Irani's heartbeat doubled. And it was not only that, she could also feel some butterflies invading her stomach. But despite that, she still tried to bravely look him in the eyes. She didn't back down from his stares.

“Me? Falling in love with you?" she said, smirking at him. "In your dreams, Red. I'd rather fall on the gutter than fall for someone like you."

She continued to stare at him and ignored all the hundreds of butterflies that were dancing inside her stomach.
“Fine.” She said after a moment of staring contest with him. "Let's make a bet. I'd prove you wrong." She said before leaving him there in the kitchen.

This time, Red didn't stop her.

“Irani, are you okay?” Cashmere asked her when she came back to her best friend's room. “Why is your face red? Are you blushing?"

Irani shook her head. "Nothing. Come on, let's continue watching."

"I LIKE you, Drei…” She smiled.” You like me too, right?”

“Irani…” Drei said in a gentle voice. He looked at her as if he didn’t know what to say.

Then he sighed. "Irani...I'm sorry if you misinterpret me. I like you but only as a friend… I already like someone else."

I like you… But only as a friend.

Drei's voice continued to play inside Irani's head like a broken record.

She tried to confess her feelings to him… but then Drei rejected her.

She was wrong. He didn’t like her. Irani's tears fell from her eyes.

That's what you get for being too assuming, Irani.

Irani covered her face with both of her hands as she continued to cry silently here in the school's botanical garden.
“Shortcake?”

She looked at the familiar voice who called her. She was welcomed by Red's face. He was standing in front of her.
Irani bit her lower lip as she scrambled to wipe away the tears on her face. Of all the people who could see her in that face, why did it have to be Red?

“Go away!” she hissed at him.

But instead of walking away, Red remained standing in front of her. He didn't bulge.

She looked at him again. This time, she glared at him. “Fine. You're right, Red. He doesn't like me! I'm so wrong for assuming that Drei likes me. Are you happy now seeing me like this? Are you happy that I lost to you?"

Red sighed. “Wipe your tears." He said, handing her a white handkerchief.

Irani looked at the handkerchief. She accepted it and wiped her face using it. While she was drying the tears on her face, she felt Red sitting beside her.

“So… what happened?” he asked.

His voice has no hint of teasing or anything. He was just asking.

She then turned to him and found herself telling him what happened a while ago. He had already seen her in that state, anyway. “Drei told me he only likes me as a friend. I was wrong. Our feelings aren’t mutual.”

She took a deep breath. "I was just really assuming from the start," she said, biting her lower lip to prevent her tears from falling again. “But then can he blame me for assuming things when he's the one showing me hints that maybe he likes me too?"

“I thought… he was really shy to confess to me that's why I tried to confess to him first.” She sniffed. “Damn. I hate him for being kind to me. I hate him for giving me false hope."

Irani didn't expect it when Red suddenly hugged her. She felt like her tears were suddenly frozen.

“Hey… Red! What are you doing?” she asked, panicking."Why are you hugging me?"

Irani felt like it was not only her tears that stopped. She could also feel her heartbeat stopping for a few seconds.
"Shh, there are students walking by," Red said in a soft voice. "I'm sure you don't want them to see in this state," he continued.

Irani could suddenly hear some students talking nearby. She bit her lower lip.

"Shortcake, stop crying," Red then whispered in a gentle voice while he was still hugging her.

Really, Irani? Since when did Red's voice sound gentle to you?

At that moment, she also couldn't understand why she felt like there was a warm heart covering her heart.
She didn’t know why but she found his hug comforting.

When the voices of the students went away, Red moved away from her. A tiny part of her brain wanted to protest.

"Crying doesn't really suit you, shortcake. You will look more like a grade-schooler for crying," he said, grinning at her.

Irani swatted his hand using the handkerchief he gave her.

“Hey, stop it," Red said, chuckling at her. "That's already dirty."

Irani stopped but then she rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on, shortcake," Red said after a short while. “Let’s go?”

Irani shook her head. "I'll rather stay here."

"Are you sure?" he asked, standing up. "Didn't you know the story that there's a ghost roaming around here during dusk?" he asked, raising his brows at him.

Irani stilled. She wiped her face once again before she stood up. She walked beside Red. While they were walking on the campus ground, he saw Drei. He was walking in their direction. If Red and her would continue to walk, they would cross paths with him.

Irani stopped.

After what happened earlier, she didn't want to see him. She didn't want him to see his tear-sickened face.

“R-red…” She turned to the guy beside her for help.

“Don’t worry.” Red held her hand. “Let’s go this way.”

He then pulled her in the opposite direction. She let Red drag him towards the engineering building.

While Red was dragging her towards his college building, she couldn't help but look at his hand that was holding hers.
It was a bit rough and calloused, maybe from playing the guitar. But it was also big and warm. She could feel the small bolt of electricity traveling through her skin.