Just like his mother jokingly said before, Evan instantly caught a lot of attention once he reached his school. The moment he got off his bike and removed his helmet, many girls already gathered around his surroundings just to look at him.
Nevertheless, before Evan could even take a single step, Colin came to him and hugged him on the shoulders like he always did. Just like Evan, Colin was also wearing the uniform of Cadet Force.
"You're riding your bike today," Colin Winsler pointed out with a teasing smile. "Is there a reason behind it?"
"I might need to visit the office of the Cadet Force today after the meeting. Do you wish to go there by cab or bus? After the meeting, it will already be quite late," Evan Livares confidently replied, making the teasing smile of his friend slowly vanish.
"You better not tell me to go too," Colin Winsler quickly said. He withdrew his hands from his friend and lifted his palms at his chest level. "I don't have the guts to handle the Commander Officer like you easily did each time."
Halting his steps, Evan's lips curved into a slight smirk. "What if I insist for you to go?"
Colin sighed as he knew that he won't stand a chance if his friend really insisted. After all, Evan was the leader of the school's Cadet Force who held the highest rank and the maintenance of the Cadet Force was the same as that of the military.
An order is an order.
"Just go with Hannah. It will also benefit our school if you two perfectionists go and meet the tough Commanding Officer. Don't you think so?" He smiled appeasingly, making Evan laugh.
"I'm just joking," Evan Livares said and resumed his steps. "I'm still not even sure if I should go. I can also do it next week. It's only been a week since the new academic year starts."
The two friends made their way to their classroom and the moment they entered, Evan noticed Aviana who was already sitting in her seat. He didn't know why he was feeling especially flustered and nervous all of a sudden.
Was it because of yesterday evening? Or because of his conversation with his father last night? He even halted his steps suddenly, taking his friend by surprise! Not to mention that his gaze was on Aviana Valos the whole time!
"What's with you?" Colin Winster asked. Confused, his gaze trailed that of Evan, and saw the top student who was sitting on the third row near the window, studying as always.
Aviana Valos? Why was his friend staring at that smart girl?
Maybe Aviana heard Colin's voice, she shifted her gaze to the door and finally noticed the heartthrob of her school who was staring at her. The sight of Evan Livares reminded her of what happened in the local market yesterday. Maybe because of that, she flashed a little smile and turned her attention back to her studies.
Her smile.
In the past two years, their gaze met several times, even when they were at a distance. However... it's the first time Aviana ever acknowledged that and Evan Livares was feeling perplexed!
What's with that smile?
Colin Winsler had no idea of what was going on. Of course, he won't know that his popular friend was desperately falling for that girl who was already taken! As such, he grabbed him on the arm and pulled him to his seat.
The moment he occupied his seat which was quite far from Aviana's, Evan Livares realized what he had just done. Then he inwardly sighed.
'Snap out, Evan. What are you thinking?'
At least, he was grateful that Aviana didn't give him any strange look.
*
It was lunchtime and as usual, Aviana was with Levi and some other students who were mostly Levi's friends and club mates from the Photography club.
While his friends were chatting with each other, Levi Carson shifted his attention to Aviana who was sitting next to him, holding an Iced Vanilla Latte with her two hands.
"Is everything alright?" He asked.
Aviana was very quiet and though he knew that she was always like that, he could sense that there was something wrong with her today. After all, he had known her for so long.
Without even looking at Levi, Aviana Valos nodded. "Everything's fine."
At her response, Levi Carson narrowed his eyes. He knew that something wasn't right but...
When were their lives ever right?
"I heard about the joint dinner," he pointed out, cautiously. "If you -"
"Levi," Aviana muttered in a low voice, interrupting her 'boyfriend'. Then finally, she looked at him and met his gaze that she could never figure out in the past years. "Let us not talk about it. You know that it won't work and it's not like you care."
She looked away very soon again and maybe that's why she failed to see the slight change in his expression.
Why was she always so sure of how he felt about her?
What if she was wrong?
Maybe in her eyes, he will always be just a guy whom her father chose for her, nothing more than that.
"I'm saying it because I'm not comfortable with it," he finally spoke up, stating half-truth and half-lie. Maybe because he rarely talked about this, Aviana darted her eyes back to him.
She was giving him a strange look and though he wasn't familiar with that, he believed that it was better than seeing her blank expression all the time.
He always hated whenever she appeared so emotionless while the truth was so far from that.
Nevertheless, he didn't know how to continue and at one point, he even regretted saying that.
"I have to participate in a group project today after class. You'll have to go home alone," was all that he managed to say before shifting his attention to his friends and joining the conversation.
Aviana stared at him for a while and then turned away. Levi was acting really strange today.....