He has got to be my favourite non-love interest guy in this book xD

enjoooyyyy~

--------

Asher's PoV

"Hypocrite," I said out loud, though no one minded me.

My older brother, Ashton, was holding one of his annual business parties in our house, and I had no choice but to attend since I'm technically blood-related to him.

All articles described him as 'a successful businessman and the perfect husband material', yet I would describe him as the hypocrite who has always been my worst bully ever since birth. I'm pretty sure he tried to kill me when I was a baby.

When I was two, he tried to convince me that jumping out of our apartment window was like riding a rollercoaster and it'd be fun. We lived on the 11th floor, by the way. School with him was a nightmare, he constantly purposely got me in trouble. Teachers loved him because he got better grades than I did and was always nice and obedient in front of them. The same reason why our parents never listened to me.

I guess he decided I wasn't gonna die anytime soon, so he stopped all his advances and just pretended like I was air starting fourth grade. I hadn't spoken a word to him since then. I mean, he's five years older than me, there really wasn't much to talk about in the first place.

Alright, I'm pretty sure I made an appearance with all the guests. I can leave now.

On my way to the front door, I caught Ashton's eye. He was about to say something, but I simply spared him a blank glare before slamming the door shut behind me. I wasn't going to listen to any bullcrap he had to say when he kept quiet for nearly ten years.

Let's see, I'm pretty sure Nolan isn't doing anything today. Or he might be on a date with Miki... should I go be the third wheel and piss him off? Yup!

Miki liked to take pictures during their dates and immediately post them on social media, so it wasn't hard at all to find a photo of today with the background of a nearby cinema that I often went to with girls I didn't even know the names of.

I leaned by the front door, waiting for them so I wouldn't be so bored out of my mind. Several girls spared glances at me while they passed by, but none of them approached me, which was a good thing. I really didn't feel like dealing with random people today.

I scanned the hall, then a girl caught my attention, much to my surprise. I narrowed my eyes. She had such thick makeup on. It was as if she purposely did it to piss someone off. She had smokey eyeshadow on and thick red lipstick, her hair was also curled.

I inwardly snorted. This was a little ridiculous. She seemed to be alone, but she had a large-sized popcorn bag in hand. She looked visibly upset and sighed from time to time. Looks like someone else was in the same shoes as I am, except that she's much worse at hiding her emotions than me.

She's trying to appear rebellious, yet she's so expressive it gave it all away. What's she experiencing that made her go out of her way to be someone she's not?

Meh. Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with me.

"There they are," I spoke to myself while I push off the wall and head towards the lovebirds. I silently cleared my throat, then chased the clouds away from my mind and cleared my eyes. I beamed a smile as I waved at them.

I hung around them, annoying the hell outta Nolan until it was time for dinner.

"I think it's about time I leave now and not disturb the two of you," I finally said, and I was pretty sure I saw Nolan mouth 'Hallelujah! Get the fuck outta here already, Asher!'

"Aww, why so soon?" Miki says deliberately and we exchange a knowing smirk.

"I see that you, Miss, have a death wish," Nolan states humorlessly, but we laughed nonetheless.

"I won't bother you again on the condition of your motorcycle keys." I held out a hand.

He reaches into his pocket, but questions with a raised eyebrow, "Why can't you drive your own?"

"Yours is faster." I grinned as he tossed me the key.

"Don't get yourself killed. Or worse, a speeding ticket," he says in a bored tone while tossing a careless wave over his shoulder. Wow, whose best friend wouldn't say something like that?

"Bye~!" Miki waved before catching up to her totally possessive boyfriend, who held her in by the shoulders as soon as she caught up.

I shook my head. They're so damn cheesy, makes me wanna throw up.

I sped through the dark night on the onyx motorcycle. Behind a helmet, there was no need to keep up a cheery facade. I let my lips press together into a thin line, and my brows furrowed in distaste. I could freely glare out into the distance. It felt quite nice.

Just then, I spot someone standing by the side of the road. It was that girl with a huge amount of unnatural makeup applied. What is she doing just standing there? Finding myself curious, I made a U-turn, then stopped in front of her. She glared at me from under her thick lashes.

"What's a pretty lady doing standing in the middle of the street in the middle of the night?" I asked without taking the helmet off. She looked around the same age as me.

"It's none of your business, creep," she spat back in fluent English. A smirk grew on my face although she couldn't see it.

I pulled off the helmet in a way that I knew would drive girls crazy, and she wasn't any different. Surprise bloomed on her face when she didn't expect to see a pretty face under this helmet.

"Not as much of a creep now, am I?" I responded back in English and grinned in amusement when she caught herself showing her true emotions and went back to glaring at me.

"I was just surprised. Leave me alone." She turned away but didn't move from her spot. I blinked for a moment, wondering why. Then I realized. She isn't staying here because she wants to, she's staying here because she can't move in those damn high heels. From the moment I saw her until now has been four hours, not counting the time she's spent walking in those heels before I saw her. No wonder she's stuck here.

"You want a ride home?" I knew full well that she was gonna decline, but I asked anyway.

"I have no home," she muttered, then caught herself. "I mean, I don't need your help. I can just wave a taxi. Go away."

"This is the busiest time of the day, more likely than not you're gonna be standing here for hours without an empty taxi passing by," I said without a thought, then made myself comfortable. "I know your heels are killing you, and I can stand here all night, which do you prefer? If you want to talk first to get some feelings out, I don't mind."

My lips curled up into a smirk when she lowered her head in defeat. Sometimes, a little force is just what girls like her need. What's her problem? Boys or school? Maybe confidence issues? It's really easy for a vulnerable person to confess to a stranger because they think they'll never see that stranger again.

"...My dad's getting remarried," she mumbled, surprising me. "My mom passed away when I was three years old. My dad never remarried in seventeen years... and yet... when I came home from studies abroad, there was suddenly this unfamiliar face, smiling at me, and dad told me she was his fiancee! How was I supposed to take that?"

Family issues.

"I misjudged you," I mumbled. I got off the motorcycle and pushed it up to the sidewalk. She seemed startled at my sudden change in tone. I tossed away the flirtatious character and looked at her in the eyes.

"So, you ran out? With makeup like that?"

She blushed in embarrassment, showing her true colors. "I don't know what I was trying to prove with the makeup, but yes, I ran out...."

"Yeah, I can really tell that it's your first time doing this crazy face paint," I said bluntly. "You applied way too much mascara. The eyeshadow is uneven and not shaded in properly. I could tell right away that you're not that type of girl."

Her face grew redder. "If you're just here to insult me, leave. I don't need more shit in my life right now."

"Hm? It was a compliment. I only know your makeup was done badly because I know plenty of girls who do it right. Plenty who would wait outside my house just to hand me a letter."

"Pfft. Aren't you just Mr. Popular." She laughed a little, then glanced up at me. "Wait, you're speaking English to me. Are you a foreigner? You look like a foreigner."

"Yup. English was the one thing my brother was bad at, so I put all of my energy in that. It was my only hope of ever beating him in something. I'm only a quarter Japanese, but I spent most of my life here."

She slowly nodded. "I'm an only child, and I was never compared to other kids, so I can't say I understand your sibling rivalry. It sounds hard."

"Sibling rivalry...?" I repeated. "It's far more than that."

"Hey, I'm pretty sure it's not as bad as coming home after three years to have a new mom."

We glared daggers at each other. Somehow, this straightforward girl has influenced me to do the same. Ever since the age of ten, the only person I've openly glared at was Ashton. I haven't shown this much honest emotion in a while.

"What's your name?" I asked. I needed to call her something other than 'the girl with terrible heavy makeup.'

"I go by Mikaela. My legal name's Mizuka, but only my dad calls me that. You?"

"Asher. I go by that all the time," I replied cheekily.

She didn't back down. "I shall call you pokemon trainer Ash."

"You...!"

"Yes, me."

"Mika, it is."

We bickered for a while longer. Before we knew it, we spilled all of our problems to each other. Maybe it was because she just came from overseas and didn't know of my brother, but she was the first person who willingly listened to my entire story. Likewise, I listened to hers.

Her dad was her only family after her mom passed away. But now, a stranger was coming into her life, claiming to be her new mom. She only just got off the plane this morning and received news that her dad was getting remarried. She didn't even get a phone yet. He must be worried sick.

"I think you should go home. I can give you a lift. If you're not comfortable with that, I'll call a taxi for you," I offered. It was the first time I voluntarily suggested to go out of my way for someone else.

She shook her head. "Accompany me to a snack bar or something. I'm starving. The only thing I ate today was airplane food and popcorn. Besides, I don't wanna go back to that house if that woman is there."

I thought about it. It was almost 9 o'clock and already dark out. I couldn't just leave her out here alone without a phone. And if she refuses to give me an address, I don't have any other choice.

"Fine. We'll go somewhere."

I watched as Mikaela gobbled down a bowl of ramen. She was as far from graceful as one could get, yet she managed to not get a drop of soup on her outfit or hair.

"Ah~ I forgot how good this tasted!" she exclaimed while dropping her chopsticks. I picked up a napkin and naturally reached over, dabbing at her lips. She seemed surprised, but she didn't shy away.

"I can see why you're a chick magnet," she commented.

I let a laugh escape my lips. I decided that I liked this girl, especially her honesty. I'd been fake for so long and met fake people for so long that I sometimes forgot that girls like her existed.

Just then, someone announced excitedly over the bar mic that karaoke night was beginning. People have said that I had a nice voice, but I was never really interested in music.

Before I could turn my head back around, Mikaela walked into my vision. Without a word, she volunteered to go first and picked up a mic.

I shifted around in my seat. A small smirk played on my lips. I expected American pop or rock, but Japanese came out of her mouth.

I'd never heard the song, but I got a sense of deja vu from her voice. It was beautiful. Majestic, even. In no way was her voice polished like a star nor could she hit super-impressive high notes, but something about the pourings of emotions in her voice drew me in. For a second, I forgot anything existed. I could only hear her sing.

I truly met someone amazing today.

She came back in the midst of a round of applause and sat down across from me. It was her turn to smirk. "You look surprised. Should I be offended?"

My expression softened, and I genuinely smiled. I asked the bartender for a pen. Then, in one swift motion, I wrote my number down on a clean napkin. I folded it in half and handed it to her in between my index and middle finger.

"Call me when you get a phone."

I could visibly see color rise from her neck to the tips of her ears. She pressed the back of her hand to her cheek in an attempt to cool it down. I didn't miss the grin plastered on her face as she mumbled, "Jeez, you're too much."

In a poised and charming manner, she hesitantly accepted the napkin. She tucked it in her purse carefully while chuckling. "I can't believe I'm falling for the oldest trick in the book. I bet you do this to all your French girls."

"How much are you betting? Cuz I'm winning that one."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the first girl I've given my number to out of romantic interest."