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Chapter 22: The World is Burning

“You wanna hop in? We’re going shopping for Mc.Gregor’s party this weekend,” Tatiana had always been on the sultry side of beauty, but outside school, she would apply blood red lipstick and bolder eyeshadows.

Especially when it’s a girls’ outing.

“I’ll pass. I’ve got things to do,” I said, grinning from ear to ear even though my insides felt like they were churned.

The girls that filled all three shiny cars all groaned in unison.

It wasn’t exactly a lie, but I just couldn’t go to shop all the time with my friends, because when they went out and spend money, they were being serious about it. The spending part, I meant.

“Oh, you’re such a spoilsport, hunny!” a brunette pouted prettily. “But it’s okay, we understand. You are busy.”

They way they shot one another amused look and started to giggle made me worried a little bit. They couldn’t have known about my alter ego outside of school, wasn’t it?

“You sneaky little! All this time you knew about that hottie and you didn’t even introduce him to us!”

Well. Being paired with Gabriel wasn’t exactly my cup of tea but at least it was better than being known as a maid.

“Yeah. Haha. Well, you know me.”

The awkward moment hadn’t even come close to finish when I heard Gabriel’s voice from behind. He was still saying goodbyes to his friends, but it was pretty clear that he’d noticed me and was coming towards me.

Simultaneously, the girls made faces that would totally give anyone a dead giveaway that something was wrong.

“Seriously guys. Go easy with the Jim Carrey face,” I told them. “Come on, stop humiliating me!”

“Humiliate you what?” Gabriel appeared beside me.

In less than one seconds, all of my friends’ faces had adopted the look of angels. They were all smiling and nodding to Gabriel, and him, being such a gentleman he was, smiled and nodded back, despite not knowing any of them.

The way they looked at the poor guy, I could practically see what had crossed inside their minds.

“You should totally come to Mc. Gregor’s party next weekend, Gabe,” Tatiana purred. “Andrea will bring you.”

“Yeah. It’d be so nice for us to hang out together. Remind us not to get in the way, though.” Hannah flashed her biggest all-tooth smile.

If only I didn’t love them, I’d have them meet and hang out with Vincent and Vega, my left knuckle and my right knuckle.

Gabriel attended to their conversation politely, and sometimes even made a joke about it. After they had nothing else to say, he turned to me.

“Your friends are so friendly,” Gabriel said. He didn’t have any idea that they were friendly because they thought he was hot.

I could only emit a forced laugh that made me sound like I was constipated.

“Anyway you want a ride to go to…” he paused for a second, as if remembering something. “um, that place?” at least he had the scruples to not mention that it was Alec’s.

One of the girls coughed so bad it wasn’t even funny.

“Kelsey, one of these days I will stuff your mouth with a lot of KFC you will cry tears of blood,” I attempted one of my best threats. Being cheerleaders and dancers, all of my friends relied on low-carbs low-fat hi-protein food and would only allow themselves to binge on junk food (which really, it couldn’t be called binge-eating because their definition of binge eating is eat one goddamn cookie) once a week. Stuffing them KFCs would result in an apocalypse.

Kelsey shrieked, before then all of them started laughing again. Sometimes I loved my friends, but other times I wondered how the hell I could click with them. They were so mental they made me think I was normal.

“You guys go, go!” Hannah was waving her hand. “Gabriel, I think Andrea would accept your ride to literally everywhere! Even downtown, if you know what I mean.”

And she fucking winked at him.

I seriously hoped that beneath those ripping muscles and bushy curls and hell of a goody-two-shoes persona, Gabriel wasn’t a sex crazed hormonal teenager.

Which really was a vain hope, because if Alec was any indication, all boys my age was a sex crazed hormonal teenager.

While Gabriel was busy blushing his curls red, Tatiana grabbed my wrist as she dragged me near her car. “Blergh.

You spray too much perfume.”

“Yeah, and you’ll thank me for giving you this,” she said, as she slipped something thin and plasticy to my palm and then enclosing my fingers around it.

“It’s strawberry,” she giggled again. “you guys have fun!”

Before I could realize what was going on, before I could even spread my fingers, all three cars had skidded away.

Laughter and chattiness followed the convoy as the guys in Merryweather high stared at them wistfully.

Gabriel scooted closer as I considered Tatiana’s gift.

Well, of course it was a condom.

-“So what were you saying is, there has been some confusion with your friends, and now all of them think that you have a massive crush on me, and when I said ‘that place’, they all thought it’s a love hotel?”

As Gabriel meticulously dropped all the hard facts, I nodded, fighting the suffusing blush. I had just, after all, examined my first piece of condom with him.

“At broad daylight?” there was still a hint of incredulity in his voice.

“Well, they’re not exactly the brightest bulbs in the world.”

“That, or they have really active imagination.”

“Actually, I’m thinking that it’s because they have an overabundance of activity in their sex lives.”

At my statement, Gabriel stopped dead for a second. “You’re technically one of them, right?”

“You can say so.”

“Does that mean you have an active sex life, too?”

I repeatedly blinked, not sure if I had heard it right. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“He’s asking if you’re sexually active,” out of a blue, my ear felt ticklish as Alec’s breath fanned it as he spoke.

The volume of his voice was low to be considered a whisper, but loud enough for Gabriel to catch what he was saying.

“S-Shiit!” surprised, I lurched opposite Alec’s direction as my bones jumped out of my skin.

As my heartbeat was remerging back to its normal state, I saw Gabriel and Alec stood by each other. I’d seen them together in the same room, but this was the first time I really noticed it. They were so different; a stark contrast was drawing a line between them.

It was clear that Gabriel was more physically imposing than Alec; everyone with enough sense would see that.

But Alec looked sharp; his features were asymmetrical and had a bit of arrogance instilled within his straight nose and a piercing chin. Standing together, they all demanded the undivided attention from the spectators.

“It’s not like you to be so forward, Gabe,” Alec smirked at Gabriel. “Especially to a girl.”

“And it’s so like you to always meddle. Especially when it involves girls.”

There was a glint of malice on Alec’s eyes. “Oh, talking back to me now, aren’t you? I thought that you’re giving me a permanent silent treatment.”

“In case you don’t notice, princess, we’re in school grounds, not your mother’s.” the tip of Gabriel’s mouth quirked into a lopsided smile. “No one would jump and threaten me if I say things you don’t like.”

“You want to settle everything here? Come on, then, big boy!”

And when Gabriel made his point across with leveled tone, Alec’s voice would take a high or low note,

depending on the situation, to emphasize more impression. There was no mistaking the sheer amount of loathing that was molten between their eyes, and I was afraid that, within a blink, they would crash into each other and not in a homosexual way.

“Why don’t you just get off him?” I attacked Alec. He shot a look at me, but not in his usual way. I could see no amusement that would typically color his face, only irritation. That took me aback for a bit.

“What? Your beloved can’t defend himself that you need to butt in?”

I glanced at Gabriel. For all his wrath, he didn’t seem to notice what Alec had called him. “He’s not..! The thing is everyone’s watching!”

“You could do better. Much better,” Alec said to me, and as he conducted in his most special asshole manner, he bypassed us haughtily to his Mercedes. The engine started up, and within a few seconds, it has rev up in

acceleration, causing a mini whirlwind to cast upon us.

“Race you to the house!” I could hear him shout, before in just a few seconds, he and his car had disappeared in a glimmer.

“Race him to the house, then,” Gabriel said as he took me by the elbow and mounted his bike. “You wear the helmet,” he said as he gave me his. “Don’t complain, it’s just for today. Tomorrow I’ll bring two.”

“Okay,” I said, not really liking where this would go. “Hey, are you sure-“

“Alec may be better than me in million ways,” Gabriel twisted the handle of his bike, and as a result, I heard a thundering sound rumbled from the engine. “But three things I’m sure I’m better than him: Cooking, fighting,” he knocked off the bike anchor and we leapt to the air. “and speeding.”

As we lurched forward, I muffled my constant screaming for help at Gabriel’s broad back.

-I will kill him. -I will kill him. -I will kill him.

If only I could ever get past my trauma, I will definitely kill him!

“Gabriel you whiny cocksucker!” I tried to scream at him but instead what came out was just mere

“Blururublbpaihrajrbbluu br COCK!bereluurulu!”

“What?!” he shouted back at me even though he hadn’t taken his eyes off the road.

Slow the fuck down before you turn us into sad tombstones no one wants to visit!

“Bluruehreuppierbbluuaruur!”

“Later, Andrea!”

As he sped up (I wasn’t even sure that it was possible), a mouthful of his hair was trapped inside my gaping mouth, causing even more of a trauma for me. The worst part was, usually I could rely on my fists to fix my problem, but as of now, all I could do was hold on his tight and try to not puke on his head.

Or maybe, I could puke as a form of revenge.

No, no no no. I’d be too afraid to deal with the possibilities of us crashing.

Nevertheless, I had to admit that Gabriel was really good at this. We encountered many cars, but he swayed left and right at the precise moment, moving away faster than any vehicle in the road could compete. As even more cars hollered towards us, I was starting to get used to the way he drove.

Or maybe, I just liked seeing people pissed off.

“Crazy brat!” one balding man actually screamed at us as he tried to splash us his coffee.

He missed, of course.

“Blureupiarebluuarblur!”

Fuck, I feel so cool!

“I know!” Gabriel shouted back even though I was pretty sure he couldn’t catch any of my word.

About twenty meters ahead of us, there was the street lamps. Cars had already veered to stopping because the lamps had just changed into yellow. As I felt Gabriel’s back tensed and rode lower, a horrifying realization dawned onto me. When yellow light meant ‘Slow down slowly’ for most people, for Gabriel it meant something else.

It meant: Challenge accepted.

‘ShitfucknogoddamnohholymatrimonyofHOLYFUCKthundercuntwhatinthefrigginhellSHIIIIIIIITTTTTT!’

A long trail of curses (that sounded much more like a really long burps) escaped my mouth as Gabriel passed through the other side of the road just 0,00000165 seconds before the lamp turned a deadly green.

My soul was hovering ahead me alongside with the singing cherubs, waiting to be beckoned to come back, but even I still hadn’t gotten the chance to do that, because I saw Alec’s car just a little ahead of us.

Gabriel seemed to notice this, too.

Slowly, we crept up to exactly beside Alec. He turned towards us immediately, his eyebrows were drawn together in acute concentration. Casting a snotty smirk, his car roared as he sped up.

Gabriel muttered something under his breath and did the same. Once again, we were just side by side, running probably at 1800XXI-M-D-E-A-D mph. There was a moment in which both Gabriel and Alec glared against each other, and maybe it was the speed and nausea, but I could really saw a small electric line forming in between them.

And then Gabriel hit the gas even more, and we were launched far ahead of Alec. And since it was such a rarity to see his usually smug-face creased into a full-fledged frown, I shot up both of my hands and after that, shot up both of my middle fingers.

I just loved to watch him burn.

-Alec got into the house exactly two minutes and twelve seconds after us.

By the time he stalked into the house, his face red with apoplexy, Gabriel and I deliberately stood in front of the kitchen. I was bringing my broom and Gabriel had worn his apron, big beams on our faces.

My horrible puke was still unwashed on the kitchen sink three meters from us.

Alec’s left eye twitched as he glared at us wordlessly, another nervous tick of him that I’d just noticed. When he was angry beyond words, his left eye would twitch uncontrollably.

And then his mouth would be pulled down rather lopsidedly.

And then he’d snort his whine out.

“Damn you.” He said quietly.

His words were filled with so much pain, so much innocence, so much childlike-quality of wrath, that Gabriel and me couldn’t help bursting into another fit of snickers.

“You’re such a sore loser!” I said.

Alec groaned, and I almost sure he pouted for about ten miliseconds before he got conscious about it and put on a touch stance. “That was not fair.”

“You had thirty seconds of headstart,” Gabriel said.

“Yeah, but you used a bike.”

“Your car is practically a semi-sport car.”

“And your bike is made in Japan.”

“So?”

“That’s where all the weird shit originated, Gabe.”

As soon as Alec’s mouth closed after Gabriel’s name, both boys seemed to freeze. They were in the middle of a heated stupid, ego-driven argument, but just the power of a name and both of them stopped talking.

And I was getting tired of seeing them pining at each other.

“Oh so that’s your nickname from Alec!” was my attempt to melt the suddenly freezy mood. “Gabe is a good nickname. Shorter than Gabriel.”

Okay. So that was incredibly lame.

“That was a long time ago, Andrea,” Gabriel smiled ruefully at me.

“You know what?” Alec’s tone of voice had taken in bastardness all over again. “I feel like eating Japanese food for dinner. I want to have sushi and temaki and lots, and I mean lots and lots of layer cakes. Since I like number 19 it should have 19 layers per cake. Topped with oreo and of course a good real-brewed Japanese green tea.”

I could see what was Gabriel thinking as Alec droned on and on. He wanted to beat the shit out of him. But then there was something else in the way he curtly bowed his head and affirmed Alec’s ridiculous request.

There was a heartfelt longing.

But then Gabriel hid it fast. He put a hand on my shoulder as he went back to the kitchen. As I was about to follow him, Alec’s voice stopped me.

“Can’t you be away from him for like, five freaking minutes?”

I lifted my chin higher. “What do you want?”

Alec raised an eyebrow as if waiting for something.

He wanted me to call him ‘Master’, I knew. But I couldn’t do that. The word didn’t sit right on my tongue, especially when Gabriel was well within the ear-shot.

“No! The deal’s that I call you ‘that’ when there’s just the two of us!” I said in an undertone.

“Oh, right. You don’t want your boyfriend to know that you have a special terms of endearment to me,” Alec the bastard said with a cocked smirk. “Just out of curiosity, what do you call him when there’s only the two of you?

Cook?”

I stomped towards him, so that I was further away from the kitchen, and so that our little scintillating fight would get its privacy.

“Stop it,” I said.

“No.” his reply came faster than I’d expected.

“You stubborn bastard.”

“And you’re a callous carnivore.”

I looked up to him. “What did you just call me?”

“You’re a carnivore. And as long as you choose to stay with him, I won't ever stop harassing you.”

My voice trembled as I asked. “Why?”

“Because you’re going to hurt him, Andrea. This is between us, and for Christ’s sake, don’t do this to me. Or him.”

I vaguely had an idea of what he was trying to tell me. The inside of my chest flailed in protest as my brain whirled. No, I wasn’t using Gabriel. I was being a friend to him. And as far as I concerned, he liked having me around, and I did like to have him around to. And if having him around meant hurting Alec, then it would be worth it.

It would, wouldn’t it?

“We’re just friends,” I said.

“Please,” Alec snorted. “I see the way he looks at you. Have you noticed how he always hovers around you?

Have you noticed how he glares at me when I’m trying to steal your attention?”

He suddenly sniggered. I didn’t know what was funny, but he was shaking his head and his hand covered his eyes. “And here I am, telling you all of these when you won’t obviously understand.”

“I do understand.”

“Then you’d stay away from him.”

“No,” I said, copying the way he refused me earlier. I couldn’t just leave Gabriel. He might be big but he was fragile. He lost Alec, and I wasn’t sure if he could handle another friend leaving him.

Especially after he’d shared so much of his life to me.

“Fine.” Alec slurred. Exasperation was drawn strongly on his profile, and when he came close to me, I

instinctively closed my eyes because of the aura of danger that radiated through him. When I tested to open an eye, I saw his green eyes.

Alec had also shared so much of his life to me.

“Andrea,” Alec began, and as he inched closer, I took a step backward. Bad green-eyes. Bad green-eyes. They give me heart palpitations.

‘He’s going to kiss me again.’

That Godawful thought crossed my mind, and as a result, I felt like my whole body’s getting a shot of fire. Alec inched closer, and staring straight at me, he smirked.

That Godawful thought crossed my mind, and as a result, I felt like my whole body’s getting a shot of fire. Alec inched closer, and staring straight at me, he smirked.

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