How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 17: A Party Gone Wrong- Part 1

Zen Vincent stood  a few feet away from Aunt Rosa's Floral Studio, suddenly unsure of what to do. His sister had bullied him into picking up Mariah since she still needed to 'touch up' her make-up. He had'nt given the chore much thought, until he realised he had to talk to 'The Ray Kon' who was handling the studio that evening.  Well, he did know that the two of them stayed at the same place, but to actually muster up the nerve to talk to him wasn't something he was prepared for.  Most importantly, how was a meek guy like him supposed to pick up a female friend to a party when she's already the girlfriend of another, highly intimidating senior?

"No need to back up there. I saw you." Ray called out, not bothering to look in his direction. Zen fidgeted nervously, walking up to the entrance of the counter. Ray was preparing a bouquet of red flowers and continued to ignore him. "Those are lovely pink roses." Zen commented lamely, trying to strike up a conversation. Ray looked up at him in annoyance, as though he had heard those assumptions quite a lot.  "Those are Tsubaki, Camellia by the way, not pink roses." He deadpanned.  But to Zen, those flowers still looked like pink roses , yet he immediately apologized. He didn't  want to upset Ray before he actually came to the point of discussion. He hadn't considered that he would need a PhD in Floral Science to pick up a friend to a party... 

"You know, Camellias symbolise Humility, discretion and perfect love." Zen wondered what he was getting at before a thought struck him. Did Ray know who  he was?  What if he thought he was a customer? " I think there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not here for the flowers. I'm Zen Vincent by the way, your junior at Tokyo West." "I know who you are, Isa's little brother." Well, he was nearly as tall as Ray himself and just a year younger than his sister, so he sure as hell was annoyed by still being called little, but he nodded along. Ray's lips twitched as though he was trying to hold back a laugh. "Apologies for calling you little, but you know what I meant." Zen found himself relaxing on finding that Ray wasn't as intimidating as he looked in tournaments after all, if he could still find humour in simple conversations.

Ray continued "This is Mariah's first party. She seems to be adjusting to this highschool environment, his voice suddenly sternly quickly and I'm worr-. She never had the exposure to such things back at home and I don't really know how she will fare at this one. I don't care if you get too drunk or stoned or were busy with someone. I want her home by midnight if you want her to be going anywhere with you guys anytime soon. Have I made myself clear?" Zen swallowed nervously, meekly nodding in response. 

Zen thought Mariah was very lucky to have such a caring lover, even if they werent speaking for the moment. Because, if he did realise one thing, it was that the two of them were deeply in Love. But before he could actually voice out the sentiment, Mariah called for him. "Zen, is that you?" She had chosen a hot pick tube dress and simple white stone jewellery for the occasion. She was a bit wobbly on her feet, since she was wearing pointed heels, but other than that, she looked absolutely gorgeous. But Ray didn't spare her a glance. Zen really marveled Ray's self-control, for he didn't think anyone could ignore a beauty like Mariah dressed like she was, and especially not her own boyfriend.

 He turned to him and gave him a bouquet of lilies. "These are for you. Lovely lilies for Lizzie. I assume it's your first date? Isa bled my ears out by narrating your love story to me the other day.." Zen couldn't help but blush deeply as Ray thumped his back. Big sisters are so annoying! "We should get going then, don't you think?" Mariah called out in a small voice, sounding a bit uncertain. It must be awkward to suddenly be the third wheel in your own house and between your own best friend and boyfriend. 

"Yeah, you're right. How much do I owe you?" No need, the flowers are on me! " He assured, pushing the money back to his hands. "I hope you, Lizzie and Isa have fun!" He called out, pointedly excluding Mariah. As soon as we turned the corner, Mariah sighed in a defeated sort of way. "He really knows how to rub salt to wounds, doesn't he? " She asked and moved ahead, not really waiting for an answer.