Ara's cheek suddenly blushes, as her lips suddenly became silent after hearing Zach's statement. She knew well how Zach likes to tease her with cheesy statements, but this time made her surprised because he had to let it out in a moment of awkwardness, when she's sober and he just confessed about his life story and all.
In silence, Ara starts to study Zach's features from her side. His sharp jawlines is one of the most attractive things about him from the side, complete with his sharp nose bridge and bright eyes. His thin lips is another thing which completes his sweet face, making him more charming. Thinking about Zach's charms, Ara thought that the boy looks quite attractive, even by just staring at him from the side. She realized it's no wonder that he's one of the popular boys at school, and that the cheerleaders are crazy about him.
Slowly, Ara's hand touch Zach's hand, which is placed on the bed they're both sitting on. Ara's touch caught Zach's attention, making him turn his head to face her. Their eyes meet in a moment of silence, where both of them get lost as they stare deeply into each other's chocolate brown eyes. Zach starts to lean his head closer to Ara's face, slowly closing the distance between them. Before Ara could let out any word, sparks starts appearing in her heart as she feels her lips touched Zach, in which the two connect through a kiss.
Ara's POV...
I could feel my heart beat faster as Zach and I continue with our unplanned kiss. Out of impulse, somehow we got into a pace of wanting to connect deeper with one another. Maybe because deep down, we're just two broken people. While my love life hadn't been so lucky, he's just a boy who missed his foster mom dearly. Maybe because we both have scars deep down, that somehow we just felt the feeling of wanting to connect with one another on the next level. This kiss, is way different from our first kiss in my room. This time, it's like the two of us can taste each other's bitterness, and feel each other's affection. I feel like the rythm of our hearts syncronize as one. In this moment, it doesn't matter if no one, including Tracy, couldn't witness our sweet moment. That doesn't matter anymore. Because what matters now is that I am with him, and he is with me.
Two days later...
Monday...
At school...
Ara is walking through the locker alone, with her science book in hand. Since she and Zach came out as a "couple" and the incident of her slapping Tracy at Matt's party, she noticed that most of the girls starts staring at her with both envy yet she could tell they're also scared deep down. They never knew Ara had the guts to actually slap Tracy, A.K.A the mean queen in front of everyone.
Yet, to Ara, all of that didn't matter anymore. She didn't care whether the girls will be scared of her, or if she succede in giving Tracy the taste of her own medicine last Saturday. Right now, she wants to focus on moving on from Junghwa, despite the fact that she still has to see him during weekdays for her piano lessons. She wanted to change her feelings for him, and forget that she had fallen in love with him in a time.
"Ara!"
Ara almost drop her book as Grace suddenly runs to her direction. She recalled that she hasn't talk to her since she got drunk at Matt's party.
"Man, I thought you were kidnaped by some random jock at Matt's party," Grace says.
"Yeah right. I was badly drunk that night," Ara states with a sassy voice.
"Oh. Were you that bad that night?" Grace asks.
"Yeah, bad enough that I decided to leave earlier," Ara states as she continues to walk through the hallway, with Grace now walking next to her.
"I see," Grace says. "How did you get home though in a drunk state?"
"Zach drove me back. Besides, I didn't came back home that night. My parents would kill me," Ara states, this time her voice sounds more sarcastic.
"Ok. So where did Zach took you that night?" Grace asks.
"A random hotel," Ara states as the thought of her little moment with Zach at the hotel starts surfacing back in her head, giving her butterflies inside as she remember her impulsive ways. Well, she thought he was also impulsive enough to start the kiss.
"Oohh, I see," Grace says with a smirk on her face.
Ara glance at Grace still smirking at her, in which roll her eyes at the sight of it. She assumed Grace must have thought that something must had happened behind the hotel room between her and Zach.
"Believe me, he took me there because I'm not ready to witness my parents' anger," Ara states.
"Haha, of course I believe you," Grace states.
As Ara and Grace continue to walk through the hallway, Ara couldn't help but get distracted by the flashbacks of her and Zach. Though they didn't continue to anything further after, sometimes she still ask herself why did she had the feeling to do it with her own best friend? Especially since she's trying to move on from Junghwa, she wonders if she's only treating Zach as a getaway to forget Junghwa.
Kim Ara, what the hell were you thinking that night? Ara thought.
A few hours later...
After school...
Ara's POV...
The final bell had rang, signaling the end of school for today. But other than that, it's also a reminder that piano lesson will soon begin, with the guy I am still trying to forget. Damn, how am I suppose to forget to remember him, when I have to deal with an hour of staring at his face and listening to his nagging during lessons? Kim Ara, you gotta keep your mind together. Remember that you have to forget him at all cost.
"Hey..."
I turn my head to the left side, only to see Zach standing still with his right hand holding his navy backpack on his shoulder. The two of stood in front of the school building, with his vision looking at me with full of questions.
"Hi," I say to him. Come to think of it, we haven't actually talk today since I noticed him hanging out with Peter a lot. Maybe he wanted to have some boys time.
"So...how are things lately?" Zach asks with a voice that almost sounds as if he's in between awkward and just trying to find a random topic.
"Good," I say. Honestly, this is the first time where I actually feel awkward talking to this guy. In this point, I kind of regret our impulsive doings last Saturday, since it kind of made our friendship awkward.
"So how are you and Junghwa?" Zach asks.
I sigh for a moment as I think of an answer that's good enough for that question. Speaking of Junghwa, I haven't even talk to him since what happened at Matt's party.
"Hey, Kim Ara!"
And just as I was about to give Zach a proper answer, the familiar voice that made my heart skipped a beat tinkles through my ears, or I should probably say that Zach also heard it. The figure walks over to us with his hands in his pocket, as his lips forms his signature smile. His alluring eyes never fail to catch my attention. It's Hwang Junghwa.
"Ready for today's lesson?" Junghwa asks me with a smile. I could feel butterflies start to dance inside of me again as I stare into his shinning brown eyes. Experieincing it now, this moving on thing is way more difficult than I expected.
"Sure," I say in a low tone, though I didn't try to make it sound like I had something going on in my mind. I wouldn't want him to sense that.
"Great. Let's go," Junghwa says.
I force myself to form a smile at him, before glancing my gaze to Zach, only to see him shifting his gaze between me and Junghwa with an awkward stare. Yet, other than just awkwardness, I could sense another type of look on Zach's face. Somehow, he looked uncomfortable. Yet, I turn my head away from him and follows Junghwa to who is heading to his car, leaving the awkward Zach alone, with a bit of guilt lingering in my heart.
A few minutes later...
"Well you're surely invisible today," Junghwa says while his vision continue to stay focus on the road as he drives.
Ara rolls her eyes out of annoyance. She wanted to think Junghwa is dumb enough to not get why she had avoided him all day, and didn't bother to even ask him to join her for lunch. Well, he was having lunch with Matt anyway. She thought by avoiding him as she can would reduce her feelings for him, but now she only felt like it increases her annoyance towards him.
"Yeah right. I was busy," Ara states in her casual sassy tone.
"Busy with what?" Junghwa asks in a clueless manner.
Ara turn her head to see Junghwa who still has his eyes on the road. Now she is fully sure that he really is insensitive, or probably just dumb that he actually thought she was busy. People like to call Zach insensitive, but well for Ara, Junghwa doesn't seems to even understand what "sensitive" actually means.
"Study," Ara answers in a flat tone. She's  really starting to had enough of his insensitive behaviour.
"Ok, cool. Wouldn't want to get detention from Mr Frank," Junghwa says, before he eventually lets out a chuckle, making Ara feel more annoyed.
"By the way, guess what happened at Matt's party?" Junghwa asks Ara.
"What?" Ara asks, not really interested to answer his question since she already knew what he's probably gonna say.
"Hana and I kissed," Junghwa says with a proud smile on his face.
Hearing that, Ara felt her heart being stabbed by a blade as flashbacks from Matt's party starts surfacing back in her head. The moment she saw her best friend kissing her cousin, she felt like her world had fallen a part. All her feelings shattered like a broken glass, erasing any hopes she had in the past for him. Though Ara could feel the tears starting to fill her eyes, she quickly rubs it with her thumb without Junghwa's notice, before taking a deep breath to calm herself down so she could give Junghwa a chill answer to his question.
"Congratulations," Ara says in a calm tone, while trying her hardest to not remember about Junghwa and Hana's kiss.
Junghwa smiles. "I owe you a big thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."
Ara sighs. Remembering that she was the one who hooked them up together, on one side she felt like an idiot. The cupid wasn't suppose to fall for the target.
"It's no problem. Don't mention it," Ara says in a casual tone.
"How can I not mention it when it's the best feeling I ever experienced? All thanks to you," Junghwa says, as he turns his head to see Ara who only stay silent. Junghwa noticed how she is now frowning, which sort of surprised him. He didn't notice how she had looked upset all this time.
"Ara? You ok?" Junghwa asks.
To be continue...