With his hands holding her very soft waist, the girl, frozen in surprise, quickly recovered after he greeted her, straightening up quickly and stepping away from him.
"S-sorry! It wasn't intentional! I just tripped and-and..."
With her stumbling over her words, Jonathan watched, still with a faint smile on his face as she fumbled, feeling like he was watching a scared rabbit.
"It's okay, you don't need to worry about it, it's nothing." He interrupted her to stop her from stammering while trying to think of an excuse.
Stopping her stammering, Diana felt a mix of shame, embarrassment, and an intense desire to disappear from there immediately.
She could only rub the back of her neck with an awkward smile. "O-okay, fine."
"Your name is Diana, right?" Crossing his arms, he decided to strike up a casual conversation with her.
'Whaaaat!? Jonathan, the hottest guy in school, is talking to me!? I'm dreaming!?' she screamed internally, her mouth dropping open as she stared at him stupidly.
Seeing her practically freeze again with a strange expression, he waved his hand slightly in front of her face. "Hello? Earth to Diana?"
Snapping out of her momentary trance, her feelings of embarrassment returned even stronger as she instinctively rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly again. "S-sorry, ha-ahahaha."
But while she laughed outwardly, inside she was dying. 'Ahhhhhhhh! Why am I so weird!? Ahhhhhhhhh!...'
Smiling amusedly as he could practically read her mind, Jonathan decided to help her. "Anyway, your name is Diana, right?"
"Uh? Ah, yes, my name is Diana." Lowering her hand, she nodded slightly while trying to smile calmly.
However, keeping that smile and fake calm became difficult, because with every passing second — each seeming ridiculously long — she got more nervous realizing there was no way to continue the conversation.
'Damn it, think, brain! Anything, quick!' Her mind went into hyper-processing as she finally spoke. "There are a lot of people here, huh?" she said with a weak smile, looking around casually.
'You betrayed me, brain!' she screamed almost desperately inside.
Jonathan smiled amusedly, glancing around briefly. "Well, it's a party, it's expected to be lively. But what about you, what do you think?"
"Nice, nice… I mean, it's been nice, you know. Drinking beer, chatting, smoking a… the usual." She said, waving her hands, barely able to look at him.
"You smoke?" Jonathan asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
"No, no, actually… not really… it's not my thing." She waved her hands quickly, shaking her head, only to stare at him at the end without saying anything. 'Sigh, I want to disappear...'
"I see." Jonathan nodded. "You should be careful. Don't drink anything they offer you; the drinks are definitely spiked. Smoking, well… that's up to you." In the end, he gave her a little tap on the shoulder. "See you, catch you in class."
He waved goodbye to her. She did nothing but watch silently, her mind slowly processing the fact that Jonathan had actually had a casual conversation with her.
As the sound penetrated her ears, she finally got her bearings. With a blank look, she walked almost like a zombie toward a nearby wall.
Then, not caring about the two people sitting on a nearby couch, she banged her head against the wall, murmuring faintly.
"Why…"
She banged her head again.
"Why do I have to be so weird? I hate myself…"
Just as she was about to hit it a third time, she heard a familiar voice nearby. "Diana?"
Lifting her head, she found Rani standing near her, looking confused. "What are you doing?" she asked, finding Diana with a dead-inside look. "And why do you have that face?"
A smile appeared on Diana's face, but it looked lifeless. "It's nothing… it's just that I just humiliated myself in front of Jonathan and now I don't feel like staying here anymore. Nothing much, hahaha… ha…"
Diana leaned forward, hitting her forehead against the wall again.
"I'll keep doing this… maybe I'll erase some of the shame or just disappear…"
"You humiliated yourself in front of Jonathan? What did you do?" Roni raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
"He started a conversation with me and I acted like a weirdo the whole time! What the hell! Who says a party is supposed to be calm? Of course it's going to be lively, it's a party, damn it!" She replied, pressing her head against the wall, her tone becoming self-deprecating at the end.
Roni hummed upon hearing her response, blinking slowly. Then she shook her head and sighed. "Is that all? And here I thought your pants had fallen in front of him, stop being dramatic, it's nothing, and so what if you acted weird? He definitely already thinks you're weird… have you even looked at yourself in the mirror?"
Tilting her head slightly, Diana gave her a blank look. "Are you my friend or my enemy? I'm already bad and you come here to humiliate me even more?"
Rani rubbed the back of her neck, realizing how her words might have sounded. "Sorry, that's not what I meant. But you get me. He probably doesn't care about it, really. I'm sure he won't even remember it tomorrow." She finished with a convincing smile, giving two thumbs up.
"You're saying I'm insignificant and completely forgettable, is that it?" Diana continued impassively.
"That's not what I meant!" Rani groaned, but then just huffed and crossed her arms again. "You know what? So what if he thought you were weird, so what? Just talk to him again and try to act more normal."
Diana didn't respond immediately. She stayed silent, seeming to reflect on her words, until she finally straightened up. "You know what? You're right." A focused, confident look appeared on her face. She even raised her clenched fist. "I just have to show him that I'm not as weird as he thinks I am."
Rani rolled her eyes at her. "Alright, whatever. Now come on, let's look for Jeanne."
"Okay." Diana followed her. "By the way, how did your attempt to hit on a guy go? Did you manage it?"
She asked curiously. However, the only answer she got was a sidelong look from Rani. "What do you think?"
"Uh… never mind, forget I asked." Diana shook her head.
Thus, the two walked through the noisy crowd looking for their other friend.
When Jonathan returned to the couch where he had been sitting, he found only Chad alone.
"And Tyrone and the others?" he asked, sitting next to him.
"They're right there." Chad replied, pointing in a direction.
Following his finger, he saw the group dancing with other people near the table where the DJ was playing music. Jonathan's face remained unchanged at the scene; Tyrone was dancing extremely femininely with a girl who, in turn, danced masculinely — but their positions were the traditional ones, with her back against him.
Looking away, he decided to ignore that bizarre sight.
"Tyrone is having a lot of fun." Chad commented, smiling at his friend's excitement.
"And you? Aren't you going to dance too?" Jonathan asked, resting his arm on the couch back, crossing one leg with his shin over the thigh.
"No. I'm fine here." Chad shook his head while lightly patting his thighs.
"Suit yourself."
The two then stayed in silence, just watching the surroundings and waiting for time to pass.
But that casual, relaxed atmosphere didn't last long: the sound of loud, angry shouts became increasingly audible to the people there.
"You bitch! You come to my party at my house and not only have the nerve to actually show up today, but you also try to hook up with someone here?!"
The people dancing or leaning around the corners began to pay attention, trying to see where the voice was coming from.
Soon, through a nearby corridor, a girl appeared walking backward, wearing only pants and a sports bra, holding her t-shirt in her hand.
In front of her, Charles was the one shouting furiously.
"I knew you were a traitor, but to think you'd go this far, you're really filthy!" Charles shouted, pointing furiously at his ex-girlfriend. "Get out of my house now and take that bastard with you!"
At that moment, the two finally reached the open space serving as an improvised dance floor, and the people around made way as Charles stopped and pointed toward the exit.
A messy-looking boy, holding a shirt protectively against his chest as if it were a girl, passed behind him toward the girl.
"You really think highly of yourself, don't you, Charles?" said the ex-girlfriend, finally putting on her shirt, frowning. "There you are, pointing your finger at me like you're the victim, acting as if you weren't the one who cheated on me first!"
Her words provoked a reaction from the crowd, who watched eagerly like a bunch of gossiping neighborhood aunties.
"And why do you even care so much about this?" she continued. "Didn't you start dating me precisely because you wanted attention? Wanted validation for hooking up with the ace of the basketball team, the hottest and most beautiful player on the team, wasn't that what you said?" As she spoke, she spread her arms dramatically.
Without showing any reaction and looking completely unfazed, Charles crossed his arms while keeping a silent, frowning gaze fixed on her. "Get out of my house now," his voice remaining calm as he spoke.
But his lack of reaction only caused an even stronger reaction from her.
"You! You're just a prostitute seeking validation! You think anyone would like you if it weren't for that pretty little face and that thing between your legs? Rest assured, nobody likes you with that trashy personality!"
Her words sparked even more reactions from the people around.
Among the crowd that had already formed a circle, Chad, Tyrone, and Jonathan watched together.
"This is some hot gossip, my goodness!" Tyrone commented, his eyes practically sparkling with the unfolding scene, though definitely, he probably shouldn't have been so excited about someone else's misfortune.
Next to him, Megan shook her head, entertained by her boyfriend's excitement, while Chad seemed awkward, and Jonathan, arms crossed, commented calmly. "You really enjoy seeing other people's misery, don't you?"
"Well, what can I do?" Tyrone shrugged. "Life ends up being really boring without a little drama." He went back to watching, like an old lady catching the latest episode of her favorite soap opera.
Back to the duo at the center of attention, Charles finally showed a reaction—he furrowed his brow and clenched his fist almost imperceptibly, but not much more than that. He uncrossed his arms and pointed again toward the exit. "Get out now or I'll call the police!" His effeminate voice sounded harsh.
"Really, you're going to call the police just because you can't admit I'm telling the truth, huh?" the ex-girlfriend scoffed. "Instead, you run, like you always have. But don't worry, I'm leaving."
Saying this, she turned, ready to leave with the guy who had been silently following her, already dressed. As she took a few steps, she spotted Jonathan, which made her stop. Her expression then changed, a mischievous smile appearing on her face as she turned.
"You know what?" she said calmly. "Instead of accepting being with you, I should have gone after Jonathan instead."
Hearing that, Charles' face twisted violently, his brow furrowing further, his gaze turning irritated. "Shut up and leave now!"
Meanwhile, Jonathan, whose name had been mentioned out of nowhere, raised an eyebrow, watching silently and already understanding the girl's purpose in bringing him up—she wanted to see Charlie lose control.
Chad assumed a more apprehensive look, and Tyrone lost his smile, furrowing his brow, but the girl kept smiling.
"Why are you so angry anyway? Is it because you're better than everyone, but Jonathan is better than you in your eyes, isn't he?" she said. "He surpasses you in everything: looks, grades, even physical ability. Who knows, maybe he's better than you in bed too~"
The crowd reacted again with shouts, and Charles, clenching his teeth even harder, replied furiously.
"Shut the fuck up and leave! Don't mention that whore's name to me!"
Ignoring Charles, she turned to Jonathan, pointing at him. "Hey, Charlie just called you a slut! Aren't you going to say anything?"
With all eyes on them, Jonathan maintained his composure and responded calmly:
"Clearly, you're using me just to provoke Charlie. So no, I have no intention of getting involved in this. Do and say whatever you want."
She, however, didn't seem convinced. She raised an eyebrow and smiled even more.
"Really? That doesn't affect you? What if I told you that most of the rumors about you being an easy guy were because of Charles? He's the one who spread them!"
With more shouts from the surrounding crowd, Jonathan shrugged. "I already knew that, and I don't care what others think. It doesn't affect me at all."
She furrowed her brow, assessing Jonathan, who truly didn't seem to care. "Maybe you don't care because you really are a whore."
"Whether I am or not has nothing to do with you. It's not like you ever had a chance with me anyway."
The shouts and jeers sounded around them as she clenched her fist, looking around before finally focusing on Jonathan again. "You really aren't much better than Charles, are you?"
"And whether I am or not, again, what does that have to do with you?" Jonathan replied calmly, almost with a tired look.
But as with Charles, Jonathan's lack of reaction only resulted in an even stronger reaction from the girl.
"You really think you're better than him? You think just having a pretty face and that thing between your legs makes you special? It doesn't! It's worthless! Even if I slept with you, your tiny thing wouldn't make a difference. No girl would dare get involved with you with that thin, used thing you have!"
As more people shouted this time, Jonathan remained unperturbed. Chad slightly furrowed his brow, and Tyrone stepped forward with a serious look. "Watch your words. You don't need to harass him. You're already being an idiot; no need to stoop lower."
In Jonathan's old world, saying a guy had a small penis was just a mockery, but here it was different. Although it could still be used as mockery, the context made it much more sensitive—practically a provocation that could have real consequences.
There was no way to compare because nothing remotely like this existed in his old world; after all, mocking a woman's chest or vagina wouldn't have the same impact on her ego and mind.
However, since here men were the desired sex, making this kind of mockery was considered very heavy and intimate.
It was literally considered harassment against men.
Jonathan, however, showed no reaction whatsoever. "Whether I'm an easy guy or not, again, what difference does it make to you?" he said calmly.
He then shrugged casually. "Say whatever you want about Charles, but don't forget that the hand you point at him has three fingers pointing back at you. You're no different from him to me; you're just a validation-seeking slut, nothing more."
The girl gritted her teeth, looking genuinely irritated.
Seeing her reaction, Jonathan raised an eyebrow and smiled amusedly. "What's the matter? Feeling offended? Don't tell me you're going to cry?"
That seemed to be the last straw. Abruptly, she lunged quickly toward him.
Some sharp gasps came from the crowd, while others exclaimed in equal surprise. But Jonathan instinctively stepped forward, ready to meet her with a kick.
But before he could, someone came quickly from the side and kicked her in the chest, sending her to the ground.
The one responsible for the kick, Elizabeth, stood protectively in front of Jonathan:
"Have you lost your mind? Wanting to attack a man?" she said coldly, staring at the girl on the ground.
The girl slowly got up, looking pained, her hand on her chest, helped by three other girls, giving Elizabeth a nasty look.
"So what? Do you want to get hit too?"
"Who's going to get hit? You think you can fight Jonathan with me here?" Elizabeth replied, staring at her calmly.
"And who's going to stop me? You? Alone?" The girl smirked mockingly as the body language of the three girls near her shifted, implying they would help her.
But just as Elizabeth furrowed her brow, she saw out of the corner of her eye two people approaching her—from one side, it was Brenda, and surprisingly, Melissa from the other.
Exchanging a silent glance with Melissa, Elizabeth turned her gaze back to the quartet in front of her. "Well, it seems I'm no longer alone." A slight mocking smile appeared on her face.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Tyrone exclaimed, excitedly hitting Jonathan's arm. "This is exactly like those scenes from romance movies! Aren't you excited?" He looked at Jonathan with a big, excited grin.
But what he found was Jonathan casting a sidelong glance, his lips slightly downturned, the expression in his eyes empty with a faint trace of disgust.
If someone from his old world were here, they would say it was exactly like the Homelander meme.