Please Break My Heart

Chapter 5

“You did what?” Lilia looked like it was the most ridiculous thing she had heard all year.

The two best friends were eating dinner at a fast food chain that same Wednesday evening when Ayanna asked Lake out. And Ayanna thought it was the perfect time to tell her best friend what she did to ask Lake out.

“Are you deaf?” Ayanna frowned. “I think we’ll have to get your ears checked.”

“No, you dumb-dumb. I heard you the first time. But seriously Ayanna? Why did you come up with something as ridiculous as that?” Lilia asked. “Why didn’t you just tell him the truth?”

Ayanna shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I cannot think of any other reason. I cannot tell the truth because one, Lake does not deserve it; two, making him know about it sounds would be so fake. Wouldn’t it be like more romantic if you were to fall for him naturally?”

Lilia did not look convinced, she was scowling still. “You’re really doing everything for writing. But Ayanna, things might backfire. You might not be happy after this. I know they say that writing should be based on experience but I am still reluctant to agree with you.”

“You don’t have to agree, Lilia. I know what I am doing. I doubt Lake would fall for me so everything is on me. No one but me would get hurt,” she said. “Don’t you think it’s exciting?”

Lilia had to deadpan at that. “No.” Then, she sighed. “I can’t believe I am arguing with you about this again. Do whatever you want. If you end up getting hurt, do not drag me into your drama, got it?”

“Sure, Mom,” Ayanna replied, chuckling. “Now, I would have to prepare myself to deal with him. You know how I cannot really stand popular people, right?”

“You think they’re superficial, yes.” Lilia nodded her head. “That’s why I think it’s a bad idea to date someone who you think is not worth it.”

“But who else, Lilia, would be able to make me fall in love in three months?” Ayanna asked. “And not to mention he agreed! He agreed to everything I said. Let’s just hope he never cheats.”

“I did hear that he never cheats.”

“Sounds good enough.” Ayanna grinned. “I’ll eat lunch with him tomorrow maybe and I’ll text him tonight.”

It seemed like this dating thing was easy. And she was so going to nail it.

*****

She was so going to fail it.

It was already ten in the evening but Ayanna was yet to send a single text message to Lake. After all, she had nothing to say. Her butt remained rooted on her bed as she encoded away on her laptop.

“And relationships are supposed to be fun,” she sarcastically muttered under her breath as she fumbled with her phone. She could not even find a topic to talk about. After all, she and Lake were too different. While she was into deep things, there was no doubt that a boy as popular as Lake would only be into shallow stuff. Heck, he might want to talk about his deep love for basketball and how cool he looked—not that Ayanna had ever seen him play before. She remember how she avoided every game like a plague because she hated the loud squeals and cheers of everyone.

It was not that Ayanna hated crowds—Lilia was the definition of the one who hated them—but she was not a fan of them either. That was why if she could, she would rather avoid them. Plus, as she had kept mentioning in her head, she disliked superficial people like the varsity players. Why she thought of them that way, she did not have an idea as well.

Before she could dwell on her thoughts, however, she received a text message from Lake.

FROM: Lake

TO: Ayanna

Hi! It’s Lake. Just want to know your address? And the time of your class? I’ll pick you up.

Ayanna snorted at that.

FROM: Ayanna

TO: Lake

I live near the campus.

FROM: Lake

TO: Ayanna

So?

The urge to bash someone’s head on a wall was once again back. Who knew Lake would not get that she did not need someone to send her to the Uni. However, remembering that she should be using all the time possible to get to know Lake and to fall in love with him, she reluctantly texted him her address. Also, adding the fact that she heard Lake’s car was expensive. Not the expensive “billionaire level” type of car but something most college students would not be able to afford.

FROM: Lake

TO: Ayanna

Copy that. See you tomorrow. Good night :)

Maybe dating Lake was not so bad at all. She would get to ride on a nice car.

*****

For the many times she had changed her mind, maybe Ayanna deserved an award already. She did fall asleep thinking that dating Lake was not a bad thing but the moment she entered his car, she knew she was wrong.

It was not the car that was the problem. It was not the smiling Lake either. Rather, it was the looks she received when some people noticed that Lake opened the door for her. He let her take the shotgun seat while he drove them with ease, completely unfazed from the looks they got. Well, he did stood out despite wearing a simple black shirt and a pair of jeans. Lake was not just handsome, he was also a great basketball player—at least according to what Ayanna have heard. He was so promising that many were expecting he’d be the next representative of the country in international competitions. Dating him surely meant being the subject of envy of others.

“You seem to have quite a lot in your mind,” Lake commented, his eyes focused on the road but he did take a quick glance at Ayanna.

“I just… I was just thinking of something,” Ayanna replied. “Anyway, what time will your class start?” she asked him, changing the topic completely.

“My class starts at ten,” Lake replied, not seeming to notice the sudden change of topic.

Ayanna gasped. “But it’s only eight! What are you going to do with the rest of the hour?” She wondered if dating really was like that. If they require one person to make so much effort. If that’s true, she would not want to date anyone else ever again.

“Don’t worry, I can just hang around, maybe contact some friends or something,” Lake nonchalantly replied. “So, what are you going to do today?”

“Nothing much, I’m just going to attend class and maybe write something,” Ayanna replied.

“What are you taking anyway?”

“Creative Writing.” Ayanna was not even surprised that Lake had no idea what she was taking. After all, he did not even know her name until the day before.

“You must be good in writing,” he said and Ayanna took this as a sign to speak more.

“I wouldn’t say ‘good’. But I’d do anything and everything to be able to write,” she replied, looking ahead with a smile on her face. “There’s something about writing that makes me addicted to it. That makes want to never stop writing. I—” she stopped herself from speaking more, realizing that she was being talkative.

Lake let out a soft laugh. “Cute,” he chortled. “You love writing so much, I see. Is there something you’re working on right now?”

“Yup!” Ayanna nodded. “Something about a break up.”

“Will I ever get to read it?”

Ayanna hesitated at that. Would Lake ever get the chance to read it? After the break up, they might pretend that they were strangers so she was not sure. She bit her lower lip and she nodded her head. A little white lie would do.

“Of course, you will,” she told him.

“Great! Looking forward to reading it,” Lake said, returning her smile.

The rest of the ride—which was not much—was spent with them simply talking and trying to get to know each other.

For a moment, Ayanna thought that even if being in a relationship was troublesome, it was kind of worth the trouble.