[Hellion Brothers: Book #1] Hellion Brothers

33: A Little Talk

"I'll just go to the restroom," I mumbled to Lay as I went out during a class interval.

"Do you want Kai to go with you?" He joked and I just rolled my eyes. There were not much students around since most classes were in progress, but of course, the people still never failed to give me judging stares through their windows. Whenever I try to give them smiles, though, they immediately look away and pretend that I don't exist. Sighing, I stepped into the empty comforting room. I understand that nobody wants to become close to me, may it be physically or emotionally, because of the fear of the Hellion brothers. It's sad to think that they could put on a bad label on the people that they used to love just in one day. It's like after doing a thousand good things, make one mistake and all those good things cease to exist.

After washing my hands, I immediately took out my phone to check if I have been gone for too long.

"Ten o'clock," I hissed, and fumbled to return my phone back in my pocket. I started to sprint, but almost lost my balance as someone yanked me back. I came twirling like a little ballerina, and ended up slamming against someone's chest. Eyes wide, I stared up at Tao.

"We have to talk."

It took me 5 whole seconds to comprehend the situation. His expression was... vague. I couldn't tell why he's doing this out of the blue. Blinking back to reality, I tried to remove his hands from my shoulders.

"I would really like to, Tao, but I'm going to be late." He kept on holding onto me, though, and continued looking straight into my eyes as if trying to pin me down by the soul.

"You're not gonna be late for anything. Your next professor is absent." Oh, of course. I almost forgot that he could see the future. I crossed my arms and shifted my weight on one foot, and he finally dropped his hands after seeing that I have no intention of walking away anymore.

"Ok. What are we going to talk about?"

"I don't like how close Kai is to you."

My brows furrowed but for some reason, I wasn't surprised. "I could tell."

"Then why do you keep on doing that?" He suddenly hissed, face threateningly scooting closer.

"Do what?" I stated innocently. I really didn't know what that "what" was. He was about to answer, but then clamped back his mouth shut and rubbed his temples. Was that disbelief? Frustration? I couldn't tell. One thing's for sure, though: It's not good.

"Maeji," his piercing gaze returned, and I immediately tensed up. "Stay away from Kai."

"What?? NO!!" I felt warmth in my chest as I found the courage to glare and try to push him away. He didn't move an inch, though. "You can't just order to me stay away like that! He's not doing anything wrong to me!"

"He teleported into the bathroom while you were there." His voice shifted to a more authoritative tone, making it feel like he slapped the statement across my face. My blood ran cold, and unthinkingly asked the dumbest question ever possible.

"H-how did you know that?"

"He found your uniform and asked where you were. He disappeared, and then you screamed from the bathroom. Common sense." He shrugged. "I don't want to strangle you, Maeji. It's fine to make friends. But not that close. Not too close."

He stepped closer again, eyes never leaving mine. I instinctively backed way, until my back hit a wall, indicating a dead end. I knew it. Nothing good could ever happen when I'm alone with him.

"He's just my best buddy. I feel... comfortable with him. Like everything just fits." I dropped my gaze to his chest as i tried to comprehend my own words. A lot of thoughts were flooding my head, and there was just so much that i didn't even understand any of them.

"Why him?" The sudden gentleness in his voice made my head shot up. What made me curious, though, was the pain evident in it. His brows were knitted in a way that made it seem like he was trying to endure a severe stomachache. "Why doesn't anything fit between us?"

"Well...," I tried to start, but I didn't really have any soothing words to begin with. The pinching feeling in my heart was too overwhelming to make me think properly. "Maybe... Maybe this whole 'anima' thing is actually more complicated than everyone expected. Maybe it's slightly different from us normal people's 'soulmate' concept after all."

He didn't say anything and kept his head bowed. There was a part of me that wanted to reach out and stroke his hair, but something was keeping me from doing it. Call it pride. Call it ego. Or maybe the hateful part of me that didn't like the pressure of being an anima.

"Maybe you should loosen up a little. Smile a little more. A little rainbow beneath the clouds could be worthy to be shown every now and then." I gently laid a hand on his cheek, and peeked under him to show a smile. He only looked at me through his lashes, and it sort of reminded me of a puppy. I felt my heart soften, and made me feel guilty for always trying to avoid him. He's naturally a soft man. I know it. He was just too pressured by all the expectations being thrown to him, added by the fact that he wasn't the most confident wolf in the pack. He was still a puppy, but they already wanted him to be the powerful alpha.

"So can you be less close to Kai?" he shyly asked, still looking at me through his lashes. He just looked so innocent and helpless that I couldn't find the heart to get mad at him anymore.

"I cannot be less close to him, Tao." I rubbed his shoulder soothingly, which felt kind of awkward in my part. "but what we can try, though, is for you and I to become closer."

His brows furrowed again as he tried to consider. Then his head suddenly shot up, eyes wide, making me flinch in shock at the sudden change in his mood.

"You still owe me something, right?"

My mind floated back to that day I fed him shrimp. He said I was able to time travel a few seconds back, and I owed him because it was him that forced me to train when I was on the brink of giving up. He even did the honor of reminding me again when I watched their brutal training and did a little scary experiment on him.

"I'll make you pay that debt," he had said with that forbiddingly sexy voice of his. As I got sucked into my little trance, i unconsciously nodded at his statement, and his eyes immediately sparkled in excitement.

"So you have to go on a date with me. That's what you owe me."

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