✒ Chapter 3 : Psycho

'Mom! A dog bit me!!'

Khein was having a nightmare again. That horrible nightmare from his childhood where a stray dog attacked him and bit his right foot. The dog seemed to be hungry and mad. Its fangs were broken and Khein's blood dripped unto the ground as it traced the dog's teeth.  Khein helplessly crawled towards the side of the street as he continued yelling his mother's name but nobody seemed to hear him. Khein nervously cried and covered his head on the ground. He just hopelessly waited for the hungry and mad dog to bite him. With his head under his tiny arms, Khein heard a mournful squirm from the dog.

Khein looked back and saw a little boy holding a big rock above his head. The stray dog was already dead, lying on the ground helplessly with its eyes bulging out and its tongue slipping out from its mouth. Blood scattered on the ground as Khein watched the little boy dropped the heavy stone above the stray dog. Khein's eyes widened, his irises enlarged as he looked at how cruel the boy could be. The boy looked at Khein in the eyes, those dark black eyes. His face was drawn with crimson red across his neck. Finally, he walked towards Khein and smiled at him. The boy offered his hand and carried Khein on his back.

'I won't let them hurt you, Kheiny'

Khein woke up in the middle of the night panting. His sweat dripping on his forehead as he sat on his bed. He folded his knees and placed his arms above them. He rubbed his face with his palms and combed his messy locks with his fingers. He breathed heavily and stared at the wall in front of him. The boy in his dream was Rei. The boy who killed the stray dog was Rei. He looked for his phone and opened it. The flashy light welcomed his blurred vision and saw tons of messages in his inbox. He frowned and asked himself, "How did he get my number?"

Khein read the messages one by one coming from the same unknown sender.

"Hi Khein, this is Rei" -6pm

"Why did you run away?" -7pm

"Are you asleep already?" -9pm

"Were you scared of me?"-10pm

"Have a nice sleep, Kheiny :) Don't skip breakfast. I hope your arm is fine. I would blame myself if that gets worse"- 10:02pm

"See you tommorrow, Kheiny :)" -10:03pm

Khein turned off his phone and went back to sleep. As the night went deeper, he remained awake.

He couldn't sleep. His phone vibrated once again.

"I miss you" -12:05 am

Khein slammed his phone towards the wall and it created a noise on the ground. He didn't care if his mother would rush towards his room and ask him what was wrong. He didn't mind, he just wanted to get rid of that guy.

•••

"Hi Rei!" the girls greeted Rei in the hallway as the tall guy headed to his classroom. He waited for Khein to come but the rebel guy never did. The whole day was a mess for Rei. He haven't seen Khein the whole day and he was planning to pay him a visit. Rei thought maybe Khein was sick or his arm was hurting that he didn't make it to school. Neverthless, he made Khein's notes again and decided to bring them to him. Rei went to the supermarket to buy some junk foods and cola before going to Khein's house.

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.

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"You have a visitor, Honey Khein!" Khein could hear his mother calling him from downstairs.  Even if he was wearing his headphones on while playing an online game, her voice was too loud and clear. His arm was completely fine, he was just a lazy ass.

"I don't have a friend! Tell him to go home!" Khein shouted as his fingers digged deeper in every keys he touched. He was losing in the game and he could not think properly.

"He said you can come upstairs" Khein's mother said with a smile and nodded to Rei. His mother never recognized Rei and she thought her son had finally made friends at school. Rei gave her a genuine smile and then he went upstairs.

'YOU WIN!'

Khein chuckled arrogantly as he stared at the computer screen with his 'hero' being displayed as the winner.

"Of course!" he said. A pack of potato chips and a can of cola landed on his table. Khein grabbed them immediately as he hanged his headphone around his neck.

"Thanks mom" he mumbled. He stared at his computer for a long time and waited for the other online players to start the game. Khein felt that his mother was still standing beside him so he decided to look at her.

"Shoot!" He cursed when he saw that it was Rei standing and staring at him and not his mother.

"Be careful! You'll hurt yourself!" Rei said and Khein fell on the floor with his cola spilled around his pants. Rei stared at the guy's wet pants for a moment and averted his eyes towards Khein's annoyed face.

"Why are you here?!" Khein hissed. Rei offered his hand for Khein to stand up but Khein slapped it away and stood on his own.

"I was worried about you" Rei answered with a concerned face and looked at Khein's healed arm.

"Are you alright?" Rei asked and intended to touch Khein's arm but the rebel boy slapped them once again. Rei felt the stinging pain in his hand and decided to take it back and hid it behind him.

"Don't touch me" Khein said coldly and started unbuckling his pants.

"Get out" he ordered as he caught Rei staring at him innocently. Rei turned his head away from Khein's direction and said "You can change your pants, I won't look. I promise"

Khein sighed heavily.

"I mean, get out from my house and get lost" Khein said. Yes he was born rude. He didn't care and he would never care what might his mother says if Rei would leave the house.

"Do you hate me that much?" Rei asked angrily.

"Yeah? Isn't it obvious?" Khein asked sarcastically and threw his headphone on the ground. His jaw clenched as he stared at Rei angrily.

The truth?

He was scared. He was always been scared of Rei. And he must not let himself get attached to his psycho childhood friend.

"Now, get lost" Khein said bravely. Rei walked towards Khein and placed his hand on the guy's head to make him look into his eyes, eyes locked with each other. Rei's breaths fanned Khein's lips as he said, "Then, I'll make you hate me even more until you give up. I'll make you surrender to me until you beg for me not to leave you, Kheiny"

A grin escaped from Rei's lips as he saw the horrified reaction of the naughty boy in front of him. Khein managed to look back but his knees were shaking.

"You wish, psycho"