Chapter 19: Chapter 19

On the way to the school parking lot, Cakra suddenly stopped his steps, a second later, his gaze turned to Inez. He stared at her silently, while Inez's mind was already racing, wondering why he was acting like that.

"Wait a minute," Cakra started the conversation, his eyes not leaving Inez's beautiful face. "Look... why did you insist on going home with me?"

Because I want to be alone with you.

Inez shook her head softly when her heart said that. She didn't want to say it. Instead, she smiled wryly at Cakra.

"I just want to threaten you." Inez spoke quite loudly.

Turning his body to face her fully, he exhaled slowly. "You can't go home with me, Inez."

Inez was transfixed and quite surprised to hear Cakra's words. She doesn't know why, or if it was just her feelings, Inez had just heard Cakra say her name for the first time.

Inez didn't deny it, she liked it. Her lips had a faint smile on them that Cakra didn't notice. "Why can't I?" Inez cleared her throat.

"I only use a bicycle," Cakra replied.

"There's a piggyback." Inez was not to be outdone, she continued to argue.

"You want to embarrass me on purpose, don't you?"

"Why is that?" Inez furrowed her brow in confusion. But Cakra just kept quiet while looking at her, and now Inez understood why Cakra asked that question. Inez took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "You don't need to worry. I won't intentionally embarrass you. I just want to go home with you. Is that wrong?"

"Why does it have to be me on the bike?" Cakra replied. "Why not go with Rian on the big bike? He can take care of you better."

"Don't talk about Rian! He's not here!" Inez scolded Cakra. Her murderous gaze was already visible, making him suddenly feel guilty. "I don't like him, do you know that?"

"Don't hate someone too much, you'll end up eating your own words," Cakra warned. Then he walked back, followed by Inez behind him.

Cakra decided to let Inez go home with him.

"I won't like Rian forever."

"I don't know what the future holds, Nez, don't let yourself regret what you said. Right now you're talking like that, but one day you might be disappointed with yourself for saying that in the first place."

Inez's mouth was locked tightly, she didn't dare to say anymore. She thought about what Cakra had just said.

Cakra walked over to his bike, and when he was about to ride it, he realized that his bike tire was flat. Both at once. Cakra sighed disappointedly. Why is the timing not right like this?

"I don't think you can go home with me, you better order—"

"Let's take it to the workshop now," said Inez, cutting off Cakra's unfinished speech.

Cakra shook his head and let out a long sigh. "I can do it myself, you just order a taxi now or an online motorcycle taxi."

"No!" Inez argued vehemently. "Didn't you hear what I just said? Let's take your bike to the repair shop together. I can't just run away from you. I've already agreed to go home with you, so no matter what, I'll be with you. I don't want to just try to have fun."

"Whatever, I'm tired of talking to you all the time," said Cakra as he led his bike out of the parking lot.

The nearest workshop from his school was not far enough away. Cakra secretly breathed a sigh of relief, hopefully, when he got there, the workshop wasn't closed yet. This made Cakra worried, considering that it was getting late in the afternoon. It was already five o'clock.

"I don't want to be responsible if you get tired, it's your own choice to be difficult."

"I know that," Inez replied. She stared at Cakra while clicking her tongue.

"Wow, so this is your boyfriend now, Nez?" A boy suddenly snuck up from the front, bringing Inez and Cakra's movements to an abrupt halt.

The boy raised one eyebrow while looking at Inez dimly, his hands folded in front of his chest. Meanwhile, Inez looked so surprised to realize the boy's unexpected arrival.

Meanwhile, Cakra was silent as he stared at the strange guy in front of him and Inez in turn. His mind was already wandering. Cakra actually wanted to immediately deny when he was called Inez's boyfriend. However, Cakra did not say it because he thought it was better to lock his mouth. He will speak up if he has to.

"What are you doing here?" Inez asked curtly, her eyes looking displeased at the boy standing in front of her.

"Want to see you? Who else?" The boy answered casually. His lopsided smile made Inez even more annoyed.

"I don't have time to meet crazy assholes like you. You better get out of here and away from me." Inez spoke firmly, not playing around, her eyes glaring angrily and fiercely. Cakra was even a little afraid to see Inez's look, which suddenly became like an antagonist on television.

The boy chuckled softly. "If I don't want to?" he challenged while walking slowly towards Inez.

"Don't come near me!" Inez shouted again, this time in a louder and louder voice.

"Why don't you want to now? Who did I want to touch before?" the boy said with a laugh. He intended to touch Inez again, but before his hand landed on Inez's body, Cakra first blocked the boy's hand.

"Leave her alone!" Cakra said it coldly with an angry look. He slightly squeezed the boy's wrist in front of him.

The boy easily let go of his hand in one fell swoop. He stepped back for a moment, then gave Cakra a frivolous look.

"Oh, you want to be a hero who can protect his girl?"

"You'd better get out of here!" Cakra said it firmly.

"I have something to do with Inez, why are you getting angry?"

"I SAID GET OUT OF HERE!" Cakra spoke up again, this time in a louder voice. It startled both the boy and Inez. He looked very angry.

The boy in the black jacket smiled lightly. "You think I'm afraid of you?"

Cakra was silent, his gaze turned even sharper, he suddenly knocked down his bike and stepped forward with both hands clenched tightly.

Meanwhile, Inez glared and hurriedly straightened the bike that Cakra had just knocked over. Inez looked at Cakra in horror.

"Cakra, don't fight!" Inez shouted. She was already afraid of that. She already felt the atmosphere around her getting creepy. She felt that Cakra and that boy were about to have a deadly duel, which Inez didn't like at all.

"Why, do you want to duel with me?" The boy turned his face away while laughing arrogantly.

"Go away and leave Inez alone!" Cakra spoke heavily while giving him a fierce look.

BUGH!

***

It was half past eight in the evening when Cakra's bike was repaired at the workshop. The boy could now breathe a sigh of relief, at least the burden he had been carrying for the past few hours had been reduced. The thing that Cakra was most afraid of was Inez—not afraid that she would be angry with him, but afraid that Inez would feel that he was giving her a hard time.

"You shouldn't have insisted on going home with me," Cakra said softly while looking straight at Inez. The boy let out a long breath.

"Why is that?" Inez squinted her eyes, watching Cakra, who looked a little disoriented. She tried to digest the words he said.

Cakra took a deep breath. "You're sorry, if you had taken a taxi or motorcycle taxi online, you would have arrived home before nightfall."

Although Cakra didn't force Inez to go home with him, he still felt guilty. He was fully responsible for taking care of Inez and sending her home, at least for now.

"Who said I regret going home with you?" Inez challenged herself while folding her arms in front of her chest. "Besides, if I don't go home with you, who will help me get away from my ex?"

Cakra now knew that the boy who bothered Inez at school this afternoon was her ex. Good, she didn't need to ask about that. The boy then let out a long sigh.

"If you had gone home earlier and not waited for me, you wouldn't have met your ex."

"What about the next day?" Inez asked again, "If you don't see him today, he will definitely come tomorrow, right?"

Cakra was getting dizzy trying to deal with Inez, he was running out of words. This girl in front of him really has a million sentences that will reply to whatever Cakra says. How annoying.

"It's getting late, hurry up and get on," Cakra ordered Inez while pointing to his bicycle. Cakra then positioned himself on his bike.

Inez nodded and sat her butt on it. "Already!" said Inez as she patted Cakra's shoulder.

Cakra glanced back a little, just to make sure Inez was really sitting properly. Cakra closed his eyes and took a breath, before finally pedaling his bike as hard as he could.

Behind him, Inez curved her sweet smile. She stared at his back silently. Since the first time she saw the boy, Inez had been interested because Cakra was different from most boys in her school. That's what made Inez want to get Cakra's heart, whatever it took. She was trying.

Initially, Inez was quite surprised when Cakra rejected her for a date, considering that if most of the boys in her school saw her so beautiful, they would immediately accept the offer. But not for Cakra, the boy actually rejected Inez.

Instead of being upset, Inez somehow felt challenged.

"You don't have to get close to me after this," Cakra said suddenly, breaking the silence that had been created for quite a while. Cakra was silent, waiting for a response from Inez while watching the road in front of him.

Inez tightened her grip on the hem of his uniform. "Why can't I?"

Cakra remained silent.

Meanwhile, Inez continued her speech. "All the boys would be happy if I approached them, and they wouldn't refuse. I can even guarantee that they will treat me like a queen in a kingdom." Inez paused to take a deep breath. "And you should feel lucky that I want to be with you."

"I'm not them, and they're not me," Cakra replied firmly. "Everyone can't be generalized, you should know that."

Inez racked her brain for a reasonable answer. She looked up, watching the sky full of stars. Inez then cleared her throat a little, before softly snapping.

"Why can't I be close to you? Why do you forbid me?"

"You know the answer yourself."

Inez furrowed her brow. "What answer? I don't understand."

"You'll understand later," Cakra said lightly.

"I don't understand, and you have to remember, you're not the one who has the right to tell me who to meet. Understand?" Inez raised her voice slightly.

"But it's related to me, Inez."

"So what?" Inez was confused. "You should give me a reason why I can't get close to you."

Cakra didn't think long about answering Inez's question. He pedaled his bike at a moderate speed.

"I don't like you," he replied, enough to stun Inez for a moment.

Inez cringed a little at Cakra's words. It was harsh, but Inez couldn't argue. The girl was silent for a few seconds, then cleared her throat while raising her head and blinking her eyes.

After her mind was clear enough, Inez spoke again. "I see, but can I know the reason why you don't like me?"

"Nothing."

"What?" Inez thought there was something wrong with the listener. She leaned her head forward a little. "Can you repeat what you said earlier?"

"There's no reason at all, I don't like you, but I don't hate you either," Cakra replied with a longer sentence for Inez to understand.

Inez nodded her head. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing."

"Is it because of the shoes and shirt?" asked Inez, her thoughts suddenly turning to those two items. "You're still angry with me, aren't you?"

"No." Inez saw Cakra's head shake. "I don't want to misunderstand you."

"Liar, you're still angry with me!"

"Not angry."

"If you're not angry, why can't I be close to you? Why am I banned while others aren't? Is there any other evidence that's real enough than you being angry with me about your shoes and shirt that I lost?"

"I'm not angry with you, Inez."

Inez tried to reduce her anger, she closed her eyes while filling her oxygen-depleted lungs. She had to calm down, she didn't want to get angry with Cakra.

Inez was silent after that, wrestling with her own thoughts. She did not have the right to be angry. It was up to Cakra whether she could get close to the boy. But like Cakra said just now, Inez could no longer be close to him. And the reason Cakra gave made Inez unsatisfied.

"Here we are," said Cakra while looking back.

Inez, who had just woken up from her reverie, immediately looked around her. Sure enough, Cakra's bike had stopped right in front of her gate. Inez sighed, then proceeded to get off Cakra's bike.

"Thank you for accompanying me, and I'm sorry about the leaking bike. So I just arrived home at this time of night," said Cakra sincerely while looking at Inez.

Inez didn't mind that at all. Her mind just drifted to Cakra, who told her to stay away from him.

Inez was silent while looking at him. Cakra nodded slowly, then turned his bike to go around, but his movement stopped when Inez held his arm. Cakra looked at Inez in confusion, his thick eyebrows almost coming together.

Realizing the meaning of his questioning gaze, Inez immediately replied. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Cakra only gave Inez a look that was difficult to interpret. The boy was silent, neither nodding nor smiling. Making Inez conclude for herself that she was given the opportunity.

"I like you, am I not loud enough to say this? I'm not playing around with Cakra, I'm serious about this. I like you. But... Why are you like this?"

"It's late, hurry up and go inside, you'll catch a cold."

"Don't change the subject!" shouted Inez, making Cakra immediately lock his mouth tightly. He was a little surprised, actually.

"I'll never take your word for it, I don't want to stay away from you. I'm going to be all about it. I don't care, even though you've forbidden me from getting close to you. Do you understand?"

Inez maintained the look in her eyes, her small jaw hardened. Her teeth chattered. Inez hissed angrily.

Cakra said no more, and the boy then sat back on the saddle of his bicycle. Before driving off, he took the time to look at Inez. Cakra was confused about what kind of sentence to say.

Inez stared at Cakra's departure with a face that was red with emotion. Inez stayed in place, continuing to watch Cakra, who was getting farther away.

"YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER CAKRA, I WILL MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH ME! KEEP THAT IN MIND!"

And Cakra continued to ride his bike, he didn't care about Inez's screams.