Chapter CXIV - Disbelief

With the first day of school slowly coming to an end, the couple retired under a tree in a nearby park, enjoying the last bit of daylight before heading home. Munching on her food, having not finished her toasted sandwich yet, Irene gently stroked Arthur’s hair with her free hand while he rested his head on her lap.

“You okay?” Irene asked as she couldn’t help but notice how quiet Arthur had been for the past two hours.

“Huh?” Arthur opened his eyes, meeting her gaze. “Yeah. . . just a bit tired.”

“You sure?” His tone made her doubtful. “Gonna call my uncle tonight and talk about what happened.”

“There’s no need.” Arthur sighed, showing a smile and reaching for her hair that fell to the front. “As I’ve said, he was quite understanding.”

“What about next time?” Irene asked, taking another bite.

“I’ll make sure there’s no next time.”

“And what if you can’t, huh? Stop trying to do everything by yourself, and let me help.” Irene sighed.

Hearing Irene voice her annoyance, Arthur pushed himself back up and turned to her slowly while letting out a chuckle. Her gaze never lost track of his eyes as he leaned in, playfully licking away the ketchup clinging to her lower lip before giving her a soft kiss.

“Fine, but I already rely on you lots. Don’t be too hard on me, okay?” Arthur smiled again, pushing her hair behind the ear.

“‘Kay. . .” Irene blushed, reverting to being soft-spoken.

“Good,” Arthur whispered, observing every change in her expression, enthralled by her beauty. “But what about you? What’d you think about today?”

“Exhausting. . .” Irene huffed, crushing together the paper her toast was in and putting it in her backpack to throw away later. “Hey. . . you know what?”

“What?” Arthur furrowed his brows.

“Come here.” Irene pulled him closer, taking out her phone. She snuggled next to him, leaning back into his chest with her head resting on his shoulder while turning on the camera. “Ready?”

“What are we doing?” Arthur asked.

“Taking a selfie?”

“I know that. . . but why?” Arthur looked back at her, not opposed to the idea itself, but he knew she had ulterior motives.

Lowering her phone without snapping a picture, she glanced up and explained, “Gonna put it up on my socials and tag you. Is that alright?”

“Are you sure you wanna do that? It’s not that I’m complaining, but what about your parents? Won’t they see it?”

“Why should I care? I can date whomever I want, can’t I? Besides, only my sister follows me, so we’re safe.”

“I see. . .” Arthur mumbled.

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to. . . It’s not as if I was going to post it without your permission.” Irene rolled her head to the side, looking at his chest as her hand holding the phone rested on his lap. “Just thought it might be the easiest way for us to make our relationship public.”

“If that’s something you wanna do, then don’t let me hold you back. Not like I use all that stuff anyway.”

“Maybe you should look into it and fix up your profile. . . It’s—” Irene paused for a moment before staring back at his confused eyes. “Nah. Nevermind.”

“Took me a while to figure out how to navigate the group chat, so maybe it’s best if you help me out with this one. . .” Arthur felt relieved he had someone with whom he could talk about tech without feeling utterly hopeless. At the very least, she understood the reason he was so slow to pick up on things. “But let’s do that later. First, you wanna take that picture, right?”

“Then you’re fine with me posting it?” Irene asked, turning the camera back on before he could change his mind. At the very least, she wanted to have another photo of them as they didn’t often take them.

“Yeah,” he whispered, smiling for the camera.

After snapping a few, Irene zoomed in on the pictures and kept coyly smirking. “My god. . .”

“What’s wrong?”

“How can someone be so photogenic. . .” Irene turned off her phone and looked back at her boyfriend, confused as to why he looked worried.

“I–is. . . that bad?”

“What? Being photogenic?” Irene chuckled.

“Yeah? I’m not sure what that means.” Arthur averted his gaze but was forced to look back as her hand gently cupped his face.

“Hey. . .” She whispered, smiling as she traced her hand down his chest. “I’m just saying you look handsome. Lots of people struggle to look attractive on camera as they tense up, but you look so natural and relaxed.”

“Maybe it’s cuz I’m tired?”

“It’s not the first time I’ve noticed. Though your sleepy face is cute too.” Irene giggled, going for a kiss but stopping herself halfway. “Wait. . .”

She leaned over to grab her bag.

“Everything alright?”

“Just looking for. . .” Irene rummaged through the bottom. “Aha! Here it is.”

She pulled out a small green package before opening it up and pouring two mints into her hand.

“Mints?” Arthur asked as Irene forced one in his mouth.

“You wanna kiss me, don’t you?” Irene asked, taking hers.

“You saying I can’t kiss you without one?” He teased, getting closer to her mouth.

“Dork. . .” Irene mumbled, touching noses with him while sucking on the mint. “There were pickles in that sandwich, and I don’t want you catching me with bad breath.”

“What about early in the morning when I wake you up?”

“That’s different. . . Can’t stop you from kissing me while I’m sleepy.” Irene averted her gaze, letting out a sigh before turning her back and nestling into his arms. “Now. . . What captions should I put?”

“Captions?” Arthur asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Text that goes along with the photo.” She swiped back and forth between pictures, trying to choose the one she liked most.

“I’ll let you worry about it while I hold you. . .”

“Brilliant.”

“Hey, don’t complain now. You’re the one who told me to rely on you more.”

She clicked her tongue jokingly. “To think you’d use my words against me.”

“Guilty.” He laughed, looking in the distance as the two hid in the shade. “Besides. You’re better at it anyway.”

After taking her time, Irene finally put her phone down and sighed in relief. “There. That should shut those fuckers up.”

“You okay?” Arthur chuckled.

“No. . .” Irene closed her eyes and turned her head to the side. “Everyone was so annoying today, and it pissed me off. How dare they talk about you that way? I should just walk up to them and dare them to say that to my face.”

Arthur started chuckling, caressing her arm gently before grabbing hold of her hand. “Figured that’s what you were doing.”

He understood how she felt, as the thought of anyone badmouthing Irene made his blood boil.

“Nah. That’s just an added bonus. Having a picture of you up on my profile is something I wanted to do for a while now.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“Cuz I keep forgetting to ask.” Irene yawned as the after-food sleepiness started kicking in.

“You don’t need my permission. I trust you.”

“I– I’ll keep that in mind.” She blushed again, looking up the time on her phone. “God, it’s so late already. . . We should head home.”

“Sure.” Arthur shyly smirked, unable to help but feel happy whenever she mentioned them going home together. “Oh, and we should plan something to see Noona off. Isn’t she leaving in a few weeks?”

Arthur waited for her to get off before standing back up and gesturing for her to hand the bag over; however, instead of that, Irene simply grabbed his hand and used the opportunity to lead the way.

“I’ve been thinking about that. So, what do you think of. . .”

The next day of school, nobody other than their friend group mentioned Irene’s post, even though most people from their class saw it, making Arthur believe it meant nobody was going to question their relationship anymore. First period started shortly after, through which Arthur had slight difficulty staying awake.

“Nabi, ready to go?” Irene asked after the bell rang.

“Give me one sec,” Nabi said, reaching for her bag.

“Where’re you going?” Tjay asked.

“Iseul needs our help with council stuff. I swear, she’s too responsible.” Irene chuckled, standing up and turning to Arthur. “We’ll be back. Call me if you need anything.”

“Let’s go before next class starts. We only got thirty minutes,” Nabi reminded her.

“Have fun,” Arthur said, leaning on his left hand.

“Right.” Irene smiled as the girls walked out of the classroom.

“Oi, you guys want to run downstairs and get something to drink?” Max asked, sitting down on Arthur’s desk.

“I think I’ll sit this one out. Though maybe you could grab me something.” Arthur reached for his pocket, handing Max some money.

“Anything specific?”

“Nah.”

“I’ll go with you,” Tjay said, standing up and stretching his arms out.

“Don?” Max turned to him.

“I think I’ll stay behind with Art, but grab me something too.”

“Alright, but don’t cry later if you don’t like it,” Max warned before looking back at Tjay. “Let’s go.”

The two left right away, leaving Don and Arthur in the classroom with the others. Arthur hoped he’d have the energy to hold a proper conversation with Don, but his eyes kept shutting on their own, begging for a light nap. Luckily, Don never had trouble entertaining himself, finding an article to read on his phone within seconds. In fact, it was one of the things Arthur, who wasn’t very talkative at times, appreciated most about him. Don’s easy-going nature made hanging out quite relaxing.

“Did you see the post?”

“Yeah. Told you they were dating.”

“No way. It’s just one picture.”

“Someone mentioned they saw them walking home together.”

“That’s what friends do. . .”

“Come on. Now you’re just being ignorant.”

“Until they kiss, I ain’t buying it. I mean, look at him. So gloomy and depressing.”

“Ew. You wanna see them kiss?”

“What? No.” The girl whose conversation Arthur listened in on sighed. “Can’t stand the thought of someone like him being–”

“Quiet. I think he’s listening. . .”

“Oh, who cares?”

Arthur took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and looked back at his phone. He knew it was too good to be true as their hasty plan failed, only inspiring further gossip.

“Hey, Art?” Don spoke up, averting his gaze. “Don’t let their comments get to you. Okay?”

“Don?” he mumbled, surprised Don mentioned it.

“I know it sucks, but it all eventually dies down. At least you know they’re trash-talking you cuz they’re jealous.”

He was right. However, Arthur couldn’t help but notice Don’s saddened expression. Having been a victim of bullying and branded a social reject, the topic hit too close to home.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine.” Arthur smirked, closing his eyes again. “But thanks.”

“No worries. That’s what friends are for, right?” Though he couldn’t see him, he could hear Don smiling by the change in his tone.

“You’re right,” Arthur said, hoping he could sneak in a light nap before the guys arrived.

“Oi.” Arthur’s peace was yet again disturbed as Moon approached, sitting on Irene’s desk. “Got a sec?”

Arthur took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, opening his eyes, and looking at Moon. It was still hard to believe he got to see her in a uniform. “Moon. What’s up?”

“What’s up with you? Stayed up all night?”

Noticing that Don was listening in, he couldn’t tell the truth. “Something like that.”

“Woah. She must be crazier than I thought,” Moon said, confusing Arthur as he failed to realize his comment could’ve alluded to something entirely different.

“Is that all?” Arthur asked.

“No. Not what I’m here for.”

“What is it then?”

“Heard a lot of talk about you recently. Didn’t think you were that popular.”

“More like notorious. . .”

“Ehh. . . Same shit.” Moon shrugged. “Anyway, I heard something intriguing. Is it true you tried killing yourself?”

Arthur was stunned as he didn’t expect her to ask him that; however, he had no intention of lying. “I was in an accident earlier this year and suffered from amnesia. Don’t remember anything before then, so I can’t say for sure if it was an attempted suicide or truly an accident.”

“Wait, you have amnesia?” Moon furrowed her brows.

“Yup, a blank past.”

“That sucks, but I wish I could forget some shit.”

“Hit yourself on the head and see if it works,” Arthur jokingly suggested.

“Ha. . .” Moon faked a smile. “Smartass. . .”

“Right. So is that everything?”

“Yeah, but ease up a bit. I don’t want you exhausted for when time comes.”

“You got nothing to worry about,” Arthur reassured her, standing up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. . . I need to grab some fresh air.”

“You do you, bud.” Moon sighed, noticing Don glancing secretly. “Hey, it’s rude to stare.”

“Sorry. . .” Don mumbled, refraining from defending himself.

“Moon?” Arthur was confused, noticing she was grinning.

“Thought you were going?” Moon asked Arthur before walking over to Don. “Hey. Looking at something fun?”

“Maybe? Why?” Don mumbled.

“Call me curious,” Moon explained, leaning over his shoulder to have a look. “Besides, it beats sitting around doing nothing. Why? Do you mind?”

“No? Might be boring for you, though.”

“Did you hit your head or something? I work at a PC bang. Now move over.”

Arthur turned around, secretly smiling as he slowly got to know Moon’s friendlier side while thinking she might turn out to be a good influence on Don to become more confident.

Stepping out of the classroom, Arthur took a deep breath while thinking about where to go for some fresh air, desperate to get away from people. The idea of visiting the school roof followed shortly after as he wondered how good of a view it had.

“Okay. . . I got fifteen minutes,” Arthur mumbled, looking at his phone.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.