Chapter 35

"How did this happen?" "Rhia..." "No, wait. Let me think first." "But—" "Mr. Protagonist, please be quiet." Seeing Rhianne acting like she is thinking of something important, Keith can't help but let out a sigh. After finishing all the games for today's Sports Day, the students who participated in different games were assembled in the hall. The teachers together with the school director announced the winners on different sports they played earlier. Just like what she was expecting, their class won the trophy for men's basketball. With her Mr. Protagonist's skill, getting the first place is not a question anymore. As for Mr. Villain's team, they got second place in men's volleyball. It is also a great achievement for the sophomores. Rhianne heard that Andrew lead their team until the very end. But unfortunately, the juniors have four players who were also a part of the school's varsity. But it was still a good game. After announcing all the winners for today's games, they announced the special awards next. Rhianne got excited for her Mr. Protagonist. After they announce the name of her Mr. Protagonist, he will definitely build more self-confidence and more people will recognize him. Deep inside, Rhianne feels like a mother hen readying her baby chick to grow up strong and independent. According to the rules, the students will vote for the person who they think deserves to win the title of this year's most handsome player in their school. Rhianne thought it was a ridiculous name at first. Maybe the author got lazy and decided not to make any more extravagant name for this award. Nevertheless, it is still the award that will help her Mr. Protagonist in the future. After two hours of counting the votes, their teacher finally announced the winner. Rhianne was ready to jump in joy the moment she heard the name of her Mr. Protagonist. But this plan never happened. It was because the director announced a different name on stage. It was Andrew Gartin who won the award. The director showed them the tally board to avoid any questions about their announcement. They were a total of nine people listed on the board. Andrew got a total score of 54 points. When Rhianne searched for Keith's name, she saw that he only got one point. That one point was definitely her vote. Rhianne wrote his full name on a small piece of paper and dropped it on the ballot box earlier. But Rhianne cannot understand what happened this time. Rhianne clearly read in the book that Keith Lancester won that award. She cannot forget it because the author clearly emphasized the details of it especially the reaction of the crowd. The weirdest part of it, Rhianne cannot remember that Andrew won this award nor he was also nominated and voted by the students. What happened to the original flow of the story? After the assembly of the students, they were given three hours of free time before the dance party starts. As the students slowly disperse in the assembly hall, Rhianne takes this chance to ask their classmates why they did not vote for Keith. The answer she got from them is quite shocking. "Because Keith already has you." "Huh? What did you mean by that?" "Well, you see. The other girls prefer to vote for a guy who is single. But because he already has you, we did not want to create any discord between you two so we decided to vote another guy." "No! This is all a misunderstanding!" "Rhianne, it was okay. We all mean it. We are not that bad to steal someone's boyfriend. And besides, it was obvious that Keith is not interested in other girls in our school aside from you." "Wait—" "Do not worry too much, Rhianne. We will surely support you and Keith." Rhianne was left dumbfounded after that. It was a misunderstanding! They do not have that kind of relationship. They are only friends and Rhianne is acting like his mother hen! "Rhianne, I'm sorry." Keith said as he pulls Rhianne's sleeve to get her attention. "Huh?" Why is he apologizing to her? "I'm sorry for not winning that award." "Please, do not apologize." Rhianne stopped him. "If there is someone who needs to apologize, that should be me." "...Huh?" Now it was Keith's turn to be confused. "Because of me, you failed to get that award. I swear it was unintentional. But still, I will not be mad if you blame me. In fact, I can definitely understand if you will hate me or—" "H-Hold on a second!" Keith frantically stopped her from talking. "What are you talking about? Why should I blame you?" "Because I am the reason why the students did not vote for you." Rhianne explained. "They all thought that Mr. Protagonist has a crush on me or something. But they clearly misunderstand it!" "..." "...They said that I have a crush on you?" "All of them! Even our classmates are saying that!" "So what did you say about it?" "Of course I denied it! It is impossible to happen anyway!" "..." Seeing how confident Rhianne is right now, Keith instantly becomes lost. She really believes that he will never have any feelings towards her. The worst part of it was their classmates were already aware of his hidden feelings towards her, but the girl he likes is too dense and completely denied it. The longer he thinks about this situation, the more frustrated he feels for this girl who is standing in front of him. Is she really that dense or she is just playing dumb? Rhianne is a smart and sensible girl. But when it comes to the matters of feelings, she will suddenly become stupid and naive. 'Keith, remember that you are facing Rhianne. You already know that she is the densest person you had ever met.' "Anyways, I am really sorry. That award was supposed to be yours." "Tell me, Rhia. I am really curious why are you so obsessed with me to get that award. What are you trying to do this time?" Knowing this girl, Keith knows that Rhianne is definitely thinking something ridiculous again. "Well, you see..." Rhianne paused for a while and wriggled her fingers. After thinking that maybe it was safe to tell him the truth, Rhianne continued. "If you received that award, then you will surely gain more self-confidence." "...Huh?" It takes a few seconds before Keith can process what she had said to him. "Mr. Protagonist, I do not want your efforts to be wasted. You already stopped using your contact lens and changed your hairstyle, you are not acting more awkward unlike before and you are now slowly voicing out your opinions. In short, you are now gaining confidence for yourself. I thought that if you received that award, Mr. Protagonist will earn more self-confidence and more people will surely appreciate you." "..." "My Mr. Protagonist deserves more! He should be more appreciated because not only he is handsome, but he is also talented, sporty, and smart. He can even solve the most complicated math equation in our textbook! Most importantly, Mr. Protagonist's eyes are the most attractive eyes I have ever seen and it is also his best physical asset. That's why my Mr. Protagonist should be more confident with himself!" Even when Rhianne was reading the book before, she already admired the qualities of this male lead. Though he was a little different when he was still a child, the male lead still succeeded in his life. Though his childhood life is not that hard just like the others, it does not mean that he has no right to be hurt. Each and every one of us is facing our own problems and fear so we have no right to judge and compare them to other people's situations or problems. And because she is now related to this male lead, Rhianne wanted to help him to overcome his childhood fears and become a successful man in the future. Just like the usual flow of the story, the male lead should become happy in the future. "Rhianne, you..." "Me?" "You... Pfft..." Keith really tried to stop himself from laughing. But in the end, he let out a hearty laugh. His breath came in quick gasps between his unstoppable giggles. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill over. Even when he attempted to stop, he would only take a deep breath before laughing again. "Stop it!" caterwauled Rhianne. "This is not a laughing matter!" "S-Sorry..." He takes another deep breath before biting his lips. But the moment his eyes met with Rhianne's eyes, Keith let out another laugh. This time, it seems like he is having a hard time breathing but still continues on laughing. Rhianne has no choice but to wait for him to stop. She stares at Keith with narrowed eyes and crossed her arms on her chest. After a few more minutes, Keith finally stops laughing. He takes a few deep breaths and wipes the tears on his eyes. "It's been a while since I laugh like this." Keith said as he tries to fix his hair. "Tch. Once a Lancester, always a Lancaster." Rhianne remembered that Dr. Calvin laughed at her before just like how Keith laughed at her just now. These siblings are hateful. Even their lines are the same! On the other hand, Keith is really in a good mood. He feels really refreshed after letting out a happy laugh. "Rhia, you are really adorable. You are such a naive girl sometimes." "Hey!" Is he complimenting her or insulting her? "Rhianne." "What?" "I do not need an award just to gain confidence in myself. Also, I realized that you are right before, Rhianne. As long as the people I care about believes in me, the opinions of other people do not matter to me." "But that award should belong to you!" "The one vote I received on the poll is yours, right?" Rhianne nods her head. "Then I do not need a lot of votes or that award anymore. Your support and confidence in me are more than enough. The opinions and comments about me will never hurt me again." Keith said as he put his hand on her head. 'But your opinion matters to me more, Rhia.'