My spirit animal is a F–Rank gecko-Chapter 41: Back to the past (2)

Everyone went quiet, all of them staring at Karina blankly, with no expression.

Then Ivy’s eyes lit up, breaking the silence. "I AGREE!"

She lifted her arm triumphantly.

Reza and Jay exchanged glances while Karina and Ivy high-fived each other.

"So?" Karina turned to Reza.

"What do you think? Do you agree?"

Reza flinched at Karina’s words, his eyes wandering as he rubbed his cheek nervously.

"Ah.... I don’t know..."

"Why don’t we discuss this with Jaster?"

Jay spoke up, trying to break the awkwardness.

His words brought everyone back to their senses.

Karina smacked her forehead.

"Oh yeah, Jaster. How could I forget about him? Is there any news about his condition?"

Jay shrugged.

"No, not yet. All we know is that he got transported to Silver Hospital."

Ivy suddenly slammed her hands on the table.

"Guys! How about we visit him later?" She said, weirdly enthusiastic.

Karina was shocked at first, then chuckled while hiding her mouth with her hand.

"What is it?" Ivy asked the purple-haired girl.

"Nothing. I just think your brave side is very cute. You should have more courage girl!"

Reza nodded in agreement with Karina, while also sneaking some of Ivy’s untouched food.

"Yeah—I think it’s very refreshing..." He said with his mouth full.

Ivy’s face went still for a moment, until she smiled heartwarmingly and looked down at her hands.

Ivy had always wanted to be brave and outspoken, but her personality always held her back.

Whether it was her narcissistic parents or her fake friends, Ivy was a sweet, kind girl constantly surrounded by conniving people, that wants to take advantage of her kindness.

For the first time in a long while, she felt that ache in her heart disappear. Ivy gripped her funeral skirt and smiled with confidence. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Yeah! I’m gonna be more brave from now on!

Watching Ivy grow closer to Reza and Karina irked Jay even more.

He started eating his burger faster and faster.

That bitch. I need to find a way to break up Karina’s relationship with Ivy, so then Ivy can only depend on me from now on.

He side-eyed Ivy’s sudden surge of confidence and scoffed.

"I’ll break that confidence of hers later." He muttered while stuffing his face.

"Hey guys!"

The group heard a familiar girl’s voice. They looked behind them to see Anastasia walking toward them with a tray.

Behind her was Benjamin.

Reza’s eyes widened at the sight of Benjamin.

"Hey Anas—" Reza quickly lunged toward Karina, covering her mouth before she could finish.

"Karina. Benjamin is here. I can’t have him seeing me like this!" He whispered urgently.

Karina’s eyebrows shot up; she mumbled something against his hand.

Jay noticed Reza’s strange behavior and remembered the tension between him and Benjamin back in the cave.

"Hmmmm?" Jay smiled wickedly behind his pan-fried burger.

Anastasia and Benjamin stopped beside their table.

Reza immediately straightened up and forced a smile, leaving Karina sprawled on the booth, utterly confused.

"Mind if we join you?" Anastasia asked with a bright smile.

On her shoulder sat her fox, with those derpy damn eyes.

Ivy’s eyes lit up instantly at the sight of the cute orange fox.

"Your fox is sooooo cute!!!" Ivy beamed with sparkles in her eyes.

She scooted closer to Jay, patting the empty spot beside her.

"Here, Anastasia, you can sit here!"

Anastasia gasped.

"Omg! Thank you—But..." She scanned the crowded booth. "Is there no place for Benny?"

Ever since Reza was a kid, he’s considered of having a larger build than the people his age, because of that he took up a lot of space.

Karina pointed to the tiny spot left beside Reza.

"You can sit there, Benjamin!"

Reza’s eyes widened. He silently cursed Karina while she shot him a wicked grin.

Benjamin noticed Reza’s uncomfortable expression.

"Uhm.... If it makes you uncomfortable, I can just leave..." Benjamin said softly, looking down at his feet.

That only made Reza feel worse. He clenched his fist.

"No—It’s fine... Here!"

Jay couldn’t help but chuckle behind his burger. He muttered under his breath:

"This’ll be fun!"

---

While Ivy, Karina, and Anastasia bonded over their spirit animals,

Benjamin found himself squished against Reza, their shoulders pressing together.

Reza tried desperately to hold his breath. His heart pounded wildly, and sweat poured down his face.

A droplet landed on Ben’s neck. He turned to Reza with concern.

"Are you okay, Reza? You’re sweating really hard!"

Reza felt like he might explode just from seeing Ben’s worried face.

"Oh, is he? You know, Ben..." Jay drawled lazily, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Reza has a history of asthma. I’m pretty sure it’s acting up right now."

Reza, in fact, did not have asthma.

He shot Jay a glare, but the silver-haired man just shrugged.

"Oh really, Reza? You should’ve told me! I have asthma too—Wait, I think I have a spare inhaler you can use!"

Ben rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a black inhaler.

"Ah—You..... don’t need.... to. I’m—fine." Reza’s stuttering didn’t help his case at all.

Ben leaned in to hand him the inhaler, then stopped suddenly.

He heard something.

"Uh—Are... you okay?" Reza asked the religious boy.

Then, out of nowhere, Ben tilted his head and pressed it against Reza’s chest.

The side of Ben’s head rested against the frantic boy’s pounding heart.

Reza let out an accidental yelp.

"AH—You.... really—don’t need to do that!"

He tried to push the curious boy away, but Ben insisted.

Reza fought to keep his heart from jumping out of his chest. He bit his lip, sweating even more.

"Oh no, Reza. Your heart is beating so fast!"

Ben placed his hand on Reza’s chest, searching for the source of the frantic rhythm.

Reza felt every gentle touch as Ben’s fingers traced his chest, finally landing directly over his heart.

"Ahah, found it!"

Reza completely lost it.

Fuck.

He shot up from the booth, gasping for air.

Everyone froze, startled by his sudden movement.

"You okay, man?" Karina asked.

"No." That was all he managed before escaping toward the men’s bathroom.

"Wait, Reza, you’ll need your—" Ben didn’t even get to finish. Reza had already disappeared inside.

"What’s wrong with him?" Karina asked Benjamin.

"I don’t know. I think his asthma is acting up."

Karina raised an eyebrow.

"Asthma?" She had only known Reza for two days, but that was enough time to learn each other’s biggest secrets.

She didn’t remember him mentioning anything about asthma.

She glanced at Jay and caught him smirking toward the bathroom.

Karina rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Her suspicion of Jay grew with every passing second.