---
Vins had just arrived home and saw his two friends deeply engrossed in conversation with Rista in the living room.
He tiredly joined the three people who had been watching his house while he walked Freya back home. Soon after, Doval and Edrik finally went home as the sky was getting dark.
Vins, who had just walked his friends to the front door, glanced back at Rista. He felt genuinely confused as to why the 21-year-old widow was still chilling at his house. Feeling way too awkward about politely asking her to leave, he sat back down and started talking to her.
"What did you guys talk about earlier, Sis?" Vins asked casually, about to rip open a bag of snacks on the living room table.
Creeeak...
Rista suddenly moved her wooden chair incredibly close to Vins. Vins was highly startled by this sudden, bold invasion of his personal space. Looking deeply and seductively into his eyes, she said something that completely paralyzed Vins in shock.
"Vins... Hmmm... Can I... Can I feel what Freya felt in the kitchen earlier?" the older woman whispered seductively, gently tracing her own bottom lip with her index finger.
"HUH??? W-What do you mean, Sis?" Vins stammered, desperately pretending not to understand what Rista was implying.
"I thought... You were exactly as innocent as you looked! Turns out, you're not a completely blank page after all, are you? Hihihi..." Rista giggled, moving her face dangerously close to Vins's.
"Ugh, what now? Please... no more! I'm so incredibly tired of dealing with stuff like this!" thought Vins to himself in a panic.
"S-Sorry, Sis... I honestly don't get what you mean... Could you explain what you're trying to say? Hehehe..." Vins nervously chuckled, actively leaning his face back as his heart pounded against his ribs.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Don't pretend you don't know what's going on, Vins... I'm not a little kid you can fool with your fake innocence..." Rista replied smoothly, gently holding Vins's cheek and slowly moving her other hand toward his broad chest.
Rista then leaned in and whispered directly into Vins's ear.
"Vins... I'm already completely smitten with you... I like you now... I want you to take responsibility for that... What if we date in secret, handsome?" Rista purred.
Her breath against his ear sent violent shivers down his entire body, and the pores on his hands and neck opened wide in pure panic.
"Sis! I'm sorry... I already like someone else!" Vins blurted out, grabbing Rista's upper arm, fully intending to stop her bold advance.
"Oh, yeah? You mean... That strict upperclassman of yours from earlier? Do you actually know the main difference between me and her, huh? Hihihi..." Rista asked flirtatiously in a playful tone, capturing Vins's right hand with both of hers.
Vins just stood there, completely speechless, honestly not knowing what the hell to do. In front of him was a highly experienced, mature woman who had literally just ended her marriage.
"Well... I'll tell you the absolute biggest difference between us, handsome... Freya is just a girl, but I'm a widow! Isn't it... way more enjoyable to be led by someone experienced than having to take the lead yourself when you're together? Don't you agree with that, Vins?" Rista continued, sensually stroking Vins's hand, which was still firmly planted on her upper arm.
He honestly felt incredibly uncomfortable. He definitely wasn't the type of guy to cheaply take advantage of a vulnerable situation. Vins strongly upheld his integrity. He was the type of person who held firmly to his principles and couldn't be easily swayed by lust. However, that usually only applied to girls his own age. The terrifying reality he was facing right now was that he was being aggressively cornered and flirted with by a much more experienced older woman. On top of that, she was a literal widow.
According to Vins's logic, no matter how clever a squirrel is at jumping, it will eventually fall. He easily could have responded with a harsh, cold rejection to the woman's advances. But he was also raised to be a true gentleman; he never, ever wanted to be rude or disrespectful to a woman. Unfortunately, he also realized one damning thing: his cherished, gentle nature was exactly what was putting him in this highly dangerous position right now.
"Your hands are so hard and muscular, Vins... It's been well over a year since I've touched a man's hand... Especially a strong, young man like you..." Rista whispered, biting her bottom lip and giving him an incredibly naughty look.
"Sis! Can you please stop? I'm really sorry, Sis Rista! I genuinely already like someone else!" Vins pleaded, forcefully pulling his hand away from Rista's tight grip.
"So what? Do you honestly think I'll just back off because you like someone else? Why should I? As long as she isn't your legal wife, there are absolutely no rules written in stone, right?" Rista countered, boldly reaching up and holding Vins's cheeks with both her hands.
Vins desperately tried to pull Rista's hands off his face by violently shaking his head.
"Please... Anyone... Just come! Where the hell is Vinara? She's not back yet? Usually on weekends she comes home early! HEY, STUPID OLD LADY!!! PLEASE COME HOME QUICK!!! THIS IS GETTING COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL!!! Sob!" thought Vins to himself, desperately praying for his older sister to return.
Click...
"Assalamualaikum... Oh, do we have a guest? Hello, Sis Rista... Have you been here long?" Vins's Mom asked cheerfully as she walked in through the front door from her neighborhood gathering.
Swiftly, like a trained actress, Rista instantly reverted to her former self, appearing so incredibly innocent and polite in front of Vins's mom.
"Finally... Thank you so much, Mom! Sob! You came at the absolute perfect time!" thought Vins to himself, washing in pure, unadulterated relief.
"Wa'alaikum salam, Vins's Mom... Did you just get home? Hehehe..." Rista asked, suddenly displaying a completely different, wholesome personality.
"Yeah, just got back from the neighborhood gathering... Well, were you looking for me, Rista?" Vins's Mom asked politely.
"Oh? No, Vins's Mom... The front door to my relative's house wouldn't open! I came over here to ask Vins to help me force it open... That's why I'm here..." the older woman lied flawlessly with her sweet Sundanese accent.
"Oh... Did you help her out, Vins? You're a growing teenager now! Don't be so closed off from your surroundings! You'll have a hard time finding a partner later on!" Vins's Mom lectured her son playfully.
"That's literally not what hap— Mmm... Mmm... Hap— Mmm... Mmm..." Vins's frantic words were abruptly cut short as Rista aggressively clamped her hand over his mouth from behind, occasionally slipping as he struggled.
Vins's Mom just chuckled at her son's apparent playful closeness with the older woman. As Vins struggled to free his mouth, he accidentally took a step backward. He instantly felt something incredibly soft press firmly against his back.
"HUH??? DAMN!!! HER SIZE IS SERIOUSLY BIGGER THAN FREYA'S??? NO!!! IT'S EVEN BIGGER THAN KARINA'S!!!" thought Vins to himself spontaneously, his raw teenage instincts completely short-circuiting his brain.
"Vins! Don't mention what happened earlier! I'm so incredibly embarrassed in front of your mom!" Rista whispered sharply into his ear, giving him a sly wink as a direct signal to play along and make up a fake story.
Vins shot a highly annoyed glare at the woman but ultimately complied with her blackmail. He was terrified Rista would actually tell his mom about what happened in the kitchen with Freya if he snitched.
"Hahhh... Yeah, Mom! So here's what happened... Actually, Sis Rista was just sitting outside all by herself... I asked her, 'What's wrong, Sis?' She said she couldn't get into her house! Hahaha..." Vins lied smoothly to his mom, trying to catch his breath.
Vins's Mom listened seriously to her son's story, while Rista looked on in fake fear.
"She said she couldn't get in because she had just come back from the main road... When she got back, there was literally no one at her house! Hahaha... I felt bad seeing her sitting out there alone... She looked exactly like a little kid whose parents left her behind! Instead of having her go through all that trouble waiting outside, I just invited her over here for a bit! Hahaha..." Vins rambled, forcing a highly unnatural, strained laugh.
"Hahaha... I was honestly so confused, Vins's Mom... Good thing Vins was here to save the day! Hahaha..." Rista chimed in, matching Vins's forced laughter perfectly.
Unlike their fake, strained laughter, Vins's Mom laughed for real after hearing her son's explanation.
"Hahaha... You two are really something else! Well, I'm going to my room now... I need to change my clothes!" Vins's Mom smiled, leaving them alone in the living room.
Vins was still incredibly annoyed with Clarista. Because of her aggressive stunts, he had been forcefully coerced into lying straight to his mom's face.
"Good boy! I'll definitely get you a special present later, okay?" the woman teased, throwing him a seductive wink.
"No need, Sis! You really should just go home now! The sky is getting dark!" Vins replied irritably, pointing at the door.
Rista just smiled warmly at Vins in return.
"Okay! I'll head back home now!" Rista agreed cheerfully.
Rista gracefully got up from her chair and moved toward the front door.
"Vins! Come here..." Rista called softly.
"Oh my god... What is it now, Sis?" Vins groaned, highly annoyed.
"Just come here! Hurry up! Or I swear I'll tell your mom exactly what happened in the kitchen!" Rista threatened with a sweet smile.
"This really has to be your unluckiest day ever, Vins... FCK!!!" thought Vins to himself as he reluctantly got up from the sofa.
Vins slowly walked over to Rista. Rista immediately reached out and playfully pulled the young man's ear.
"Next week there's a night market opening up at the Sector A sewing center, and you absolutely have to go with me! If you refuse, don't blame me if your mom suddenly starts yelling at you!" Rista whispered her strict terms.
Vins was completely stunned by the 21-year-old woman's bold blackmail. He just responded with a deadpan, sideways glare at Rista.
"If you stay quiet, that officially means yes! Don't forget, okay? I'll be waiting for you! I'll give you a very special present!" the woman teased.
"Hold on! Not yet! Come here! I'm gonna whisper something else to you!" Rista continued, holding Vins back by firmly pulling on his shirt collar.
Vins let out an exhausted sigh.
"So? Is a widow's naturally bigger, softer, and much bouncier than a little middle school girl's, huh? Hihihi..." Rista whispered teasingly directly into his ear.
Vins's face immediately flushed a violent shade of red upon hearing her, completely horrified that Rista had somehow heard his earlier internal mumble.
"Okay, that's more than enough! Just go home, Sis! I seriously need to do my homework!" Vins replied awkwardly, pushing her toward the door.
Seeing Vins's flustered, funny behavior, Rista let out a melodic laugh as she finally left.
---
The time was 7:30 PM...
Vins was still just a middle school student. Although he possessed a strong, undeniable charm among girls, for him, securing his future was still his absolute main goal. But when he switched to his heavy math textbook, he became incredibly lazy and reluctant to even open it.
Vins had severe Numerophobia—an intense, irrational phobia of numbers. He was highly reluctant to even look at complex equations. Even so, he was still incredibly skilled at basic addition and multiplication. He could do rapid sums and multiplications in his head without any tools. The strict, relentless upbringing from his mother since the first grade of elementary school had really paid off. Thanks to his hard work and discipline, he could consistently get good grades. His overall grades even ranked in the top 3 of all his classes. Likewise, his math grades back in elementary school never dropped below an 8.5.
But ever since he encountered complex arithmetic calculations and algebra in middle school, he grew to hate math so passionately that it officially turned him into a Numerophobe. He let out a groan and rested his heavy head directly on top of his math textbook, which was as thick as a brick.
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"Gosh... Why the hell is it that every single Monday there has to be Math? And right after that? Physics... They're literally both the exact same torture! After a weekend holiday, they should give us easy, fun subjects first... like English, or Indonesian, or at the very least Computer Science!" he complained to himself.
Reluctantly, Vins flipped open the heavy book. He just stared blankly through the pages, not understanding a single damn word. He stopped on a complex page explaining the formula for comparing larger and smaller quantities. His uncontrollable teenage brain, however, instantly sent his thoughts spiraling into the gutter.
"A/B are two quantities being compared? What the hell is that even supposed to mean? Like Freya's and Karina's? Then what about Sis Rista's? And then you just compare whose quantity is bigger? I swear this exact lesson already came out back in 6th grade... Why is it getting so much more insanely complicated in middle school?" Vins muttered to himself, unconsciously cupping both his hands together in the air.
Vins's head was literally spinning from trying to read the complex formulas. Suddenly, he remembered his biology homework. Because of Freya's chaotic arrival earlier, he had almost completely forgotten to do his biology assignment.
"OH, RIGHT!!! I'D HONESTLY RATHER JUST GO TO THE INTERNET CAFE TO DO MY BIOLOGY HOMEWORK!!! I CAN STILL CRAM STUDY TOMORROW ON SUNDAY!!!" he realized, instantly finding a valid excuse.
Vins hurriedly grabbed his bag that he had left dumped on the living room table. With a surge of new energy, he quickened his pace out the door.
However, just as he reached the main road, he unfortunately ran into his new neighbor again, who was busy buying street food.
"Hello, Vins... Where are you rushing off to?" Rista asked playfully.
"Hahhh... This incredibly rude woman again..." Vins groaned internally.
"The internet cafe!" he replied curtly, not stopping.
"Oh my... You're so incredibly grumpy, honey... That honestly just makes me even more curious! Do you want me to literally kiss you right here on the street? Or should I just bite you?" Rista teased boldly, loudly flirting with the middle schooler right on the busy sidewalk.
"Go for it, bro! Go for it! Show your manhood! If I were in your lucky shoes... I'd have already carried her straight to the bedroom! HAHAHA..." the street vendor cheered, hyping Vins up while serving Rista her food.
Hearing the vendor's wild words, Rista became even more excited about ruthlessly teasing Vins.
"You're way too loud, old man! You just jump into random conversations like a lightning bolt!" Vins snapped irritably at the vendor.
"Just let him be, mister! The more I'm rejected, the wilder I get!" Rista chimed in flirtatiously, throwing Vins a highly suggestive wink.
An absolutely annoyed Vins immediately power-walked away, leaving the two of them behind. He was almost at Hoki Net, the absolute nearest internet cafe to his house, despite it being a solid 2-kilometer walk.
Vins stopped briefly at a small corner stall. Feeling parched, he was about to buy a cold bottle of mineral water. Just as he was paying, he felt a familiar, looming figure standing right behind him. A guy with a fairly tall build stood silently at his back.
"WOOO!!!" the person shouted loudly, startling Vins.
"DAMN!!! Who the hell is it? Oh? It's Andrew! You heading to the internet cafe too?" Vins asked his partner, catching his breath.
"Hahaha... Yeah, King! Fido's also tagging along to do homework and grind some games with us!" Andrew grinned, loudly calling Vins by his underground title.
"Oh, please, Drew... Don't call me that out loud when we're in public! I get so damn embarrassed, y'know?" Vins complained, looking around nervously.
"HAHAHA... Well, I'm just showing proper respect to the absolute King of Ontreight's thugs!" Andrew laughed, patting his back.
"That's absolutely not how it works, bro! You're my friend! Even if I literally became the President, my friends would always be my friends! Don't act all formal in front of me, man..." Vins scolded him lightly.
"Damn! You're actually making me emotional... Sob! Anyway, you're heading to the net cafe, right? Do you happen to know that kid from class 7-7? Fido's classmate! He's also chilling at the internet cafe right now!" Andrew asked, his tone shifting to annoyance.
"Who, bro? What does he look like? Is he short and stubby?" Vins asked, trying to recall the description.
"Yeah, bro! He talks so incredibly smugly! I'm so sick and tired of hearing his voice!" Andrew complained bitterly.
"Damn! Hahaha... I definitely know him! His house actually isn't far from mine... He loves hanging out at the net cafe too..." Vins laughed, instantly realizing who it was.
"Alright, let's go! Let's hit the internet cafe! I'm so glad you know him! You seriously need to tame that annoying Armadillomon! He just keeps talking and chirping non-stop! My head is literally spinning from hearing him brag!" Andrew complained as they walked.
"HAHAHA... Let's go, Drew!" Vins laughed, following his friend.
They pushed open the glass doors and entered the smoky internet cafe. As usual, the internet cafe operator with his thick Batak accent immediately started teasing Vins.
"Good heavens! You're back here again?" the operator greeted loudly.
"You're way too loud, man! Hurry up! Open up a PC for my friend! And tell that little kid sitting next to my PC to move his ass!" Andrew demanded, showing his casual familiarity with the operator.
"You again! Always you, Drew! I'm so incredibly bored of seeing your face! Fine! I'll go up to the second floor and tell that kid to move... Watch the master PC for me, Drew!" the internet cafe owner grumbled as he got up from his seat.
Andrew, who suddenly remembered the chaotic incident at Mas Ito's food stall from the other night, casually asked Vins about his heavy drama with Karina, Freya, and Indra.
"How's that messy problem with Karina? Is it cleared up yet? And what the hell was Sis Freya's reaction, bro?" Andrew asked, leaning against the counter.
"Definitely not cleared up with Karina yet, bro... But it's all good with Sis Freya! However... there's a whole other massive problem that's seriously messing with my head right now! And... It's directly related to Freya! It's really bothering me!" Vins confessed, rubbing his temples.
"Drew! The PC next to yours is totally empty now... Is your friend coming up or not?" the internet cafe owner shouted, having just come back down from the second floor stairs.
"Yes, old man! He is! Alright, Vins! Tell me all about it on the way home! I seriously want to hear the full story!" Vins's Korean-Indo-looking friend said, slapping the counter.
"Okay, bro!" Vins agreed.
They then walked up the dimly lit stairs to the second floor.
Fido and Briyan were aggressively playing on the computers right next to each other. Next to Fido, Andrew's PC was already logged on and ready. The PC right next to Andrew's had a black, locked screen waiting for Vins.
Vins walked past and was completely ignored by Briyan, who was sweating and hyper-focused on his screen. However, Fido, whose gaming skill level was completely on par with Andrew's, greeted Vins with a solid fist bump. They all sat down next to each other. Fido was busy grinding the exact same rhythm game as Andrew, and Briyan was currently getting destroyed playing against Fido.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! Clack!
"HAHAHA... You're so incredibly weak, Yan! HAHAHA... That's literally two times in a row now! Didn't you brag that you were in a professional gaming club? Is this seriously all you've got? Hahaha..." Fido mocked mercilessly.
"My hand literally just slipped because it was super sweaty! That's the only reason I missed so many arrows when they entered the hit-box..." Briyan defended himself, continuing his famous, pathetic bragging.
"See? Did you hear that garbage, Vins? That annoying guy has been challenging me and Fido to a duel all night! He just keeps losing! And he's still making up unbelievable, pathetic excuses! He even lied and said he used to be a professional club member!" Andrew whispered venomously to Vins.
"That's honestly just how he is... Hahaha... Just nod and agree with him whenever he talks!" Vins whispered back to Andrew, who was already visibly fed up with Briyan's constant, arrogant chatter.
Vins then plugged in his headset and got busy typing up his biology homework, while his friends were deeply absorbed in their competitive game.
Vins quickly and efficiently finished his biology paper. With a solid chunk of his rental time still remaining, he looked incredibly bored. He decided to open a new tab and log into his Friendster account. A massive pile of pending friend requests had piled up. He then suddenly got the bright idea to search for Freya's profile.
Freya's account was heavily decorated with a lot of sparkly, digital glitter. He casually clicked on Freya's public photo album. There were dozens of photos of Freya hanging out with her friends and family, all taken with a highly pixelated, typical cell phone camera from that era. However, as he scrolled, he suddenly saw a photo of the girl he loved standing way too close to a high school boy. He clicked the photo, which clearly had the bright text "Luph U Baby! <3" plastered across it.
Suddenly, Vins's chest felt a sharp, agonizing pain from seeing the photo.
"What is this feeling? It's like I desperately want to cry, but I literally can't..." Vins thought to himself, his chest tightening.
He quickly clicked the 'Back' arrow on his Mozilla Firefox browser so he wouldn't have to look at the painful photo for another second.
Again and again, Freya became the ultimate benchmark for the pain in his heart. This naturally caused him to compare his unpredictable upperclassman with the sweet girl from his childhood. Suddenly, he missed Belina terribly. He remembered that Belina had once uploaded a nostalgic photo of them from when they were little.
Vins, desperately wanting to calm his aching heart by reminiscing about his peaceful time with Belina, immediately searched for her Friendster account.
"B-e-l-i-n-a"
Clack!
Belina, having a somewhat familiar name, had dozens of profiles appear in a massive list.
"Why isn't it there? Let me try typing her full name!" he muttered to himself, hyper-focused on his screen.
"Be-li-na Vi-li-a"
Clack!
Vins finally found Belina's official Friendster account. He clicked into the photo album on her profile. A clear, scanned picture of him and little Belina playing in his father's garden appeared, complete with a touching caption below it.
"I hope we can be happy together forever..." the caption read.
His racing heart finally felt calmer, seeing the little girl's innocent smile in the photo.
"Bel... I really hope you're doing well out there now..." he thought to himself with a soft smile, his eyes welling up with unshed tears.
"Wow! All this guy ever does is look at girls online!" Andrew teased, glancing over at Vins's screen.
"Hahaha... No, Drew! This is a really old friend of mine from when I was little... I just miss her, that's all..." Vins replied softly to Andrew.
"Ohhh... Her face actually looks super familiar, though?" Andrew noted, refocusing on his own intense game.
"Yeah! She used to be an Ontreight student too, Drew! Then when she went to the 8th grade, she transferred schools! Now she's moved houses too... She actually used to be my next-door neighbor!" Vins explained.
"That makes total sense, I knew I'd seen her around before... Hey? Her last login wasn't even that long ago, bro!" Andrew pointed out, looking back at Vins's screen.
"Oh, yeah! September 20, 2007! That was literally just yesterday, wasn't it?" Vins realized, his eyes widening.
"Yeah! Just write something on her testimonial wall if you really miss her that much, then!" Andrew encouraged him.
Vins nervously hovered over his keyboard and tried to write on Belina's Friendster testimonial wall.
"Belina, how are you? I miss you!" Vins typed simply.
He then sat back and waited for Belina's reply. But there was absolutely no sign of life from Belina's account. Vins waited patiently, desperately hoping the little girl he had loved in his past would write back.
---
Time passed by completely unnoticed, and the clock finally hit 10:00 PM...
Vins's prepaid rental time had officially expired, and Belina's quiet account was the last thing on his screen before it locked.
CRASH!!!
"Ugh! Damn it, it's always like this! It ended right when I was literally about to finish! Now I don't get the damn event reward! This sucks!" Andrew cursed loudly, aggressively slamming his hand on the desk.
"Is your time up, Drew? Mine is too! I'm heading downstairs first, okay!" Vins said, standing up and stretching.
"Yeah, Vins... I need to secure my event reward in the game first! You go ahead downstairs!" Andrew replied frantically.
Andrew then quickly borrowed Fido's remaining rental time to finish his match. Briyan's annoying face peeked over at Fido's PC, as his rental time had also officially ended.
As Vins walked down the stairs to the first floor, the internet cafe operator with his distinctive Batak accent called out to him.
"Good heavens! Where are you rushing off to? Are you leaving already, boy? Oh yeah! I totally forgot to tell you! That pretty girl who was glued to you yesterday came here this afternoon with a high school kid! When I jokingly asked her where you were, she just glared daggers at me! You're so damn unlucky, boy! You just snagged a beautiful girlfriend, and now she's already been taken by someone else!" the operator gossiped loudly.
Vins just nodded numbly and thanked him. He immediately pushed through the glass doors and left the internet cafe. Across the dark street, there was an old man lost in thought, slowly smoking a cigarette under a streetlamp.
Hearing the operator's blunt words made Vins's chest feel suffocatingly tight all over again.
"I really, really hate it when I feel like this! Damn it! Maybe I should just try picking up smoking? It seems relaxing..." he thought to himself bitterly, watching the thick smoke drift from the man across the street.
"Vins... Don't just stand there staring blankly! You'll get possessed by a ghost or something!" Andrew said, suddenly patting Vins heavily on the shoulder from behind.
"Let me walk you home! Fido and I brought our bikes! Leave Armadillomon and Fido to ride together, you just hop on with me..." Andrew offered generously.
"Thank you, Drew!" Vins sighed gratefully.
"Relax, man!" Andrew grinned.
The four of them then left the internet cafe area. On the slow ride back, Vins quietly told Andrew everything that had happened between him and Freya. Andrew honestly hadn't expected that behind Freya's innocent, strict appearance as the Student Council President of Ontreight, she was actually so wild and bold. It was a complete, shocking contrast to how she looked and talked at school.
Soon, they arrived in Sector A, stopping right in front of the dark alleyway leading to Vins's house.
"That's far enough, bro! I'll get off here!" Vins said, tapping Andrew's shoulder.
Andrew hit the brakes, and Vins hopped off the back of the bike.
Briyan, whose house was still located deep inside Sector B, was sitting lazily on the back of the motorcycle Fido was pedaling. Just as they were all about to say their goodbyes, Briyan suddenly started to run his mouth.
"Hey? Isn't that the Student Council President, Freya? Oh yeah! It's Saturday night, isn't it? Damn! She looks pretty damn good right now! Back when she was dating me, she never dressed up that nice! Crap! After she broke my heart and broke up with me, she's already hooking up with another guy!" Briyan bragged loudly, pointing down the street.
Andrew and Vins immediately snapped their heads in the direction Briyan was pointing, and Fido quickly followed their gaze.
"Damn it, Vins! She's literally with that guy Riyad! Riyad was a Student Council member like 3 years ago! So he's easily 4 years older than us! That means he's 3 years older than Freya! Is that the guy you told me about seeing with Freya yesterday? He's my neighbor, bro!" Andrew asked, squinting through the dark at Freya and Riyad walking together.
"Vins!" Andrew called out again when he got no response.
"Vins!!!" Andrew called once more, louder this time.
When he still didn't get any answer from Vins, Andrew finally turned around to look at his friend.
"Vins! Eh? Vins? A-Are you okay, man?" Andrew stuttered, completely shocked.
He saw his friend standing frozen in absolute silence, staring blankly at Freya and Riyad with heavy, silent tears continuously streaming down his face.
"Why the hell are you crying, Vins? You're acting like such a wuss! Go over there and hit the guy! You're literally the new King of Ontreight! Oh, don't tell me you're crying because you're jealous that you like my ex—"
"Sorry, Fid!!!"
WHAM!!!
"Ugh..."
The loud, brutal sound of a fist colliding with bone echoed in the quiet street, followed instantly by a painful groan from Briyan. Andrew had quickly apologized to Fido beforehand, knowing his explosive punch would make the bike, which was being balanced by Fido's foot, sway violently. The heavy punch landed squarely on Briyan's jaw, instantly silencing his constant, pathetic bragging. Fido's bike wobbled dangerously as Briyan completely lost his balance from Andrew's strike.
Andrew, who had been thoroughly annoyed with Briyan for hours, finally exploded and started cursing at him.
"YOU DAMN PUNK!!! THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK, YOU PIECE OF TRASH!!! YOUR FRIEND IS LITERALLY STANDING HERE HEARTBROKEN, AND YOU'RE BABBLING ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!!! YOU IDIOT!!! SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!!! I'M SO SICK OF YOU!!! PFFT!!!" Andrew roared angrily, pointing a lethal finger at Briyan, who was clutching his bruised face.
Briyan, completely clueless, still tried to defend his bruised ego.
"Why'd you punch me, Drew? I was literally just telling it exactly like it is!" Briyan whined, still trying to act tough.
That pathetic excuse made Andrew even more furious at Briyan's sheer stupidity, and he violently pulled his fist back, fully prepared to hit him again.
"Drew!" Vins called out, his voice cracking.
"DREW!!!" Vins yelled, calling Andrew again to stop him.
"ANDREW!!!" Vins yelled even more loudly, wiping his tears.
"YOU PIECE OF TRASH!!! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME, HUH??? YOU MOTHER— Eh? Yes, Vins?" Andrew stopped mid-swing because Vins aggressively pulled on the back of his shirt.
"TAKE ME TO THE HIGHEST PLACE AROUND HERE RIGHT NOW!!!"
---
-To be Continued
