The song is Absolutely (Story of a Girl) by Nine Days. Thank you to AnotherUnkownPerson for suggesting it! :> Banner by Nathasya Thio. Facebook page on the External link! :)

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Happy Reading!

Chapter 46 *Against All Odds*

~Sophia

A few days have passed since I got the call. Although my mind was fuzzy at that time, I'm not stupid to not recognize the voice when I woke up. It only belonged to him - the one that can't be named.

What did he mean when he said he's back? He's back- where? In this town? In my life?

For the past few days, I became paranoid; always looking behind my back, afraid that someone is following me. I hate him for making me feel this way! Why can't he just leave me alone? I'm starting to have a normal life. Why now? Why ruin everything? He already broke my dreams a few years ago! Isn't he already tired of it? Ugh!

My mind wants to explode because of the problems surrounding it. Him, the bet, my parents still keeping a secret to me.

I can solve the problems one at a time. And I can start with my parents.

I almost forgot what I found out when I stayed at Andre's place. The thing he told me about our families and how my parents keep it a secret from me. It's time to ask them about it. There's no need to prolong the moment. Besides, there's a possibility that they won't tell me.

"Mom," I start.

My mom and I are in the living room, while my dad is in his room, resting. He easily gets tired after his operation. When they came back after his check up, the doctor didn't find anything wrong. At least that went well.

"Yes?"

"Remember the accident that killed Matt?"

She glances at me and stops doing her work. "Yes," she says in a strain voice. "Why?"

"Do you know the man on the other car?" I ask, fighting the urge to stay calm.

"Sophia," she begins, realization clouding her eyes. "I . . . I'm sorry we didn't tell you. It's just; we didn't want to hurt your feelings by reminding you of that accident."

"Mom," I murmur, tears brimming at the back of my eyes. "I'm not a child anymore. You don't have to keep secrets for my own sake! I'm seventeen, I'm not afraid of big news. I can handle them." Even news that can change my life. Circumstances and situations help me to be brave.

She stares at me like she's seeing me for the first time. "I'm sorry for not telling you about it."

"Promise me you won't keep a secret to me anymore," I mumble, wiping at the tears flowing from my eyes.

"I promise." She stands up and goes to where I am. She pulls me towards her and gives me a hug. "Who told you?" she asks, brushing my tangled hair away from my face.

"A-Andre," I stutter. My voice comes out raspy so I clear my throat.

"When?"

"A few days after you left me in their house," I answer. "He thought I knew."

"He's a good person," she says thoughtfully.

I don't reply because I don't what to say. As if I can tell her that the person he thought good is playing with his best friend to destroy her daughter's heart.

Instead, I hug her back, thinking of good happy memories when my mom hugs me, telling me everything will be alright.

I lost track of the day, the date, and the time. My life becomes repetitive. Go to school, tutor Draky, go back home. And in between, I am worrying. Never stop worrying that I might see him on the street. Or anywhere I go. My life is already complicated as it is, and then he adds more to it!

He even visits my dreams. Because of him, I can't sleep. I have these haunting nightmares every night. And so I have these dark circles under my eyes. I feel horrible, hollow, and empty. Due to my lost of appetite, I'm slowly loosening my weight. After all these months, he can still get to me. I hate him for it!

It scares me how much I hate him. I can't believe I can muster this kind of hate in my body.

I'm in the school when I feel something bad will happen. I ignore it and focused on my upcoming test instead. But you know what they say, you can't run from fate. From destiny.

"Sophia."

Turning around, I find Elizabeth, my old friend, catching up to me.

"Hello," I greet her; surprised that she's talking to me.

"Can I have a minute with you?" she asks, glancing around us.

"Sure," I say slowly.

"He is looking for you."

"What?" I almost shout. Fortunately, there are no people in the hallway besides us.

He. . . The one that can't be named. Even my old friends know it. It's best not to say it. It's a forbidden curse.

"Why?" I murmur, my knees buckling underneath me.

Elizabeth starts to raise her hands as if to help me, but she thinks better of it. Instead, I lean on the wall for support.

"I. . . I don't know," she says, a frown appearing on her face. "I'm sorry to say this, but he's back. I don't know if he's back for good or just visiting. But still."

"Thank you for telling me," I choke.

I'm afraid of breaking into tiny pieces. I can feel myself crumbling apart. Just one more push I will explode and no part of me will remain.

"Sophia," she says. In that word, my name, she conveys a long message. "He. Is. Out. Hunting. You."

After that, she walks away, leaving me gasping for breaths. My worst nightmare is coming true and I can't do anything to stop it from happening.

I don't remember much what happened after I talked to Elizabeth. Before I know it, the bell rings signaling the end of the last class. Fortunately, I survived the day. Almost.

"Pie?"

I stop in my tracks and whip around to see Draky.

"Are you okay?" he asks, concern written all over his face.

"Yes, I am," I lie. "Why?"

His brows furrow, sensing the lie."I just noticed that you have been paranoid for the past couple of days."

"It's nothing," I say evasively.

It's not Draky's fault that I'm in a sour mood lately. Actually, it's no one's fault, except him. Him. Him. His name is evicted from my mind ever since he hurt me. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. His name is a curse- a poison- that will envelop you until you burn.

"Earth to Pie?" Draky says, snapping his fingers a few inches from my face.

"I'm fine," I say sharply than I intended.

"Sorry," he mutters, glancing down.

Heaving a sigh, I say, "No, I'm sorry for snapping at you. I was just in a bad mood."

"I discern," he says quietly.

"I heard that," I scold.

-*-*-*~*-*-*-

~Drake~

I can't help but notice the way Pie act for the past couple of days. She always has this faraway look, like she's haunted or something (I can sense and see it whenever she tutors me).  I'm worried about her. Every time I ask her what's wrong, she always says that she's okay.

I'm not stupid not to distinguish the truth from the lie. And I have a feeling I annoy her every time I ask.

Right.

And I wonder when this voice will leave me alone.

Never.

I thought when I stop the bet? I already cancelled it! Besides, I don't even recall what day it is anymore!

But Sophia doesn't know it, it retorts.

Of course, I snap. Sophia doesn't have an idea about what I did.

To my surprise, it shut up. Nothing- just vanished into a thin air.

"Let's go out," I suggest, before the voice can start talking again.

"Out?" Pie asks.

There's this constant frown on her face lately. And I want to remove it. I want to make her happy. I want to see the smile that's shine her whole face - her smile that brightens even my darkest day.

When did I become melodramatic?

Ever since you admit that you're falling for her.

Thanks, I thought dryly.

You're welcome, it says sarcastically.

Am I really the only one who has a voice inside the head? It's weird and creepy—

And convenient, it chimes in.

Yeah, I admit, Sometimes.

"Yes, out," I reply. "I have an idea to turn your mood upside down."

"Like a date?"

"If you want it to be," I say, a smirk forming on my lips.

She shakes her head quickly. "That's not what I meant!"

"Ah, a date then?" I tease.

"It's not a date!" The blush starts to color her cheeks. Her rosy cheeks.

She's so adorable and cute whenever she blushed. Not that she's already pretty. Well, she's more than pretty. She's beautiful, elegant—

And you're falling head over heels more and more every second.

Yes, I admit.

What's the point of lying to myself? It's kind of ironic how everything turns upside down. My goal was to make her fall in love with me. Now it's the other way around. I can't help but smile at the thought.

I'm not into singing despite people telling me I have a good voice. But for Pie, I will do anything. Parker suggested that I should sing for her. He said it's called Harana in the Philippines and it's a form of wooing a girl. i don't even know why I chose Iris. How can you explain something you don't even understand? At that moment, I sang what I felt; what my heart would say if it can talk.

It's hard not to fall for Pie. She's attractive, beautiful, nice, clever, beautiful—

 Oh, I already said beautiful, didn't I? Silly me. Well, I can think of a lot of adjectives to describe her. I can even make a novel about the things I love about her.

I like her.

I like her so much it hurts.

You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach that suddenly gives you emotional adrenaline you haven't experienced before? You know the feeling of riding a rollercoaster dropping down on its final wave? Pie is like a drug to me. I find myself addicted to her, drawn to her—

"Drake-y!"

"What?" Startled, I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

"I've been talking to you for the past minute but I see you're stuck talking to the voice inside your head," she says bemusedly.

"I'm sorry," I say sheepishly, scratching my hair. "Let's go."

"Where?" she asks.

"A date, remember?"

"It's not a date!"

"Whatever you say," I say slyly.

We slide in my car, and after a few minutes of driving, we arrive at Frosty Land.

"I didn't know you like ice cream," Pie says amusedly, walking inside the store.

"I scream for ice cream," I joke.

We take the table at the far end, beside the window. When we're already settled, a waitress walks to our place and gives us the menu.

"What do you want?" I ask Pie.

"Um, banana split," she says, looking at the waitress weirdly.

"What else?"

"Banana split's fine."

"Two banana splits then," I tell the waitress.

When she goes out to retrieve our orders, Pie turns to me, a wide grin on her face.

"What?" I ask. I'm glad her aura is starting to change. I know ice cream can alter your mood. I learned it by experience.

"The waitress was checking you out," she says amusedly.

"She was not," I say doubtfully. I don't know for sure because I just glanced at her for a second to give our orders.

"She was," she states.

"She was not."

"How would you know, you didn't even see the way she looked at you," she says matter-of-factly.

"Precisely," I mutter. "I was busy staring at you."

"Oh," she murmurs, her cheeks reddening at the compliment.

We're both silent for a moment, until the waitress arrives. She sets the banana splits in front of us and winks at me before walking away.

Pie smiles. "See?" She starts eating her banana split, her face full of wonder. "This is delicious. I scream for ice cream!"

I ignore her teasing remark. Instead, I ask her, "Where are you going to study in college?" This is a good start for a conversation. I take a spoonful of vanilla ice cream and start to eat as well.

"I'm not sure," she answers. "I passed application forms to Yale, Brown, and Princeton."

I sigh inwardly. Of course, the Ivy League. I'm not surprised that she picked those universities. With her grades, she wouldn't have a problem studying to any of them.

"What about your major?" I ask quickly, before she can ask me where I plan to study. Truth is, I haven't thought of my life after high school. I guess I'll be stuck here—

"I don't know," she says, a frown appearing on her face. "I haven't made up my mind yet. What about you?"

Uh oh.

I guess I can't really escape this question forever. "I don't know," I say, repeating her words from earlier. "I haven't made up my mind yet."

She rolls her eyes and says, "Seriously."

"I am serious," I say, biting my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"You have to plan your future now," she says thoughtfully. "Where you are studying will affect your life. You know the saying: You can't change your past, but you can let go and start your future? College is where real life really takes action. It's a once in a lifetime experience."

"Like high school."

"Yeah," she says, "but in a very different level."

"You're saying that like you're not a high school student," I observe.

"Well. . ."

"How do you study by the way?"

"Let's see," she starts, putting her spoon down and staring at me. "Make it a habit of reading your notes everyday, even though you don't have a quiz or test the next day. So when the time comes that you'll have an exam, the words will come easily to you- because you already read them repeatedly. It'll be a piece of cake." She grins. "And you know," she adds as an after thought, "Cramming is not good for yourself. You'll end up draining your mind. Besides that, the words will be jumbled, leaving you confused and. . . ." she trails off, frowning at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" I ask curiously, tilting my head to the side.

"Like I'm a bizarre creature," she mutters.

"I'm just surprised—"

"It's not wrong that I like to study when I have free time," she cuts me off.

"I—"

"And I like reading my notes again and again," she interjects, scowling at me.

"You didn't let me finish," I say. "I was surprised because you gave me good tips. I should have expected it though, because it's you we are talking about. And what you said really makes sense."

Of course if I read my notes repeatedly, they'll be stuck in my head.

And that's a good thing.

"Oh," she mumbles, smiling sheepishly.

She's smiling! I'm happy I can make her smile. Something bubbles up in my stomach, I can't explain this feeling. Suddenly, I have the urge to ask her a question. "Pie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I have a chance?"

"Chance for what?" she asks, confused.

"You know. . ."

"No, I don't know," she says amusedly, smiling slowly.

I clear my throat and shift in my seat uncomfortably. Give it to me to be nervous in this kind of situation. "Do we. . . Do we have a chance of being together?"

"Oh," she murmurs, tearing her gaze away from me. "I. . . I don't know. I haven't thought about it."

My heart is thumping loudly in my chest. I have a feeling she can hear it. I try to calm my nerves to no avail. "Will you?" I probe.

She's about to open her mouth when someone says, "Long time no see."

I watch as a familiar dark haired guy saunters to us. I glance at Pie to check if she knows him but what I find changed my life.

Her face drains all color, leaving her pale. A single word escapes from her lips. If I'm not sitting close to her, I wouldn't hear it.

"Skye."