Chapter 79

Jason's pov :
"So what do you want?" My eyes didn't dare to meet hers due to the agitation about her decision.
"I guess Barbie is right-"
"No! Please, don't leave me, Lia! She was kidding, she wasn't serious."
She stifled a chuckle and took a step closer. "We need some time to understand and know each other more. And leaving you is the last thing on my mind."
Jesus! That girl terrified me, she had control of my happiness. If she would have decided to leave me, I didn't know what I would have done. I was crazy about this girl. I just love her more than I could ever imagine.
"Thank you for staying with me!" I finally took her in an embrace and wrapped my arms tightly around her so that I could feel her against my body.
Her hands relaxed on my back and her head rested on my chest.
"I'm not giving you a second chance. I want to give us the last chance, let's start from the friendship!" She emphasised the word us.
It would be an understatement if I would say that I was happy. After making a huge mistake, she accepted me as a friend and that was enough for me. I couldn't be greedy for making her my girlfriend again, I had to earn her trust in me, in us.
"Thank you so much, Lia! And I promise that this time, I won't disappoint you."
She broke the hug. "Don't make promises yet! I don't like people who break promises." She stated directly.
Not to mention, I had already broken the promise I made to her and Ben last time on her birthday. Shameless, brainless, me!
"Shouldn't we go to the competition?" She tried to lessen my embarrassment.
"Oh, yes! Get ready fast, it seems like everyone has already left and we are alone here."
"I'm not gonna get ready! I'm already ready, this is fine with me," she shook her hand up and down pointing at her outfit. "And I don't care about-"
"Fine! Fine! Let's go!" I interrupted her by showing her my palm and calming her down.
She mischievously smiled and started walking to the hallway. I followed her lead smiling, friendship was better than being ex.
Lia turned a little and announced with her squinted eyes, "you won't drive the car. I know that you are drunk."
"Okay, madam!" I bowed my head and protested, "I'm not as drunk as you were last night."
"Who cares? You know dear friend, I was left alone on the streets of Singapore by my fucking boyfriend." She sprinkled the spices on my already stabbed heart.
"You know, I managed a cab for my drunk girlfriend last night and I followed the taxi driver with my car." I opened the door of the elevator for her.
She rolled her eyes and climbed in. "You little punk!"
"Well, I'm taller than you." I wiggled my eyebrows at her while showing her the difference between our heights by comparing her to my ears. "You reach till my ears only."
"Whatever!" She gave me a sarcastic smile and I closed the door of the elevator.
Within an hour, we reached the place where the competition was about to start and we made it in time. I took the driver's number and asked him to leave because the competition would take at least four hours.
The entry guard checked our passes and let us in the hall. We found Barbie sitting in the first row, thankfully, the place wasn't full yet and two seats beside Barbie were empty.
"Thanks for saving us seats!" Lia sat near Barbie and I sat beside her.
I checked around me but George and his girlfriend were nowhere in the hall. "Where are George and Fiona?"
Barbie suppressed her lips for a second and exhaled. "Fiona's mother is in the hospital so they left for Los Angeles in the morning."
"What? Why didn't she tell me? What happened to her mom?" Lia's eyes widened in shock, so were mine.
"Lia, I don't know anything about that and to be honest, I didn't feel good about asking them much. George informed me when I arrived in your room, and they were already leaving the resort. I called the manager to complete the procedure of their check out." Barbie offered her an apologetic look.
"I'll leave as soon as the competition ends, my best friend needs me now."
"Calm down, Lia! We'll leave for the airport as soon as possible. Don't worry about her! George is with her, she is not alone. Hmm?" I took her hand in mine and consoled her.
"Mmm-hmm!" She hummed and lowered her gaze.
It was the final day of the competition and I was feeling nervous for Theo. For Theo, it was like 'MAKE IT OR REGRET IT'! And all of us knew what dance meant to him.
The anchor announced the first participant's name and Barbie grimaced in disgust. "Eww, Casey! I don't want to watch this performance. I wish I could leave the place for the next ten minutes."
She was the girl who tried to kiss Theo in the last performance. Of course, Barbie would hate her!
"I would love to see this girl's performance. She dances well." I mocked her to make her envious but it failed when Lia shot me what-the-fuck look.
"You poor kid! Don't try to make me feel jealous!" Barbie smirked. "Why don't you ask her out?"
Lia giggled and uttered with enthusiasm, "oh, yes! Why don't you stay here with her for a few more days?" She threw me a honeyed smile.
"Fuck, no! I was just teasing my sister, nothing else!"
The music had already started and the crowd started cheering for Casey so there was no way that our conversation could have continued. And I was happy that it ended before I had to explain more about why I mocked Barbie!
After one and half an hour, we were feeling so exhausted because of sitting on a chair for a very long time continuously. There were thirteen finalists and we had watched ten performances but Theo was still waiting in the contestant room.
Barbie couldn't meet him until his performance ended so she was also restless to see her boyfriend dancing on the stage in the finals.
"Guys my back is aching, why do the judges take too much time in giving compliments and deciding the marks?" Lia stood up from her chair and stretched her back and hands.
Barbie also joined her and frowned. Finally, Lia's attention was diverted to other things than Fiona. I was also worried for her but Lia was so tense when she heard about her mom. If she would have known before, she must have gone back with Fiona.
The anchor finally announced Theo's name and the two most beautiful girls likewise reserved their seats.
As soon as the judges gave their judgement after the end of his performance, Barbie galloped towards the exit and we followed her. She stopped at the contestant room where Theo was sitting on a chair with his closed eyes.
Barbie sealed his lips with a kiss and we coughed a little to tease them. My sister didn't stop kissing him, instead, she showed her middle finger to us and Lia started cackling in response.
"You were so good, Theo! I'm sure that you'll win."
"Of course, your man will win!" I chimed in and smiled at them.
Theo nodded but he was nervous, I could see it in his eyes. "Where are George, Fiona, and Alex?"
Barbie stole a glance from him and cleared her throat, "ahem! Alex is sleeping in his room, he might have the worst hangover because he drank like a fish last night so I didn't wake him up. Um, Fiona's mom is in the hospital and George decided to go with her."
"What happened to her mother?" His eyes had concern in them and he forgot about his competition.
"I don't know much, he just informed me that they are leaving for Los Angeles and left the resort immediately," Barbie repeated what she informed us. He took his phone and called George.
"Why is his phone unreachable?" He jabbed the phone on the table beside the mirror.
Lia opened her mouth, "because they are in the flight perhaps."
He sighed and Barbie caressed his back to soothe him.
"Lia, I guess we should leave them alone. Who knows when they will start making out in front of us?" I scoffed and broke the awkward silence.
A girl who was probably there to meet any participant shot me a repelling glance when she passed by me. Lia started snickering when that girl left. "You shouldn't forget that we are not alone here. Other people are also hearing and watching us."
"Why should I care about them? For me, those people don't exist. My world revolves around my friends and family. And if someone should care about our surroundings, then it should be these two people," I pointed towards my sister and best friend who were shamelessly hugging and kissing each other.
Since we were friends, I counted her as a friend in my world but I wanted to count her as a family.
"Guys, go to the stage, right now!" The anchor notified all the participants and everyone started moving to the stage.
"All the best! You are the winner of my heart, in case you are feeling nervous," Barbie blushed and encouraged her love. I didn't know she could blush, too.
"All the best, Theo! You are the winner of this competition, in case you are feeling so sugared," I mimicked her tone and he shook his head while laughing.
"Good one!" He hugged me and then hugged Lia. "Don't worry! We'll leave soon, everything will be alright."
I was there to lighten everyone's mood. Why was he thinking about others when he should go to the stage and think about his competition?
We hiked to the hall and stood in the first row to see the results. Barbie and Lia closed their eyes when the judge was announcing the second runner-up's name. It was someone else, they declared the first runner-up's name, it wasn't Theo either.
And when they were going to announce the winner's name, I saw a tear falling from Barbie's eyes. I never saw my sister crying for anything, she was a strong, bold, and mature girl.
"The winner is Mr Theo Walters!" And the hall erupted with thunderous applause. Everyone was shouting Theo's name and Barbie's eyes were flowing happy tears while smiling and blowing some kisses to her boyfriend.
Lia hugged her and wiped her face, everyone around me was happy and so was I. When Theo came out of the hall with a trophy in his hand, he was surrounded by the crowd.
Paparazzi started taking his pictures, he was trying hard to come out from there but it seemed impossible. Barbie tried to save herself from the paparazzi so she waited for him in the car.
After an hour, we finally arrived at the resort and started doing the packing. Alex was still sleepy and sitting while holding his head. I had given him the hangover medicine but it didn't work for him. Although, in the night, we checked out of our resort and reached the airport.
Everything would have been perfect if George and Fiona also would be here to celebrate Theo's achievement but they had to leave. I hoped that Fiona's mother would be fine by now because she had already lost her father, her mom was the only family she had left.