After the whole embarrassing fiasco and a demand for explanation from Euphino when he brought back ice cream, several hours passed and Arma was sitting on a random beach chair, watching his friends play and frolic in a distance. The time was as he had expected, a little before evening. Even though they were planning to swim and splash in the afternoon, Phoenix, Euphino, Titania and surprisingly, even Zatch catapult themselves on the crystal clear ocean before them. Not too far away from them, Stabs was helping Zessica build a sandcastle and Arma couldn’t help but smile every time Zessica lit up when she learnt something new, considering she never built one before.

Arma would have joined in too, if it weren’t for that fact that his legs ached and his back sore all over. Today would be the first day he ever walked and covered such vast distance. He watched as Phoenix playfully splashed some water at Euphino’s way, who in return swum under her and pulled her down. Arma knew it was a bit cruel of him but he sort of expected Phoenix to come up gasping for air and fry Euphino to bits but instead, she playfully pushed him away. Arma observed Zatch’s response only to find he had his Cheshire cat smirk permanently etched on his face. In a way, Zatch and Zessica were similar. They seldom show their true feelings. They had inhibitions.

After a while later, Arma saw Zatch slowly making himself ashore, walking up slowly to the tall lad as he showed disgust when sand stuck on his wet feet like glue. The brunette watched and laughed out loudly as he tried to brush it away with his hands only to get more sand particles fasten its grip on his fingertips instead. Seemingly giving up, Zatch plopped right next to Arma, pulled off his glasses and gently wiped the lenses with the hem of his wet sleeveless shirt. It was amazing that those spectacles didn’t even fall or slip from the bridge of his nose from the entire ruckus he was having along with the others in the sea.

“So what happened to the ring?” Zatch asked nonchalantly as he proceeded to wipe the second lenses of his glasses, bringing up the embarrassing topic as if it was the sanest subject to even mull over about. Arma groan and cocked his head back, gazing at the dark blue sky where several stars were already twinkling about. He was unable to suppress the flush of colour from reaching his face and didn’t even bother trying once it was too late.

“She didn’t take it. It was too big for her anyway.” On cue, Zatch stated howling in laughter, hugging himself as Arma turned and stared at him with a perplexed face. Had Zatch finally lost his mind? No, he wasn’t exactly sane since Arma first met him anyway, this isn’t new.

“You make it sound like you want to marry her or something.” Zatch continued to laugh uproariously, making Arma to grow even redder in the face. The tall lad had already lost all rational thought as he was caught up in the heat of the moment. He didn’t even know what he blurted out before he could stop his mouth from saying so.

“Well at least my feelings for her are true just as you love Phoenix!” Instead of crickets, frogs started croaking in a distance, covering up the heavy and awkward silence that was held between the two friends. Arma froze while Zatch blinked, his smile frozen, unable to respond to the sudden straightforwardness of the socially impaired brunette. This wasn’t like Arma at all. He was more of the kind to beat around the bush before getting straight to the point. Had Zessica rubbed off on him or something?

Back to the present, Arma was sure that Zatch was going to brush it off with a good natured wave but to his surprise, he saw the guy in glasses drop his spectacles rigidly. A faint trace of a dusty blush was visible on his face before he looked away and gazed down. The raven haired lad kneaded his forehead roughly, as if rubbing off a headache that throbbed furiously but he did it in such a way that Arma couldn’t see his eyes.

“Jeez, what is with you two? Fine, I like Phoenix. Happy? I never expected to live to see the day you actually use the word ‘love’. It’s such a big word for you and to hear it in person is like getting an apple from on an orange tree. You changed...why? Why do you like that pipsqueak anyway? Why continue to like her when she is so different from you?”

Zatch fired away suddenly, his hand preoccupied in something else as he opened a window. Arma wanted to respond but the full magnitude of the question hit him like a sack of rocks suddenly being plummeted on him from above. For one thing, when did he start liking her in the first place? Was it on the day he saw her smile for the first time? No, that was the day he realised he liked her. However, does that count the day he started liking her? Was it the time he spent on the orphanage? That couldn’t be right. He couldn’t even remember it till now. Poppy was the trigger of those memories. So when did he like her and why?

As Zatch opened the news, something he often did to collect more information about the on goings of Blessed Combat, he was slightly overwhelmed to find he had missed out quite a bit. The informant skimmed through the text, finding not much of importance in any of the fancy headlines and titles. Sometimes, having the life of an informant can be quite boring too, if there isn’t much suspense and tension going on. When there was no drama and suspense, there was no excitement and no thrill, hence no fun. That was the part he liked about being an informant, there was so many things happening out there and so many things he wanted to see and gather. Of course he wouldn’t miss out in any of those special events.

As Zatch scanned the half of the contents thoroughly, Arma finally answered. The guy in glasses almost jumped when the brunette finally spoke. For one thing, he had expected him to drop the subject and stare lifelessly at the events occurring right before them.

“I don’t really know myself. I just like her.”

Zatch discerned Arma’s expression closely. He looked happy, calm even. Back in the day before Zessica entered his life, Zatch had constantly seen Arma look deranged and restless. As if he couldn’t be at peace or stop fighting with the inner turmoil he was going through. It was back on Earth all over again. Zatch didn’t know how to comfort Phoenix through her agony and could only distract her by venting her frustration on himself. When Arma started going down to the dumps, Zatch could only try to motivate him and annoy him as well. Now however, Zatch can say that Arma had truly changed for the better. Even Phoenix was able to control her temper most of the time, although Zatch still gets a beating from her. Somehow, this made Zatch grumble a bit.

“I am a bit jealous. All of you can admit your feelings so easily and all of you can cheer someone up better than I can. The only thing I can do is to irritate you guys as a form of distraction...” Zatch muttered out miserably, his tone of voice low but loud enough for Arma to catch on. The tall lad’s eyes widened broadly, surprised that Zatch could ever say such things. For the first time in Arma’s life time, the brunette saw the demoralized Zatch, making it really difficult to digest that it was truly happening. He wasn’t the type of person to strike as one to go deep. After all, he was merely being the fool in their gang. Always goofing around, always having a sinister smile on his face. There was never a day when Zatch would look...depressed. Thinking about it now, Arma can understand why he never revealed it to anyone. Nobody would believe it; even Arma had a hard time believing that Zatch of all people would get jealous. 

“Zatch I-

“Hey look. Your friend, the Time Keeper is on the news.” Zatch cut off smoothly, indicating that the conversation they were having now was over and there wouldn’t be a next time they would ever bring it up again. Arma stared at Zatch’s canny smirk as he pointed to the slim window before him. Sighing, and hoping that this wouldn’t change anything between them, Arma leaned and took a glimpse at the gist of the news.

In a battle of speed, twenty one year old mechanic Xenocide and seventeen year old Caterpillar had to go neck and neck in a race course where they put their speed to the test. However, just as Caterpillar seemingly took the lead by taking a speed boost, the Time Keeper strayed off the path and started coughing out blood. Almost immediately after, his sister Sophie pulled him out of the race and alerted the medics. By the time they reached the hospital, Caterpillar had already lost conscious. Doctors imply that he would recover within two weeks time but would only be discharged once they fuse a handicap stone somewhere in his body. Yes, whoever is reading this right now; we are sorry to inform you that we have gained yet another, Child of Misfortune. 

Updated 5 hours ago.

Arma’s eyes widened in surprised as his jaw went ajar. He didn’t know how else to respond. A part of him wanted to get in contact with Caterpillar, even Sophie would do fine if he was still unconscious. The other part of him wanted to hunt down whoever wrote this news and pulverise him on the spot. That person had made it sound like getting a handicap stone is like receiving a curse. He also successfully made it feel like that this Child of Misfortune business was contagious. Arma knew that Caterpillar had no choice, just as Zessica. His health was affected by his Major and Minor and he did admit he had asthma, which added more to his plate on what he can’t handle. Why couldn’t people understand that Child of Misfortune was simply just a rumour? That the handicap stone is just that, a stone that acts like a handicap? This is someone’s life on the line here for crying out loud!

 “He really got himself in a tight spot there. He should have listened to Sophie to take his inhaler or he wouldn’t have ended up in the hospital.” A voice commented out in a laid back fashion. Arma tensed even further, suddenly aware that he had been clutching his hands to a fist. He stared at Zatch who was staring him back. He too, was frozen on the spot. They both safely assume that none of them was the one who uttered out a word and slowly, in synchronisation, both boys turned to find who the third party was.

“But at least he is okay right? I was worried he finally bit the dust or something” The teenager mused out loud in relief. Arma took in the yellow hoodie with the Pikachu face on the hood and how it covered most of their interrupter’s face at a snail’s pace. He was standing behind them, leaning in between the two as he seemingly skimmed through the news. There was an easy going smile underneath the shadow of his hood, making the other two feel more uncomfortable by the minute. Before Arma could leap several feet away from him and scream in terror and before Zatch could politely ask him what business he had with them, Oliver placed a hand on each of their shoulders and a some sort of portal materialised behind Oliver.

It took the form of a whirlpool, forcibly yanking them in since the strength of the portal was beyond what both of them could go up against. Before they knew it, all three of them were jerked in, hauling from one place to another before they were hurled out at the other end of the portal, landing not so gently at wherever they were at. It was Zatch who recovered first from the fall, albeit after a few minutes of basic breathing and wincing at the bruises that were sure to form by the next day.

“Arma, do you always end up here when that guy summons you?” Zatch asked warily, examining their surroundings. He can verify with certainty that they were no longer at the beach. Instead, they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. The sea and sand were replaced with debris and ruined building. It was as if they stepped straight into a massacre of a war. The sky was at a fade shade of scarlet. There were no sign of life; even the trees were coal black with no leaves in them. Bats soared through the sky instead of colourful birds. It was indeed very gloomy. Arma shook his head in response, a bit appalled to find in what kind of scenery they were in.

“No this is the first time I was here. Most of the time he picks out random places but all of them was more...brighter than this.” Arma droned lightly, standing up while cringing lightly and absorbing each and every detail of the environment they were transported into. Halfway when he turned, he saw Oliver, his hands fished in his jeans pocket, his face once again concealed by the hood.

“And you must be Oliver.” Zatch noted out loud, gaining both of the other two’s attention. On cue, Oliver grinned under the shadow and lightly skipped over them merrily despite how gloomy and heavy the atmosphere was. He then stopped short facing them and took a small curt bow before standing up again.

“I see Sawyer filled you in about me, William” At the first second, Zatch’s eyes widened briefly before returning to his calm composed self, already accepting the fact that this particular person knew of his actual identity. Arma on the other hand, was instantly stuttering that he swore that he never told this random maniac Zatch’s real name in his life, going as far as to claim he will gouge his eyes out if he were to lie.  

“How the heck do you know our real names anyway?!” Arma cried out loud, once Zatch told him that was not necessary, arms flailing about and being totally winded up at the whole thing. Of course he was happy to know that Oliver was still alive despite being shot by the Zessica’s gun Ophelia used and from no contact for like a week, but to even know Zatch’s real name? Was he some sort of stalker or something?

“Well, being at the core of the AI has its perk. Anyway! The reason I physically brought you to here was I needed to give you another lead, since William here has once again hit a dead end. In case you are wondering, I can’t be physically in the Wind Crest, I don’t have that kind of time and I can’t summon Sawyer’s consciousness any time I want. If I did that he will pass out in Wind Crest and those around him will create panic”

The two guys grew silent, waiting patiently for what Oliver had to say. Usually Arma would have questioned what he meant by he didn’t have that sort of time but from past experience, the tall lad knew their meetings was always short and brief. It’s almost like he is trying to hide from someone and secretly revealing him new discoveries without that particular person knowing. Arma also wanted to ask him just what exactly Oliver was but he kept his mouth shut, in case it would waste any short amount of time they have at the moment.  

“First off, your theory of Zessica still having her memories after the Taboo is true. She only lost it the time she disappeared in the hospital.” Oliver stated calmly as Arma instinctively turned to Zatch. Both his eyebrows were raised expectingly at boy in glasses who merely shrugged in an offhand manner. After all, this was complete news to him. How much had Zatch been updated so far?  

“I won’t tell you what happened but I can tell you someone who can give you some sort of lead, and that person is none other than Dr. Tear.” Oliver spoke in a mocking tone, his arms behind his back as he casually skipped over another piece of debris. Arma almost groaned, wondering why Oliver was revealing so many secrets yet at the same time, keep most for himself. Why couldn’t he tell them all at once? Even if they had short amount of time?

“Tear? You mean the nurse in our school infirmary?” Zatch questioned warily as Oliver nodded in reply. Before Oliver could give a further detailed explanation, Arma beat him to it, already knowing why the Pikachu hoodie wearing guy mentioned the nurse.

“Tear is a well respected doctor in the only hospital of Wind Crest. She knows Zessica’s condition better than anyone. There is a high chance that she was with Zessica in that hospital after the Taboo” Oliver nodded again, smiling at Arma who caught on quite faster than his usual slow processing brain this time.

“Another important detail, I believe you should thoroughly search Ophelia’s background. Right now you two must hold a belief that she is incredibly strong and quite heartless, however, I think there is more than what the eye sees.”

“Are you saying that Ophelia is actually a nice person?” Arma asked, disbelief evident in his voice. Arma observed Oliver closely, waiting for him to come out and say he was joking so he could kick Oliver mercilessly. Even if he weren’t joking, Arma would have beaten him senseless too.

“She tortured Zessica, beaten Sophie to a pulp and looked down on her too. She looks down on everyone!”

“I know, I know, she did a lot of bad things that even I can’t forgive her for but I need you to understand this. There is a reason why she is doing that. It’s not in her control. Look, maybe if I show you this video you would understand.” Oliver opposed as politely and calmly as he could. With a wave of his hand, a window popped out of nowhere. At first, the screen was black and a loading icon was displayed in the middle, indicating that it was buffering slowly. After a while, it started playing where both guys could see Ophelia taking long strides away from the camera that was following her back.

“Ms. Ophelia! Please wait. Can you tell us your thoughts on your duel today? What is the secret of your success? What is the key behind your strength and what makes you the strongest player in Wind Crest?” A female voice, giving the impression of a reporter asked. As the reporter fired away the questions, Ophelia continued to briskly walk away, as if trying to avoid them at all cost. It was then, however, she stopped short at the last question. The girl turned around unhurriedly and Arma would have sworn he had never seen an angrier girl than Ophelia right now. Her eyes were filled with so much fury; it almost looked like it wanted to kill the reporter for her blood.

“Strongest player in Wind Crest?! Ha! Strongest player my foot! I am the weakest person in the world! How dare you stab me where it already hurts the most!” Ophelia spat harshly before turning her attention towards the camera. Arma almost recoiled back in terror when she punched right at the screen, causing the screen go back to black again.  He didn’t know what to think of the video. It didn’t justify all the wrong doings she did in the past, but it certainly almost made him look at her in a different light. What would make her say something like that?

Knowing that he was completely clueless in making theories, Arma turned to Zatch who was frowning. He had one finger under his chin, his eyes narrowed into slits as he engulfed himself deep within his thoughts. It didn’t take him long when he spoke a moment later.

“I don’t know what to think of it yet. It’s as Oliver has stated. There might be more than what the eye sees. You can call it as another lead to somewhere.” Zatch finally concluded. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, something that Arma had long known that it meant that Zatch was finally getting his head back in the game. This must have been the break he was looking for. Oliver chuckled lightly and then flaunted his white pearls at them as he started skipping back like a kid.

“Last but not least! A little bit about me! I am sure you been constantly wondering what in the world I am. Since I am in the core of the AI, I can hear you always talking about me. Why, you make me look like a celebrity!” Oliver chortled while he spun once before stopping to gain his balance.

“Well, you did interfere in a duel, in front of thousands of people who were watching. What initiated you to take such drastic action?” Zatch hummed curiously, eyeing the flamboyant teenager carefully. Oliver immobilized briefly before flicking both his hands out while shrugging his shoulders.

“Why I can’t just watch and see my favourite people die. I love both of them so I had to stop her from murdering both of them.” For some reason, this made a chill go through Arma’s spine.

“That sounds so wrong.” Arma muttered.

“For once, I agree with you there.” Zatch mumbled back. Oliver simply beamed at them, despite how the hood really restricted both of them from seeing his face.

“That is as much as I am going to reveal why I interfered. Now, back to about myself. I am not an NPC. I am not an NPC with AI either. I am not the AI walking on Wind Crest, oh no that’s impossible for me. I am not exactly human either, and I wasn’t part of the core of the AI before too.” Both the teenage boys felt blood draining from their faces as Oliver continued to prattle on.

“To make it easier, I used to be human. I was a player like the rest of you. That was, until I died.”

The moment Oliver revealed that he died was the moment everything stood still. Arma stared at him for a second, hoping that he would crack up and claim that he was kidding but none of that came. Oliver was still smiling, making it all the more difficult for Arma to believe that he could be so laid back talking about his own death. It couldn’t be true right? The AI makes sure no one dies in a battle. The system had always pulled players out of the game once it feels as if the player could not endure any further damages. The only death that occurred in the virtual world was due to undiscovered diseases and old age. Even Zatch was trying hard to keep his cool, slowly adapting to the situation. Before he could question Oliver, the anonymous person took a hop back.

“That’s it for now. Bye bye~!” Oliver cooed as he waved his right hand playfully. With military precision, the ruined scenery started blending together to one colour, swirling around; causing the ground below the two to swallow them whole. Zatch panicked instantly, not at all used to the different realm and Arma would have been the calmer one but this was his first time being physically present in the realm too. Both of them were falling to something pitch black dark, like an abyss, yet at the same time, it felt like they were gliding through water. It was such a strange feeling.

“You really are a troublesome person Arma...” A voice, the very faint voice that Arma had heard in his dreams. It was still muffled, but clearer to distinguish it was one of that as a female’s. Arma slowly glanced up, seeing a corona of light over a silhouette figure. For some reason, Arma’s eyesight were blurry, making him struggle to identify the silhouette figure. He couldn’t even feel his body as it slowly grew numb with each passing second. It almost felt like, he was drowning. He wanted to reach out to the figure, trying to ask that person to help but couldn’t. He didn’t need to, the figure gracefully swam up to him instead, its slim arm stretched out. Arma couldn’t feel the arm but he knew he was slowly being pulled up.

“How many times have I told you to stay away from the darkness? That is not where you belong. You belong in the light because that is your destiny. Don’t make her take the burden of carrying the dark as she already is right now...” The voice said in an almost hypnotic and mesmerising tone. It was gentle and calm, enough to lull a baby to sleep. The tall lad could already feel his eyelids growing heavier. In any normal day, he would have lost his nerve and tried to fight against his sleep but for some reason, being with this silhouette figure, Arma could feel is at peace. It was as if he could trust this person to take away the darkness from him, like this person was his guardian, his hero.  

Hero...now where had he thought of that before? Arma felt something click in his mind, something that indicated that this was not the first time he had heard this person’s voice. He had heard it before, just way earlier. When was it? When had he encountered this person before?

“You should go...do not worry about me. I will be always here for you and for her. You have my blessings...”The voice spoke, once again lulling him to sleep. This time, Arma didn’t fight against the drowsiness that enveloped his whole entire body as he let his eyelids cover his eyes completely and let all tension in his body to relax. The figure was still with him, he could feel it’s presence around him, as if giving him a hug. It was holding him in its arm, like a mother protecting her child. Without warning, he felt something pecking on the middle of his forehead for that thing’s warmth lingered on it, tingling his skin delicately.

“Keep her safe...” And with that, the sensation of being paralysed in water and the warmth of the strange figure slowly faded away. His back felt sore and from the way his position was in, Arma can safely assume that he was leaning on a wall or something in a sitting position. A small headache settled in his forehead as muffled voices rung in his air. This gave him enough proof that he was back in the virtual world, away from Oliver’s own world. Arma was about to slowly wake up at his own pace when someone deliberately shook him feverishly, making him grunt.

“Oh my God! Arma! Please wake up! Please!” The voice cried out, very much unlike the one he had heard earlier. This one was more octaves, filled with panic. Arma reluctantly cracked open one eye, then another as he took in the sight of a very alarmed Titania, crouching before him and shaking him by the shoulders as if the world depended her on it. The tall lad instantly beck pedalled away from the infamous idol, not going so far as his head collided straight into a wall, causing him to growl loudly in pain.

“Thank God! You came! You finally came!” Titania hollered out in relief, taking two long strides and crashing straight into the confused lad’s arms. Arma instantly felt his heart race as the girl wrapped her arms around the tall lad’s neck while she sobbed silently on his chest. She was quivering very badly, as if she just escaped after encountering a ghost. Arma on the other hand, felt as if he lost all rational thoughts. Why was the infamous idol hugging him and crying as if he came back from the dead? Still mystified, Arma looked around only to find that he was in some sort of kitchen. It was a lot like the one he uses at home but this one was larger. There was a window right before him and from the position Arma was in, he could see that the sky was now pitch black, signifying him that it was late at night.

“What...happened?” The tall lad asked, dazed with how much time had passed since Oliver transported him and Zatch. Speaking of Zatch, where was he? Why wasn’t he with him right now? Was he teleported to somewhere else? Was he somewhere really far from where they were at? Arma hoped not, but he was still a tad bit worried. Plus, why did it felt like he had been gone for hours when he spent time with Oliver for like several minutes? Was this what Oliver meant by not having that kind of time? Was this the reason why their encounters were so brief? Thousands of questions were spinning in his mind and Arma knew his head would blow if he thought any further.

“Well, Euphino noticed that there was this stranger that appeared out of nowhere and he grabbed both you and Zatch. After he did that...you just disappeared. We been searching for you for hours and we gave up when it was ten P.M. Mr. Poppy already called the search team and he told all of us to take a rest. I couldn’t sleep so I went to the kitchen, trying to find something to eat because I was in so much worry! Then I found you here, unconscious. I thought for the worse and immediately checked whether you were alive. Thank God you were! I don’t know what I would do if I haven’t found you! All of us were worried sick!”

It took Titania a while to fill in the details due to the constant sobbing and sniffles coming out from her. Arma, trying to be as patient as possible patted her back in a caring fashion, easing her terror and panic slowly and listened to each and every word. Once he knew what had happened the time he was gone, Arma gently pulled Titania back and lightly brushed off the tears that stained her glowing cheeks. Titania only cried harder, burying her head to his chest while Arma felt all the more guilty by the second. Making a girl cry was really not his thing, he wasn’t raised that way, even when his parents didn’t spare enough time for him back in his days on Earth. No matter how many times Arma saw Phoenix cry when they were kids; he would always try to be as loving as possible.

“It’s okay shh...It’s alright...everything is going to be fine. I am sorry...really...I didn’t want this to happen. Things got...out of hand...that’s all...” Arma weakly attempted to lighten the mood. After a few more comforting pat in the back, and a few more kind words uttered, Titania finally calmed down. She pushed herself away from him, wiping her tears smoothly before smiling somewhat sadly at Arma. Arma smiled back, trying to be as happy as possible.

“You really are kind Arma, unlike all the rumours that say you aren’t. I bet any girl would wish you take interest in them.” Titania nattered lightly, beaming up in relief at the brunette. Arma didn’t know why but this only made Arma to scoff politely and chuckle. Titania puckered her bottom lip out as her eyes widened in curiosity. Arma choked as he saw this, clearing his throat awkwardly before explaining what the source of his laughter was.

“It’s what you said; about any girl would wish that I would take interest in them. I don’t think that’s possible.” Arma articulated politely. It was true. He knew that Zessica was a sharp girl and a very observant one at that. She can read people’s mind just by looking at their expression. Surely, she would have figured out his silent feelings towards her by now and the fact that she didn’t bring that topic up was almost like an indirect rejection. Plus, she doesn’t strike a kind of person to want a relationship like that, considering allies as brothers and sisters instead. No matter which angle he looked at it, it was a miserable unrequited and one-sided love.

“What if I said there is one girl, who wished that you would take interest in her?” All of a sudden, Titania’s voice suddenly seemed serious and deep. Arma blinked, slowly absorbing each word at tortoise pace. Her mocha brown eyes that used to glisten brightly under the sun was now dulled out in the form of...desire? Yearn? Like it was longing for something. Out of nowhere, Arma felt his heart sprint again, pulsing strongly that it resonated in him, and he felt something...drawing him in towards Titania. It was like a spell, pulling him closer towards the girl. A part of him was screaming, yelling him to push Titania away but the other half was also itching to find out what would happen if they close their distance further. What in the world was going on in him?

Titania leaned forward and Arma could feel something magnetic making him lean closer to Titania too. They were just a breathe away, their noses almost touching together. Arma was still looking at Titania’s eyes while she did the same with his grey ones. Reasons unbeknownst to him, he could feel her eyes smiling coyly at him as his heart sprinted even faster. Just as he was about to fully lock their distances together; he noticed the colour of Titania’s eyes shift lightly. It wasn’t mocha brown anymore; it was the colour of dead leaves.

Click!

The foreign barely audible voice seemed to break the hypnotic spell Arma was going through as he felt the silent between them shatter into millions of pieces. It was strange, it even felt that way. Arma quickly jumped back as Titania did the same. She gave a small shriek while Arma looked up to find who had caught them in their secret guilty moment.

“Ah, sorry I was interrupting something wasn’t I? I was even hoping that I would walk away unnoticed but this refrigerator created the noise. Just pretend I was never here, I just came to get some yoghurt because Phoenix happened to wake me up by giving Zatch the worst ear box of his life. Or is it the best? Hmm...” Arma froze when he caught sight of Zessica, in her sleeping attire, staring expressionlessly at them who were still huddled up together. Just the sight of the girl was enough to make the nerves in his brain to scream in horror. She indeed had a cup of yoghurt and a tiny spoon with occupying her small hands but there was a menacing aura lingering around her. Arma knew that Zessica was clearly ticked off about something, but failed to show it in her expressions.

“How...how long have you been there?!” Titania shrilled, not as impressively as Phoenix can do who can make the sharpest ears go deaf. Arma watched Zessica’s gaze again, only to feel a pang of guilt that her face was absolute and her guards were up and about again.

“A few seconds ago, when you were about to...I don’t know?” It was as if she was like that time when she believed that Arma didn’t trust her again and that he hated her. Even with the guard up, Arma could only guess that she was feeling betrayed. If not, he felt betrayed by himself. Didn’t he say that he liked Zessica and all that he had for Titania was admiration?

“I...Um!” Arma started, wildly trying to come up any excuse for the actions Zessica had witnessed firsthand. The odds were clearly not in his favour. Why did he do that?  Was he really mesmerised with Titania more than Zessica? Did he not like her as much as he thought?

“Like I said, pretend I was never here. Carry on.” Zessica curtly replied as she turned around and left with a wave of a hand. As usual, she didn’t stop to add anything further and disappeared through the door. Arma felt his heart tore into two as guilt washed over him and dragged him down. He needed to talk to her, assure her that it was not what she thought it was. He needed to stop her and lift her in his arms and hug her to prove that his heart and soul was eternally bound to her and her only.

...Wow, that sounded like a marriage proposal didn’t it? Arma won’t deny he sounded like one of those lame cliché guys in romance novels but this was not the time to procrastinate! The brunette abruptly got up and was about to make a dash for it and catch her by the wrist to pull her back when something stopped him. Arma turned warily to found the obstruction was Titania, her hands gripping at the hem of his shirt tightly. She was glancing down with her chest nut hair cocooning most of her body; she was in some sort of denial.

“Why her? Why does your life have to be centered around her? What can she give to you? Both of you are so different! Like from two different worlds!..Why not me?” Titania asked, her voice getting angrier and weaker at the same time, just barely breaking at the last sentence. It was almost as if she was confessing to him and was finally going to last resort mode. Arma gulped awkwardly, sweat trickling down like bullets. What should he say to a girl who he was sure he had no sparks towards to? Speaking of which, didn’t Zatch ask him the same question earlier today?

“...You are right Titania...both of us are different. We really are from two different worlds...” The grip on the hem of his shirt tightened only further.

“Then...why...”Titania trailed off when Arma gently pulled her hands away but squeezed them fondly. He crouched down so he was at eye level at Titania. Titania stared at the tall lad quizzically, her cheeks stained by tears again. Arma smiled sadly as he lightly brushed them away, answering the question that riddled Titania for a long time.

“It’s because we are from different worlds that I like her...she is different...That doesn’t mean you are not special too but since she is different...I don’t understand her and since I don’t understand her...I desperately run after her.” With that, Arma let her hands go, turned and dashed out of the door after muttering a quick apology to the infamous idol, who had awoken a new level of wrath and envy to the girl who continued to meddle with her plans.

Author's note: So here it is! Another cliffy it seems. i tried to stop it but it made the chapter too long. Anyway, check out @-Nightmare. She is new like me and I would really appreciate if you give her a chance and read her books =D Oh and dont forget to vote!