Fate 缘 Chapter 6
Leo: “hey bros, i haf a new target & I’m god damn serious abt tis 1!”
Ken: “oh, com’on.. u noe u oni tink wif ur lower part, dun u?”
Dan: “who’s e lucky girl?”
Ken: “u meant unlucky, rite dan?”
Leo: “fish u lah! u haf a prob izit?”
Ken: “kaoz, I’m so fish-ing scared leh. y so fierce?”
Dan: “bt seriously, hw do u noe she’s the 1 u want?”
Leo: “dan, u’re e best lah.. coz she’s so diff frm those previous bimbos i’ve dated!”
Ken: “so u meant u noe u were dating brainless gers? den tell us hw special ur ger is.. or rather ur mb 2b future gf for god noes hw long..”
Leo: “i feel lyk kicking ur ass rite nw, ken!”
Dan: “relax lah, u both.. leo, juz tell us abt ur new target.”
Ken: “ok, i wipe clean clean 4 u 2 kick on mon.. wahaha”
Leo: “*ignores* ken. dan, tis ger is attractive in all ways.. in my leo’s grading system, she scored full for all. opps, mb nt for the sex’s part. shall let u guys noe once i managed to bed her siaz. guez she wld be a real sexy 1 thou. bt well, wif me ard, which ger wld nt turn into a wild cat?”
Dan: “& u were saying u’re serious abt her. end up, u still oni tink of having sex wif her?”
Ken: “*nods* head furiously”
Leo: “dan, u can’t say tt! wif other gers, it’s call having sex, 4 her, i’m serious, so it’s making LOVE!”
Ken: “wat’s the fishing diff?! u asshole!”
Dan: “hey, it’s getting late.. i’ll talk to u guys tml.. bye!”
Dan left the conversation.
Leo: “damn! i’ve nt even say who my ger is..”
Ken: “wah! u reali treat me as transparent ah?! tell me lah.”
Leo: “dan noes her, they were ex sch mates. ash zhang.”
Ken: “holy shit! u gota be kidding me..”
Leo: “WHY?!”
Ken: “i noe who she is.. we were tgt b4.. i gt 2 noe her wen i was wking pt after our o levels.. bt we were oni tgt 4 3mths b4 she brk off wif me.. n u’re nt gona believe it.. she was dan’s ex too!”
Leo: “wtf! i’m so gona wear the old shoes my own buddies wore b4?”
Ken: “dun mess wif her pls, she’s a pretty nice ger.. a pity we dun wk out, it’s nt ez winning her heart either..”
Leo: “u muz haf suck in bed, tt’s y!”
Ken: “oh man. i’m nt like u, ok? + she still loves dan..”
Leo: “wth, who told u so? if u were tgt with her after o, den they prob brk off b4 tt.. it’d been 1yr+.. n if she loves him, they wldn’t haf brk up..”
Ken: “tt, u wld hafta ask e both of them le.. smhw, I noe they still luv each other lah.. juz leave her alone.. i go slp le.. cya in sch next wk!”
On Monday…
“Hey bro! I’ve got a serious question to ask you. You know Ash, your secondary school mate. Were you together with her before?” Leo had been pondering over what Ken said.
“Well, as a matter of fact, yes. What makes you ask?” Dan had a sense of uneasiness.
“Do you still love her?”
“How does it matter to you?”
“Ok, you know I don’t like beating around the bush. Remember we were in MSN on Saturday night and I said I have a new target? You left before I could even reveal who she is. It is Ash. Ken told me she was your ex.” Leo let it out in one single breathe.
“How did Ken know about us then?” Dan was very sure he had not told anyone about Ash and his relationship.
To his knowledge, among the few closer ones he hanged around with in Coral Polytechnic, Pat was the only one who knows about it.
“So I take that as a yes. Ken was her boyfriend after she broke off with you! My god! I can’t believe this man.”
“Neither can I.” There was shakiness in Dan’s voice.
“Dan, listen to this. Ash and you are history. I would give her a future. I don’t care if you still love her. We are brothers. This is my first true love, so I need your blessings. Of course, I’ll do with some help. Tell me everything you know about her that can assist me in the courtship.”
Dan was not paying attention to what Leo was saying. A lot of thoughts and emotions of all kinds filled his mind. He made his way out of school and boarded the first bus that arrived. He had no idea when did Leo stop following him.
At that point of time, it didn’t matter a single bit. The bus he boarded terminated at World Trade Centre. Unknowingly, Dan walked towards the port. This place held great memories for him. The McDonalds, some 100m away used to be the place Dan and Ash did their exams revision when they were in secondary school. Sitting down at Berth 12, there was the first and last vandalism Dan did.
In liquid paper, there were the words, “Dan loves Ash forever!” drawn in a heart shape. Dan received a scolding plus a pinch on his face when he showed it to Ash. Dan touched his face, it was as if he could still feel the pinch. Tears were rolling down his face and his heart was aching.
(Note: In 1999, when this story took place, there was no Harbourfront station and that place was called World Trade Centre back then. You used to be able to sit on the dock to enjoy the sea breeze and watch those vessels go by.)
(However, these photos are taken outside Vivo - where World Trade Center used to stand.)
“Dan?” a familiar voice came from behind.
Wiping off his tears, Dan turned and saw Pat. He stood up and looked her into the eyes. There was redness in them and seemed like she had been crying too.
“What happened?”
Without saying a word, Pat buried her head into Dan’s chest and started sobbing. Not knowing what else to do, Dan hugged her and started stroking her head.
“Hush, girl. Tell me what went wrong.”
“It’s Ash. I want to hate her but the most hurting thing was I could not bring myself to do it. Dan, where has the Ash we used to know been to? I don’t recognize her anymore, why must she do that to me?”
“Ash? What did she do to you?”
“She’s dating Leo! She knows I love Leo more than anything else in this world. I’m willing to do anything for him. She knows it yet she chooses to accept his courtship! We were such good friends.”
Pat told Dan about the argument she had with Ash last week. At the same time, she told him her feelings for Leo since primary school. Pat and Leo were classmates when they were in primary five and six. Leo was in gymnastics while Pat was in Chinese Dance. They shared the school hall for their ECAs. Pat knew her feelings for Leo was not just puppy love as what others have told her.
She would always steal glances at him, find out his whereabouts and tried to hang around areas where he would normally be seen. She blushed whenever he seemed to look in her directions, even though she was never really sure if he was looking at her. Over the years, she had never taken notice of any other guys nor accept their courtships or gifts. In her heart, there was only Leo.
(Note: CCA was still named as ECA in 1992/3)
Dan accompanied Pat the whole afternoon, trying to console her and reassured that Ash would never mean to hurt Pat. They have been very good friends and would remain that way till they grow old. Though he was just as sad that his buddy is going after the girl he had loved and still does, he kept his emotions from Pat. Dan has the habit of keeping his feelings to himself. At that point of time, he didn’t want to add on to Pat’s unhappiness either. Evening came, Dan sent Pat home.
Before Pat entered the lift, she turned around and said, “Dan, thanks for accompanying me today. I would follow your advice and try to find a chance to talk to Ash about this. We would always be best friends. No matter what happened between Ash and you, you would be a good friend of mine too.”
“Don’t mention it. Friends always stand by each other. But, I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“Remember you told me about Ash’s boyfriend after she broke off with me? The tall, suave and tanned guy, have you seen him before? Or rather, do you know him?”
“I guessed you must have found out about it. When we met Ken in our first Dragon Boat training, I recognized him right away. I’ve also confirmed with Ash. Back then, they were only together for a couple of months and I only met him once, so I was not so sure. I think Ash don’t really love him or even like him. I guess he was merely a substitute who happens to be there at the right place at the right time.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks.”
Pat and Dan parted. After crying it out and hearing Dan’s encouraging words, Pat felt like a great stone finally been put down. She wants to salvage her friendship with Ash even though it hurts to see or know that Leo is going after her. On the other hand, Dan seemed like a lost sheep. He was not sure how should he faces Leo and how would he handle the situation if he sees them together.
“Wait, hide!” Ash pulled Leo behind the pillar.
“Why?” Leo was stunned by Ash’s reflex action when she saw Dan walking towards them.
“Ssshhhh!” Ash gave Leo a stern look.
Dan looked dejected as he walked with his head down.
“Go around the pillar now!” hissed Ash.
Dan walked past them without lifting his head. After a while, Ash popped her head out to check if Dan was still around before continuing to walk towards the lift.
“It’s just Dan. Why do we have to hide?”
“I do not want him to see us together, ok?”
“He knows we are seeing each other.”
“How did he know? You told him!?”
“What’s wrong with that? There’s no secret between me, him & Ken. We are brothers!” Leo argued.
“You even told Ken! Didn’t I tell you before to keep a low profile? Why do you have to tell the whole world?”
“Com’on, Ash. It is not that serious and I merely told 2 persons. I don’t think they make up the whole world. Anyway, we all know you were with Dan and Ken before. But it doesn’t really matter, your past don’t bother me. The future is ours to fight for.”
“Leo Li Ze Yan! Get this clear now. If you want to continue going out with me, I want you to keep everything between us a secret. I know you have a proud history with tons of girls but it doesn’t mean that I’ll definitely be together with you. If you can’t do a simple thing like this, then call this whole thing off now. We shall not see each other anymore. I hate people not keeping their promises!”
“Hey! Cool it, will you? Ok, I promised not to let out a word anyone about us. Don’t be mad, sweety.” Leo coaxed.
“Forget about using these honey coated words on me. I am going home now and stop following me. Do not call or sms me, I’ll get back to you when I think the time is right.” With that, Ash walked into the lift and closed the door.
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