I'm Not Daria
Lose confidence

Suddenly, he was snatched away from me and it took me a while to realize what had just happened

I saw Devan being among us, clutching his collar while Raka grinned at him.

"Never think about it." He said and pushed it back

"What's going on?" Someone asked.

"Didn't he date Luna? What's he doing?" someone sounded whispering

The murmur of confusion among the crowd and Luna started to look. He hooked his hand on his arm.

"Devan!" He reprimands.

Devan takes off Raka's collar and releases her hand from Raka.

He took my hand and led me away from the crowd. I did not refuse as I did not want him to make a fuss in front of the others as it would most likely reveal the true nature of his relationship with Luna.

I didn't expect him to react that way. I thought seeing me with Raka would make him give up and secretly stay away from me, but he decided to intervene, that was in front of everyone who knew the impact they had to bear.

Thankfully there were no reporters around and the mansion was well guarded so no one would enter, but I just hope the people present at the party did not spread rumors.

We stopped on the balcony and he turned to face me

"I asked again. Why are you doing this?"

"I didn't do anything. You did that stupid thing in front of everybody" I rebuked.

"So you still don't want to tell me the real reason?"

His tone was rough. It was obvious that he did not accept this well

"I told you you can't do anything if you refuse to accept it"

He scoffed. "Do you have an interest in seeing me suffer? Did you get pleasure from torturing me like this?"

I shook my head. "It's not like that. How can you be so affected by this? It's not like we're dating. We just like each other, . Now I don't like you anymore. So, just continue".

Without waiting for a reply, I left immediately. Can't be in front of her for long when hurting her with such harsh words.

I didn't want to go back to the party after what happened, so I just wandered around in another part of the mansion near the balcony

I was just walking around there when I heard the sound of grunts and cries of pain. I followed the voice to one of the balconies whose doors were open and peeked out from one of the closed doors.

It was dark out there but a feminine figure in the moonlight curled up in the corner. His breath was wheezing and he held his stomach, his other hand tightly gripping the fence. He looks very sick.

He lifted his head and in the little bit of light that was there, I recognized him immediately

Before I could get out to help her, I heard someone shouting her name.

"Anna!" The recognizable Gio ran towards him and crouched down beside him. "Are you okay?"

Anna straightened up after hearing his voice. "Sure, I'm fine."

Gio shook his head. "Looks not. I'll take you to the doctor."

He went to pick up Anna, but refused. "No! I'm doing fine. It's just a stomachache."

"It looks much more serious than a regular stomach ache. Let me take you to the doctor. It's gonna be okay."

"I said no." Anna said, this time more forcefully.

"Is this because of what happened that night? If that's the case, you don't have to feel awkward around me. You don't have to ignore me. Just say it and it'll be like it never happened and we can be friends again. Please accept my help now. You don't look so good." I could hear the worry in his voice.

She looks fed up with him, "I-it's just menstrual cramps, okay! I'm coming to the moon! Nothing serious."

"Then do you need pads, or tampons? Or-or chocolate? Do you need me to take you home? Should I call Daria? I saw it somewhere around here-"

"No! Its alright. Just call me Luna."

He asked for Luna and not me?

"Yes." Yeah." Anna sounded weak and a little annoyed.

Gio took out his phone from his pocket and pressed a number

"Hello, Luna. I was on the balcony with Anna. She's not feeling well. He said he had a stomachache, but I think it's more serious . He's calling you. Can you come and get him?"

He paused for a moment to hear his answer

"Okay, come quickly"

I was worried about Anna's condition, but was quickly replaced by jealousy because Anna preferred to call Luna instead of me.

I was about to help her but after seeing that she obviously preferred Luna over me, I retreated and returned to the party. It hurts.

On the way home, I met Luna who was rushing towards her original direction.

When he looked at me, he stopped. "What are you doing here? What about Devan?"

"Don't worry. I hurt her again, just like you wanted. "I snapped

He raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying that I hurt her when all I did was save her from a bigger and more painful heartbreak?"

I didn't answer and he rolled his eyes.

"You should be able to control your feelings better". He continued on his way but I stopped him with my words

"Why can't we be together?" he turned to look at me even though my back was behind him. "If I tell the truth and if he still accepts me, can't I have a chance with him? Or are you like this because I'm not rich?"

"Darla, I told you it wasn't because of that. I also come from a less capable background, but I don't consider such things as barriers to love. What I'm afraid of is that he'll reveal the truth to everyone if you tell him. He doesn't hide anything from the people he cares about, especially if it's something big and important like this, and I know he won't be able to keep this secret for a long time. If he doesn't take it well, you'll be the only one who suffers. I'm just thinking about your own well-being." This time her voice was soft and soothing, but it did not help me much

"I see, I don't want to lose anyone's trust after losing Anna's trust" I said.

"What?" Luna asked in confusion but I had already walked away from her.

I told Raka that I didn't want to be at the party anymore and she must have sensed that my mood was not good and that she shouldn't be nagging me right now so she decided to take me home. I didn't see Devan anywhere so I assumed that he had also come home.

....

When I got to the room, all I wanted to do was sleep. Lately life is starting to feel too stressful and lonely. I started to feel unhappy here and for the first time in a while, I wanted to regain my old life that did not have to deal with the problems I was facing here.

I kicked my heels and took off the jewelry I was wearing. Amara had promised me that she would bring hot water to soak my feet because of the pain.

I struggled with the zipper of the dress and I called Amara in the hope she could hear me.

"Czech" The door opens

"Mara, help me with the zipper. My hair is stuck." I said as I tried to move the zipper again but gave up when I felt a burning pain on my scalp.

He did not move from the door for a few seconds before hearing her slowly approaching me. I turned my back on him and couldn't even move to see what took him so long for not wanting to pull my hair because the zipper was painful.

He was very slow and I tried my best to be patient with him and it felt like he finally touched the zipper to help me after a very long time. His fingers occasionally rubbed my bare back and made me shiver as the air started to feel cold.

It took him about five full minutes to tidy up all my messy hair and zip it down. I massaged the roots of my hair and looked up to stretch my sore neck from having to duck all the time.

My eyes were momentarily fixed on the mirror in front of me and my breath was wheezing when I saw Devan behind me.

I couldn't react for a few seconds and we just stared at each other from the mirror. I felt her warm breath drenching my neck before her fingers gently grabbed my elbow and pulled me back until it stuck to her.

Her other arm wrapped around me and she lowered her head.I felt her lips clinging to my collarbone, subconsciously I felt the tension on my shoulder disappear and relax

"What are you doing?" my whiskey.

He did not answer me and instead pointed his lips up and to my neck. gave a butterfly kiss along the way until his lips reached the back of my ear. I closed my eyes and bit my lips to prevent myself from groaning

He had to stop, otherwise the two of us would not be able to stop from what was going to happen next

Fortunately, he decided to break the silence.

"We're definitely not people who like each other. If it is, I will not continue to chase after you have rejected me so many times and if you do not feel the same way about me, then I will not let you do what I just did. I don't know what you're doing this for but I don't believe in the reason you gave me. I will continue to like you from a distance, and hope that every day will be the day that you will come to me. I'll wait for you as long as I can."