CHAPTER 7

 "That one, I want that one!"

  Sighs.

  Guess where we are right now. And I would answer the one word, four letters, one syllable.

  Mall.

  I unconditionally said 'yes' earlier when Dion asked me again if I will let Zhairo go with him because he wants to treat my brother. I was carried away by his words when he said that Zhairo is no new to him because he will be his 'brother-in-law' soon.

  My heart was beating really fast, like fast and furious. Plus the feeling of there is a war inside me due to the rumblings. If Dion was close enough, I bet he would hear my heart, and he would probably ask about it. And that is the last thing that I wanted to happen.

  As much as possible, I don't want him to know that I am having these strange feelings towards him. I am not that naive, I know what this might be, but I am trying my best not to jump into that kind of conclusion.

  Dion is an American. In their country, most people are liberated, and I won't be shocked if he is too. And if ever he finds out about these feelings of mine, I'm afraid that he would take advantage of me. An innocent girl from oversea who's new to these kinds of feelings, a girl like me who is new to what they call..... love.

  Although I don't see Dion as someone who takes advantage when you are at your weak state, I can't still trust him. The fact that we just met last week and he is someone from a not so far away country was there. The fact that you cannot trust someone you just met is echoing in my head, like a shout from someone on top of Mount Everest.

  Nurse Stell pokes me. I look at her and ask what's wrong, she sighed and gave me a meaningful smile afterward. Looks like she knows something. Perhaps she heard Dion earlier and she has an idea of what I am thinking right now. We are both women, after all, she can easily sense if something's bothering me. Especially that she is eight years older than me. More skilled and experienced.

  We were following Dion and Zhairo from wherever they wish to go. We are in a stall for anime collections. Dion and Zhairo are currently roaming around to look for something. I heard it's a Bakugan creature.

  I was silent the whole time. Zhairo looks at me from time to time, as well as Dion, and then they will smile after they look away. My brows arch when I realize they are up to something, but I remained silent.

  After we roam around the anime stall, Dion asks us if we want to eat already, nurse Stell and I shrug, Daniel told us he can still manage, but Zhairo said he's hungry already. So in the end, we took our lunch at a cheap but fine restaurant due to my request since I feel uncomfortable and shy. Dion is spending a lot of money today, he is the one who pays for the expenses. Not to mention that he is using both cards and cash.

  I sat beside Zhairo and whispers,

  "Remember what mama and papa always tell us? Do not take advantage when someone is too kind to you."

  He looks at me like he's clueless from what I was saying. I mentally rolled my eyes and whispers again,

  "You see that Dion is spending a lot of money today, just because of you and me. That's not right, Zhairo. Treating you a Dragon Ball and Bakugan collectible is enough. We will go home after this."

  He pouts his lips. A sign that he didn't like what I said, but whether he likes it or not, we will go home. I'll just talk to Dion regarding this one.

  True to my words, we went home after we took lunch. I can see a glimpse of sadness in Zhairo's eyes, probably he still wants to roam around the mall but I choose to go home. Even so, I know that he's also happy because he has a new collection. I highly bet that he would flex those on his Facebook later.

  When we reach our house, I told Zhairo to go inside first since I still need to talk to Dion. Nurse Stell and Daniel were waiting for Dion on a street nearby.

  He bid Dion a goodbye and went inside, he has a fine smile plastered on his lips which made me smile too. But that smile of mine faded when I faced Dion who was smiling too.

  I was about to talk, but before I could even say a thing, he cut me off,

  "I'll treat you next time, sweetheart. And I hope you had a great day today," he says while still smiling.

  And again, I started to feel 'that' feeling again when he called me 'sweetheart'. He's now used on calling me with that endearment. Nevertheless, I choose to ignore the abnormal beat of my heart and focused on the words I am about to say.

  Like what I always do before saying something long or explaining something, I heave a deep sigh.

  "Thank you for the treat," I begin, "It means so much to me and my brother. You know, we barely go to the mall and just roam around since we have a lot of important things to do. You know that we're not rich, and we need to work to survive."

  "The Dragon Ball and Bakugan collection, I know it means so much to my brother. He probably took that as an advance birthday gift from you."

  "You know what Dion, you're too kind. Imagine, we just met a week ago, and you just met Zhairo this morning, and you see what you did. But honestly Dion, I don't like your kindness."

  The smile on his lips faded after he heard my last sentence. He was silent for a while. It took him a minute before he finally speaks,

  "Sweetheart, what do you mean?" he asks, curiosity is visible in his ocean eyes.

  Again, I heave a sigh before saying, "You're kind. But your kindness is beyond the limit."

  "What? Beyond the limit? Sweetheart, I don't get it."

  "Dion, may I ask you what are we?"

  Those words made us silent. No one dared to talk, no one dared to say even a single word. I can hear the whoosh of the cool wind due to the silence that filled us.

  Both of us can't say even a single word for both of us doesn't know what are we. I mean, he calls me with such endearment, he opened up his past to me—note that we just met a week ago, and he is too kind in the extreme. We crack some corny jokes sometimes, and I, I am starting to have these feelings towards him.

  If you would take this one seriously, the outcome is there is something between us. Something more than friends or what. But as far as I can remember, we are just a tourist and a tourist guide. We're not even friends. Neither of us declared that we consider each other as a companion.

  And that is why Dion's too much kindness behavior is uncomfortable. He should not act like this. Or maybe it was just really me who's being mean.

  "We are..... friends?"

  He sounds unsure. Well, he is.

  For the last time today, I took a very deep breath before laying down the words I wanted to say. I know that I may sound rude with this one, and I might hurt his feelings in some way. But knowing myself, I would say the words I wanted to say to someone even if it hurts them.

  And that's what I did.

  I smiled bitterly before saying, "If that's what you are thinking, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not friends, Dion. We are not friends because I never consider you as one."

  "You know what we are? I am just your tourist guide, and I was told to tour you for a month. And that's just it. The bond between us is just simply a bond of a boss and an employee, and I want us to stay that way."