The next day at International School's, Cleo sat down by himself to enjoy his lunch for the first time in a long while. Inu still had not returned to school and it made Cleo wonder if he would ever come back. "Take Something." He said before digging into his food.
"Hey Cleo." Cleo heard the voice of harold call him out as he was mid way into his chewing. Cleo gave him a glare in response. As usual Bobby and Sean stood behind harold.
"It's a shame that Ashley left." Harold said with a sad expression. It quickly formed into a smirk. "Harvey is also gone and Andrew has recently left town. You have no one to defend you anymore, Cleo."
Cleo got up from his chair to stare at him back at equal height. "I don't depend on any one! Start whatever you want. I can take on all of you." He barked back.
Sean chuckled at Cleo's response. "Heh, when have you not depended on some- OW!" He was abruptly pushed to the side and landed hard on the ground on his behind. "I've been accidentally pushed by Titania Azumi !" He yelled out in agony when Azumi stood before him.
"Shut up, you ugly monkey!" Azumi shouted back at him.
"How cruel!" Sean squeaked and shrunk back into a corner, fully frightened at her outburst. Harod and Bobby went over to help him, scared at what Azumi would do next.
Azumi quickly turned to Cleo and focused her attention on him.
Cleo noticed she had a piece of notebook paper in her hand. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her in confusion. "What?" He asked.
As if she were deep in thought, she diverted her eyes downward to the table. She nodded once then placed the piece of paper she carried into the pocket of her jeans (designer of course). "Mustn't rush into things." She mumbled to herself.
Cleo heard her mumble. "Huh?"
Azumi's head snapped back up to him. "You and me. This Saturday. 1 PM.Rizal Park Plaza near the sun dial." She quickly directed. She nodded to him curtly without giving him a chance to answer and swiftly walked out the dining hall. All eyes in the room followed her out, many students with mouths agape in sheer surprise or horror.
"Why is she saying that to the peasant boy?" Sean yelled out in frustration.
"I can't believe it." Harold said.
"That means..." Sean's eyes widened at his discovery. "She wants to date him? What?"
"Unbelievable!" They yelled out in unison.
Cleo was more than surprised at her demand and needed to ask what the hell she just did. He packed his things quickly and left a wailing group of idiots in his wake. He managed to catch up to Azumi in the hallway.
"Grace!" He yelled out to stop her.
She turned around at the sound of her name. Seeing it was Cleo, her face formed into a satisfied smile. She crossed her arms and looked at him. "What?"
"What just happened back there?" He asked, still in disbelief.
"Just do what I say, baka." She scoffed at him. Before he could say any more words she turned and ran off in the opposite direction. Cleo blew out a sigh of irritation. His scowl deepened.
That Saturday, Azumi woke up earlier than usual. It was 9:30 to be exact compared to her usual 11 or 12 in the morning. Her maids questioned her about this sudden change and Azumi quickly answered with a smug "I have a date". The maids were truly shocked but giggled when they realized that Azumi was actually making an effort for a boy.
For this date, Azumi decided to go casual since they were going to be outdoors. So she opted for a comfortable pair of skinny jeans, strapped black sandals, and a white blouse with a thin yellow cardigan over it.
Once Azumi was ready to go, she went to get her purse. But on her second thought, if Cleo was chivalrous enough he would have to pay for everything on their first date. She decided not to bring her purse.
Azumi arrived fairly early at Rizal Park Plaza, fifteen minutes to be exact after she checked on her wrist watch. She told her driver to leave and then made her way over to stand near the sun dial in the middle of the plaza. She was quite disappointed that Cleo had not tried to come early. "If he doesn't show up in five minutes, I'll beat him to a pulp."
"Cleo! It's so good to see you, man!" Caleb yelled out in surprise when he spotted Caleb entering the arcade.
That Saturday Cleo decided to spend time with Luke and his old friends. He did think previously about Azumi's s request of him but shook his head away of the thought. He never promised her he would go. She brought it upon herself if she went and he didn't go, he thought.
"Hey, didn't you have a date with Azumi at one o'clock?" Luke asked Cleo when he caught sight of the time on the clock. It was already 12:59 and they were currently waiting in line to play the newest game at the arcade.
"Pft, why would I want to date a person like her?" Cleo responded.
"Well she might take some serious revenge on you if you don't show up. It'll be hell if you don't show up but then again... it'll be hell if you do show up." Luke added.
"Exactly. I'd rather wait on experiencing the torture." Cleo agreed. "Besides, she can wait all she wants. It's still war between me and her."
Luke nodded and kept his mouth shut. Cleo couldn't help but glance at the clock to see the short hand move to the number one.
It was fifteen minutes past one o'clock and Azumi was still waiting by the sun dial. A few couples met each other before her and she glared at their happiness. "I'm definitely going to beat him up." She decided.
"Haha, that was hilarious!" Cleo laughed when Gabriel, told him a story about his encounter with the next door neighbor's daughter. Currently they were eating at the food court.
Cleo took another bite of his sandwich and while chewing, spotted a wall clock in the distance. He read the time to be 1:30.
Her legs were tired from standing for so long. Azumi sat down on the sun dial and checked her watch again. It was 1:45. She sighed and crossed her arms over chest. She decided to wait a little longer.
Caleb and Gabriel had to leave at 3 o'clock to work on a project they had for science. Like and Cleo decided to hang around the arcade for a little longer. Cleo found it a great stress reliever when shooting down bloodthirsty zombies or driving speeding cars on Manila night highways.
Cleo heard the sound of rain starting outside the window. He luckily listened to his dad that day about the weather forecast and brought an umbrella with him.
He looked at the wristwatch Harvey gave him. 3:45.
"Do you... really want to go?" Her eyes suddenly watered but she tried hiding it by talking louder and faster. "Stop playing games with us, Ashley. If you leave we won't have you around with us. I won't have my best friend around..."
Cleo felt the pit of his stomach sink when he thought about Azumi's break down with Ashley. Something in the back of his mind told him she was still waiting. The guilt within him built up until he couldn't stand it any longer. He needed to see if Azumi was indeed still there.
"Sorry, Luke." This was all Cleo said to his friend before leaving his game.
Luke watched as Cleo ran off into the rain, utterly confused at his quick plan of action.
While clutching his umbrella over his head, Cleo ran toward Rizal Park Plaza. The pavement was slick with rain so every often Ichigo almost slipped but managed to keep his balance and continued running.
"I can't believe she wants to date me." He said. "It's too late. She might have left already." He concluded but didn't stop running.
He arrived at the plaza with the rain coming down harder on his umbrella. Every one outside was running into nearby stores for cover. His eyes scanned for the sun dial. What he saw made him feel like the worse person on earth.
Azumi was sitting on the sun dial, her clothes soaked from the constant pouring rain. Her thin arms covered her body for warmth. She had no umbrella with her. Ever since it started to rain she sat it out and waited there for him.
Cleo stood there for a moment watching her. He felt guilt and confusion well up inside at the same time. "This is... unbelievable." He mouthed. "Why?"