40. Garber’s POV

Garber’s POV

There was only one thing holding me back from giving him a round of applause; I didn't want to share the stage with him.

I wanted him to shine like that. Only him, while my heart welled up with pride.

My mood had been sour since the moment I opened my eyes.

Then Rina forced us to have breakfast, making me suffer from indigestion. As if that wasn't enough, I got to school only to not find any traces of Luis.

Seeing him would have naturally cheered me up. Then there were the rumors.

That fucker Rolly!

The plan was to take out all my grievances and aggression on him the moment I met him.

He was always the best person for that.

However, he was nowhere to be found until the moment Luis came in and was getting bullied by everyone.

I was pissed and ready to take action, but he stood up for himself and shut the haters up.

Sadly, he turned around and left the class, leaving me all to myself again.

Then second period passed, and he was still nowhere to be found.

That was definitely not something I could take easily.

I went to the art room, which was the only place I knew he would be, but it was being occupied by a class.

It felt like I was going to lose my mind as I returned to class feeling desolate, only to run into him on his way to the restroom.

How convenient.

I went after him and locked the door behind us.

“Doesn't this remind you of our first kiss?” I asked as he stared up at me for a brief moment before turning on the tap.

He washed paint off his hands.

“You weren't at the art room. Where have you been?” I tried again but got no response.

Why the fuck was he giving me the silent treatment?!

Everyone else could do that except him!

“Luis, I’m talking to you,” I held him by the collar and backed him up until there was no space left to go.

“Garber,” he looked into my eyes, “I was ignoring you.”

“What?” My hand fell.

“Do you always need to have the attention on you? Must things always go your way because you're some spoiled brat, or are you a spoiled brat who wants things to always go your way?”

Why was he saying this to me? I searched his eyes for some meaning, but all I saw was defiance.

It was fun watching him stand up to everyone. Experiencing it firsthand was like having my heart poked with huge needles.

“If you know that I always want your attention, why aren't you giving it to me?” I asked.

I was long used to people giving in, and only after Rina reappeared did I realize why.

They were either scared or wanted to use my card. However, the only one I’d ever truly gone after was Luis.

And now, he's turning his back on me.

“Be…because…,” he faltered, and that was all I needed to refute everything he’d said or done before.

“Because you're scared of what I might do to you,” I answered for him before taking his lips in mine.

At first, he resisted.

He pouted his lips too hard, like he didn't want my lips.

“Luis, please,” but after I called his name, he melted.

He gave in and parted his lips for me to kiss.

“Is this how you kissed that bastard too?” I couldn't help the high, the euphoria that coursed through me from tasting him again.

I felt starved, but my defense mechanism had me projecting my insecurities on him, and this ticked him off.

“Fuck you.” He pushed me off.

“Luis…” I called out. It was too late to apologize.

“First, you cage me here, try to reminisce, then accuse me of messing around? If anyone was guilty of that, wouldn’t it be you? You're in a fucking relationship, man!” His glare was strong, his stance firm and unshaking.

“Or are you trying to get me into more trouble? Was it you behind the pictures?”

Accusation.

How could he accuse me of that?

He didn't look like the former Luis that would crumble at any slight altercation.

There was not a single trace of trust in his eyes as I shook my head. I hated the look in his eyes.

Why wasn't he hugging me? Why wasn’t he following me like a little puppy?

Why was he defending that bastard? Why, why, why?

I wanted to know why, but my rage had to be suppressed. My emotions, my outbursts had to be suppressed for me to have a conversation with Luis.

First, I needed to clear the misunderstanding and accusation.

“No. I would never do that. Also, I didn’t mean it that way,” I tried to explain as I held his elbow to stop him from walking any farther away from me. He jerked my hand off and said, “Don't touch me!” with such disgust that my stomach twisted into knots.

“Look. I'm done with whatever mind games you're playing. You have a girlfriend, so what the fuck are you whoring about for? Have some pride, man!” he said, but if only he knew.

“You kissed me back, though.” I shrugged, building my walls up again.

“So what? I want to, so you're going to use it against me every chance you get? Fuck you.” He walked ahead and stopped when he reached the door.

“If you want me, don't show it by sneaking around to get under my skin. Fucking come out, because this will be the last time I'll do anything sneaky with you, you cheating bastard!” he said and walked out of the restroom.

Closing the door behind him with a loud bang.

As if his words weren't loud enough, the banging of the door cemented them in my heart so I wouldn't forget easily.

I'd messed up a lot in the past, but he never reacted like this.

Never used his words so strongly.

At most, he avoided me and pushed me off, but this…

His change and demands were terrifying.

“But at least he admitted to wanting you,” a little voice reminded me, and as much as I wanted to hold onto that, it wasn't enough.

But it was all I had.

I washed my face in the faucet and stared into the mirror for a while as if trying to gather my courage to face the world again.

I didn't even ask how he was doing before angering him out of my presence. Neither did I know where he had turned to.

My head hurt.

“Ugh,” I groaned as I walked out of the restroom, only to bump into Rolly.

The last person I wanted to see.