Daniela, one of my best childhood friends, nearly spits out her soda on my face.
We are hiding from the summer heat in the city's most popular café. God bless AC. We love this place. It's our favorite place to hang out.
"Yes, exactly what I told you," I say, playing with my orange juice straw.
Daniela smiles as if it's her first time winning the lottery. Her hair is black and falls perfectly to frame her face. She has the kind of hair that looks great even if it isn't combed. I'm so envious! It's a good form of envy.
Daniela has always been at my side since I can remember. In kindergarten, she stuck a pen in my ear. It was a crazy way to begin a friendship that would last a lifetime, but we are both unconventional. We adjusted to each in a perfect and synchronized manner. If that isn't true friendship, I don't what else it could be.
Dani's face is always a goofy smile.
Why are you discouraged? Ares is the topic. . . Your crush since you were seven or something."
"I told you what he did to me."
Raquel, he was very kind to you. He spoke to you, he recognized your presence. It's a good start! It's better than looking at him like a creepy specter from a distance."
"I didn't stalk him!"
Dani rolls her eyelids. "Really? "Are you going to deny this? Are you going to deny it? "I've seen him stalk you from the shadows."
It's a pure coincidence, I just saw him walking around the town.
She teases, "Will you be walking through the town or hiding behind an bushes?"
"Anyway," i change the topic. You're supposed help me. I need to find out a way to prevent him from using Wi-Fi. I don't think he should get away with this.
Why don't you update your password?
So he can hack my computer again?" "No, thank you."
Dani removes her makeup and adjusts her hair in front of the mirror. "I don't really know what to say girl. What if Andres offered to help?
"Are you kidding? "Andre, not S, is the name of this last Dani."
She pulls out her lipstick, and begins to apply a bright color to her lips. "He is good at computer stuff right?"
I asked her, "Do you have to do this here?" Even though she did it every time. "Yes, I suppose so. He helped Francis with his project on the computer."
Dani removes her makeup and stands. "See how you always find solutions to your problems?" I opened my mouth to speak but she continued.
Do you really know my advice?
Get over it?
"Yes. "You're wasting time, in fact."
"He is just so" . "I sigh. "Perfect."
Dani ignores my last statement. "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute."
She walks away and earns a few glances from guys she passes. Dani has a tall, curvy figure. I can say with confidence that my bestie is one of my school's hottest girls.
I finish my OJ with a sip. The heat is unbearable, but I love it. I don't like the thought of summer ending because it means that classes will start and to be honest with you, I am a bit scared of my senior year.
The night before, I was reminded of Ares' voice and his arrogant smile. I'm aware that he isn't the most charismatic person in the world. I have watched him and I have come to understand how meticulous and cold he is. He rarely smiles, and he doesn't talk much. Instead he prefers to give short answers and use gestures. It's as if he is a robot incapable of feeling. A part of me hopes that I am wrong and he is actually a nice person inside.
I scrolled through Instagram and saw a post by Dean, Dani's older brother. He plays soccer on Ares' team and attends the same school. He posted a photo of the boys at a public soccer field near my home. You can see Ares at a distance.
After paying the bill, I wait in the bathroom, leaning against the wall, while running my fingers along my long, light-brown hair to look for tangles. I wait impatiently for my best friend to emerge.
Dani raises his eyebrows. "You already paid? "I thought we would be having dinner here."
"Soccer practice."
She jokes, "Are you going to leave me here and go to see some beautiful, attractive guys, who may or may not be shirtless?"
Do you want to go?
No, I don't like to stalk guys at a distance. "You know I like action." She winks.
I'm pretending to be hurt.
She smirks at me and says, "Stop being virgin."
I also stick my tongue out and say "Maybe I am not anymore."
Stop saving your virginity to impress that crush.
"Dani! "I'm not going to save anything for him."
She turns her back. "Ofcourse, of course. Go away." God forbid that you miss out on the opportunity to see him shirtless due to me.
"He never removes his shirt," I murmur.
Dani laughs. "He makes you crazy, naughty little girl."
"Dani!"
I'll stop talking. "Go, I've got things to do, don't worry.
As my cheeks are on fire, I leave and head to the field
When I get there, I purchase my favorite pineapple milkshake and put on my dark sunglasses. I pull the top of the hoodie up over my head and enjoy the view from the front stands. There are also four other girls there, who are either the girlfriends of the players or their friends. I think I've seen them kissing before.
It's so warm, I'm roasting in this hoodie. I made a bad choice in camouflage.
The boys spread themselves out on the field and do routine stretches. The soccer team of an elite private high school must practice in this field during the summer because their own field is being maintained. At least, that's what Dean explained to Dani. Ares, in black shorts with a green shirt on his back and wearing a number five printed on it, jogs across the field. As he runs, his black hair flutters in the breeze. I look at him and completely forget about what we said last night.
He is so handsome!
As practice ends, clouds swallow the sun, thunder rumbles and it starts to rain without warning. As I curse and pull my hood closer to my head, cold raindrops hit me. I quickly run past the parking lot and down the stands. Ares is likely to see me as the guys are leaving. I hit someone in my haste to leave.
"Ow!" I touch the nose while looking up.
It's a guy on the team. He's tall, dark haired and tanned. He looks like something straight out of an old TV show. "Are You Okay?"
I try to push him aside as fast as possible. Then it happens. I hear my enduring and frustrated love.
Ares asked the boy in front of me, "What's your excuse for standing there in the rain?"
"I bumped in to a weird girl." In this heat, she was wearing sunglasses and an oversized hoodie.
"You're weird," I murmur, trying to hear Ares through the rain. But I've already gone too far. It was very close.
When I see the exit, I sigh in relief. Turning right, I continue my journey home. It's raining heavily, but I cannot find a shelter, not even at a bus stop. I hear voices, and instinctively duck down into an alley. I peeked down the street with my back to the wall. Ares is
Standing there, I was chatting with a few guys from the team. All of them have umbrellas.
It would have been wise to check the weather forecast.
The tanned man I had just crashed into insistently asked, "Are You Sure You Don't Want to Come With Us?"
Ares replies, "No. I have other things to do at my home."
Ares stands in the rain as his friends leave, waiting for something. I narrowed my eyes. What's he waiting on? Ares begins to move, and to my surprise he does not go in the same direction as his house, but turns the other way. Did he tell his friends a lie? I am tempted to make bad decisions because of my curiosity.
I am following him
The streets are getting dimmer and darker as we move away from downtown into a more isolated neighborhood. This is a terrible idea.
What am I doing right now? I have never followed him, but I am curious to find out why he lied about his friends. It's not really my problem.
Ares does not slow down. It's almost as if he already knows where he is going.
As I walk over a wooden bridge, a cool breeze blows and dark clouds eat up the remaining sunlight. I moisten my lips and hug myself.
What is his route in the darkness?
The road is no longer visible, but a dirt track that leads us deep into the forest.
My confusion grows. I know there are only trees and darkness here. Ares leaps over the small fence and lands in a place I had never expected to be at the cemetery.
What the hell?! What the hell? What's he up to? Oh no. Oh no!
He is a vampire and comes here to decide whether to kill or not to murder his next victim. He may have brought me to this place because he knew I was following him.
No, no, no, no, I can't die a virgin.
I hesitated and hopped over the fence. I can't imagine that I'm going to follow him into the graveyard. This place is definitely spooky.
The cloudy sky and lightning flashes make me feel as if I am in a horror film.
As the fool I am, i continue to follow him as he weaves his way through the graves. I thought he might be going to see someone, but I don't remember any deaths in Ares's family. In a small village, everyone knows each other. Ares is faster than me and I try to keep up, while maintaining a safe distance. We walk into a mausoleum area, which is a small house for the dead. Ares turns the corner and I follow him. But when I turn the corner, Ares is gone.
Shit.
While remaining calm, I crossed the small path between mausoleums but did not see him. My heart is pounding in my chest as I take a big swallow. I am startled by a flash of lightning, followed by a rumble. It was a bad idea. What was I doing if I followed him to the cemetary? I turned around. I turn around.
It's my reward for being curious. I deserve it. My poor heart is about to collapse after another flash of lightning and another crash of the thunder. When I pass a crypt, I hear strange sounds.
Shit, shit, shit.
I won't stay to see who or what is it. I rush, almost running. But because I am clumsy, I trip and fall on my hands and knees. When I feel it, I sit on my thighs and shake my hands. I can feel something or someone behind me. The shadow of a silhouette falls on the path before me.
I screamed so loudly that my throat burned. I quickly get up and turn around to pray in defense, and then I see the man.
Ares.