"That explains why you have bruises around your wrist." Daniel stated.
Chad slowly nodded.
"Hello Daniel," Jessi said as she exited one of the restrooms.
"Hi. Jessi." Daniel replied slowly.
"Bye Chad." Jessi said as she walked out of the restroom.
"That was a little awkward." Daniel let out a small gasp.
Chad laughs. "Tell me more about it."
Daniel let out a sigh.
"Wait a second. Isn't this the male restroom? Because I was confused and thought I was in the wrong one when I heard Jessi's voice." With a weak chuckle, Daniel said.
"Yea. She can be like that. But I called her this time."
"To end things with her." Daniel chimed in.
Chad added, "for good."
"Could you please keep this a secret?." He enquired.
Daniel smiled and nodded.
"I will."
"Is it just a coincidence that you're here, or did you follow me?" Chad inquired, teasingly.
Daniel chuckled weakly.
"I followed you," Daniel replied.
They both laughed as they walked out of the restroom.
"You'll be fine, right?" Daniel was concerned.
"I will be. I love her, but I am better off without her." Chad said softly.
Daniel nodded, patting Chad on the shoulder.
_^
Alora had just finished a lecture.
"Hey." Alora turned to face the voice behind her.
"Hello, Andres." She responded.
Andres grinned. "You seem to be okay now."
Alora gave a nod. "Yea. We...we sorted it out."
Andres let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you all right now?" I don't have to be concerned any longer."
Alora's pupils dilated.
Her cheeks turned bright red and hot, and she could feel it.
"You were concerned about me?" Alora inquired softly.
Andres let out a weak chuckle.
He lowered his head to match Alora's height.
He locked his gaze on hers. "Yes. And I'm glad you're all right." In a low, soft tone, he said.
Alora smiled broadly without realizing it. Her heart felt like it was about to burst through her chest and do a happy dance, but she couldn't figure out why.
"I will see you later, lora." Daniel stated. He walked away, lightly patting her hair.
Alora smiled.
"Lora. He's even given me a nickname." Alora continued to blush.
"Why is he being so nice, and why am I falling for it?" Alora muttered to herself.
_^
After speaking with Alora, Andres was walking down the hallway with a big smile on his face. He came to a halt when he noticed Jessi sitting on the floor, her head on her knees, in a secluded corner of the hallway.
"Jessi?." As he approached her, he called slowly.
Jessi slowly lifted her head. Her tears ran down her cheeks.
She'd been sobbing.
"Hey," Andres said quietly.
He hadn't expected to see her in such a state.
He wondered what had caused her to cry in the middle of campus.
"Are you all right?" Andres inquired.
Jessi sobbed, "Chad just broke up with me."
Andres was a little shook.
That was yet another surprise for him.
"Did he tell you why?." Andres inquired softly.
Jessi burst into tears.
"He said that he wanted it to stop. I had no idea I was forcing him. He said he was fine with it. He probably hates me now."
Andres sighed deeply and worriedly.
"Did anything happen between you two?" He inquired.
Jessi locked her gaze on him for a few seconds before nodding.
"I can't stop myself from getting into this thing. And I...I was making him do stupid things. I really thought he was cool with it, but he broke up with me because of it." Jessi stated.
"I..I can't believe I lost the one guy I truly loved because of that stupid thing." Jessi sobbed once more.
"What thing?"
"I have to go," Jessi said quickly as she stood up, grabbed her bag, and ran away.
Andres looked puzzled as he watched her run away.
_^
"Hey, there you guys are." Andres yelled as he noticed Daniel and Chad. They both gave him a wave.
"In particular, you. I've been looking for you all over campus." Andres chimed in.
"Oh. What's up"
"Jessi. In the hallway, I ran into a crying Jessi who said you broke up with her because of this thing she forced you to do. What's the deal with that?" Andres asked.
"She...she was crying?" Chad replied with a question slowly.
Andres nodded.
Daniel scoffed weakly.
"What was she crying about?" That her boyfriend dumped her or that she no longer has anyone to play her slave." Daniel was irritated.
He turned to face Chad, who was staring at him all the time.
"Okay. What is going on? Chad, why did you break up with Jessi?" Andres inquired aloud.
Chad sighed.
He rolled up his sleeves to reveal more bruises.
Daniel and Andres let out a small gasp.
"There are more of them beneath the clothes I'm wearing. Jessi did this" Chad stated.
"I...I don't understand. How can a girl do this to you?" Andres was perplexed.
Daniel sighed out loudly.
"Jessi is into this BSDM stuffs." Daniel said.
"BSDM?. Like..the one in fifty shades of grey?." Andres asked.
Daniel nodded.
Andres breathed in and out deeply with his eyes closed.
"It didn't look so bad. I..I thought I could handle it, because I love her. But the more I got into it, the more unbearable it got." Chad explained.
"That's..alot. I feel for you but I kindoff feel for her more. She was crying saying that she lost the one guy she truly loved because of a stupid thing, because of something she can't stop." Andres said
"I love her. I still do but I really need to stay away from her, am not sure how long."
"You did the right thing." Daniel said.
Andres nodded in agreement.
_^
It was late at night.
Alora was having the items she had just purchased checked by the part-timer.
She was on her way to David's apartment, carrying David and Jeffery's favorite snack and drink.
"Hey." From behind, a voice called out.
Alora returned her gaze.
Daniel was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey," she replied with a smile.
"Here you go." The part-timer said as she handed Alora a nylon bag containing the items she had purchased.
"Oh, thank you." Alorq said as she moved out of the way for Daniel to check out his purchases.
"Give me a minute." He spoke quickly to Alora.
Alora gave a nod.
_^
"Have you noticed that we usually talk like this when it's late and we're walking home at night?" Alora said as she and Daniel walked together.
Daniel let out a weak laugh. "I took notice. But it's fine, right?"
Alora smiled as she nodded. "It's quite nice."
"Yeah," Daniel said almost quietly. He smiled broadly, his gaze fixed on her.
"Oh, I remember now!." Daniel yelled.
"What?."
"The first time I saw you," Daniel explained.
Alora laughed.
"Oh. You mean the day I ran into you and broke your student ID card in half?"
Daniel let out a weak chuckle.
"No. The first time I saw you, I was in this cafe. You were...doing your thing in front of a glass window while I was on the other side, staring at you."
Alora exclaimed.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Daniel burst out laughing at the look of embarrassment on her face.
"Oh, how humiliating." Alora complained, her face buried in her hands.
Daniel burst out laughing.
"It's fine. You don't have to feel bad about it." He spoke softly.
Alora lifted her head. She was taken aback by how close her face was to Daniel's.
She took the wrong steps back and nearly fell, but she ended up in Daniel's arms.
"T...thank you." Still in Daniel's arms, Alora stuttered. Daniel's intense gaze, still holding her in his arms, was causing little beads of sweat to form on her forehead.
Alora gasped quietly as Daniel's arm tightened around her.
"Daniel?." She called again, unsure what was going on.
Daniel's lips were on hers before she knew it.
And she made no attempt to stop him or push him away.
She returned his kiss, her hands around his neck.