"Ru. Here you go." I said, putting a place of French toast in front of him.
Smelling the bread, he immediately shot up and started eating, his hair getting in front of his face, as he tried to blow it away but it wouldn't listen.
Laughing, I got up from my seat and got the hairbrush from the room and a hair tie as I started to fix his hair again.
"You know, Zion."
"What?"
"You are sometimes so cold to me but so kind at the same time." He said, bread in his mouth as he looked at me with his large green eyes. "Why is that?"
"I don't know either," I said, tying his hand into a middle ponytail. "I'll fix this properly after we eat."
"Ok~."
Taking the seat opposite to me, I started on my piece of toast as Rumant began pouring the tea for the both of us.
"Zion." He said, handing the cup to me.
"Thank you," I said, taking the cup from him as I began reading the morning's paper. "Looks like the rat infestation has been taken care of by the exterminators."
Slamming his cup on the table, Rumant took the paper from me and started at the front page of the man we met the night before, smiling for the camera.
"That son of a b-ugh."
I shoved a toast into his mouth before he could complete his sentence and took the paper from him, throwing it into the dustbin.
"Don't bother with people like him," I said, taking a sip of my tea. "They are not worth our precious time."
"I don't care about them." He said, finishing his bread angrily. "We did all the hard work. And they are the ones that get the praise. Ugh! I am so annoyed."
"There. There." I patted his head. "Hey, if you want, we can go stop by that store today."
Rumant got to his feet, eyes sparkling, "Really?!?"
"You did a good job waking up early today," I said, putting the plates away. "So we can stop by on our way to school. What do you say?"
"Ok!" Rumant shouted, beaming.
"But you will have to get ready fast," I said, washing the plates as I heard him running into the room to get ready as quickly as he could.
That is the only thing in the world that will get him to get ready faster. I thought, putting the utensils away as I pulled out my phone, frowning.
[Mission: Vermillion City has been complaining about a problem of reptiles. Take care of them.
Teams: A, C, F and J.
Reward: 500,000 per creature caught. And an extra 4,000,000 for the one that cleans everything up.
Instructions: Arrive at the HQ by 2:30 a.m. Do not be late.
Failure to appear without prior notice and a valid reason, will result in termination.]
Vermillion? Isn't that in another country? Why are they asking us for help?
Better be a little bit cautious tonight.
________________________
"Have you heard anything from the HQ?" Yale asked as we walked down the almost empty streets.
"We have another mission," I said, showing the instructions to her.
"That is going to be a little hard, isn't it?" She asked, looking at the phone. "And two? Will I be able to wake up then?"
"I'll wake you up, don't worry."
"I don't want to wake up though."
"Should we use the vacation days to skip out on today then?"
"No." She shook her head as birds started to chirp around us, hiding in the large trees all around us. "It isn't often that we are asked to go to different countries. Let's take this opportunity to go there."
"Sure," I said, shrugging as I typed our confirmation code into the phone. "There, I told them to expect us."
"What other teams will be there?"
"A,C,F and J."
"J?" She asked, turning to me quickly. "They are going to be there?"
"If they accept. Sure." I said, the chirping of the birds growing louder and louder. "Maybe we should quicken our pace."
"Fine. Just because I want to stay in the store longer." She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me. Following her, I looked behind, rubbed my hand and blew at it, the noise finally dying down.
Large, vulture-like creatures with four eyes on each side and black goo dripping from their mouths fell to the ground, body completely stiff.
They'll be fine, after a day. I think.
____________________
"Hel-." A black-haired man stood at the door as we entered the boutique that looks like it came out of a fairy land or something.
Plants hung from every inch of the place as racks and racks of dresses littered around the baby pink room.
"Welcome!" The man shouted, rushing to us. "It has been too long since I saw you both! How are you?"
"Alexis," Yale said, smiling at the man. "We are fine. What about you? How are you?"
"I am fine, dear." He said, looking at me. "I am glad to see you two are still dating. I still remember the day you brought this boy into the store and told me that he is your boyfriend."
"It's nice to see you again, Alexis," I said, greeting the man.
Alexis is Yale's dress supplier, or something like that. He knew her long before I ever did and is a close friend of hers. He knows about Rumant.
I was also surprised because the first person she introduced me to when we became official is not her parents or friend. But him.
_____________________
"We are dating now." She said, looking me in the eyes. "You cannot break up with me and if you cheat on me, I have every right to cut you."
"Yes," I answered, not sure if this was supposed to be a big deal or something. "So … do I meet your parents or something like that?"
"Not yet, there is someone more important you have to meet. Be free after school." And she took off.
I completely forgot about that until the day was over and Yale ran to me, "We are meeting him now. I am guessing you forgot."
I didn't want to admit it so I didn't say a word and let her drag me all the way to this store.
That had to be the first time I saw her be friendly with anyone. She always gives everyone the cold shoulder but not him. And he seems to cherish her quite well too.
That was also the first time I felt nervous in my entire life. He looked me up and down, before turning to her, "He is a looker, for sure."
"That wasn't the only reason I chose him." She walked to me, putting her arms around my arm and leaned. "He completes and understands me more than anyone else I have ever met."
"I see." The man said, a kind smile coming on his face. "Then you both have my blessings. Zion, take care of her. She can be a little demanding and hard to handle sometimes. But she means well."
"Hey!"
"I know," I said, genuinely expressing my feelings for the first time in a while. "I like that about her just a bit."
"You have a keeper then, Yale." He said, turning to her and flicking her forehead. "You also, don't take him for granted. I can tell he is a good boy and he meant what he said. So try to be reasonable sometimes."
"Why do I need to do that?" She asked, pouting but Alexis is not one to be affected by her tricks. "Fine. I will try not to be too hard on you."
"Come to me anytime you need help. Just think of me as your big brother." Alexis said to me, grinning brightly.
I don't know how long we stayed in the store that day, but we did not go back home until it was nightfall. Even I lost track of time as we talked with him, cooking and eating there.
His house is behind the store, with a garden full of all kinds of vegetables. I instantly wanted to have a garden but I dropped the idea because I wouldn't have enough time to even take care of it.
"Do you like him?" Yale asked me on our way from his house.
"He is a decent person," I said, remembering the amount I ate in his house. Never did I have that kind of appetite before.
"That's high praise coming from you." She said with a contented smile on her face. "I'm just glad you two got along. By the way, Zion?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I sleepover tonight?"
"Sure."
That was the first night she came to my house and even stayed over. Nothing happened except that we talked a bit before falling asleep.
Sleep came quite easily that night, for the first time since we came out of that place.
It felt … nice.