Imperfect Desires

"As long as you don't mind loving this weird me, I don't care about anything," replied Darren and it was all that took for him to score a goal and make Xiu speechless. He took a moment before asking, "By the way, where is Nora?"

Xiu frowned at his question. Not because he asked about Nora but because from Sunday, he'd been asking about her way too frequently and it was only Tuesday now. Why was he so interested in knowing about her whereabouts so suddenly? Meanwhile, though Darren was trying to seem disinterested, he really couldn't hide that he was indeed interested in this matter involving Ah-Si and Nora. He needed an explanation and that too from Nora herself.

"Baby, why are you so interested in my best friend? Aren't you worried that I'll get jealous?" spoke Xiu with a crushed look on her face.

Darren flailed his hand trying to deny it, "Sweets, I'm just curious. Nothing else. I promise."

"You acting like this even more suspicious," said Xiu. But seeing Darren panicking, she chuckled at his reaction and said, "Aiyo, I didn't know you're that easy to tease."

Darren pulled his chair beside hers and held her face in his hands. He didn't speak for a good minute, only looked into her eyes. "Only you can tease me this easily. Because you have no idea how scared I am that you might leave me." 'I don't even wanna give you a single reason to leave me behind again. Not this time!' He didn't say the last words out loud.

"Huh?" Xiu brushed his hair off her forehead saying, "Where can I run off to? I have nowhere to go. Literally nowhere." As she recalled something, her eyes looked anguish, "Are you saying that because of what I did in my previous life? Did I really scarred you so bad?"

Darren held her hand, shook his head and placed a kiss on the back of her hand and while his lips linger there for a while as he said, "It isn't just about what you did as Chen Xiu." His forehead leaned against hers as he said, "I have only lost people in life. Nobody stuck around for my sake even when they were supposed to."

Xiu smiled at how she could see his vulnerability. It made him seem so human and real that she couldn't hold herself from leaning down to kiss him. He also had insecurities. It wasn't the first time, he so straightforwardly told her that he was scared of losing her. He had said that before as well but this time, it meant so much more to her.

"I'm not going anywhere. Even if you ask me to leave, I still won't," replied Xiu with certainty before brushing the tip of her nose with his and saying, "Now, let me finish my breakfast. See, you make me forget everything with that stupidly handsome face of yours."

Darren propped his elbow on the table and supported his chin on the palm of his hand as he kept looking at her eating with a smile lingering on his lips. She ate so calmly now unlike the clumsy version of hers earlier. Now, she looked like a Persian cat taking her time savoring each and every bite.

Xiu tried calling him but he didn't listen, she hit his arm to get his attention, "Where are you? I called you so many times." Darren touched the tip of his nose in embarrassment while she continued, "Whatever! What I want to know is, what do you think are the chances of Dylan believing my reincarnation story?"

Darren straightened up as he asked, "You want to tell him?" Honestly, as much as he wanted to have this little secret of their own, he just couldn't help thinking about Dylan. Dylan was the only person who deserved to know this secret, at least that's what Darren believed. It was really difficult for him to keep secrets from Dylan and this was a huge one that concerned him as well more than Darren would like to admit.

"I haven't thought about it but maybe, it depends on his performance. But you tell me whether he'll believe it or not?" She didn't bother elaborating on which performance she was talking about. But Darren knew himself that his best friend was in trouble for certain.

"He will," replied Darren making Xiu look at him in confusion. "I told you, he's scared of ghosts. But it isn't just his fear. He actually believes in ghosts and any supernatural activity. He even joined a social group where people share their paranormal activities. So, I really think that he'd believe you."

Xiu listened to him before saying, "He really does all sorts of things, doesn't he?" Darren chuckled before nodding his head. "I don't think I can call him weird. Calling him abnormal would be better."

"Hmm... I agree, he is abnormal. Because only an abnormal person can love a celebrity the way he did." The words he didn't add this time were, 'He loved Chen Xiu to the point that he didn't take a second before throwing away his own love.'

Xiu was stunned by his words. Because she knew the celebrity in question was her. That brought her to a question, she really wanted to ask Dylan, why was he in love with her? What did she really have to have someone admire her in such an innocent way? 

Later Darren dropped Xiu off to the office and she got busy with work as usual. And when she found some time to breathe before the lunch hour, she was reminded of the riddle that Destiny left for her. Xiu pulled out that small note and kept reading it over and over again.

Her fingers tapped on the tabletop in a rhythmic manner as she kept wondering, "I say nothing yet you know, I have a name but I have to let it go, I have no mouth yet I tell a tale, I make you smile, I make you cry... I make memories come alive." Xiu dropped her head on the table as she sighed out, "What is the answer?" she ruffled her own hair aggressively before asking out loud, "Is the answer 'Memories?'" Knocking on her head, she dropped the idea, "Nah! How will that bring me the key to unlock the box? Then is it 'Destiny?' But it still doesn't fit somehow!"

Xiu was going crazy on her own when the phone on her table rang before she could even say a word through the receiver, she heard the other end say, "Come to my office. NOW!" Xiu flinched a bit how Dylan emphasized that 'NOW' and wondered what happened to him this time.

As she stood up, she mumbled, "It's only Tuesday but I'm already tired of this week. What a bummer!" Shaking her head despondently, she entered Dylan's room and asked, "What did I do to owe this pleasure of Mr. Qiu Hedi calling me on his own?"

"You're still in the mood of jokes?" inquired Dylan as she stared back at her with a blank face.

"What did I do?" asked Xiu as a line appeared between her brows.

"See for yourself," replied Dylan as he rotated the screen of his laptop towards her.