✰❦SoulBound❦✰

Chapter 4 ¦ Midnight Coffee Race

It's already 11.40 pm? Maya and Lucy must have already gone to sleep. I don't know why, but I agreed to stay in the living room with the boys. I felt really out of place there, even if we were all in pyjamas. We watched a few movies. Mostly zombie apocalypse ones. The atmosphere was a light, humorous one. "Come on, look behind you! Damn, why do they never look behind?" Dylan interrupted. "Because you directed the movie." I yawned after the remark. That got a chuckle or a wheeze from everyone else.

"Let's play something," Mamoru whined after the movie finished. "What? Like 7 minutes in heaven?" Botan asked, hanging upside down on the couch. Mamoru looked at me. "We're cousins." "And?" He asked. "It's just a game. It's not like it's a crime. Or are you scared?" Both of us stayed silent. "You know what, let's just play truth or dare." Haruki interrupted. Everyone nodded, not having a problem with that.

The first few rounds were slow and somewhat boring as people had trouble coming up with questions and good dares. A few of the better dares were probably something like "go to your closet and put on the hottest outfit you own" or "call the most recent person in your call log and make moaning noises" which was fortunately not my dare. That would result in a poor traumatized customer. We traumatized Mamoru's homeroom teacher instead.

Anyways, it's my turn now. "Okay, your dare is-" Botan said immediately. "I didn't get to choose!" "Shut up, go get us coffee." Everyone fell silent. "It's almost 12 am." "And?" I sighed and stood up to get some coffee for everyone. "I think we should race." Dylan interrupted with a smirk. "What are you waiting for?" I questioned and ran off.

A bit further from the house, I turned around and saw Dylan run the opposite of me. Of course, I went to my favourite place. I was just going to get normal coffee for the three and special drinks for Mamoru and me. I don't know, he just won't drink coffee if it doesn't have a dozen of sweet things. Although it's going to take a while. It's not like it matters, my legs are way longer and this cafe is way closer. To be fair, there isn't a cafe in that direction as far as I know. 

He's probably going to be back at home, empty-handed. He just likes to show off from the information I've gathered so far. I cut myself away from my thoughts and turned back around to look in front of me so I don't hit my head on a pole while I jog. A slight jog is nothing much, but full-on sprinting puts a more immense strain on my body to the point where I feel lightheaded.

I was very glad to turn around the moment I did, otherwise, I would've face-planted into this hunk of a man who looks familiar to me. No idea why, but it feels like I've seen him before. He didn't look like he was in a rush, lightly jogging, somewhere at my pace, just the other way. We locked eyes, being nearly the same height. It was nothing more than a few seconds and we parted ways soon. Anyways, the cafe's lights were already shining in my face as I neared the parking lot.

"Welcome!" A familiar small voice called out. "Hey! I didn't know you got a job here." I giggled and approached the much smaller female. "You know how I need to support my family." Yeah, they suffered quite a blow half a year ago. Her dad died and now she's taking care of her siblings alone. "So how's everyone?" "Good, good. Everything's been fine. What would you like?" I answered her with the orders I had in mind. I stood by the counter, still wanting to chat with her.

Right, forgot to introduce her. That's Amarachi, she's from Africa. I don't know why she doesn't speak about her country. When someone asks 'where are you from?' all she says is 'Africa'. But I don't dig into it. She's just a little 4'11 girl I met in my 1st year back in Nekoma High. Although she's way too caring and hardworking. Such a perfect person. Ama knows how to handle stressful situations well. Her 5 younger siblings rely on her a lot. She always denies help, but it's not like she can't handle her situation. 

Shortly after, I thanked her and left with the bag. She gave me a little discount on the price of my number which I gladly gave. I excitedly yet carefully strut back to the house. I may or may not have sipped a bit of Mamoru's drink. That's nothing though, he won't even notice. I just realized that there's a playground right in between the house and the cafe. It would be worth going there with those idiots. Especially at this time. It's perfect, with no street lights, a clear sky, middle of the night. You can see all the stars with just a glance upwards! 

I should hurry up. I was already close enough, so I started another light jog. Just in a few more minutes, I should be back on the comfy couch. And guess what happened when I was standing in front of the door? It was locked. The audacity of these bastards. And I'm guessing Dylan is inside as well. I tried calling Mamoru, but it said his phone was turned off. Yeah, I'll be staying outside like some sort of dog. Very funny. I took my cup of coffee, left the other ones on the stairs, and made my way to the playground I saw earlier. It's just a short walk. I couldn't see anyone there, so it was convenient enough. 

I bet Mamoru will be blowing up my phone in a few hours. Maybe towards 2 or 3 am. That won't take long.  As long as I have my phone with me. I made myself comfortable in a tube. It's pretty big for a child, so I fit almost perfectly. Only the ends of my hair and my feet were sticking out. It felt like the time when someone wraps you in a carpet. Even if I was laying down, I found a way to drink the coffee. No witchery. No magic. What matters is the placement. I was planning on scrolling on social media for this time, maybe catching a little nap or something.

Guess what? Before I could take my phone out of my pocket I heard footsteps in the gravel. They were getting closer. Then they stopped. I'm telling you now, my heart stopped. I couldn't even see what was going on. Maybe the tube was a bad idea. I heard a huff and some yelling. The shouts were getting closer by the second. That's when I realized there was a bench right in front of where I was. Yeah, about to eavesdrop on who knows what. 

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What Amarachi looks like :)