Chapter 28: Chapter 28

David’s P.O.V.

It was a good thing that Helena did not really hear what I said. I was only thinking about it. Never did I expect my mouth to voice it out all of a sudden.

When I saw her outside our classroom this morning, I could not help but stare at her. She was so beautiful, and her facial expression was so etched—it was so transparent for me to read.

Having second thoughts if she would go to the clinic or not made her even more gorgeous. If only she knew that I had a hard time sleeping last night because of what I saw yesterday morning—that her stunning body continued to linger on my mind, and I just could not forget about it.

God knew how much I wanted to kiss her, but I was not in the right position to do that. When I carried her bag, I felt like I was already courting her even though I was not yet telling her that I wanted to do it. I wanted us to be more than friends. I did not expect things to turn out this way so soon, but yes, I did not want to be her rival because I wanted to be her boyfriend.

But all of a sudden, my mood transitioned from being cheerful to grumpy when I saw a white rose on her desk. Blinking my eyes to double-check if it was her desk, I could not be wrong. It was hers. If only Helena saw how I reacted, my eyebrows almost knitted together, and even a famous artist could never draw my face due to anguish.

I did not give it to her, and I just wanted to throw it right away after knowing that it only came from Brent—that stupid Filipino-American who always looked at Helena differently. It wasn’t that long since I realized it, maybe because I was also looking at Helena recently—in a way that I wanted to protect her more than anything.

Brent might be taller and whiter than me, but I was more handsome than him. He was also running for honors, but I would not let him steal the valedictorian title from me. Let alone Helena too, even though I did not own her.

While trying to calm myself, I was on the verge of telling Brent and his friends about what happened between Helena and me yesterday. That I was able to get inside their house, unintentionally saw Helena on her transparent pajamas, and with a bonus CPR. But then, I felt happy and relieved that she got straight to the point and busted Brent in front of everyone.

Having no plans of giving up, I persistently asked her if she could join me for lunch. She was so hard-headed, and I did not know what to do anymore to persuade her. Vanessa came as a blessing in disguise, and because of her, Helena suddenly gave me her bag and pulled me outside of the classroom, leaving me not to utter even a single word.

Although I knew that it was only an act, I was grateful enough that if it was not for Vanessa, I would not be with Helena right now. She even walked out, but I would never get tired of chasing her, even if that means unceasingly chasing her for the rest of our lives.

Having lunch with her now changed a lot of things I thought about her. I did not actually expect that she would eat using her bare hands, considering she was a rich kid. She might have done it for the first time in history, and it happened now that she was with me. I realized that Helena was not picky, only peevish.

“Hmm… in fairness, it’s delicious!” Helena’s comment suddenly dragged me out of my reverie.

Removing some of her hair strands that slightly covered her face, I tucked them on her left ear so that she could eat better. I had not eaten yet, so my fingers would not mess with her beautiful brown hair.

“I’m glad you liked it. I told you, it was truly delicious. That’s my favorite food!” I told her while amusingly watching her as she chewed.

“So, this one must add to my list of favorites too from now on.” Helena radiantly smiled as if that smile was only meant for me, and that made my heart leap a second.

Not getting tired of looking at her, I could never get enough of spending the whole day with her. She might be cranky every time we were together, but her face screamed peace and serenity. I could fixate my stare at her all day long. The truth was, just looking at her already made my stomach full.

She continued chewing her food until… “Cristoff, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?” I replied at the same time, asking in return. Then, I started eating my food.

“Did you own that Sixty Shades of Grey that I saw in your bag?” Helena asked straight to the point, which made me choke my food.

“Oops, I’m sorry! Wait here, I’ll be fast.”

As I coughed unstoppably, Helena worriedly stood up until she gave me a glass of mineral water. I drank it quickly, and it seemed like it was not enough for me to be completely fine. Helena caressed my back up and down, and the warmth of her touch made me close my eyes.

I only looked at her when she stopped doing it, and it made me feel kind of disappointed. How I wished that time could last a little bit longer while she was doing it.

Do I have to feign my choke like faking my drowning yesterday for me to feel her touch again?

“Are you okay now? Sorry, I should not have asked that question when your mouth is full.” She said apologetically before taking her seat.

“I’m fine, but that book is not mine!” I refused with conviction when my mouth was empty. I also cleared my throat.

It had been three months, and I just realized that I was still not changing my bag. I did not even wash it and changed its content. What Helena asked was the same book that I snatched from Vanessa before—before I met Helena as a newcomer in this school.

“Hmm, then why was it even placed inside your bag?” Her not-so-round green eyes got even more dilated. I didn’t know if she really wanted to know the answer or if she was only teasing me.

“It was Vanessa’s book,” I clarified. I did not even want to mention Vanessa’s name because I was with Helena now, but I wanted to tell the latter the truth so that she would not think of anything lewd or stupid about me. I didn’t want Helena to change what she used to think of me.

There were only a few times I became a pervert, and I must admit that it was all because of her. No explicit kind of book could make me feel that way towards her. It showed naturally.

“So, were you able to read that book? Were you two reading that book together?” Helena was still asking, but I was sure that she was only doing it to provoke me. She was trying to be straight-faced when she looked like she was about to laugh.

“No! I did not even open a single page on it. I took that book away from her three months ago because I wanted her to focus on her studies as well as, to do her assignments. And, of course, I knew that it was forbidden here. I didn’t want her to get reprimanded for it. It happened the same day when you entered our classroom as a transferee.” Using my bare right hand, I ate my food again.

“You are indeed a one-of-a-kind boyfriend, Cristoff. You were so caring, and you really wanted her to study hard. But unfortunately, she wasn’t able to see your effort, plus she only wasted your love. And because she was reading that book, she actually did it, right in the supposedly serene part of our school. Hmm, but don’t get me wrong, okay? I already saw that obscene book in the bookstore before.” I could see her flickering her eyes while expressing her thoughts. “Then, just earlier, she had the nerve to call your name as if she did nothing wrong to you? What for?”

Because of that, I suddenly remembered what Vanessa did to me three months ago, and I could say that I had finally moved on. When I saw her a while ago, a part of me was saying that I should talk to her and give us a formal closure. But the bigger part was telling me that I should be with Helena instead.

“Oops, I’m sorry again for being insensitive, Cristoff… but do you still like her?” she asked, but this time, she was not looking at me. She was only busy splitting her food with her fingers, but it looked like she was losing her interest to eat anymore.

“What if I told you, yes?” I lied to her. I just wanted to see how she would react to it.