Chapter 17

Midnight looked at Ryder and just didn't know how to deal with this girl anymore. How can she come to such conclusion after two barely muttered words from him? How can she even do that? Is that even doable? What is this? A Sherlock Holmes' episode? I didn't sign up for this, okay?

"I… I didn't say that." Midnight fought the urge to rub the spot between his eyebrows. The way Ry's brain works is out of this world.

Ryder wasn't willing to let go of this. After such a long time, she finally got another hint. How could she be willing? Instead, she was beaming, grinning like an enthusiastic idiot. She was kneeling on the bed in front of Midnight, her hands grabbing his arms as she brought her face closer to his, failing to notice how close their faces were. But Midnight certainly didn't fail. He was very aware of that proximity.

"You said that. You did. You can't lie to me." She wasn't even controlling her voice, which only made Midnight panic even more. At this point he didn't know what to panic about first. His heart was beating as if he had just raced against Usain Bolt. Ryder's face was too close for him to function properly.

"B-b-bullshit. When did I...”? Before he could finish that sentence, Ryder cut him off, raising her voice again.

"Then how do you know that the running track in my school is dark? Huh?”

HOW THE HELL DID SHE EVEN COME TO THIS CONCLUSION FOR FUCK'S SAKE? I DIDN'T EVEN SAY THAT FUCKING RUNNING TRACK IS DARK!

"Lower your voice. Your parents will listen."

Ryder didn't seem to mind it at all. She shrugged it off as if it was nothing and not like if her father ever found out that there was a boy in his precious daughter's room in the middle of night, he would deadass strangle the boy to death and hang his dead body on the porch. "The room is soundproof."

Oh, that's fine then…. WAIT WHAT?

Henry and Michelle had to turn Ryder's room soundproof for the sake of their sleep, because no matter how heavy sleepers they might be, it's quite impossible to ignore the unrestrained noises of the sewing machine or a hammer or even Ryder cursing out loud for getting burned by the hot glue gun, in the middle of the night.

“So, you are from my school?”

The idea of being in the same building during the day with Midnight, walking pass each other and whatnot, infuriated Ryder, but it also excited her. She could definitely find him then… right? She wasn't sure how she would react if she ever found Midnight in broad daylight, finding out who he truly was, but one thing was for sure… she would definitely not play dumb. She wouldn't be able to control herself.

Midnight didn't answer. His lips formed a straight line as if trying to glue them together and never speak another word again. This girl's is dangerous. He was afraid to say anything else. This damned kitten can get clues out of thin air like a fucking magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

"Why aren't you answering?” Ryder pouted.

“…” Don't act cute with me.

"Come on… answer me~”

"If you give me a kiss, I will tell you." Midnight smirked, finally feeling pretty confident with himself. He fought the urge to pat his back to congratulate himself. This Midnight here, is sly and cool. Look at my flirting skills. Bah! I should write a book titled "Flirting 101”.

However, as it has been proven countless times by now, Ryder isn't a normal human. That brain of her really doesn't function the right way. The reaction after that one sentence of Midnight, wasn't the shy and timid reaction Midnight was expecting. Instead, the cognac eyes of Ryder lit up like two balls of fires as her face was brought closer to Midnight's, who taken by surprise, panicked and went into a total state of immobility.

"Really? You will tell me if I kiss you?”

It must be said that under other circumstances, Ryder's reaction wouldn't be this. At this moment she was so immersed in the idea of the progress of finding new clues, that she was overlooking everything else. He wants a kiss? She can kiss him… this idiot would not know what to do with herself after this phase of intoxicating excitement was over and she realized that she actually kissed Midnight. She would probably die of acute blushing.

"You…” Midnight was feeling vexed. On one hand he was dying to take advantage of the situation and get even a slight touch of Ryder's lips against his cheek, let alone a kiss. On the other side though… he was slightly irritated. Was his Ry willing to do anything just to satisfy her curiosity? What if someone else asked her to kiss them in exchange of information? The more he thought about it, the sourer he felt. In the end that irritated side of his own and his expression darkened. "Why are you being so willing? What if I decide to take advantage of you?”

Only then did Ryder understand the situation. Her face flushed as she sat back on the bed, eyes falling on her hands. "I… you won't do that."

"How do you know for sure?”

"Because you're not like that."

Ba-dump… Ba-dump… Ba-dump…

His heartbeat echoed in his ears as he heard that. He wanted to say something, but couldn't, his lips parted but no words coming out, not a single sound.

"I wouldn't be… willing if it wasn't you." The voice was so soft and low, the words barely reaching Midnight, but when they did, both, the one who said those words and the one who heard them, blushed to the point they could possibly start bleeding from their faces.

Ryder wanted to kill herself right then, unable to handle the fact that those words were said by her. Feeling as if she would be suffocated by embarrassment, she borrowed Jasmine's habits of being violent when in a difficult situation and shoved Midnight hard. So hard he almost fell off the bed.

"You… you get out. Shoo. Leave right now." With every word she shoved him once, pulled him twice, pushed him to the window. If someone watched this scene without knowing of the existence of the terrace behind the window, they would think Ryder for sure was trying to murder the poor innocent and faultless Midnight who had started very innocently to chuckle yet still blushing. His whole body felt warm as that sweet feeling only Ryder made him feel, filled his entire being.

And so, he became rather shameless. "What about my kiss?”

Right then Ryder reached her limit and pushed Midnight harder, but due to the darkness of the room and the careless way one was shoving and the other was being shoved, the latter tripped and fell on the ground.

Now, this is where things got a bit tricky. With eyes widened because of the sudden turn of events, Midnight, who was falling, acted on reflex and grabbed the closest thing near him… Ryder… he grabbed Ryder. The hand that was used to push and shove was suddenly grabbed as if it was the only thing that could save him. But this is Midnight and that was Ryder. A young man and an eighteen years old teenage girl. The strength Midnight had as a man, his height and his weight… all these became the reason why Ryder who was seeing Midnight falling, soon found herself also falling the second her hand was grabbed. With a loud thump, the two of them fell down. Midnight tried to save his head but hit his back hard and Ryder didn't suffer any injuries as she fell on top of Midnight.

The loud thump was followed by a pained groan and then a soft chuckle that shook the chest Ryder was resting on. Ryder, who was already blushing, had the strong desire to play dead in that moment, but no matter how embarrassing and awkward she felt, that chuckle that shook the chest she was lying on lit a fire in her heart that licked her chest warmly and sweetly.

Instead of pushing her off or standing up, Midnight wrapped his arms around Ryder and kept laughing. "Cute." He said after he calmed down a bit. "Fiercely cute."

The cheeks that never got the chance to turn into their natural pale color, only turned redder as if suffering from severe sunburn. Biting her lower lip in embarrassment and because of some butterflies that were where they shouldn't be, Ryder punched Midnight's chest. "Shut up."

Midnight laughed again, but as his laughter died slowly and silence filled the room, his breathing slowed down and Ryder heard his sigh. "I don't want to lose this…”

The heart in her chest skipped a bit as Ryder tried to push herself off Midnight to take a look at him, but the arms around her didn't let her move. Instead, one hand wrapped tighter around her waist as the other hand rested on the back of her head, keeping her face pressed against the warm chest of Midnight where Ryder heard for the first time his heartbeat.

Strange feelings filled her heart upon hearing the rhythmic heartbeat of the young man.

"Are you going to leave me when you find out who I am?” The voice was sad and almost trembled in the end. Ryder tried again to push herself off Midnight, unable to resist the urge to look at him but Midnight tightened the grip on her and rested his cheek on top of her head.

"No." She replied softly. "I won't leave you."

"Do you promise me?” The voice broke in a choked sob that Midnight tried with all his being to hide it from the girl in his embrace. He felt like he was cheating his way into his Ry's life but he couldn't help himself. He didn't want to give up from this nor he wanted to lose it in the future, even though Midnight knew very well the girl he cares about so dearly might be disappointed by him when she knows who he really is.

Yet… he still wants to hear it. Even though he knows Ryder might break this promise and he wouldn't even blame her, he still wanted to hear it. To listen her say it, as if those words would be the blood to his heart, the air to his lungs, the soul to his body…

"I promise you."

In the darkness of that room, a soft sad smile appeared in the lips of the young man who held tight in his arms the girl he cares about so dearly. Unable to resist himself, he pressed his lips on the top of the girl's head and left a small kiss there.

…

Jasmine was rather calm as she heard Ryder say she would go watch the basketball game Friday night. This calm attitude frightened and concerned Remy to death. If this girl got into a fight again, he would lose his shit. The bruises from the last time haven’t disappeared yet. Why does she want to add to the collection?

However, Jasmine was truly calm. She even agreed to accompany Ryder and even looked excited. It wasn't until during lunch that Remy understood why Jasmine was behaving this way.

As Ryder had put on her headphones while reading her books, Remy took the chance to ask Jasmine. "Didn't you want her to stay away from Aiden?”

Jasmine licked the corner of her lips clean and shrugged with a carefree smile. "It's her choice. It's not my business to interfere. All I can do is advise her." She grabbed a French fry and shoved it in Remy's mouth.

"Why are you so… excited?” Remy asked as he chewed.

The smile on Jasmine's face turned sinister. "I recently found out that Aiden didn't lie about being Ryde's boyfriend."

The dark eyes of Remy widened in surprise. Almost immediately, disappointment fell like a veil on his face. He liked Ryder for she was a good friend but he really disliked Aiden. "Didn't she like Midnight?”

Jasmine shoved more French fries in her mouth and didn't forget to feed Remy as well. "She doesn't know it. I think it was a misunderstanding on Aiden's part. Knowing Ryder, that idiot probably agreed on going out with him without knowing what she was doing."

The idiot very happily kept reading her book, unaware of what her "mother" and "brother" were saying or that she just got insulted.

“It's quite funny though. Aiden thinks they're in a relationship, Ryde thinks they're only friends. Aiden is losing his shit. It won't take long before he finally snaps. I bet my left kidney that they will "break up" right after the game." Jasmine chuckled while Remy just stared at her nodding slightly.

"Then what about you?” His cheek rested on his hand then faking indifference, turned his eyes to the Physics book in front of him and the unsolved problem in his notebook.

"What about me?” Jasmine asked while stuffing more fries in Remy's mouth, unaware of the strange tone of his.

"You're so concerned with Ryder's love life. What about yours?”

Why is little Rem Rem thinking about such trivial things? Jasmine looked at him unable to understand what was going on in that cute head of his. "Why would I need a boyfriend when I have you and Ryde?”

Truth be told, Jasmine isn't that kind of person to think about romance. She never looked at anyone and have any romantic thought about them. Maybe it was because she found pleasure in other things and felt like she didn't need romance or that kind of love in her life.

But these thoughts of hers… cute Rem Rem may seem quite calm and innocent but he will crush her world in…

Three…

Two…

One…

Remy collected his things and while standing up he whispered in Jasmine's ear. "We will see about that." Then two soft lips curved into a smirk pressed gently against Jasmine's bruise in the corner of her lips.

As if this was completely normal, Remy left. The smirk had turned into a small smile as his cheeks had warmed up, but thankfully he had turned his back to Jasmine so she couldn't see it.

The latter was frozen in place, eyes widened in shock and mouth opened in an "O" shape as if she wanted to say something but no words came out. Ryder who had looked up once just for the sake of it, witnessed exactly this rare moment of Remy growing balls and Jasmine unable to react.

"About time." Ryder murmured and looked back down on her book, however just as her eyes landed on the page, Jasmine yelled. "INCEST!”

This made everyone in the cafeteria turn their eyes on her. Ryder jumped back, scared and wanting to evaporate from second hand embarrassment, while Remy who was about to step out of the cafeteria, froze in place, and had the urge to turn around and smack that thick head of Jasmine. Thankfully Ryder was a great friend who understood his needs and hit Jasmine in the head with the book she was reading.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?” She scowled at Jasmine who had the thickest face, not even caring at all about the mass second hand embarrassment she created around her.

"Remy… he… he…”

"Well, you had it coming." Ryder sighed but a hint of a smile hid in the corner of her lips. Jasmine didn't appreciate that corner of Ryder's lips at all. It only made her shocked face turn into an angry one.

"You knew?”

"MH."

"But…”

"He's not your son. And it's pretty normal. You were the one who went after him, calling him cute and handsome, making him presents and feeding him. Now you deal with it." Ryder smiled at her and, following Remy's strategy of "attack and retreat", left the cafeteria to find cute Rem Rem to congratulate him for frying Jasmine's brains with a peck on her cheek.