Trust (Interactive Book)

Five- Nico

"Three more days." Nico ran his fingers through Axel's hair. "You ready?"

"Long as we stay together and be safe, it'll be fine."

"I love your optimism," he teased, pinching Axel's cheek.

"I don't get how you can be joking right now, I'm terrified out of my mind," Axel shot him a look. "Don't tell me you somehow backed out of the trip."

"No... it's just that I'm happy. To be with you, I mean. I'm not exactly happy with the fact that you're coming, but... hey, what can I do?" He cracked a smile. "At least you'll be there so when we both get killed we can hold each other, yeah?"

"Please stop, I'm cringing." Even so, Nico could see the way Axel's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

They laid back on the couch together, Nico's arm wrapped around Axel's shoulders, tugging him to his side. Axel's eyes closed, and Nico had to smile. He was seriously adorable. After that kiss behind the bleachers, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to go back to friendship. Even with the impending doom of death weighing on their shoulders, he was still happier than he'd been in years.

That was saying a lot.

"We'll be fine, I'm sure. There's loads of people in Britain. There's no reason for her to come after us specifically, right?"

—————

Masa was against rain.

Very against rain.

She felt herself slip, falling onto her knees on the street. She gritted her teeth, hating how wet she was now. She hardly noticed until a second later that she'd knocked someone over.

The woman had dark eyes, with curly black hair and a pretty smile. She was sitting on her backside in a puddle, which was entirely Masa's fault, her business dress soaked. A wave of guilt washed over Masa. She was a killer but she wasn't totally inhuman.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, holding out a hand to the woman, who gratefully took it.

"It's no problem, you're also wet. Um... would you like to come with me to get some dry clothes? You look cold," the woman noted. Confusion. That was all that Masa felt. Right now, she was supposed to be on her way to her boss's house to end Aishwarya's life, but she found herself following some strange woman back to her house.

They walked for a while, until they hit an apartment block. The woman offered a sheepish smile. 

"I'm not exactly rich or anything but I can give you something to wear so you don't freeze. Um, my name's Lana, by the way. You are?" She smiled.

Lana was... genuinely nice. It was so strange for Masa to see.

"Masa. Nice to meet you, and thank you for this, even though it was my fault," she replied. Lana shook her head, leading her into a messy apartment.

"No problem. I apologize for the mess, um... ever since I split up with my husband, things have been... messy. In more ways than one." Masa felt a bit of pity for her, and had a feeling that this husband was a terrible person.

Shattered bottles laid around the apartment, along with cigarette buts and torn up furniture and clothes. Masa swallowed, following Lana through her house. She wasn't sure if these were Lana's, or her former husband's, but either way, she didn't really want to know.

Lana walked wobbly, shivering a bit. She looked seriously cold. After spending a couple minutes rifling through her closet, she found a pair of jeans and a turtleneck for Masa to wear.