A battle between two cats would end up leaving a small little rat stranded, especially if it was stuck between them. That was just what I felt was going to happen now that Lia and these three random girls were on the bus.
I could feel a lot of history. And the mention of "high school" from the other girl made me think they were acquaintances from middle school. Why not some kind of outside connection? Because they hadn't met 'in' school, yet she used the word 'in.'
Clearly, it was more about the time period than the place. And well, if they had an outside connection and it was still about the period, then she definitely would have said 'during' since they would anyway be meeting outside school.
Well, keeping this psychoanalysis of words aside, I kept alternating glances between Lia and the three girls.
The three of them walked over to almost near our seat, all of them with deep disdain on their faces. One of the three, a girl with a nose piercing, pointed at me and scoffed.
"Hey, are you the new guy this bitch is dragging around? I would say you leave before things get troublesome."
"You don't understand," the blonde said again. "Little Miss Perfect there is a major bully. She will make you spill cash until you're dry and keep trying to push you to your limits. When she is bored, she will leave you."
"Hahaha, hey Abel, did you hear that?" Lia suddenly said to me. "They think we are a couple."
I truly felt the chills in that moment.
How do I say this?
It didn't feel like an encounter with villains from a rom-com story. No, it rather felt like a real event where real, sensible people had come to say something to another sensible person.
"Hey, mister," the third of the three, a girl with long, straight black hair, who looked the most normal in the group, spoke up in a very stable tone. "It might seem like we are putting our nose where it doesn't belong. But you really should be careful of her. Do you know three different guys told us she was diagnosed with three different chronic diseases?"
I looked at Lia. Her eyes narrowed at this—a wince.
Lia suddenly stood up.
"Hah. Your boyfriend isn't going to stand up for you this time?" asked the blonde in the front. Okay, maybe she was the only one picking a fight. "Maybe you stole him from someone, too."
I thought of what to do, but in the end, observing seemed like the most lucrative option.
That was exactly what I was doing as Lia slowly slid out of the seat, passing me who was still seated, and stood up in the bus. Even the driver seemed interested in the gossip happening here. It must be a boring job, driving from one spot to another over and over in a day.
"Just a minute, Abel. I'll catch up with these old friends."
I wondered what would happen. The girls all smirked. The blonde one at the front was about to laugh, as if inviting Lia to say anything.
Lia and the girl were almost in front of each other.
What could she say? I saw no real way out of this—
—CLAP!
A stunning silence followed that loud sound. Almost instinctively, a whistle left my lips.
Lia… slapped the girl.
"Y-y-you…! You bitch—"
The girl was about to hit back, but before she could, Lia quickly grabbed her hair and yanked her closer. With a swift move, she gripped her mouth, her cheeks with one hand, and whispered in a very low tone.
"Sure, I might be a bitch. But you should thank me. If your man was that good, he shouldn't have fallen for someone else while with you."
The girl's eyes trembled. Lia was clearly putting a lot of force in her hand, leaving her unable to speak at all.
With a slight push, Lia let the girl go and stood straight.
"Get off at the next stop."
"B-b-but—This! This is assault!" The blonde seemed to have received a bit of confidence after being let go, but as soon as Lia glared at her, she shut up.
"What will you do, get me arrested? Try it, bitch. If I am going to be screwed over for assault anyway, I'll make sure to break all your bones and leave you with a proper charge to file against me."
The girl shut up.
"Get off at the next stop. You're bothering both me and him. Ruined a fun time."
Lia turned to me and smiled innocently, as if nothing had happened. The three girls immediately rushed to the front of the bus, and perhaps being a little kind to them, the driver stopped a bit before we even reached the stop.
"Sorry you had to see that, Abel. Quite disgraceful, huh?"
"I am a frequent smoker," I said.
"What?"
"You asked me to tell you more about myself, right?" I looked back in her eyes, straight at them. "I smoke, quite frequently."
Lia smiled.