Chapter 1
MY WOUND HURTS

"Your hair is so pretty, Coreen," Reina said while stroking my hair. I was blessed with hair that was naturally curly at the tips. With a little extra care, it can become shiny, soft, and bouncy.

"Thanks! Your straight hair looks nice, too!" I told her as I pushed her bangs to one side.

Compared to her brothers, Reina's face was covered with pimples.

All her brothers had good skin. Noah got pimples once in a blue moon. Unlike Reina, who seemed to get it all the time.

We were in Grade 7 while Noah was in Grade 8. He belonged to a very popular band in our school—Zeus. I pulled Reina after me. She refused to go with me into the auditorium.

"Reina, come on!" I called her again, but she shook her head, looking annoyed.

"What? My husband will catch us!" I jokingly told her.

I looked at where her eyes were fixated on, and there I saw Yñigo Sanchez in the corridor. He was laughing while giving high gives to his classmates. Yñigo Sanchez was one of Reina's many crushes. Unlike her, I only had eyes for Noah.

My eyes met with Yñigo's. He winked at me so I turned away. Reina held my arms tightly.

"My gosh! Yñigo winked at me!" she gushed.

I bowed my head and glanced at her face. She looked like she would die of excitement.

"Come on! Let's go!" I told her again, pulling at her sleeve. She appeared to be hyperventilating.

"My gosh! My gosh! My crush! It doesn't matter if Bench won't even look at me, as long as Yñigo winked at me," she said, ranting about her other crush. I pulled her out and away from the crowd.
                 
"Excuse me! Excuse me!" I yelled as I headed to the front seats. I won't settle for the bleachers! I needed to watch the band up close!

I felt goosebumps when I heard Noah tune his guitar on the stage. The band members had attracted so many followers because of their looks and talent.

"Hey, Coreen! Don't push!" I heard one of Noah's classmates tell me. "Do you honestly think that Noah will notice you if you sit up front? Dream on!"

"At least I said 'excuse me!'" I answered, frowning back at him, and continued making my way to my desired seat.

At last, we found our place. My jaw dropped when I looked at Noah, who was playing his guitar. I was so awed by him that I didn't even notice the vocalist saying "Hi, Coreen!" over and over again, trying to draw my attention. The audience just laughed.

My eyes fell on Stan, the vocalist. He smirked at me, looking proud of his own little stunt.

"Hey, Coreen! I think Stan likes you," Reina teased.

"He's gay!" I told her and gazed at Noah again.

Noah looked calm but serious playing his guitar. I had liked him ever since we were kids. I liked him so much that I never even considered falling for anyone else. I was so dedicated to him.

People say you'll eventually get tired of unrequited love. But I don't think I'll ever get over him.

I've always liked being "in between." And because he didn't notice me, I was happily waiting in limbo. This love story could only get more exciting, and I was perfectly fine with that. I was happy with this journey. I'd be happy to wait for that someone who hasn't arrived yet, knowing that he'll get there eventually. The time will come when Noah will like me back, and I was going to make sure of that.

"Noah!" I shouted and waved at him.

He glanced at me, but it was a quick one. He closed his eyes and fell into the trance of the music. Music really was his passion. That was one of the things that I liked about him. Nothing else mattered to him, other than the things he wanted. Which meant that getting him to say "I love you" to me wasn't going to be easy. He was nothing like his playboy brother Dashiel or his happy-go- luck brother Rozen. Among the Elizalde brothers, Noah has always been considered the serious one.

"Hey, Coreen..." I was about to leave the restroom when I heard my name called, and then suddenly I was being dragged back inside by four girls. I tried to escape but it was too late. They blocked my path, and I was left alone with them. Good thing Reina wasn't here. She would be no use anyway. She'll just cry if someone bullied us.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Stop flirting with Yñigo!" the skinny girl told me.

I looked at the girl from head to toe. She was flanked by the other three girls.

"Flirt? With Yñigo? Why would I flirt with him?"

"Whoa! You think we don't know you talked to him? Hey! You're still in Grade 7. You're too young to be a flirt!"

I gave her an unamused look. "And so?"

The truth was, I really talked to him the other day to try and get him to notice and talk to Reina. My best friend freezes up every time she sees him. How was she ever going to initiate a conversation with him?
But it didn't go as planned.

"Yñigo, can I introduce you to Reina Elizalde? I noticed you look good together." And while I was telling him that, he took a step closer to me and stroked my hair. I immediately blocked his hand.

"Why her? Don't we look good together, too?" he said and smirked. And I just ran away from him.

Darn it! I knew it! He'd been giving me that weird look for as long as I could remember. You know that look? Yuck! He was really not the type of guy I'd ever be interested in.

I sighed, feeling exasperated, and confronted the girl in front of me.

"So? What's it to you?"
                   
"He's my boyfriend!" she snapped and then shoved me.

I laughed in disbelief. "I thought you wanted Rozen Elizalde to be your boyfriend? Is he just your backup?"

"Don't push your luck, girl!"

She suddenly pulled my hair, and her three minions followed suit. I pushed them away and tried to fight back.

"Stop it!" said a familiar voice.

The four girls were startled into stepping away from me and standing in line by the cubicles.

"Shit!" I screamed upon seeing a scratch on my arm. I looked at them one by one. Their lips trembled, while they were looking at the guy standing behind me.
"Cowards! You think I'm a superhero, huh? If you really want to fight me, fight me fair and square, girl against girl. Don't gang up on me!" I blurted out angrily. I was about to tackled one of them when the guy held me back, holding my waist.

"Let go of me, Rozen!" I screamed.

Even without looking at him outright, I knew it was Rozen—his voice, his scent, his overall aura. I knew him so well. Many people were afraid of Rozen. He was known to be a bad boy, prone to random acts of compulsion. He was happy-go-lucky, and there he didn't take school seriously.

"Don't even think about fighting back!" he simply said.

I tried to free myself from his grasp, but I saw how his arms clenched, keeping me from doing so.

"Let go of me!"

He held my arm and looked at my face, already scratched by one of the bullies.

His eyes turned to them.

"Sorry, Rozen," they said, one by one.

"You'll pay for this," he answered and pointed to the door.

The girls hurriedly left, and I tried to chase them.

"Stop it, Coreen!" he said and pulled me back.

"Ugh! Don't be a buzzkill! Stay here if you can't handle a little skirmish," I yelled in his face.

                   
His brows furrowed.

"Let me treat your wounds," he said and checked my arm.

I pulled my arm back. He let me go. I turned my back on him, but he closed the gap between us again.

"You always go too far away from my reach whenever I let go of you," he said and held my arm tightly again.

"Let me go!" I screamed, but it didn't help. He didn't let go and dragged me to the infirmary.

I tried to pull free from him, but he was too strong. It was like punching a wall. You'd end up hurting yourself.

At the infirmary, he took a cotton ball and a bottle of Betadine from the nurse to treat my wound himself.

"It's only a minor wound, Mr. Elizalde," the nurse said to him, watching Rozen tending to my wound.

He remained silent as he worked.

"Ouch!" I blurted out. It stung.

He paused to look at me before continuing.

"Why are you doing this, Rozen?" I asked seriously when the nurse left.

After throwing the used cotton ball away, he covered my wound with a bandage.

"Why do you think?" he asked me back.

"You want to impress me, is that it?" I asked. Of course, I wanted to make it sound like it was a joke. I waited for his reaction. I smiled, but he looked at me seriously.

"Yes... And because I'm in love with you."

I smirked and looked at him.

"It's either you're joking or it's the truth. There are no 'in betweens.'"

I stood up so he let go of my arm.

"I think we'd be better off if it's a joke," I said. Because he knows who I really like. And it's not him. "But if you're telling the truth... There won't be any challenge in it for me. No more chasing. No more in-betweens. I won't have to work for it. It's not worth my time."

I turned my back and stood to leave, but he didn't attempt to follow me. So I left the infirmary.

That hurts... My wound, that is.