The promise we made

20

Chapter 20: Beat up

Zeke P.O.V

Days passed by and everything completely changed. Rihanna and I don't talk anymore like we used to. She also stopped coming over and stopped sending me texts but fortunately, we still exchange small words with each other at school like "hey", "what's up?" "hello". I miss her so much. Jane avoided me as much as she can but I can tell that it's not because she's mad or upset with me. There's something else. Marge, she kept distance. She still give me weird looks but didn't say any word to me. Noel? Who knows where he is or what he's doing. Nicole? She's been by my side most of the time which is actually refreshing. At least there's still someone who wants to be with me. Nicole and I were now totally official. Most of the students knew about us and they seem okay with it now. I noticed that she hasn't been spending time with Robert. I hope Robert isn't upset with me that Nicole was practically hogging me. Speaking of Robert, where is that guy? I haven't seen him for awhile.

I'm on free period right now and so is Nicole but she's not with me at the moment because she received a phone call that made her look uneasy. I saw how she looks at the phone like she wants to run away from it but she noticed me staring and hide her terror with a small smile. I'm not dumb though. She's seriously scared and upset when she saw it. It's been like fifteen minutes and she hasn't returned yet. How long is she going to talk to that person? I waited for her impatiently. I have a lot of questions and I need answers. People who I actually care about is being shady, scared, distant and secretive to me. I need to know why this is actually happening. I know I'm a jerk, an a**hole, and I can be really insensitive but I still feel that I deserve to know the truth. You know when people say that secrets can keep people close? They're wrong. Secrets can drift them apart.

"I'm sorry I took too long." Nicole came back, sat beside me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Who was that?" I asked her. "No one important." she shook her head frantically. It's clear on her face that she doesn't know what to answer. "You left me here and talked to that person for who knows how long and you're saying that it's no one important?" I sighed, shaking my head. I brought up Robert. "Robert's been out of sight for awhile. Do you have a clue on where he is?" "Oh yeah. He's at home. He's not feeling well." she said. "Yeah? Is he feeling worse because it's been days. I almost thought that he's hiding." I joked. "Everyone hides something, Zeke. Either they have something to hide from or they have something to hide." she said in utmost seriousness. "So in Robert's case which is it?" I asked her. "Excuse me, I have to talk to the student council moderator." she said and walked away not answering my question.

I spend the rest of my time pondering. Now it's time to go back to class. The teacher made an activity and she said to pair up. I scan the room for people and saw Jane, she met my eyes and immediately grabbed someone else. I know Marge is in this class too but I don't want her to react the way Jane did so I went to Rihanna's seat. "Is it okay for us to be partners?" I asked her and she flashed a big smile. "What?" I asked her curiously. "When you said partners my mind said something else." she bit her lip. "'Oh yeah? What is it?" I grabbed a seat and sat across from her. "It said 'is it okay for us to be lifetime partners?'" she said quickly and covered her face. I removed her hands and asked her "What are we supposed to do?" She giggled and bumped my nose with her finger. "You're not listening? She said that we have to propose a business that will have these qualifications." she said and handed me her notes. "Okay. When's the deadline?" I asked her. "Next week. Are you okay doing this with me at a park? We could have a picnic?" she looked at me hopefully. "Of course. When are we starting?" I asked. "How about later after school? We could buy take out?" she suggested. "Later it is." I pinched her cheek lovingly. "You should tell your girlfriend first." she pouted jokingly. "Do I have to?" I scratched my head and she gave me a stern look so I raised my hand in defense. "Okay, okay!"

After school we went to a fast food chain and ordered take out. We are now at the park. We stopped by earlier at my house to get a blanket and my laptop. We ate food and we started to do project. "So what's our proposal?" she asked me. "I don't know. What do you want?" I shrugged. "You." she said cheekily. "You're so cute!" I pinched her cheeks. "Cute enough to be yours?" she looked at me hopefully. "More than enough." I answered on reflex. "Speaking of cute! Maybe we should propose something cute, like a business that involves cute animals!" she exclaimed. "That's a good idea. So like a farm?" I asked. "Something like that. I have an idea though." she said. "What's your idea?" I asked her. "You know the cafés that have dogs and cats? Maybe we should do something like that! But instead of cats and dogs, how about bunnies?" she suggested. "That's perfect! But I think we should add something maybe like a library. So basically what we'll propose is a bunny library café." I said. "Yeah, that's good!" she nodded excitedly.

In the middle of doing our work, I recognize a face by the fountain. It seems like he's waiting for someone. I waited for him to look at my direction so I can see his face clearly. Dang, it's Robert. Craving for answers, I hurriedly went to him making Rihanna follow me taking the laptop with her. "Dude! Where have you been?" I approached him and he faced me. I examined his face and saw that he has a black eye, and a busted lip. "Who did that to you?" Rihanna asked for all of us. "No one important." He said and jogged away. NO ONE IMPORTANT, to whom did I hear that from? Nicole! Is the person Nicole's talking about is the same person that beat up Robert?