Back In time

One

"He is totally cheating on you Av! I saw the way he looked at Jessica!" Alice hollered.

Alice had always been overprotective of me, especially when it came to boys. At times like these, I found it ridiculously hard to communicate with her, when all she talks about is how she thinks that my two years boyfriend, Adrian, is cheating on me. However, despite all the nagging and annoyance, it gave me certainty that she deeply cares for me. A friend like that does not come by easily.

"Oh shush Alice! You can't suspect that Adrian is cheating on me just because of how he looks at Jessica. Besides, I know how Adrian really is. He is not the type to cheat on me for that tramp." I wasn't one to badmouth about others, but hey! I was just stating the fact!

"Whatever you say." Alice scoffed. "But hear this! Don't you dare come crying to me when he cheats on you!"

I won't.

Won't I?

*

"Hey Av! Wanna do some shopping?" Alice asked while placing the books in her locker.

"But I was thinking of asking Adrian out for a movie."

"Adrian, Adrian, Adrian. Is he all you think about? Has he been working his black magic on you?" She huffed. I felt a tinge of guilt, but it quickly vanished when I saw Adrian walk out the classroom.

"Sorry Al." I gave a quick apology before sprinting towards my boyfriend. As I slowly approached him, my heart started pumping erratically, blood rushed to every part of my body, causing the palm of my hands to become soaked with nervousness.

"Hey baby. Wanna go to the movies?" I said to Adrian, who on the other hand was surrounded by a few jocks.

"Nah... The boys and I have already made plans for later. Sorry Av" He replied with a deadpanned face that showed no sign of remorse. Though I was disappointed by his answer, I easily hid it. Just then, Jessica walked past, giving the group of jocks her signature smirk. Adrian's gaze followed her every movement, and at that instant, both their eyes met. It gave me every reason to believe that Adrian was cheating on me. However, I shook those insecurities out of my head and focused on the conversation.

"Oh, it's okay," his head still facing in the direction of Jessica.

"Ad?" I called out, getting no sign of attention.

"Ad!" This time, he snapped his senses back at me.

"What?" He replied, with annoyance dripping from his voice.

"I said that it's okay. Alice asked me out for a little shopping anyway." I sighed while faking a smile, which he soon returned, revealing neat rows of white sparkly teeth.

After a minute of silence, he finally broke the ice. "Well, I guess I will see you around."

"Yeah, I guess. You go on and have fun." I answered, walking away with the group of boys.

Adrian is the captain of the school's football team, which easily makes him the most popular guy in the school. But, he was different. He wasn't arrogant nor self-centered like the others. Instead, he surprised me with his behavior when we first met in the cafe. He was kind and sweet. He was everything that I could ever wish for in a guy. However, after a year of courtship, I could feel him drift slowly away from me. The late-night talks over the phone turn to short messages, and the outings seemed to have ceased too. Despite taking initiatives to ask him out on dates, he would always have an excuse to push me away. I can't help but wonder if Alice was right, if he was cheating on me with Jessica.

What are you thinking? He is your boyfriend. You are supposed to trust him not doubt him.

I pushed that thought all the way to the back of my mind.

Seems like I will be on my own tonight...again.

"Are you watching Kate and Leopold again?" My mom frowned disapprovingly at me as she entered the door with a large bag of groceries in her hand.

"What? It's a nice show! Besides, Leopold is a total one hundred percent gentleman! Just look at how he talks, walks and treats Kate! He is definitely my dream guy." I debated.

"Yeah well, there are no such guys nowadays, they only happen in MOVIES. Even if there is, I'm pretty sure it's only a handful." She retaliated.

"How I wish I was back in the past with a gentleman like Leopold as my boyfriend. That would be a total bliss!" I gaze dreamily at the paused image of Leopold.

"Hah! Keep dreaming, honey. Besides, don't you already have Adrian? He seems like a sweetheart." My thoughts were drawn to a halt as I heard Adrian's name. Every fiber in my body was telling me that Alice was right. But I still chose to believe him.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Are you alright Honey?"

"I'm fine! Mmm, something smells good!" I changed the subject, trying to sound as ecstatic as possible while I reached for a freshly baked wing. Knowing my mother, I decided to keep it a secret as she would undoubtedly jump and chase after the person who hurt her daughter.

"Hey! No touching till it's dinner time!"

After dinner, I laid sprawled on my bed, feeling extremely bored that there were still no messages from Adrian. For what seemed like the umpteenth time, I reached for my phone.

Still no messages from Adrian.

He can't be that late! It was close to seven and he'd usually be home by now. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. Thinking that it might be Adrian who texted me, I snatched my phone and immediately lifted myself into a sitting position. To my dismay, it was Alice. The smile that was plastered on my face faltered as disappointment engulfed me once again.

Hey babe! I'm super bored. Café in 10? :D

I chuckled at Alice's text and grabbed my jacket. "Mom, I'm meeting Alice at the cafe, want anything?"

"I'm good, honey. Don't be too late! " With that, I walked out of the house and headed towards the café, which was also the same place where Adrian and I first met.

What's taking her so long?

I stood outside the cafe with my hands stuffed inside the pocket, shivering continuously.

Oh forget it! I will just wait for her inside the cafe.

Hoping that I would feel warmer, I got myself a cup of hot matcha latte before picking a seat furthest away from the glass windows. My patience began wearing thin when seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. I glanced back at my watch.

It's already nine! She bailed on me! Again.

Feeling extremely furious, I stood up from my seat and walked towards the entrance, thinking of a million ways to make her suffer when I see her tomorrow. The thought of that easily left a smirk on my lips. Just as I was heading towards the entrance, lost in my thoughts of vengeance, the doors of the cafe opened.

There stood Adrian and Jessica standing side-by-side, hand-in-hand.

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