Chapter 68 - A Real Friend : Part 1

"So, do you want to tell what happened between you and Aster?" Rune asked Axel out of the blue, raising her eyebrows at her best friend.

Axel scratched the back of his neck as he looked over to Rune with an overly innocent face. "Uh, well- nothing, really."

The red-haired girl sighed as she took a seat beside the boy's desk. She intertwined her fingers and closed her eyes, taking all the air she could before asking her best friend again.

"Then explain," She darted, pointing at Aster with her thumb, which was stealing glances at them like they were some kind of a criminal.

"Why the hell has he avoiding you like you're about to eat him alive since this morning."

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"Oh my god, you're the mute murderer."

The two were sitting on the blond's bed again with no words and empty gazes, probably questioning their own existence.

"The loser is the mute murderer. What the fuck." Aster mumbled to himself, completely trying to ignore the presence beside him.

The blond managed to prevent Axel from leaving, trying to actually talk about their situation. The Edelweiss boy attempted to grasp the reality and managed to slap himself a couple of times just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Aster slowly turned his head over to Axel. A single sweat started to form on the side of his forehead. "Why didn't you tell me?" The blond asked, demanding an answer.

Axel sighed, closing his eyes to ease down the irritation within him. "Never wanted to." He answered and returned his classmate's stare.

"Never thought about it until I have to save your ass from getting into prison because your brother might think you are working with the mute murderer. Or even befriending him."

Axel did not mention the fact that he was running away from Kiaran. Therefore, Valerian should not know that he was here. It would cause more problems and dragged Axel over the lieutenant and the mercenary's danced around each other.

Aster tried to take the information into his brain. He tilted his head questioningly at Axel. "We worked with each other, though. Remember?"

"Aster," Axel motioned his hands around to reinforce his words. "-we were kidnapped." He answered impassively.

"And the second time was a life or death situation." The Vergessene boy explained, pointing out the ridiculous things that had been happening between the two.

Aster scrunched up his nose and deepened his frown. "I actually thought we formed some kind of a bond there." He stated and had the audacity to almost sound sad.

"We have been classmates for ten years, and I think we do have a bond." His blue eyes sardonically met the green ones as he deepened his gaze at the bully. "Like literally."

A flash of realization formed on Aster's face. "Oh. That bond."

The blond slowly shrugged unapologetically. "Oops?"

"Just-" A satirical look bloomed on the young murderer's face. "Stop trying to talk to me when I'm the mute murderer."

"If this keeps happening, the lieutenant would actually arrest you." He explained, trying to put some sense on the boy beside him.

Aster crossed his hands over his chest defensively. "My brother won't do that to me." He ventured, trying to defend Valerian.

"Alright." Axel moved his feet far away from the boy and stood up. "-so you want to find out?"

The black-haired boy began to walk over to the front door easily with a smile full of sarcasm. He put on his mask and white cap right before he reached the doorknob. "Let me just call him again and-"

"Wait! What are you doing?!" Aster tugged the back of his white hoodie and held Axel back.

The mute murderer raised his eyebrows at the blond. "To find out if you will go to prison or not. It might be a funny sight to see, though. I'd pay for it."

Aster brought his classmate farther away from the door. "Since when you're a sass, loser?" He asked as he was completely unaware of this version of the Vergessene.

He was completely unaware of everything, actually.

"I don't know." Axel pretended to think about it and looked at a ceiling. "Maybe because I'm stuck in this ridiculous situation with my god damn bully, who knows?" He diverted his gaze back at the blond derisively.

"Tch, you deserve it, though." Aster looked at him with his usual belittling face.

The young murderer blinked sheepishly. "I'm sorry, what?"

"The bullying." The Edelweiss boy answered, sneering at Axel. "You are such a loser that you deserve it."

Disbelief sprouted in Axel's eyes as he put away his mask with an unhinged grin. "You found out that I'm a murderer and still trying to bully me?" The Vergessene boy asked, even though it was more like a statement.

"What?" The blond taunted with a countering gaze. "You're still just an Axel to me anyway."

Axel suddenly froze at that statement.

He knew what Aster meant was that he was the same loser in the blond's eyes. But the words were something that Axel hoped someone would say to him. That he was enough. That he was still the same Axel, the same human being behind the mask that he wore.

Aster took Axel' silence as the sign that he had fucked up and realized that he might die now and then. A fight and flight response appeared in his forest eyes as he tried to find a way to save his life.

He took the mute murderer way too lightly because he was Axel. He really did not think this through and signed up for his grave right on the Vergessene's face.

"Though how could you not tell me that you're the mute murderer." And so Aster decided to change the topic to save his ass.

The blond could not express how relieved he was when he saw Axel's face turned into disbelief and playful irritation. "I've been telling you for these past minutes that I'm the mute murderer, and you even saw my face, I-" The Vergessene cut himself off and took a deep breath.

"I don't have time for this," Axel stated to himself and Aster and probably the world.

"I'm too tired of this shit." He continued and began to walk over to the window. He opened it with his bare hands and put a foot outside.

He wore his white mask and his infamous white cap before looking back at Aster. "Just don't tell anyone about this, alright?"

The blond shrugged while nodding, hiding the relief and dread in his heart at how close he was to seeing god earlier.

"Or else." Axel continued, bringing his thumb to his throat and making a slicing movement just like what Aster did yesterday.

The Edelweiss boy gulped. He froze in his place as sweats rained down the side of his forehead, racing with each other.

Just before the mute murderer disappeared from his classmate's sight, Axel got to admit, the terrified green eyes were kind of a funny thing to see.

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Axel blinked his eyes innocently after remembering yesterday's foolish event. He looked at Rune and smiled. "It's nothing, really."

"Just a few bonds here and there." He calmly answered, still staring at the red-haired girl with two uninvolved blue eyes.

Rune opened her mouth and frowned. She was about to ask more questions when the door suddenly burst open, and a teacher walked inside with books in his hands.

"I'm just going to pretend I understand your words." She stated hurriedly and stood up from where she was sitting.

Her red ponytail waved as she went back to her seat. Hazel eyes were still shooting a suspicious look at Axel who quickly broke their eye contact to avoid more interrogations.

Axel looked back to where Aster was sitting and raised his eyebrows at Aster tauntingly. The blond widened his eyes when their gaze met with each other.

The Vergessene boy found it kind of funny how the tables had turned. His mouth formed a playful smirk like how Kiaran did when he met Valerian.

It seemed like being a sworn enemy and taunting the Edelweiss brothers ran in their blood.

"And I thought I'm just Axel to you." He mouthed at the blond, ridiculing the bully to his core.

The Edelweiss gritted his teeth at the Vergessene. Green eyes burned with fire that could not get out-- for it was dangerous for him to throw fire into two blue eyes of a murderous bomb.

"Shut up, loser.." Aster mouthed back and quickly looked away from him.