Who We'll Be

“By the way, why did you come with me?” Eric asked after dragging him away from the candy shop.

I had told Sky that Eric and I had some important stuff the teacher asked us to do, and we’ve been talking about it before he showed up in the bus.

“Oh nothing. I just wanna get out of there. I think I’m going to get cavities just by staying at that shop.”

We were already behind the shop, and the unsullied air made me lighten up a bit.

“Symmery…”

Eric sincerely looked at me in the eyes.

“I know it’s a bit early of me, but I really need to tell you this.”

It was just the two of us, and the sudden seriousness of his tone made me anxious.

“Um...what?”

“Well, I just can’t stop thinking about it for weeks...”

For some reason, my heart suddenly felt constricted.

“What is it…?”

Although I already had a feeling about what it was...

Eric’s smile confirmed it.

“I like you. Will you go out with me?”

* * *

“Party at my house, 9 o’clock tonight! Everyone’s invited! Bring some food!” Sky shouted as he stood on the table.

It was Friday, and Sky, Matt, Jane, Rowena and Sky’s other friends—I don’t really talk to them or Rowena, they just sit with me because of Sky—were sitting in the middle of the cafeteria when Sky planned to have a party at his house for no reason.

“Woohoo! Yeah!” Sky’s other friends cheered, including Matt and Jane. Everyone was looking at our table, but Rowena and I just continued to innocently eat our lunch.

To be honest, I’m not much of an outgoing person. I’m not really into partying and stuff, because the last time I partied too hard, I ended up lying on the bathroom, puking like there’s no tomorrow, and having a head ache for a very long time.

I looked around to see if any teachers were coming that might yell at Sky for standing on the table and being so noisy, when I spotted Eric looking at me. He’s with some friends at a table not too far away.

I could still remember that day of the field trip, when he confessed that he like me...

...and the way I had rejected him.

I told him that I’m still not sure about my feelings, and I’m not ready for any kind of commitment.

But I didn’t tell him that I’m in love with someone else—because I can’t just go around telling someone about my feelings for Sky...

...I just couldn’t handle the pressure about someone knowing that.

I had told him what I feel as nice as I could, but it still turned out that I had still hurt Eric, judging by the way he’s looking at me right now.

I timidly looked away from him, feeling guilty.

“You’ll go to the party too, wont you Symmery?” Sky asked as he stepped down from the table.

I couldn’t say no to him.

“Okay.”

* * *

The party had a really crazy start.

The place was packed, and everyone was already dancing, drinking and making out. The music was atrociously loud, my ears actually felt like they were gonna explode to bits.

“Aren’t we a little young for this?” I had told Sky when the party had just started, pointing at the beers on the table in the middle of the room that many people had brought.

He grabbed a bottle and started drinking it, like a crazy alcoholic who’d been drinking for years.

“God, Symmery...live a little.”

I worriedly looked at him.

“Want some?” he offered the bottle to me.

“No!” I yelled.

I don’t drink, and I thought that this was getting a bit out of hand.

I went to the kitchen to find some normal drink, but the table was just packed with beer. It had some food in it, but I’m more thirsty than hungry at the moment.

I was about to walk out of the kitchen, when somebody tried to get my attention.

“Hey, babe.”

A boy holding a drink suddenly called out to me. I've seen him with the school basketball team before. He’s standing at the kitchen counter with some friends, who where acting like they were about to collapse.

I ignored them, because obviously, they’re drunk.

I was about to walk away from him, when he clutched by the hand.

“Don’t go yet, honey. Let's party.”

What the...

“Let go—“

But he held my waist and moved me closer to him.

I struggled to escape from his tight grip, but failed. “Let me go or I’ll...”

I was about to kick him on the shin...

...when a familiar voice made the boy loosen his hold, and made me tug my arm away from him.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?!”

I looked around to see who it was.

Sky looked a bit drunk, too.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” the boy replied. “I’m loving my baby here.”

He looked at me, smiling playfully. “Now mind your own business.”

Sky gritted his teeth. It’s the first time since he came back that I’ve seen him pissed like this.

“You’re hitting on my girlfriend, asshole.”

What the fudge...

...GIRLFRIEND?!

“Oh...she’s yours?” the boy looked at me like I’m some kind of toy.

I stood frozen there, shocked.

Sky painfully yanked my arm.

They stared at each other for awhile, as if there were electric currents connected between them.

“Yeah, she’s mine. Now back off.”

The boy looked at Sky, amused.

“You’re asking me to back off?”

“I didn’t ask for you to go cry to your mom.”

“Want a piece of me?”

“No. I want to BREAK you into pieces.”

All of a sudden, Sky’s hand was on the boy’s face, the bones of his skull releasing a cracking sound.

Of course, the guy punched him back.

They continued fighting, and I continued standing, until some boys finally stopped the quarrel.

“What happened?”

The people crowded over us, curious about the event.

But when no one had said a word, everything went back to their own partying life again.

But the party didn’t go well the way it had, probably because of the awkward aftermath of the brawl, until the party was suggested to be stopped.

One by one people started to leave—leaving the place in complete disarray.

* * *

“Told you so,” I scolded Sky.

I'd been cleaning his wounds—which I always did back then. We were sitting close to each other, on the bed of his dim bedroom. Luckily there’s a first-aid kit in his kitchen cabinet, or his bruises could’ve gotten worse. He had taken his shirt off that revealed that he also had a few bruises on his body. They weren’t that many, but I knew it still hurt.

Sky just looked at me, his expression serious.

“Ouch—hey, go easy!” he groaned as I tried my hardest to gently rub the cotton on his chin.

“What is up with you fighting that idiot? I mean, I could’ve done that by myself!”

He snorted.

“Yeah, right.”

“Of course, I can kick his stupid ass. You didn’t have to do that.”

His eyes narrowed.

“But he was hitting on you.”

I was rubbing the cotton near his lips, and I can’t help but stare at it for a little while. The room was a bit dark, but I could still see those lips that were so enticing, which made my heart race with excitement. Stupid, teenage hormones.

“You even lied to him about me being your girlfriend—“

“I said that to protect you...” he said, voice angelic.

I was speechless.

Sky slowly moved closer towards me, staring my mouth...

So close...

...until I could already feel the air he’s breathing.

I put down the cotton beside me and looked at him head-on. His eyes were the brightest things in the room.

“But you don’t have to say that. I mean, there’s no need—“

I didn’t get the chance to finish what I had to say.

For the reason that, to my greatest surprise...

...Sky’s lips were fiercely crashing on mine.