My Little Mind Reader

35. Friends

Wayo's POV

The Fairy Angels and I were having lunch in the canteen at the Science Faculty. I would say quietly, but in all honesty there was nothing quiet about any of them. Well, maybe Cake, she was quiet and shy. I don't know how she got involved with this group, but it was a good thing they had her. She was a grounding influence when they started to take things too far.

Kao was watching us from not far away, smiling at their antics. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get him to come sit with us. He said it was because he needed to be able to see people who approached me from all sides, but I think it was because he was afraid the Fairies would bite.

"You need to eat more," Zee said from my right, trying to put more vegetables on my plate.

"You just don't want to eat your kale," Jae said from my other side. He made Zee put the food back on his own plate.

Zee's recovery after his fearful night had been rapid. He was pretty much back to himself, but I noticed he still paid extra attention to the people around him and he was still afraid of the dark. Jae hadn't been able to get over things as quickly. Strangely, it wasn't fear for himself but a deep anxiety about not being able to protect his brother. I admit that I peeked in his thoughts just a little. I know that people need privacy, but I rationalized that I needed to be sure he was okay.

Jae looked down at his phone for a minute before putting it back in his pocket. That was one other difference about Jae since that night. He kept getting phone calls that he wouldn't answer. His phone would ring, he would look to see who it was, then immediately decline the call. No one asked him about it, but it was starting to bother me. The longer it went on, the more nervous he became.

"Would you say we're friends?" I asked Montri, who was sitting across from me.

"Are you kidding? We're best friends," he answered smiling at me happily.

"But if someone is your best friend, you would tell them about things that are upsetting you," I started, turning my attention to Jae. "Right?"

Jae looked at me with a guilty expression, but stayed quiet. So I tried again, "Because when I have a friend, it hurts me to see them upset or afraid. I really hope that my friends would trust me to be there for them."

Jae's eyes filled with tears and he suddenly threw himself on me, hugging me tightly. Zee followed right after, trying to hug us both. Montri, Chang, and Cake all got up from the other side of the table with little squeals and came to hug the three of us.

"Not that I don't love a good group hug," Ming said, walking up to join us, "but why are you doing this?"

"We don't know either," Montri said, "but would you miss out on this if it happened right in front you?"

"When you're right, you're right," Ming said, wrapping his arms around the rest of us for a minute, then backing up. "And ... now I'm done."

Everyone else took the hint and moved back to their seats. Ming sat down on the other side of Jae. He gave me a look that asked, "Have you talked to Jae yet?" I gave him a look back that meant, "What do you think I'm doing now?" We'd known each other for so long that some times there was no need for words.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?" I asked Jae gently. "I'll do anything I can to help you."

"Zee and I were supposed to be meeting some guys on the day you saved us," Jae started quietly. "At first, I just thought they sent us to the wrong place, but since then Park's been weird. He asked if we could meet again, but when I said I needed some time, he started demanding. He's calling and texting all the time. He says things that make me uncomfortable and when he talks about Zee, it feels off."