It was a beautiful Saturday. It was around noon. How zhul wished he could have had his mother's pancakes. But instead he had to be at Villanueva's shop at 9AM to work. He was cleaning up the back room, which was a mess. He had to organize all the packages and put the stuff in the right boxes for Ricky's customers. He hated his job.
"Hi Mr. Alexis" Kara said to him poking her head into the back room.
"Hey Kara, you can call me zhul" He said informed her.
"Okay Zhul" She said blushing. He was about to correct her again but she left. Kara was one of Shane and Ricky kids. Jacod and Kara were adopted when they were both found at two years old in a middle of a snow storm. He remembered Ricky rushing them to his dad's clinic because he thought they may have had hypothermia. Zhul was only four but remembered little things.
zhul finally finished organizing and made his way to Ricky office. He knocked a couple times before Ricky voice told him to come in.
"I'm done" He said bored.
"That was fast," He commented. "Come in and take a load off" He said signaling to the couch in his office. The walls to it where all wooden and his couch looked fifty years old but zhul didn't care.
He sat down and noticed the end table next to him it was a picture of Ricky and Shane, with Franz and Angel's sister?
"How do you know the Perez so well?" zhul asked.
"Perez? Well it's actually a funny story" Ricky said excited. "Franz is Shane's ex- fiancé."
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah, funny right" Ricky said satisfied with Zhul's reaction.
"More like weird, how are you guys all friends then?"
"Its not like they wanted to get married to each other. Franz and Shane had been friends since they were kids so there families decided to arrange a marriage between them"
"Why would the nobles want Shane? Aren't they all about keeping nobility?"
"Yes, but what you don't know is that Shane is the former heiress to the Reyes fortune"
"Shane ? Your wife? My teacher? The person who likes to make my life a living hell?" zhul ranted.
"Yes" Shane said walking in. "We were set to be married but I was in love with someone else."
"I'm the guy she was in love with "Ricky added proudly
"No really" zhul replied sarcastically.
"As I was saying, I told franz I couldn't marry him, he understood, plus he had no real romantic feelings for me, but my family was not happy. They disowned me when I eloped with Ricky."
"I didn't know" zhul said surprised.
"Well now you do" Shane said. Soon they hear the front bell go off. "zhul could you go check if that's angel , she is here to pick up some stuff"
zhul's face lit up when he heard her name. Since their phone call Monday night, they talked a lot more. They became close quickly. At lunch they would always argue but everyone noticed there was a unique bond between them. zhul had to admit he enjoyed the little arguments. zhul wasn't happy that angel was on talking terms with bobby but she asked bobby if they could take a "break". He was not happy.
zhul made his way to the front of the store. His heart dropped when he saw the feminine figure at the front desk. It wasn't angel. It was a girl the same height as angel. This girl though had long brown hair, with chocolate brown eyes. The girl noticed she wasn't alone and her eyes widen seeing the familiar young man looking at her.
"Hello zhul" the girl said to him. He clenched his fist hearing this girl say his name. "Aren't you going to say anything to me?"
"What the hell do you want Anica?" he barked. She was taken back by his outburst.
"I came to see you, I bumped into Darwin and he told me you work here"
"That's nice, if you don't mind buy something or leave"
"Is that how you treat when I come to see you?" Anica asked.
"To see me? Last time I checked you were screwing other guys behind my back" He said. He could see that statement got her.
"I know I hurt you but I didn't mess with a bunch of guys"
"Whether it was one or a thousand, it hurt the same" zhul stated.
"I'm sorry" zhul said.
"I don't wanna hear this"
"Please zhul, I never wanted to hurt you, but I couldn't help when I fell in love with-"
"Don't even mention his name around me"
"I tried to stay faithful; I really did, but zhul, sometimes you can't help who you fall in love with"
"Why are you here?"
"I want your forgiveness" She said simply. zhul looked at her. He was deeply hurt by this woman and now she was asking for forgiveness.
"Did your new boy already dump you" zhul asked.
"No, we are still together, but he knew how I felt about everything and he encouraged me to come see you"
"Is he sure that is a good idea, letting slut like you run free" zhul regretted saying it but the damage was done. Anica felt tears form in her eyes. "I understand you hate me"
"Good then leave" He said coldly. Anica stood there shaking a bit while zhul gave her the coldest look he could give her. He didn't mean his harsh words but he could not show weakness.
"Good Afternoon" a female voice said as she entered the shop. Angel walked into Villanueva's shop, and saw zhul glaring at a young girl who looked like she was crying. Adrian walked in behind her. "Angel hurry up and get your stuff my tournament starts soon" He stopped talking when he notice the strong tension in the room.
"Um sorry to interrupt" Andrian said. zhul finally noticed that angel and adrian had entered the shop.
"Its fine, she was about to leave" zhul said smiling as if nothing happened. anica nodded her head and ran out the store as fast as she could. That left an angry zhul, a confused Adrian and a disheartened angel. adrian could feel the tension still in the room so he was relieved when his phone started ringing.
"angel, my dad is calling, I'll just take this call outside" Adrian said before exiting the store. Angel didn't even hear Adrian, she was focused on zhul and the hurt in his eyes.
"Are you okay zhul?" angel asked.
"Never better" He lied. angel grew sad; she would hope that zhul would open up to her
"Who is she?"
"Who?" Angel was now getting annoyed.
"Don't act stupid zhul, the girl who was practically crying in here, who is she?" Angel voice was demanding. She didn't know why she wanted to know, but she could tell zhul was hurting.
"Her name is Anica" He said plainly. She could tell this girl was important to him.
"Is she your girlfriend?' angel asked afraid the answer might be yes.
"She was my girlfriend"
"What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it!" he said raising his voice.
"Why not, I promise you can trust me"
"Look, I am not allowed to mention bobby right? So I don't want to talk about Anica with you" He barked. angel was taken back by his reaction, but understood it; it must be painful for him. It was only fair that she minded her own business.
"Sorry" Angel mumbled. zhul eyes soften when he heard that. He never meant for her to feel bad, he was just upset about the conversation earlier.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like a jerk" He said. Angel looked at him and he smiled at her. This smile was genuine. "So, you hear to pick up some stuff?"
"Yeah" Angel said remembering her purpose for coming. She took out a paper. "This paper has the package numbers on it."
zhul eyed the paper. "Okay I'll be back"
Angel stood there thinking about what he walked in. Zhul looked at that girl with hurt and betrayal in his eyes but one thing Angel noticed was the love he had for the girl. Angel had come to realize Zhul was a very protective and caring person. He put up this tough guy act but he is not that way inside. His heart is just as fragile as hers. Angel couldn't help but admire him.
"Okay so here are your packages Miss Perez" Zhul said politely when he entered the room.
"Thanks" was all Angel could say. As he rung Angel up he couldn't help but notice on of her packages. One of them was a limited edition Bear Plushie, and the other was birth control. He didn't look through her stuff but he was the one who put the items in their brown box packaging, so he remembered both packages. Angel handed him her credit card and everything was paid for.
"Thank you" Angel said picking up her boxes.
"Angel wait" zhul said.
"What's up"
I know it's none of my business but you should always were a condom" Zhul said slightly blushing. Angel's mouth dropped from that statement.
"Excuse me!"
"Well I notice you are taking birth control, so you probably don't use a condom with you know who"
"And how is that your business?"
"I'm just saying, birth control only prevents pregnancies, not...diseases"
"Thanks for the health lesson but I trust him, he wouldn't do that to me" Angel said defensively.
"Sorry, it was just an observation" He said irritated. Angel was ready to retort when Adrian walked in.
"Let's go Angel or I'm gonna be late"
"Sure" Angel said. Angel wanted to be mad at Zhul but she instead turned to him. "If you get off early you should come to the martial arts tournament"
"Huh?"
"Your friend Rhesalyn is fighting I heard, plus I have to go cheer on Adrian and Gerand , I'm their good luck charm" Angel explained. Adrian scoffed. "Gerand would say 'I won by pure skill'" Adrian said imitating Gerand perfectly.
"Sounds fun, I'll try and stop by"
"Good, it's at the school, see you later!" Angel said carrying her boxes out the door. Adrian gave zhul a hard look once they were alone.zhul was confused on why Adrian gave him this look.
"Thank you, for protecting her" Adrian said quickly before leaving the shop. Zhul looked at the space where Adrian stood dumbfounded. Then smirked, "He must still like her" zhul said to himself.
Adrian climbed into the car, while angel put on her seat belt. Adrian drove a Honda Accord.
He drove in direction of the school.
"So did zhul tell you what happen with that girl?" Adrian asked. He looked over to angel who looked a bit sad.
"No" was her answer. Adrian suspected he probably told her something but he wouldn't press Angel for any information.
"So, you and him seem pretty close." He commented.
"I guess so" Angel answered. Her mind was on zhul, she kept wondering about that girl anica, and how much she meant to him, she didn't know why but it was making her feel depressed.
"You seem to spend a lot of time together" Adrian added. He was hoping to figure out the relationship between them. Angel and Zhul spent an hour together every morning for the past week , cleaning the classroom and he would walk her home a couple of days, when she didn't have class meetings. Adrian was no longer able to deny that was he was jealous of how close Angel had become with Zhul. He still had feelings for Angel.
When Angel and Adrian were together, he was madly in love with her. He believed that she felt the same. In realty she only loved him as a friend, although at first she thought it was true love she slowly began to see the truth. When Angel told Adrian how she felt, he was heartbroken, he wanted to cry right there on the spot but he didn't, he wouldn't. He lied and told her that he felt the same. He knew it wasn't smart to hide his feelings but he had to, so maybe Angel would learn to love him as more than a friend.
"Zhul and I aren't that close" Angel stated. "He is a stupid strawberry" She said that last bit smiling. She seemed back to normal. Adrian noticed her expression change, he gripped his steering wheel. First Bobby, now Zhul, Adrian was slowly but surely losing hope.
They arrived at the school after ten minutes of driving. "I gotta head to the locker room, see you when I come out" Adrian said to her. Angel nodded and headed to the school gym. She walked in and there were quite a few people there. She knew Mush and Kent would be late. Angel noticed a girl with brown hair. "Darlene" Angel called. Darlene turned and smiled. She stood up from her seat on the bleachers and waved. "ANGEL! Come sit with me" Angel nodded and made her way to Darlene. "Hi Darlene" Angel said when she finally reached her.
"Hi Angel, are you here to cheer for Rhesalyn too?" She asked cheerfully.
"Well yeah, and Gerand and Adrian are competing too"
"Wow, how exciting" She smiled happily. "I hope Zhul can make it" Angel head shot up hearing Darlene mention Zhul's name. She kind of wondered if Darlene had feelings for zhul.
"I saw him earlier, he might show up" Angel said. darlene smiled a bit and turned her attention somewhere else. Angel decided to be direct about it.
"Do you like zhul?" Angel asked. Darlene was thrown off by the question but immediately answered.
"Well I guess so, I mean we used to date so-"
"You and zhul dated?!"
"Yeah only for three months, then he broke up with me" She said sadly. "I mean, I liked him for years, but I never had the courage to ask him out. In his freshman year he started dating a girl. zhul was so in love with her. But she broke his heart. I tried to be the girl who could fix him but I couldn't. After three months of trying, he broke up with me because he said he wasn't over her. This happened this past June. I still think he misses her, but I have learned that I need to be a friend to zhul, that's all he really needs from me; I wasn't the one who was meant to stop his rain. All I can do is hold an umbrella but the rain will still be there"
Angel listen quietly as Darlene spoke. She never knew much about zhul. She only figured things out by stuff she told him, he never really opened up.
"Angel!" Angel turned to see Mush and Kent waving at her. She signaled for them to sit next to her.
"Hi Darlene" Mush said. Kent waved at her.
"Hello Mush and Kent" She said cheerfully. They all sat together and watched the tournament. Angel ended up eating one of Darlene's unique creations and scarfing it down. In the end Rhesalyn got first place, Darlene got third and Gerand got forth. Gerand grumbled to himself as Rhesalyn got her ribbon. Everyone cheered and Angel couldn't help but laughing at Gerand for being mad. Angel looked around and notice Zhul never came. She was a bit saddened.
"Hey Angel, where is Bobby" Mush asked. Mush had been very cautious of Angel, since the incident on Monday.
"Football game in Cagayan" Angel answered. Angel was relieved. Even though she had talked things out with Bobby , they were still on rocky terms. They would argue constantly and she would be scared to walk home alone. She knew this relationship needed to stop but something kept pulling her back.
"I gotta go" Angel said quickly getting up. Mush and Darlene looked at her puzzled. "Are you okay?" They asked.
"I'm fine I just wanna go home" Angel said forcing a smile.
"I'll take you home" Kent suggested.
"No its fine, I'll catch a cab, stay and watch the rest of the award ceremony." Angel said before making her way for the exit. Gerand notice her run off and began to worry.
Angel ran down the hall and out the door in a hurry. She bumped into someone and hard, she fell on the floor and hit her back.
"Angel?" Zhul said when he realized she bumped into him.
"Angel, I thought you weren't coming"
"I just got finished at the shop, I came straight here, where are you going"
"Home" she said plainly. He gave her a weird look and she turned her away.
"Is everything okay?" Zhul asked putting his hand on her shoulders.
"Yes now move" Angel said, pushing him away and running.
"ANGEL!" he called but she didn't answer she just kept running. What the hell is up with her? He then looked down and saw that Angel dropped her planner on the floor. He sighed and tried to run after her. Once he got outside, a cab with Angel in it had just sped off. He scratched his head then resolved that he would see her in school Monday. He put the planner in his pocket and walked back into the school.
Later that night...
Gerand knocked at the door of the Kuchiki household. Mhadz opened the door and smiled warmly at him.
"Hi Gerand, it's late for dinner we ate an hour ago" she said.
"Oh, I ate with my school team at this pizza place, I just need to speak to Angel." He said. Mhadz nodded and let him in. "She should be in her room". Gerand bowed and thanked her. He ran up the stairs and opened Angel's room and saw no sign of her. He clenched his fist then made his way to the bathroom. Just as he was about to knock, Angel opened the door and was shocked to see Gerand there.
"Gerand what are you doing here?" Angel asked nervously.
"Never mind me, what were you doing in there?" He asked with anger in his voice.
"I don't know what you mean" She said trying to walk past him. He grabbed her elbow and swung her around. "Don't lie to me, I can smell it! You were throwing up!" He yelled. Angel smacked him in the arm. "Don't say that so loud" She warned him.
"So what, I heard you have been binge eating a lot, and now you are throwing up, I thought you were done with this"
"Gerand stay out of it."
"Your bulimic Angel!" He yelled. Angel smacked him across the face. "You have no idea what I am going through" She snapped.
"I thought you weren't gonna do this anymore, after me and Mush found out a few months ago I thought you would learn to love your body the way it is. I can't believe you are trying to slim down in order to please that man, Angel you are so much better than that."
"Mind your own business Gerand, I don't give a damn what you have to say, JUST GET THE HELL OUT!" Angel yelled. Gerand looked at her dumbfounded. She stomped to her room and closed the door behind her. She slumped down the door and sat there breathing hard. She heard Gerand walk down the stairs then she started sobbing uncontrollably. She looked at her hand at was balled up in a fist. In her hand there was a white stick. I'm sorry Gerand I can't let you know what's really wrong with me. She looked at the stick.
In the middle there was a little pink plus. What am I going to do?