The car still hadn't come to a complete halt when Misha opened the door and jumped in the passenger seat. It startled Gabriel into gripping the steering wheel tighter, his heart skipping a beat as he stomped harder on the brake pedal. Goodness, that reckless kid…!
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Misha said as he fastened his belt, oblivious to Gabriel's tight hold on the wheel and his white knuckles. "Step on the gas! Step on the gas!"
"…"
Was the devil itself on the teenager's trail? It sure felt like it. But when Gabriel looked out of the window, all he saw was Vanessa pushing through the crowd of high schoolers, making her way toward the car. She grinned when she noticed his gaze and waved at him.
"Come on, step on the gas!" Misha urged, nervously bouncing in his seat. "She's getting closer!"
The teenager's panicked face made people wonder what kind of beast he had just escaped from. Did Misha perhaps forget Vanessa was his friend, not some bloodthirsty monster?
"Stop daydreaming and take off!" Misha urgently patted Gabriel's thigh before adding with shifty eyes, "I-I'll cook your favorite dish tonight, so please?"
Gabriel cocked an eyebrow but finally backed the car out of the parking lot, not saying anything. As he passed before Vanessa, he caught a glimpse of her dejected face and offered an apologetic smile.
Once they were a safe distance away, Gabriel heard Misha heave a sigh of relief. From the corner of his eyes, he saw him slouch in his seat, seemingly trying to melt into the backrest. Whatever happened today left Misha with no choice but to flee in defeat, his tail between his legs. Although Gabriel was curious, he decided not to ask and twist the knife. Instead, he made small talk.
"How was your day?" he asked.
"Exhausting," Misha grunted. "I swear, teenagers have too much energy to spare!"
At these words, Gabriel thought of reminding him that he was currently a teenager himself but decided not to in the end. His survival instinct worked just fine, and he didn't want Misha's ire to turn toward him. It was better to let him ramble to his heart's content and listen from one ear.
"Every damn day, I have to deal with horny boys, lovestruck girls, useless gossip, and—Oh, fuck! Just thinking about it is driving me nuts!" Misha paused to pull his hair out. "Who fucking cares if that girl has bigger boobs than another? And what's wrong with spending time with your friends? Boyfriends aren't meant to be dragged around like lapdogs! And I don't give a damn about that upper classmate's crush on the temporary teacher! Goddammit, how am I supposed to stay sane in this kind of environment?!"
Misha winced, burying his head in his hands. Before entering high school, he had forgotten how immature teenagers could be. A small problem could turn into a full-blown war between friends, and foes could be easily gathered with one wrong word. To top it all, add a Vanessa set on drawing him into all sorts of trouble…. Now, he was realizing just how much his friend had calmed down as an adult, for she was truly impossible as a teenager.
"I'm sure you'll manage," Gabriel laughed, interrupting his inner laments. "Anyway, they'll grow up one day and mature in due time. Just be patient until then."
"But I've never had any patience!" Misha sobbed. "I wanna skip class tomorrow. And the day after tomorrow too, and—"
"No can do."
Misha answered with a desperate, drawn-out grunt. Then, he peered at Gabriel through his fingers and a few strands of hair. Who knows what kind of thought crossed his mind, but his cheeks flared into a bright red.
"Is something wrong?" Gabriel asked after peeking at the teenager. "You don't look well."
"No! Nothing's wrong!"
"You sure?"
"Fucking hell, keep your eyes on the road!"
Chuckles resounded in the car, and Misha blushed up to the tips of his ears. Because of Vanessa's pestering, he couldn't look at Gabriel with a straight face anymore! Why did she have to spout so much nonsense? Now, he couldn't get it out of his head!
'…You keep denying it, but I'm sure you wanna press him down and make him cry and beg for mercy. It's written all over your face! Well, Gabriel is handsome, so it's no wonder. What? Don't tell me you don't think about it, I won't believe you! You…'
Goodness, that idiot! Misha was doing his best to ignore the urges lurking in the depths of his mind, but his friend just had to be a prick and remind him! Of course, he had this kind of thought! Especially now that he was going through puberty—his hormones were a mess, and desire was building up, making his crotch painful. Honestly, he wasn't so pure as not to think about how it'd feel to sleep with the person he loved!
"…"
Crap. He was hard.
***
"Where's Misha?" Jake asked.
"Toilet," came Gabriel's answer.
"Is that so," Jake nodded before going back to reading the report he had in hand. He couldn't afford to slack off; he had already fallen behind schedule with everything that had happened lately. Though working for his parents disgusted him, hundreds of innocent workers still needed a job, and he had to dispatch the following tasks to his subordinates before the end of the week. His parents did need a front to cover up their side business and thus did offer honest work, which Jake supervised.
"I'll probably regret asking," Gabriel said after a moment, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes on his lips, "but mind telling me how this happened?"
Upon hearing the question, Jake didn't even lift his eyes from the report and answered in a deadpan tone, "I gave up."
"Ha."
Gabriel let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. At the same time, he glanced at Stephan, who was beaming from head to toes. His friend was currently on the bed, with Jake seated between his legs. Stephan's arms were tightly wrapped around his brother's waist, his chin propped on his shoulder. Overall, he looked like an overgrown octopus. Meanwhile, Jake pretended he didn't exist, reading reports after reports with a straight face. Gabriel didn't know why, but he suddenly had a newfound respect for his brother.
"What the heck?!" Misha cried out when he entered the room, staring at the two men cuddled together with a confused face. But once the surprise faded, he scowled, "Goodness, Jake! If that perverted leech is bothering you, just kick him out of the room!"
"Do you think I haven't tried?" Jake replied in an even tone, then changed the topic of conversation. "How was your day?"
There was a moment of silence in which Misha wondered whether he should pursue the matter or pretend to be blind. In the end, he chose the latter and said, "Tiring."
"Are you really just tired?" Stephan asked, sizing up the teenager. "You're sure you're not feeling sick? You don't look so good, and your face is a little red."
"Oh, shut up!" Misha growled. "I'm in top shape, feeling perfectly fine! But you know, I'd feel even better if you have any news on that bastard. That would truly make my day."
Jake shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't found anything related to him yet. It's hard to figure out his identity without knowing his name or what he looks like."
"What? Even with the memories of your past lives, you have no clue?"
"I did meet many people, but none walked around wearing a Pierrot mask," Jake chuckled self-mockingly. "I tried to provoke him and pull out information, but he said nothing useful whatever I did. He was careful with every word coming out of his mouth for all the time we were there, always measuring what could be said and what couldn't. I have a feeling he knew from the start what I was trying to do, too."
To this, Misha pursed his lips before plopping down on the bed. To think that he had thought Jake had gone crazy at the time—turned out he was trying to dig out information without arousing suspicion, and he hadn't noticed a thing, too busy hating him for not shutting up.
Scenes Misha would rather forget resurfaced in his mind, and he could not help but remember how the masked man had groped Jake, his gloved fingers trailing on his stomach as he threatened to sell his organs. The sight had been enough to paralyze him, and he could not fathom just how it'd feel to have been in Jake's shoes. The thought itself was enough to make him want to throw up. Yet, Jake had still been composed enough to think of the aftermath. He never flinched, even when brought out to have his eye gouged out.
What kind of steeled nerves did Jake have? It made Misha want to bow in admiration.
"But thanks to Angela's slip of the tongue," Jake said with a sneer, bringing Misha's attention back to the present, "I do have an idea to which group Pierrot belongs, considering he was after routes. From what I know, Matthew doesn't have that many, and the people that would take an interest in—"
A knocking sound resounded, cutting Jake mid-sentence. Before anyone could answer, the door creaked and a fluffy head popped into the doorframe. A small, soft voice then traveled inside the room.
"Brother, you're here..?"
_________________
Mini theater
Vanessa, "I wonder what you did in the toilet." Snickers, snickers.
Misha: Go to hell =.=
_____________________
Edited by Clozed!
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