Issue #06. Helps From A Nice Friend

[Ch. 5]

 It was already noon when I woke up.

"Sleepy?" Someone asked beside me. I was startled that I could have rolled off my bed, but he caught me in time. With his arms. Without using much energy, he placed me back on the bed, and looked at me with those shining golden eyes. Oh boy, how could he be so beautiful without trying so much?

"Maybe," I mumbled through sleepiness. "I was just tired. Never mind."

"But I do mind about you," Kronos said, still looking at me.

"Kronos-" I rolled my eyes.

"If you don't want me to be protective of you, you should stop thinking about my health on the first place," he muttered.

"You're overprotective," I said, pouting.

"I'm not overprotective. If I let you wander more, you might get hurt since there are many immortals who want to kill you and me. And I would never want that."

"So you're saying that you're just a protective man?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," he said. "Why?"

"Because I think you're more than that," I replied.

"What am I?"

"A super overprotective boyfriend who is a psycho and is insane at his power?"

 Kronos slapped his forehead. "I feel so sad," he said without emotion.

"But everyone thinks that you're a crazy Titan," I reasoned.

"I already knew that," he hissed.

"And they all know that you try to be tough," I added, ignoring his reaction.

"Me? Tough?" He laughed, but there was no humor in his voice. "How could they ever think like that? I was considered a weakling back in my young days. And I never tried to be tough - I wanted to become stronger, and you can see that my ambition made me evil, deep down my heart. You all know that, don't you?"

"You're not evil, Kronos. That's just the way others see you. But I know-"

"What do you know about me, Jamie? Don't you think that I lie in front of you, just like I do to everybody else?" He asked, trying to calm down his anger.

 I wanted to argue, but his words made sense. He might have known everything about me by looking into my thoughts, but I can't do vice versa for him. All I know about him was by hearing from Kronos himself or from Luke. And thinking about Kronos' attitude to the demigods, he might not really want to speak about his past with me... since I'm also a demigod.

 But I knew... that this love was held by something stronger than Kronos' own power. Something more than interests. Something more than protection. And surely something more than devotion.

"Because I believe you entirely," I quietly said.

"What?"

"I believe your every word not only because you are my first crush, but also because you saved me when I felt like I was in the darkness with no light reaching towards me. I felt hopeless. But thanks to your sudden appearance by saving me at my old school, I was able to regain my courage back."

 He looked at me, without saying another word. There was no hint of emotion in his cold, golden eyes, but... he couldn't control it anymore.

"J..."

 He stood up, and I rushed toward his open arms.

"Whatever you do, just don't use much of your energy for me, okay? I don't want you to get weaker when you encounter those two bad guys there."

"I love you, Jamie. It doesn't matter whether my act of overusing divine energy weakens me. I don't care about anything if you are still healthy."

 And because he was so overwhelmed with his feelings, he stayed embracing me for half an hour.

 I loved it.