Chapter 18

Aelise sighed deeply and brought her hands to her face. It was true. One of her dreams was to be a famous star. She'd always perform in events back when she was in high school. She was well-known. But the fame isn't what she's after. She wanted to inspire people and express her emotions. But because of herself, it was crushed mercilessly. Her inspiration dispersed into thin air. Even when she was an idol trainee before, she tried her best but it was difficult for her. Eventually she ended up quitting and doing things she wasn't supposed to do.

The female shook the gloomy thoughts off and retrieved her hands back to look at Zen. She shrugged and gestured towards Nate. "I don't know what we could do so you can ask the one who destroyed my precious sleep just to make me come here and cry." She shot a piercing look at his best friend as if he just killed off her dogs. "But if there's nothing to do now, I'll buy some food for my precious movie marathon. So, is there?" She asked.

Aelise bit her lips and spoke about her boyfriend. "You mustn't mind about us, especially me. And I never changed. I'm still pathetic. Let's not talk about this matter anymore." The words came off as icy cold as she gave him a bitter smile. "Thanks. You should move on, you know." She mumbled the last part.

Zen chuckled. He knew his limits now. There was nothing he could do anymore so he did what he has been doing best for the past 5 years. "Well, then. I've changed." He smiled and stood up, straightening his posture immediately, shutting out all his emotions.

"And you should get your injuries checked as soon as possible. You two look like chewed up llama dicks. Especially you, Zen." She joked, letting out a small laugh. "I want to pummel your parents' faces onto the ground so hard for causing all this, but I can't. I can't stand seeing you two like this."

"I'm really sorry for causing such a disturbance to you, Ms. Aelise. I will indeed make sure to at the very least try to move on. Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused by us." He said and bowed. Nate saw Zen and his heart broke. Zen looked at Nate and smiled. Nate sighed and walked to Zen, bowing to Aelise too. "I apologize, M-Ms. Aelise." He whispered. "We shall be on our way then." Zen smiled at Aelise. 'I'll miss you so much, baby.' He thought to himself before turning around. "See you around." Nate smiled and gave her a small wave before the both of them started to walk away.

Aelise's eyes widened at the sudden formality, she didn't know if he did it as an offense or not. She just stood there as she looked at him. 'No. I don't wanna get treated like this.' She thought to herself. Whatever emotions she was feeling right now, she decided not to show it to him or anyone as a matter of fact. She took a glance an the ground then looked up again, a smile plastered on her face. An empty one. It was like a doll's. "Yeah, take care." She spoke in a dull monotone voice, watching them walk away. When she was sure they were out of sight, she walked up to the alleyway and just hide there for a while.

"I want those guys gone." Zen growled out. He noticed that his dad had sent out a few snipers to follow them and he got pissed off. "They're here to take you back." Nate spoke as he nodded. "I don't fucking care. If there's even a scratch on Aelise, I won't care who did it, all of those bitches are going to die." Zen spoke and Nate nodded. "Yes, Sir." Nate smirked and ran off.

Zen was back to being himself. The self which he had come to despise. He clenched his fists a little as he rolled his shoulders. "Ah, emotions always fuck with me." He chuckled. "Sir, you've got to-" That wasn't Nate's voice so Zen didn't even hesitate to trip the man to the ground. Of course, a sniper. "I'll give you three seconds. Leave before I do something else." He threatened in a low voice and got off. The sniper struggled to get up but got on his feet and ran away. The others also followed him. "Good. I don't know what I'd do to myself if something happened to you because of me." He whispered to himself and stuffed his hands into his pockets, wincing at the pain caused by his internal injuries.

She cried and cried. Again, like always. "I'm such a crybaby." Her voice cracked as she spoke to herself, her heart aching. At this point, she didn't know what to do anymore. And she didn't know why she was even crying. It wasn't surprising. Ever since she was a child, she would always cry for no reason or she would cry for a reason that she didn't even know. People rarely ever saw her cry. Just a few did which included Zen.

Her crying halted as she heard foot steps echoing in the area. Perhaps going into an alleyway alone, especially late at night, was a bad idea. A horribly bad idea.