Chapter 25: Chapter 23: Yes I do the reconciling!
After my father left us, my mother used to work two to three jobs just to raise both Lance and me. That forced our family to move to different places, to find a home that's cheaper and close to where my mom used to work. And, because of that, having friends was difficult for me. I did understand our situation back then, so I focused on my studies and made sure I'm always on top of my classes. I was like that kind of nerd who doesn't have friends at all.
Everything changed when I entered high school. That's when I met Jenna and Niko. Jenna was my seatmate and I remembered trying to ignore her all the time but she's so nosy and didn't stop bugging me. Eventually, I gave up and we became best friends. Niko was from another class, he was known to be a trouble-maker. Almost every day, I got to see him standing in the corridor, outside their room, receiving punishment from teachers. Even though he's troublesome, he's a friend that I can always depend on and always there to protect me.
It's been two days since my small birthday celebration. My mom and my brother went home Sunday night. Lance needs to be in their office early the next day. I'm sure going to miss them but they made a promise to make time to visit me sometimes. They were more confident to leave me since I'm living with my boyfriend, Luke.
Yes, we're together now and he's doing his best to make sure I'm happy all the time. He also promised my family to take good care of me and make sure I'm safe. He's giving me sweet kisses on my cheeks every morning and every night before we go to bed. He always sneaks up behind me to give me surprise hugs and won't let go till I kiss him.
Altogether, everyone seems to be happy for us. Especially, Jenna, who supports us so much that she even bought us a couple-shirt yesterday. Luke's buddies, Jessie and Mike, got his back and were happy for him. Mike told me that Luke had been patiently waiting for the day that I agree to be his boyfriend and that was all Luke was thinking and talking about every time they hang out together. As friends, they are doing what's best for Luke, and whatever decision he makes, they're there to support him. I just hope all of my friends are like them.
I wonder what Niko has been doing lately. He didn't answer my calls that night. Miya can't tell what's going on in his mind. He didn't bother to talk to her about me, the real me. Yesterday, before the class starts, I tried to talk to him but he went outside the classroom asking a classmate of us to accompany him somewhere. I know he's avoiding me.
Jenna told me to let him be, telling me that sooner or later, Niko will understand and accept who I am. Luke, on the other hand, wants me to talk it out with Niko, explain, and make him understand that whatever or whoever I am, I'm still the same person he knew back in high school. I do get their points and both of them were correct but I'm just concerned about what Niko thinks about me now. Does he hate me?
-----
"Hey! Bes!, come with me, quick!" Jenna exclaimed as she grabbed me by the hand and pulled me from where I'm sitting.
"What is it? What's going on?" I asked, confused about why she's in a hurry.
"Just come with me... You need to see this."
We were on our way to the parking lot when I recognized Luke from afar. He was standing with his arms crossed on his chest and in front of him were four girls on their knees.
"What's going on?" I asked Luke as I got beside him.
"Oh, you're here! Good timing!"
I looked at the girls and recognized each one of them, they were from Luke's fan club.
"What are you doing?" I asked thinking he did this to them.
"I didn't do anything. They came here to see me and they all kneeled in front of me asking to forgive them." He explained.
"What? You mean?"
"Yes, they were the ones who locked you up."
"That's true... I won't forget their faces." Jenna said as she stood beside us.
"Well, I told them they won't get my sympathy, after what they did to you... But it might change if they ask forgiveness directly from you."
"But why they are on their knees?" I'm still confused.
"Well, the dean told them they might get expelled and what they did will remain on their records. So they came here to beg for me to talk to the dean. I told them it should be you, you're the victim, not me." He clarified.
"Shit..." I uttered. I didn't expect it could lead to this.
"Please, Kristofer, forgive us! What we did was wrong and we can't take it back. But please talk to our dean not to kick us out. Our parents will hate us if that happens." The girl, who I think is their president plead before us.
"Well, you should have thought about it before you did that to my friend!" Jenna was still mad about what happened.
"We're wrong! Please forgive us." Her voice was cracking up and she was on the verge of crying.
"Please... Stand up... You shouldn't be doing that." I asked as I helped her got up.
"Bes!" Jenna tried to stop me but I think it was wrong to let them embarrass themselves in front of everyone.
"I'll talk to the dean to lift your penalty..." I affirmed.
"Really! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"Are you sure about this?" Luke asked me.
"Yes, I am... What they did was wrong and I'm lucky I wasn't badly harmed... I don't need to know whatever reason they have to do it... You can hate me all you want... That's fine... But please don't hurt me again."
"We promise to leave you alone... We won't do anything stupid from now on." The president said. She sounded sincere and I really hope they learned their lesson.
"Good..." I uttered.
"How can we be sure you won't harm my friend anymore?" Jenna asked not letting them go easily.
"I know how," Luke said then he moved closer to me.
"What are you up to?" I whispered
"Just listen."
He put his arm around my shoulder and started to talk.
"See this? We're together now." He announced in front of them.
I saw the way his fans reacted. They were all shocked. Two of them began to cry.
"You can now stop this fan club thing you did for me. Go ahead and do something worthwhile with your life."
"We understand..." Their president said then all of them turned around and walked away sobbing.
"Do you even have to do that?" I asked.
"What?"
"You broke their hearts."
"They almost broke mine..."
"I think it's for the best... Without that stupid club, no one would hate you or harm you." Jenna said convinced with what Luke did was right.
"I see... You're right... Uhm... Jenna, you said you won't forget their faces earlier... Are there only four of them?" I asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. Pam and Miya helped me beat them up at the party... Why?"
So I thought maybe that girl who brought me there was not one of them. What are the odds?
"Nothing..."
-----
I was preparing myself to go to the gym. I finally got the chance to wear the work-out outfit that Jenna gave me on my Jenna. I was tieing my shoes when Luke came closer to talk to me.
"Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" He said as he handed over a bottle of Gatorade.
"I will... Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"
"I got things to do at the café... And besides..." He stopped then lift his shirt up showing his chiseled abs.
"I think I'm fine..."
"Yeah... I can see that..." I said kind of annoyed.
I finished tieing my shoes and I grabbed my gym bag.
"You can drop by the café when you're done."
"Okay sure..."
I kissed him on his cheek and I went my way to the gym club that Jenna got my membership from.
When I got there, I saw Jenna warming up and doing some flexing.
"Bes! You came!" She blurted excitedly.
"Well, I got to use your gift... I don't want it to go to waste."
"So what you're planning to work out on? Your chest, arms, or abs?" She asked.
"I don't want to bulk up. I just want a good sweat."
"Let's do some running then." She said as she pointed towards the section where the treadmills are.
We were running for more than twenty minutes, we took breaks in between to hydrate. We tried some weights and jumping rope. To cool down we went for another run at the treadmills. That's when I thought about our friend Niko. It would be more fun if he's with us.
"Jenna, have you talked to Niko?" I asked as I switched the machine's setting from running to walking.
She went down the treadmill and sat on the bench where her stuff was.
"I tried..." She said showing me the call log on her phone. There was a long list of unanswered dialed numbers.
"He kept on ignoring my calls and not answering my messages... Miya is already worried about him... I think we should meet him personally." She suggested.
"Yeah... I thought so... It's been a week and I already missed his lame jokes."
"If you want... we can go over to their house after this."
"Sure... Why not..." I agreed. Waiting for him will only make it worse. We need to talk to him like what Luke told me to do.
I turned off the treadmill and sat beside Jenna. I drank the bottle of Gatorade until it's empty. I looked over to what Jenna was doing and saw her browsing through her social media.
"Bes, check this out." She called out.
"What?" I uttered as I checked her phone.
"Luke's fan page has been taken down and their president deleted all posts related to him." She said as she swiped through her phone.
"Really?"
"Yeah... I guess Luke did the right thing..."
"Well, that's good news then. They won't get expelled and they can now focus on other things." I felt relieved that they're doing what they're told.
"You have a good heart to let them get away like that... If I am you, I'll have them kicked out instead."
"Revenge is not really my thing... You know me... I don't fight back."
"I know... Like what happened when we're in high school... Good thing Niko was there to defend you..."
"Yeah... He's one reliable friend." I said looking down and felt quite a bit sad.
"Don't worry, Bes... Everything will be back to what we were before..." She comforted me.
"Thanks..." I said and smiled a bit. "I'll go get some water..." I added.
"Okay..." She uttered as she went back browsing on her phone.
I walked over to the water dispenser but the gallon was already empty. I walked around the gym to find any staff to take care of it.
I saw a woman wearing a polo shirt with the gym's logo on its back.
"Excuse me!" I called her attention.
She turned around and as I looked at her face I know she seemed familiar.
"Oh my God! It's you!" She said with a shocked expression on her face.
She immediately kneeled and hold my hand tightly.
"Please don't beat me up... I'm so sorry about what happened... My friend asked me to take you to that place... I didn't know what they had planned. I have nothing to do with it..." She kept on blabbering trying to explain herself.
I was right. She's the gal in that purple cocktail dress.
"Hey... Stand up... You don't have to do that... Why would you think I would beat you up?" I asked.
"Huh? You're not?" She said with a confused tone and stood up.
"No! I'm not... I came over to tell you that the gallon was empty... Someone needs to replace it." I said trying to make sense out of her.
"Oh! Right! I'll have my co-worker do that." She said as she fixed herself.
"Good, I'm Kris... And you are..." I paused to let her introduced herself.
"I'm sorry... My name is Wendy..."
We talked about what happened that night and she told me that the fan club's president is her friend. She doesn't have any idea that they would do that to me and she still apologized for what happened. Within a few minutes of talking to her, I can tell that she's a nice person. She works as a part-time staff in this gym club to support her studies. She happens to be a sophomore, studying Fine Arts at the same university. There are a few students in that faculty and they seldom join the university events and that could be the reason I didn't see her around campus.
"Thank you for doing that to my friend." She said after I told her about what happened after.
"I think it's only fair for them... Everybody deserves a second chance... You know..."
"Hey! Bes, who is she?" Jenna asked as she came over to us. I almost forgot about her.
"Oh! This is Wendy...she works here and goes to the same university as us." I said introducing her to Jenna.
"Hi, Wendy, I'm Jenna..." She said as she reached out her hand.
"Hi! Nice to meet you..." Wendy took her hand and smiled.
"Uhm, Bes, I'll take a shower then we can go..." She said. She took a glance at Wendy and I saw her rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah... Sure..." I said. I also glanced at Wendy to check if she noticed what Jenna did and thank God she didn't.
"Uhm... We need to go... See you around campus..." I told Wendy.
"Go ahead... No problem... It's nice talking to you." She said.
I nodded and followed Jenna.
"Bes, tell me... Are you having a change of heart?" Jenna asked right after I caught up to her.
"What do you mean..." I was confused by what she meant. "Wait... What?... No!" I added as I finally got it.
"Okay... Just checking..." She uttered then wrapped her arms around mine.
"You're unbelievable..."
"You know what? There's something off about her... I'm getting the same vibes from Luke's zombie fans... Maybe she's..."
"You're imagining things again, Jenna... We have to go... We still need to meet Niko." I said cutting her off.
This girl really has a strong intuition.
-----
We were almost at Niko's residence. I called Luke and told him about it and he just wished me good luck. I knocked on their door and Niko's mom opened the door.
"Hello, Tita." I greeted Niko's mom.
"Oh, hi there Kristofer... Jenna... It's been a while since your last visit... Why are you here?"
"We've come to see Niko, is he home?" Jenna asked.
"Yes... He's in his room... Come in and make yourself at home."
"Thank you!" I said as we walked inside their house.
"Go ahead to his room. I'll prepare something for you guys to eat." His mom said.
We used to come here before and Niko's mom has been very accomodating. His mom is a pastry chef so she always makes sure we feel at home with her good treats.
"Let me help you, Tita." Jenna offered.
"What are you doing? Don't leave me..." I whispered to her. I can't believe she's letting me do it alone.
"It would be better if you talk to him on your own.... I'll join you guys later." She said raising her brows short after.
"Fine..." I uttered.
I went up to Niko's room and knocked on his door but he didn't open it. I knocked and called him out but still didn't answer. Can't he hear me? I leaned closer to his door and listened. I heard him swearing inside his room and he seemed to be talking to someone. He's probably on his computer playing an online game while wearing his headset. I opened the door, went inside and I was right. It looked like their team was losing based on the series of his cursing.
I stood behind him, still unnoticed, and watched them lose the game.
"Damn it! Not again!" He exclaimed as he removed his headset and laid his back on his chair.
"That's bad gameplay," I said it out of the blue.
"Aaaah!" He exclaimed. He got startled by my sudden presence.
"Geez! Kris! You scared me!" He said with his hand on his chest feeling his heart.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to... I just want to talk to you." I said trying to start the conversation.
"Go away! Get out of my room..." He said narrowing his brows on me.
"But I..." I tried to explain but he cut me off.
"I said... Get out!" He exclaimed.
He turned his back on me and I thought maybe it was not the right time. He's still not ready to hear me out. I turned around and was on my way out of his room when I saw a photo posted on his wall. It's a picture of the three of us during high school graduation.
If I walked out of this room, I may not have another chance to resolve things with him. I got to do it now. So I started talking.
"Remember the day back in high school... I was surrounded by bullies... Nobody likes me for being an aloof nerd... I was being beaten up... Without even knowing me... You helped me and stood your ground... But in the end... We both ended beaten black and blue... You ask me to be your friend so that you can protect me... And I was grateful to be your friend... You're always on the rescue when I need it...
"That's because you're a wimp... You need someone to defend you..." He answered back.
Finally, I got him to talk. I better go down to the reason I'm here. I should let him understand who I am.
"Well... Right now... Luke is doing that for me..." I said trying to make him realize.
"I know..." He said then turned his chair to face me.
I've been wanting to ask him about what happened on my birthday, so I did.
"Why did you walk out?"
"After you made your unforeseen announcement... I was shocked for real... But as I looked at everyone's reaction... They seemed to expect it... They knew about it and they were happy..."
"How about you?"
"I didn't know how to feel back then... I wanted to be happy for both of you but I felt like I'm the only one who doesn't have any idea of what's going on between you two... I felt left out... Even Miya knew about it..." He explained himself.
"About that... Jenna probably told her..." I ascertained.
"See... Why Jenna knows it and I don't... I'm also your friend... You should have told me about it... I even tried to get you a date with Pam... Thinking about it made me look stupid, you know..."
"I'm so sorry if I didn't tell you anything... I guess... It's because I'm afraid you won't understand..."
"Why not?" He asked.
"Uhm... Because you're straight..."
"So what? Can't straight people be friends with people like you? I can be as supportive as Jessie and Mike... But you didn't even let me know..."
"Wait... You mean..."
"Yes! As a friend... I always support your decisions... But please... Don't hide things from me... Brothers don't keep secrets from each other."
Hearing those words from him made me realize that all along I'm the one who thought wrong. He never gets off my back. I'm the one who let him slipped and almost lose him.
"I won't do it again... I promise... I may be different from what you thought I was but I'm still the same push-over you used to protect... So... we're cool now?... Bro..."
"You bet... Bro..." He assured as he flashed a smile. "Uhm... Do we supposed to hug?" He added.
"Nah... Handshake will do..." I said then we shook hands as a sign that the misunderstanding between us is now over.
"Wait... If you're not mad at all... Why are you ignoring me?" I asked.
"Well... I just felt like it..." He said making no sense at all.
"You sulky dumbass..."
We both laughed.
"Don't you dare celebrate this reunion without me!" Jenna interrupted us and hugged us both.
I'm glad everything was back to what we were before. I thought I'm going to lose a friend. These two people always got my back and I'm happy to have them in my life.
-----
I got home around 8:00 PM. Luke was preparing our dinner when I entered the house. I went over to him and hugged him from behind.
"Kris... I'm not yet done here..." He said as he tried to stop me.
"Just let me be... I'm overwhelmed with happiness right now..." I excused.
"So I guess... Everything went well..." He said. He let me hugged him as he continued with what he's doing.
"Yes, it did..."
"I told you it's better to confront him about it instead of waiting..." He said assertively.
"I know... Thank you..."
I let go of him and he turned around to face me.
"Go ahead and change... I'm almost done here we can have our dinner in a few."
"Okay..." I uttered and kissed him on his cheek.
I was on my way to my room when he called my attention again.
"Hey, Kris... There's a package that came in this afternoon... It was addressed to you but it didn't say who was it from..."
"Really?"
"Yeah... I put it on your bed... Don't worry I didn't take a peek inside..."
"Oh... Okay... Thanks."
I went inside my room and looked for that package. By the size of the box, it could be a pair of shoes but I didn't order any shoes online. Just like what Luke said, there's no name of the sender. I shrugged and opened the package.
I was amazed by what it was. It's a Christian Louboutin Greggo formal shoes. This pair costs a lot. I know that the brand is one of the luxurious brands out there. Who would give me this? Hmmm. For sure, it's from Luke. He's the only person I know who can afford this.
I took the shoes with me and went out of the room to ask Luke.
"You don't have to pretend it's not from you... You're the only one I know who could get this for me." I said as I showed him the shoes.
"What? I didn't." He said with his normal tone. He didn't even react like I did when he saw the shoes.
"Are you sure? These shoes are expensive."
"I said I didn't... Have you check inside?" He removed his apron and walked over to me.
"Wait... Oh, there's a card."
"What does it say?" He asked as he stood beside me and put his arm around my shoulder.
I opened the white card and read what's written.
"Belated Happy Birthday... from... Gregor Fuentabella..."
I looked at him to check if he knows this person since they got the same last name.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"That's my father..."
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CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
KilDior
KilDior Hi guys! I want to apologize for the super late update on my story. My phone I used to write my draft got broken and it took me a while to get a temporary one.
Thank you for your support.
-KilDior-
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