Love...

Funny word that is. They say true love has a habit of coming back. But what would you do if the so called love never left in the first place.

I was mulling over the events which had occurred over the past few days when my name was suddenly called. I know I shouldn't have been day dreaming in the class but I was so wound up with my thoughts about Eric Warnard and his lost love that I failed to register that we were presently having a question and answer session in Mr. Miers's class.

"Miss Valdez, can you name an organelle that is formed when the plasma membrane surrounds a particle outside of the cell?" Mr. Miers was always a polite teacher to be, but in no ways was he easygoing on his students when it came to their studies. I was so screwed. That's what you get for not paying attention Sara!

I swallowed hard as no answer came to me. "Well Miss Valdez? We're waiting for you." I averted my eyes from my teacher's and hung my head low in shame.

I heard him sigh as he spoke in a disappointed tone, "Really Miss Valdez, I have been noticing you since these past few days. You've been awfully absent-minded. Now I understand considering the current situation of the school a little distraction can be considered, but that doesn't give way to tardiness Miss Valdez. I will be expecting you in my office after class. You may take your seat now." With a summons to my probable detention Mr. Miers continued on with his class.

~•••••••••••~

"What is going on Miss Valdez?" Mr. Miers enquired in a worried voice.

"I...I don't understand what you mean Mr. Miers?" I said, a bit puzzled. Didn't he call me to his office to punish me?

"It is not like you to be tardy Miss Valdez." He said, "Now I know that all the students of Verona high including you are going through a very traumatic phase and I emphasize with that. But as far as I have got to know you as a student, you are not the kind who would let such disturbances hinder your studies. So, I am really concerned about you Miss Valdez." Mr. Miers sounded so sincere that it was almost painful for me to lie to him, but what was I supposed to say to him? That Eric Warnard has got some romantic tragedy going on in his life and I wasn't paying attention in his class because Eric's love tragedy fascinated me more than his lessons! No thanks.

"I'm sorry if I got you worried Mr. Miers, but I'm fine, really. I...it's just my mom. She's really worried about me being here considering the current events and her being worried is really getting me worried in turn. You see, she is the anxious type." I let out an awkward smile and hoped he would buy my excuse.

"Really?" He heaved a relieved sigh, "I see. I'm glad it's nothing severe. I was worried you were getting bullied."

"What." He thought I was getting picked on! Where did he draw such a conclusion from?

"Well...Eric Warnard is not the best known student in the campus and he has been spending an awful lot of time with you nowadays and I know it's not proper for me to judge your situation as a teacher and an outsider but I couldn't help intervene considering if someone was bothering one of me students. And since Warnard is pretty much an influenced personal here, I thought you might've been finding it difficult to approach a teacher. So...I'm sorry if it was a false alarm and I poked me nose where it didn't belong."

Eric Warnard really gave off the playground bully vibe huh!(snicker) "I really appreciate your concern Mr. Miers but you can rest assured, I am not being picked on by Eric or anyone else." I smiled brightly at him. He really was a great teacher. Almost made me wish every school I attended had such attentive teachers.

"Are you guys going out?" He asked out of the blue and I was like a blushing deer caught in the headlight. "What! No!" I yelped faster than lightening.

"My! You don't have to deny it so vehemently." He let out a little laugh, "I'm not judging."

"No. You've got it all wrong. I and Eric aren't like that." I muttered, quite a bit flustered. "We're just friends."

"Is that so? Then that will be all. You may take your leave to enjoy your break now Miss Valdez." He smiled that dazzling smile of his at me that had so many girls smitten. "But if you ever need anything," He said, "Anything at all, please know that I'm always here." Mr. Miers eyed me with such kindness that I felt my guilt engulfing me. His concern was so real that my nature trusted him before my mind could. I was on the verge of telling him all about my worries and of Eric's. But I somehow refrained; because it was not a story for me to tell.

"Will do so sir. Thank you." And I left Mr. Miers' office with a heavy heart.

~•••••••••••~

I am not a clumsy person but no force on this earth could've prevented this fall.

Before you get all confused and baffled, let me explain...

I, like the carefree soul that I am, was walking down the way to my table in the cafeteria with my delicious lunch (Note the sarcasm) onboard, when some vindictive soul called Donna Perkins tripped me. Now I understand why she liked her legs so polished. I must give it to her; Donna Perkins liked to keep her weapons topnotch and shiny.

Well, I would've left it at that and called it all water under the bridge if she was only guilty of a little trip, but no! She was Donna Perkins and she couldn't have just that. After all, she was running for the harbinger of miseries contest. And it seemed like she was aiming to win.

Yeah, I know I'm rambling but well, I'm very angry at the moment and I need to ramble to keep my sanity in check, else I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to tell you my side of the story and will just jump Donna Perkins right about this moment.

I know what you guys are thinking. What had Donna Perkins done for such a peace loving person like me to actually consider of resorting to violence. But Donna Perkins had just literally pushed me into the lion's den. The lion being Oliver Brown who was not looking very charming while wearing my lunch all over himself.

While I, the poor soul that I was reduced to, was on the floor, staring up at him in horror and secretly planning a million ways to execute my escape. Well, more likely trying to plan, since my mind was in no condition to sprout any great plans.

"What the Hell!" Oliver Brown shrieked at the top of his lungs and I knew right then, I was done for.

"What is wrong with you girl! Don't you have eyes." He shouted like his life depended on it, and you can add a very red angry face to the equation.

I shuddered at his bellow but I somehow gathered up my remaining scraps of courage and muttered in a small voice, "I...I'm so sorry. I... I didn't do it on purpose."

"Didn't do it on purpose! And that is your excuse!" He glared like he wanted to strangle me right there and then. This mess was getting uglier and uglier with each passing minute. And I didn't know what to do to make it any better.

"I...I can compensate for your clothes." I said finding no other way to quell Oliver Brown's rage.

"Hmph! Compensate for my clothes! Do you even know how much they are worth? Even a year of your parent's salary can't cover up the price." He scoffed bitterly. The arrogant asshole.

"I...I don't know what else I can do to make up for it." I mumbled in fear. Oliver Brown was the worst kind of jerk there is to be and he was definitely going to try to take advantage of this situation. But I could find no way to get away from this mess.

"Hmmm..." He squinted his eyes in a wicked way and spoke, "How about serving me until I'm satisfied."

"What!" I was speechless. What the heck was this moron talking about!

"You know, being my personal slave and all." His evil smirk lit up all his sadistic features, and he looked like a sociopath on drugs. Looking at him, I couldn't help but gulp nervously.

"What's this about a slave again!" I heard a familiar voice wrecking the pin-drop silence of the school cafeteria and oddly so, I let out a relieved sigh. There comes my knight in a tin foil.

Everyone's head including mine snapped towards the owner of the voice and in walked, The Great Eric Warnard himself, in flesh.

"What's going on here Phina?" He came and stood beside me while directing a pseudo glare at Oliver Brown.

But before I could say anything Oliver jabbered out, "This is none of your business Warnard. Stay out of it." To that, Eric's pseudo glare became full on mega glare and he spoke in a mocking tone, "Everything related to Saraphina is my business and you... ugh...the trash gets picked up tomorrow. Be ready." Eric made a disgusted face at a food bathed Oliver.

"You... Warnard! How dare you mock me!" Oliver had gone full on hulk now, granted it was a funny sight with him smeared with my lunch but never the less he looked pretty intimidating.

However, Eric was not a bit unsettled; he had that 'I-am-the-boss-what-are-you-gonna-do' demeanor on, "Oh man, you still don't get it? The last time I saw something like you, I flushed it. So, you should know your worth by now and save some of that non-existent face and get the hell out of here trash!" He stared Oliver down just as fiercely.

"Warnard! You son of a Bitch!" Oliver grabbed Eric's black polo T with both hands and got all up in his face, his angry stance ready to attack.

The tension around the room was nerve wrecking but Eric was as calm as one gets. People would mistake him to be the most patient and compliant person to be at the moment. But I knew better, I didn't dismiss the inferno that blazed in his calm emerald eyes. Anyone who noticed it knew how much trouble Oliver Brown was really in. "If you have the balls, give it a try, trash." Eric's words carried an air of such finality and dominance that in that frozen second between standoff and fighting I could see Oliver's adrenaline-rushed courage fizzling out.

Eric tore Oliver's hands off him and said, "Thought so." Then he grabbed mine and spoke with the preeminence of a king, his words, so cold they sent a shiver down my spine, "Anyone who tries to harass her is directly picking a fight with me. So beware, I will not go easy on them."

And off we made a grand exit from the cafeteria and no one dared make a sound of protest.

~•••••••••••~

"...Erm...thanks for the help back there." I mumbled inside my mouth.

"Huh? What was that?" And as always, Eric decided to revert back to the jerk that he was.

When he noticed my glower he raised his hands up in surrender, "Okay woah! Ease up on the glare tiger, I saved you there."

"And I thanked you for it, but you just had to go and ruin it all." I grumbled. "And now they are gonna think I'm dating you since you stuck up for me."

"And what's wrong with that?" He threw back in nonchalance.

Okay, I seriously don't get this guy. "Erm...simply because we are not really dating and you're in love with someone else?"

"Well, as long as that they don't know that, isn't it fine? This way you can avoid annoying trashes like Brown." He shrugged.

"Really? You're really okay with that?" I raised my brows, "What if your ex girlfriend comes back and finds out that you are with someone else? What are you gonna do then?"

"Oh trust me hun, if she were to come back so easily I wouldn't have bothered with you." He jeered playfully, but his lighthearted remark hit a sore spot.

I knew he didn't mean it but it still didn't feel great knowing I was nothing but a means for him to reach his beloved, and that he would discard me when he was done with me. I chose not to think much of it and changed the subject, "So tell me, why do you like this mystery girl of yours so much?" I playfully nudged him with my elbow.

He let out an awkward groan "Why are you so curious?"

"Because you're not the romantic kind." I let out a laugh, "Do you know how overweening you are? I just want to know who in her right mind dated someone like you."

"What! I can be romantic when I need to be okay?" Unpleasantly, he frowned.

"Okay yeah, whatever makes you sleep at night." I scoffed.

"Hey, that's a baseless accusation." He denied pretty fervidly.

"Okay whatever you say Mr. Obnoxious." I shrugged in nonchalance.

"Hey! Have you seen a face such as this before Phina?" He pointed out at himself, putting his face onward for me to take a better look. "Anyone will jump at a face like this." He said smugly. Granted he was right, but I was not about to admit it to him.

"All is only pretty as long as you keep your mouth shut." I snickered.

"Hmph! I'm irresistible Phina, admit it."

"Yeah okay. I'm admitting to nothing." I walked past his handsome face just to get the point across.

"Alright okay, I might come off as a bit overbearing but..."

"(scoff) A little!" I eyed him with raised temples.

He sighed and said, "Alright maybe a little too much, but who can resist this." Again, he pointed at his face and I choose to just roll my eyes.

"Okay, since you are so skeptical I'm gonna tell you what she liked about me and what I liked about her. But then you gotta admit I'm a charming personal, deal?" I pursed my lips for a sec and then nodded halfheartedly.

"But do you even remember anything about her?"

"Well, not much really. But it just comes back in flashes now and then." He said, "But I remember she liked my smile, and how happy it made me when I heard that. I felt like I could keep smiling forever if she were to just say the word."

Wow. He really was head over heels for her. "I know what you're thinking." He said with a little smile. "You do?" I raised my dubious brows, "You're thinking I'm head over heels for her." And my eyes were as wide as a saucer. And he smirked, "Its written all over your face."

"Okay you got me. You have me all figured out." I yielded and he grinned to that.

"Well I won't deny that I'm head over heels for her. The things I feel for her ... it cannot be put into words. Even though I hardly remember a thing about her I know this, for now... all the possibilities of me being with her, whatever there was, whatever never was, what could've been...is more to me, than anything else. And I'm satisfied with just that."

I take back what I said before. Eric Warnard was a grouchy but a hopeless romantic.

"So...do you admit that I'm irresistible now?" He put on a goofy grin on and I just laughed at his narcissism.

Even though Eric was a little prick, his words moved me to tears. How lucky that girl must be, to be loved like this. Dad once said, "Hearts filled with love, beat with the joy of the new day and seek chances to enrich the lives of others. Love spills from them, and so their kin grow strong also."

At that moment, something stirred in me. And I decided I was going to help him. I was going to help Eric Warnard be with his beloved. In all my life, I had lived in fear. Fear of change, fear of moving forward. I ran away at the first chance I got in the face of trouble. Even though I claimed I was moving on, at the back of my head I knew, I never really had. It was high time now. Time for me to take a step forward.

The next day was a fine day. As I looked out through my window, it was one of those baby-blue skies. The trees were like hula dancers, swaying with the wind and the air smelled of roses. I felt great. I felt if it was today, I could really do it.

So, I washed up and I got dressed and walked straight down the flight of Verona stairs.

"Excuse me Mr.Miers, can I talk to you?"

TO BE CONTINUED...