Chapter 12: Beware of Him

Runa's eyes widened, and she held her breath as her gaze collided with Arden's.

"What did you say?" Arden repeated his question. His hand was still outstretched past Runa, holding on to the crutch that nearly fell.

Runa's hands gripped the armrest of the sofa. Her nails dug into the rotting foam beneath the fragile leather.

"No," Runa whispered. "It's just… your tattoo. The scythe looks like the one brought by the Angel of death."

Runa left her mouth slightly open to let the air out of her lungs. As she closed her lips and swallowed hard, Arden still didn't move. His eyes roamed Runa's face as if looking for something there.

When Arden pulled away and placed the crutch on his left side, Runa breathed a sigh of relief while her eyes stared into the empty space where Arden had been.

Arden pulled down the sleeve of his shirt to cover the scythe tattoo. Then the phone rang so loud that it almost made Runa jump. Runa glanced at Arden, who now stood up and took his cell phone from his jeans pocket.

"I go," he said, to no one. Because he did not direct his gaze at Runa, but at the cell phone that was still ringing in his hand.

"Wait!" Runa reached out and grabbed Arden's wrist. "I'm not done talking!"

When Arden looked back and gave her a glare, Runa immediately let go of her grip. Arden looked scary with that look.

As soon as Runa removed her hand from Arden, he walked away, picking up the phone.

"Hello."

His voice was getting further and further, then completely disappeared.

Runa clenched her fists. She had to find a way to get Arden to take part in the competition.

She took her cell phone from her blazer pocket and looked for Mandy's name. "Where are you?"

---

"The weakness of Arden Whitlock?" Mandy narrowed her eyes. Her lips pinched the stainless straw and sucked the purple drink from the tall glass in front of her.

"Yes. And I need it asap." Runa leaned over and glanced around, making sure no other students in the cafeteria were eavesdropping on their conversation.

"This must have something to do with the mission you're on," commented Mandy. "Did he refuse?"

"You think?" Runa replied to Mandy's question with an annoyed tone. "If I come to him again without preparation, he might finish me with evil words like he did to—" Runa shut her mouth right away. Damn. She shouldn't be talking about what happened between Arden and Anna.

"To whom?" Mandy frowned.

"No. Forget it." Runa tried to divert the conversation by reaching out and gripping Mandy's hands, which were on the table. "You know his friends, don't you? Can you ask them if Arden is hiding something or… he's afraid of something, maybe?"

Mandy clenched her fist under Runa's grip. She squinted and twisted her lips. "Okay," she said. "I see what I can do." Just as Runa was about to put on a bright face, Mandy quickly added, "but I'm not doing it for free." Then she took another sip of her drink.

"What?" Runa was taken back. It wasn't her to ask for something in return. As long as Runa has known Mandy, she is the only friend who is selfless, unlike other friends who always want something from Runa.

Mandy smirked. "Next week, join me for a bonfire party in Delmara."

"A bonfire party? But isn't the party going on until late at night?"

"That's the point." Mandy pulled her hand from Runa's grip and straightened her back. "I want you to break the curfew."

"Not gonna happen." Runa crossed her arms in front of her face. "You want my father to kill me?"

"You can escape through the other side of your property, no? Isn't your father's property as wide as a jungle and not every side guarded?"

"Yeah… but the guards do patrols every half hour." Runa bit the inside of her lower lip. She did break some of his father's rules, such as smoking and boozing. And she once ate food that made her seriously ill just so she could rest at home for a few days.

But sneak away and break the curfew? If she gets caught, her father will lock her in his house forever.

Seeing the worry on Runa's face, Mandy leaned back against the chair and folded her arms in front of her chest. "It's up to you," said Mandy later. She tilted her head and pursed her lips.

This isn't the first time Mandy has tried to persuade Runa to break the rules, but so far, Runa has maintained her image as an obedient Miss Crown and not fallen for Mandy's persuasion.

But now she is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Runa tried to stare at Mandy without blinking, looking for a way to make Mandy change her mind.

"You know I'm one of the few people you can't manipulate with the intelligence mind of yours," said Mandy, realizing what Runa was about to do.

Runa sighed and blinked. It is true. That's one of the reasons why they were friends for so long.

"I will think about it."

"Time is ticking." Mandy smiled at the corner of her lips before bending down and took another sip of the clear purple liquid in the tall glass. Her eyes did not leave Runa and that gaze also smiled like her lips.

Just as Runa was about to say something, someone tapped her on the shoulder from the side and Runa turned her head. It was Brittany, Runa and Mandy's friend, who always had her hair in two braids and was wearing a sweater.

"What's up, Brit?" Mandy asked.

"Mrs. Fonard told you to come to the library tomorrow afternoon with Arden."

Runa cursed in her heart while Mandy smirked. Her eyes sparkled and Runa swore she saw the joy dancing in Mandy's pupils.

"Thank you for the news, Brittany," said Mandy with a big smile.

"You… are you having some business with Arden?" asked Brittany, not really paying attention to Mandy, who now looked like someone who was high from taking drugs.

"Well, it's a long story," replied Runa. She smiled. "Why?"

"It's just… isn't he a bad boy? Even though he snatched your ranking—" Runa glared and Brittany immediately changed the subject, "and I heard he slapped a girl, a student at our campus, a while ago."

Runa's glare grew wider and Mandy leaned towards Brittany. "Slapped a girl? Who?"

"Anna," answered Brittany. "Last weekend, at Merville beach. The rumors have already spread."

What?

"There were no witnesses at the time of the incident, but Anna's friends saw her go together with Arden. Then, not long after, Anna came back, and she cried. When her friends asked, she said Arden slapped her because Anna refused to make out with him."

Runa, who unconsciously grabbed Mandy's wrist again, squeezed it until Mandy screamed and jerked her hand away from Runa.

"Runa! Do you want to crush my bones?!"

Runa gasped and turned to Mandy. "Sorry."

"Be careful with him, Runa. It could happen to you, too. I don't think you should have anything to do with him."

Runa pulled her hand from the table and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thanks for the warning, Brit," she said, smiling.

Brittany looked at Runa and Mandy for a while before leaving them. Mandy widened her eyes and now it was her turn to grab the back of Runa's hand.

"Abusive," she hissed. "Perhaps you can use that to threaten him? You can say 'hey, I'm going to report you to college for domestic violence! If you don't want to get into trouble, you have to do everything I say!' How's that sound?"

"Sounds dumb," Runa replied in a nonchalant tone. She would not use such a weakness to get what she wanted. Apart from taking advantage of rumors that were not clearly verified was a completely inelegant way, Runa knew very well that wasn't how it happened, because she was there. But she couldn't tell Mandy.

Mandy chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I knew you would say it. Then how are you going to deal with Mrs. Fonard tomorrow?"

"I'll try to persuade her to pair me with another student," Runa replied with a shrug. "There are still many students who have the ability and motivation to join the competition."

"But you know that Mrs. Fonard is a very stubborn person."

"Yeah. But I think I can persuade her. I just need to bring the data of the students who are ranked in the top ten and specifically point out their achievements related to the theme of the scientific work—"

"Do you realize that, if Mrs. Fonard does what you want, there's a good chance she'll appoint Owen?"

Runa was stunned when Mandy mentions Owen's name.

Being stuck with Owen Iverson was as bad as begging Arden. No… it is worse. Runa has a long, annoying history with Owen, and she doesn't want to have anything to do with him anymore, even if her life is at stake.

Mandy, who had been looking happy over Runa's suffering, was now also feeling concerned. The corners of her eyes dropped, as did her lips curled down.

"What now?" Mandy asked.

Runa flicked the tip of her thumb into the inside of her index finger. She was thinking.

"Only until midnight," she said later. Her eyes were on the pure white tabletop, before turning to Mandy. "I'm going to the party, but only until midnight. After that, take me home. But—" Runa raised her index finger, telling Mandy to keep her mouth shut because she hadn't finished speaking yet, "I will join the party only if the information I get from you is successfully used to persuade Arden."

"Deal," Mandy said quickly, and she grabbed Runa's hand, inviting her to shake. "I'll get the useful information you need in an hour at most."

Runa took a deep breath as Mandy let go of her hand and began her act as a detective.

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