I do not like what I am seeing.
This was the first thought that came into Zen's brain when he saw this man get this near his Cara.
His Cara?
She wasn't hers, why is he claiming ownership? More so, why is this guy being so touchy and close to her. He observed how Cara was gripping his spare clothes and how her hands badly shook. She was having one of her attacks and he thinks that this boy caused it.
He took a step forward and managed to make a scary stance to intimidate the man. Luckily, the man's eyes didn't look challenging at all, he was pissed, he could notice that, but other than that, the man was intimidated. He was tall, well built, but Zen knew his looks exceeded the man's.
Why was he being insecure over this puny little thing? He has Cara, he makes Cara smile. This bastard makes her scared to death. And he wanted to know why, but somehow deep in his heart, he knew he didn't want what he will hear if ever he will hear something from her. She was shaking and he knew she'll collapse soon if he didn't save her. He still had to come back for work and practice since the performance for the play is coming soon. But he needed to get her away from this man because he can see how much strain she is in. She was close to being hysterical. He could sense her anxiety coming in on her.
He walked slowly to where the two people were, never taking his eyes off of the man who made her look like she was gonna be eaten alive. The way her eyes widened like saucers when she realized he was standing there all along made him angrier. He didn't want her to be this afraid. He didn't even know to whom she was afraid of. The man tried to be brave as much as he could but when he stopped just a few feet away from him, he felt the man shift and feel uncomfortable through his movements.
"I want you to leave." Zen silently said. This was a warning, they both knew. If the man retaliated from the order, he knew he will lose control.
"I think I'll stay here." the man puffed out his chest even as his eyes darted from right to left. Zen chuckled and ducked his head as he slowly shook it. He was finding it hard to gain control of his temper. He didn't want to hurt a man in front of Cara, especially when she was this afraid of things.
"I am the stage engineer for your show, so you must respect me and let me have the perfect time to talk to my girlfriend."
Zen's head suddenly snapped up and at the same time Cara's face whipped to face the man's face. Her eyes suddenly filled with loathing. The next thing Zen knew was that the man grabbed Cara's arm and she yelped in pain.
He lost it. He saw nothing but red.
He punched the man squarely in the jaw.
As her demon fell to the floor from the impact of Zen's fist on his jaw, Cara covered her mouth as she muffled a scream. She worried Zen might get into trouble by hurting the stage engineer. She rushed on to Zen and placed her palms on his chest as she tried to push as much as she could as she pleaded for him. She clutched his shirt when she couldn't feel him stopping. He was mad. She could feel him shaking. At this moment, she felt so afraid for Zen. She felt so afraid and somehow... she also felt humbled.
Somebody was fighting for her.
"Zen! Zen, please! Stop it! He's not worth it!" she pleaded. But Zen just held her hand and tried to take it off from his chest.
"Cara, let go of me." he quietly said. His voice made her shudder. She was scared. He was so mad. She was at fault. This was all her fault.
She pulled at his arm when he walked past her. She threw his clothes on the ground and pulled him as strongly as she could so that she could whip him around.
"He's... Not... Worth... it!" She said. But she gasped when she felt his hands clamped around her arms and he shook her.
"But you are!" he growled. Her mouth opened to say something but the look in his eyes made her speechless. His eyes were full of anger and worry and something that made her heart want to leap out of her chest.
"You can't just let me stand by as he insults you! Look at you! You were like a little bunny cowering from a prey! You can't expect me to stand by when he makes you look this miserable. You can't let me!" Zen slowly shook her.
They continued to look at each other for a while until Cara's mind was screaming with alarm and something else she didn't know. As if her body was acting on its own, her arms slowly rose to touch the sides of his face.
Zen's angry face slowly diminished to a confused state and his eyes, blazing just minutes ago, were now confused. She slowly pulled his face to hers as she placed her forehead to his. She closed her eyes as she lightly shook her head.
She slowly shushed his protests as she opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Look at me. Look at only me." she silently said. Her demon now forgotten, he stared at how Cara calmly tried her best to calm this man down.
"I am okay. You are with me, and I am okay. So please. I know you were fighting for me, but please. I don't want you to get intro trouble. Please." She whispered as she saw Zen's eyes calm down and his hands touched her wrists as he slowly tightened her grip on his face.
"I'm okay now. You're already here. I am okay." she whispered. Zen's stance started to relax and she sighed in gratitude.
"You're okay?" he whispered back. She quietly nodded.
It took them a simple cough from the perpetrator for them to snap out of their reverie and Zen got pissed.
She felt his arms snake around her and he faced her demon once again.
"I do not give a damn whoever you are, but if I ever see you make her this afraid again, I will end you."
Her demon scoffed and smirked, he wiped the blood on the side of his mouth and he stood up.
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise."
Cara held her breath as she waited for another outburst but her demon simply looked at her and said, "You must be so special to him, eh?" He chuckled. She could feel Zen's arms tighten their hold on her. She placed her right hand at his back and slowly did claming strokes as if to tell him she was alright.
"See you 'till next time then." he murmurred and he left. Cara had to wait for a while until his back was out of her sight before she closed her eyes and let go of the rbeath she had been holding. She slowly let go of Zen but her had other plans.
He turned her around and he held her as tight as he could. He examined her from head to toe, asking her if she was okay.
"Zen, please. I am okay." She smiled. But she knew Zen isn't convinced. He palced his hands on the side of her face and he said, "Go home now. I want you to rest. You've been doing a lot." He said.
Cara was feeling a bit tired so she nodded. She took his hands off of her face as she searched where she threw his spare clothes, hoping they weren't crumpled. She saw them on the corner behind them and she picked them up.
She went back towards Zen and handed it to him.
"You've been sweating all day. I was hoping I could give it to you but I met somebody... and I'm sorry." She closed her eyes as she shook her head but she jumped when she felt Zen's hand cover her own as he took the clothes.
"Go home and rest." He smiled as he pulled her for a kiss on the forehead.
"Promise me you'll text me when you get home, okay? I have my keys with me so lock up." he added. Cara nodded and watched as Zen walked away.
Zen silently opened the door of his apartment since it was already 12 midnight when he got back from his rehearsals. He was tired, but he was more worried that he hurt Cara's feelings by letting her go home. His colleagues were so pissed at him because somehow, his manager managed to become close to them in a span of days and they were mad that she had to leave without even saying goodbye.
As he entered the apartment, it was already dark and he could hear the silent hum of the thermostat inside his room. Cara must be sleeping because he can't see any lamp or even the main light in his room open. He badly needed a bath and he was hungry. He made his way to the kitchen as he took off his coat and left his things on the couch and he saw that there was something covered in the dining table. He raised the cover up to see a plate of curry covered in cling wrap and a message saying,
"Dig in! Eat before you take a bath and rest. :) - Carabelly!"
He found himself smiling. He was starving so he ate and he washed the dishes right after. He slowly tiptoed inside the room and slowly opened the lights. He flinched when he felt a rustle of blanket as if Cara shifted her position when the lights opened. He looked to where she slept and smiled when he noticed she was still asleep. He grabbed some fresh clothes and grabbed his towel that was hung beside hers behind the door.
He welcomed the comforting warmth of the shower as it came in contact to his skin. His body was a little bit sore from dancing too much, but he was just counting days before the performance itself and he was thankful for it. He will get a break after the performance. He brushed his hair off of his face as he tilted his head up and let the water on his face. He remembered the confrontation he had with the man who made Cara feel so unstable. He remembered the man smugly say that he was her boyfriend.
Boyfriend, huh. However, the way Cara's head snapped to what the man said made him rethink everything. They had a particular past that this man cannot seem to let go. he was itching to shake the truth out of Cara but he has no right to do so. He was nobody but her friend and her housemate.
He wanted to be somebody so much more to her.
He wanted to be the one to hold her tight every night. He wanted to be the one to kiss her every single day. he wanted to kiss her good morning, good afternoon, and good night. He wanted to be the one who made her sigh with different emotions. He wanted to be the one who made her laugh, the one who makes her vexed over small things, the one to make every goddamn thing better.
He wanted to be her everything as much as she was already is to him.
His eyes opened to the sudden realization when he finally realized...
He had fallen ridiculously in love with her.