The Enemy Beside Me + The Liar Beside Me (Book 1 and 2)

Chapter 11

JAXON COMPLETES THE CIRCLE as he joins them for lunch. They're now having a picnic in the park. Mister Williams allowed them after half of the class voted "no" from eating in the same garden where they'd collected worms.

Here in the park, the cliques are far more prominent. Jake and the other loners who always prefer to eat outside the school have no choice but to group themselves. One kid tries to crack a joke, but nobody gets it, so they keep eating in silence.

'I kinda feel sorry for Jake,' Jaxon blurts out, transferring his natto to Watanabe's bento box. The blond once had said its smell made him vomit. The studious boy glares but doesn't protest. 'Why's he always alone? I know he can be annoying, but wow...that is so sad.'

'He used to be one of us,' Noritaka says. He cuts a sausage and gives half to Eien. Eien then chews it delicately. 'But we grew tired of him, so we kicked him out.'

'For real? What happened? Is that why he hates me?' Jaxon lowers his voice. He gives the last piece of natto to Watanabe.

'You don't have to whisper. Jake's too far to hear you.' Declan is right. Jake and the other students are at least five tables away from them. They occupy the VIP section, where trees and colourful flowers surround them. There's a big fountain behind them, so their voices are drowned out. Alasdair is conscious that the other students find it unjust that Jaxon and Eien are already part of their circle. If only they knew the truth.

'Okay, so what happened?'

'Attitude. Jake was always involved in a fistfight. We'd tried to reach out, yet he refused our help. Whatever help he needed. He disturbed our lunch break. We love our lunch break.' Alasdair smiles at how confident Noritaka sounds as he finishes his explanation. His eyes sparkle as though he's truly alive.

Then Alasdair's gaze flits to Eien. Funny how a dead child has given his friend a reason to continue living. Noritaka has yet to disclose how the youngest influenced him to come back. But from the tidbits the giant has shared, Eien had positively listened to him and made him feel relevant.

'So if that's the reason, why he's still here? I thought you value security here?' Jaxon asks.

His eyelids twitch. He hides his ire with a smile. 'Well, those fistfights were never grave. Plus, we have a deal: If he gets involved in another trouble, we'll be forced to expel him. Besides, I felt sorry for him. Something is going on with him. Had we had expelled Jake, he'd think nobody cared about him. And that's not the image we want to portray.'

'Yamato-kun is so kind,' Eien says, surprising him. His bento box is filled with Noritaka, Declan, and Jaxon's meals.

Alasdair looks down at his bento box. This morning, he decided to cook a simple lunch. He'd noticed how Jaxon frowned at his meal. Normally, that wouldn't affect him. He loves fancy food, so what? But then what if Eien thinks the same? He's intelligent, but Alasdair can see how close the two are.

'Thank you. Would you like some burger steaks? I made them myself.' He doesn't know why he added that last information.

'That looks delightful. Could I please have a tiny piece?'

'A tiny piece? Why? Don't you want this whole piece? I have three of them.'

Eien shakes his head. 'Thank you for your generosity, but as we all can see, they've given me this task to finish their lunch, and I do not believe a whole piece of burger steak will help me accomplish that.'

Although he's disappointed, he easily brushes it off because Eien's odd way of speaking entertains him.

He cuts a small portion and gives it to him. He waits for him to take a bite. When he finally does, Alasdair feels fulfilled when a hint of joy paints Eien's usual blank expression.

'I wish I could cook like you,' Eien says. Without any heed, he returns the octopus to Jaxon ('Hey! What's wrong with it?'), the pizza to Declan ('Wrong choice, Jian. Pizza is better.'). 'I have changed my mind. Could I please have the whole piece?'

Willingly, Alasdair passes him the biggest one. 'I'm glad you like it.'

* * * *

He assumed that'd be the end of their connection and would go back to just two strangers who are forced to stay together because of their circle of friends. But then he finds himself alone with Eien in the section of ancient myths. The library isn't thronged today, especially on the fourth floor.

Eien looks over his shoulder and asks him if there are security cameras. When he nods, the younger sighs. 'I have been having a hard time getting those books. They're located too far from my grasp. I could hover, but since you've said there are cameras...' he trails off.

'I can take them for you.'

'I guess I have no choice. Could you please hand me the purple book? According to the catalogue, it's the book about wind deities.'

'Oh. Do you believe that your gift came from the deities?'

'Possibly. However, so far, I do not think that my power came from the documented deities. Perhaps it's from another deity that can never be seen. After all, the air isn't visible to the naked eye.'

'But we can feel its presence.' He stretches his arm and reaches for the book. Eien doesn't move away, so he smells Eien's scent—vanilla with a hint of strawberry—and feels the heat that emits from him. The younger boy is alive? Alasdair wants to focus and search for the energy coming from Eien, but the more he does it, the more the heat dissolves. 'Here you go.' He hands the book to the waiting boy.

'Thank you so much.' Eien bows.

'I don't have any extra class later. Do you mind if I join you?'

'No, not at all.' He chews his lip. Alasdair looks away. 'It is nice to have someone read with me. I seldom get that opportunity.'

'Oh. Does that mean Jaxon doesn't read with you?'

'He does not read. At all.'

The librarian doesn't go here, so he's free to chuckle as loud as he can. 'Sorry about that. It's just that my guess that Jaxon's the generic type of a good-looking person who doesn't like reading has been proven right.'

'It was quite disconcerting at first, but I've learnt to accept it. Besides, Mister Evan's a good student. He may not love reading, but he also detests failing. So when I tell him to do better, he does better.'

The pride and respect that manifest in his eyes make Alasdair uncomfortable.

Eien isn't dead. Of course, he isn't, but it'd not be a surprise if there were a gift wielder who could be a corpse and still act like a living human.

Eien is capable of showing emotions, just not that frequently. His energy isn't like Declan's, which is slippery, nor like Watanabe's, which can be slimy. It's also unlike Noritaka's, which resembles smoke with wisps of lightning. Jaxon's quite different too. It's smoke that grows bigger and bigger, and yet there's no fire.

'Would you like to read here or in the park? Oh. How about our study room?'

'Wouldn't Jaxon mind?'

He shakes his head. 'He hardly uses it anyway unless I order him to.'

'It's settled then.' Alasdair smiles.

As they both head their way to Jaxon's unit, Alasdair can't shake off the idea that perhaps, Eien's energy isn't like his gift. Because what does his gift has got anything to do with threads?