Their lips slowly patted. Both slightly gasping for air and staring deep into each other eyes.
Daniel flinched. He quickly unwrapped his arms around Alora's waist.
Alora took a step back as she cleared her throat.
Daniel just stood there, staring into space, anxiously rubbing his hands together.
"I...um.." Daniel was about to speak when Alora suddenly bent down to the ground after realizing that some of the stuffs she bought had rolled out of the nylon when she dropped it.
And when she stood back up. Daniel was gone.
"Oh my God." She murmured in shock.
_^
"Oh,Hi ." David called as he opened his apartment door.
Alora slowly raised her head, still perplexed by the kiss and Daniel's subsequent flight.
"Uh..Alora,Are you all right?"
Alora quickly perked up.
David and her brother would both freak out if they found out about the kiss.
"I'm fine. Here. I bought this for you and Jeffery." Alora said as she handed the nylon to David, who eagerly took it from her grasp.
"Is Jeffery home ?" As she walked in, she inquired.
"He went outside to get something. He'll be back soon." David responded.
"Does he know I know about both of you?"
"No. I haven't told him yet. Also, I didn't want to ruin your surprise." David stated.
Alora let out a weak chuckle.
"Are you sure you're all right?.When I saw you at the door earlier, you seemed really out of it?" David inquired, concerned.
While nodding, Alora faked a smile.
"I'm fine."
"I think." She muttered something to herself.
Jeffery walked in a few minutes later.
He had the most radiant smile on his face.
"David?." He exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Hi, Jeffery." Alora spoke calmly.
Jeffery became immobilized in his position. His face turned pale as if he had seen a ghost.
"Al..Alora?." He stuttered.
Alora grinned broadly. "I can't believe you chose to stay at David's place over mine." She teased.
Jeffery cleared his throat with trepidation.
"Um...it's...it's not what you think. I..um...David is..."
"Why are you so hesitant to say it?" Alora inquired, calmly.
Jeffery groaned. "Because if I do, I'm not sure what will happen next." He said.
Alora offered a soft smile.
She approached him and hugged him, slowly patting his back.
When she heard sobs, she turned to look at his face. Jeffery was sobbing.
"Oh no. "Look at this old man, he's crying."
Jeffery let out a weak chuckle.
Alora wiped his eyes with her hands and kissed him on the cheek.
"I love you, brother." She stated.
Jeffery grinned. "I love you, too."
"Alright.Let us eat." With a big smile on his face, David called from behind.
_^
Daniel let out a deep sigh. He repeatedly kicked his legs in the air.
"Why did I do that!?"
"Why did I run!?"
"Why did I even kiss her in the first place!?"
Daniel's mind was exploding with these thoughts, and he had no idea what to do about it.
He sighed loudly, his face buried in his hands, knowing he'd made a huge mistake.
He quickly took out his phone.
Perhaps he could apologize to Alora via Instagram text.
Or would that make him appear selfish and only make matters worse?
He let out an exhausted sigh as he dropped the phone.
_^
"Alora! Alora! Alora!" David kept calling.
But Alora's mind was on another planet, where she hoped to find answers to why Daniel had kissed her the night before and then fled.
And perhaps a hint as to why she kissed Daniel back instead of pushing him away, despite the fact that she had no feelings for him.
Alora sighed.
'Last night was weird''
She nodded.
"You are not okay. And you'd better start telling me what's been bothering you since last night." David said, bringing her back to earth.
"I'm fine." It's nothing..."
"It's something. What is it?" David inquired yet again.
Alora let out a deep sigh.
"Okay. It's a friend of mine, yeah."
"A friend?" David was perplexed.
Alora continued to nod.
"She has a bit of a situation, she asked me for advice, and it got me thinking so much." Alora said, confident that her lie was working.
"Hmmm. What sort of advice?" David inquired, suspiciously.
Alora swallowed and cleared her throat.
"Well. It began last night. But, please, don't tell anyone."
David let out a weak chuckle. " I won't. So, what happened last night?"
"Last night, my friend ran into a schoolmate of hers, they started walking home together, and then the guy kissed her."
"Oooow."
"And then he ran away."
"Huh?.What do you mean ran away?"
"He kissed her, and then she got distracted, and he ran away."
David laughed uncontrollably.
"That's so messed up."
"It is," Alora stated, frowning.
David had to stop laughing when he noticed Alora's expression.
"This isn't about your friend, is it?" he inquired.
"It..it is." Alora stuttering.
"Alora. Who's the guy?" David inquired again, sounding as if he was about to lose his patient.
Alora sighed softly.
"Please don't do anything stupid. It was partially my fault. I didn't even try to stop him."
"Who?."
"Daniel."
David went completely still.
"David?. Please say something." Alora called.
David took a quick glance at his wristwatch.
"Um...I need to get to class.I'll call you later." He hurried away.
"Yeah, that's right." Alora expressed her disappointment.
Alora turned to walk away as well, but she froze when she saw Daniel and Andres approaching her.
Andres waved as he approached her, but all Alora could do was run, leaving them both perplexed.
"I can't deal with him right now. I just cant." Alora thought to herself as she ran.
"Did she just...?" Andres asked.
"Run away." Daniel chimed in.
"From us. Why?". Andres inquired, puzzled.
"I...I'm not sure." Daniel stuttered.
It was because of him.
It's his fault. He has successfully made their relationship with Alora awkward.
Daniel sighed loudly.
_^
Alora sighed as her food was being served in the cafeteria.
She was exhausted, she had spent the most of the day avoiding Daniel and even Andres.
There had to be a way to fix this, but her brain wasn't producing any solutions at the moment, and her best friend seemed to be avoiding her.
Alora sighed loudly once more.
"Take it easy." David stated. He stood next to her, holding his tray.
Alora's expression brightened.
"I... thought you didn't want to talk to me."
"Huh. Never. If there's anyone I don't want to talk to, it's Daniel, for taking advantage of you in that way." David said.
"Don't put it like that. He never took advantage of me." Alora stated.
"Well, that's what I call it. I mean, what kind of guy kisses a girl and then flees?"
David was irritated.
"Perhaps he was embarrassed."
David laughed. "Of what, exactly?" You?."
"Oh my gosh, come on."
"That has to be it. And I don't get why you're defending him."
"I just don't want to jump to conclusions when I'm not sure what's wrong." Alora spoke softly.
"Do you think he reacted like that because of Sia?" David inquired.
"I'm not sure, but I can't wait to find out.
I've been trying to avoid him all day; it's exhausting." Alora expressed her displeasure.
David let out a weak chuckle.
Andres was the first to notice David and Alora approaching with their tray of food.
He waved quickly, inviting them to sit with him and Daniel.
"Should we?." In hushed tones, David inquired.
Alora replied, "Hell no."
"How are you going to solve this if you don't speak with him?" David inquired.
" I'm not sure, and I don't want to think about it right now. Let's eat. I'm hungry." Alora stated.
David let out a weak chuckle.
Andres let out a sigh.
"Here we go once more." David is now avoiding us as well. I'm confident I did nothing wrong to them. So, Daniel, I need you to be honest with me...what did you do?." He inquired.
Daniel was distressed. Alora had been avoiding him all over campus, he had noticed.
He, on the other hand, fled first.
Kissing Alora was one thing, but then he had to flee. He made matters worse.
He slowly turned to face Andres. Andres looked serious and furious. He needed at least an explanation and Daniel was ready to give him one.
"I kissed Alora..then I ran away."