Chapter 7 Found Seven

'Of course not! Love is not jealous.' I remembered that line that Andrew imitated from me again. Will I be thrilled by that? Is he serious when he said that? Meaning he loves me too? Too? So you love him? Oh no, Alli, what were you thinking?! For sure, he only said that as a joke; he is just also teasing his friends. Don't be so assuming! But what if I am falling for him? Oh my, this is not right! I thought I was enjoying his company, and it has no malice or anything. But what's this I am feeling?! This is not good, Alli! You already promise yourself that you will never fall in love with a guy again unless he was the one who falls first, right?! Didn't you learn from the past?! I was in deep thought when someone texted me. I was suddenly got nervous when I saw the name of the person who texted me. It's Andrew! From: Andrew Alli, do we have a problem? I frowned. Problem? I do have. But for us??? I texted him my reply. To: Andrew None. In no less than 5 seconds, my phone rang. My heart is beating so fast when I saw his name on the screen. Why is he calling me? Will I answer his call? If I decline his call, then he will think that we do have a problem. Whatever Alli! Just answer the call. "H-hello?" I stuttered due to nervousness. 'I thought you would not answer my call.' I creased my forehead. "What do you mean? How did you come up with a conclusion that I won't take up your call?" I heard him sigh aloud. 'Because it seems like you are avoiding me.' I am not avoiding you yet. I was about to because I needed to protect myself. I needed to protect my heart. "What makes you think that?" I asked him. 'Like yesterday, you are not talking to me. When I am approaching you, you are going away.' I'm kind of guilty there. He should blame the jealous line issue. I kind of feel embarrassed because of that. "No, I'm not avoiding you." I denied his claim. 'That's good then. So we are okay?' He asked. "Of course, we're okay." I just said. 'Can I invite you for dinner later then?' He suddenly asked. I can't help but giggle. Why is he inviting me for dinner? Does he like me? "For what?" I asked first. I tried to sound as calm as possible, even if the truth is I wanted to scream due to too much excitement. 'Nothing, it's just that I miss our bonding moments.' Honestly, I'm kind of disappointed with his answer. So it means that he is just bored, that is why he is inviting me. My pride was hurt. "Sorry, Andrew, but I'm kind of busy now. You know that I only have less than a week before I start to work for Vince." I said instead. I heard him sigh again. 'I understand.' "Sorry, Andrew." 'No, it's okay. So I guess I see you when I see you?' "Sure." After that, I already dropped the call. I need to avoid him first. I need to protect myself. He may be interested in me, but it does not mean that it will lead to love. I experienced that once. And that's enough to stop expecting because, in the end, I will feel hurt. Flashback I had this classmate when I was in college. His name is Jester. We are not close because I find him so cocky. Even though he is handsome, I still don't like him. I like handsome guys, but aside from looks, I am also looking at the guy's attitude. There are guys that what they only have is their face and nothing more. There are also guys that, aside from being handsome, are also gentlemanly, intelligent, and wealthy, just like Andrew. I see Jester as someone who is only has a handsome face. That is why I never have plans on talking or being friends with him, unlike all the other girls in our class. One day my group and his group decided to go somewhere and bond. I got to know him there, and since then, we became close. Though for me, our closeness is nothing special. Even if we somehow became close, I never initiated to talk to him. But that guy keeps on annoying me. That is his way for me to speak to him. And because of that, we became close. And that is when I realize that he is famous not just in our class but on the whole campus. Sometimes people will see us talking and laughing with each other; then, some girls will whisper but loud enough to hear. ‘That girl is so lucky! Who is she? Is she Jester's girlfriend?!' I heard girl number 1 whisper. ‘From what I know, Jester doesn't have a girlfriend. Maybe she is just his friend.' The other girl whispered back to girl number 1. ‘Why are they so sweet with each other?!' Again, girl number 1 whispered. ‘You have a point!' The other girl whispered in agreement. I just shook my head and tried to analyze our actions. Is this sweet with them? This guy doesn't know anything except to annoy me! Many people have noticed our closeness. Even my cousins see it. I even introduced Jester to them. They said that we look like a couple. I just rolled my eyes when I heard that to them. I just really don't appreciate him. Yes, he is handsome and fun to be with, but I don't know; I don't feel anything about him. Until my cousin and I bought a book about understanding men. There is a list there that says, ‘A guy like you if..' My cousin forced me to buy that book. They said that I should read that and see if Jester likes me or not based on that book. I told them that I would buy it but not because of him. I will not do what they said. But when I was alone, I open the book and read it. A Guy Likes You If... 1. He punches you on the arm or touches you "accidentally" in a non-sexual way. I tried to remember if he does this to me. Yes, somehow he did though he did not punch me more like tap and pull. 2. He asks your friends if you're still single. Yes, he did though he asks his friend to ask me on his behalf. I saw his friend reporting to him after that friend of his ask me if I am still single. 3. He cracks jokes. Super yes, all the time. 4. He keeps looking at you. Yes. I often caught him staring at me; then, he will tell me that I look beautiful. 5. He notices your outfit, hair, and other things. Yes. My eyes widen. OMG! So far all my answer in this list is yes. He often notices my outfit, especially the style that I like. 6. He gives you sweet things. Oh, that one, not yet. So it 5:1. 7. He offers help. Well yes. Though he is annoying, I must say that he is smart. Even if he doesn't want to go to the library, he always goes with me when I ask him. That is why they thought that we have something. 8. He asks you for a dance. Well yes. But simply because it's a birthday party so of course, he will ask me for a dance. 9. He loiters where you are. Of course, we're classmates. 10. He discourages you from your present boyfriend. Well, I'm NBSB. But I always notice him getting pissed when there are guys who are close to me. He thought that my cousin is my boyfriend, so he told me that he didn't like the guy and that guy is so cocky. When I told him that the guy he is referring to is my cousin. The next day I was shocked because they are already close. So nine over ten. There is still one left that he didn't do to me. I was bothered since then. I became more sensitive or observant with his actions towards me. He treats me differently compared to others. But I find it hard to believe because there is someone his friend is teasing him. So it only means that it is the girl he likes. Though he often tells me that I look more beautiful than that girl. He's crazy! The end of the semester was coming when Jester gave me something. Chocolate. OMG! He completed the list!!! 'What am I going to do with this?" I asked him, referring to the chocolate that he gave. 'Throw it!" He coldly said. 'Whatever," I said, then I rolled my eyes. He tried to give me the chocolate again. 'Here." He said. 'Why are you giving it to me?" I asked. 'Someone gave that to me. I found you a pity because I know no one is giving you chocolate. That is why I am giving this to you." He said teasingly. 'Excuse me?!" I hissed. 'I'm just joking, okay?! Don't get angry with me. Just accept it; I don't like chocolate." He said. "Whatever," I said, then I accepted the chocolate. Since then, I have already assumed that he likes me. Because they said, action speaks louder than words. He got all the list, so why wouldn't I think of that? But then my world crashed when I found out that he was courting Rachel, she is our classmate, that his friend was often teasing him. I felt pain in my heart. Because the truth is I already fell for him so hard to the point that I can not get up. But I'm not Allison for nothing. I started to avoid him. No matter what he does for me to notice him, I still ignore him. The new semester started. I met Charles; he is our new block mate. He was late in the enrollment before, so he didn't become our classmate last semester. We became friends immediately. I get quickly get close to the boys because they treat me as one of the boys. He's a good friend. In a short time, we became very close. He helped me a lot to avoid Jester. I told him what happened even about the list. He promises me that he will help me to move on. Even though Jester's group constantly bullies him, he didn't stay away from me. I can't stand what they are doing to Charles. That's why I confronted Jester. "Jester, what's wrong with you guys? Why are you bullying Charles, he's not doing anything wrong with you?!" Annoyed, I told him. He was shocked. This is the first time I have talked to him since I started to avoid him. 'He so conceited!" He just said. I became more pissed with his answer. 'Conceited? Is that your reason? Or is it because he is close with me?!" I can't help but ask. His eyes widened; he did not expect that I would say that. "How did you come up with that conclusion?" He asked defensively. "Did you think I didn't notice that you're just bullying all the men that close to me? And when they finally stay away from me, then that's the time that you will stop bullying them?" I told him. He didn't answer. 'What is your problem?!" I asked him angrily. "You. I do not understand why you are avoiding me. What have I done?" He said. I can see the pain in his eyes. Why are you acting like that, Jester?! You are making me more confused. 'You really don't know?! You lead me on, you brute! You always act like a possessive boyfriend that you made me so confused! You made me feel like you love me! But then I will find out that you are courting Rachel?! I accepted that. Maybe I just assumed too much. But the way you act right now?! What is it that you want?!" I can't help my tears to fall while saying those things with him. I kept this with me for a long time. "D-do you l-love me?" He asked nervously. "What if I say yes will you admit that you love me too?" I asked him bravely. He didn't answer me. And that hurt me more. 'Then don't ask me that!" I coldly said and left. Since then, they stop bullying Charles. Also, after that semester, Jester moved from another university, and I haven't heard from him since then. End flashback. I found myself crying again after remembering that. It was so hard for me to forget him. Actually, until now, I am not sure if I'm already over him. So it was dangerous for me to be close to Andrew because he is so similar to what I felt to Jester. Andrew is like Jester to me. While Vince, I see Charles well in him.