My Bubblegum King - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

"Submit," the lecturer said, pressing a buzzer that I don't know where she got it from and then the guy that was the teacher's aide got up and we started lining up, submitting to him.
I walked out as soon as I submitted, feeling pretty good about what I got in. It was my first University test and prior to what I had thought it'll be like, it was simple. Totally not worth the sleepless night I sacrificed reading. Walking out I saw the familiar tall figure leaning against the wall, beanie in place and earring glinting. Damn, those jeans made his legs look really long and good and I don't think I've seen anyone here who nailed a neck woolen scarf so well. I was still standing where I was looking him over when he looked up and our eyes met. His lips twitched in an almost there smile and I nodded at him and walked over.
"Hey Stranger," I greeted, walking up to him.
"Hey freshman," he greeted back, holding out two cups of coffee. "Coffee?"
I smiled and took one cups out of his hands, "you're a freshman too."
He shrugged, "I'm trying to keep up with the nicknames here."
I nodded understandingly and took a sip. The coffee was warm and just right, I sighed in content. "Thank you and are you stalking me now?"
"No," he drank out his cup too. "I had a class there and I saw you going in for your test remember? We finished early and I decided to get coffee and I figured why not get one for you too. You looked like you'd need it."
I smiled, "aw, Diego is being sweet."
"I am a sweet guy, how didn't you know that?"
I scoffed, "and there goes sweetness."
He chuckled, "that isn't narcissism. I'm just saying a fact."
"Uh huh," I started walking and he followed. "But like, thanks for the coffee though. I really needed it, I read all night for something that's a piece of cake."
"Happens to the best of us and no knowledge is wasted."
"Yeah but good sleep is."
"I here you," he pushed the doors open and I walked out first. "So, you're going back to the dorms now to sleep?"
"Nope," I stopped in my tracks, frowning a bit. "I'm actually kinda confused about where to go now. Or maybe conflicted fits in more."
"You have a class?"
"Not for the rest of today."
"Okay..." He drawled. "Wanna grab lunch together?"
I looked at him, thinking about it. "You know what? Yeah, let's grab lunch maybe food would help my thoughts process."
"Great," he clapped.
Diego and I walked around campus until we arrived at the EatOut and then we got a large bowl of fries to share together and drinks and chicken feet for him.
"I love chicken feet," Diego explained when I asked why that choice. "Especially when it's all spicy and saucy."
"I don't get," I started saying. "Why choose Chicken Feet when there's Chicken Drumsticks and it literally has more meat?"
Diego shrugged, "I just like it and what it lacks in flesh, it make up for in texture and chicken-ly flavour."
I just stared at him, then sighed deciding not to judge or question his taste in food, "good for you then."
He chuckled, "you want to say something else, don't you?"
"Nope, I don't have anything to say and don't want to. It's your food and your likes."
"Okay."
"Speaking of likes and dislikes," I started, chewing on a fry. "Is it me or do you really like beanies? Because for someone with such amazing hair, you sure do wear beanies a lot."
"Yeah, it might be weird but my ears and head are always the first to get really cold and I like them warm."
I smiled, "that's not weird." I put out my fingers, wiggling them in front of me. "My fingers and toes are always the first to get really cold."
Diego reached out and touched my fingers with his, then he held them looking at it like he was trying to figure out my ring size. "That's probably because they are so small."
"Probably," I conceded, shrugging and looking at his fingers on mine. He had big long fingers and they were really warm compared to mine. We stayed quiet as he traced my fingers, it felt good and I wanted to see where he was going with it so I did nothing except watch. And then he reached my promise ring and he stalled on it before retreating. I looked up to meet his now a bit darkened green eyes, hoping that my look was questioning enough.
He gave me a barely there smile, "cute."
"What?" I entwined my fingers together, feeling a bit strange. "My fingers or the ring?"
"Your fingers."
"Tch," I shook my head at him. "Hater."
"I- I am not even going to say anything to that."
"Good for you," he then raised a chicken feet to me. "Wants some? It's really good."
"I've eaten before, I'm just saying I won't buy it with my money when I can buy the actual chicken itself."
"Whatever," he pushed the plate to me. "At least you didn't buy this with your money."
"Fair enough."
"So is the food helping for conflict now?" He asked after we ate silently for minutes. "You were confused about something."
I almost had butterflies at the fact that he remembered. "Oh that. I'm thinking of dancing."
"Dancing?"
I nodded, "crazy right? Me, Paxton Flynn, dancing? Pfft, what was I thinking, right?"
"Please, elaborate 'dancing'."
"So I met this girl who I danced with at that first college party and she invited me to come dance at the studio with her, it's crazy," I summarized.
"Oh," he stroked. "Well, it's not crazy, last I saw you, you had some sick moves."
"Argh," I groaned, hitting my head on the table. "Not you too. I need someone to discourage me from this."
"Why?"
"Because," I stressed, then sighed. "I don't want to fail Nancy or myself. Or invest in something I'd regret because I do invest in things deep."
"Nancy's the girl who's asking?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, well why do you think you'd fail Nancy?"
I shrugged, "she has this high hopes in me. You should have seen the way she talked with her friends, I know she didn't mean but she accidentally put so much pressure on me. I don't even know what I did that night to amaze her and I don't want to go to the dance thing and fuck up and all that high hopes and praise would be replaced by cringe and embarrassment."
"Okay... And why do you think you'd fail yourself?"
I sighed again, hitting my head down on the table. "Because what I'm good at, I'm good at it really well. I don't want to get way in over my head and fail."
"Paxty," Diego started. "I don't think it's that seriousness win and fail situation. I mean, it's not like she's inviting you for a competition. She had fun the other night with you and just wants to have it again. You shouldn't see it as a win or fail, just having fun and indirectly or directly blowing someone's mind which you would do whether you dance superb or not."
I turned my head so I could peek at him with one eye, "you really think that?"
He nodded, assurance and clarity in his eyes. "Yeah and you don't have to invest so much into it, even if you do it's nothing wrong. It could be one of your hobbies."
I raised my head from the table, "I don't have hobbies. Except if reading counts."
"Not one?" Diego asked, brows raised.
I shook my head, "no."
He chuckled, "then you should definitely go check out this dancing thing. Isn't college about figuring one's self and doing crazy things?"
"That and getting great grades to become something in life."
Diego smiled, "yeah, grades aside, invest in you."
Invest in me?
"And you're a pretty great person," Diego continued. "I know that and you know that but like, is this all the great you can be? That's what's this fucked up institution is here to help you realize. We're so much more than we give ourselves credit for. And if dancing turns out to not be your thing and the Nancy girl is disappointed or acting anyhow bitchy, you are consoled with the fact that you might never get to see her again. I mean what are the chances that you run into each other every day? And you can just cut your hair and change your name to Paxty, she'd never know."
I laughed at that. "Wow, who knew Diego Royal could be so wise?"
He saluted, "at your service, freshman."
"And thanks, that really helps. Sorry, I kinda overthink things too much, it's my one flaw."
"I don't see a flaw," Diego gently said and our eyes met and I don't know if he could see anything in mine but I could see little flecks of gold in his green eyes. Green eyes are really beautiful by the looks of it and I could see some emotions in them even if I couldn't read it.
My heart flipped and I looked away with a smile, clearing my throat. "Chicken feet aren't that bad."
"Yeah," he answered and when I risked looking back at him. His eyes were down on the ketchup plate and he was releasing his bottom lip from between his teeth. I swallowed, does he really like ketchup that much? Biting of one's lip kinda shows... My phone vibrated with a text but it was from the bank, I applied for a card and apparently I was about getting it.
I sighed once I was done reading the text, "So, since it was so absurd that I had no hobby, tell me. What is the great Diego Royal's hobby?"
He shook his head in what looked like amusement, "um, I've got quite a bunch. I've shuffled through many while on this, journey to find myself. Trying to figure out who I am."
"Okay..."
"Um, I play basketball, was more serious about it when in highschool. I love getting tattoos and at one point giving them, but I stopped a while ago. I wrote, little poems and short stories, still kinda do whenever my brain is choked up and confused or overwhelmed. I dabbled with music for a while. I love walking animals, or just walking in general, does wanders to your mind and body and... I collect pets." He finished and his face was almost as red as the ketchup at the side or at least the chicken feet sauce.
My mouth just hanged open. I'm not sure I even heard any of that well, I was replaying it all and my jaw was slacking lower with every information that sank in.
Diego chuckled awkwardly and shyly, if that can even be called a chuckle. "oh come on, say something."
"I- I don't even know where to start from," I confessed.
"Then don't start," he offered, choosing the easy way out. "I told you, you don't have to reply."
"Basketball, not so unbelievable," I launched on, ignoring him completely and unable to help myself. "Tattooing?" I gasped out loud for effect. "Writing and music? Who the fuck are you?" Now I paused for effect, "and did you say, you collect pets?"
He scrunched his face up a bit, "that's what people call it but I personally don't use the word collect. I just happen to have lot's of pet."
"How many?"
"Back home, they use to be much, a jungle kinda but now I've got just five."
Just five... This guy is kidding me.
"What and what exactly?"
"Of course I have a fish, then I have a hamster, I have a cat but she currently resides at Go because of bullshit house policy. I have another hamster, 'cause my first one got lonely and I have a salamander, very rare beautiful one."
I laughed, yes I had no other way to express myself except through laughter. Diego just stared blankly at me until I realized that he wasn't joking. "Oh my God, no way."
"It's that unbelievable?" He asked with a neutral face that didn't seem annoyed.
"Yes," I nearly screamed. "For a guy as... rugged as you, someone who supposedly has tattoos, it is that unbelievable."
He shrugged, "it's more than meets the eye, I guess."
"This must actually Meet my eyes," I said. "Like I gotta see this for myself."
He nodded, "good, whenever you're ready I'd introduce you doubtful Paxty."
"You're not joking?"
"I am not."
"Then you've been a busy guy, all those hobbies. I'm actually super impressed right now."
He sighed with a smug smile, "and I just keep blowing your mind."
I rolled my eyes, "okay, then about the finding yourself thing, you've done that?"
The way he looked at me, it made me shy like the answer to the question was on my face. He slowly shook his head, not moving his eyes one bit. "Still on that."