Chapter 1

Ginny’s POV

“Selene! What’s the matter!?” I shouted loudly at Selene while peering out of the car window.

We were running late, and Selene still seemed to be getting dressed or having her meal.

She’s always like this—always slow in her actions, which is why we often arrive just two minutes or one minute before the time. There was even one time when we were truly late.

I didn’t have a choice but to wait for her because she’s my best friend… and it’s what we’re used to. Ever since elementary school, we’ve always gone to school together. Selene’s family is very capable of providing her with a driver as well, but I don’t want to tell her to just separate from us and hire her own driver from her parents because she’ll surely be upset, and I’m certain she’ll overthink things. It’s difficult because my long-hidden secret might be exposed.

“Here I am!” she shouted back, out of breath. “I’m done, just wait a second, Leaf!” she said. The panic in her voice was already evident… and I don’t care. It’s her fault… surely, she didn’t immediately get up when her alarm went off.

“One minute, Leaf!” she urged.

“Oh, come on, Selena, hurry up!” I shouted even louder. We call each other ‘Leaf’ as best friends because it happens that we have the same last name, but when I’m annoyed, I call her ‘Selene’ or just Selena. She knows that, so now she’s starting to panic. I’m calling her ‘Selena,’ after all. She doesn’t like it when I get angry because she’s witnessed how I can be the cruelest and coldest person she could ever meet when I’m mad.

Selene emerged from her mansion with disheveled hair, her bag slung over one shoulder, and clutching her pouch filled with makeup and her cell phone. She’s in a rush, so she’ll probably do her hair and makeup in the van. The usual Selena Leaf that I know.

“I’m sorry, Leaf…” she said, pouting. I just rolled my eyes at her and looked out the window. When she acts like this, she knows I’m not in the mood to be bothered, so she’ll just stay quiet and do what she needs to do.

As my driver started the car, I remained staring out the window, clutching my cell phone. My forehead was still furrowed because I was still annoyed that we were almost late. After a few minutes, we arrived.

When Selene saw that we weren’t actually late, she immediately hugged me.

“Sorry… we’re not late, right?” she said.

I just sighed and broke free from the hug, and then we both got out of the car.

Once again, I rolled my eyes when Damian, her boyfriend, was waiting for us. He smiled while placing one hand on his waist.

“Let’s go, babe.” Damian took Selene’s bag and carried it for her. He then looked at me, mouthing the words, “Later.” I rolled my eyes again and nodded.

If you think I’m betraying my best friend, you’re wrong.

Damian is the only person I confide in about my problems. So every time I have a problem, I tell him. And what he meant by “later”… is that I’ll open up about my problems to him later. It’s ironic because apart from the family problems I’m dealing with, one of my problems is them—Selene and Damian’s relationship. Because… I’m jealous of them. Because… I secretly love Damian. Yes, I’ve loved Damian for a long time. Even before Selene fell in love with him… I loved him.

Well, I won’t name the people I’m talking about in my stories. I just refer to the guy I love as ‘Boy’ (which he really is), and the girl I’m jealous of as ‘Girl’ (Selene), and it’s okay with him. He understands that I don’t want my secret to be exposed… and he also understands that I feel embarrassed. I just hope he doesn’t realize that it’s them… that he’s the guy I love, and Selene’s the girl I’m jealous of. The girl I complain about being annoyed with. I hope he doesn’t notice because even though I love Damian and want to be with him and for him to break up with Selene, I still don’t want Selene to get hurt. After all, she’s my best friend. It’s not her fault that she doesn’t know how I feel. It’s my fault because I can’t look and love someone else. Even if I really try hard.

Furthermore, I don’t want Damian to feel guilty. I don’t want him to blame himself… to feel like he led me on or something. Because with every bit of hope I have for him, I know he only sees me as a friend… and it’s my problem because even though I know that, I still force myself to love him.

I started walking without any reaction on my face. They already know me as the grumpy one, so I don’t care what they think. That’s the image I’ve built, so I stick to it. Selene and I entered our first class and listened to the lessons our boring professor was teaching.

***

Last subject done. Finally!

As soon as our professor left, Leaf immediately approached me. “Are we going home together, Leaf? You’re not… you’re not mad anymore, right?” she said, pouting. She also flashed her puppy eyes.

“I’m not mad anymore, Leaf,” I simply replied. I even smiled at her to assure her.

“So… are we going home together?” Her face lit up. “I can treat you at Tim Hortons… as my way of making up for our almost being late earlier.”

I shook my head. I have other plans, Leaf. I’m sorry. You see, every dismissal time, Damian and I always meet at the university’s Science Lab. That’s our secret meeting place, and that’s where I pour out everything to him. Like I said earlier, I’m not betraying my best friend. It’s just that… Damian is the only person I can confide in about my life’s problems. I don’t want to tell Leaf because she’ll surely worry even more about my problems, and I’m sure she’ll nag me to reveal who the guy I love is and who I’m jealous of. It’s better this way… opening up to Damian. With Damian, he doesn’t force me to disclose who the guy I love is and who I’m jealous of.

It’s better this way to keep my secret safe… so that no one else gets affected.

“I have something to take care of in the organization right now…” I made an excuse. It’s a good thing I’m an officer. I often use this as an excuse… but sometimes it doesn’t work, so I just escape to Leaf and pretend to be angry. It’s actually quite guilty-inducing.

Leaf sighed. “Okay… I’ll treat you tomorrow morning instead.” She smiled again. “Promise, I won’t be late anymore…” She raised her right hand and acted like a child promising something impossible.

When it comes to being on time, Leaf’s promise is nearly impossible to fulfill. Being early and being on time are two things that are really hard for her.

We bid each other farewell, and then I went up to the fifth floor, turned left, and entered the science lab.

Damian was already there. Just seeing him, tears started welling up in my eyes. Just seeing him, flashes of Mom and Dad constantly fighting every night, and flashes of him and Leaf loving each other passionately started to appear in my mind. I immediately ran to him and hugged him. As I held onto him, tears started flowing from my eyes. It’s always like this.

Whenever we’re in the science lab, all the pain in my heart comes out. All my grievances and sorrows. As tears fell down my face, Damian pulled me closer. He embraced me and stroked my back.

“Shhh…” He kept on rubbing my back.

I continued crying while Damian continued to soothe my back. When I finally calmed down, he gently released me from the hug.

“Sorry…” he said. He looked at me and didn’t speak. I don’t know, but I felt a strong sense of nervousness when I directly looked into his eyes. It’s as if he had something important to say.

“Why… why are you apologizing? I… I should be the one apologizing. I’m always crying to you…” I sighed as I wiped away my tears.

“I know everything, Ginny… everything…” My heart suddenly raced. What does he mean? What does he know everything about?