"So, how long have you been in the States? How many cousins do you have? Are they as handsome as Elijah? And why did you come back here again? Oh, and Ravi, could you please tell me what perfume Elijah uses? Because damn, he smells so good—I still remember his scent from the time he walked past me!"
Nicole bombarded me with questions, squinting her eyes like she was interrogating me in a police station.
I stared at her blankly, with zero interest in answering any of them.
"Stop it, Nicole. You're being creepy," Helena said in disgust, cutting off Nicole's blatant fangirling. Nicole finally stopped, pouting as she slumped into her seat.
I looked at her with sympathy. What would happen if she found out that the guy she was crazy over didn't even like girls? She'd lose her mind.
"I'm sorry, Ravi. I just got excited—you know I've had a crush on Elijah since freshman year. So when you told us you were his cousin, I felt like I was finally getting closer to him," she said dreamily, making me nearly choke on my juice.
We were currently at the school cafeteria, eating lunch. We had just finished our first class of the day, and since our last period was canceled, we decided to grab lunch before checking out the basketball team—perfect time for gossip.
"Nurse, she needs help," Sheena muttered, sharing a disgusted glance with Helena.
"Girl, even if we're friends with Ravi now, you still have no chance," Cean added before biting into her apple.
Friends? I tried not to roll my eyes at that word.
It was never my intention to befriend them. I only needed information. There was no friendship I wanted to build.
Well… they didn't need to know that.
I shifted my gaze to Gwen, who sat beside Cean. I expected her to say something to Nicole, but she just quietly ate her food, ignoring the conversation.
"What do you like about him, anyway?" I asked sincerely, still baffled by everyone's obsession with Elijah.
It was obvious he was well-known around campus. While we were walking earlier, people couldn't stop staring. I even heard giggles and whispers about how hot or cool he was. Nicole was living proof of his popularity.
"Seriously? You're really asking that?" Nicole replied dramatically, frowning as if I'd asked something ridiculous.
"You heard me—I just asked," I said sarcastically, and heard Helena stifle a laugh beside me.
Nicole froze but then gave me an awkward smile. "S-sorry. I overdid it again."
"Let me answer that, Ravi," Helena offered. "Nicole is always like that whenever someone mentions Elijah. She goes full fangirl mode—it drives us crazy sometimes. But she's not that bad, I promise."
Honestly, I could barely tolerate her either.
"Actually, Ravi," Helena continued, "your cousin Elijah is really popular on campus. Besides being ridiculously good-looking, he's also amazing at basketball. He's always featured in the school magazine as our top player, and he's been MVP for three years straight. A lot of people admire him for that."
My jaw nearly dropped. He's that popular?
"He's basically the face of Sanford," Nicole added quickly. "He even got chosen as a brand ambassador for a famous sports drink. You have to watch his commercial. You'll love it!"
That explains why so many girls were taking pictures with him yesterday at BGC. He's not just famous inside campus—he has fans outside too.
"Isn't he the one with the most gameplay views on YouTube compared to his teammates?" Sheena chimed in.
Nicole nodded proudly. "Yup. A million views, to be exact!"
I raised an eyebrow. Even more than Lhiam? I used to only watch Lhiam's games while I was in the U.S., so I didn't expect anyone to surpass him in views. Especially not that guy. Maybe I'm biased, but Elijah seems overhyped.
Honestly, Lhiam might even be better than him.
"Is he the team captain?" I asked, trying not to sound bitter—thankfully, no one noticed.
"I wish. He was supposed to be, but he keeps turning it down. None of us fans know why," Nicole said, disappointed, but quickly perked up again.
"Your cousin's amazing, right, Ravi? Are you proud of him?" she asked with a giddy smile.
I wanted to vomit.
Proud? Yeah, right. As if.
But instead of speaking my mind, I forced a smile and nodded.
"Of course. He's my cousin, after all."
Nicole's grin widened, while I barely kept myself from showing how disgusted I really felt. I quickly changed the subject.
"Seems like you all know a lot of rumors around campus."
"Obviously," Cean replied with a smirk.
I nodded and took another bite of my carbonara.
"Not just most of them. All of them," Sheena corrected with a sassy hand gesture.
I smirked. "Like what?"
Cean gave me an amused look. "Why do you want to know?"
I shrugged, leaning back in my chair.
"Because I'm new here? I just want to know who to avoid and who to befriend."
"Smart," Gwen suddenly spoke. It was the first time I'd heard her voice since she introduced herself earlier. Now, instead of being lost in her own world, her full attention was on me—an unreadable smirk playing on her lips.
"Don't worry, we'll tell you all of it," Cean cut in — and honestly, I was thankful.
"Anyway, Ravi. You wanted to see the school gym, right?" Helena asked, sipping her juice. My eyes lit up and I nodded eagerly.
"You seem really excited," Gwen said, her tone oddly sharp, and she kept smirking at me.
"Duh, Gwen. It's his cousin's territory—of course he wants to see Elijah play," Nicole answered for me.
Still, the way Gwen was staring at me felt... off. Like she was reading me.
She's not going to be easy to fool. I'll have to be careful.
After lunch and a bit more chit-chat, we finally headed toward the school gym.
My heart pounded with nervousness and a bit of excitement. I couldn't wait to see Lhiam up close. I was used to watching him through my phone screen—now I'd see him in person again.
God, I missed him so much. I felt like I could die from the excitement.
But then I remembered seeing him yesterday at the restaurant—with someone I didn't recognize. I quickly shook off the thought and focused on the present.
We were just a few steps away from the gym when we started hearing loud chants and screaming from inside.
Once we entered, I was stunned. The gym was packed, mostly with girls. There were some guys, but the crowd was overwhelmingly female. It looked like a match was going on.
"Shocked?" Sheena chuckled at my expression.
"Don't be. This is normal."
Normal?
"That's how famous they are..." Nicole muttered, then turned to me dramatically.
"Welcome to the stars of Sanford... The Raging Tigers!" she announced, her voice barely audible over the screaming crowd.
I smiled at the team name. I knew it well—I'd seen tons of clips online with Lhiam wearing that jersey.
"Can we find a seat now? I don't want to squeeze through this crowd," Cean complained.
After a few minutes, we found a spot in the upper center bleachers where I could see the court clearly.
I immediately scanned the players, searching for the one person I had longed to see ever since arriving in the Philippines.
But I couldn't find him.
I looked again.
Still no sign.
Frustration bubbled up. I wanted to head down and search for him myself—until a familiar silhouette caught my eye.
It was Elijah.
I frowned, watching him from afar. He was chatting with his teammates, dripping with sweat, his tanned skin glowing under the lights. His jersey clung to him, soaked through, and he absentmindedly lifted it to wipe his face, prompting the crowd to erupt.
Everyone was staring—except me.
I wasn't like these girls drooling over him.
I didn't care about his six-pack abs.
Or how good he looked glistening in sweat.
I didn't fucking care.
But then he looked toward our direction, clearly startled by the noise. His eyes locked with mine.
I froze.
I wanted to look away—but I couldn't.
And then, the moment he realized I was staring, that damned smug grin crept onto his face.
Fuck.
I hated that look.
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. And I had no idea why.
I wasn't ogling him. I was just... looking. That's it.
And then—he winked at me.
He fucking winked.
A roar of screams followed, and Nicole nearly passed out beside me.
I clenched my fists.
I swear, I fucking hate him.