ROBBY

He carried his tray to their usual table and was relieved that Marco was not there.

It was the Monday following the incident at the hotel. They haven't seen each other since the Frat ball and after what happened, Robby was not exactly looking forward to bumping into him.

" Hey, " he said brightly as he set his tray on the table.

Everyone gasped at him. His face was not exactly a wonderful sight with his bruises and plasters covering most of it.

" I had it coming, " Robby told them dismissively. " So don't worry about all these."

It took awhile before somebody spoke.

" Is it true? " Patrick peered at him curiously.

Robby considered the question. It wasn't a simple question. It was much more.

Patrick was asking him if the rumors between Mia and him were true. He was also asking him if he had indeed a falling out with Marco which explained how he looked today.

Everyone fell silent once again waiting for him to say something.

Robby looked at their expecting faces.

" Yes, " he breathed.

He didn't want to lie about Mia anymore.

The table erupted in chaos.

" Fuck! "

" No!"

" What?"

" I knew it!"

Robby smiled weakly as he lowered his head and focused on finishing his lasagna.

There, he said it. No more hiding.

Bryan who was seated beside him slapped him at the back. " After that party at the frat house, " he told him smilingly. " I saw this coming. You and Mia."

" I told you man, " Patrick said nodding to him. " You had it really bad. Didn't I predict this Patty? "

Patty gave them a small smile and elbowed Patrick.

Everyone in the table seemed to be happy for Robby except for Angela who didn't hide her distaste.

Not that he was surprised.

" She's too young for you, " Angela blurted out.

Mia's age was suddenly her problem?

" Young? " Bryan echoed looking at Angela incredulously. " My dad is 7 years older than my mom. 3 years is nothing."

Ana scoffed. " My parents have a 10 year age gap. Age is a non-issue."

While they were all comparing age gaps among their parents, Robby caught sight of Mia entering the cafeteria with Marga. Their heads were bent low engrossed in conversation as they walked to the food station to get lunch

His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her. He had not seen her since the night of the ball. He spoke to her yesterday but she had not answered any of his calls and messages today.

" Ahhh, " Bryan said as his eyes followed Robby's. " 'A heart to love, and in that heart, Courage, to make's love known'"

Robby gave Bryan a questioning look.

" Macbeth " he explained, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. " Shakespeare. "

Robby snorted shaking his head.

Shakespeare.

" What? " Bryan asked trying to contain his laugh. He dropped his voice so only the two of them can hear. " It's true. Marco will never approved of the two of you together."

" Tell me about it, " Robby muttered as he watched Mia and Marga carry their tray to a corner table at the back of the cafeteria.

Robby pushed back his chair to stand up and slung his backpack on one shoulder. " I'll catch you later,"

" Where are you going? " Angela looked up from where she was seated, her eyebrows raised questioningly.

" My Mia alert radar is going off, " Patrick grinned as he moved robotically and pointed to where Mia was.

" Love awaits, " Bryan joked looking at Robby slyly.

Robby shook his head and threw a napkin at Bryan before sauntering off to Mia's table.

Damn Bryan and his Shakespearean melodrama.

" Hey, " Robby greeted when he neared the pair.

Mia looked up and froze when she saw him. She craned her neck to each side checking out the nearby tables.

Robby could have sworn Marga just scoffed the word" Clear."

What was going on?

" Hey, " Mia finally said smiling up at him.

" Is it safe to sit down now? " Robby joked as he sat across Mia.

" Of course, " Marga beat Mia in answering as she motioned to the chair across them.

The three of them sat there for awhile talking about about Uni and their professors. Marga was doing most of the talking. Robby and Mia listened to her animated stories and commented every now and then.

" Look at that! " Marga exclaimed as she gathered her things. " I almost forgot about my class. "

Robby and Mia watched Marga left the cafeteria hurriedly.

" So, " Robby said turning to look at Mia.

" So, " Mia repeated looking down at her notebook.

Robby peered at her closely. " What's going on?"

Mia lifted her head up to look at him. " What do you mean? "

Robby folded his arms across his chest. " You've been avoiding my gaze for the last hour and your eyes seemed to be glued to the door."

" What's wrong?" Robby pressed.

Mia inhaled before speaking. " He forbids me to talk to you, "

By he, Robby knew she meant Marco.

" Okay, " Robby said slowly. " But we saw that coming, right? And it's not like he can control you like that."

Mia frowned at him as she clasped her hands together on top of the table.

Robby watched her closely and saw her bothered expression.

There was something going on with Mia and Marco.

" What hold does he have on you?" He finally asked figuring out something was going on.

Mia held his gaze. She looked at him for the longest time before finally answering.

" He has nothing on me, " she said smiling brightly.

A little too brightly.

Mia always wore her emotions and that made her a very bad liar. Robby can always tell how she felt by just looking at her eyes.

" You know you can tell me anything, " Robby told her lightly.

He leaned forward and placed his hand on top of hers.

" Whatever it is, it's okay, " he said and gave Mia's hand a squeeze. " Maybe we can-

He wasn't finished talking when Mia suddenly pulled her hand out of his grasp. She quickly stood up, grabbed her things and mumbled a quick "I'll talk to you later" before walking away from the table.

Robby looked after her in bewilderment. He would have followed her when a movement caught his attention at the cafeteria's entrance door.

Marco had just walked in.