19 Hello There

It didn't take much for Alec to realize that the bunny wasn't really a normal bunny. Holding him up, Alec stared into his little red eyes, bunny pawing at him docilely.

Strangely enough, the bunny was only docile for him, and not anyone else. Why? Every time Tatiana or his mother tried to pat him, the bunny darted away, lightning quick.

The bunny would only stay still for Alec, never once making any moves against him.

At first, Alec thought that it was because someone had sent the bunny to keep tabs on him, so he put up his guard, but the longer it went on, the more he felt like that wasn't the case.

He never felt like someone was secretly watching him using the bunny, though the bunny was clearly smart enough to understand what he was saying. Just like the one rabbit that had terrified him so.

However, the only time where the bunny 'made a move' so to speak, was when it wanted some cuddling sessions. Alec realized this because the bunny hopped to him, nudging him with his little nose, as if asking to be held.

At first, Alec had ignored him, only to result in those sad eyes staring into his soul, so he gave in pretty quickly.

More than that, Alec was coming to the realization that he didn't want the bunny to be some sort of monitoring tool against him.

Somewhere along the way, he had gotten rather attached to the bunny. Alec paused at this realization, feeling a strange mix of resignation and exasperation.

The way to a man's heart was evidently fluffy, adorable things.

But still, he couldn't help but feel suspicious. Was it really his mother that had set off the Mainframe's deduction? Or was there someone else?

Evidently, it wasn't the bunny, because he had already been there when Alec first freaked out, so logically speaking, the bunny should not be something that someone was using to spy on him.

Which left him with someone being there at that time without him realizing it. Outdoors only.

Evin was right. There were people who were keeping tabs on him whenever he left the house.

Faced with this information, Alec couldn't help but feel his guard go up. Why was he faced with so much scrutiny?

Even the appraisal crystal had already said he was an Every, so there had to be something else that was making the elders of the Clan react this way. Something to do with his father. Was he famous or something?

Was that why everyone always clammed up whenever he tried to bring it up?

Even his mother didn't tell him much, only providing him vague and hazy details, other than her being insistent that his father loved him.

The frustration he felt only made him feel like he had a much shorter fuse than usual. His already bad temper got worse, coupled with the fact that he couldn't release it by spitting out whatever he thought, having to face everything with a smile to maintain his character type.

The bunny nuzzled him, which caused the anger that had been at a low simmer, bubbling under his skin, to calm slightly.

Alec put the bunny down on his lap, idly stroking him.

Elias, who had been beside Alec the whole time stared at Alec jealously. Evidently, he wanted very much to hold the bunny, but the bunny always ran away whenever he even thought about trying.

Alec smiled at Elias. He was a pretty quiet kid, but he seemed to like fluffy things just as much as their resident female member, if not more.

"Want to hold him?" Alec asked, surprising Elias.

Elias silently nodded, but the way his eyes shone gave his feelings away.

Alec passed the bunny to Elias, who melted once he touched the bunny's soft fur.

"What's the bunny's name?" Elias asked.

This caused the rest of the group to perk up.

Alec paused, smiling. He hid his startled feelings. "Uh… he doesn't have a name."

"What?" Cyrus said, obviously scandalized. Ever the big brother, Cyrus had already sort of adopted the bunny once he lay eyes on it in Alec's arms.

Alec inwardly felt sheepish, having never thought of it. He had always been referring to the bunny as 'bunny', but that obviously wasn't a proper name for him.

Zacharias looked at the bunny very seriously. "How about Death? Or Reaper?"

They stared at the boy, who flushed under their scrutiny. "What?!"

They decided to ignore him.

"Maybe Snowflake?" Tatiana suggested. "His fur is the same shade as the fresh snow I've seen in pictures."

"Snowflake the male bunny?"

"You're right… that's a little strange."

"Fluffy?"

Alec had the flashback of a particular magical franchise, with a three headed cerberus, shaking his head.

"Bunbun," Elias suggested with a straight face.

"Bunbun it is," Alec accepted.

He missed the glances they exchanged amongst each other, only Elias looking smug.

"Bunbun, that okay with you?" Alec said seriously, looking at the bunny.

In response, Bunbun threw off Elias' hand and hopped back onto his lap. Alec patted him.

Zacharias leaned over to whisper to Cyrus. "Why is their naming sense so bad?"

Cyrus side-eyed Zacharias incredulously, which Zacharias noticed.

"What's that look for, huh?!"

It was at this moment when Alec heard the Mainframe's damned voice yet again.

[Compulsory mission complete]

[+100 Points]

[Current points: 20]

Wait. Did he hear right? He now had 20 points again, right?

Alec heaved a sigh of relief. For a while he thought that the Mainframe was trying to push him off the cliff, but it looked like it wasn't completely heartless after all.

Usually, a compulsory mission like this wouldn't result in the surplus of any points but instead break them even.

Wait a minute… did this mean that all he had to do to complete the compulsory mission was to name the bunny then? Now that it had come to this point, he could probably have just named the bunny, chucked something at him to 'feed' and thus 'befriend' the bunny.

Alec inwardly slapped his forehead. He had panicked with the deadline, mixed with his imminent death and fear of rabbits in general. He could have completed it so simply, but instead he basically went out to conquer his fears.

Well, this wasn't too bad as well. At least he now knew that he wouldn't have to be constantly on his toes to look out for the appearance of a rabbit appearing to wreck his composure.

"Thanks, Bunbun," he told the bunny, confusing his friends.

He ignored the looks they exchanged, picking up the bunny to head home.

Alec made sure to maintain the perfect smile on his face as he walked back, taking the long route to his house.

Anyone looking at him now would have seen a picture-perfect example of a cute kid cuddling a bunny, enjoying the sunshine.

As he passed by the lake, he felt the back of his neck prickle, as if someone or something was watching him.

Instantly, Alec's bad mood, which had been calmed down by Bunbun earlier, returned.

If it wasn't for this bastard, he would never have triggered the compulsory mission in the first place! Then again, he did manage to get over his crippling fear, which might have gotten him killed later on, but it was the principle of the matter!

Alec choked back the 'Come the fuck out, bastard!' that wanted to leave his mouth reflexively, instead saying, "Is someone there?" like some sort of demure fucking maiden.

Ah, Alec couldn't stand it. He almost felt goosebumps form at such words leaving his mouth.

The prickling feeling on his neck grew larger as Alec's eyes sharpened.

Alec turned around.

avataravatar
Next chapter