Dara cowered in fear at the sight of Jiro taking long strides to reach her. “What happened yesterday?” He asked furiously while charging towards her.

“N-Nothing”, Dara stuttered as she took a step backwards. Jiro towered over her as soon as he reached her, making her freeze on her spot. His eyes were squinted in tiny slits as he stared directly at Dara, sending shivers down her spine. The furious look on Jiro’s face is something that she’s not accustomed to seeing.

“Who are those bastards that crossed you? TELL ME!”

“Jiro, stop-”

“TELL ME, RAMIREZ!”

“Nothing hap-”

“Damn it!” Jiro grabbed Dara by the wrist and dragged her towards the Black Dragon’s turf despite her protests. As soon as they entered, he cornered her against the wall and faced her, his eyes still blazing with rage. “Now, tell me what happened. You better not leave any detail”, he muttered between gritted teeth. He then planted his hands against the wall, trapping her.

Dara was stunned in silence. She darted her eyes around and saw that his gang members were all looking at them. Then, her gaze settled at the girl sitting on the chair – the girl who just kissed Jiro on the cheek a while ago. There was a sharp pain in her chest upon remembering the scene.

“Nothing happened”, Dara mumbled as she casted her gaze downwards. Who is that girl? “I just tried exiting by the back gate.” Why did she kiss Jiro? “They weren’t able to drag me-”

“DRAG YOU WHERE?!” Jiro’s booming voice pulled her out of her trance.

“H-Huh? Uhm.. I mean…”

“TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT THEY DID!”

“T-They just circled around me and…”

Jiro’s eyes became dangerous, his jaws clenching in anger. Dara abruptly stopped and swallowed hard, pressing her back against the wall.

“They circled around you…” Jiro repeated in a frightening tone. “What else did they do? Do you remember their uniforms? Are they from our school?”

“No. Jiro, let it slide”, Dara pushed her aside and dashed towards the door. She was about to turn the door knob when an arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, making her yelp in surprise.

“Where the fck are you going?” Jiro hissed angrily.

“JIRO!” She shrieked, darting her eyes at his gang members who were watching them. “Jiro, let me go. This is embarrassing!” She said while trying to wiggle free, but his arms are like steel. She looked at his gang mates again and groaned, planting her face on her palms. Jiro shifted his gaze to his members and motioned for them to go out.

“But I want to watch!!” Bonsai complained.

“Bonsai...” Jiro said warningly.

“Let’s go”, Picaro pushed Bonsai and led the gang outside, including the girl who was looking at Dara curiously. As soon as only the two of them were left, Jiro let her go and made her face him.

“Let it slide?” Jiro muttered under gritted teeth. “There is no way in hell I’m going to let it slide, Ramirez.”

“Why?” Dara asked while looking directly at him. “I told you, you don’t need to protect me.”

“Knock, knock”, a voice interrupted them before Jiro can answer. They both looked at the door and saw Arden Lee leaning on the doorframe. “I don’t mean to cross your turf, Ice Lord, but I need to speak with you. It’s about those guys who almost got Dara”, he said and smiled at them.

“Why do you know about this?” Jiro asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“You know that our turf is located at the back gate and I can’t just close my eyes if someone from our school is being harassed. Especially if that someone is a pretty girl”, he explained and winked at Dara.

“Don’t make a mistake of lining her up with your girls, Bullet”, Jiro narrowed his eyes at him and stood in front of Dara, blocking her from his sight.

“Oh, I won’t”, Arden raised his hands up and chuckled. “Anyway, should we visit those thugs that almost got her yesterday? I know where they hang out.”

“NO! Jiro, let this one slide, please”, Dara held his arm, but Jiro just looked at her with deadpan eyes. He is all set to teach some idiots a lesson.

“Let go, Ramirez”, he said sternly.

***

Dara’s POV

The class is dragging so long. Argh! I think I will die of heart attack before the class ends. I want to see Jiro and make sure he’s fine. What if those thugs call for reinforcements? What if they have weapons? Oh my gosh, I need to stop freaking myself out!

“Dara. Daraaaa”, I heard Namee’s voice, but I decided to ignore her. “Hey Daraaa.”

I glared at Namee, who was seated beside me, and kicked her foot. “I’m going to bury you later”, I informed her; but the crazy woman just chuckled at my threat.

“Worried for your boyfriend-...Ouch! Dara!” Namee nursed her arm where I pinched her and pouted at me.

“You are so meddlesome!” I hissed and turned my attention to the professor who was reading a literary work in a monotone voice, which makes it more boring.

“You’re the first friend I had in InterSAT”, Namee suddenly said. I glanced at her and saw her fiddling with the hem of her skirt. “I’m sorry if I’m always on your business. I guess I don’t know how to handle being friends with anyone.”

“Drama queen”, I said and rested my chin on my palm. “It’s okay. It’s fun to have a troublesome friend around me.”

Namee smiled at me and folded her arms on my desk, leaning forward to level her gaze with mine. “Don’t worry about Ice Lord. He’s going to be fine. You know what you should be worried about?”

I looked at her and twitched my lips. “You. I should be worried about you because your mouth has a life of its own.”

“The girl you saw earlier”, she continued, ignoring what I said. “That’s Riko Takizawa. She used to attend the university located in the city. I’ve heard rumors about her before. It was my first time seeing her here and when I checked, it turns out she has already transferred to our school. She’s bad news, Dara.”

“Why? Who is she?”

“She’s your biggest rival for Jiro.”

***

Dara bit her lips while pacing back and forth. She was waiting for Jiro at the hallway near the Black Dragon’s turf. Even though Namee assured her that Jiro will be fine, she can’t stay still until she has seen so herself.

So many thoughts were running through her head as she waited for him to return. Dara knew Jiro will be angry once he heard what happened to her at the back gate, but she didn’t expect that he will be that infuriated.

Dara leaned on the wall and sighed. His actions make her confuse. Although she knew why he’s doing it, she still can’t help herself to think that he might be reacting that way because he really cares. But then again, what level of caring is that? He still sees her as a kid! Argh!\

And then there’s Riko Takizawa. She felt a stabbing pain in her chest after recalling her kissing Jiro on the cheek. Dara got a glimpse of the girl and admittedly, she’s really pretty – the kind of girl that most guys fall for with her angelic face, milky complexion and round eyes. She’s the type that people would want to spoil and dote on because she looks so cute and fragile.

Dara was pulled out of her trance when she heard the girls within the vicinity murmuring and squealing. She looked at the end of the hallway and saw the Black Dragons walking on her direction. Everyone was watching and almost all of them had their eyes on Ice Lord. Some of the girls dared to greet him but they were all ignored.

Dara pressed herself on the wall to not get on their way while checking if Jiro doesn’t have any bruises or wounds. She squinted her eyes and quickly surveyed his face and body. As Jiro was about to walk past her, he slowed down a bit and mumbled “I’m fine”; then he continued walking with his gang. A smile crossed Dara’s face as she stared at his retreating back while the girls who tried to greet Jiro gawked at her, murmuring among themselves and wondering why the transferee student always gets the Ice Lord’s attention.

***

He was waiting at the front gate just like he always was. Dara bit her lips to stifle her smile but this did not escape Namee’s eyes. “Look at  you”, Namee teased. “Your eyes are glittering.”

“Shut up”, Dara whispered and grinned stupidly at her. Her smile faltered when she saw someone behind Jiro. The girl stepped forward and both Dara and Namee’s steps halted abruptly upon seeing who’s with him.

“Oh great. It’s Takizawa”, Namee frowned.

Why is that girl with him again? Dara looked at both of them and watched as Riko engaged Jiro in a conversation. She thought Jiro will ignore her, just like what he did earlier with the girls who were trying to greet him, but he didn’t. He was talking to her, and even the other students around them were curious why Jiro is interacting with the new girl. She glanced at her friend but Namee just shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

“I told you that girl is bad news”, Namee said.

Writer's Note:

Kamsahamnida for supporting this fic! You guys are so sweet!!

huntress ^_^