C5 Five

Zoey's POV

Gay.

Exultant.

Gratified.

Beatific.

And that's only a revised, condensed version of the list of how I'm feeling for the past few days.

It just feels so weird, for me to be in a relationship for the first time.

Uh huh, this is my first time playing as a girlfriend of someone.

For at least 4 years, I've been dreaming for a day when I would meet a guy that likes me and we would fall in love hopelessly.

My parents' divorce kind of changed my whole outlook on relationships. I became more solitary when it comes to the opposite gender, yet, deep down, there's a part of me that still yearns for boys' attention or care. It's like, a natural inclination instilled in me.

The thought of being someone's girlfriend is very much foreign to me, as much as it is to Chris, I guess. Genesis told me he doesn't date, Chris even said so himself.

I smile foolishly to myself as I lie on Genesis' bed.

"You're smiling."

"Uh huh."

"In a very creepy way."

"Whatever you say, darling."

"Wow, even endearments."

"Right."

"What is going on inside your head?"

I grin knowingly. Chris. Chris is going on inside my head.

"Can I tell you something?" I practically push myself off the bed and hop to Genesis who is sitting at her study table.

"Yeah?"

"Chris and I... " I try to make a face to get her to finish my sentence.

"Chris and you what?"

"Try guessing."

"Just tell me."

Fine then. "We are in a relationship!"

"What?"

"Relationship. You know, when two people like each other, so they get together and do stuffs together."

"I know that, but like, how?"

"How? What do you mean? He asked me out."

"He asked you?" Genesis asks in disbelief. Is this supposed to be very shocking?

"Uh yes. Why are you so surprised?"

"It... it just caught me off guard. I mean, I know you two are getting along well and all, but a relationship? You do remember the time when I talked to you about Chris, right? From what I know, he doesn't date. Now, if he is the one that asks you out, it definitely means that you mean a lot to him."

Before I can speak, she continues.

"I can see that you enjoy spending time with him, but, please, don't get too attached to him. After all, you know about his so-called bad boy notoriety."

"Notoriety? Genesis, you see, that's what I don't get it. You guys told me that he and the rest of the boys have this so-called reputation, or notoriety as you called it, but never have I seen him doing anything that is bad or diabolical in any sorts."

"I wouldn't say, 'diabolical', but Chris used to get into brawls with people. Most of the people, even Jacob was intimidated by him."

"Brawls?"

"Yes, brawls. He would drink and come to school drunk."

"When did this happen?"

"I think he was fifteen at that point of time."

Fifteen!

I picture an image of a young and reckless Chris sitting on his bed, downing a large bottle of alcohol into his system. His face is pale, he's tired and troubled.

My heart clenches at the thought.

"Why did he drink?"

"I don't know either," Genesis shrugs, "He was really quiet, not the I'm-an-introvert-leave-me-alone kind, but the back-off-or-die kind."

Really?

My mouth opens, trying to vocalize my scattered thoughts, but to no avail. What do I say? I have millions of questions running through my brain, but I can't seem to put a finger on them.

"Now, tell me the ultimate motive of yours of visiting my humble abode."

Genesis' voice rings out, and I clear my mind to focus on her.

"Can't I spend time with my most beloved friend?" Feeling less bothered by the whole Chris revelation, I beam and put out my arms, inviting Genesis into my embrace.

"Come on, give your favourite human a hug."

"Oh no, not this. I'm not hugging you! Shouldn't you be hugging your boyfriend?"

"I hugged him enough. Come on, give me a big hug."

Genesis tries to escape to her living room, but I engulf her into my tight, loving embrace before she can succeed.

"I love you so much, friend," I use all my energy to squeeze her, causing me to speak to gritted teeth.

"Rape. Rape. Rape!" She squirms uncomfortably. Hah, she can only blame herself. No one told her to resist me.

"Oh you, I know you love my hugs." I give her one last bone-crushing squeeze and release her. She jumps away from me, breathing heavily.

I flash a suggestive smile at her and in turn, I receive an annoyed glare.

-

After staying in Genesis' house for an hour or two to complete my project, I left the place. Half of the time, we were busy ranting to each other how unfairly one of our teachers graded us for our assignment. Genesis was doing most of the talking, her hands waving around animatedly as she spoke. As I have said last time, she can be quite distracting sometimes when she studies with someone.

I contemplate, whether I should head back home or go over to one of the guys' house. I have questions waiting to be answered. I can either wait till Monday to ask them during school, or now, if I go over to one of their houses.

Thanks to my indecision, I decide to call up on Jacob for his opinion. He picks up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jacob."

"Hi Zoey. Is there something wrong?"

"Nope, everything's alright. Are you at home?"

"Yep."

"Should I go over to yours?"

"Yes you should, and you should bring over some cereal for me too. I'm hungry."

"What cereal do you want?"

"Lucky charms and Cheerios."

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

I hang up and head off to the supermarket.

-

Chris has been nothing but extremely cheesy and adorable.

I have no idea how this girlfriend thing works. I have read my fair share of romance novels but they don't seem helpful to me at all. I can't possibly reenact them, neither do they give me any idea on what I should do. Do I ask Chris out? Do I send him text messages more frequently? Would we hold hands? And will I get to hug him more often?

Chris' hugs are like the best thing in the world. Hugs are generally plain awesome - they make you feel protected and happy. Studies even show that hugging someone can even lower our blood pressure or stress level.

I have come to know that Chris has two kinds of hugs for me. For the first kind, he would do 'The Squeezer', which I have already kindly demonstrated on Genesis. I like how his arms engulf me tightly and the best thing is that I get to be close to him. And it's even better when I get to secretly get a whiff of his cologne while my head is pressed against his chest. The second kind, which is also my personal favourite, is 'The Looker'. He would pull me to him, wrap his arms around me and nuzzle his head at my neck. In the midst of that, he would pull away so that we are looking at each other. His eyes are usually shining with happiness and that makes me happy too.

I kind of miss him already, even though we just saw each other yesterday. Maybe I'll head over to his house after I'm done with Jacob.

With my left hand that's free of the bags of cereals, I fish out my phone to send a message to Jacob, telling him I've reached.

I don't usually do this when I go over to Chris and Evelyn's house, I know that they are usually alone in the house. But Jacob lives with his parents, it'll be better if I can avoid them. Parents intimidate me. A lot.

Though it might make it seem like I'm rude and ill-mannered, I know that one day, I'll meet them and apologize and maybe even explain to them my irrational reason.

The door in front of me creaks open, revealing Jacob.

"Yes, finally. The food is here!" Jacob happily takes the two bags of cereals into his hands and run off.

"I feel so welcomed. In different ways," I follow him into the kitchen.

"Is anyone else home?"

"Nope. My parents are still at work."

"That's good." I reach into the shelf for a bowl and a spoon.

Jacob fills in a quarter of his bowl with Cheerios and the next quarter with Lucky Charms. I grab Lucky Charms over from him and fill my bowl with it. Then he pours milk into our bowls.

"So, why are you here?"

"I have some questions."

"Yeah?"

"Is it true that Chris used to get drunk and start brawls with people?"

"Yes, it's true. He was bad-tempered. He would come for lessons, reeked of alcohol. Many students, in fact, almost all of them, hated him. He was really rash in making decisions and whoever that disagreed with him was met with his scary wrath. Even I despised him at that point of time. I mean, who likes a guy that gets drunk most of the time and beats people up. Although, I do know that deep down, he was facing some problems and he was just stressed and confused. He was just acting like a adolescent throwing a mindless tantrum."

"What do you mean by problems?"

"To be honest, I don't even know. After that stage of his life, he changed. I don't know what triggered the change, but he stopped drinking, stopped fighting. He started working hard for his studies. That was when all the girls in school started to fall for him. Before he stopped drinking, girls were already attracted to him, but they knew he was unapproachable. After he stopped, girls flooded to him. That bastard is blessed with good looks from his parents."

"He didn't tell you what happened? Like, what was the problems he was facing?"

"Nope. Even Levi and Caden don't know about them. I think Seth knows something about it. After all, they knew each other since young. We didn't force him into talking since we understood it was something he did not want people to know."

"Oh."

I stare at the bowl of cereal in front of me. Even Levi, Jacob and Caden doesn't know anything about this, it would be even more unlikely for me to find out what happened.

"It might seem as if he doesn't put in much effort for his studies, but when examinations are around the corner, he would burn his midnight oil to the max he can, to study for it," Jacob says as he clears the bowl.

"I see."

-

I make my way to Chris' house. Maybe if he feels like talking, he would tell me something.

I knock on his door and wait.

After a few seconds, I was still met with silence. I twist the knob, pushing it gently. I peer through the tiny gap.

I was greeted with a girl sitting on Chris' lap.