"Cairo, is there something I should know about Aria and Asher?" I asked Cairo. But instead of answering, Cairo pulled his arm away from me and quickly walked away.
I could see that he was really upset about what we saw between Aria and Asher. He was cracking his knuckles as he walked away quickly, but I followed him, trying to keep up.
"Cairo! What the hell is wrong with you? Where are you going?!" I yelled at him.
"Shut up, Hannah! Just leave me alone! Let me be!" he yelled back. He was really angry. It felt like my heart was tightening every time Cairo treated me like this and shouted at me. But I still followed him.
"Cairo, wait for me!" I yelled again.
"Leave me alone, Hannah!" he shouted. I fell silent but continued to follow him. We arrived at the Building Clubs and he headed towards the Art Club. What was Cairo thinking? Why was he going there?
He entered the Art Club room, and the members were surprised by his sudden entrance. Denzel was also there.
"Dude, you're here. What do you need?" Denzel asked. But Cairo's face was unreadable. He suddenly grabbed a nearby chair and threw it. The students in the room screamed in shock at his actions.
"Dude, chill... what's the problem? Calm down." Denzel said, moving to approach Cairo.
But he stopped when Cairo kicked a nearby canvas painting.
"OMG what's going on?" one member said.
Cairo continued to throw chairs and kick the canvases in the room. When Cairo was like this, no one could stop him, not even me. I couldn't get close to him.
"Cairo, please, let's talk about this... I hope we can sort this out without causing such a scene." a female member said.
"President, just let him be... you know Cairo won't be stopped." another member said.
So the woman was the President of the Art Club. Cairo turned to her.
"So you're the President of this bullsh*t club!" Cairo shouted. The President looked terrified. More people gathered outside the Art Club room, watching the chaos unfold.
"Dude, enough already! Please, stop it!" Denzel's voice was rising too.
"Shut up, Denzel!" Cairo shouted back. Denzel just sighed in frustration. Nothing could stop Cairo now. The canvases were ruined, scattered across the floor, and the chairs Cairo had thrown were all over the room.
Then Cairo approached the President and grabbed her by the collar. The President was crying in fear.
"All of you in this Art Club are worthless!" Cairo shouted.
"Please, I'm begging you, Cairo... stop." the President said, crying.
"Accept Aria into this damn club!" Cairo demanded.
"Y-yes, please let go of me. I promise we'll accept Aria into the Art Club." the terrified President said.
"ALL OF YOU ARE IDIOTS! ALL THE PAINTINGS HERE ARE UGLY! ONLY ARIA'S IS BEAUTIFUL!" Cairo shouted loudly.
I saw Denzel trying to hold back laughter at the side.
Now I understand. I understand why Cairo is so angry. When did he start caring so much about Aria? When did he start caring about others? When?
Then Cairo let go of the President and walked out of the Art Club room. He didn't even notice me standing by the door. I left too, but I didn't follow him. Instead, I ran away. It hurt so much.
Cairo had never cared for me like that before. I've known him since we were kids, but he's never been like that with me... but now, with Aria, whom he's known for only a short period of time, it really hurts.
______________________________
Aria's P.O.V
We're at a mall near the university now. He insisted that I come here. After we ate at the cafeteria, we decided not to attend our next class. Asher said he needed to buy something here and wanted me to accompany him. We stopped by a boutique.
"Hey, this is for women's clothes. What are we doing here?" I asked Asher in surprise.
"I'm going to buy you a dress to wear to Hannah's welcome party on Sunday." he said with a smile.
"What? N-no, that's not necessary. I already have a dress at home." I protested.
Who am I for him to buy a dress for? It's so embarrassing, and he's already done so much for me. This is too much. Besides, I actually don't have a dress at home for Hannah's party; I was planning on not going.
"Come on, Aria, just let me do this." Asher said.
"Sigh, you really don't have to do this." I said, exhaling in frustration.
"Fine, but I'll be mad at you if you don't let me buy you a dress." he warned. I didn't want him to be angry with me.
"Okay, okay, do whatever you want." I said, and Asher smiled at me.
"Bring out all the fancy and elegant dresses that will suit her." Asher told the saleslady.
"Okay, sir." she replied and went to get some dresses.
"That guy is so handsome, he doesn't match that girl."
"True, the girl isn't that pretty."
"Tsk, maybe she's not his girlfriend. It's impossible that such a good-looking guy would be interested in her."
"Correct."
I was getting annoyed while waiting for the saleslady to bring out the dresses. I could clearly hear the conversation between the two salesladies inside the boutique. They were criticizing me, and their faces were full of makeup, as if their beauty was so superior to mine.
I was trying to hold back my irritation, especially since I was with Asher. But I was surprised when Asher suddenly put his arm around me.
"Babe, where do you want to eat later?" he asked. I was stunned; he called me "babe." What was he up to?
"Hey, what are you saying?" I whispered.
"Ssshhhh, just go along with it." he whispered back, glancing at the two salesladies.
"Babe? He called her babe. The hell, is she really his girlfriend?"
"He's so handsome, it's annoying."
"My girlfriend is so cute and beautiful." Asher said, deliberately raising his voice.
He then pinched my cheeks and hugged me. The two salesladies were fuming with annoyance. They scowled and gave us dirty looks before returning to their work. I just smiled.
"Is everything okay, Aria? Don't let them get to you. You're always beautiful the way you are." Asher whispered while still hugging me.
Hearing those words made my heart melt, and I couldn't help but smile.