I'm Not Daria
Apologies

We used his mediocre car that we used when we went to the movies. It feels like it's been a long time and it's true. It was two months ago when everything was still simple and we were good friends who had no unknown feelings for each other.

I searched the souvenir shop around and directed it to the location.

"Tell me, what do men usually like for birthday gifts?"

"Whose year is this?"

"A close friend of mine. He had a birthday a few days ago

"He's a man?"

I'm nodding.

"Mario?"

"Yes, now can you tell me what a man wants as a gift?" I'm just impatient

"Men hate birthday gifts. So I'm going back to the mansion because you won't get a present for Mario".

He was about to turn around but I stopped him.

"Who doesn't like to get gifts on their birthday? Tell me."

"I'm not lying. You'll see how much he'll hate anything you give him".

"I shouldn't have asked you. You're not helping. Just take me to that place"

Devan sneered a little but I ignored him.

We arrived quite quickly and entered, I tightened the scarf slightly to hide half of my face behind it.

There was no one in the shop except for a woman who looked to be around forty years old. He greeted me with a tired face. He was obviously going to close the shop. Devan was right behind me.

"What are you looking for, Miss?"

"Birdays for my friend. He's a chef and I want to know if you have anything to do with it to help him love his job more." I looked around me to get an idea of what I should give him

"If it is a gift for a man, there is nothing better than a watch. A watch is the most valuable thing for a man if it is given by someone special. He will never forget such a beautiful gift and the one who gave it."

What he said made me want to buy a watch for Mario, but somehow his words seemed to have been trained, changed a little to suit his circumstances. But I knew what I was going to give Mario as his late birthday present.

"What about a gift that won't remind her of him?" Devan asked from beside me

"What?" The woman asked.

I looked at him with a sharp look

"Yes, please show me some watches" said the woman and she took them.

He put out a lot of watches for me to choose from.

"Take him this one." Devan pointed at a bright pink watch

"Eh... I don't think he's gonna like the color."

"Then what about this one?" He now pointed at the green-colored watch that I thought was ugly.

"No"

I took the time to pick one with Devan who kept trying to make me pick the ugly all the time.

By the time I actually picked one, I was completely annoyed by it

I was told that they also made customized watches, so I told them to draw the impression of the chef in the middle of the watch and arise from the sous chef on the back, where Devan argued with me saying that the watch did not belong to Mario, while I tried to tell him that it did not mean that.

The woman said the watch would be ready at four in the afternoon, making me relieved to choose to get a present for her tonight. I couldn't have picked a more perfect gift for Mario

I'm sure he'll like it

"That guy doesn't even deserve so much thought to put in his gift" Devan muttered inwardly.

I immediately raised my head to look at him with a sharp look. There goes. He's spoken enough and I can't bear to hear my friend being insulted again

"Devan, can you at least try not to be rude at Mario's late birthday party. I've been feeling really bad for not saying happy birthday to her, so can you try not to make things worse for me? I understand that you hate her but I don't, so I'd really appreciate it if you kept your hatred for her to yourself. You certainly won't know what it's like on your birthday, but none of your family members would wish you a happy birthday. You won't understand what it's like when someone you think is close to you is so obsessed with his own problems that he doesn't even know that it's your birthday. So please, be a little polite to someone who doesn't have as much money as you do. Just because you're in a higher position than him, doesn't make you a great person. The way you treat people who are considered inferior to you is what determines whether you are a good person or not. And right now, you don't sound like a good person to me." I snapped.

He looked surprised at my explosion. Obviously this isn't something Daria would say, but I don't care about it right now. All I could think about was Devan putting Mario down when he did nothing to Devan and he had to tell him what he was wrong.

Devan was silent after that. A few minutes later he came out of the store and I saw him sitting in the driver's seat. He'll probably be waiting for me there.

I paid the down payment and took the receipt from the woman before returning to the car.

The journey back to the mansion felt awkward and silent. When we arrived, I quietly got out of the car without glancing at him. He also did not move to talk to me.

I know he's just jealous. It was because we had unwanted feelings for each other that made him act that way.

I know Devan is a good person and he doesn't underestimate anyone, but I just say that in the heat of the moment. feeling very defensive towards Mario and what he says about Mario is childish and unwarranted, even though Mario is not there to listen to him.

I couldn't bring a gift for Mario that night, so I had to be careful the next day when I was going to pick it up.

...

The next day, I had to go alone to pick up a watch that had been adjusted because Devan was at work, but I got a call from him at thirty in the afternoon

"Hello?" I said into the speaker after hesitantly receiving the call.

"Hi, uh Daria. You should take a four-hour watch, right?"

"Yes." Yeah."

"I got to the mansion in ten minutes. Be ready at that time. We're going together?"

"Um, sure."

We said goodbye and I got ready to get dressed.

Seven minutes later, Devan was waiting in the driveway. As he said, he arrived shortly after and I got into the car.

We don't talk to each other all the time. It felt as awkward as the night before.

When we arrived, I quickly grabbed the doorknob to escape the uncomfortable silence, but the sound stopped me

"Daria" that's not my name. But just because she mentioned the name that had my name in it, my heart thumped at her voice.

"Yes?" I try to be normal.

"About last night, I want to apologize to you. I'm sorry for saying all these things about Mario.I realized that I was being so rude and my behavior was unacceptable.I let my jealousy take hold of me. I realized last night after you went to sleep that all the hate I felt for Mario was because I was jealous of his closeness to you. I can't deny my feelings for you. But I don't know what exactly that feeling is, whether it's just an attraction, a little crazy, I don't know. But I want you to know, don't act like this to anyone else. When you say that you don't think I'm a good person, I don't like it." He took my hand. "I don't want you to think of me that way, because believe me I'm not that kind of person. I'm sorry."

I could see the despair on his face to make me trust him. I could see him telling the truth and my nagging last night had made him reflect on himself. I was at a loss for words, especially since I didn't expect him to accept that he was jealous or that he was beginning to find out what he really felt towards me. He also made me nervous when he held my hand and looked me in the eye like that

"I know you're a good man. I'm glad you're aware of your words and their impact. Just don't do it again." With that, I took my hand off her hand and stepped out of the car, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

I ignored what he said about his feelings. It was the right thing to do, ignoring it would make it go away.