"Don't worry. I'm happy to be your friend. This is the first time someone has ever asked me to be their friend. You know, usually, they just approach me on their own."
Diana answered with sincerity.
Now it was Revan's turn to be stunned. He remembered that Diana was rarely seen with others.
Oh, of course, Kevin was an exception. But after hearing what Diana said, did that mean Kevin had never said the same thing as him? Was this unusual?
"Me too. This is the first time I've ever asked someone to be my friend," Revan admitted.
"Really?" Diana was surprised. "Have you never had a friend before?"
That seemed impossible, and Diana didn't believe it.
"I did, but no one truly became my friend since middle school."
Ah, Diana understood. Revan's situation had gotten worse since he started getting into fights.
"But at least you had friends in elementary school, right?" Diana tried to joke.
Yes, she wanted to lighten the mood so things wouldn't get too serious.
"Yeah, I did. But I don't remember a single one of their faces," Revan chuckled.
Ah, she succeeded. The atmosphere became more relaxed.
"So..." Diana spoke up. "I, Diana Claire, will be your friend."
Revan laughed at that.
"I won’t follow your lead and say that," Revan said, but he extended his hand.
"But I, Revan Gael, am happy to meet you."
Diana let out a small laugh. "You think what I said was embarrassing?" She took Revan’s hand.
But he was a good person. Oh, and he respected Diana. Proof of that was when he worried whether his request would burden her.
Revan was also sure that Diana might become a good friend to him. He felt that she valued him, especially since she once said that he was a good person.
A moment later, the sound of footsteps echoed against the floor. Someone was coming.
Diana and Revan turned toward the noise.
There, they saw Kevin, who had a strange expression before looking surprised.
"Diana," Kevin said in shock, seeing someone else on the rooftop. And that person was Diana.
And don't forget—there was still one more person here.
Kevin narrowed his eyes at the person with Diana.
"What are you two doing?"
They looked like they were talking about something, but what? Kevin wondered.
"And you? What are you doing on the school rooftop?" Diana threw the question back at him.
Kevin wore an expression Diana had never seen before. He was angry.
"I think you should answer me first before I answer you," Kevin said, clearly holding back his anger toward Diana.
"And you better answer honestly," Kevin added sharply.
Diana knew what Kevin meant. She had once lied, saying she liked Revan.
"Of course. To be honest, we’re friends," Diana explained, trying to ignore the reason for Kevin’s anger.
"Friends?" Kevin frowned.
"Yes, we just became friends," Diana clarified.
Kevin fell silent.
"And I also told him about what happened back then, you know, in middle school," Diana added.
"Oh, really?" Kevin’s expression softened.
"That’s right."
"You never forgot about him even after he transferred to another school. If the same thing happened to me, would you remember me too?" Kevin asked.
Diana was confused. She didn’t understand what Kevin meant.
"Forget it. I'm leaving." Kevin turned and left after saying that.
Revan, who had been silent throughout the conversation, still did nothing.
"What’s wrong with him?" Diana murmured.
"You’re close to him, right?" Revan asked.
"Yeah, but I don’t know what our relationship is," Diana admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"He was the one who approached me first. He said it was because he liked me. You probably know that." Diana looked at Revan.
"But you don’t?" Revan guessed.
"Right. I don’t like him that way, and I’ve rejected him many times."
"He’s persistent," Revan commented.
"He is. But I don’t hate him. I consider him a friend." Diana smiled.
"You know, I think a lot of people like him. I mean, he has a lot of friends."
Revan said this, remembering how Kevin was friendly with everyone in their class.
Diana spoke softly, "That’s true. But even though he has many friends, he still kept approaching me."
"Yeah, even after you rejected him."
"Maybe it’s because he likes me. But I think he also kept coming back because I was never close to anyone. No one in my class ever did that."
Revan listened.
"He cares about everyone," Diana added.
Revan stayed silent.
"Well, maybe there are a few people who don’t get along with him," Diana said, glancing at Revan.
Revan rolled his eyes.
"Once you get to know him, you’ll realize he’s a good person."
Revan didn’t understand why Diana was telling him this.
"Then why did you reject him?"
"I already told you. I don’t like him that way. I don’t have the same feelings for him. If I accepted him... I don’t know... The point is, I just want to be honest and real with Kevin. I can’t force myself."
Diana smiled as she watched Kevin walk across the field from the rooftop.
Revan followed her gaze and, finally, he understood. He agreed with Diana.
***
The black ink of the pen spread across the white paper as Revan wrote down his exam schedule for the upcoming semester finals.
It wouldn't be long before they moved up a grade—at least for those who passed.
And to pass, one had to study properly. That included Revan. He was smart, sure, but he still needed to study. Learning was a necessity, even for intelligent people.
Revan had made it a habit to come to the library to study.
It was now lunchtime, and he was already there. He had also been running into Diana in the library for the past few days.
Diana was studying there too.
As a friend, Revan wanted to greet her and join her in studying. That was only natural.
But Revan never did. For days, he hadn’t been able to approach Diana.
Why? Because Kevin was always with her. Every single day.
But so what if Kevin was there? Wasn’t Revan also her friend?
The problem was, that Revan was too lazy to deal with Kevin. He knew Kevin wouldn’t like it and would likely do something annoying. That was just too much trouble for Revan.
Still, every time he saw Kevin with Diana, he debated with himself.
He couldn't deny that every time he saw them together, he still wanted to approach them. Like today.
Why was Kevin always near Diana? If he was always by her side, was Revan going to keep avoiding them forever?
Wait a minute—was Kevin doing this on purpose so Revan wouldn’t approach Diana?
If that last thought was true, Revan would feel like a fool. And if it was, how had he not realized he was walking into Kevin’s trap?
Revan closed his book. He had been staring at it without reading a single word.
He stood up and gathered his books from the table.
He had made his decision—he would go to Diana.
Even if that meant dealing with Kevin’s nonsense.
"Now or never," Revan murmured.
***