A/N: Okay, okay. I won't take a break. I'm happy to see that I still have a few readers. I'm happy ~ 😊
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After they left the racing area, Zadhea suggested going to KFC to give her friends that experience too. It was already midnight, but fortunately, it wasn't closed yet when they got there. Apart from them, there were a few more customers, all young people, couples, or friends chatting cheerfully. It looked harmonious and peaceful.
Zadhea pondered for a moment before selecting a corner. She didn't have time to remove her disguise, so she perfectly fit in with her male group. They were the largest boys' group there. Since they all looked good-looking, they earned gazes from people around them from time to time. Girls looked at them with admiration while boys shot them envious stares.
Sully covered his face as much as he could when he sensed their intense gazes, especially towards his direction. Maybe they were curious as he was the only person hiding behind a hoodie. He felt a little uncomfortable, but he brushed it off when he witnessed how ecstatic Zadhea and the rest of his friends looked. He didn't want to destroy their happy moment.
Zadhea picked up the menu and flashed a bright smile as her eyes turned into crescents, sparkling like gems. "Long time no see," she spoke to the menu as if it was an old friend. Then she averted her gaze towards her friends. "Order whatever you like. Maybe... Let's ask for everything. You can have a bite from all of them."
"Sounds like a nice idea," Brownie nodded at her eagerly.
Just like that, they ended up ordering all kinds of burgers, chicken wings with fries, and even rice. They chose Pepsi as their drinks.
Brownie and Cyrus shamelessly drooled on the spot when their food arrived. The appetizing aroma made their stomachs growl loudly. They looked at Zadhea gratefully and said in unison, "Thank you, Zadie!"
Zadhea waved a hand casually with a smile. "It's nothing." She was glad that she chose this place when she saw how much they liked the food even before taking a bite. She looked at Sully and Apollo too, waiting for their comments.
Apollo awkwardly touched the back of his head. "...Thank you."
Sully just gave her a slight nod.
Zadhea felt satisfied as she rubbed her palms. "So... I guess it's time for digging in."
"Hooray!" Both Brownie and Cyrus cheered gleefully.
Zadhea looked at them tenderly, like they were her younger brothers. Since she was the only child, she never got any siblings. Although she had friends now, unlike in her previous life, they still weren't her siblings. It was a different kind of thing. But now she felt like she finally found her long-awaited brothers. Sully embodied the role of an older brother figure. As for the other three, she acknowledged them as her younger brothers.
"Yummy," Apollo's eyes lit up when he chewed on a chicken wing. He didn't expect it to be this tasty. However, the rice wasn't that good, prompting him to solely concentrate on the chicken wings.
"Mmm, yeah," Brownie blurted out in a muffled voice as his mouth was fully loaded with a cheeseburger.
"Meeting Zadhea is the biggest fortune that happened to me," Cyrus sighed as he took a bite from a Tower Zinger. It was a big burger, so he had to stretch his mouth as much as he could to eat it.
Zadhea giggled when she saw him open his mouth wide like a hippo. "Why, thank you. I'm lucky to meet you too." Then she turned to her right side to look at Sully. "It's all thanks to you."
Sully applied sauce to some fries as he replied with a 'Mhm'. Then he pushed the fries to Zadhea's side, saying, "Eat it."
"What about you?" Zadhea put her drink down as she questioned.
Sully just shrugged. "I don't feel like eating. Because I'm happy today."
"What?" Zadhea was confused. "I can't understand."
How come someone loses their appetite when they are happy? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
"When I'm sad, I feel like eating a lot, but when I'm happy, I feel full," he explained sincerely.
"Oh, it's like that." Zadhea nodded thoughtfully before accepting his food. "Then I'm going to eat it," she said cutely as she puffed her cheeks.
Sullivan laughed and nodded.
However, he was surprised when he saw her put a potato chip before his mouth, gesturing him to open it, resulting in him looking at her questionably.
"I want to share," she blinked her eyes pitifully.
Sully could remember the first time she gave him a half-eaten cabbage. At that time, he was depressed, so his stomach was constantly begging for food. However, his plate was almost empty. He didn't like to eat meat. You can say he's a vegetarian. Unfortunately, he ran out of vegetables too. There was only rice on his plate. Biting his lips, he almost gave up eating when Zadhea put that cabbage piece on his plate, lecturing him to eat well. It was merely a small slice. However, he found her action strangely comforting, and when he swallowed that cabbage down, his hunger was gone.
He wanted to pay her back for her kindness as his late girlfriend instructed him to do. It was her last request as well as his only purpose of living.
He wanted to help people who helped him.
That was the only source of happiness in his dull life.
His girlfriend got killed, but he didn't plan on wasting his time to take revenge. There were so many important things to do.
Revenge solved nothing.
Sully opened his mouth and gulped it down. Since he recalled his girlfriend's kind face, his mood somehow turned gloomy. He grabbed Zadhea's plate and began eating the rest of the fries without saying anything.
Zadhea smiled bitterly when she sensed his solemnity.
"Ahem!" someone cleared her throat, gaining Zadhea's attention as she looked up to see a teenage girl standing close to her side of the table.
"Sup?" Zadhea tilted her head.
"I like you. Let's go out."
The girl's unexpected bullet-like words made Brownie choke on his drink as he hit his chest repeatedly while coughing loudly. Apollo faced the same thing as he choked on his chicken wing, his face turning crimson red.
Cyrus didn't have anything in his mouth at that moment. Nevertheless, he became unlucky too as he choked on his saliva.
It was such a mess.
Sully was the only one who kept his calm demeanor.
Zadhea felt uncomfortable as she bit her lips. "Little sister," she spoke guiltily. "I'm already engaged."
It wasn't like she was lying. She indeed had a fiancé.
Zadhea suddenly missed Heidith. She didn't know why but she kinda wanted to see his face.
She didn't see him for an entire day, after all. It was a big deal since they recently spent a lot of time together.
Maybe dating him wasn't a bad idea. She had never dated anyone in her both lives so she considered it as getting a new experience.
Yeah, experience. That's it!
The girl's eyes widened like two marble balls when she saw the boys disappear without warning.
"Wha-what? How? Wh..." She was at a loss for words. Soon, she passed out from the shock.
"Will she be alright?" Zadhea asked anxiously as she looked around to find herself back in the fantasy world. A deep sigh released through her lips as she pondered whether she arrived home or left home. She had no idea where she belonged.
'No, this isn't my world. I belong where my mother is,' she thought, shaking her head as she scolded herself. 'How dare I even doubt it?'
"I guess," Sully also sighed. "Seems like we ran out of time."
"Yeah," Brownie sobbed. "I want to stay there a little bit longer. I couldn't even finish my burger."
"Neither could I," Cyrus wiped a fake tear.
Apollo also agreed. He missed his unfinished chicken wings.
"Had a nice journey?" They heard someone ask as a dark silhouette came into view.
"Harry?" Zadhea widened her eyes and exclaimed as he stepped closer, revealing his Harry Potter face with round glasses that reflected the bright moonlight. "Why did you choose here?"
It was the abandoned ground next to the academy. She couldn't understand why he chose this place. Honestly, it did nothing but adding troubles. They had to climb the wall all over again!!
"Sorry," Harry cleaned his ear. "I want to tell you something, Zadhea. Only you." He looked at the boys as if telling them to leave.
Zadhea also looked at them. "Thanks for today."
"No. We should thank you!"
After they disappeared from their sight completely, Zadhea put a hand on her hips, asking, "What is it?"
Before she could digest what was going on, Harry swiftly pulled her towards him by her stomach before injecting something into her neck using a syringe.
"You are done, Zadhie."
His psychotic laughter rang through the ground as it broke the silence of the calm night.
________________
"Look what I've found!" Derek opened the door to Heidith's room with a bang as he entered. "I'm coming."
Heidith rolled his eyes. "Say that before opening my door. Again, you don't have the right to open it without my permission."
"Don't repeat the same thing." Derek stuck his tongue out at him mockingly.
Heidith pressed on his eyelids, feeling tired.
"If you are tired, stop working. No need to push yourself too hard," Derek advised as he fell on Heidith's bed.
"Says who." Heidith scoffed. When his eyes fell on the wooden box Derek carried with him to the room, he frowned in confusion as it felt familiar.
"Isn't it the box I gave Evelyn?" He asked to clarify his doubt.
"Oh, maybe..." Derek flashed a guilty smile. "It was hers a moment ago."
Heidith shook his head speechlessly. Then his eyes dimmed when he realized something. He stood up from his chair and squatted on the floor close to Derek before sniffing his smell like a dog.
"What are you doing?" Derek shot him a suspicious look as he covered himself with Heidith's blanket. "It's creepy."
"You are drunk," Heidith concluded. "What did you tell her?"
"Tell whom?"
"Evelyn. I hope you didn't embarrass her."
Derek had a special talent. No matter how much he got drunk, he could still maintain his composure. If he was extremely drunk, his body would sway a little but it wouldn't be so obvious. Because of that, he had records of embarrassing others especially girls with the filthy mouth of his. Some innocent girls even cried at his dirty remarks. He even looked hella serious while spouting nonsense. Because of that, if you want to check whether he's drunk or just messing around, you'll need to sniff him like Heidith did.
"I didn't..." Derek whispered in a low voice, feeling uncertain about his own words.
"Who believes you?"
"I said I didn't. Why do you have to press on it so much? It's not like I harassed her!" Derek angrily puffed his cheeks, feeling wronged. Then he murmured to himself, "It's not like I like her in the first place."
Evelyn looked like she wanted to pick a fight whenever she saw him. Derek didn't know what he'd done to her to gain such a treatment. But one thing was for sure.
If she despised him, he could happily return the favor.
Heidith opened his mouth to say something but paused halfway when he heard a tap on the window.
"One second."
He opened it to see a giant crow, probably a raven. Heidith knitted his eyebrows when he saw the small note tied onto the crow's leg. The second he took it out, the raven flew away, crawling in an unpleasant voice.
Heidith unfolded the note and started reading it. Slowly, his eyes turned dangerous as they emitted a bone-chilling, murderous sparkle.
Derek gasped in shock when he saw Heidith jump out of the window.
His mind turned blank as he continued to lay on the bed stupidly.
"What is going on?" He mumbled to himself as he shut his eyes to sleep.
"Wait a minute! Hold on!!" Derek sat up straight before getting out of Heidith's bed. However, he felt weak under the influence of alcohol. He felt drowsy as he stared at the warm bed longingly.
"No, no, no." He slapped himself across the face super hard as it immediately left a red scar.
Derek hissed at the burning sensation. Nevertheless, it helped him to get sober up as he rushed to the window as his heart began beating fast.
Derek felt a bit relieved when he saw Heidith going somewhere on Fury's back.
He was about to go back to sleep when he noticed the wrinkled paper on the floor, close to the window.
Derek picked it up.
Royal prince,
Your fiancée Zadhea is with me. I poisoned her. If you want to save her, come here.
Sincerely,
Dewinn.
There was an address below.
Derek narrowed his eyes.
He knew that place!
"I must help Heidith."
He opened the door with a bang before running downstairs at lightning speed.