I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
56. Acknowledging the 2nd

Joel's house looks so warm with a dining table that has been arranged neatly with a series of roses in the middle of the table and some candles around it.

Joel still with a brown apron attached to his body was putting peanut pie into the oven. Sometimes his eyes glanced at the clock hanging above the refrigerator with a big smile.

His smile grew wider when he heard the doorbell ringing.

"Did he not work or did he come home sooner than usual?" joel muttered a little wonder.

Even so, the look on his face that looks happy can not be hidden. He rushed to the door after washing his hands and drying them.

The look on his face changed after he opened the door, the person who appeared was not the figure he expected. His wide smile instantly disappeared, replaced with a forced and surprised smile at the same time.

"What are you doing here, Christina?" joel asked in shock at Christina's sudden arrival.

"And how do you know my house?" ask Joel again.

"I got it from someone" he replied with a smile.

"I want to tell you something, Joel. Just for a moment, I just want to talk to you," Christina said.

"We'll talk about that later, I have an appointment with someone" Joel said.

For a while, Joel remembered Bram's words this morning. What is wrong with Christina? What does Bram know about Christina?.

"He you're waiting for, is Ariel isn't he?" christina asked with a skeptical tone.

"Yes, it's true it's Ariel. But how do you know?" joel asked with a frown.

"I'm just guessing, and I'm surprised it's true" Christina said lethargicly.

"Are you sure he's coming?" ask Christina cynically.

"Of course he'll come. He has promised to come" replied Joel sure.

"And what if he doesn't come?" ask Christina.

"I'm sure he'll come" replied Joel.

"I saw him with Bram, are you sure he'll still come when he's with Bram?" christina.

"Yes, I'm sure," replied Joel briefly, beginning to feel troubled.

"Are they not lovers? Why would you make an appointment with someone who already has a lover?" christina is sharp.

"They're just friends" replied the short joel.

"That's it," murmured Christina lowered her head.

"Hmm, can we have a chat for a second? Ariel hasn't come yet, has she?" ask Christina.

"All right" replied Joel.

Joel and Christina walked towards the corner of the terrace, they stood facing each other. Christina took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Am I just being a bully in your days, Joel?" ask Christina lirih.

"Of course not" said Joel. "Are we not friends?" added ask.

"And you just think of me as a friend? No more than that?" Christina asked back.

"What do you mean?" joel asked, not understanding.

"I,, I, I, I like you Joel, and not like a friend, but more than that" Christina said.

Silence enveloped them after Christina's confession. Only the sound of wind gusts could be heard from the silence of the two of them. After a while, Joel exhaled a soft breath, then smiled faintly at Christina.

"I thank you for saying this, Christina. But, I also apologize for it," Joel replied heartily.

Tears began to reminisce in Christina's eyes, she looked at Joel with teary eyes, then set her breath to let out the kalimat stuck in her throat.

Not far from them, Ariel was walking closer to them. Ariel's steps slowed down when she realized the tension was enveloping the two of them.

As Christina's tears began to flow, that was when Ariel realized something, and stopped her steps. The position where he stood was enough to hear what the two of them were talking about.

"No, that's not what it means" said Joel slowly.

"You're beautiful, Christina, you're good too. Any man would love to be friends with you, even more so" Joel said.

"But I'm not good enough for you" Christina replied.

"That's not what I mean," Joel argued, beginning to feel guilty.

Ariel's heart was beating fast, she was staring at Joel and Christina. He could also guess where they were going. Christina expressed her feelings.

It made Ariel drawn by reality and came to the conclusion that this is what Joel wanted, this is what Joel wanted to hear. When Joel expresses his feelings, he gets the same reply.

However, he only let Joel continue to wait. He kept his heart shut when Joel came knocking on him. And somehow Ariel felt regret that came out of nowhere.

"We can still be good friends, Christina," said Joel softly.

"But I don't want to be friends, Joel. My feelings are more than that" Christina replied.

"My heart has chosen for the person I like, Cristina. I'm sorry, but I can't lie to my feeling that I love Ariel" Joel said.

"But, I love you," Christina replied raising her voice.

'DIG,!'

A sentence that for Ariel was very difficult to say, ejected very easily from Christina's lips.

Once again Ariel thought that such a thing was what Joel expected from her, or from someone else. A person like Christina who could loudly say those words every hour to him.

"I don't want any friends, just with you with me, that's enough for me" Christina said in between sobs.

"I also don't want friends like Ariel around me, it doesn't matter to me" he added.

"Hey, friends mean a lot to me, Christina. I always had trouble getting someone who could really be considered a friend. How can you say friends are not important?" greet Joel.

"I just know, I love you, Joel. I really love you," said Christina starting to approach Joel.

"I love Ariel, and that's not going to change" Joel said.

"And Ariel doesn't love you" Christina sneered with a wry smile.

"You have no right to determine how someone feels, Christina," Joel replied.

"I know that, he doesn't even return your feelings, why do you keep maintaining feelings that won't be yours?" christina.

"And I want you to know that I love you" Christina said.

Ariel started to step back, her heart began to swell with an outpouring of emotions in her heart. He did not know why or how his heart felt something he had forgotten.

Just as Joel noticed his presence, Ariel turned around and ran away from the place. Ignoring the screams of Joel who kept calling out his name. All he wanted was to go as far away as possible.

"Ariell,, wait,,,!!" exclaim Joel.

Just as Jeol was about to chase Ariel, Christina's hand held her back.

"If you leave, our friendship ends here, too" Christina threatened.

"Do as you please" Joel answered, shaking Christina's hand.

"Sadly, I should have done more to humiliate him in the music scene back then" Christina snorted.

Joel's running steps came to a halt instantly and turned around with an angry look. The question he had when Bram gave him a warning, answered already.

"Good, now you admit yourself that you were the mastermind of the sabotage that night," Joel greeted in annoyance.

"A-A-I, I, I, just, if Ariel does something embarrassing, you'll stay away from her" Christina said.

"Your logical reasoning was too chaotic, and I was foolishly unaware of it from the start. I'd rather lose a friend like you and ruin my life than stay with you with all the petty thoughts you have" Joel said.

Joel turned around and ran after Ariel, ignoring Christina who came back crying.

...>>>>>>>--<<<<<<<...