"Do you believe in soul mates?"

There are two rumors going around in SDV University about Mr. John Paul Nieves, the Philosophy teacher. First is the one about him being gay and his relationship with Mr. Sky De Vera, the first son of the current University President and Cloud's older brother.

In all honesty, Poll doesn't find it any bit interesting. What's so cool about gossiping about others' preferences and relationships? So their professors are gays and together, big deal; it is not like straight people are being talked about just because they're straight.

No, Poll can never see the appeal of such boring topics and he'd be more thrilled to talk about supernatural beings. That is why he is more curious about the second rumor about his Philosophy professor. He wants to know if it is true that Mr. John Paul Nieves—or Mr. JP as he is more commonly known—came from a family of psychics and can see spirits and ghosts. How much of it is true and how much of it is fabricated?

Now listening to the said professor lecture about abstract things like soul mates, Poll thinks that the paranormal story about him may not be far off the mark.

"It is said that soul mates are bound to each other and that causes them to cross paths even if they don't like to, even how much they try to avoid it."

Poll frowns, remembering someone whom he often has an encounter with despite how that someone is dead set on avoiding him recently. Sure, he has been wondering why they always have to run into each other, but to place it on the idea of them being soul mates is plain ridiculous. Anyway, Poll doesn't believe in soul mates. That is something that exists only in movies and animes.

"Like fate, Sir?" One of his female classmates asks. It's the same woman who admitted to having a crush on Eujae, Poll notes.

Smiling, their professor answers, "Exactly. Soul mates are connected by fate."

Poll turns to look out at the window, the creases in between his brows remain as well as the thought about a certain jerk. "Must be an evil fate then," he mumbles, talking more to himself.

It is either Mr. Nieves has a sharp hearing or Poll wasn't as quiet as he intended to be that the professor looks at his student curiously. "What made you say that, Apollo?" One thing to note about the Philosophy teacher is that he can easily create a relaxed classroom environment by treating his students as his equals. He talks to them as though they are his friends and calls them by their first names, instead of the usual honorific and surname. But for someone like Poll who hates his full name, he'd rather be called by his last name.

Poll returns his attention to the lecture, momentarily confused by his professor's question. It hits him after a few seconds, and he smiles at the older man, embarrassed. "No, I was just thinking Mr. Nieves–"

"You can call me JP."

Poll blinks. "Oh," he says after another short pause. "Oh, yes, Sir. Mr. JP, but only if you call me Poll too."

Chuckling, the professor answers, "Of course. Okay, so you were saying, Poll?"

"I was just thinking, Sir, you said that soul mates will meet each other no matter how much they try to avoid it because they are bound by fate." He makes a disgusted expression, thinking about his next words. "But what if you always run into someone you hate? Are archnemeses connected by something too? Do you call it evil fate then?"

At the sound of the whole class laughing, Poll pouts. He doesn't see anything funny about it; his questions weren't even meant to be a joke.

To his relief, their professor seems to understand that he is being serious. Once the students are quiet again, Mr. JP hums thoughtfully. "So you're saying there's someone you're considering as your nemesis and you often run across them."

"No, it's not about me!" As soon as the words tumble out of his mouth, Poll wants to immediately take them back. He realizes he might as well be giving himself away with the reaction. His denial came out too strong to be convincing.

There is a chuckle beside him, and Poll turns to glare at Nick, only to notice that even Lia is wearing a knowing smile. Poll groans internally. Some friends they are.

Looking back at their professor, Poll carries on with the lie, "I mean, hypothetically, Sir."

Poll is thankful when Mr. JP chooses not to probe any further. When the older man looks straight ahead and addresses the whole class, Poll takes it as the professor ending their conversation. He thinks his concern is being dismissed, but then Mr. JP asks, "Do you know what the opposite of love is, class?"

The class gives a collective answer. "It's hate, Sir."

"A common misconception."

There is a brief silence before voices start to buzz. Amid the confused murmurs, a sweet voice stands out, "It's indifference, right, Sir?"

"That's right, Lia." Their professor grins. "Love is when you care about someone, and the opposite of caring is not to care. Not giving care means being indifferent. That's why the opposite of love is indifference."

Among Poll's female classmates, someone asks, "If the opposite of love is indifference, Sir, then what about hate?"

"Hate is just another form of caring." With a telling smile, Mr. JP looks at Poll again. As if to address the younger man's earlier concern, he continues explaining, "If you say you hate someone, it only means you're mad at them but you still care. And to give a simple answer to all your questions earlier, Poll, someone you hate can be your soul mate too. Even if you think they're the bane of your existence, there's a high chance that you're connected by destiny if you often find yourself coming across them."

Poll hears a snicker beside him again. This time, he kicks Nick's leg under the desk, hard enough to shut his friend up.

He ignores Nick's whimpering and, with a straight face, stares back at their professor. "I don't believe in soul mates and fates, Sir."

"That's valid. You'll never believe it unless you see it with your own eyes, right?" Mr. JP tells him, his grin becoming wider and more meaningful, much to Poll's confusion.

Absurd, this whole talk is absurd, the thought comes through Poll's mind. Even if Fate or Destiny exists and even if he actually believes in it, there's no way someone can see it, right?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"We've caught Eujae!"

At Risa's cheerful voice, the three art students look up. They are in the University's main cafeteria, waiting for their friends so they all can have lunch together. It is not surprising to see Tem and Cloud with Risa. What's new is Eujae being with them.

Judging from Risa's iron grip on her friend's arm and Eujae's unsatisfied expression, anyone can easily figure out that someone was forced to be here. Tem and Cloud sit across Poll while Risa pushes Eujae onto the seat farthest from the male twin.

The group spends eating their lunch in silence, and when everyone is almost done, Cloud announces, "By the way, my mom decided to celebrate my birthday on Friday night. I want you all guys to be there."

Without missing a beat, Eujae answers, "I'm sorry, mate, but please count me out."

Poll scoffs. He badly wants to say something nasty but bites his tongue, remembering the incident in the grill restaurant. For the sake of their friends, he doesn't want the same thing to happen again.

"Eujae," Tem starts, her voice almost pleading, but is immediately interrupted.

"You know I can't, Tem." With a weak smile, Eujae shakes his head. "If we're done here, I'll walk first. I'm really sorry, guys." He doesn't even wait for any reply as he walks out of the room, leaving the group in awkward silence.

Seeing his friends' disappointments, Poll curses under his breath. Seriously? He'd kept quiet the whole time, behaving himself, just so he won't cause another problem for their friends. And yet, that jerk keeps on being difficult.

Unable to take the attitude any longer, Poll stands up, ignoring his friends' questions about where he's going, and runs for the door.

I am so going to give that jerk a piece of my mind.

As soon as Poll gets out of the cafeteria, he turns left and right, searching for a brunette head. He finds him on the pathway, turning on the corner that leads to the Business Administration College building. There is no time to think twice as Poll runs after Eujae.

It has not taken long before Poll catches up. The minute he's behind Eujae, he grabs the taller man's shoulder, forcing him to face him. He doesn't waste a single second as he seizes Eujae's collar to pull him forward. Without much preamble, Poll screams at Eujae's face, "What the fuck is your problem?!"

Understandably, Eujae is slow to react. He was caught off guard and must have been stunned when Poll charged at him. Wide-eyed, he stares at Poll as though the other man has lost his sanity. "I should be the one asking you that, Apollo." His voice is laced with disbelief when he speaks at last. Clasping a hand around Poll's wrist, he pries the hold off his shirt. He doesn't let go after that. Instead, he tightens his grasp on Poll's hand, fingers digging against the other's skin, as he demands in a grave tone, "What the hell is your problem?"

Poll yanks his hand away from Eujae's grip and ignores the inflicted pain. He curls his hands into fists, his emotion never wavering at once. Defiantly, he stares back at Eujae. "My problem is you being overdramatic!"

At some point, he stops being aware of the fact that they are still within the University premises where they may easily attract unwanted spectators. Repercussions be damned, Poll is too frustrated to give it any regard. "Can you stop discarding your friends already, jerk? You want to ignore me, fine, but do you have to involve them in this too?"

"And how exactly do you expect me to do that, asshole?" Eujae asks sharply. "They're your friends too, aren't they? Are you going to stay away from them in place of me?"

"And why should I? I am not as dramatic as you!"

Eujae stops briefly. He stays silent for a while, looking at a loss, as he eyes Poll. After a moment of no reaction, he lets out a derisive laugh and aggressively runs a hand on his hair. "I'm pretty sure I've been doing both of us a favor by keeping my distance from you." Even his voice is unsteady as it keeps going up a notch with each word he speaks. "I'm done giving a fuck with you and all your shits. I don't even have it me to retaliate anymore. I'm trying my best to get out of your face, aren't I? But why does it seem like you're still not satisfied? Just what the fuck do you want me to do?"

It may not be the best time but Poll can't help but be awed by the way Eujae is acting weirdly. He has never seen him this rattled. Annoyed, yes, but never this confounded. Irate, yes, but Eujae has always gotten it under control in the end.

Not at the present. Eujae seems like he's at his wit's end this time. And still looking agitated, he finally snaps, "What the hell do you want from me?"

Poll startles, seeing the fire leaps into Eujae's eyes. This is another first time. Eujae's rage, no matter how intense, has always been icy, not fiery. But right now, his angry stare is searing instead of biting.

Unsure if he's scared or just shocked, Poll remains motionless for a second. Indignation prevails in the end, and he shouts back, "Don't make it sound like I want anything from you! I don't fucking care what you do with your fucking life! I just told you to stop ignoring your friends!"

"And I told you that's not possible for as long as you're around them! I don't know what kind of game you're pulling this time, but I'm not playing anymore." Eujae is all over the place now, his frustration loud. "I don't want to have anything to do with you again, so just leave me alone, won't you?" He doesn't leave any room for further argument as he turns and walks away.

But Poll won't have any of that. "Don't talk like you're some kind of a self-important jerk! Do you think I want to have anything to do with you too?! Prick! Jackass!" He keeps yelling after Eujae and when a pair of male students pass by, looking at him nosily, Poll turns his glare at them, making them scamper away. Furious, he screams the first obscene word he can think of to call Eujae.

"Fuckboy!" In hindsight, even he should have known that using the word to describe Eujae is absolutely unreasonable.

He never thought Eujae could turn back and cross the distance in between them in an instant, but before Poll can throw another insult, the guy is in front of him again, roughly grabbing his shirt and thrusting him against the nearest post.

Poll closes an eye, wincing, as he feels the impact on his back. It has taken some time for his mind to process what happened. When he finally grasps the whole situation, he looks up to glare at Eujae, only to freeze when he sees the other's dark expression. Suddenly, he can no more deny the fear that he's feeling.

"I suggest you be careful with that fucking mouth of yours, asshole," Eujae hisses, voice dropping to a dangerous level. His grip on Poll's shirt tightens and he leans closer to get on his face. They are practically nose to nose now and Poll can see that the iced-cold emotion has come back into Eujae's eyes. His glare is a serious warning, as well as the cutting words that come out through gritted teeth. "If you don't have anything good to say, it's better if you keep it shut before I make you. My temper is already very limited when it comes to you, Apollo, and right now, I am seriously on verge of losing it all. Don't fucking test me."

Eujae shoves Poll away, letting him drop, sitting, to the ground. With one final glare, he turns his back again and stalks off.

Flabbergasted, Poll can only stare as Eujae walks away. He stays slumped on the ground, his breathing ragged and his heart beating abnormally. It is only when Eujae is out of sight does his mind start to clear.

He doesn't make an effort to get up. Bending his legs, he rests his arms on his knees and buries his face down. He feels pathetic for letting himself be overwhelmed. He could have just punched Eujae earlier but he was too shaken by that guy's actions. What was his problem?

What is their problem?

What the hell do you want from me?

Indeed, what does he want from that jerk? Why has he been so pissed with that asshole's recent behavior? Isn't Eujae doing the right thing by keeping his distance? Isn't it best if they stop involving with each other?

But why does it seem like you're still not satisfied?

Even he doesn't know anymore. Aggravated, Poll stands up hastily, and without a care if the whole campus hears him, he cries out loud, "Damn you, Eujae Castillo! Jerk! Asshole!"