13th June 2019

RENEE

"Don't you need your watch?" Noah asked, leaning his head lazily against the tree, and giving me a cute little smirk.

In reply, I pulled the watch out of my pocket and handed it over to him. Noah looked highly amused but didn't say anything. Instead, he gently pulled my wrist and fastened the watch onto it, not noticing the blush that had crept onto my cheeks.

There. It was the simple things like this that made me wonder if we were just friends.

"Nice watch," Noah said, his eyes lifting to meet mine.

"Thanks, Noah," I said, avoiding his gaze. There was a tight moment of silence, and before it got awkward, I spoke again.
"I'm still waiting for the story, you know."

Noah grinned and leaned forward eagerly as if he were going to tell me a highly interesting bedtime story.

"Once upon a time, Lightsaber and Evil guy used to be best friends." His voice rose and fell, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Do you mean Lord Augustus and Sir Johannes?"

"Yeah, it's those dorks alright." Noah rolled his eyes. "Then Evil guy a.k.a Johannes discovered the way to reach the White Realm. Naturally, the Evil guy told Lightsaber about his discovery."

"I'm guessing that didn't end well," I said, and Noah nodded.

"Lightsaber sneakily used Evil guy's methods to reach the White Realm, without giving Evil guy any credit for it. And when Evil guy confronted him, he wiped his memories." Noah said in a grim voice, now adding hand gestures to his story.

"He wiped Sir Johannes's memories?" I asked, stunned. "That's so unnecessary!"

"Not all of them, just the ones where he betrayed Johannes. And then, he put him in prison, for various fake crimes that he'd never committed," Noah added, much to my horror.

"Oh my god," I muttered softly. "Now I get why you hate Lord Augustus."

"Well, the public doesn't know this story, because Lord Augustus founded the ISA and rewrote history. He claimed himself to be the ultimate Spirit Guide, selflessly showing everyone the way to the White Realm." Noah recited clearly, but there's carefully weaved malice in it too.

"If this story was hidden from the public, then how do you know it?" I asked him.

Noah grew quiet and stared into the distance, his calm blue eyes now filled with anger. It was the same look he had the other day when I'd asked him about Lord Augustus. A look that changed him into a different, more serious person.

"Let's just say that history repeats itself, and I witnessed it the second time," Noah hinted, but he looked so troubled that I didn't say anything.

"Okay," I whispered. His raven hair fell over his eyes, and he didn't even bother to push it away like he usually did, some unusually long strands even meeting his high cheekbones. He was not smiling, but frowning, pressing his lips together as if he were trying to suppress his emotions.

I would hug him, trying to ease whatever he was feeling. But Shay's ghostly green eyes haunted me, and I sat there, feeling useless and hating myself for it.

It was a while before he talked again.

"So Johannes sought revenge. He went on to discover rarest types of magic and energies, and used it to escape prison." Noah said, trying to get back to his upbeat voice, which still sounded gravelly.

"Woah... That's weirdly inspiring." I replied, trying to look enthusiastic.

"And not just that, he used it to create chaos in the Earthly Realm. You know, to keep adding more trouble to dear old Augustus's plate." Noah forced out a laugh.

"Now I get why Shay liked him!" I laughed. "He seems like a fun guy."

"Woah, hold your horses... Because Johannes is called Evil guy for a reason," Noah gave me a mysterious smile.

"And what's the reason?" I asked.

"He wanted to take over the Earthly Realm and be the Head of it. Much like Lord Augustus is for the Spirit Realm." He explained.

"There's a head of the Earthly Realm?" I asked, shocked.

"No, there isn't. That's why Johannes wanted to create a new position and liberate himself. And his crimes have been atrocious, more than what innocent old ISA could imagine," Noah explained darkly.

"Like what?" I asked.

"He has his own cult of people set out on brainwashing humans until he gains enough power to overthrow the ISA. At least, that's what Isaac said." He shrugged casually.

"Noah, that's... I don't even know what to say," I replied, stunned.

"It's a highly messed up world, Renee." He said silently. "I would give anything to be a human worrying about climate change and world peace and human rights."

My mind flashed back to the first time I'd met Noah and all his fake praises about the Spirit Realm. How his words had felt forced even back then, his voice bland.

"You'll be leading a simple, calm and peaceful life of meditation and self-discovery. It's extremely satisfying." I repeated his words in his monotone voice, and Noah broke into peals of laughter.

"Yeah, that's the shit I'm forced to corrupt human minds with." He grinned. "I can't scare newbies about the Spirit Realm now, can I?"

"Well, a heads up would be nice," I replied.

"Yeah right, I'll tell you that the Spirit Realm is a hell hole exactly when you're crying about your death." Noah smiled cockily. "Makes sense."

I playfully shoved him away, but I knew he was right. There was no point in scaring someone about the Spirit Realm even before they'd set a foot in. It was not like they had a way out of their fate anyway.

"That's why I was so happy that you were going back to your body, you know," Noah admitted softly.

"You were lucky enough to live as a human again, a chance that no one ever gets."

*****

19th June 2019

"Clover, no," I sighed tiredly, massaging my temple, and closing my math textbook. "For the last time, Shay isn't lying."

We were sitting in the school library, trying to study for our final exams next week, but Clover had just made it into another Tarot session, like always.

"Renee, this is the devil's card, next to the lovers. Someone is seriously sabotaging your relationship with Noah," she pointed at the cards. "And I know it's Shay."

I propped my chin up on my elbow, trying to make sense of what she said. "What if I'm the devil in their relationship?" I asked. "That's a possibility too."

Clover looked stunned like she hadn't seen that coming. Grimacing slightly, she pulled out more cards for confirmation.

"No, Shay is the magician, who stands for deception," She shook the card in front of my face as if it would miraculously make me agree with her.

"Alright, alright," I sighed, moving away from her, "Let's just say that Shay is sabotaging my relationship. But why would she do that?"

"Yeah, I'll ask the Spirits why," She retorted, glaring at me for not believing her.

Clover's mouth turned to an 'o' as she stared at the next few cards that have fallen out. "Love," She said. "Her motive is love."

"You mean to say that she's in love with Noah?" I asked her, puzzled.

"Yes, she probably is. Oh my god, this makes so much sense," Clover said, grinning madly. "No wonder she hated you."

"I don't know Cloves..."

"Don't I-don't-know me, Renee," Clover snapped, "Admit it, I'm right. Shay wants Noah for herself, which is why she lied about being his girlfriend."

"Okay fine," I groaned. "You make complete sense."

Clover missed the sarcasm in my voice and returned to her bubbly mode once again. She hummed happily, shuffling more cards, and I wondered when she was going to stop this and go back to studying.

"While you're at it, can you read for Mike?" I said in an almost sweet tone.

"Read what for Mike?" Clover asked sourly, knowing well what my question was.

"If he knows something about the Spirit Realm," I said, and immediately flinch, as Clover got angry again.

"I've already done that," Clover answered, rapidly slapping her cards together in the name of shuffling. "He feels trapped by his career, that's all I was able to figure out."

"Is he being deceptive? Is he hiding something?" I probed.

"I don't need the Tarot for that." Clover tossed her cards and leaned back on her chair. "I know for a fact that he's hiding a lot from me."

"What?!" I asked, stunned.

"He's stressed, Renee! He has so much responsibility, and he's unsure if he could handle it. He feels so out of control like everything was happening so fast, and he's hardly grasping the reins of the situation," Clover said, her eyebrows knitting together in worry.

"Damn... It is really hard to handle that much fame," I remarked.

"It's not just about that, he feels confused about something. Though he's not telling me what it is," She said worriedly.

"Is it about his business?" I asked.

"Maybe," Clover shrugged, and her eyes fell on her worksheet. "Hey, did you give me these math problems?"

"Yeah, about an hour ago," I said tiredly.

Clover started solving them, and I got up, sauntering to the bookshelf to take a break. Tarot sessions with an angry Clover got tiring very quickly and I needed my moment of solitude.

I'd gotten rid of my clutches only yesterday, and it was a relief to walk normally again, without limping about like an old lady. My leg had healed just fine, and the scars on my face were barely visible too. It has been a month since the accident.

Glancing around, I noticed that some people in the library were busy studying, unlike Clover and me. I wasn't too confident for my exams this time either, since I had had a lot going on. First, it had been the accident, then Truffles had died, and now I met Noah every week.

Noah.

Even thinking his name brought a smile to my face, like that golden ray of sunlight on a dreary day. I often found myself wondering what Noah would do if he were with me at the moment, what lame jokes he would crack, how he'd hold my hand and steal glances at me in that secret way I'd imagined.

Right now, I was standing in front of the bookshelf. I imagined Noah next to me, giving me his typical amused grin. Then he'd say something weird that made no sense, and I'd laugh at him like a love-struck fool.

Or he'd look at me with so much intensity, his eyes searching through the depths of my soul, before his lips crashed onto mine, hot and fast, leaving me craving more and more.

I shook my head, trying not to appear as though I was blushing at the plain old bookshelf. Noah was right, I did have a vivid imagination, and right now it was doing me more harm than good.

Especially since Noah was a whole Realm away, and that he belonged to Shay.

Besides, Noah didn't even like me like that. He would never notice me, not when Shay was strutting about, her perfection mocking my every insecurity.

I pulled out a fat textbook, one that contained sample papers of the previous years. Maybe solving this would tell me how good my preparation for the exams was.

And it would also help me take my mind off Noah.

That's when it happened.

The bookshelf I'm currently facing emitted a loud crack, then it dangerously leaned towards me, threatening to squash me to a pulp. I could hear Clover yelling my name, and I quickly scrambled sideways, my feet missing the wooden shelf by a fraction of a second.

And the next moment, the huge bookshelf slammed to the ground with an ear-splitting thud, plunging the serene library into chaos.

*****