Ghost in the Roses

“Adrien! At last, you’re back!” Nina gleams with happiness.

“Hi, Nina. I got back yesterday,” I smile back.

“I really need your help,” she takes hold of my arm.

“What’s wrong?” I realize that she’s more relieved that I’m back than she’s happy.

“It’s Kai,” her tone drops.

“Did something happen between you two?” the insecurity on her face worries me.

“Well, no...and yes. Ever since we’ve been back from our visit to meet my parents he’s been acting really strange.”

“What do you mean?” I’m shocked to hear this. He’s always been so tied around her finger and anything different seems just too impossible to happen.

“He’s been growing distant. He’s so quiet, so distracted lately. Sometimes it feels like he’s trying to hide something from me.”

“What?“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

“Do you think that...well, maybe,” she’s tip-toeing, but I can tell what torturous thoughts are haunting her? “Do you think that there’s someone else? Maybe he’s trying to figure out how to break up with me?”

“Let me talk to him,” I place my hands on her shoulders and stop this whirlpool around her head from getting stronger.

"Thank you," she holds on to hope.

Fucking Kai! How can you be such a jerk to someone like Nina!

We do take many classes together, but it’s hardly the time to confront him. It’s not until the end of the day that am I allowed to catch up with him. So I set up my trap in one of the hallways where he likes to take the long way back to the dorms. This interrogation has his name written all over it.

“Kai,” I stand in his way and look down at him. With my arms crossed, my index finger taps against the sleeve of my shirt.

“Adrien,” he raises an eyebrow, completely clueless.

“I don’t have the time to beat around the bush. I have a thesis to edit, so I’m going to get right to the point.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Why are you being a jerk to Nina?”

“What do you mean?”

“You want to play stupid with me, now? I love you Kai, but Nina is my friend too. Don’t think that all those years of our friendship are of any advantage to you.”

“How am I being a jerk to Nina?”

This is getting nowhere.

“Okay, I don't want to do this, but like I said I have a thesis to get to tonight,” the many folders fall out of his hands as I take him into a chokehold.

“Adrien, quit fucking around!” He laughs, trying to break free.

“Not until you tell me why you’re avoiding Nina,” next, I give him a wet willy.

“Agh! Gross!” he shivers, trying to brush it off.

“Nina says, you’ve been really distant from her since you met her parents,” going into extremes I’m about to lick his cheek.

“Alright! Alright! I was going to tell you later on, but I didn’t realize that this decision will turn me into such a dick.”

I don’t let up and wait for him to spill the beans.

“I’ve been distant because I’ve been shopping for a ring for her.”

Wow, hold up a minute! What? There's only one reason I'm aware of why someone would secretly buy a ring for their love interest.

I let go, “You mean?”

“Yeah, that ring. An engagement ring,” Kai rubs his neck, both from the physical discomfort and the embarrassment I caused.

“I wouldn’t even let her come into my room anymore because I'm afraid that she might discover it. There aren’t a lot of hiding options in the dorm rooms, you know.”

The biggest smile spreads across my face. I take a hold of him again, but this time to give the hardest pats on his back.

“Congratulations!”

“Adrien, she hasn’t given me an answer. I haven’t even asked her yet,” he laughs at my premature celebration.

“Still, this is great.”

“Other than that I’m making Nina feel bad. I wonder if you can do me a favor to help me and her both?”

“Whatever you need. Do you want me to coordinate a swan dance for your proposal? Drop down with a parachute and perform the ceremony myself?”

“No,” he laughs. “Can you safe keep the ring for me?”

“Of course,” how can I not?

“It will take a lot of pressure off me,” out of his book bag, he pulls a little black box.

“I’ll guard this with my life,” happily, I accept this honorable task.