Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 140. About the Previous Timelines PART I

On the right side of the room stood Gabriel, Stephan, Misha, and Yuki, and on the left, Jake and Masha. The latters were staring at each other with narrowed eyes, sparks almost flying. They had been at it for a while already, shooting daggers and whatnot. Yet, neither seemed ready to avert their eyes, much less open their mouths.

The room was plunged into silence, and only the ticking of the clock resounded. It grew louder with each passing second, becoming almost deafening to Misha's ears. It was all he could hear, along with the quick beat of his heart.

'This is suffocating,' he thought. 'Gosh, the silence is killing me. Why the heck do they want to jump at each other's throats?! Masha, we said no murder!'

As his anxiety rose, Misha couldn't help but inwardly whine, glancing back and forth between Masha and Jake. The two hadn't had the opportunity to meet this week as work had been bustling on Masha's side, and it was thus the first time they met face to face since that day. Of course, Misha knew these two couldn't play friends out of the blue, and Masha had years of hatred and anger built up, but it'd be great if there were no blood bath tonight.

With this in mind, Misha decided to intervene before it was too late. However, Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder the moment he was about to speak up, shaking his head. Albeit reluctantly, Misha swallowed back the words about to fly out of his mouth. Alright. He should stop worrying. His sister wasn't that bloodthirsty. Probably...?

Regardless of how Misha felt, minutes passed, and only after what seemed to be an eternity did Masha deign to speak. Her voice was cold like ice and sharp like a blade, so much that it cut through people's eardrums—enough to make Misha want to cover his ears.

"First of all, I hate your guts, very much so. But..." Masha paused to purse her lips, then reluctantly continued. "But, well, thank you for protecting my brother. He told me what you did, and for that, you have my gratitude. I still want to beat your sorry ass, though."

Jake answered by cocking an eyebrow, not commenting whatsoever.

Masha had put up with his sloppy flirting and pushy attitude for the past few years; she always smiled despite the nonsense he spouted days and nights. Her reactions were somewhat meek and submissive, almost like a timid girl. But now that she was aware of his little charade, there was no point beating around the bush and playing stupid. Her behavior now had made quite the turnover. Though Jake had always been aware of her real temper, it was nevertheless startling to be at the receiving end of such straightforward words.

"Anyway, we're not here to talk about my feelings," Masha sighed, pulling a chair to sit on it. "Let's be serious for a bit. I think you owe us an explanation, Jake."

"An explanation, huh... I don't think I owe you anything, but I agree it'd be counterproductive to stay silent."

Jake's expression was frosty, and Masha glared back. It seemed like they would never be able to see eye to eye for whatever reason. Jake did not like her, and did not hide it either.

"However, it's kind of a long, crazy story," Jake started, closing his eye for an instant as if to reorganize his thoughts. "First off, I started to remember my previous lives a few months after Gabriel traveled back in time. It took me years to accept that these dreams were perhaps memories of previous lives. A part of me still couldn't believe it until just recently."

In this case, "until just recently" meant a few days ago. After Gabriel told him about his and Misha's little trips back in time, Jake could finally come to terms with these dream-like memories of his. If others also remembered lives that shouldn't exist, however small, it proved that he hadn't gone nuts. But whether he felt relief or grief at the thought was another story.