Rain and Alice's first stop was a trendy café. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, mingling with the sweet scent of pastries.
Alice ordered a large caramel frappe with extra whipped cream. Rain watched as she took her first sip, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.
She looked at him with those captivating eyes and said, "You should try one too."
Rain, still bewildered, ended up ordering a milk frappe.
Alice chuckled at Rain's choice. "Are you a kid?"
"I like milk," Rain said shyly. He should have ordered something else. Was it still too childish for him to like milk at his age?
The two of them sat down to enjoy their drinks and pastries. Rain was ready to hear what Alice wanted to say, but instead, she remained silent, savoring her drink.
Rain didn't comment and ate in silence, too, noticing that many people were pointing fingers at him and whispering to each other. It was no brainer that they were talking about him.
Were they gossiping about what a guy like him was doing with a girl like Alice? Rain wondered. In the movies, that was the common theme.
Wait! If someone they knew took a picture of them and sent it to the entire school, wouldn't his life be a living hell then?! Rain thought.
Everyone liked Alice, and seeing them on what looked like a date would surely ignite their jealous hearts, making him the target of bullying!
At least that's how it always ended up in the novels he read.
"What's wrong?" Alice asked, breaking Rain's thoughts.
"Ah . . . I'm just thinking why they're looking at me," Rain told her.
Alice raised an eyebrow as she sipped her frappe. "You really don't know?"
"Know what?"
"You have panda markings around your eyes."
". . . Egh?" Rain immediately pulled out his phone and checked with the camera. Right then and there, he wished the ground would swallow him whole when he saw his face full of black markings.
"Those idiots . . ." Rain hissed, talking about his friends at school. They must have drawn the panda eyes and round circles on his face when he was sleeping before.
Rain desperately tried to remove the markers but failed miserably. "What on earth? What kind of ink are these? Is this permanent?"
At that point, Alice chuckled. "You went out without knowing that you have that on your face?"
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"I wouldn't have gone out knowing that I have this on my face. Who in their right mind would go out with this on their face?" Rain retorted. "Why isn't this coming off?"
Alice grabbed a wipe from her bag and, without holding back, she wiped Rain's face, startling him with the sudden gesture.
Rain's eyes widened in disbelief when he felt Alice's soft hand, even through the tissue. Blood rushed to his face, and he quickly grabbed the wipes, stuttering.
"I-I'll do it myself!" Rain said, flustered as he wiped his face clean.
Alice smiled knowingly beneath her calm facade. She thought about what Cedrick told her — that Rain liked her — and seeing his red face, he was right.
Though the revelation didn't really come as a surprise.
She wasn't conceited; she was merely stating facts. She had lived her entire life knowing that she was beautiful and could have anything she wanted with that beauty. Her beauty was merely a weapon for her that she honed throughout the years, and she would be more surprised if it didn't work against men.
"Is it all gone?" Rain asked Alice after some time.
Alice nodded. "Too bad, it looks funny on you too."
"You should have told me the first time that I had these silly things on my face. I didn't have to walk around here looking like an idiot."
Alice shrugged. "I thought you knew."
"Like I said, who in their right mind would go out looking like that?"
"Tutor," said Alice with a pout, sighing. "It's embarrassing, so don't make me repeat myself."
"Uh . . . me?" Rain pointed at himself, looking bewildered. "You want me to tutor you in English?"
Alice nodded. "This weekend. I can come to your house so we can study together. Finals are coming, and I need to increase my score in English to get into the university I want."
"No, I mean . . . why me?"
"Why not you?"
"There are so many geniuses in our class. Why not Isabella?"
"We don't get along."
"Then Albert?"
"Too nerdy."
"Gerald?"
"Too flirty."
"Anna?"
"She stinks."
". . . But why me?" Rain repeated, more appalled than honored. He couldn't wrap his head on this.
"If I remember right, your grades in English are pretty decent, right?"
"That's because both my parents are abroad, and they talk to me in English."
"Good enough for me. I need first-hand experience in speaking English to pass college interviews anyway."
Rain couldn't say anything for a whole minute. "So the reason you called me here . . . the important thing is because of this?"
"What do you mean, 'this'? This is a matter of life or death, you know. My future is at stake here."
"Ah, no, but . . . why me though? Don't you hate me? I remember you clearly said not to talk to you or associate with you."
Alice grumbled under her breath. "That's in the past. It's different now. And don't ask so many questions."
She jumped to her feet and grabbed all the shopping bags. "Anyway, it's settled, okay? I'll message you the time and place. You better be there."
With that, Alice quickly made her escape, leaving Rain to ponder what had just happened.
His mind was already occupied with the war, and right now, he couldn't think of a reason why Alice was being nice to him all of a sudden.
Something was definitely up.
Right now, though, Rain was too shocked by the unexpected turn of events to process anything. He went home with his mind in a daze.
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|| A/N ||
Just one chapter today because life's been keeping me busy.
We'll catch up tomorrow.
By the way, I wrote this in English, but this story takes place in a different country, hence the need for the English tutor. Just to clear up any confusion.
Thanks a ton for reading!