Stop That Hacker! (2020)

Chapter 36

His eyes shifted away and he sighed again indifferent to the whole situation.

After some bickering, Ace turned towards me. "Francy I'm sorry to do this to you, but you have to pick a brother. Who goes with Lucy, Kai or your oldest most caring brother?"

They both became silent glaring at each other.

"I'm cold and I would really like to speed things along," I complained. "Let's all try to be adults here."

Kai glanced at me then at Elric. "We will never make a choice, you know that right? Come on pick."

Elric turned towards Ace with the most annoyed glare I've seen so far.

Ace sighed. "Okay, okay. Since we both can't make up our minds, we can let Francy go with him. That's fair."

WHAT?

Kai nodded. "Seems like a fair solution. I guess I can ask him later when we grab something to eat."

I CAN NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

I glanced towards Elric, but he didn't react at all.

"Fine." I sighed and turned on my heels. Might as well get this over with.

We separated from Ace and Kai and headed down the streets to look at the shops. He was walking a few steps behind me and I kept staring straight ahead. The least eye contact the better. That way we can avoid any awkward conversations.

"So what exactly are we looking for? Can you give me an example?" He broke the silence giving me a startle. Okay Francy. No eye contact and you'll be fine.

"Well, I already bought a 3D pen for him. It looked like something he can have fun with."

"Oh." He also said something behind me I couldn't hear.

"And I'm sure Kai got him a levitating plant since I saw the warranty in his room." I added.

"So I'm the only one who needs a gift?" He asked.

"You and Ace. He buys things last minute, but he has luck so he always gets a good present. Actually the best present. I can never beat him. Kai came close once but Ace still always wins when it comes to picking Rehan's present."

"You sound jealous."

I wanted to laugh. Yes I was feeling bitter lately. The only thing I could think about was that Ace was the luckiest in the family. Jealous? Probably.

"Yeah well. Being a sister in this family is a thankless job."

His laughter made me turn my head. I locked eyes with him. His expression was softer than what it was when he was with my brothers. Or at dinner. He seemed like he always was, when he was with me.

I miss that.

I quickly turned away. This was a mistake. I should have just...

"I'm glad I came today." He said.

I continued walking but my heart had stopped. "Why?"

"Because after what happened and the dinner, I was sure you will keep on ignoring me."

Now I stopped. We were standing in the middle of the road, with people passing us by. I turned around to face him.

"To be honest, I want to ignore you."

He put his hands in his pockets. "Why?"

"I..." The air was so cold, that I could see my breath. I nuzzled into my coat.

"Because you hate me?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No. I don't hate you. But I'm angry."

He suddenly looked annoyed. "Well you're the one who said we should split."