Malefic [BOOK 2]

♫ ♪Salt- shaker, shaker~♫ ♪

The boy suddenly gasped, "Don't tell me. Have you developed feelings for the boy?"

Leo wanted to die out of embarrassment. Having feelings for Tom was one thing but hearing it out of Tayden's mouth made her feel very shy.

"Is it that obvious?" She mumbled, finally meeting Tayden's amused face.

"No. But I can tell because he is the only one you talk about," he pointed out.

Leo suddenly grew defensive, "I do not!"

"You do. You mention him when I gave you chocolate cookies. You muttered his name when we crossed puppy. You even narrated a whole story about him finding you stuck in between two walls because you were trying to catch some exotic lizard and how he saved you. You narrated it three times already," Tayden counted on his finger.

Leo slapped his hands away, "Okay! I understand."

"You should tell him," Tayden mused.

"What? No."

"Why not? It's better to tell him than keep it to yourself," Tayden tried to argue.

Leo waved him off. If only Tayden knew that Tom was not like your average teenage boy. He would simply not accept her if she were to confess her undying love for him.

"We are really good friends and I don't want to ruin that. Besides, it is not like I didn't confess already," Leo mumbled and cringed as the memory replayed in her mind.

Tayden's eyes widened with excitement, "You did?! What did he say?"

Leo shook her head at how happy Tayden looked. If only she could be that excited too.

"He got offended because I called him a turtle afterwards. That was like the worst rejection ever. You can't tell me to confess to him again," Leo argued back.

Tayden shook his head like he was talking to a child.

"That is not the only thing bothering you, is it?" Tayden asked carefully.

Leo's body slumped down. She looked defeated. Her face looked aged and she felt like she was ready to just leave the world.

"How come you know everything?" She whined softly.

Tayden shrugged with a sympathetic smile, "There's this voice in the back of my head telling me that my little friend is in need of help."

That statement earned a soft chuckle from the girl. She was glad that Tayden was her friend. Not everyone is blessed with such friendship.

But soon her smile slipped away. She knew it was okay to tell Tayden all her secrets but the last thing she wanted was to drag the poor boy into this mess. But she did want to lift some things off of her chest.

"You see," Leo started with a sigh, "Tom is not the best boy out there. He has his flaws, we all do. But this boy is just obsessed with ideas that would eventually harm him."

Tayden nodded, "Well, you could warn him."

Leo smiled bitterly, "If only that was so easy. He is so blinded by the thought of being powerful, that he forces himself to appear strong. I did warn him about the consequences of his actions but he believes that he would sacrifice anything to become the most powerful wizard of all time.

Tayden grew quiet. Both of them looked at the fountain in the centre of the courtyard from a distant look.

After all these years, Leo was finally out of ideas. The only thing left to reveal was that Tom was the one who brought her to this timeline. But she was afraid that revealing that bit would change the future completely. It would be too hard for Tom to understand. She didn't even know what his reaction would be.