~Promises You Can't Keep~

It was unusual for Nicolas to see Dolores showing the whimsical side of her in his presence but here she was laughing hard, head thrown back, without a single care in the world. Weeks and days had gone by after his fight with Carlos and since then, he had been pinning for her attention and trust. It was a slow, painful process, almost like she was trying to make him pay for every pain he had caused her in the past but he endured her conditions to find himself rewarded for all his patience and hardwork.

The only thorn that continued to rear it's ugly head in his flesh was Simeon, who always seemed to be stuck with her at the hip. Wherever Dolores was, he went. How was he supposed to talk to her when he was always around her?

Adelina, Nicolas observed, ceased to act like a force field guarding her friend against everyone that appeared with a suspicious intent but seemed to be less wary of him. Once her boyfriend was within her line of vision, every other person remained irrelevant and until Dolores wailed out, it would remain that way.

A week ago, Carlos had some people puncture the tyres of his car possibly out of revenge and he had to carpool with Dolores, who dropped him off a few streets to where he lived. When she offered to drop him further, he had to explain the need to not be a bother to her. Shrugging, she agreed to continue on her way.

A nudge in his side caused to him to focus on the face in view with an angry scowl on his. His expression softened when he saw that it was Dolores.

"What's with you giving me that look?" Laughter danced in her blue eyes as she took in his features.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Grayson and Simeon were the next to bark out in laughter. It was during recess Adelina suggested they sit together for some group reading but so far, they weren't interested in the books. It took a great deal of convincing on Dolores' part before Adelina finally agreed to include him in the table. Her reasons were because he had stopped hanging out with Carlos, he had also stopped intimidating Dolores and seemed to want to protect her, despite how foreign and out of place it felt.

"He likes you, Dolores." It was Grayson who spoke up. Nicolas knew him very well. Apart from being the school's basketball team captain, he was reputed for being a simp whenever he was with a girl. Carlos often referred to him as the offensive five lettered word of a woman's personal place.

Currently, he had his arms draped over Adelina's chair as he spoke. Every now and then, Nicolas would discreetly watch them say things the others couldn't hear and share a knowing laugh. It was almost sickening to be in this type of environment as he wasn't used to such lovey dovey acts.

"He does not." Dolores' voice rang out.

Unbidden, his gaze wandered toward her, filled with doubt if they could ever be in such a situation. Shaking his head, he reluctantly forced out those unwelcome thoughts. Adelina would have his balls if he ever acted on his impulsive thought to date Dolores but he wanted to at least give it a try. He was fast falling for the lovely chimes of her pealy laughter and the way her eyes lit up when he did something amusing or stepped into the room.

A low murmur that slowly rose from amidst the crowd soon paved way for loud cheering, hence drawing their attention towards a certain girl who just walked into the room

"That's her." Dolores noted with a raised eyebrow at the girl whose face was hidden partially by her hair.

"Who?" Confusion rode in Adelina's voice as an eyebrow cocked. Grayson also craned his neck to get a view of the person in question.

Dolores faced her friend fully to get her attention. "The one who I spoke about some weeks ago, the girl with the allergy reaction who got hospitalized for some time."

Adelina's eyes widened in realization and her mouth rounded in a silent 'o'. "I remember her, poor girl. She is a resilient person to have survived the unfortunate incident. Not everyone is lucky to stand such and come back unharmed."

Grayson nodded in agreement as he turned to give her a sideways glance with adoration shining through his eyes.  "Resilient like you."

Nicolas almost gagged then at how corny his words sounded as they poured out of his mouth. Adelina, instead of shrinking back in disgust as she ought to, ducked her head with a shy smile. Nicolas had to drag his eyes away from the couple and snuck a glance at Dolores for her expression but what he met in her face was not what he was expecting.

He was met with a face filled with a strange longing so deep that he felt the impulsive need to fulfill every of her wishes if she laid them bare before him. He couldn't stop himself from uttering her name.

She turned to pin those electric blue eyes on him in curiosity. "Yes?"

All of a sudden, the room felt suffocating and sweat instantly poured into his palm with each draft of breeze that caressed his face. His heart began palpitating so loud that he was sure it could be heard if they were in an empty room. It was the moment he had been counting down to in anticipation and here it was but his tongue felt heavy as lead, defying every cooperation with him.

Simeon leaned forward in his seat with humour and mockery dancing in his eyes as he stared at Nicolas. His eyebrows cocked up and down in a teasing manner. He suddenly turned to Grayson in a conspiratorial whisper which no one else could hear.

Grayson grunted as if in reply and didn't say anything else but returned his gaze to Adelina who was staring at him quizzically.

Ignoring how the eyes of the others made him feel squeamish, he cleared his throat, finally making up his mind to speak. "I, uh, can I see you for a bit?"

"Um, sure, I guess. Come on." She said standing up while Nicolas followed right behind her, leaving Adelina to gape in shock and the guys to snicker in laughter.

Despite the frequent glances which some of the students threw their way, Nicolas walked right by Dolores, matching her pace as they sought out a place they could talk without anyone eavesdropping in on them. When they arrived somewhere that was out of the earshot of people, she turned to look up at him.

"You were going to say something?"

He quickly drew in breath sharply through the narrow space between his teeth. "I've tried a million times to explain to you that I no longer find the pleasure treating you like I used to. You made me realize that hanging out with Carlos was very unhealthy to you and myself. I just want a different kind of relationship with you."

She angled her head to get a better view of his face. "In conclusion?"

"I want you, Dolores. I mean, I like you a lot and it's beginning to mess with my head everytime you say you don't want me. Agreed, I was a major pain in the ass to you but can we put that in the past now?"

She forced her eyes away from his imploring gaze, trying to push his adorable gray eyes out of her mind so she could reason logically. He sounded tempting for sure and Dolores wanted of all things to date him but images of his previous mischievous deeds wouldn't stop flashing in her head. Giving him an instant reply would represent desperation or lead to him exploiting her feelings.

"I can't. We can't be together yet, Nicolas."

His features brightened instantly. "You said yet, which means there's still a chance for me. What is stopping us then?"

"Understand that it's not because of what you have done in the past." Lie. An enormous one. "I just want us to get to know each other more and I want to be really sure you're not just going to get back to tormenting me or others alongside Carlos."

It was the whole truth.

He slapped his hand against his forehead, sighing loudly. "I don't want to play you if that's what you think. I really am serious."

"Look," She placed her hand on his arm causing him to look at her. "It's not about saying the words. You do realize actions speak a lot of things, right?"

He nodded with a crestfallen expression. "I think I understand you and I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Dolores let her hand fall to her side as she walked away from him. "Don't make promises you can't keep, De Léon."

~~~{•}~~~

Don't even ask how this chapter went
I feel so...arrgghhh!!!
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