Quantum Potente

12. What is the matter?

Music Recommendation: WTF by HUGEL and Amber Van Dey

Rian leaned against the tree, rewinding some of the precious memories in his head. Though his face was stoic, his inner thoughts were raw and tormenting. He closed his eyes and relished the solitude which was hard to find. An image of a fourteen-year-old girl with her jet-black hair tied in a ponytail crawled into his mind, she looked at him with pure innocence and delight. She extended her hand in his direction, asking him to take it.

Rian fisted his hand so hard that the veins of his hand threatened to pop out. Something vulnerable swirled around his eyes before vanishing like it was never there. He was again the same cold and unapproachable Rian Peterson; without any weaknesses.

It was the first day of his last year in the university, after which he would graduate and leave the place. But that wouldn't be his end in the university, since he had the full liberty of visiting the place whenever he desired for obvious connections. His grades were never an issue for him as he was naturally smart and didn't require hours to spend on his studies. That provided him immense time to wander around the campus or hang out with Mark.

'Speaking of the devil and here comes he', thought Rian while looking at the approaching figure of Mark Murphy, his friend, in his direction.

"You must love me immensely since you cannot spend half an hour without me.", Rian asked in a dry tone, his eyes dull.

"What can I say? You are the love of my life.", Mark said with a little wink, which earned him a death stare. "What? I am telling the truth. You are my friend, and I love my friend. It's you who is thinking in a questionable direction." Mark had a playful grin on his dazzling face.

"Someday you will wake up to find yourself in hell. Don't question Hades who sent you there because it would be me.", deadpanned Rian. Mark chuckled at his words but didn't push his luck further.

"By the way, where did you go yesterday after our chit-chat here? I was awake another half an hour, waiting for you in our dorm, yet, you didn't come so I drifted off to sleep. You didn't murder someone and buried the person's body in the Freaky Woods, did you?", Mark asked curiously.

"If I would have murdered anyone, the first person would have been you. Since you are alive, then the answer is quite clear.", Rian said with a slight tilt of his head. Mark pretended to look hurt then grinned widely.

Suddenly they heard footsteps of two people approaching in their direction. They looked in the direction of the sound to see Jade and Myra advancing towards them. Mark's face lit up the moment they fell on Myra, who gave him a little wink that widened the smile on his face to a considerable extent. The Peterson siblings ignored the potential spark between their two friends and looked at each other.

"What is the matter?", Jade started in a calculating tone, which broke the charging eye contact between her friend and Mark. Rian gave her a look of pure stoicism, which would make one of those the Māori statues look away in shame.

"What is the matter?", Rian threw back the question in Jade's direction which made her eyes narrow further. "Why did you peep into our room yesterday?", Jade asked without beating around the bush.

Mark's head snapped in Rian's direction, his face full of confusion and intrigue. Myra looked partly curious and partly excited for some drama and a free show. Rian's face didn't betray any emotions which irritated Jade to an extent, given her brother's inability to answer the question asked by her.

"I am your brother, so it is my duty to check on you to see if you are still alive or not. And this is not something that I haven't done previously. Why are you complaining about it now?", Rian said giving her a strict look.