Her friends sat on the left side and the seat beside Louis was the most spacious. So even if she's nervous, she have no other choice but to sit beside him.
She looked at her friends who was looking at Louis. She gave them the "you guys are only hoes online but is weak in real life" look.
"Superstar you look really good!"
"I know right?! do you still lead BPGYG?" asked one of her boy former classmate.
"Hell yeah! BPGYG is still alive and well! we, Aria's mistresses, never die!" Yana answered, they laughed.
"As long as the queen, me," she points to herself, "is still alive, my mistresses will never die!" she said. Loud laughters can be heard. She didn't hear Louis laughing, though.
"Sorry guys, I am late! have some bussinesses to take care." it was the President.
The place became even more louder.
"Boss Ji! still handsome as ever"
"Boss Ji slap me some money"
"President is late!! he'll drink many bottles of beer 'til he pass out!"
The president sat beside Aria. That made her skin touch Louis' suit. Her heart began to beat faster.
"What businesses? taking shit?" she asked in a joking manner. They all laughed again.
"My concubine, you shouldn't speak with your husband like that! too indecent." she laugh with what he said. Jokes like this are extremely normal since aside from the girls in BPGYG, she and Kenji used to be really close back in high school.
After Kenji said that joke, Aria heard Louis took a deep breath.
"Does he have a problem?" Aria thought.
"So how's the superstar?" Kenji asked.
Her former classmates stared at her curiously.
"Fine, stressful but I don't mind them if at the end of the day I am swimming with the money I made." she smirked.
David, Louis' closest friend back in high school spoke, "Aria's swimming with money while I am swimming with paper works! did I do something bad in my past lives that the heavens decided to punish me like this?"
They laughed. Louis patted his back and said, "Dave of course you did something bad. You said back then that you'll always love me- just me. And then you told me the next day you have a girlfriend. I was so betrayed. And then you have the nerve to tell me that if you and your girlfriend will have a child, I will also be their father. I don't want to be their father, I just want to be with you."
They all laughed. While laughing, Aria saw Louis' eyes are staring on her face. She quickly looked away and touched her hair.
"Dave you're such a player! why would you hurt Louis like that?"
"Louis you're a liar! are you having an amnesia? I remember I said that but you said "oh- I love someone else though. Prettier than you." " David said, mimicking the way Louis said it.
"Oh? so he's interested with someone else back then huh.." Aria thought while quietly looking on Louis.
Louis just laughed.
Her former classmates were talking about different topics. They kept asking her about some gossips that only the celebrities know. She told them some but they weren't really something that "only the celebrities know". Some of her guy former classmates had asked her for a date but she turned them down.
Afterwards, Kenji had invited them all to get into the dancefloor but Aria refused. She's avoiding the risk of getting recognized by many people.
When they are on their way to the dancefloor, Aria noticed Louis hasn't stand up yet.
"Louis boy, aren't you coming?" Kenji asked him.
"Nah. They're not my thing. Besides, aren't you afraid I might steal the spotlight? I am being generous." he answered in a joking manner.
Kenji laughed, "still the same boy huh."
He walked out. It was only the two of them left.
Because of nervousness, Aria sipped her drink. She made a space between her and Louis.
She looked at him and was shocked when she caught him looking at her face attentively and he asked, "Why are you voiceless with me? do you really hate me so much?"
Louis' question almost made her spat out her drink. She answered him with a confused look on her face, "huh? what are you saying?" her eyebrows furrowed.
"Eversince you came in here you were avoiding my gaze. When you're finding a seat you look reluctant to sit beside me. You were talking to everyone else but me." Louis answered, his tone was serious.
"I..." Aria's words are stucked on her throat. "I just thought it was awkward. We weren't close after all."
"Oh so that's why? you also weren't that close to a lot of our former classmates. Before when we were in high school, you'd talk with everyone but me. When you look at me before you look like you're mad. Why is that?" Louis looked at Aria seriously, waiting for her answer.
Aria swallowed her saliva. She can't look directly at his eyes. "What do you mean 'I look mad'? I... I look at people the same way I look at you. And also, I am not talking to you before cause there's literally nothing to talk about. Don't you think that would be awkward?" she took a sip on her drink.
"No, it isn't the same way. You always look at me deeply. And what do you mean? you always talk with everyone before even if the conversation sounds so forced." Louis insisted and crossed his arms.
"Wait- that means you're observing me?" she raised her left eyebrows.
"Of course I am observing you." after he said that, Aria feels like she's floating. Does that mean Louis liked her? "I observe everyone." he looked away.
"Oh" Aria said, she sounded flat. She was disappointed.
"But you should just say that you wanna talk to me! here I'll give you my social media accounts and my number." Aria continued. "Hehe. Even if Louis is waiting for someone else, at least we could be friends." she thought while smiling inside.
The both of them exchanged social medias and phone numbers. When they finished, some of their classmates have gone back.
"Aria there are some hotties on the dancefloor!" Tiffany told her.
"Daddies I won't get out of this place without milk!" Vivi said.
"I am not like these girls, I am a church girl" it was Yana, she signed cross.
"You said you're a church girl and yet I saw you sneakily touching men's chest?!" Chloe put her arms on her waist. They laughed.
"You guys are cheaters! just so you wait, I will find another mistress!" Aria said dramatically.
Tiffany wants to go to the restroom so the four of them accompanied her. There was no one on the girls' restroom so they talk about some things.
"When Aria makes a joke Louis will always have a big smile on his face, but if it is another person he'll just have a 'slight' smile?" it was Vivi who told them that. Aria doesn't know how to react.
"I know right?! even from the beginning he was staring at you" Tiffany pointed at Aria.
"Me?" Aria pointed to herself. "Oh! when you guys have gone to the dancefloor, we talked about something. He asked me why I never talked to him." Aria explained. "Besides, he's already waiting for someone else."
"Oh is that so? thinking about it now, you two actually never really talked unless it's needed." Chloe said. The girls, aside from Aria, nodded their heads on realization.
"He really looks different now, though. And there is a "not available" vibe with him, so we are just keeping our distance because we'll have no chance anyway!" Yana complained.
Louis in high school was lean and his height was average. His face was boyish. He's handsome even before but the Louis now was completely different.
His body is quite muscular now and he's even more taller than most of the guys that are way taller than him back in high school. His face has become more manly and his energy was quite more aloof now. He was no longer that boy in high school where the guys could easily touch him and play games with him.
"Well maybe something happened? or he just becomes more mature. Who knows. There are still a lot of men here in the world."
"There are still a lot of men here in the world and I like him for so long now. So if there are a lot of people liking him then l really have no chance but to admit my defeat." Aria keep that thought to herself. She still have no plans of telling her friends that she likes Louis.
-
It was already 10:00 PM when they decided to do a drinking game. It was a truth or drink the beer game.
Everyone was excited. Aria just wished that she won't do something stupid.
Kenji has began spinning the pen that he has. It stopped on Aria.
"WOOOHHHH" they were excited. It was Kenji who would ask her a question.
"In high school, everytime a guy would court you they are always turned down. What was the reason?" at that question, everyone, especially the boys looked at her curiously.
"Uh.." she laughed nervously, "well I liked someone before" she answered truthfully.
Some of them gasps. Even her friends. "ARIA YOU REALLY DID LIKED SOMEONE BEFORE?! I THOUGHT YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO WILL NEVER EVER LOVE SOMEBODY ROMANTICALLY!!!!" Tiffany shouted.
Louis was looking at her, he raised his right eyebrow.
"I just thought you guys might get too heartbroken if I said I like someone romantically." she grinned.
A guy called Gus said "that's right! I hate hearing that word before and hearing that you like somebody else might make me destroy a wall because I was too agressive and a sore loser at that time." they all laughed.
The pen had begun spinning again. This time is pointed on Louis.
"Oh Louis boy!" the guys said excitedly.
It was Vivi's turn to ask questions. She asked him, "Louis, in high school, you were always surrounded with boys. Not a lot of girls liked you because although you're handsome, you don't play sports. How did you feel about that?"
"Oh.. I don't think I really care about that. If they don't like me so what? look, a lot of them are drooling over me now." he answered. All of the guys said "BOO!!!" Aria laughed.
At the fifth spin of the pen, it pointed on Aria. This time, it was Louis' turn to ask question. "You said that you liked someone in high school- then, who are they?"
Aria stared at Louis nervously. "That... I don't want to answer. I'll just drink!" she drank and it immediately hit her system. The drink was too strong for her to handle.
At the time they finished playing, the room was full of drunk people in their early 20s. "Ah youth..." someone said in a sluggish manner.
Aria's head hurt too much. "Who invented this damn game! I shouldn't have agreed because if some stranger saw me in this state my image might be destroyed." Aria thought to herself.
She looked at her friends who were lying on the sofa. "Shit I have to bring them home!" at that thought, she tried to stand up but failed. Louis' arms caught her.
"Sorry I touched you without your permission."
"Huh? ah no.. that's fine. Thank you."
"Don't try standing up. Dave didn't really drink at all so he will bring them home. Don't worry he knows where they live and they'll be safe with him. Wait in here, I'll get and bring you some water."
Louis stand up to get some water. He immediately came back and handed her the water. She drank it and finished it immediately.
"Thank you." she said while smiling.
"You're welcome. Where do you live? I'll take you home. Driving while you're drunk isn't safe. You might get into an accident."
There are a lot of drunk people in here but he's only taking care of her?
She told him her address and waited for Dave to drive her friends home. She gave him her number and told him to message her if he got them home safe. She thanked him and watched Dave's car to go away.
After that, she get into Louis' car. He said that he'll get her car for her in the morning. She refused but Louis insisted. Her head hurts so bad so she just nodded on agreement.
It was already 12:56 AM when they reached her home. Louis helped her to get inside of her house. Earlier, Louis was reluctant to touch her so she had given him her permission. It was good because she doesn't really like being touched randomly.
Yuyu welcomed her and hissed at the strange man. Aria laughed. "Yuyu he's a good man. Get a long well with him!" she said while stroking him.
Louis laughed, he stared at the cat. "Boss I know this is your property but your human needs my help. I don't have any bad intentions."
They both laughed. Yuyu had let his guard down and he began brushing its furs on Louis. "He likes you now!" Aria said enthuastically.
Louis smiled and stroked the cat. "Reminds me of the cat that I had when I was 15."
Aria looked at him, "you had a cat before? what happened to that cat of yours?" she was curious and shocked at the same time because he's telling her something about his life.
"A neighbor poisoned her." the smile on Louis' face became quite bitter.
Aria's blinks had become slower. "I reported it but they just told me "it's just a cat! your cat was poisoned and so what? kid, their lives are very short and they are destined to die more easily than us humans." I was very distressed at that time and hearing that didn't helped me at all." Louis' tone of voice has a little bit anger and bitterness on it. Aria imagined that if it happened on Yuyu, she'll become insane.
She doesn't know whether it was because of the strong emotions she's feeling or it was because of the strong alcohol that she consumed but she hugged Louis tightly.
Louis was shocked. His heart was beating fast. His face was burrowed on Aria's neck. He could clearly smell her perfume. He doesn't want to seem like a pervert but her smell suddenly gave him a boner.
"H-hey... that's fine. I've already moved on from that." he said awkwardly.
Unaware of the man's feelings, Aria let go of the hug and gave him a smile. "Glad you're fine."
After that, they said goodbye to each other. The both of them was smiling brightly in the middle of a dark night.