A/N: Song above is Bloodstream by The Chainsmokers. You're free to play this song for this chapter or not.

***

Magnificent.

People always argued that the word 'beautiful' is a banal, dull compliment. Girls were immune to its diminishing effects, and most of them would often shrug it off as a meaningless praise. Because of this, they looked for other emotionally powerful words, such as gorgeous and magnificent. The latter will be the best word describe Rena in a nutshell, although that was still an underestimation.

She was more than just magnificent.

Her sapphire eyes always mesmerized me, and I couldn't simply snap out of it. I wanted to turn away as she began approaching me, but I couldn't, and I have no idea why. Her plump, pink lips widened into a sweet smile; the one that caused my heart to thump against my ribs. I tightly clenched both of my fists together, swallowing my saliva down my throat.

I have to admit, Rena was pretty stunning. She was dressed in a blue gingham top covered by a denim jacket with sleeves rolled up, and a white flared skirt, with a pair of simple shoes. She also wore a simple necklace with a purple ring as the pendant. All of these style fit her perfectly.

"Hey Rena." I greeted, and thankfully, I did not mess up.

"E-Ed, I didn't expect you to be here!" Rena exclaimed happily. She assumed on an empty seat beside me, and instantly, I felt her body brushing against me. I quickly squirmed at the touch, and right now, I was trying to be normal as possible. I just hoped that she never noticed my actions.

"W-where are you from?" She asked.

"Just hanging out at the park." I thought of the reply before answering, as I eyed at her. At first, I wanted to lie, but I was overpowered by my own hesitation. Besides, this bus originated from Mayfield, and if Rena knew, I would be in big trouble. "How about you?"

"I was just stopping by to buy some bread and snacks from the market." Rena replied. At her response, my body was literally in a suspense than before, for no reason. "It's kinda crowded today, so the queue was pretty long. It took me like half an hour to finally get to the cashier!"

She showed me a bag of goodies that she had been carrying on her hand. Looking inside, I saw a lot of fresh bread and some bags of chips. There, in the stacks, was my favorite type of bread: baguette. Immediately temptations swirled inside my head, urging me to grab one and eat it. I tried my best resisting it by not ogling at it for too long.

It's her fucking bread, not yours.

As seconds fly by, realization suddenly came through me like waves: Rena wasn't using her bike. It was an unusual sight to see her riding the bus instead, because she often told me that she preferred her bike more than public transportation. Maybe it was just for a change?

"Rena."

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't you using your bike?" I wondered, raising my eyebrow.

"...It kinda broke down this morning..." Rena sheepishly laughed. "The pedals are completely jammed when I tried them. Don't worry, though, my dad's going to fix it!"

I was about to offer my assistance on repairing her bike, but she easily read through me like a script. As soon as she said that her father is going to handle the problem, my heart instantly sank deep down. I silently huffed, folding my arms and mentally rolled my eye.

How about considering a new bike instead? I thought as something fiery shot through my body.

"So... what do you do at the park?" Rena asked.

Shit. It was that question that I wanted to avoid for the rest of the day and rather be unanswered.

Remembering about what happened before, I lowered my gaze, staring at my lap. Inside, I was battling with my own self whether I should tell Rena the entire story or not. I wanted to choose the latter, telling her lies and thus covering up the problem, as she was not even involved at all. I thought I could handle the problem by myself, and without anyone's help.

Regardless, I can't bring myself to lie all the time, especially to Rena... My heart thumped once again, this time it was twice as fast.

After all, Rena was the only one who understood my feelings better than the others. She even took them seriously and gave out some helpful advices. Seb sometimes laughed it off and joked around like it was nothing. For Alyssa... well, I didn't feel like venting to her. She might even tell the others about it...

"Ed?" She called out when no answer left my mouth.

"Sorry." I muttered out impulsively. I breathed out heavily, then shook my head. "There's a lot of things going on in my mind lately."

I always ended up with that reason whenever I was stuck in answering an are-you-alright type of question. I used this as a getaway to avoid. further interrogation. The plan sometimed worked, but often times, it was thwarted.

"Is it about... Raphael?" Rena's eyes glimmered with concern. I couldn't fake this one, because she had witnessed my blow-up with him yesterday. I reverted my gaze to the window, as if I was staring outside, but actually, I was staring at her reflection on the glass.

"Pretty much." I faltered on my reply, shrugging in reflex.

"It's kinda o-obvious." Rena added, as she pulled out a piece of bread from her goodie bag. She opened the plastic wrapper and lightly bit the food. "Everyone knows you're mad at him, but no one has an idea why, but it's fine if you don't want to tell us. I respect your privacy."

"...Rena..." I mumbled.

Needless to say, now that I was in my right state of mind, I found the right time to slowly reveal everything. Even if I didn't want her to be sandwiched in the mess I caused, she still deserved to know about what happened. She had gained my trust, after all.

"I just don't want to interact with him anymore, that's why." I plainly explained. Inspecting Rena's reflection, I noticed that her worried expression didn't change a single bit. She just blinked at me. "He's a reminder of my past, and I don't want to remember anything from that time."

A pair of bloody scissors darted across my sight, and my body almost jerked off in surprise.

"I see..." She nodded in understandment. Currently, she was midway on finishing her bread, but she stopped. The remains were then placed inside the goodie bag. "I think Raphael's a n-nice guy, and he's just looking for friends to talk with. He seems really close with Seb already."

Obviously. They were like the bestest of friends in just over a few days. Probably that was why Seb started treating me like I was a villain.

"Yeah, but please... don't tell it to anyone." I muttered. I dared myself to turn around and faced her. "I don't want to make the situation more complicated."

"No worries." She grinned playfully. "Y-your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks."

Her tone seemed assuring and convinced, so I completely put my trust on her. Other than that, I decided to also tell her about everything that she had missed.
I told her about that stupid argument I have with Seb yesterday, and that he forced me to reconcile with Raphael. She knew about this, as Seb told her that he was completely frustrated with me.

Why the hell would Seb even tell Rena all of that shit...

My shoulders felt a bit heavier than usual, as if there was a pressuring weight. Something was definitely building up inside of me, bur nonetheless, I brushed it off, as it was just something ordinary. Besides, I shouldn't be feeling like this. Seb was simply talking to Rena, just like what I did with Alyssa earlier this morning.

It's not like he's trying to steal Rena's attention away...

Speaking of her best friend, I explained about how she came upon me to have some time, how we ended up at the park and how I met Seb and Raphael there. I didn't really tell her the complete story, though, only the main parts. Rena continued listening in, although her face went... kind of unreadable for some reason, but her smile remained intact.

"Wow... I sure do miss a lot of things..." She commented as soon as I finished with my story.

"Yeah, you did." Now that I had let out everything, I was a lot more composed than before. Rena seemed to be more happier than ever, as her smile grew wider, causing the insides of my stomach to flutter with butterflies. I couldn't help it but to think about how... cute she was.

The bus then halted at a stop, and when I took a glance, it was the stop where Rena was supposed to disembark to get home. However, she didn't budge from her seat, and continued sitting there like she had forgotten about it.

"Rena, isn't Euclid Avenue your station?" I asked, surprised as the exit doors closed and the vehicle started to move once more.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you... stop there?" I wavered.

"Actually, I am going to h-hang out at y-your house. I'm kinda bored staying at home all the time, so I planned on surprising you with my visit... but now that you're here, guess it's not a surprise visit anymore." Rena responded, laughing softly. She then slightly stuck her tongue out in a childish manner.

"Surprise... visit...?" At first, I didn't believe her at all. I thought she was just joking around to induce a reaction from me.

"Yep!" She happily nodded.

I sensed no suspicion coming out of her aura; only welcoming, warm vibes were felt. My heart pounded erratically, to the point where it might flew out. My skin tingled whenever one of her legs made an unintentional contact with me. I proceeded to touch my cheeks, which were really warm. When I looked at my reflection to check, I could clearly see something rosy filling up my face.

"Oh... sure then." I muttered, blinking out of my mind. There, I was aware of the fact that I was continuously brushing my hair, and I kept on moistening my lips with my tongue.

I couldn't even act normal around Rena.

All I did was performing idiotic actions in front of her.

Yeah, fuck my life.

***

"Oh, you brought Serena!"

That was what my mother firstly exclaimed when I arrived back home. She clapped her hands together as her green eyes shone. At this, I let out a soft sigh and prepared for the worst. Of course, she would be ectastic about having Rena as a guest, as her parents and mine... let's say that they had a great relationship with each other.

I shit you not, our mothers were a bit... over the top. Rena's mother would always give me a lot of pastries to eat, and even some food that her father made. She would always try to stop her from giving excessively. Coincidentally, the same thing happened with my mother and Rena.

Not only that, my mother would sometimes shared something with Rena that I didn't know about. When questioned, she would just say that it was a girls' talk and no boys were allowed to know.

Thankfully, our fathers weren't that batshit crazy.

Myla, as usual, was rubbing against my legs, asking for a ride on my hands, and as usual, I obliged.

"Hey Mrs. Carvellia." Rena greeted, slightly bobbing in acknowledgement, giving her a smile. I had always admired how polite she was around adults, and seeing this increased my affection for her. I gulped once more, but I knew I have to act tough.

"Did you invite her to come over, Ed?" My mother asked. "Or are you guys going anywhere?"

"Um, no, we are staying here." Rena was the who answered for me. Well, I did want to answer, but allowed her instead.

"That's awesome!" She exclaimed. "I was planning to grill some barbeques tonight, and it would be a great thing if you join with us, Serena."

"Of course!" Rena nodded and agreed almost immediately, looking forward into it. I did too, not only because it has been some time since I ate barbeque, but because it means that Rena would be here longer than usual. It was completely expected, I mean, who would want to refuse such opportunity?

"I will go change clothes first." I announced.

"Okay, I will wait here." Rena beamed, before I left them to be. I firstly placed Myla down on the floor, who then scampered towards Rena, who welcomed her with open arms.

Going up the stairs, I walked down the hallway before entering my room. Flicking the lights on, I went over my closet and took the white tanktop that I often wore at home and a pair of typical shorts. I dismantled my hoodie and my trousers, throwing them to the closet, then effortlessly put on my new clothes. Once I wore them, instant comfiness always hit through me, particularly during those blistering summer days.

Sighing, I brushed my hair on the mirror, and fixed everything that I deemed as untidy, before exiting my room. Now that I had groomed myself, a surge of confidence shot through me. Rena would have a better view of me, and she would be totally impressed.

As I was going down, I heard muffled laughs coming from the dining room.

"Isn't he cute?"

"Yeah, he's adorable!!!"

What the hell...?

Immediately, I fastened my pace and strode towards the dining room, where I saw my mother, Rena and apparently my sister, settled themselves down on the dining table. There in front of them, sat an opened photo album. Taking a closer look, it was photos of me when I was... a baby. I was sleeping with diapers, crying in the bathtub and picking my nose.

Never do I feel so humiliated before.

"What the fuck, Mom!" I screamed as I snatched the album away from them. Three pairs of eyes watched me as I held the book closer to my chest. From the kitchen mirror, I could see that my entire face was literally red like ripen tomatoes.

"Language, Ed." My mother warned.

"No!" I exclaimed. "Where did you get these?!"

"She found it while she was tidying up her room." Lu chuckled and smirked mischievously. "Man, you're even chubbier than me as a baby! Serena even said you're so adorable that she wanna pinch your cheeks!"

"I didn't say that...!" Rena complained.

"You did, man! I heard it!"

My confidence drastically dropped when I realized that Rena had also been looking at my baby photos as well. Her eyes refused to meet mine, as she bit her lips. Her arms shifted in nervousness, as she threw her face away from me, concealing herself beneath her hat.

Again, fuck my life.

***

I was drowning in misery as I slumped onto the family swing in my backyard.

The weather was not that windy, but I could still breath and feel warm but fresh air. Myla was sitting in my lap, licking my fingers as I tried placing my hand on her head.

Today's definitely not a good day: coming across Raphael and Seb, getting infuriated over them, and then, there's this shit.

I blankly watched the pond beside the swing, where a group of koi fishes started swimming towards me. They were opening and closing their mouths, probably begging for food. With the cup of pellets ready, I threw the contents towards them. Like what fishes normally do, they mindlessly attacked the food, causing some loud splashes of water.

"Ed?" A soft voice called out, and when I glanced up, there stood Rena. She had her arms behind her back.

"What...?" I kept observing at the uproar between the fishes as they gathered the remaining food into their mouths.

"...Are you still... mad?" Rena hesitantly inquired, choosing her sitting spot beside me. She had a cup of warm tea on her hand, gently sipping on it.

Myla suddenly jumped off and landed the ground, barking loudly at a random dragonfly that was flying pass both of us. I watched as the dog pursued after the insect. She looked so focused on pouncing it, that she almost tripped and fell into the swimming pool.

Silly dog.

"...Not really." I muttered after a moment of silence.

"You sure about that?"

"I'm good, Rena." I breathed. "I shouldn't be so upset about a stupid thing like that."

"...but, you looked really c-cute in the photos, honestly." She remarked. "I'm not making fun of you or anything."

"All I see in my photos is blubber and an ugly ass face." I sneered coldly. "I don't fucking understand how you girls find those photos cute."

"The fact that you always smile and grin at the photos, especially when you're still toothless and all," Rena reasoned. At the quite unexpected compliment, my eye widened in surprise, "well, except the crying ones, but still."

"Smiling doesn't instantly make someone cute."

"Well in your case, it does." Rena disagreed. "And I'm serious, Ed."

When I turned towards her, she was, indeed, serious. Her blue eyes were firm as her stare bored through my skull, indicating that she was saying her words truthfully. I glanced down, eyeing at the empty plastic cup and tapping my finger on it. If looks were tangible, the cup would have melted in my hands already.

"Fine, if you say so." I surrendered to her claims.

"...And I still think you're cute."

Rena faintly whispered these phrase, as if she didn't want me to catch it. Unfortunately for her, I did take heed of what she was saying, since I have a pretty sensitive hearing. I wasn't at all ready for that comment, so when I heard it,

I died inside.

***

A/N: Another Erena chapter, and welp! Rena suddenly revealed out a part of her feelings towards Ed xD Tune it next week to see what will happen next!

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I was in a writer's block while writing this, so you probably noticed my low writing quality XD I apologized about that and hope it doesn't ruin your reading experience!

- Tara