Both of us left the love hotel in a high mood. It was early evening already as we spent a lot of time tossing in bed. I felt light all over my body, and my state of mind was lightened up as well. The things that left me brooding now felt distant.

While Violetta was almost glowing. Yesterday, she had no makeup when she picked me up, and today was no different. Yet she still looked even more attractive. Her skin was smoother and glossy, her lips growing redder in color, and her hair gathered into two ponytails looked silky and opalescent.

With my left arm on her hips, we went towards her parked car. Walking down the street, we probably looked like a harmonious couple. Little did the passersby know how our relationship actually was.

Going into the car, both of us buckled up, and Violetta adjusted the rear-view mirror.

"Sooo, what about having dinner together?" I looked at the backseat and saw my bag untouched.

"You are telling me you weren't lying yesterday?" She glanced sideways and started the car.

"I wasn't. Do you have something in mind?"

"And you are even willing to pay…" She intentionally stretched her words as she drove.

"Stop with this already, okay?"

"Such a tempting proposal, but I will reject it for today."

"Whatever." I waved my hand and fell silent.

The rest of the road we spent thinking of our own stuff. Soon, she stopped near Birchland High. Without letting me say anything, she left the very next moment.

I've had no other option other than walking back home. On my way, I called Annie and asked if there was any stuff we needed to buy. A notable amount of time passed when Annie and I finally returned home.

She insisted on coming after groceries with me. Probably wanted to make sure that I won't get into any trouble. At least that was my reason. After Mara's fuck up I was reluctant to trust into her security measures from the get-go.

As we shopped, she reacted somewhat strangely when she saw me. She tried to inconspicuously close the distance between us, look me over, and even sniff me out. Of course, she failed miserably, as she wasn't some kind of spy and had no clue how to do all of this.

Returning home, I changed my clothes and stuffed everything I had on for today into the laundry. Taking a shower, I was ready to deal with house chores. Walking up to Annie, I asked if she needed any help, but she brushed me off and told me to go and study.

Looking through my schedule that was barely scraped together, I opened up my textbooks and started checking my notes. I woke up from my studies when Greg came back. As usual, he was late.

I noticed how Annie's eyes were sparkling, and even the air around felt as if it fluttered. The way she looked at me, and Greg, made me doubt if she knew something both of us didn't know.

I went back to my room for a second to turn the pc off, and when I returned, Greg's gaze also subtly changed. I tried to eat the dinner silently, but I couldn't stand their gazes anymore.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I carefully put my fork and knife on the table.

"Nothing." Annie immediately shook her head but kept stealing glances at me, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Ehem, son, where exactly were you yesterday's night?"

"I've texted you, though? I was at a friend's home." I shrugged.

"Just you and your…friend?" Greg coughed. "You didn't invite girls or something like this?"

"No." I shook my head and tried to feign ignorance. "Just two of us."

"Hmm, I see." He nodded, his expression becoming complex.

"By the way, Erlig, is there any girl you are currently seeing?"

"Annie!" Greg interrupted her in exasperation.

"What? Greg, stop beating around the bush!" Annie's eyes flashed with resolve we rarely saw in her on usual days. "He spent the night outdoors with a girl. As parents, we should get to know her! How long have the two of you been dating?"

"No, I…" I was stupefied by her sudden momentum.

"Don't forget to use protection." Annie shook her finger. "I will bear with the fact that you don't want to show your girlfriend, but I won't tolerate it if she suddenly becomes pregnant."

"I…okay?" What could I even say to this sudden outburst? I rubbed the back of my head as I looked down.

Under continuous preaching of Annie and rare interjections from Greg, I finished the dinner and went back to sleep.

According to my schedule, I must attend lectures the next day and visit the branch gym after the classes. My schedule wasn't as packed for today, and I could've probably slacked off slightly.

But the moment I got this thought, I shook my head hard. No slacking off from now on.

With such a mindset, I woke up and noticed that I was alone. Finding a memo written by Annie, I heated the breakfast and hastily went through my morning routine.

An hour passed since I woke up, and now I was sitting in my seat in the classroom. Waiting for Elle to come, I revised the notes I've taken.

"Erlig!" I heard her voice that sounded a lot more boisterous.

"Elle, nice to see you. How are you feeling?" Her expression has brightened up since the last time I saw her.

"Jet will soon wake up!" She smiled. Although it was a smile full of pain, there was still hope and expectation hidden.

"Great news!" It was probably the only ally on whom I could've always counted. At least I had a feeling like that. "Remind me when he actually wakes up, and I will bring a get-well present to him."

"Hum-hum." She nodded as she was sitting down.

"Elle, look." I took out my phone and showed her a calendar with notes placed here and there. "It will probably change, but at the moment, my schedule is like this."

"Huuum." she furrowed her eyebrows. "Send this to me, okay?"

"No problems." I took my phone away. "By the way, can you help me with my studies?"

"I don't think I'm the most appropriate person to help you." She winced.

"Oh, right, you have your own track and field training as well, right?"

"Yea, although lately, I wasn't able to focus on them, the season will soon start off, and I would need to prepare for it." She looked at me, a smile blossoming on her face. This time it was a genuine one. "You should ask Joanne to help you."

"Joanne?" I don't know what kind of face I made, but Elle's enthusiasm dimmed in a jiffy.

"Oh, right, you are… not talking, right?"

"Yes…" An awkward silence ensued. "Is she alright? Why did she skip college?"

"I talked with her yesterday. She fell sick, but in a few days, she will return."

"That's good to hear." I rubbed the scar on my nose and tried to return back to revising but couldn't throw her out of my head. "Sigh, Elle, listen."

"Hm?"

"Look after Joanne, okay? I know that this doesn't sound right when it's me saying these words… I don't want anything to happen to her? She deserves her piece of happiness in this world."

Elle nodded. "I think I can understand you… If you were to say this a month ago, I would probably shout at you in rage, but now… I will try my best. She is my friend, after all."

"Thanks."

As we ended talking, the lectures soon started, and I was busy with taking notes. Between the second and the third lecture we both had a meal in the canteen.

While Elle obviously tried to cheer herself and me up, I was trying to match her high spirit. Though, the not so concealed gazes that were aimed at me felt unpleasant.

"How much of the last lecture did you actually understand?" Elle put a mouthful of salad with light dressing into her mouth and chewed.

"A half, I guess?" I answered while throwing a piece of bread into my mouth.

"Half? How could you? You skipped more classes than I did, and yet…" Her eyes were round in disbelief.

"Don't know." This was the first course of the college, a lot of stuff we studied was compulsory, and not some specific info. So some of these things I was taught here, I managed to remember from my previous life.

"Hey, Erlig! How are you?" Elle and I talked peacefully as her usual cheerfulness still didn't return when we were interrupted by the sudden appearance of another overly enthusiastic girl. Lifting my head, I saw Jessie in her hoodie that was branded with the logo of Brave and Bold.

"What's up, you punk?"

"Ready for an ass whooping later on?"

Following her were Bill and Johnny. Two of them smiled from ear to ear.

"Mind if we sit here?" Jessie looked at our table that was unoccupied.

I, in turn, looked over at Elle, who seemed somewhat flustered. As our eyes met, she understood that I left the choice to her.

"You can sit whenever you want." She squeezed a strained smile.

"Great!" Jessie immediately sat near Elle while Bill and Johnny silently took two seats beside me.

"I'm Jessie Arndt." She extended her hand to Elle. "A member of team Brave and Bold, and this guy's coach."

"Oh, I heard about you." Elle's eyes flashed with epiphany after hearing Jessie's introduction. She then proceeded to shake her hand. "I'm Elle Barr, Erlig's friend."

"You are? We heard about you from our senior." Bill suddenly exclaimed.

"Yeah, aren't you an aspiring runner?" Johnny interjected.

"What do you think about our team?"

"Quite great, huh?"

Seeing how the duo of friends wanted to boast, I stopped them midways.

"She's already taken." While Elle blushed hearing this, Jessie nodded knowingly.

"And we thought you had no intentions of dating anyone?"

"Yeah, was it because you already had a nice girlfriend?"

Bill and Johnny bitterly exclaimed. All the while, they started eating as if to eat away their grief.

"It's not me who took her away." But my words didn't manage to abate their disappointment.

"If you want, I can introduce a few single girls from my club to you?" Elle smiled wryly as she looked at the duo. "Oh, and I didn't manage to hear your names."

"Bill and I am…"

"Name Is Johnny…"

As the two were about to start boasting again, Jessie cut them off. "Don't listen to their rants." She rolled her eyes at them. "If they wanted to actually be in a relationship, they would easily find a girl. It's their nonchalant behavior that led to them being single." She stabbed her fork into the cutlet, and with the help of a knife, ripped a part of it.

""Jessie…""

Bill and Johnny spent the rest of the time weeping that Jessie ruined a lot of their chances to get a girlfriend, while Jessie mercilessly dissed them and forcefully made them mute. I notified everyone that after the end of the third lecture, I will visit the branch gym.

Later on, instead of proactively taking notes, I spent almost the whole lecture telling about Brave and Bold to Elle. As I managed to satisfy her curiosity a little bit, I went into the adjacent building and into the gym.

I pleasantly surprised Jessie with the speed of my recovery, and we trained our wrestling and overall coordination in the fight making light spars with Bill, Johnny, and other people who attended the Birchland High.

When I finished training, it was already some time into the evening as I made my way back home.

Going closer to the front door, I saw a few guys talking between themselves. I would probably look through them, yet I noticed a single resemblance between them.

All of them had a piece of bright red clothing. Either red headwear, red shoes, or a red jacket. There weren't a lot of them. Nor did they act aggressively or vulgarly. They simply stood there talking about something. Two of them smoked while the other two were shifting their weight from one leg to another from the cold.

My instincts, though, didn't tell me anything, nor did my mind. Shrugging this strange feeling off, I felt my phone ringing. Taking it in my hand, I saw that it was Mara calling. I was going to answer the call when my finger slipped, and I pressed to decline. Cursing inwardly, I wanted to enter my apartment building while calling her in return when one of those guys crossed me.

"Hey, I think we need to talk." Saying this, he didn't act rude, but he couldn't hide the enmity in his eyes.

"I don't think I know you, though?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that we know you." The remaining three men closed the distance between us. From their postures, I could kind of guess that they were not simple passersby. They were trained.

Will I be able to leave in one piece from here? And what about Mara? Is everything under control?

"Don't think of running away. Our men are all over the place." The guy who stood between me and the door shook his head slightly.

"Those men in the black suits, they won't help you, by the way." I heard a voice of a young guy from behind.

Finally, a third voice turned out to be a female one. "You better follow us obediently."

I tried to estimate what will happen next.

Well…Fuck.