Ghost Boy- A Malachi X Reader

Chapter 12: "I Got You"

What is this burning sensation?

I ask myself as I gaze out into the ocean. The wide sea before us looked never ending. With no land in sight for the past few hours, I figured that we were going in the wrong direction. I had already informed Malachi, and he smiled, taking my advice to the helmsman. We steered round and soon enough, land sighted a few miles of sea away.

This gave me time to reflect on something I've been suppressing for a while.

That awareness I achieve when I'm near him

My mind swimming in the seemingly endless ocean below, unable to come to a conclusion on exactly how I feel.

If it's love, why isn't it clear to me?

I swallowed, afraid of falling overboard. I stepped back into the captains quarters, knowing the feeling would come back shortly after I heard my name yelled across the boat.

"Y/n!"

Malachi asked, and I instantly ran to his side. A small grin on his face, he gave me a map along with a compass.

"Mark our trail. We'll use this to get back to Phoenix Drop after this."
"Alright."

I nodded, my cheeks turning scarlet for a couple of seconds as his hand left mine.

Luckily, he didn't notice.

What's going on?

I blinked, frustrated. But I gave up wasting my time on this situation. I sat down in the captains quarters, tracing our path onto the paper and marking the compass.

Alexis walked in and came up behind me, her strawberry blonde hair cast to the side of her head.

"Y/n? What's up? You seemed really red back there. You got a fever?"

She asked, sitting across from me. I set down the pen and ink, ashamed of my display.

"No. I've been struggling all day with something. Something I just can't explain. It's driving me crazy at this point."

I faked a laugh, scratching behind my neck. Alexis looked rather perplexed.

"You can tell me. We're the only girls on the ship. Gotta stick together, you know?"

She smacked me on the back confidently. I shrugged away the pain, staring at the wooden floor before deciding to let her know.

"Whenever I'm near Lord Malachi, I get this burning feeling inside me. It's like I'll explode. Like there's a flame inside me just bursting open.. it's really hard to explain."
"You got a crush on him!!"

Alexis gushed, pulling me into an embrace. I awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"No, no. I would never allow myself to do that. My relationship with him is strictly business related."
"Stop being so dramatic. The heart wants what it wants, no business relationship is gonna stand in the way of that."

She winked, stepping back from me.

"I think he likes you too."
"That's very unlikely. I think he just considers me a good friend."
"Lady Business, lighten up. Look, Nahakra village is full of crime. He'll be hiding behind you the entire 3 days. I suggest you either confess, or swallow that pride. He's bound to notice if your cheeks are the color of the sunset whenever you're near him."
"Fair enough."

I sighed, accepting defeat. The boat docked in the town of Nahakra.

Time to start the day.