Victim of Circumstance | UNDER RIGOROUS EDITING

Chapter 21 - One & One Equals One

||Valeria||

THREE YEARS AGO!

"Hey, stranger." Someone with a raspy deep voice chirps. The person sets their food on the table and takes the seat opposite me. A juiceless cough escapes my lips, as I look up at the person with wrinkled eyebrows. I quickly place a hand on my lips to cover the food in the mouth.

"Hey..." I trail off after swallowing, finding his out-nowhere-appearance skeptical.

"How are you?" he grins.

"What are you doing here?" I quirk a questioning eyebrow, dismissing his question.

"Whoa! Why does it feel like I'm not wanted here?" he flashes another bright toothy smile. "You should feel privileged to have been grazed with the presence of the mighty Pius Starke. Me." He says pointing down at himself.

"Uhm, I don't remember requesting for your presence, so there is nothing to feel privilege for. Thank you for stopping by. Bye." I wave at him with a fake smile fixed on my face. That throws him off his beaming travesty to put it lightly. He disregards my rude brush off. Instead he makes himself comfortable on our—me and Ann's—table.

Its recess and we are in the school Kiosk. I was engaged in delighting in the pleasant-tasting burger when some person invaded my eating with their unwanted presence.

"How've you been?" he asks after regarding me for a moment with one of his intense fiery gaze.

"I should be the one asking you that." I look at him. "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"

"Wanna talk you."

"About what? We've nothing to talk about." I tell him.

"That's where you're mistaken. We've a lot to talk about... pumpkin." He adds the last part with his risqué brow wiggle.

I flinch at hearing the endearment. Not because I hate it. Oh, no. Not even the least. But more for dramatic effect and most important to evoke some emotion. Why? Because I hate him and I want him to know that. He just left me hanging. I don't know why I expected so much from him. I know he wasn't obliged to stick around with me or anything. In fact, he had world's freedom to do whatever he wanted. But it stung when he started ignoring me. You don't spend an amount of three months pursuing someone just to push that person aside. Most especially, not when she's about to give in.

"Don't call me that." I glare at him.

"Why not?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Because—"

"What the hell is the devil's spawn doing at our table?" The squawky voice of Ann cuts me mid-sentence.

"Ask him." I look at her, as she takes the sit next to me. "I've been trying to find out that myself." I look at the uninvited guest up and down, even though his bottom half his covered by the table. He doesn't talk. He just lean back in his seat and regards us both in turn, switching his focus from me to Ann. After a while, he stops and refocus his attention to his food. He starts eating it, completely ignoring our expectant stares.

To say that I feel like pulling out my hair at this moment will be the world's understatement. I hate him with all I've got. I don't know what I saw in the arrogant prick to fall for him. But I'm a girl. Every girl needs that person that makes her feel special. And he was that for me, only to find out at the end that I was nothing more than just a game for him.