“O.M.G! Isn’t that Albert? I heard he started dating the girl from the cheerleading team,”

“What? How could he abandon his fandom?”

“I heard he never even liked his fandom, gosh! I wish I could be his girlfriend,”

“Excuse me, girls! You guys are so annoying, you don’t even know who you are talking about here, it’s ALBERT! You guys don’t stand a chance,” I said and cut through them, as I proudly flipped my golden locks.

“Who is that? She looks gorgeous,”

“Yeah, she is pretty and all, but…she is a devil in disguise, a witch, Regina Arison,”

“Woah, she looks like a hot topic,”

“Oh, she is more than just that, everyone knows her for her strict following of rules, her wealth, but most of all her spoiled attitude,”

Yes, that’s me, Regina Arison, the most popular girl in school, and no one dares to mess with me no matter what. Though yes, I’m known for my richness and my amazing looks, which I’m well aware of, I’m also pretty humble, because I fell in love with Albert Walton, the school's hot shot or the school's heartthrob. He was all you needed in a man, the looks, the personality, the intelligence, the wealth, and the power. He had it all easy, but he still wanted to live humbly, that’s why I’m here too.

“Oh, Albert! Are you going to history class now? Let me join you,” I called out.

.

“Alright, do whatever you want,” he said, looking uninterested.

See, he never does this to anyone else, only to me. I know behind that big rude face of his is a remarkable person.

I was in awe of this person, but I just had to bump into someone at that time.

“Hey! You there! Can’t you see you are on my way? You have to move to the left; do you hear me? Now off you go,”

“I’m sorry, are you alright? I didn’t see you there,”

“Ugh! I’m alright, fortunately, what if you bumped into Albert? You better be careful, nerd,” I said, clearly very annoyed.

He picked up his books, and Albert bent down and started helping him.

“I think that was too much, he didn’t mean to, it was not like he did anything on purpose,” said Albert.

That nerdy boy looked at him confused, and then looked at me, “Umm… I will be leaving then, thank you,”

After he left, Albert looked at me and scoffed at me.

What wrong did I do? I was just correcting him so he wouldn’t make that mistake again. I don’t want another person to fall because of his absent mind, and what if next was Albert?

“Hey. What’s wrong? I just told him the right thing; I don’t want him doing that again and causing more issues,” I said.

“That’s enough, you speak too much, I just want to go to class in peace,” he said. He was annoyed.

Every day I try to change myself, the so-called, ‘spoiled brat’ personality of mine, I try my level best in everything, to prove to Albert I’m worthy of his love, but he doesn’t even bat an eye. It’s been like that for quite some while too, I’ve liked him for so long, and I will continue liking him until he blankly rejects me because so far, he does not have a girlfriend, so I have a chance with him, and when I see a chance, I will take it by any means.

I quietly followed him, making sure I wouldn’t get in his way. I made sure I would be perfect for him, neat clothes, perfect hair, well-dressed, and even sweet perfume. Furthermore, I was perfect and I know it.

“All right class, we have a new student joining us this term, so be kind to her,” said the history teacher.

A little girl, who looked timid and innocent, walked up from the back of the classroom. She looked cute like a little animal, mostly reminding me of Hopper, my white rabbit.

“Hello everyone, I’m Jane, nice to meet you all,” she said.

“Thank you, Miss Jane, you can sit next to Albert, he will teach you the basics and help you around,”

Wait, what? Seat with Albert? That was my seat until last week, why does the new girl have to sit

with him? Well, this pisses me off!

The class ended, and it seemed like Albert and Jane got close. I went up to them and decided to introduce myself to her.

“Hello there, I’m Regina Arison. Welcome to our school, I can show you around if you want,” I said.

Right then, Albert stepped in front of Jane, trying…protect her. From what??? I looked around, confused. “What happened Albert? Why are you standing in front of Jane?”

“Don’t play dumb, Regina, what are you planning to do with her? She is new to the school; do you have to play so rude?” said Albert, angrily.

I was humiliated and wronged, everyone was looking at me as if I did something wrong.

“Wh-what do you mean, Albert? This is crazy, I just want to become friends,” I said.

“Pleas-” he was then cut off by Jane. “It’s fine Albert. Hello Regina, I’m Jane Andrew, it’s truly nice to see you, please forgive my friend, he means no harm,” she said. Just like that, Albert was tamed, and obeyed Jane, though he still showed aggression toward me.

“Yeah, I know he means no harm, I have been his classmate for quite some time, thank you,” I said, looking confused.

“Oh my! Then you must be Albert’s friend! I always thought he wouldn’t be able to make friends

because of his angry look, but guess he made friends,” she said, excitedly jumping.

I grew more confused as she spoke, “What is this girl saying?” kept running in my mind.

“Wait, you two know each other? From when?”

“Oh, he is my childhood friend, we used to hand around all the time. I grew up with him until I had to go abroad due to my father’s work, but now I’m back and reunited with my best friend,” she chirped.

Wait, so she has an upper hand on winning his heart, so before that, I need to nip the bud before it blooms and keep a careful eye on her. I don’t know what she must be having for Albert, I don’t know their relationship, but one thing I know is they are not dating.

“Oh my! That is wonderful, let’s be friends, shall we?” I spoke.

“Of course, anyone of Albert’s friends is my friend,” she jumped.

I took most of the classes with her, and not a single one of them did she make a flaw. It was perfect, to the way she spoke, even to the way she walked and how her hair moved. It was like watching a main protagonist, everything about her was flawless. I was outshone by her, and soon I was compared to her.

“O.M.G! Jane is just so pretty, she has a very soft look and is very kind to everyone, and I heard she has a close relationship with Albert, like they look good together! Why don’t they date already?”

“I know right? But we can’t do anything due to the cunning beauty always being in the side of her like they are attached to some glue or something, it’s so obvious that Jane is forced to be by her side since she is always so kind and understanding, I can’t believe what she is going through,”

I overheard all these conversations. It’s not surprising that these things are now common to me. I hear this almost every time, and I got oddly used to it. I know I am trying to use Jane so that I can become close to Albert, but I don’t specifically despise her, rather it’s the opposite, I find her nice and charming, with her cute rabbit-like personality just like Hopper, my dear pet rabbit.

“Oh! There you were, Reiny! Let’s head to the next class,” called out Jane as she locked her hand to mine.

At first, I hated this, but as time went by, I got used to it pretty well.

“Yeah, let’s not be late for political science today, remember what happened last time you were late,” I said.

“Yeah, yeah! Stop nagging me, Reiny!” she said while pouting her cheeks.

“Don’t bully her Regina, let her go,”

I turned around to see Albert. I still had a crush on him, and my heart was pounding out of my chest.

“Don’t be a meanie, Al, she is just trying to teach me, so I won’t make any mistakes,” said Jane as she defended me.

Albert was annoyed, by the fact that Jane and I got close. His worst enemy, Regina Arison. He despised me with every nerve he had, and he made sure to show it to me. Why am I so madly in love with a man who doesn’t even love me back? What did I do to deserve it?

“Let’s go, Jane, I’ll meet you in class,” he said and took a few steps closer to me. “If you make Jane cry, I won’t stand still and act all nice and friendly like Jane, you're fortunate that Jane is such an angle and is willing to become friends with an ugly person like you,”

I hated the words he said, he made sure to attack me with every possible move he got, he hated the fact that I was close to Jane, he hated the fact that I lived, he hated the fact that I liked him, he hated my looks, the way I dressed and everything. He hated everything. But why do I still long for him?

I wanted to break down so badly, I skipped class for the first time and ran to the terrace. My eyes were filled with tears and I couldn’t see properly, I just wanted to escape from there, I wanted to go home and cry, where my voice was muffled by my pillow as it wiped my tears away. My parents loved me, but I was afraid of being shamed or letting them down.

I finally reached the top and broke down, my legs gave up on me, and I was out of breath. I want some time for myself, for all the wounds I caused to myself, I want a change.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t know someone was here,”

I turned around to see that nerd of a boy, his thick-framed glasses and his messy light brown hair which covered his eyes, holding a bunch of books, assuming to be study-related.

I couldn’t help myself and broke down in front of him, “Am I that ugly? Am I that evil that everyone hates me?”

He looked shocked, and his eyes widened, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“It’s fine, I know I’m worthless, but let me stay here as a ghost, I won’t dis—” he cut me off and said sternly, “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes upon, there is nothing that you lack, everything about you is perfect, the way you walk, the way you talk, everything about is beautiful, it’s in your eyes and your smile,”

I was too dumbstruck to speak, what was I even hearing? Is he complimenting me or just trying to console me? I had no clue what to say.

“Bu-but I am very rude to everyone, how can anyone like me?” I asked.

“I don’t find you rude, you just want everyone to be perfect, or maybe it’s my delusion, but I find you quite charming,” he said.

This guy has some guts, I could never say this to anyone, yet he passed my limits. I have never received any kind of compliments from anyone other than my family so far, these were the genuine compliments I received from a total stranger. Well not exactly a stranger but still, I never knew anyone who would complement me like that, not even my friends did, but now that I think about it, do I even have friends?

My face was all red, I didn’t know what to say anymore, I just stood there in shock. Just then he turned red too, like he turned off autopilot and now realized what he just said. We both stood there in pure silence as the sky cleared to show the afternoon sun.

He was quite cute, and now I could see his eyes, his eyes turned golden as the sun hit his face, it was beautiful.

I wiped my tears and chuckled, “I never got your name nerdy boy,”

“I’m Nicolas,”

“Well nice to meet you Nicolas, I’m Regina. I suppose this is your spot?”

“Um… Kinda. Not many people come here so it’s peaceful, but I don’t mind sharing it,” he said.

This guy sure knows how to work with his words, and it’s nice to hear him speak, though now he seems awkward because he realized what he said, I wish he could be bold again.

“Thank you, Nicolas, well I guess we have the next class soon so I will meet you around, okay?”

“Yeah, sure I guess we have psychology next, and I’m in the same class as you, why don’t we go together?” he asked.

“Wait, we are in the same class?”

“Haha, it’s fine, I don’t speak much anyway, but now since I know you why not go together?”

I nodded and went with him.

I know this is going to go well, it feels like I genuinely got to know a person, and even though I just met Nicolas, it feels like I have known him for a long time, and that I can be myself around him. It feels oddly warm with him, then with anyone.