From The Ashes We Rise

Chp 36: A City That Never Sleeps

~2 weeks later~

Ebony's POV

I was startled awake by something on my window pane. It sounded like something was hitting the glass. I walked over to my window and peered down to find Ariff grinning at me from the first level. He was holding a pebble in his hand.

If you're wondering how he knew where I lived, let's just say he 'tracked my scent' when I returned from school a few days ago. I knew this because he was really horrible at hiding.

"What are you doing here?" I sighed as I opened the window.

Without hesitation, the boy climbed in. I stepped back as he fell headfirst, grunting as his face landed on the cemented floor.

"You're an idiot," I muttered.

"I know."

"Why are you even here?" I asked, helping him up.

"Bored," he replied. He went to sit on my bed.

"Don't you have homework to do?"

He nodded. "I'll finish later lah."

I rolled my eyes then sat on the bed beside him. Ariff seemed like he, too, had just woken up. He was wearing a loose red shirt and pyjama pants. His black hair was even messier than mine and he was barefooted. How did he even get here without hurting his feet?

For whatever reason he had, he decided to come and see me. I looked around awkwardly for a while and fixed my messy hair. After a long period of silence, Ariff finally opened his mouth.

"I was just thinking if you wanted me to take you to see the rest of Singapore. I know you only came here for a month but I think you need to travel beyond Woodlands."

"Why didn't you ask me in school?" I exasperatingly asked.

"Didn't wanna distract you with that idea," he replied, shrugging.

I chuckled. He cared a lot about me. I ruffled his hair, which was accompanied by a soft growl.

"Stop lah. You're messing up my hair," he groaned.

He grabbed my hand and tapped it twice, signalling me to stop. I gently pushed him off my bed. Because he was at the very edge of it, one small push was all that was needed to make him fall off violently.

He glared at me for a moment, his eyes flashing amber then back to brown. I merely laughed at his silent reaction, which he responded with another growl.

"Stop being moody," I said.

"I'm not," Ariff retorted.

Suddenly, his head shot towards my room door. "Someone's coming. I gotta go," he whispered.

"But you haven't told me when—"

"This Sunday. 10 am," he interrupted, hastily escaping through the window.

"Wait—" I began, running towards the window as he jumped out.

Amazingly, he managed to land on his feet. Guess that just comes with being a cat. He looked up and winked at me.

He smirked. "Cat instincts, baby."