"I like it when you smile, but I love it when I'm the reason."

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Chapter Twenty-One

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ian asked, his face twisted with concern.

I plopped into a seat next to him. "Nothing," I muttered, trying to brush him off.

"Rose, I know you. You don't have to lie to me. I can see right through you," he stated firmly.

"Really, Ian. It's nothing. Don't worry about it," I murmured, a slight irritation twirled in my voice.

"I'm your boyfriend. Of course it bothers me that something is worrying you," he whispered, his eyes bored into mine.

My face softened. "Ian..."

He placed his hand under my chin and lowered his head to meet my gaze. His eyes looked me over gently and I felt like I could get lost in the green sea of his eyes. "Tell me," he urged me.

I heaved a deep sigh, reluctantly giving in to his request. "Fine. I just met Britney. She was furious because of us being a couple and she called me a whore and things—"

"She called you what?" Ian asked, clenching his jaw. Fire burned behind his eyes.

"But don't worry, I've sorted it out," I reassured him, a small smile tugged on my lips.

He released a sharp intake of breath."I'll teach her how to respect my girl," he bristled. I could see he was fuming as he started to leave.

I placed my hand gingerly on his arm, while my other hand went to stroke his cheek. "Aw, look at you. You're so cute when you're angry... and sexy." I winked at him. "But seriously, you don't have to worry. I'm fine. I don't care what she thinks about me, as long as I have you, my love."

"My love?" His eyes brightened as he grinned gleefully at me.

"Shut up," I said, blushing furiously. I swatted his arm playfully.

I squealed when I felt his hands tickling me before he buried his face in my neck. I smiled in contentment. He then took my hand in his and tangled our fingers together.

Only this time, I didn't try to pull away.

We sauntered towards his car with me giggling at his funny remarks. The crowd of students who were watching us barely bothered me anymore. I was getting a hang of it. As long as he was with me, I could get used to this new world.

♦ ♦ ♦

"Where are you taking me?" I asked him.

"It's a surprise," he replied with a wink.

I rolled my eyes. "With you, it's always a surprise."

"But you love it anyway."

I did. But I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction by telling him that.

After a while, the car finally came to a stop in front of a small, lovely ice cream shop. Ian and I slid out of the seats before we ambled towards the shop. As soon as we entered the main door, the bell jingled, welcoming our presence. My eyes widened in awe when they landed on the variety flavors of ice cream served in the shop. If Ian wasn't here, I'd probably drool.

Ian reached for my hand and led me towards the counter. "Which flavor do you want?"

I licked my lips. "I'll take Cookies 'n' Cream."

He looked at me in amusement. "So you're the Cookies 'n' Cream kind of girl?"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" I retorted.

"Nope, I'm chocolate flavor kind of guy too. It's obvious we're meant for each other," he responded, a smirk graced his lips.

My face was tinted with a dark shade of pink upon hearing his words. "I think so too," I replied shyly.

He then chose a classic chocolate ice cream. After he paid for us, we found a vacant table at the end of the shop. I plopped into the seat, eager to eat the appetizing ice cream.

After I had some spoonfuls of ice cream, I felt a slight cold trace of it on the corner of my lips. I swiftly tugged out a tissue on the table but before I could wipe it off, Ian preceded me by licking the spot. My eyes bulged open in shock. I shivered. It took me a few seconds to fathom what was happening. But unfortunately by that time, Ian's lips had already left the corner of my lips.

"Don't–Don't do that!" I exclaimed nervously, stumbling over my own words.

"Do what?" He shrugged and proceeded with eating his ice cream again, acting nonchalantly.

"We're in public!" I whispered harshly.

"So?"

"So!"

"Do I make you nervous?" He raised an eyebrow, a devilish smirk crossed his face.

"Yes! I mean, no! Ugh, yes! Stop doing things to me, things that make me—"

"Make you what?"

Make me want to jump your bones right here, I wanted to say. But I suppressed it.

"Make me want to kill you," I lied miserably.

"You love me too much to kill me." He winked at me.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "You're so narcissistic. Why do I become your girlfriend again?"

He grinned. "You know, when a girl and a boy like each other, one of them will confess to the other one and they become a couple, but after seeing each other for a while, one thing will lead to another and they may consider having—"

My eyes widened in horror. I promptly went to to cover his mouth. "Stop! Like I said, we're in public!"

He removed my hand from his mouth. He stared at me innocently. "What did I do?"

I rolled my eyes. "Like I didn't know what you were trying to say."

"What? Tell me." He narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest defensively.

"Do you really want me to say it out loud?" I muttered, which he responded with a shrug. "Fine. You were trying to say that they may consider doing—doing it, am I right?"

By the time I finished my words, I could sense that my face had turned into a bright tomato. That was extremely embarrassing.

Ian roared out a laugh. "My sweet Rose, get your mind out of the gutter. I was trying to say, 'they may consider having their anniversary' but whatever floats your boat."

I scowled. "You're lying." Did he really think I was so stupid to believe his words?

"I'm not."

"God, I hate you." I buried my face in my palms, feeling utterly mortified. But when I felt like someone was patting my head, I raised it and looked over. I was greeted by the sight of Ian who was giving me an adorable, heartwarming smile. A smile that could light up my world, even if the whole universe was in darkness.

I captured his gaze and we locked eyes intensely. He cupped my cheeks "I'm glad I found you," he whispered softly. It was quiet, yet it was as clear as a day when it filled my ears.

Now I couldn't imagine a life without him.

  ♦ ♦ ♦  

I groaned when I heard the deafening sound of the alarm blaring through my ears, echoing through every inch of the room. A sharp pain suddenly registered my body when my vision cleared and my consciousness returned.

"Ouch," I whimpered when the throbbing ache hit me again. It felt like my stomach was jabbed repeatedly without mercy.

I forcefully got out of the bed while clutching my stomach. I rummaged through my closet to find the most vital thing at the moment.

"Oh no... This can't be happening!" I exclaimed, alarmed. I was out of pads or tampons and even my period pain pills, which I was desperate for at the moment. My cramps could only be relieved with those pills. Without them, I was doomed.

I wobbled towards Helen's room, my feet felt like jelly at the moment.

"Helen!" I cried out in exasperation. I knocked on her door harshly, the stabbing pain was getting worse with each passing second.

When there wasn't any reply, I pounded on her door repeatedly with my palm wide opened.

"Geez, couldn't you be more patient?" Helen inquired irritatedly as soon as she yanked the door open. I noticed that she had already dressed up, ready to head to the campus.

"Do you have any tampon or pad left? Mine has run out."

She rolled her eyes. "Wait here." She returned after a few seconds and handed it to me.

"Thanks Helen. Oh and do you have period pain pills?"

She went back to her room to look for the pills, but unfortunately, she materialized in front of me empty-handed. Her face twitched in genuine sympathy. "I'm sorry, Hailey. I think I'm out of them."

My face fell. I smiled sadly. "It's okay," I murmured.

"Do you want me to buy them for you?"

I shook my head quickly. "No, it's okay. Your first class will start soon right? You better hurry up. You're gonna miss it."

"But what about you–"

I cut her off. "No worries. I'll ask for Ian's help to buy those pills. He'll get here soon anyway."

She looked at me skeptically but shrugged it off. "Don't forget to ask him to buy the pills, okay? Love you!" she hollered and scrambled out of the apartment.

"Love you too," I mumbled weakly before I returned to my room. I looked at the clock and realized that Ian would be here in half an hour.

How the hell am I supposed to tell him?

After a deep contemplation, I decided against it. It would be too mortifying. I hastily sent a text to Ian, saying that I was sick so he should just get to class without me. I shut my eyes in anguish. It took me a moment before I dozed off to lessen the pain.

♦ ♦ ♦

My head spun as I heard the ear-splitting sound of the door being banged over and over. I slowly got on my knees and hobbled to the door. The nonstop knocking wasn't helping either. It caused my head to feel like it had been slammed against a concrete wall.

I yanked the door opened harshly. With my teeth barred, I bristled, "What!"

"Baby, are you okay? Do you have a fever?" Ian's voice laced with worry before he bolted towards me and went to shake my shoulders. He instantly put his palm against my forehead. The feeling of his warm palm against my forehead was soothing as he tried to feel my temperature.

"I'm... I'm fine, Ian," I whispered softly.

He frowned. "Your face is pale, baby. You're not fine."

Before I could protest further, Ian suddenly scooped me up bridal style and carried me to my bedroom. I let out a squeal as my arms wrapped around his neck immediately. Ian gingerly laid me down on the bed and kissed my forehead.

"Do you need anything? Just tell me. I'll buy anything for you."

I motioned to him to scoot closer to me so that I was able to whisper in his ear. It was humiliating, but I had no other alternatives left. "Can you buy me, um, period pain pills?"

"What?" He distanced himself from me to take a clear view of my face. Puzzlement was written all over his face. I waved at him to come closer to me again.

"Period. Pain. Pills," I whispered, this time a bit louder.

"I can't hear you," he muttered confusedly.

"Gosh, period pain pills, Ian! For God's sake!" I nearly pierced a hole through his ear with my thunderous voice. PMS rendered me susceptible to annoyance than usual.

He scratched his neck awkwardly. He sure wasn't comfortable with the topic. "So, uh... you're not well because of that?"

My irritation diminished. I lowered my voice and mumbled, "Yeah, I'm having the time of the month right now. It makes me easily annoyed. I'm sorry for shouting at you."

"I don't mind. If we're going to spend the rest of our life together, I might as well meet ferocious Rose now. Forever is a long time, but I don't mind spending it by your side," he said with a genuine smile. He then went to kiss my cheek before his eyes burned into mine intensely.

Bubbly feelings welled up within me. I couldn't contain the grin on my face listening to those words. Did he really mean that he wanted us to spend the rest of our life together? It was still early and unexpected, but it gave me a hope. A hope that we might really have a future together.

"Do you need anything else? Other than those pills?"

"Nothing. It's more than enough." I gave him a weak smile.

He nodded in understanding. He then dashed out my room, heading towards the main door. My gaze was fixated on him until he finally vanished out of my sight. An overwhelming feeling of longing filled me, causing me to cringe a little. Why did I feel so emotional seeing him leave? It must be because of PMS.

I hate you, PMS. 

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I'm sorry for not updating for a long time. It's been tough. On weekdays, I was busy with classes while on weekends, I was engrossed with completing my assignments. You might think, then why was I able to update my poetry book? Well it's mainly because writing poems takes less time than updating a chapter in a novel (because it has to be long and so on). And I have a collection of poems saved on my phone, just waiting for the time to be posted, while on the other hand, I have nothing ready for Winning Her Heart.

What do you think of this chapter? I'm sorry it doesn't really have context. I'm still having writer's block. 

Till we meet again!

xx,

Tris