Soon after we arrived at school, it felt like I never walked alone. I guess it's fun having company to walk and talk with. As we started taking the stairs, Penelope ran toward us.
"Good morning, Felicity," she greeted.
"Good morning, Penelope," I replied.
"Oh hi, Chris, you came! So I'm guessing you guys are now friends. Cool—maybe that'll shut them up," Penelope said.
"You know each other? And what are you talking about?" I asked.
"Well, Chris and I go way back. But that's a story for another day. I'm guessing you haven't seen the video," Penelope replied.
"What video?" I asked, looking back at Chris.
He just shrugged with a sigh of ignorance. We went inside, and immediately everyone started laughing. I thought they were laughing at both of us, but it turned out they were laughing at Chris.
I decided to watch the video and saw it was the one taken the day I slapped Chris. It showed him watching it too. The video played repeatedly online, and the worst part was that it was posted on social media with all sorts of captions. It was so embarrassing—I couldn't take it anymore and shut it off. At first, I didn't think a guy like Chris could be affected by something like that, but he clearly was.
"How dare you say such things about me!" he shouted at the crowd.
"Chris, calm do—" I tried to speak, but he shouted at me.
"Don't touch me! Stay away from me, just go away!" He ran off. Then I turned to the crowd and yelled,
"You guys are a bunch of assholes! How dare you post things about Chris and laugh at it? You're all idiots and morons!" I was raging.
Everyone went quiet and then dispersed. Penelope came up and asked,
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to talk to Chris. There's a spot he likes to go," I replied.
"Okay, but be careful with him," Penelope said.
"I will," I nodded.
I immediately stormed off, trying to catch up with Chris, when I bumped into a guy again. I thought to myself, Why do I always bump into cute guys?
"I'm so, so sorry," I said.
"It's okay. Tough day, right?" he asked.
I looked at him without saying anything.
"I heard what you said. They are idiots. I'm sorry about those freaks. You shouldn't mind what they say," he added.
"Thanks. And I'm sorry again," I replied.
"No problem. And of course, you're welcome," he said calmly.
"By the way, I'm Alexander—Alex for short. And you are?" he asked with a big grin.
"I'm Felicity," I answered.
"Wow. Nice name for a pretty woman," he said, smirking.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go," I said, running off.
I had only one thing on my mind—talking to Chris. And I knew exactly where to find him.
I ran up the stairs to the rooftop. When I opened the door, I saw him. I think he came there to find solace. But this time, he wasn't just standing near the railing—he was sitting on it. That was dangerous. I felt terrible. Everything was my fault. On top of it, he was clearly going through something deeper.
I tried to sneak up on him to grab him just in case, but as I got closer, he shouted,
"Stop! Don't come any closer!"
I was startled. How did he know I was coming when I was so quiet? Maybe he heard the door.
"What did you think—that I'd kill myself? I'm not that pathetic, you know. What are you doing here?" Chris asked, turning toward me as he jumped down to the roof.
"I'm sorry about the video. I didn't know—" I began, but he cut me off.
"Enough! Just stop it. Do you think you can undo what happened? Reverse the clock? The damage is done. And now, when my father sees that video, he'll hate me even more," he yelled.
"I'm really sorry. But why would your father hate you over that?" I asked.
"It's none of your business, okay?" he snapped.
"Okay, I'm sorry. But if there's anything I can do to fix this, I will," I said calmly.
"Oh, there is something. Now that I think about it—apologize. Kneel in front of the camera. Can you do that?" he said.
"What? You can't be serious!" I replied, shocked.
"You heard me. You said you'd do anything to help, right?" he asked.
"Yes, I would—but that's not an option. I promise I'll think of something. But right now, we should go. We're late for class," I pleaded.
"You go. I'm not in the mood," he replied.
"Please come with me. I won't go without you. If you don't come, you'll be letting them win. Fine, consider my classes done for the day," I insisted.
"You better go or your mom will be sad. Just go!" he said, trying to guilt me.
"No. You're trying to use my mom to make me go, huh? Nice try. I never even told you about her. How did you know?"
"Well, girls like you always have moms and dads they want to make proud, don't they?" Chris asked.
"Well, I'm not like other girls. I am different. And yes, I want to make my mom proud," I replied.
"Enough. Just go, please. Don't make this harder than it already is," he said, defeated.
"I told you, I'm not going unless you come. Let's go. I'll talk to them later," I said once more.
"You're so stubborn. You always get what you want, don't you?" Chris said.
"No, I don't. You don't know me," I replied.
"Then tell me what you want," Chris said, stepping closer.
Just then, I checked my phone—it was time for another class. Thank goodness he didn't come any closer.
"Look, we missed poetry class. We have Spoken English now. Come on, let's go," I urged him again.
"Okay, fine. You win. Come on, let's go," he finally agreed.
We went downstairs and into the lecture hall. After class, I was preparing to leave for home, but I couldn't let everyone go without addressing the issue. So I called everyone's attention in the hallway.
"Good day, everyone. What happened today was wrong. You all made a mountain out of a molehill. It was just a slap—I acted on impulse, and it was wrong. I'm truly sorry, Christopher. And I don't care what any of you think, but for Chris not to retaliate shows he respects women. Some of you jump at any chance to mock others. It's not funny. So please, stop making those kinds of videos. And because I slapped him, I apologize. You can record this too. Chris, I am truly sorry for hitting you."
"It's alright. I forgive you," he replied.
"Thank you," I said.
Everyone left. I know some of them must have recorded it, but I don't care.
---
CHRISTOPHER'S POV
We arrived at college. Then Penelope greeted Felicity. I was thinking, How does she know my sister?
Penelope showed me the video. It made me furious. I said something angry. Felicity tried to calm me down, but I shoved her away and ran to the Radcliffe Camera.
I'm so foolish. What was I thinking? I should've calmed down and talked to her instead of acting on impulse. If my father saw the video, he'd hate me more. Then I heard footsteps—I knew it was her.
When she tried to grab me from the railing, I told her to stop. I was too angry, but she calmed me down. I eventually said, "Okay, you win," and we both went to class.
That morning, I wasn't in the mood for anything. But later, she brought everyone together and addressed the video issue. She was awesome and incredible. At that moment, my heart beat again. I knew I was falling for her. But what am I supposed to do about the bet? That's for another day. Today—I like her.
After class, she was heading downstairs when I called her.
"Hey, Felicity, wait up," I said.
She stopped, visibly angry. I walked over.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Let's walk together," I said.
"Why?" she asked.
"I just want to keep you company, that's all," I replied.
"Unbelievable. I can walk alone. Thanks," she said.
"Come on, don't do this. You're incredible and intriguing—you know that, right? Don't be mad," I said, kissing her hand.
"Ew, gross. Tell me something I don't know," she said, rolling her eyes.
We walked in silence.
"Hey, you don't want to talk?" I asked.
"What do you want me to say?"
"Anything. Like—can we be friends?" I asked, extending my hand. She shook it, though she still looked upset.
"Friends we are," I said.
I noticed she was down, so I tried to cheer her up by making silly faces. She laughed.
"I never knew you were so jovial. I thought you were always a suck-up," she said.
"Ouch. My heart—it's breaking!" I said, clutching my chest.
"You're such a drama king. You act like a villain but behave like a hero outside—pretender!" she shouted.
"Ouch again—heartbreaker!" I said, and we both laughed.
"What you did earlier was amazing. I'm glad I met you, and I'm so glad it's over. I'm sorry I put you through that," I said.
"It wasn't your fault. I should be apologizing. I took it too far. I'm sorry—and thank you for forgiving me," she replied.
"No problem. I'll walk you home," I said.
"No, it's fine. I can go alone—and besides, you don't even know my dorm," Felicity replied.
"I'm walking you home. No ifs or buts. I owe you. Besides, I can protect you from strangers—and I can see your place," I insisted.
She looked up at me—I was a bit taller, and she noticed.
"And how would you protect me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"My father taught me kung fu. So yeah—I've got skills," I said, demonstrating some moves. We both laughed.
"Do you miss your dad?" She asked.
"That's a story for another day," I said, then she stopped.
"I can protect myself. You don't have to. Anyway—this is me. Goodnight," she said.
"Oh—well, goodnight and sweet dreams," I replied, kissing her hand again.
"Ew! Gross. Don't do that again."
"Oh, I do what I want. Don't tell me what to do. Goodbye," I replied.
She walked inside, and I headed straight home.