Chapter 12 ~ like sides repel

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8Rv0kKlhL

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°• °•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°• °•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUdR7yFu84

It was lunch break and students swarmed out of classrooms into the halls to go about their business for the hour, Remi and Chara were both headed to the cafeteria when they got stopped by Arloh who just walked in front of the pair and stood in their path facing them , "excuse me Chara,can I speak with your friend for a minute?" He asked as he stared right at Remi with his hands in his pockets.

"Ooooookaaayy" Chara said as she scooted aside awkwardly and gave the two some space.

"You're Remi right?" Arloh asked calmly,Remi stared at him with a deadpan face ,scratched his head and raised his brows in an expression that screamed 'isn't it obvious?'. "Oh ...so I just wanted to ask if your cousin is okay?" Arloh asked,a bit fazed by Remi's demeanor,but shrugged it off to him being Rei's cousin after all. "My cousin? Oh my cousin ....why do you care?" Remi asked brashly.

"you don't know what happened to her on Friday? when she was missing ?.. she spent the night at my place because she had what I hope is a minor memory loss Arloh said with a concerned face. "I had a memory loss?... I mean she did?" Remi squinted at Arloh trying to recall any such events. "So I assume she made it home safe the next day and did not mention any of those" said Arloh. "Uh yeah yeah..memory loss, look uh what's your name?.." Remi asked trying to conclude the conversation. "It's Arloh" . "....right Marlon ,or whatever, I gotta go,..don't worry I... My cousin is safe and sound thanks for your concern" Remi said then just walked off not waiting for if Arloh had anything else to say. Arloh stood there for a bit observing Remi as he walked away with Chara talking rather intensely with her. *I guess they really are related, but damn I didn't even have time to say I'm a fan * , Arloh thought to himself ,perhaps blinded by his idolization of Remi he was not nearly as critical of his rudeness or character like he was with Rei.

"That Marlon guy just said I was at his house" Remi whispered to Chara as the two briskly walked away, "Marlon?..who the hell is Marlon?" Chara said ,scrambling her face. "Carlo from our class ,the guy at the back seats, anyways he said my cousin was at his house on Friday night, I don't remember any of that" Remi said as he scratched the side of his face . Chara stopped walking , prompting Remi to do the same,"who the hell is Carlo?!!!!" She exclaimed widening her eyes. "I dunno ,wardlow?" Remi said ,picking random names out of the air . "oh Wait . ...you mean Arloh? " Chara said as she put the pieces together, "yeah that guy" Remi said in confirmation. "well if you were with Arloh ,that's safer than option A which was Reuben's boys, but how did you get there ,and why don't you remember?" She stood wondering.

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnQ20csDf7

"Ahhh I don't want to think about it, but the way he asked about her.. well me, it seemed like we got close, were not friends ,I'd never be friends with that guy ,is this a prank?" Remi asked and sighed heavily. Chara stayed quiet for a bit then had an idea "you know what? I think your cousin is going to have to come back and ask him about Friday" . "What? Noooo, she's never showing up again , that chapter is over, we will move on from this Friday shenanigans like it never happened " he decided and gestured to Chara for them to keep walking. "This is why you don't follow strangers to go play video games You idiot Chara complained as the two resumed their walk. "Look I think we should have trust for people in this world those guys were harmless" he said and nodded slowly with his right hand on his chin. "You literally blacked out with them -!!!" Chara was cut off by a familiar pair to Remi. "Neighbour it's you!" Jerry exclaimed as he and Trisha approached. "I don't think we are familiar with each other but your cousin is our friend , I live next door...oh let me introduce myself.." he tried to get out as many words as possible but was interrupted by Remi . "Ah I know you guys ,she mentioned you, Jerry and Lisa right?" .

"It's Trisha, .." Jerry corrected , "..Trisha, wake up" he said as he lightly shook Trisha who had managed to start falling asleep while standing there. "I wasn't sleeping I heard everything" she said as she blinked multiple times, "Remi, the other students said you're Remi ,you're Remi right?.." she asked in a slurried voice as she yawned and stretched. Before Remi could confirm the name she continued "how is your cousin? We are worried about her , we saw her going someplace with Reuben's boys". Remi still not understanding what the deal was with the guys he followed decided to just put an end to all the worried 'fans' , "she's completely fine ,nothing happened" Chara who was already sipping on a juicebox she conjured out of her fanny pack of goodies , started coughing and choking, everyone turned to look at her ,Jerry wondering if she needed help , Trisha half asleep and Remi scoffing . "Are you alright ?" Jerry asked . "Yes yes, I'm fine I just drank too fast" she said ,side eyeing Remi and widening her eyes as she recollected herself. "She's fine ,she's fine, so is my cousin, everyone is fine..but I don't know if she is fine" Remi said and subtly pointed at Trisha who was starting to fall forward as she dozed off again. "Oh dear.." Jerry said as he stopped her from falling over, "she's never this out if sorts, I think she's very tired today" . "You think? " Remi commented and raised a brow at the scene . "wake up, let's go" Jerry whispered to Trisha who jolted up again ,"oh yeah ,When is Rei coming back ?if you guys live together tell her I said hi" she said then rested her head on Jerry's shoulder and yawned again. "We don't live together,but I'll deliver your message, let's go Chara" Remi said ending the conversation ,Chara who was still recovering from her drink incident quietly followed. Jerry watched them walk away as he tried to recall ,"I'm sure I remember seeing them both come out of the neighboring apartment a few times, maybe she visits him often? " He said to himself then shrugged it off , "Trisha I will drop you on the floor ,wake up".

As Arloh was making his way back to the class he ran into Bel ,by her self for once she was resting her back on the wall with her arms crossed,just standing there ,almost like she was waiting for him. He immediately tried to avoid her and just go his way, moving over to walk on the opposite side of the hallway.

"It's been years already,how long are you going to keep avoiding me?" She said as soon as he walked past her. Arloh slowed down and then stopped without turning around to face her, he let out a heavy sigh before walking off ,ignoring her. "Hmm he's being so dramatic over nothing" Bel said to herself as she stood straight, dusted off her skirt and went her way.

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHG5HlCR6X

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReDJsEgfZY

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1lD80YJSKi

The school day ended and Chara and Remi were heading home together when Chara noticed that Remi was not paying much attention to their conversation,He had been looking elsewhere and mumbling unintelligible answers and had also been paying even less attention than usual during classes earlier in the day, what was he focused on? It finally made sense when she saw what he was staring at now , the same person he had been staring at all day. Bel was at the school entrance with her pack of friends, doing a bunch of nothing and completely unaware that she was being admired from half way across the yard,it wouldn't matter if she was aware anyways, because to her she was admired by many at any time of the day, anywhere she was. Chara looked at her friend who was zoned out admiring Bel, then looked back at Bel,then back to Remi again ,and a disgusted expression dressed her face."Are you...? Are you looking at Bel?!" She said, quite annoyed. "Whuh..?" Remi mumbled with his eyes still stuck on Bel. "Stop looking at her like that!" Chara said angrily and moved In front of Remi ,narrowing her brows at him. "Don't tell me what to do you little shrimp" he snapped back and places his hand on Chara's head and moved her out the way, to her surprise causing her to let out a gasp ."I don't know,it's just something about her I'm really fascinated how does she have all those people drawn to her ? I must get to know her",he said still not removing his eyes from Bel. "What!!??! No. You will not be getting to know her, absolutely not!!!" Chara protested moving right back in front of Remi to block his view.

"Now why not?what's your problem with her?" Remi asked as he finally directed his gaze away from Bel who was leaving the school and turned to Chara. "What's my problem? I literally told you how she's the worst person ever and made everyone turn on me at a point in this school" Chara said ,losing patience with Remi. "Oh yeah ....that,but like it's just school, it can't be that bad what she did,there's snobby people everywhere and you guys were younger I assume and maybe she's changed now , she seems nice the entire class loves her, it seems like the problem you have with her is more personal than that" He said scratching his head . "Ugggh... it doesn't have to be personal to still be terrible what she did,she's a terrible person and don't talk to her , I hate her" Chara said and gripped the handle of her backpack so tight that her knuckles started to turn pale. "Woah okay okay,settle down" Remi said upon noticing how intense Chara had gotten. "Besides you don't stand a chance with her anyways.." Chara commented as she stepped aside from Remi's path and returned to walking beside him,"what? What do you mean i don't stand a chance?" Remi asked, scratching his head. "Bel doesn't date ,she's not interested in guys after her last boyfriend betrayed her ..she deserved it that stupid....." Chara explained and muttered an insult under her breath that Remi didn't quite catch. "Not interested in guys you say..." Remi muttered in a very low voice. "Hmm? What did you say?" Chara asked ,squinting her eyes at him. "Oh.. nothing, nothing" Remi said as he put his hands in his pockets and started to do a cartoonish 'aloof whistle' .. Chara stared at him ,still squinting for a few more seconds before shrugging it off and the two made their way home.

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ26msYP0XhJ

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC4SLM3ywDv

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JniZ7CEMK

The next morning ,Chara waited patiently at the school entrance for her partner in crime,observing her surroundings. Students were buzzing around all over the place ,it was noisy ,crowded and some guy had managed to crash his bike into a wall ,causing a scene and students and security guards to gather around ."well hello miss Chara " a rather rudy looking student popped up in front of Chara and said in an exaggerated manner ,the student was accompanied by two others. Chara recognized the trio and sighed heavily, "what do you want? Ho-te", she asked with her arms crossed. "We noticed you've been avoiding us .....as usual,how long will you keep ignoring our offer" Hote said trying to sound intimidating and posed with their hands in their trouser pockets,as the other two students just stood there, one of them was already zoned out and the other looked like he just wanted to take a nap. "Go away Hote,you're just looking for someone to do all the student council work for you guys, make Mac do it he is a smart guy" Chara said casually and pointed at the 'sleepy faced ' guy in glasses with Hote. "I'm smart.. not hardworking " Mac said tiredly and adjusted his glasses, "Besides he is busy as the librarian , pleeeeeease just join us , the student council needs more members" Hote added and pleaded. Chara stood up straight and looked at the three ,"Flora are you going to say anything?" she asked the third of the group who had been zoned out all along, "what?" Flora said ,snapping back to reality. Chara sighed heavily and reached into her bag "can you guys leave already? I'm waiting for my friend" .

"Run she has a gun!!!!" Flora screamed and bolted off, causing some other students nearby to turn around confused. "Oh my goodness Flora she doesn't have a gun!!!" Hote yelled out to Flora who was already half way across the courtyard,as Chara pulled out a candy bar from the bag and gave the remaining two a tired look, "sorry about that, but join us" Mac said and did a 'phonecall' gesture with his hand . "You messed it up Hote, let's go" Mac said quietly and put his arm around Hote's neck and commenced the retreat ,"Chara,mark my words, you will join the student council!!!!!" Hote screamed as she got dragged off 'into the void'. Chara watched the scene for a bit,then just shrugged and went back to feasting on her candy bar.

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP430oYmxDz

"Oh no, please don't be what I think it is" Chara said as she saw Remi walking towards her beaming with a smile, except it wasn't Mr Remi, it was Miss Rei. "Hello, good morning am I right?" Rei said as she arrived next to Chara. "Hmm, what happened to us never seeing your cousin Rei ever again?" Chara ignored the greeting and immediately asked with a raised brow. "pffft ....funny story, you won't believe it ,so I went to sleep yesterday and woke up as I usually do ,but again I couldn't change back..would youuu believe it?" Rei explained, widening her eyes,placing her hands on her waist and leaning towards Chara. "Well the fact you look like you're trying to sell me a washing machine,means you're lying" Chara called out immediately,and her face did not look impressed, "what's the idea.... 'REI'" she says squinting and leaning back at Rei who moved back a bit nervous. "Urgh fine you got me..." Rei said and took the bow out of her hair ,"...look you said Bel wasn't interested in guys,but you didn't say anything about girls!..huh ? Huh?" she added and did an obnoxious 'wink and gunfinger point' combination . Chara just stood there straight faced,not amused by Rei's joke. Rei stood straight and chucked the bow into her open backpack hanging in front of her on her chest, instead of her back." Oh what is it now ?" she asked, pouting. "Are you serious Remi?!!" Chara asked still as serious as ever , "hey hey I'm Rei not Remi.." Rei said ,still trying to maintain an aloof conversation, "shut up Remi." Chara said,confirming she wasn't happy at all, "you're really still going to try and befriend Bel? After what I said yesterday?!!" .Rei scratched her head , not understanding what the issue was ,"you won't tell me what the big deal is anyways and you can't choose who I decide to talk to for me!!" Rei snapped back while still wearing a childish pouty face. "I told you she made people treat me badly and that's not a big enough deal for you? " Chara said and agressively took a bite from the candy bar she was holding. "But she's not doing so anymore , maybe she's changed,she doesn't seem bad at all,everyone loves her,why are you so hell bent on me not talking to her and won't tell me what the big issue you have with her is?" Rei said now wearing a more serious face. "What? I already told you why " Chara argued , "well that's not enough , you're obviously hiding something else, I know " Rei said and crossed her arms. "Well,well...well I don't feel like talking to you right now" Chara said in a shaky voice "here!!" She agressively took Rei's hand and placed a candy bar she had gotten for her in it,then walked away briskly. "Well...well I don't feel like sharing sweets with you right now!!!" Rei yelled back and thought about throwing the candy bar on the floor but changed her mind and put it in her pocket. "She's overreacting, she'll be fine........right?" Rei said to herself,then immediately went back to her plans "hmm now off to find ..my Bel" she said and did a twirl.

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3i9mDJAD4P

As Rei made her way to class she spotted Bel in the halls ,entering the classroom . "Oh there she is" she said to herself and immediately sped up to catch up and talk with Bel before classes started, but not without walking right into Arloh who just happened to be in the hallway as well . "Ouch, watch where you're going you complete 'tool' !!" Rei said and placed her palm on her forehead, "well you seem to be back to your usual self" Arloh said ,commenting on Rei's rudeness . "I hope you're alright?" He asked to see if she was hurt ,"of course I am,now buzz off I have somewhere to be" Rei said and looked around looking for Bel. "Wait one second..." Arloh said and started opening his backpack ,".... I didn't expect you to be back actually,I met your cousin yesterday but decided it would be better if I held on to it for when you showed up again" he said as he searched the bag. "What are you talking about? Move out of my way",Rei said rather annoyed." You left your uniform at my place the other day and some of your other stuff , I cleaned them and brought them back for you, you won't want to be a pair short "Arloh said as he handed her a small bag with clothes and shoes in it . "What?!!!!your place?!!!" Rei exclaimed,making other students turn around to look at them . "What do you mean your place?" She whispered this time as she realized people were looking."Friday night? When you couldn't remember anything?" Arloh said ,still holding up the bag for her to collect. "Ohhhhhh yeah that, hah ha thanks" Rei said ,laughing nervously as she put the puzzle pieces together *so I really was at his place when I woke up on Saturday morning...but why was I there!!!??* She thought to herself and took the bag from Arloh while refusing to look him in the eye. Arloh felt a bit awkward so he decided to let Rei go about her business,"well I hope you're all recovered now , see you around Rei" . Rei still thinking on events just looked at him and said "whatever" then moved around him and made her way to the classroom. "Well I guess her memory and original personality are back huh?" Arloh commented to himself then chuckled as he turned and headed the opposite direction.

Rei was still confused about why she was at Arloh's house, Arloh of all people? Now it felt like a big deal and she wanted to know why she was there. "Ahh this sucks , I should talk to my sweet Bel to get over this" she said then nodded , but as she looked up ,she locked eyes with Jerry and Trisha who were headed her way ."oh my god no" Rei Said in agony as she knew they definitely saw her, "oh it's Rei!!! Rei!!!! Hi!!!!" Trisha called out from across the hall and started heading over with Jerry. "What's that? Hello?" Rei immediately started to fake receiving a call and turned around to head the other way "why do they all keep showing up now I just want to talk to Bel " she complained and thought about making a run for it , suddenly, she felt a sharp pain all over and her head suddenly began to spin. "What's this ,what's going on?" She said grabbing her head and clutching her chest , her phone dropped out of her hand unto the floor and she flopped heavily against the lockers on the wall. "Rei what's wrong ? Are you okay?!" Jerry and Trisha who had now gotten close to where she was, rushed over asking ,concerned as they saw her lose her footing . Rei could only hear mumbles and see blurs before she collapsed heavily on the ground,making a loud thud. "Oh my goodness Rei!!!" Trisha shouted as she and Jerry rushed over to Rei, Arloh who hadn't gone far noticed the commotion as other students gathered and rushed over, when he got there Jerry was trying to get Rei's limp body ,up off the ground and Trisha and some other students were trying to help. "What happened?" Arloh asked,confused and concerned. Jerry who was now putting her arm around his shoulder to get her up shuddered a bit when he felt her skin "I don't know, but....why is she so cold?"

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXmRnpCEbO

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1LXr8zOEg

145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITz4UY6WJZ

88.181.249.5

ns88.181.249.5da2