Monday (11/17/XX) 6:15PM
Akio started biting his hand as he was staring at his phone.
I walked with a novel in hand. I glanced at Akio’s perturbed face and let out a tired breath.
Sen looked over my shoulder. “What’s wrong, Aki?”
Akio cringed and put his phone against his chest. “N-nothing!”
The boy pursed his lips and tilted his head. Akio gave him an artificial smile with a thumbs up.
“Akio, just do it.”
He whirled my head towards me. “Huh?”
“GOTCHA!” Sen triumphantly said while snatching Akio’s phone away.
“SEN GIVE IT BACK!” He begged.
Sen giggled to himself and started to look at my phone until I slapped the top of his head with my book. The phone fell out of his hands and landed in my hand.
“Here you go, Akio.” I pushed up my glasses out of irritation as Sen was complaining and punching my back.
Akio stopped in his step and looked at his phone with wide eyes. “Um, guys, I’ll see you later. I have to go grab some things at the convenience store.”
“I want to go too! I want Onigi-” Sen stopped mid-sentence as I covered his mouth with my hand.
“You’re too loud.” I groaned.
Akio took this opportunity and started to run faster.
What a handful these boys are. I thought to myself. I fixed my bangs and sighed to myself.
Sen started to tap his chin. “I'm getting hungry. I wanna grab something on the way back.”
“What if I got us some ramen?” I suggested.
Sen gasped. “Yes, please! I'll pay you back.” He beamed excitedly.
I fought the urge to smile at his reaction. As we began walking in the opposite direction of Akio, I felt a chill down my neck. I had the sudden feeling that we were being watched. I glanced over my shoulder and identified what it was.
Sen was happily skipping forward, singing a tune to himself.
I turned around and saw the beast. He appeared larger than the last time I saw him. His muscular body was massive, making the light pole appear stout. The monster's tongue hissed out from its bull skull-shaped mouth. The most noticeable difference was its gigantic jet-black wings that were folded behind its back.
There was no way I would use magic in broad daylight, so instead, I walked up to Sen and squeezed his hand. “Sen, we need to run.”
“Are you that hungry, Ryu? The closest ramen place is just two minutes away.”
“No,” I could feel beads of sweat form on my temple. I've never been this nervous. “The man is back.”
“Man? What man?” Sen peered over my shoulder and widened his eyes.
I hesitated to turn my head, but once I did, I saw the beast inch closer to us.
“SEN, RUN!” I ordered.
Without a second thought, Sen pulled my arm and started bolting down the pathway. I could hear the heavy footsteps of the soul-eating monster echo behind us.
“Where do we go?!” Sen screamed.
“We can't let him go on the main road. We need to lose him.”
I heard Sen grunt loudly. He suddenly stopped running and swept me off of my feet.
“What are you doing?!” I exclaimed. I had to put my arms around his neck so I wouldn't fall off.
“This will be faster!” Sen replied between heavy pants.
I looked past his shoulder and saw that the monster was farther behind. Sen turned a corner and ran towards his house. I had to admit from up close, that the determined look he had on his face was attractive. The faint droplets of sweat falling on his furrowed brows made his skin glisten under the sunlight. Being easily carried by Sen, I never realized how extremely strong and athletic he was.
We arrived at his house in less than five minutes. He placed me down to open his house gate and we both ran inside. Sen was breathing heavily, sitting on the floor in front of his doorway. The way he effortlessly carried me bridal style and ran away was surprisingly romantic.
I took this chance of Sen’s exhaustion to discreetly cast a spell of protection around his home. “He won't be able to find us here,” I said.
Sen wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his arm. “What the hell was that thing?”
I shrugged, placing my backpack down on the floor. “Go outside and find out.”
Sen let out a tired laugh. “You know Ryu,” I looked up as he spoke. “You're heavier than you look.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. I take all of the positive thoughts and compliments I had about Sen back.
“I'm going to kick you out.” I threatened.
He jumped up and vigorously shook his head. “NO! I'M SORRY!” He tried to hug me as a way to apologize, but I shook his sticky body off of me.
After we stopped wrestling, we helped each other up from the floor.
“Well, uh,” I mumbled. “Thanks for saving me.”
Sen gasped. “Did you just say ‘thank you'?!”
I started to feel my face flush. “You're pushing my buttons today.”
Sen let out another laugh. “I'm kidding! I'd do anything for you, Ryu.” He grinned. “You're my best friend.”
I did my best to smile at him in response.
“Here,” Sen said. “Let's go up to my room and put our stuff down. I guess I'll make some cup noodles for us.”
I nodded as I followed him up to his room. I couldn't help but notice a tinge of pain in my chest as I kept my distance from Sen. I dreadfully knew this dull pain wasn't from our near-death experience...9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIJK3FLEpYk
