That Blonde Guy

Chapter 10

I decided to temporarily refrain from going to any mall.

After almost getting lost again the last time and after the panic attack that almost made me lose myself, I realized that it would be better for me to stay away from something that triggers the trauma. Sayuri and Hina told me so, too. Even Emma. My friends were worried about me just as I was worried about myself so it was decided that there will be no mall dates for now until I get over this and finally become okay.

It was an idle Monday afternoon and I walked out of the gates of the school, feeling a little sleepy. During lazy afternoons like this, the girls and I would typically go out somewhere--to the mall--but since there would be no mall for us for now due to my current condition, we decided to respectively go home early. I realized I needed this, too. To breathe. To have time with myself and contemplate about things.

The clouds had finally cleared today and the afternoon sun gave the surrounding a goldish beautiful glow. I took the street that leads to my house as I look down at my new phone. Well, it's actually wasn't new. It was my mom's extra phone and she gave it to me after mine got lost that night. The model was just the same as my old one so I was kinda liking it. I was walking slowly as I read text messages when I heard a faint 'Yo!' from the distance.

I didn't bother turning around because I thought it wasn't me, but then the voice spoke again, and this time, louder. "Yo, girly!"

I paused and gulped. Now, that sounds familiar. I turned around and my eyes widened when I saw the owner of the voice. A tall guy in a motorcycle wearing a black patterned cardigan. Blonde braid. Dragon tattoo.

I gulped. Hell, yeah.

"Thought you've gone deaf," he said, laughing a little. He got off his bike and started walking towards my direction. "'Sup?"

Ken Ryuguji was the last person I was expecting to come across with that day so I basically just stood there, surprised as fuck. Two questions immediately emerged in my head at that moment. First, what was he doing here around our school's area? And second, what the hell should I respond to 'Sup?'

There were many possible things that I could say but I ended up with a low and shaky, "what do you want?"

"Just a moment," he said. He took something out of his pocket. A phone. He stretched his other hand. "Gimme yours."

I was confused. He noticed it too, so he smirked and explained. "I changed my phone and my number," he said. "Just came to give you the new digits, you see."

I didn't know what he was talking about. The guy was basically telling me that he took his time coming here just to give me his new number and I couldn't describe how confused I was, thinking why did he have to do it when we basically weren't even friends.

But then, it suddenly came to me.

I was under Toman's protection. His protection. And he wasn't forgetting it, and he seemed to be really serious about it that he had to update me when he changed his number.

I looked at him. This guy..

I gave him my phone and didn't say anything. I had to look away because my face was heating up, it would be embarassing if he saw me turning all pink. He quickly saved his new number and gave it back to me.

I noticed that he was wearing a bracelet on his right wrist when he handed the phone back. A bracelet with round wooden beads. I was thinking where I'd seen it before because it was familiar, and it didn't take me long to realize it. It was the same bracelet that Emma bought in the charms store in the mall.