Ryo gasped and looked around him , where was he ? What had happened ?
He heard laughter and saw some girls in uniform walk by . He looked around again and saw he was at school .
Had it all been a dream ? A hallucination ? He wondered and looked at his bike . It wasn't damaged and he wasn't dead , so it had to be a -
Ryo froze as he saw something on his wrist . It was a watch , a golden watch . He had never had a watch in his life . He lifted his hand and looked at it and his heart fell to the floor .
It wasn't an ordinary watch , but a stopwatch . Ryo looked at it with apprehension , the watch was counting down from 02:59:55 . His three hours had begun .
It was real , it had all been real . No ! He gritted his teeth in rage . He was alive , he wasn't dead ! He put a hand on his chest and felt his heart beat .
" I'm alive , I'm alive , I'm alive not dead ." He said softly to himself but just as he felt like believing it , another voice spoke up .
" Ryo , you're wasting time . You should go find Milo ."
Ryo swallowed his soul in horror. He knew that calm and kind voice. It was The conductor !
He couldn't fool himself . Time was running out ! It had been real and he was really running out of time .
He turned around and scanned for Milo and it was with a start that he saw the truck that had killed him pass the road . He felt a strange sense of deja vu but put it aside .
If the truck had passed then Milo would be out of school by the gate , he realized and hopped onto his bike ... only to hop of it again . He couldn't ride this death trap yet . He decided to push it along instead .
Quickly pushing it along , he reached outside the gate and scanned the people around . Eventually he found Milo crossing the street and would have rushed to him when he realized two things ; one , he didn't have the letter and two , how could he get Milo to willingly sign it ?
He patted himself and reached into his short pocket , pulling out a golden white paper . The letter ! He sighed softly and then glanced at Milo's retreating back . How was he going to get him to sign it ?
He growled and hopped onto his bike , ( Ryo didn't stay scared for long ) . He rode slowly until he was behind the other boy , who was just looking at the street and not paying attention to who was behind him .
" Milo ! " Ryo yelled and Milo spun around so fast it almost defied physics . When he saw who was behind him , he took a step back as if to run but noticing the bicycle , he saw the futility .
" What do you want ? I told you I can't give you the - " Milo started but Ryo cut him off .
" No , I'm not here for that . " He said and the boy infront of him sighed sadly . Was he here to just pick on him ?
" I wanted to give you a ride home . "
Huh !?
Milo looked up as if he'd heard a cow speak . What did his bully just say ? He wanted to give him a ride home ?
" What ? Is this ... a trick ? " Milo asked , " Are you going to do something ? "
" No , it's not ." Ryo said , he knew if things had been different it probably would have been a trick . He would have left Milo miles from his home or at a garbage dump . But the situation was dire , Ryo glanced at his watch .
02:40:03
Time was still there . He looked up at the other boy who was trying to think of a very good excuse that wouldn't lead to him having bruises .
" My house is really far . " Milo said ," You might get home late ."
" I always get home late . " Ryo said with bored face . " Don't make excuses ."
" Can't you pick on me at school ? Why do want to bully me at home ? " Milo asked ," I haven't reported you on anything ."
" Ugh , just shut up and get on my bike . " Ryo said losing his patience and Milo knew not to push him when he got mad .
With bitter reservations , he got onto the bike behind Ryo . He felt unsteady and held the edge of Ryo's jacket with his fingers . Ryo scoffed in disbelief , was he an idiot ?
" Put your arms around my waist . " Ryo commanded , " Unless you want to fall off . "
Milo let go off his jacket and put his arms around the bastard's waist . Couldn't he say it in a nicer way ? He wondered but remembered it was Ryo he was with . He would never be nice .
Ryo nodded his head and began to ride . Milo held tighter as they began to pick up the pace . Ryo bit his lip to stop saying something rude and dirty . Just have to reach his house , he thought .
Unknown to him , someone was watching them as they left and held a deep frown on their head .
....
Milo's house was a big medium sized construction . It's walls were cream and bluish green , with a stone base . The front yard was medium sized with a single tree and green lawn . A wide fence of stone and steel surrounded the yard .
Ryo stopped the bike infront of the house and Milo hopped off . He was thinking of what to say , unsure if a ' thank you ' would go without an insult coming back .
But Ryo beat him to it .
" Milo , I need you to do something for me ." Ryo said and Milo felt the wash of being right like a cold splash of water . Of course he wants something , he thought glumly , and if I refuse I'll pay .
" What do you want ? " He asked looking down .
" Can you sign this ? " He asked him , pulling out the letter and Milo took it .
' Dear Ryo
I forgive you for everything between us .
Yours _._._._._._ '
Milo looked at the letter in disbelief . What the heck was this ?
" What the heck is this ? " He asked out loud .
" It's a letter that needs your signature . Just sign it . " Ryo said with an uncompromising frown . Milo looked at the letter and back at Ryo . Forgive you , he thought , when you're bullying me right now ?
" I can't sign this . " He said flatly .
" What do you mean , you can't sign it ? " Ryo asked him , " Just take a pen from your bag and sign it . "
" I mean , I can't sign this without knowing why I should . " Milo said " Is this something illegal or perverty ? "
" Listen, " Ryo said getting off the bike , " You are going to sign it now ."
Milo glared at him but didn't budge . He could take alot but not something illegal . Ryo's temper flew and he grabbed Milo's wrist in a vice like grip making the other boy wince .
Not again , Milo thought but then a sound paused them both .
It was a low growl .
Both boys turned around and saw a dog on the pavement , the gate to Milo's house was ajar . The dog was growling at the two of them and Milo saw it wasn't tied in .
" Gou , sit ." He said softly but the dog didn't listen . He just turned his head and took a step forward .
Ryo let go of Milo's hand sensing some danger and the dog turned to him completely . Milo moved towards it but the dog out manoeuved him . It ran past and pounced onto Ryo with it's mouth open .