Chapter 7: Heartless Decision

Chapter 7: Heartless Decision

“Here’s your change Sir.” Noctis picked up the money on the counter and carried a medium size paper bag filled with who knows what. He reached for his wallet and placed his change inside. The man in mid-forties on the counter eyed him in silence. He noticed the boy’s gloomy expression, dejected from whatever the boy was dealing with at the moment. “Not so jolly as usual, huh? Something the matter, kid?” The man couldn’t seem to hold himself from asking since this is the first time he saw the ravenette showing such sad emotion.

‘Well, today must be such a terrible day for him.’

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing to worry about, Jerry. Just having a bad morning. I’ll eventually get over it,” the ravenette replied with a faint smile for reassurance before taking out a lollipop from his bag and unwrapping it to be eaten. Though, the depressive and scornful feelings started yesterday at the school. He’s been cranky all day long and it made his mood worse when he couldn’t sleep last night. Asher’s words haunted him along with Pearl’s hurt expression.

The ravenette came back to reality when the cashier guy named Jerry snapped his fingers in front of the male’s face. “Look kid, reality is so harsh so it’s better we accept it than denying living in illusions. Here…” Jerry took a pack of strawberry-flavored condom and handed it to the young male which made the ravenette choke on his candy. “They say a blissful night can take all the worries away. So why don’t you hook up with someone for the night, eh? Uncle Jerry got your back, kid.” The man gave Noctis a wink, making the male smile nervously. “T-This… I can’t take—”

“Oh shush. Keep it. I’ll pay for it.” Jerry insisted. “Now off you go. You’re holding off the line.”

Noctis was kicked out of the store with the condom in his hand. He started to sweat profusely as red painted his cheeks in heat. ‘That damn old man… Just what in the world got into his mind?’ His obsidian orbs gaze on the condom pack on his hand, crushing it out of annoyance and throwing it in his bag. ‘Whatever! I’m throwing this once I see the next trash bin!’

The ravenette chewed on the candy in his mouth, savoring the sweet flavor of strawberry. It was a peaceful Saturday. It’s a little sad to see only a few people passing by the streets heading to his dormitory. Tall infrastructures were everywhere, but it looked so empty; it’s not as if Noctis mind. Rather, he enjoyed it, this peaceful weather. The cool breeze caresses his skin, making him close his eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

‘You always resort to violence. No wonder your bitch died.’

His mood went sour as soon as Asher’s words came across his mind. Noctis felt that his punch wasn’t enough. He wanted to do more but he also knew nothing came good, venting his anger towards the albino. ‘What does he know anyway? All he knows is how to run his mouth as if he knew everything.’ Is what he thought. Yet, he can’t deny that what Asher said were facts.

Another series of unwanted images appeared in his mind. The image of the burning building in the background as the sky turned embers in the dead of night. The image of a young woman getting dragged away by men from the imperial palace and the helpless ravenette couldn’t do anything but scream as men separated him from the woman. Blood was spilt when he fought back, killing numerous knights to save his beloved. But… the worst image appeared. The image of a lifeless woman in his bloody hands, made his chest ache so bad it felt as if it was being squeezed so hard.

‘Noctis… It’s not your fault.’

‘No… No! All of it is my fault! It's because of me, she...’ He thought. Pain filled his chest whilst he panted heavily. The ravenette broke into cold sweat as he dropped on his knees. Guilt and regret devoured him slowly. He could feel his tears threatening to fall as the past haunted him. No one was there to help him. The streets were empty and he was hyperventilating. He was suffering alone like how he suffered back then after losing his parents. He had no one. His best friend who thought understood him the most betrayed him for blind loyalty. And he’d rather not bother his friends since they know nothing. ‘It’s fine like this…’ His mind spoke. He’d rather suffer alone than drag more people into his problems.

‘Noctis!!! Hey!’

A familiar voice came across his mind. A joyful and annoyingly high pitched voice of a woman filled his mind. The image of Pearl flashed, smiling cheerfully at him. Somehow, that smile saved him. He reminisced about the young maiden’s adorable reaction from time to time whenever he gazed at her. From her cute little glances to her adorable pout whenever no one sided her during her playful banters with Yujin… Is what pulled him out from the dark void of emptiness and eternal regret.

He let out a sigh, relaxing himself and finally stood up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When Noctis opened his eyes, revealing his pair of obsidian orbs, he was determined to protect that smile no matter what, even if it meant ending his life. The ravenette has finally had the strength to move forward, taking his steps to walk back to his dorm. The last thing he wanted to do is to deal with Asher at the moment. He was relieved that it is the weekend today. He had enough time to calm himself… Until he received a text from an unknown number.

He pulled his phone out from his pocket and opened it to check the message.

“We need to talk. Let’s meet.”

“Who the hell is this?” His perfectly shaped brows were knitted together while gazing at the message. The first thing in his mind would be Yujin changing his phone number but since he’s been receiving unwanted messages from strangers lately, he decided to ignore it and continued to walk back to his dorm.

He chose to live in such a tidy place, with his own space, not worrying of anything. He entered the rusty gate leading to the dorm. It was a house with a huge garden, the place seems like it was frozen in time, with white faded paint, vines crawling all over the walls, ivies blooming and dying. It looks like a deserted place at first but once entered, there welcomes the noises of all the boys staying in there.

Opening the door, a bang of loud rock music echoes throughout the hallway, he looks at old man Robert who’s in charge of the dorm sleeping in his desk at the corner. ‘How the hell could he sleep with this noise?’ The ravenette thought to himself. Then he picked up the keys of his room from the key holder and went straight to the narrow way.

Few juniors and dorm mates greeted him. He exchanged a few greetings with others and had a short talk. “We have a match with East High later in the afternoon, care to join us, Noctis?” A guy with dark auburn hair wearing a number twenty-two jersey greeted him, executing some basketball moves and pretending to shoot in front of him. “Not today, Henry. I’m busy.”

“What a shame. The bet is enormous, and we know how great a player you are. Thought we could invite you to secure our victory.”

“Yeah, but not today.” With that he walked past him, greeting a lot of the other boys before he proceeded to the stairs. The wooden floors were old but strong enough to carry each step he’s making. His room was located on the third floor. It’s a haven for people who prefer silence. Unlike the first floor which was filled with noisy boarders, most of the geniuses and bookworms preferred the third floor with the obvious reason- to get away from the bustling crowds and Noctis was one of them.

As he arrived at his room, he felt a presence inside. He took a peek from the peeping hole built on his door. Shadows were moving inside of his room, which alarmed him. The shadow's movements were too vague and contorted, he could hardly make an image on how or who his perpetrators could be. He stood there thinking, ‘How did they manage to enter when the door is locked?’ He put down the paper bag he’s carrying and let out the fork from the food that he bought as it was the closest thing he could use as a weapon and to defend himself. “If these people entered from the window, then they’re probably competent enough to fight,” he whispered.

‘But of course, no human can climb to the third floor unless they're a parkour artist. Unless…’

He felt movement on the door which made Noctis tighten his grip on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, the ravenette finally decided to slam open the door and lunge on the person standing in front of it. “You bastards! You snuck in the wrong—” The man swiftly dodged Noctis, surprising the ravenette with his quick sidestep and ended up losing his footing and knocking the next guy. He groaned in pain, so did the other guy.

“Fuck! That hurts…” he complained. He felt the other guy beneath him groaning in pain as well which shocked him to see Edward.

“Edward?!”

“Haha… Hey Noctis. Can you please get off me?” The brown-haired male smiled in pain. The ravenette hurriedly got off the male and backed away. “What are you doing here?” He questioned as he tried to process the current happenings.

“You’re late.” A deep familiar voice spoke behind him, snapping his head to meet those golden pairs of jewel-like eyes. Asher stood there with his arms crossed wearing a dark blue fitted shirt under the checkered polo shirt. Black fitted pants and ankle boots. His snowy white hair was tied to a high ponytail to finish his looks.

‘Fuck… Just my luck.’

“We need to talk,” Asher started, letting out a sigh while leaning against the wall.

“We have nothing to talk about,” the ravenette gritted his teeth and was ready to gun at him anytime. Out of all the people, Asher was the last person he wanted to meet and the bastard appeared in front of him as if yesterday was nothing.

“Come on now, Noctis. Stop being childish. I seriously don’t want to fight with you right now.”

“Then leave. I don’t want to deal with you today. Seeing you pisses me off,” he growled low, seething with anger.

Asher moved forward, sizing Noctis up while narrowing his eyes. “As much as your immature attitude ticks me off or my presence annoys you, we have no choice but to be stuck together. Daniel is out there. You’ll never know what move they’ll do next. It could in-danger those girls you call friends. Who knows, they’ll get abducted by them as well. So it’s either you deal with this or come back crying like a pathetic person you are.”

Noctis was so close to losing all his wits and was about to punch the albino but a hand grabbed his shoulder, distracting him for a bit. He turned his attention towards Edward who was staring at him seriously, shaking his head to indicate that he shouldn’t do it and control his temper this time. “It’s best if you listen to him first. I know it’s hard for you right now, but we have no choice, Noux. Just this once, listen to him and you decide whether you can trust him or not,” knowing Edward, he wouldn’t have done it if the man himself didn’t trust Asher. Edward has better judgement compared to the both of them. If Edward trusted Asher, then he’s worth listening to.

Noctis dropped his head and backed away, letting out a defeated sigh. “Alright… Fine. I’ll listen.”

“NOCTIS YOU BASTARD!! YOU BOUGHT A FUCKING CONDOM?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PLANNING HUH?! YOU TRAITOR!” The tension created by the two broke when Yujin’s loud voice cut through. The red-head was fuming with anger, throwing the pack of strawberry condom towards Noctis. The ravenette paled at the sight of the condoms he completely forgot to throw away. Asher giggled as he held his laughter while Edward was blushing at the sight of it, turning his gaze towards Noctis in disbelief while covering his face.

“H-Hold on. It’s not what you think—!”

“So you’re planning to get laid tonight, you shit. Huh?!” Like a gangster, Yujin approached Noctis and grabbed his collar. “Do you wanna fight?” Yujin threatened as the ravenette sweat profusely.

“Shut up, virgin.” Asher said bluntly.

“HAAAH?! YOU SHUT UP AS WELL, YOU BLUE-BALLED BASTARD!”

“Hah! Stop calling out yourself, Yujin.”

“ARRGHHH!! SHUT UP!” Everyone laughed at Yujin and Asher’s playful banters. And for the first time in four years, they all felt whole again. Just like back then.

*****

“Alright, now that things have settled, I would like to discuss your friend, Andrew.” The fun atmosphere disappeared just like that as everyone sat in their respective places, forming a circle, all attention on Asher.

“As we all know, he disappeared the same day Daniel and Jinyoung arrived. The first suspect would be Daniel kidnapping him. Of course, it’s only a theory but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.” Silence filled the room as the three listened attentively to Asher. Though as much as Noctis would like to pay attention to Asher, Yujin was getting on his nerves as the red head was blowing the condoms like balloons.

“So what are you implying with that?” Edward questioned, popping the strawberry pocky in his mouth he found in Noctis’ bag.

“What I mean is that, if they indeed took Andrew with them, then that means their purpose is to lure us back to the planet.” Asher replied while drinking Noctis’ strawberry juice box he took from Noctis’ plastic bag. Noctis was starting to get pissed when they took his food that was meant for himself.

‘These assholes had the nerve to take my food.’ The ravenette was glaring at them but to no effect at all as they all continued to take the food from his bag. Only Yujin was busy enough to eat his food.

“But I thought it’s illegal to take an outsider within the kingdom? Wouldn’t they get in-trouble if the others found out they brought someone who isn’t from the kingdom? Not to mention, an Earthling?” Edward continued to question Asher while Noctis started to wonder.

“Unless…” Noctis started, “It was ordered by the imperial court itself.” Asher grinned at the ravenette’s quick-wittedness before turning to the others.

“That’s right. It could be issued by the court itself. But I do wonder, why would they do this much just for four traitors…” He wondered, succumbing to his deep thoughts as to look for possible answers. “Well, whatever it is, there must be deeper reasons for it.”

Noctis leaned against his bed and looked down for a minute. He thought it was too ridiculous for the imperial court to do this to just four traitors. He sighed in defeat as he found a solution to none. “Do you have any plans then?” Turning his gaze to the albino, the albino met his questioning eyes.

“I’ll be honest, I do have a plan in mind but, this could be something endangering us. It’s going to be something the court would want us to do.” The albino voiced his concern knowing that they got no choice but to do ‘that’.

All of them were aware what Asher meant and they felt worried by it. Yujin, who’s finally done tying up his condom balloon finally took his chance to speak. “So we have to go back. Huh?” He gazed at his condom balloon filled with worry and sadness as he held the slippery thing on his palm. “What about the girls? Do we have to leave them?”

“The answer is obvious, Yuu.” Noctis answered this time. “We can’t risk bringing them with us. Who knows what will happen if we are unable to keep them safe.”

“That’s right. I will be blunt, bringing those girls will only cause us more trouble. I don’t want us to be responsible if we fail to protect them. They know nothing about us or what they will expect in the kingdom. If something happens to them, then you three will be wallowing with regret and despair.” Asher added bluntly. They were all aware of that which is why, even if it hurts, they have to leave the girls back here on Earth. But the fact that they are unable to see the future scares them; unable to go back to Earth or worse, death.

Yujin sighed, dropping his body and letting it sink on the bed. “Alright we get it… But how are we supposed to tell them we’re leaving?”

“We’re not telling them. That’s the most logical choice.” Yujin sprung from the bed to stare at Asher in disbelief. Edward and Noctis did the same.

“Are you serious?! But what if—” Yujin’s words were unfinished when Asher cut him off.

“It’s either you leave with no regrets, or let your feelings get swayed by them. Because I can already see how determined they are to get your friend back. They will and will push you to take them with us. And if you get swayed with it, the risk we will be taking is too high. You don’t want them to risk their life for something they can’t do.” Asher said firmly.

“It’s either you let go of them or kill them off. Choose.”

The three were dead silent. Asher was spitting facts and they couldn’t say anything back. Edward was paling after hearing what Asher said. It’s true he couldn’t risk taking Janine with him, but he couldn’t just leave her without saying a word. Yujin and Noctis were thinking the same thing as Edward and they’re already regretting it because they had no choice but to do as Asher said.

“I know this is hard for all of you. I am well aware that the bonds that you made with these people are strong and hard to forget but just as what the people of this planet say,” Asher with his arms folded over his chest, said. “If you truly love someone, learn to let them go. I’m just being rational, this is better than to see those girls die because of you, when in the first place they don’t even need to be involved with any of this.”

Noctis stiffened, stepping backwards, his fist clenched and shaking in anger. His lips worked into a frown. “This is the best decision we can make huh?” He said bitterly.

“Unfortunately yes," Asher fixed his glasses. "Now that you know what I meant, that’s all I have to say.” Asher stood up and fixed himself and turned his back from them. “I’ll leave you three to think. Call me when you finally think it through… Well not like you had any choice.” As the albino was about to walk out, Edward received a text message from Janine.

“Guys.” He called, “Janine said that they found Glory at Andrew’s apartment and said that a weird metal badge that might be familiar to us was found in Andrew’s room.”