TWELVE

"So this is it?" 

"Honestly, you won't understand." He muttered. 

"Then make me understand. Don't you think I deserve to understand?" She brought her arms to the air and dropped it almost immediately.  Her eyes narrowed when he didn't say anything other than stare at the wall like there was something interesting happening there. 

"Is it. . ." She began,  her voice almost cracking. "Is it because of her?"

Drake's head jerked to look at her immediately; his face an expression of confusion.  

"Her?" He was puzzled.  

"That neighbour of yours.  Madeley or whatever her name is." Nicole's eyes were turning red and Drake was getting even more confused. What had Maeve got to do with anything, he wondered.  

"It is fine." She shook her head. "I should have known."

"Look, Nicki. I don't know what you're thinking now but you're wrong.  Since you want to know badly why I have been ignoring you of recent, then here you go: Jeremy! Jeremy is the reason." Drake revealed in exasperation.

"What do you mean by Jeremy?" 

Drake sighed heavily. "I don't know if you know this but Jeremy has a huge crush on you since like forever but you never pay attention to him and so he gets jealous each time he sees you with me.  He asked me to stay away from you."

"And why would you?" Nicole whispered, hurt registering on her face.

"Because.  . .because he threatened to make my life hell."

"What rubbish!  What are we now?  Teenagers? Kids? Why would you let your fellow man bully you, Drake?" She asked but Drake refused to respond. 

She turned to go then, muttering words to herself as she walked hastily. Alarmed, Drake ran after her.

"Where are you going?"

"To give that idiot a piece of my mind. Who does he think he is to meddle with my life?" She spat, pushing her way through drunk couples and earning curses as she did.

"Don't." Drake stood in front of her, blocking her from walking further.  His eyes bore into hers as he pleaded with her. 

"Get out of the way, Drake! What is this? If you won't talk then I will. I won't sit here and watch all these bullshit." She pushed him away.

"You'll make matters worst." Drake pursued. 

"What is your problem?" She hit him by the chest and he winced. Her eyes soften and she moved closer to him,  holding him tenderly.

"Are you okay?" She asked and he nodded. She helped him to a stool and sat beside him, staring at his face intently. 

"Why won't you stand up to him?" She asked after a while. 

"It's not that easy." He muttered.

"Why isn't it easy? That's rubbish, Drake.  You should - "

"It's not that easy, okay?" His voice was a bit louder than he intended.  "I'm not like you. I'm weak." His voice was lower this time, more like a whisper.  "I'm feeble and weak. I can't stand up to him." His lips quivered.

Nicole reached out to him and drew him into an embrace; it was chaste and comforting.  Drake rested his chin on her shoulder, sniffing in her vanilla scent and willing himself not to cry.

But when her soft palms came in contact with his back, a tear slipped and he sniffed. The sight before him however, made him jerk away; Nicole flinched at this.

"What is it?" She asked quickly,  turning her eyes to look at the direction he was staring at. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Maeve dancing at a corner with Jeremy behind her, his lips very close to her ear.

Nicole glanced at Drake then and noticed that his hand had unconsciously balled into a fist. 

"Drake!" She called but he was too busy staring at Maeve who had already noticed their presence.  She flashed them a smile before chuckling at something Jeremy had just said to her. 

"Drake!" She held his shoulder and that finally got his attention.

"Huh?" He looked at her; his glasses had fallen to the bridge of his nose.

"Can I have this dance?" She brought her palm to him but he shook his head, amused.

"You know I can't dance."

"Yeah, but there is a first time for everything. I don't mind teaching you." She smiled at him but he refused.

"No. I don't want to embarrass myself in front - "

"Why do you always say no to me but yes to her?" Nicole couldn't take it anymore so she yelled out in frustration to Drake's surprise.  

Drake couldn't understand what was going on with her and why she was behaving strangely. He stared at her intently but she stood up from her stool and walked away.  Dazed by all that had happened, Drake couldn't tell if he should go after her or let her be. He glanced at Maeve who was now sitting by the bartender, clinking her glass with that of Jeremy.  

The unfamiliar feeling that had settled in his belly earlier,  returned - much stronger this time, fulling him to the brim. He held his head which had suddenly became too big for his neck to carry as he stood up and walked out of the hall.

He rested his head on his car once he got to where it was parked; his palm on his chest, trying to steady his breathing. It was like he was having a panic attack, something he rarely experienced.  

The suffocating smoke from a cigarette filled his nostril; there was a guy smoking in reckless abandon by the side of a huge tree. Drake got into his car immediately, not being able to bear this new suffocation.  He rested his head on his steering when a knock at his window jolted him. It was Maeve and she was staring at him with an incredulous look. 

"Were you going to leave?" She wheezed immediately the window was opened. 

"No. . . But I think I will now." Drake informed; his voice very low, she strained her ear to hear.  

"Why? We just got here." Maeve blustered and Drake's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean by we just got here? We've been here for hours.  Well, I don't blame you. I am not the one dancing around with strangers." He blurted out before he could think. Her eyes narrowed and he immediately felt remorse.

"I . . ." He stopped when she walked to the other side and got into it without a word.  She fastened her seat belt and gestured him to drive.

"Aren't you staying?"

"You're leaving and you're asking me to stay?"

"I can come pick you up when you're ready to go. You don't have to leave now if you don't want to." 

"Aww, I'm touched." She rolled her eyes and scoffed.  

The journey back home was quiet and uncomfortable; Drake kept glancing her way, biting his lower lip as he sought for what to say. It didn't even help that her dress had shifted up a bit, exposing more of her smooth laps. It was distracting.

Maeve on the other hand was deep in thought to notice Drake's furtive glances. Her phone had been vibrating for a while, yet she refused to take the call.  Drake wondered if all was well.

He was tempted to pick the phone up and see who it was - a part of him felt it was Jeremy -  but he knew he would provoke her more if he did. Besides, it wasn't his business. She wasn't his responsibility.  

They pulled at his driveway and she got out without a word,  taking large steps to her house. Drake got out immediately,  running to her and holding her back.

"I'm sorry." He told her.  It was strange how he found it much easier to apologise to Maeve than Nicole . 

"For what,  Drake?" 

"For. . . For what I said earlier about you hanging out with strangers." He fumbled with his shirt's button. 

Maeve shook her head. "Learn when to say sorry," she muttered as she walked away. 

Drake, exasperated from the day's event and all the strange attitude the girls in his life were giving him, got into his car to drive out when he heard Maeve's voice. He stopped immediately, getting out of the car and waiting for her to get to him. She was out of breath when she did.

"Where are you going?" She shrieked and he took a step back.

"To shop for groceries." 

Her eyes narrowed at this and she hit him ferociously on the chest, he almost fell.

"You were going to leave without me? I told you to inform me when you're going shopping.  I have a lot I want to buy too." She screamed and he held his ear. 

"I forgot. I'm sorry." He screamed at her too and for a moment,  silence greeted them as they both glared at one another. 

Suddenly, her face broke into a beautiful smile and she began to giggle. 

"You look adorable when you're angry.  Get angry often." 

Drake exhaled, his chest rising and falling as he tried to steady his breathing. 

"You can't come with me this way. Go and change." He told her and she raised her brow.

"What?"

"You heard me. You can't come with me with this dress." He looked away. He had had enough distraction. 

"You know what?" She flicked her hair and placed a hand on her hip. "I will go on a walk and will take note of every damn place in this fucking country. I will never have to rely on you for anything again." 

With that, she stormed into her house, leaving Drake standing by the car. A pang filled his chest as her last words echoed in his ear. He should be happy she wouldn't bother him anymore; strangely, he wasn't.  She was driving him crazy bit by bit and he was confused.  This was such an unfamiliar feeling.