Today marks a year and seven months since Larissa went into a coma. The project to fasten her healing remains a failure. There has been no positive result since. So far, the doctors still deem her survival impossible and the medicine to help the impossible become possible is nothing but a failure. The agreed number of experiments I can carry out is getting close. I promised my parents that after the number is three hundred, I will not carry out any more experiments. Even if they are condemned criminals, even if they throw away gangsters from the assassin association and mafia, they are still humans. Or so Mom said. Almost two years isn't enough to heal the wound in my heart, or anyone who truly loved her. I miss her. I miss everything about her. The world has no colors without her. I caught him, the bastard who made this happen. It's a shame he died from the third experiment. I would have loved to put him to more use. Larissa's parents welcomed a new baby last
My heart thrummed violently, my fast breath reaching my ears as I walked through the hallway, my hands sweaty and trembling along with my body. My eyes searched for people, one after another, hoping, counting, and internally crying. My heart raced faster with every number closer I got to my demise. I should never have agreed to join, but it wasn't something I could back down from.Since we were kids, we have always played a game. Whenever a new semester began, we took turns establishing rules. Like in the previous semester, everyone came to school dressed like a flamingo—courtesy of my request—and the semester before that, we resumed school with a pogo stick and dressed in flamboyant and absolutely crazy boho clothes. Every new semester came with something either more or less exciting, but this was the most outrageous ever asked. The twentieth male you see in the hallway should be kissed, regardless of whether it's a teacher or a janitor.The rules weren't adjustable. We made it so no
I peeped into the hallway, searching around for a sign of him. I had been doing that for a week since school began, successfully avoiding him the previous week. I was determined to avoid him for the rest of the semester until I graduated. I was certain he didn't see my face, but I couldn't be too careful. Everyone already knew me as a weirdo so seeing me going "ninja" wasn't surprising. If anything, they would stare at me amusedly and shake their heads. Aside from sneaking about, I became very jumpy and easily scared, like he would pop out of nowhere. It started the following day when I saw his older twin brother looking at me strangely. I knew it was because of how I was walking sideways, but still. Okay, his older quint brother since the remaining three don't school here. I heard the two eldest were in college, they were that smart. Zayne had always been intelligent as well, almost like the eldest male, but he always preferred to stay back with his brother and not fast forward his t
Keep your hood over your head, eyes down, never speak a word and you can get out of this alive.My breathing was not even, my trembling hands were on my laps. He was sitting right next to me. How did it happen? I don't know. I was on my own, preparing to sleep through the class when he walked in, straight towards me. He was just a seat away, but we were close enough to hear each other. I hoped he wasn't a shifter or a vampire, or he would hear my heart fighting to die on me.Five more minutes…"Okay, class, that's it for today," yes! Early finish! "We'll be starting off with an assignment. Two of you would pair up and work on a given topic together, and submit by the end of next week. You will be given topics from the last two semesters. The report would be reread in class and retaught, to refresh each and every one of your memories…""Oh, come on, Mr. Ayton, do we have to!""Yes, because I say so," I rolled my eyes. "Justice," he called harshly, making me furrow my brows in confusion
I groaned as I pressed my face into Neo's pillow, letting out very small whimpers. After the shocking news, I went back to sneak more and avoided him like a plague, but how long would I hide? How long would I stay away from him? I couldn't get out of it no matter how much I begged Mr. Stone to have mercy.«««Flashback»»»I followed Mr. Stone to his car, clinging to his arm like my life depended on it, which is true because it did. If I didn't find a way to get out of the tutoring lesson, I was doomed. An assignment was enough, no more. It was no longer a fight for him never to recognize me as the crazy kisser, but this was a matter of my heart. I knew myself a lot… No, it was common knowledge. He starts teaching me, we become friends, I fall in love with him and he never reciprocates, leaving me heartbroken for the rest of my life, maybe. I didn't want to take that chance, I didn't want to be part of those whose first love never worked out. I didn't want to have to suffer emotionally,
"Ow," I cried, "what was that for?!""What was that for? I'm trying to flick some sense into you. As much as I hate this, I will not be a selfish brother and tell you to turn your back on this golden opportunity. Larissa, this is your chance to get him to fall for you, for real. Aren't you tired of this?" He pointed his fingers at my wall of Zayne's photographs. "Do you want to keep loving the pictures when you can love him in person? Yes, you will fall for him if you get close, but he might too. You can never know until you try—""That's risky—""No, your obsession over him is. Once you get this over and done with, you can either get him to love you, or get your heart broken and get him out of your system for good. I know you, if you don't do this, you will regret this for the rest of your life. Risa, just try and see. And I know your other worry would be what if he falls and later gets tired of you like Dad's wife did to him? What if he cheats on you? What if he blah blah," he said,
Zayne's viewpointIt's always the same routine and pattern. Wake up, hygiene, eat, help Mom, kiss sisters, talk to siblings, school, back, eat, work, study, and sleep. Every other regular nonsense came within. It was always the same. Nothing exciting, nothing ever new. Exciting things only happened when my older quint sisters were around or in a blue-moon situation. For example, when Zyaire got his girlfriend pregnant and welcomed a baby. That was a blue moon excitement, then back to my regular boring life.Nothing was ever exciting to me. Every day came and went, everybody did their own thing. I was loved and cared for, but alone. Serenity, my best friend, was always away on this tour or the other, in this drama or a shoot. Zyaire was focusing on his acting, baby, and writing career. He was the only one who stuck around because of his girlfriend and baby and average grade.Maybe I should have gone to college with Savvy and Zach, but I never felt like being with them. Zachary is alway
Zayne's viewpoint The frightened skip of my heart, the first in three months. I caught her before she landed on the hard ground. Although death was impossible from such a distance, injury was not. "Whoo! You did it, brother!" She shrieked, throwing her hands wildly, and smacking my face with no care. "That was like a crazy trust suicide… Aaaah!" She screamed as her body went down to the ground. Her actions were unnecessary and chaotic to my years of practice-hardened heart. I do not need anyone to evoke any slight reaction than the given. "Walk," With that order, I spun on my heels, heading back to my car as calmly as possible. I was not. "Well, that was rude," I heard one of her friends say, not sure who, but the guy found comfort in laughing. Zyaire still stood by my car, waiting while the others went to his. He raised a questioning brow at me. "I'm not leaving her behind," I said, glancing back at her. She wasn't there. Zyaire shrugged, pushed himself off the door of my car, an