Chapter 2: Short Story 1: Lonely Flower (PART II)
I was here every day doing the same over and over again; sitting under the big tall tree, reading my book, feeling the wind that touches my skin, and waiting for the person who would never ever come back again.
I know what I'm doing is something so stupid. Why would I wait for someone who would never come to see me again? He's dead. The dead will stay dead and never come back. But what can I do? He's the only man that I have ever loved. It's hard for me to forget.
Day after day, the same routine but as the days pass by, I started to notice a man who's always passing by. Sometimes I saw him staring at my direction and when I look at him he's always the first one to look away. I wonder why he's looking at me? Is it because he notices that I'm always here reading a book under the tree? Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if he notices my presence here since he's always passing by here from his school. Does he think that I'm a weirdo doing the same thing every day? I hope he's not thinking like that.
I find him funny sometimes. There was a time when he was trying to help an old lady crossing the street but the old lady's response to him is a beating in the head. But even though he received that from the old lady, he still insisted on helping her. What a kind guy.
There was also a time when he got jump scare by a dog who barks at him aggressively. That scene was so hilarious that I want to laugh out loud but I could not, I might make him feel embarrassed. That time I thought that he was thinking of something else that he did not notice the dog coming at him.
"I wonder what's his name?"
"Huh? Who?" I looked up the person who just said that and I saw the faces of my three friends with a surprised look on their faces.
"Who's name do you want to know?" Mia Aliya, my friend here in this all-girls school. In my group of friends, she's the sweetest one of them all.
"Oh. My. Gosh! She said 'his'! It's a guy! Oh my gosh! Don't tell me you like him since you wanna know his name!" That's Nina Shunichi, the one who loves to gossip and loves to get gossip from me and the others. You could say that she's the noisy and nosy one in the group.
"Nina, she just wants to know his name. It doesn't mean that she likes him. Geez!" And finally, that's Hina Landre the one who only accepts reasonable excuses and responses and nothing else. If one doesn't talk like a normal person she won't talk back to you.
After hearing their comments, that is when I realized that I said my question out loud without even realizing it. Goodness me, why did I subconsciously say that out loud? And because of that Nina is thinking that I like that guy.
"Geez! Hina, don't be such a killjoy of my gossipy moments!" Nina rebutted and rolled her eyes. "So tell me, do you like him?" She added; focusing all her attention towards me.
"W-what? No! That's not the case." A flush of redness was evident in my face and with this I could only guess Nina is grinning with excitement.
"Then what is the case?" Mia asked in a curious tone and at the same time, I could feel a hint of worry from her.
"Nothing it's just that I find him very interesting. NOT in a romantic way, Nina." I said emphasizing the word 'not'. I know that Nina is only teasing me but I couldn't help but say that, it's not like that because Nina knows, the others know, that I only have one person in my heart up until now.
~~~~
School is done and I'm back at the place where I have always been visiting every day. But something caught my attention, my cousin. He is walking alongside with the guy I was curious about the other day.
"Wait! This might my chance to know his name!" I mumbled to myself. I stood up and hurriedly walks towards my cousin. "Jacob!" I called out my cousin's name.
He turned around and so are his two friends. I was stunned for a bit when saw the face of the man I have been curious about. He is handsome, there is no doubt about that.
"Lana! What are you doing here?" My cousin asked happily.
"This place is my spot whenever I'm done with school." As I said this, I was peeking behind my cousin; the man I was curious about looks like he is frozen on the spot.
Is he okay?
"Really now?" It's clear in my cousin's expression that he is excited to see me. It has been weeks since the last time we saw each other. Oh, how I missed this silly cousin of mine. "Right, Lana, come over here, let me introduce you to my friends." My cousin faces his friends and started to introduce me to them. "Guys this is my cousin Lana. and Lana this is my friends, Erik and Nathan."
The Erik guy was the only one who said "hello" to me and the guy who I have been curious about, Nathan, only smiled at me in an awkward way.
Am I making him feel uncomfortable? Somehow thinking that my presence is making him uncomfortable is making my chest stinge a little. It has been so long since I have felt this kind of stinge inside me.
Jacob and I talk for a while, then we bid each other goodbye. I watched my cousin and his friends walked away. I saw how Nathan's face turned red while my cousin laugh.
"How cute." In my point of view, the way Nathan's face turned red as a tomato is cute.
Even though they are far away from me now, I can see the way Nathan smiles. That left a big impression on me, "So he can smile like that, huh."
~~~
"You now know what his name?"
"And your cousin is friends with him? Wow, what a small world we have here!"
It's lunchtime and I am currently hanging out with my friends here in the cafeteria. I told them about what happened yesterday and two of my friends' eyes are sparkling in excitement.
"So, what is his name?" Hina asked as she takes a bite of her food, as usual, she the quiet one and acted as if she does not have the slightest interest in what happened yesterday. It's a good thing that I know Hina very well. Behind that uninterest expression plastered on her face, I know that she also wants to know that guy's name.
"Well, his name is Nathan." As I said this, a slight blush is plastered on my face. I only said his name, but why do I feel so happy and flustered just by saying it?
I wish God could help me answer my question.
"N-Nathan? What's his full name?" Hina asked. This is the first time I saw a different kind of expression on her face. The expression on her face makes me think that Hina and Nathan have some kind of connection to each other.
However, there is a lot of guys named Nathan, right? It couldn't be the same guy me and Hina are thinking about, right?
"I don't know. My cousin only introduced his first name to me. Why do you ask?"
"B-because he might be the Nathan that I know." When I heard that, my heart is suddenly beating fast. There is a part of me that doesn't want Nathan to be the same person that is on Hina's mind.
~~~
"Why are you guys following me all the way here? I thought you guys have some important schedule or something." A part of me also doesn't like any of my friends to see Nathan's face.
These past few days, when it comes to Nathan, I'm becoming a person that I don't like, a selfish person.
"Seriously, Lana? We're here because we want to see who is this Nathan person is. It's not like we're here to take him away from you." Mia said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"W-what? You—"
"It's your fault that we're thinking of it the wrong way," Nina said interrupting to what I was about to say. "The way you asked us what we're doing here is making us think that you're afraid that one of us might your man away," Nina added with a smirk plastered on her face.
"What are you talking about?! He is not my man!" As I said this, I know that my face has now turned bright red. I feel so embarrassed whenever they call Nathan my man.
What if Nathan is near and he heard them saying that. What will Nathan think of me then? He might think that I'm a delusional girl that wants to be his girlfriend. If he thinks that way, then there is no chance for me to be friends with him. I feel so sad with that in mind.
"N-Nathan?" When I heard the name that came out of Hina's voice, I immediately turned around and saw Nathan with a surprised look on his face. He is staring straight at Hina and so is Hina towards him.
Suddenly, my heart is beating fast and I couldn't understand why am I feeling this way.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
C_J_Taganna
C_J_Taganna Wow! The second part of Lonely Flower!
So far, what do you guys think? And what do you think is the connection between our cute ML and Hina?
Oh~! I'm excited!
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