Sophia can never understand of why?
Out of every person to find her like this...why it has to always be Michael Liam?
"Hey Mike, don't you...have your afternoon class today?" She tried to sound like nothing is wrong.
"Soph, I've already told you multiple times before, my brainless subject is just so might as well add the "pointless" too, I've skipped this class too many times last semester, yet I still got an A. Honestly...I don't think the teacher would even care at all." He sat down besides her, his eyes never once look away from her.
"Yeah, I totally forgot about that" She tried to laugh it off, she really tried to pretend that nothing is wrong with her.
But Michael Liam, for some reason...always can tell whether she was lying or not.So in the end...she finally drop the facade and let all the sobs she was holding back out.
Mike didn't ask her to explain, he just stay quiet and let her let it all out on her own.
"I...I just don't understand" She started.
"I did everything he asked, I...I changed the way I talked, I changed my dietary, I changed the way I acted....but why? Why he still believes I don't trust him?" She sobbed into his hoodie, feeling his big hand caressing her head.
"I'm gonna be straightforward with you, do you remember one specific request he once asked from you and you said no?" He asked.
"Oh..." She whispered to herself, realizing what he meant.
"Yeah, that's all he ever cares about"
"Am I...really a coward? For...you know, not letting him have his way into my knickers" She looked down, and she noticed that one of Mike's hand is curling into the balls, then suddenly he cupped her chin with his unclenched hand, her black eyes ended up looking into his ocean blue eyes.
"Soph, you are anything but that word. In fact, you're probably the only one in the group that had went through the experience of being in romantic relationship"
"Really?"
"Really. I mean...if we go down the list; your brother always find a girl that either has a boyfriend or not interested in him, or maybe he just doesn't give a damn about having relationship...I don't really know what's going on inside his head" He shrugged before continuing.
"And then we have Bill and Mary, who are clearly so in love with each other, but they're just too stubborn to say it out loud, which I swear to god, I will lock them up until one of them would admits..." He spoke in a fake frustration.
"Followed with GokuZ and Yean, who are literally busy being shipped by some Yaoi fans, even though they all just witnessed GokuZ throwing Yean off the rooftop last year...and something tells me our guy is plotting a new plan to murder his annoying pal..." Sophia actually laughs little bit at that.
"And...lastly, there's me, who...despite got rejected by a girl, yet five years go by and I'm still exactly where I was, didn't even want to move on" He tried to sound like it was one of those funny jokes that the mischievous joker like him would say, but Sophia can sense the hidden pain in his voice.
Because the girl that rejected Mike...is literally listening to him rambling in that very room.
It was homecoming night, Sophia at that time was still a freshman while Mike was a sophomore, they were sitting by a beverage booth with Manggon, Bill and Mary.
"Hey Soph, can I...talk to you for a moment?" Mike suddenly spoke up.
"Sure, what is it?" She turned to look at him.
"So I...uhm...I...uhh...gosh, I'm really terrible at this" He muttered to himself at the last part.
"Mike?" Sophia raised her one eyebrow, because as far as she can remember, Michael Liam, the mischievous joker of the group never gets nervous in any situation...until now.
"Okay, I am pretty much terrible at poetic, so I'm gonna be straightforward," He then took a deep breath before adding "Soph, I have a crush on you"
For a split of second, everything seems to got quieter around them.
"You...you what?" Sophia whispered.
"Yeah, I have a crush on you since we were around 13-14 or something like that. The reason why...is because every time I see you smile, I can't help but smile too. Have I told you before that you look cute whenever you smile?" He pulled both of her cheeks into a funny smile, it wasn't his first time doing that to her, in fact...he had done this to her so many times ever since they have known each other.
Sophia at that time also had smiled, even if he no longer was pulling her cheeks....but then her smile faltered.
"Mike...I'm sorry...but I'm actually dating someone right now...I was gonna tell you and the group about this when Manggon comes back from the restroom"
Upon hearing that, Mike suddenly smiles...it was a smile he commonly uses.
"Oh! That's nice! Well...I'm glad you finally found your 'the one'!" He smiles even wider while ruffling her hair...then suddenly went to do his mischievous things, like nothing is wrong at all.
Sophia would continue to date Max, the football captain for the next five years.
And even though, Mike got rejected...he still can be seen hanging around Sophia almost all the time.
Just like how he is currently sitting there and being the comforting big brother for her.
"Max only knows of what girls can do for the guy like him...but he will never know what a girl like you is really capable of" Whenever Mike talked to her, his tone will always change from his usual mischievous tone to the very softened and heartwarming one.
"You are already perfect the way you are, Soph. Don't let anyone discourage you, just because you are not ready for another step yet, it doesn't mean you're a coward, but it means you're a careful person so you won't regret your choice in the future" He gives her another assuring smile.
"Thank you, Mike...for always be here for me...even though I..." She trailed off, possibly didn't want to finish that sentence.
"Hey, I already told you before, it's alright. Whatever's in the past, let it be" He ruffled her hair again, just then his watch beeped.
"Oh! Look at the time, it's my band practice time. See you later" Then he jumped up and crawl into the vent that he just came from, the vent crawling noises eventually became more distant...and Sophia was left alone with her thoughts again.
Mike kept telling her he's ok, he kept telling her it's all in the past and she really shouldn't be paying attention to that much.
And at first, she really didn't think of it much.
But at the present time, she can't stop thinking back about that moment, because that was her first time ever to see Michael Liam in a new light.
He is usually one heck of a mischievous joker that once attempted to cook a turkey and ended up almost burning the house down entirely. But there he was, acting nervous and so awkward as he confessed his feelings to her.
And throughout the past five years that she's supposedly was dating Max....there were various parties that they went together almost every week...and yet, Max who kept bragging nonstop about his big-bike, he never once offer to drop her off at her home.
Instead it was always Michael Liam who had to drop her off at her house with his cheap motorcycle.
She can still remember a certain incident very well; Mike's motorcycle broke down while they're in the middle of the thunderstorm. Mike had given up his only hoodie to Sophia, then turned to continue his attempts of starting the motorcycle.
This event would eventually leads to Mike having a fever that is so intense that he missed the final exams and had to repeat a year.
And yet, when he walked into the classroom that Manggon, Bill and Mary were in, he continues to laugh and smile with his juniors—now best friends, like how he always do, as if nothing had went wrong in his life.
But it's clear to Sophia now...that Mike never had moved on from her, he still loves her more than just a brother, even if she has a boyfriend.
To be continued
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