The Festival

The day was sunny, and the school festival was in full swing, with young people having fun everywhere. Everyone was enjoying themselves to the fullest, everyone except Ren. He was feeling down, sitting next to Leo and Erika.

"Are you going to be like this all day? You're killing the festival vibe" complained Erika, who was secretly upset about Ren and wanted Aria to be with them.

"Everything is so sad" Ren moaned dramatically.

"Well, let's start with Erika's schedule, or we won't have time to do everything" Leo said, also disappointed that the group wasn't complete.

With no energy left, Ren followed his friends as they walked ahead, when he felt a tap on his back.

"Hey."

He turned and his demeanor completely changed; there stood Aria, with a delicate smile on her face, dressed casually for the event.

"Aria!" He celebrated, hugging her without even considering they were in public. "How did you manage to come?"

"I talked to my mom and worked things out. So, are we going?" She seemed more eager than usual, raising suspicions from Erika, but the boys quickly agreed.

Soon, they were lost in a crowd of young people, both from their school and invited from other places, following Erika's schedule. For the first time, Ren and Aria held hands in public, to the joy of Leo and Erika and the attention of many classmates.

At first, they felt quite exposed, but that feeling soon faded, and they were happy to be together in public.

"So, did you sort things out with your mom?" Erika asked during their first break for food.

Aria's posture changed, but she tried to keep her smile.

"She gets really stressed out before a competition. And that ends up stressing me out too. Normally, she's... a bit better. But it's all right; I wasn't going to miss this festival with you guys."

"Then let's go!" Leo stood up, barely finishing his food "There's still so much to explore here."

They got up, and Aria and Ren held hands again, when a new voice emerged.

"Aria? Is that you? Long time no see. Got yourself a new boyfriend?"

The voice was male, and the tone was somewhat aggressive. They turned to see a group of three guys, all with tough looks.

"Alex?" Aria asked, surprised, looking at the guy in the middle. She ended up squeezing Ren's hand more tightly.

He was taller than Leo, with unruly hair and an attitude to match.

"That's me, sweetheart. Who would've thought I'd find you here of all places?"

He stared at Ren like a predator about to pounce on its prey.

"So, is this your current little boyfriend? " Alex asked in Ren’s direction.

Ren was completely frozen, not wanting to provoke this person, and his mind went to the fact that he had apparently dated Aria in the past.

"And who's this, Aria? " Leo asked, taking a protective stance over the two.

"This is Alex. We dated for like two weeks when we were ten, and he's never quite gotten over it for some reason."

Aria seemed to have no patience for this encounter, but that didn't stop Alex from getting closer.

"There you go, hurting my feelings, kitten. I was head over heels for you. What does this shorty have that I don't?"

He was so close to Ren that he needed to do something about it.

"I don't want to fight" he began softly.

"Fight? Who mentioned fighting? Well, that was your suggestion, not mine. But I guess we could settle this like men." Alex's tone was threatening, and Ren just wanted to run.

"Stop it, Alex. He... " Aria started, but was interrupted by the bully.

"I'm talking to the little guy here. So, what do you say? Behind the school at seven? Let's see if you deserve Aria more than I do."

Ren didn't want to fight, after all, he had no chance, but he didn't like how he was treating Aria and wanted to do something for her.

"We don't need any of this" Leo said, stepping between the two.

"Geez, shorty, is everyone going to speak for you? I see your boyfriend isn't much of a man. Come on, Aria, you'd be way better off with me" Alex responded, also glaring at Leo, not showing any intimidation as his friends laughed behind him.

"We'll meet at seven" Ren blurted out impulsively, receiving a disapproving tug from Aria.

Alex laughed at his response and gave Ren a push with his shoulder as he walked away from the group.

"They won't even recognize you at the hospital, shorty. Maybe after that, you'll wise up and come back to me, Aria. "

The trio of bullies left, leaving the other group giving Ren disapproving looks.

"That guy is going to kill you" Erika commented calmly.

"Why did you do that? " Aria asked, frustrated. "You weren't supposed to give in to Alex. That's the worst thing you could have done. "

"I don't know, it was in the heat of the moment. Why did you date him?" he asked, realizing he wasn't very delicate, and Aria let go of his hand.

"I told you: it was for like two weeks. I was a different person, he was definitely a different person. First my mom, and now this!”

Aria was upset, but Ren didn't completely understand. He wanted to do something for her, to make up for everything she had done for him, to make up for not remembering their past.

Leo put his hand on his friend's shoulder, not very hopefully.

"Well, my friend, I'm going to help you prepare. Who would've thought you'd get into a fight over a girlfriend."

"And the worst part is, we're not even officially dating" Ren verbalized, shocking Aria.

"What?" she asked.

Realizing he was digging himself into a deeper hole, he tried to explain what was going through his mind.

"Well, officially we're not dating yet, right?"

Erika signaled for him to stop, and Leo pulled him away.

"Come on, little guy, I'll teach you how to throw a punch."