My Little Mind Reader

2. Impressions

Phana's POV

Yo's friend returned and I exchanged names with the newcomer. Ming kept putting his arm around Yo's shoulders and smiling down at him. I don't like Ming at all. He's tall, fit, and good looking. Not as tall or good looking as me, but I don't like the way he is constantly touching Yo. He was introduced as a friend, but I'm worried that he could be Yo's boyfriend.

I've never even had to consider trying to break up a couple, but for Yo I think I'm willing to go to extremes. Ming seems to be aware of my feelings, because he's giving me the "you're unwanted" vibe.

"So you're the Campus Moon from last year?" Ming asked.

"Yes," I answered, feeling uncomfortable. I wasn't actually told to meet all the Faculty Moons, but when Yo made that assumption, it gave me the perfect excuse for spending time with him.

"You're going to have lunch with all the Faculty Moons?" Ming looked at me, clearly doubting my story. "Wouldn't you have met all of us tomorrow at our first practice anyway?"

I'm contemplating having to purposefully have lunch with all the freshman Moons just so I don't get caught in a lie. Not a good use of the time I want to be spending with Yo, so I come up with a plausible explanation.

"I'll meet all the other Moons and Stars at the practice tomorrow, but I was sitting alone for lunch anyway, so I thought it would be nice to welcome him," I said. Sounds reasonable.

"So you just saw him sitting here and thought you'd welcome him?" Ming pressed. "How did you know that Yo was the Science Moon?"

Ugh! I didn't think of that. I really don't like Ming.

"I saw him at his orientation and remembered him," I said, thinking fast, though it was only the truth.

"Ming," Yo said. He spoke low enough that I just barely heard him. "You're being rude."

"I'm just asking why he's sitting with you," Ming whispered back. "I want to protect you."

Ming's last sentence fills my vision with red. My hands ball into fists without conscious thought, but I know I need to remain calm. If he isn't Yo's boyfriend, he definitely wants to be. I just met Yo, so I'm at a serious disadvantage, but I'm not the kind of guy to give up without a fight.

"Yo," I said, regaining his attention, "can I have your number?"

"Of course," Yo said, taking my phone and typing in his name and number. But instead of handing it back to me, he gave my phone to Ming. "Put your number in too, Ming."

Ming takes my phone and types in his name and number, then hands my phone back to me, a smirk on his face.

"Here you go," Ming said. "In case you want to talk to us about the competition."

"Thanks," I said. Ming can be as suspicious as he wants, after all, I am considering trying to take Yo from him. My first thought was to delete Ming's number but I decided to keep it, just in case I can't reach Yo, I can find him through Ming. At least for now.

We finish our lunches and I stand up, knowing I've got other things I need to do today. Yo and Ming stand up too. They're walking past me so I allow Yo's arm to brush over mine. He stops short for just a moment before he smiles at me one more time and walks away with Ming.

I watch his back as he walks away. I'm holding the arm where he touched me, trying to remember exactly how his skin felt against mine.

Yo's POV

When I walked past Pha and touched his arm, I felt the rush of his feelings and thoughts. As usual, it took me a second to push them to the side. Luckily, it was just a short skin on skin contact and I've had a lot of practice blocking accidental transfers. I don't like to intrude on private thoughts but I do need to keep myself safe. Examining just enough of what he was thinking to know that he thought I was just a regular college student, I let the rest of it go.