The Heaven I Found In Hell (22 page)

I wished I wasn't born nosy, so even before the two started making-out, I wouldn't have given a damn and would've just left, but no...I had to be a girl who loved gossip...

The wind slapped my skin, making the whole of me shiver as I tried to regain an unfazed composure. Good thing my back was against Nathan, so he didn't see my shocked expression when I found out he liked someone and didn't tell me. I actually didn't know what hurt more, him not telling me he liked someone as a best friend, or him liking someone else as my crush. I wanted to run away from him, but I just couldn't. He was simply so, so hot, resisting wasn't even possible in this situation. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder, and that, immediately brought me back to reality.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nathan asked as he turned me around so I was facing him.

I brought up a smile to my face, and nodded at him. Being so close to one another even though we've been friends for over a month only, he immediately sensed that something was going on inside me since he asked if I was alright.

Trying to avoid crying in front of such a strong person, I lied...again.

"I'm hurt," I said, which was the truth, but by the way I sounded I gave him the feeling that I was just joking. He cocked an eyebrow up at me, and asked me why.

"You never told me you liked someone," I said, slapping his shoulder. "You make me feel like I’m a no-good friend!"

I ended my sentence, then gave him a small laugh, and waited for his response. I expected him to laugh with me, but when he didn't, I started to feel nervous. I started to ask myself if I did something wrong, but when I couldn't find anything to accuse myself of I just decided to continue talking.

"No, really. I'm being serious here," I said, hitting his shoulder lightly.

He blinked his eyes a couple of times at me, before he ran a hand through his chocolate-colored hair. He sent me one weak smile, which nerved me even more. Not letting him get the best of me, I continued talking, and talking, and talking.

"So who's this lucky girl?" I said, my eyes looking mischievous.

He grinned innocently at me, took my hand, and then pulled me with him, as the both of us headed over to the dorms building. We climbed up the stairs, my hands still in his, as we slowly made our way to his room. Letting go of my hand, he dug his hand into one of the pockets of his jogging pants, and took out his card key. He unlocked the door to his and Anthony's dorm room, and the two of us entered, as I settled myself onto the living room couch.

"Now we don't have to worry about Scott and Cindy listening to us." He said, smiling at me.

I returned his smile with a grin, before I patted the empty space on the couch beside me, motioning for him to sit. He quickly followed, and plopped himself down on the couch.

"So, who's the lucky girl?" I asked again, wanting to get an answer out of him.

I heard him sigh, and a while after, I felt his arm make its way around my shoulders which was a habit of his already. This simple gesture increased my anxiety, and before I could even try to make sense of myself, I found myself relaxing to his one-arm embrace. When the two of us stayed silent for more than a few minutes already, I slapped his chest, just to make sure he was still awake.

"What?" He asked, taken by surprise.

"You haven't answered my question!" I answered back, looking sideways to meet his gaze.

I felt his grip on me loosen, before he started to mock me.

"You haven't answered mine too!"

I had to laugh, seriously.

"That's because you never even asked it yet."

"I did, but you weren't listening!"

Our embrace was now non-existent, as the two of us sat at the opposite ends of the couch. My arms were crossed over my chest, as I tried to act intimidating, while Nathan decided to act like a kid and kneel on the sofa.

"Fine..." I said, raising my hands up in the air. "This question must be as important as hell for us to be arguing."

The both of us grinned in unison, before he started to open his mouth. He assured me it was a question of such significance, and before prolonging my anxiety any longer, he asked me the question he had been meaning to ask ever since we caught Cindy and Scott going at each other.

"Do you want to go to the ball with me?"

So, how did I find myself agreeing to go to the dance with Nathan?

Well, let's just say I just love making deals. Yes, I went into another compromise. Nathan promised me that if I go to the dance with him, he'd tell me who he liked. I immediately agreed, and was waiting for him to finally speak and tell me the name of the person I’d been wanting to kill, but instead, he made another condition.

"I'll tell you after the dance
."

I wasted fifteen minutes of my precious time telling him how unfair he was, but perfecting the life of a rock, he stayed firm to his decision of not telling me until the dance ended. The day before the dance, I told Riley how much of an ass (not completely) Nathan was being, and how he was making me tense like hell. But you know what...? I found one of my best friends laughing at me.

"I can't believe you're going to the dance with my brother!" She squealed in excitement, taking a sip from her cappuccino.

Seeing as it was a Thursday, she didn't have soccer practice, so the two of us quickly made plans. We decided to go to a nearby coffee shop after school to grab a couple cappuccinos and a light snack, as we started talking about random things. First off, was the 'thing' about her brother and me?

"I can't believe it either!" I said while feeling mixed emotions. "But God! Can't he just tell me? I mean...this girl must be like way up there, if he's keeping it from me! I mean it's me...he tells me everything, except for this one...I just want to know!"

I was ranting, but still excited. I was happy, definitely, since I’d probably spend one whole night with him. Bwahahaha. But I was somewhat confused, and before I could 'unconfuse' myself, Riley started to make my mind work even more.

"Well...in my point of view...he already told you whom he likes." Riley said, and that teasing face of hers told me she knew who the lucky bitch (or bastard) was. I cursed myself mentally.

I definitely hated being dumb.

"Oh, we're definitely going to win the deal against Anthony and Cinds." Nathan said, the moment he saw me.

He entered the room, clad in an expensive tux and a pair of Vans, and when I looked down to see such informal shoes with black and white skulls as a decoration, I found myself laughing at my date. I waved a hand for him to come and enter, and told him to just make himself feel at home, seeing as how I hadn't put on my heels still. I sat on the unoccupied space on the sofa beside him and started to put on my Escadas.

"Don't be too egotistical. Karma's so going to bite you in the ass!" I said with a small laugh.

I found him smirking back at my words, as he stretched out his hand for me to take. The both of us stood up from the couch, and exited my room.

"I'm a guy, and you're telling me not to be conceited?" He said, putting on a perplexed look. "And besides, how could I not have said that? You look too beautiful."

I slapped his upper arm and told him that what he said wasn't funny, before I rested my hand on his shoulder. The both of us left the building, and we met a few other people looking quite different in a good formal way compared to the usual khaki skirt and blouse, or beige pants and red polo we usually wore. We headed over to one of the parking lots of the school, and there we met the rest of the gang. Riley who was busy whispering sweet nothings to Anthony, wore a black Lanvin gown matched with a pair of Manolo's, and she didn't even notice Nathan and me coming towards them until I gave her a loud fake cough. She immediately looked at us with a sly, but somehow innocent smile.

"Look what you're doing to my sis, bro!" Nathan said, punching his buddy's shoulder. "You're making her act just like any other hormone-driven teenager!"

The rest of us, Riley and Anthony excluded, erupted in laughter, and even Scott, Jackson, and Natalie (Blake's date), who didn't usually hung out with us started teasing poor Riles. After a few minutes of ranting about how good they fit each other in all the right places (ahem), we decided to stop, and save them further embarrassment even though we've humiliated them more than enough already.

"Come on, guys! We're going to be late!" Natalie said, forcing the lot of us to enter the limo.

Natalie was your usual head cheerleader. She was pretty, self-absorbed, experienced, and average in the field of academics. Hell, she was even smarter than me. She was an all-American girl, blonde and blue-eyed, with long, well-tanned legs and arms. She looked a bit anorexic, if you ask me... but it's not like I wasn't.

She wrapped her arms around Blake's waist in a very tight way, as the captain of the football team enveloped his girl with his muscular arms. I looked around, and saw the rest of the group doing the same thing, Riley and Anthony, Cindy and Scott, and Kendra and Jackson, and wished that Nathan and I would follow suit. But seeing as how another tease catastrophe might happen any moment if I decided to make a move, I just kept my hands to myself. Damn. I felt Nathan shoulder me, and in return, I did the same to him. He knew too well, not to have read the somewhat jealous expression I had on my face.

The lot of us entered the limousine, and took our seats beside our dates (of course), before Kendra told the driver we rented with the car to take us to the five-star hotel called the Casa Palmero.

The whole duration of the ride, Nathan and I found ourselves whispering at each other, as we talked silently about the couples around us. Riley and Anthony who didn't really enjoy public displays of affections, behaved themselves, and simply held each other tightly, while Cindy and Scott, on the other hand, engaged in a heavy make-out session. A few of us started whistling, but the two just ignored us like we were invisible. Kendra and Jackson talked intimately in voices the rest of us barely heard, and Blake and Natalie, who probably idolized Cindy and partner, decided to go at it too, not ashamed (at all) of how much of a mess they would probably look like when we got to the hotel. They were probably going to break their masks.

"Can't you please just tell me already?" I whispered very softly to Nate.

My date looked at me intently, as he leaned his head closer to mine until our noses were only a few inches away from touching. He wrinkled his nose and I found myself grinning at him

"No, I can't. A deal is a deal."

I gave him a loud 'hmph', before I told him he sucked and that he better tell me or else...

"I'll tell you...I promise." He said, looking away now, as he eyed his sister and his buddy who sat across us. "Don't you trust me?"

And again with that puppy-dog eyes and heart-flipping pout. Was he trying to kill my lungs? Well, it looked like it. I put on a thoughtful look; before I shook my head and gave him a 'no.' His pout became even bigger, as he pinched my arm.