E T H A N

That girl from the fast food chain.

I can't seem to forget her. There's this weird feeling stuck in my head --- as if I couldn't get her out of my mind. And no, this wasn't love at first sight. I don't even believe in such a thing.

This was that feeling that my ego had been stepped on and I'm not too happy that I was the only one who'd experienced that kind of sh-t.

As my hands held the steering wheel of the car, I noticed the silence lingering inside. Benedict was too preoccupied with his phone. Though, he probably noticed that I wasn't paying much attention to the radio, probably because I hadn't changed it in a while and a Kpop song was playing in the background.

I think it was Momoland or some other girl group.

I'm not really into these songs since my mind naturally doesn't accept or take it in as much as my sister does. She was the one who loves this cheesy Korean music. I could already call her an extreme fan of Kpop groups that frankly I've never heard of before.

Or maybe because I was a guy? I don't really know.

But, I still respect my sister's decision on stanning them. No hate at all. I'm just saying that it's not for me.

Benedict's gaze kept on looking back at me back and forth so I furrowed my eyebrows at this and frown. Was there something on my face? After a few seconds, he took his attention somewhere else --- looking at the buildings from outside the side window as I drove.

After a while, he took his phone and shoved it into his pocket before facing me to ask a question.

"What's bothering you this time? You look a bit distracted."

When I looked at him, he just raised his eyebrow at me --- his face full of confusion. He was sitting on the shotgun and he had a cup of soft drinks in his right hand.

"Distracted. Yeah, right." I mockingly chuckled at this before reassuring him, "I'm not distracted."

"Sure, try to fool me. You're not distracted? Says the one who had been listening to Blackpink without even knowing." My face then flushed so I didn't even hesitate to change the music to something country-like. Darn, he got me on that one.

Benedict gave me a teasing gaze and smirk before finally putting on his own headset and playing his own music to embarrass me even further. If only I could cut that then you won't be giving me that comment.

But because of that, I was certain that he didn't hear my reply earlier to his question. So, the first thing I did was that I removed his headset and placed it right in front of him.

"Look, I'm not distracted, Benz. To be honest, you're the one who looks more distracted than me." His head turned to me with a deadpan expression as I continued, "It's just that...I'm thinking."

"Maybe you're thinking of someone, Ethan. You aren't really the type of person to shut up about your thoughts. You're awfully loud on voicing thoughts out, you know," he told me before he smirked and added.

"You're thinking about that girl from Jollibee, aren't you?"

Giving him a quick glance, I shook my head afterward. There was no way that I'd let him know that she literally caught my attention after she considered my clumsiness as "too focused on girls."

Hell, he'd be teasing me if he does.

To be honest, the color on my face drained once Benedict mentioned this. And instead of a smile, a frown replaced it. Have I been too obvious though? How could he point that out all of a sudden?

When I hadn't answered his question, I could clearly see him nodding. Holding his drink as he played the cup with his hands and shaking it, he smiled before he started to talk.

"So, my assumption was right."

At that time, I was the one who raised my eyebrow while driving. Gripping the steering wheel tight, I explained my side though hinting at the annoyance in my tone. Deny it, deny it.

"Not really, Benz. You're too fast on making assumptions, telling me that the girl is the reason why I'm like this even though she's clearly not the one I've been thinking of in the first place," I answered before putting the car to a halt on a nearby gasoline station.

"Why? Was I wrong though?" he teased before laughing out really loud. "It's clear that she caught your attention earlier."

"Don't speak nonsense, Benz. I'm in love with someone else," I added before forcing a smile. It was true though.

Taking another glance to my right, I saw him pondering as I rolled down my window to give a five hundred bill to get gas.

"And who might that be? That clingy girlfriend of yours?" One eyebrow raised as he crossed his arms at me.

"What was her name again? Varenza?" he suddenly asked me --- cutting off what I had said earlier.

"It's Vanessa, Benz. And yes, I'm madly in love with her. I'm not going to replace her with someone else." Turning the engine back on, I thanked the man and started to drive back en route.

And since there were fewer cars at the time, I decided to speed it up and drove fast. This route wasn't exactly like Woodside --- where traffic was most likely to occur, cars taking that road getting stuck for hours, unlike the one we were in.

Benedict still had that questioning look on his face when I tried to look at him. And since he's actually half Pilipino and half American, he sometimes curses out words that I couldn't even understand since he would just blurt them out too fast using his accent.

He probably noticed that I want to question him about it so he just shook his head and went to talk back slowly like nothing happened.

"Dude, are you sure that Vanessa didn't put a love spell on you or something?" He asked me as I gave him a look. What the hell is he pointing out now?

"I mean, you looked like you were being forced to say her name earlier when I purposedly blurted out her name wrong," he told me before taking a sip of his drink.

Sitting upright, he averted his attention away and made sure not to look back in my direction.

The only thing I could manage was a smile. "I'm sure that I really love her."

"Even if the truth is that I'm not really into her," I told myself before my breath hitched.

Okay, I'd be lying if I tell you that I truly love Vanessa. A complete absolute lie.

Benedict was actually correct about it but I had no choice but to choose Vanessa in the end. It was a parent thing and arguments were no longer valid even if I try. Both of our parents were on good terms and agreed that we should be a couple.

No freedom to choose at all.

And since she was my childhood best friend, it made it harder to go against it.

From a far distance, I then noticed a familiar outfit that suddenly made my day. Maybe it wasn't bad after all.

A girl wearing a blue denim jacket was there, her back was turned while she was tying her shoelace on the side of the road.

Her friend was steps ahead of her, not noticing that she was still fixing the laces of her black Adidas shoes. It was pretty obvious that her friend had no intention of looking back at her --- yet.

And since she was wearing shorts, I knew exactly what to do. This was perfect.

The girl from Jollibee. And I had an open shot of getting back at her.

Benedict caught the interest of my eyes and gave multiple side glances before noticing and putting his attention on the girl. When he saw the puddle of water in the road, he faced me and shook his head --- waving his hands at me after.

"Ethan, if you're thinking about doing something drastic, drop it. Don't do it to that poor girl. She had done nothing to you."

I just coughed it off and acted like I didn't know what he was talking about. You have no idea, my friend. "What do you mean, Benz?"

"Don't do something you'll regret. Don't do this to them. You know that they don't deserve this," Benedict pleaded as I nodded. Yeah, right. I'm not listening to you this time.

"Oh please, it's just a harmless prank."

I answered before increasing the speed of the car, my feet pushing down the accelerator to its limit.

Benedict quickly held the sides tight, holding himself in place in his seat. His shocked expression was evident once he saw the girl getting soaked with water as soon as I drove by.

And since she was wearing shorts, her legs got splashed with water as well and an evident glare was plastered on her face once she saw us. The papers she had were all on the ground, full of dirt and cannot be used anymore.

Ha, served you right.

She quickly stood up and started screaming at the top of her lungs --- causing her friend to stop and look back at her with a gaping mouth and a silent gasp.

Going back to Benedict, I could see the anger lingering and the disappointment behind his look. Chuckling for a second, I spoke.

"It's just a harmless prank, Benz. Not too personal," I reassured him as he shook his head.

"Not too personal? You really have no respect for girls, Ethan." Brushing his hair with his fingers --- clearly stressed out --- he made sure not to burst out by just giving me a strict look and a frown.

"One day, a girl will come into your life and change you." His fingers pointed out at me as I scoffed.

"I'd like to see her try," I answered back as he just gave out a sigh.

"I already told you not to do it but you still ignored me, as always, and went with it. I can't believe you, damn," he added.

I was about to answer him but my eyes widened when my car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, not moving even if the wheels kept on running. Even Benedict shared the same reaction on why we were staying in one spot.

The fvck?

And I suddenly realized that the wheels got stuck in a ditch on the road --- or probably got a flat or went in a manhole.

When my gaze went back to my friend, I flashed him a slow smile. "Benz, I have an idea."

When he saw my expression, he shook his head and suddenly complained. "If you're going to tell me to help you push the car so we could get out quickly, here's what I'm going to say."

"I'm going to take an Uber and leave you here," he quickly added, adding a glare after.

And since I know that I couldn't force him since he'd say no until I give up on trying too many times, I just huffed and agreed. Looks like I'm all alone in this mess.

"Fine. You take the wheel. I'll be the one to push the car. Wait here," I replied before going to the back to get started.

Damn Karma.