tend to his bruises, some snacks and an energy drink to keep him up during his shift. ah– but wait...

what was she doing with the phone when she asked for it?

could it be–???

it couldn't be...

did she see his willy?!

—

quick author's note:

this was shorter than the previous one, because this was supposed to be part of the preceeding chapter but i had to cut it in half due to the fact that it's gonna be a hella long chapter if i don't.