It wouldn't be a party without music blaring in your ears. Wilson could attest to that. He wished he could be deaf right now; he wouldn't mind being blind, either. Renata stood in the centre of the game room next to Lyle as Wilson watched from a corner of the room. She looked so... how should he say this? Different? Happy? Dazzling? And pretty, as she had always been.

A single from Cinderella band said it all, 'Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)'. He learned that in the past, in a hard way. But he had to be worse than a donkey that he had to relearn it, also in a hard way.

As Renata blew out the candles on her birthday cake, Wilson's heart debris was also blown away. How did he not even notice she had crawled into his heart? The anguish he felt earlier now made sense.

If only he realized his feelings for her faster, he could... He could do what? Confessed? Told her that he had liked her since... He didn't even know since when he liked her a lot.

That was a lie. Wilson didn't just like her; he loved her. But what was the point? Maybe it was a good thing he didn't realize it sooner; better if he never acknowledged it. Renata didn't have the same sentiment toward him, if their passionate kiss in the wood earlier was an indicator. His feelings would never be reciprocated.

Wilson believed that this gaudy celebration was mocking him. Tables were littered with mostly pizza, one of the world's greatest inventions in his opinion, but his stomach churned at the sight of his beloved in another guy's arms. Countless soda and juice bottles were not enough to drown his sorrow. He gulped the cola in his cup as he watched Lyle kiss Renata's cheek. He covered his face with his palms while grimacing at the thought that Renata and Lyle should be officially dating by now.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing here alone?" James came out of nowhere and settled his arse beside him. "Nice party, don't you think? You introvert who doesn't know how to enjoy a party. You should mingle with the crowd, Wilson." James handed him an orange juice in a plastic cup, which Wilson gratefully accepted.

Contrary to popular belief, not all introverts can't enjoy a party. Wilson, for example, did enjoy the party to a certain extent in the corner with plenty of oxygen to spare, until this lumberjack came to annoy him. Who wouldn't enjoy being cramped in a wide place as old as his great-grandpa with 100 or so noisy people? It was still a nice old-grandpa, though, with many arcade games sprawled inside the baroque game room. Not even the smaller but younger (as younger as a great-grandpa's nephew) game room in his dorm could compare.

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"If you don't enjoy being here, why don't you go back into the crowd instead of being a nuisance to me here? Did you win the pool games? "How much money did you win?"

James, with his smug face, bragged, "Not bad, I won $50. Those boys from Renata's class were not that good. I felt bad taking their money." Wilson knew he was lying, judging from his wide grin.

"Hi, guys-" Renata suddenly threw herself between them; the thick-padded sofa creaked at her sudden dropping. "Oh, it's refreshing here; I could finally breathe." She waved her palms rapidly to relieve her sweaty face.

Unconsciously, Wilson swallowed his saliva at her appearance. Heady scent emitted from this lovely creature made his throat dry. And once again, Renata's plump little lips caught his gaze. He couldn't divert his eyes fast enough.

James scooched a little further to make her comfortable. "So, are you officially dating Lyle now, Ren?" If Wilson could, he wanted to smack that teasing grin out of him.

Renata blushed as she answered James, "I think so."

If Wilson thought he had no pieces left in his heart, he was surely wrong. The pain pulsated from deep inside as he looked at her bashfulness. His right hand gripped a small red velvet gift box in his side pocket. He couldn't give it to her anymore.

"So where is this Mr. Renata? Why are you not with him?" James's gleaming eyes stared at Wilson as he asked Renata while drinking his cola. Avoiding him, Wilson pretended to enjoy his orange juice.

"Oh, he said he wanted to grab some sodas or whatever with-" No one noticed a brown-haired girl with freckles approaching them as she seemed to accidentally drop her cup of cola on Renata's sweater.

"Sorry, my hand slipped." The girl said her unapologetic apologies.

Wilson and Renata would believe it was an accident if they didn't recognize the girl who was doused by Renata at the SUB the other day. Renata smirked as she stood, snarling at her. "I will let this one slide since I'm in a good mood. I won't be much more forgiving the next time. Now fuck off, bitch." Renata raised her hand as if she wanted to slap the girl, but was stopped by Wilson. The girl ran off with her tail between her legs.

Other students didn't seem to notice their little squabble; they were still enjoying the party, busy with their pool games, or seducing their crushes.

Renata was pretty upset, actually; it was her only champagne-colored cashmere sweater. If it wasn't for Wilson, she might have dared to hit the girl. "Daggumnit, Wilson. You should at least let me smack her in the face. Eu~ng, I love this sweater; what should I do now?"

"You can not hit people on school grounds, or you could be grounded. And isn't it cashmere? I doubt you can do anything about it, but try soaking it in cold water before it's dry."

"I can't; I wear nothing underneath my sweater but some flimsy camisole."

Wilson's brain paused at her "nothing underneath" before he returned to his senses. He took off his pale blue sweater and gave it to her. "Wear this, or you can end the party early."

James didn't quite understand what was just happened, but he took the clue and found a friend of his that lived in this building. "Here, you can change your clothes in my friend's room." He gave a keycard to Renata while explaining where the room was—the second floor to the right, first door.

Renata was about to go when she realized Wilson was following her. "Why are you following me?"

"You weren't thinking I was about to do something indecent to you, were you? It's a male dorm. What if something happens to you? Just go, I will stand guard outside the door. "

They both climbed the wide, Tudor-style wooden staircase. The wood looked so old but was very sturdy; no strange rickety sound could be heard when they stepped on it. The moon had shown up and shone through the ceiling-height glass windows.

At last, they had arrived at the door, and Renata slid the keycard before opening the door. If only Wilson could react faster, Renata wouldn't have to see Meghan kneeling between Lyle's legs.