Troubles Loom

"Your grandmother is on her way; I should go." Jonathan felt someone approaching, so after making sure Yina would be fine, he jumped away.

Crack!

The ground trembled, and when Yina tried to see where Jonathan was, he had vanished. She knew her aunt could fly, but she hadn't realized it was that incredible.

"Yina, darling, what are you doing in the middle of the yard?"

"Just resting," Yina replied as she stood up.

"Let's go inside; I'll serve you something to eat."

...

The next day was normal—a monotonous and ordinary day for everyone.

During lunchtime, Jonathan went to where Yina spent her days in tranquility. Both of them felt much better, although this didn't bother Jonathan from day one.

"We need to come up with an alibi," Jonathan muttered as he ate his fried chicken served at lunchtime.

"Why...?" Yina often couldn't understand Jonathan, who was in front of her.

"Because... I don't know. Maybe the police might ask us something." Jonathan's voice trailed off at the end.

"What?"

"The police were here yesterday, so it's only a matter of time before they contact me. If you're willing to help me, then we should create an alibi. Friends help each other in situations like this, and if you help me, I'll help you with anything you need."

"Help me with anything?" Yina's eyes, now able to see Jonathan without any trouble, looked skeptical. Though she trusted him, she still needed to be sure he wasn't just using her.

"But you could also just ignore it; it's not like I'll run out of options."

"I'll help you, no problem."

Jonathan nodded in satisfaction. "Now I feel much better."

"Also, you smile a lot more. You look prettier when you do; people might even consider talking to you."

"I don't know about that."

"Of course, it's true. I looked it up on the internet; relationships between students get closer if one is willing to talk." Jonathan hadn't interacted with kids his age for a long time, so he had to understand them to avoid seeming out of place.

Yina adjusted her glasses and said, "Not everything on the internet is true; I was also looking up data on psychopaths. They have many similar traits, but they also get some things wrong." As Yina said this, Jonathan looked her in the eyes.

"Do you think I'm a psychopath?"

Yina, without hesitation, immediately nodded.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. But I don't think I am. So, let's say I'm half a psychopath. Like a hot dog without the sausage, half a burrito?" Jonathan awkwardly laughed at his own joke before realizing, "Actually, that's great. It makes me seem strong, doesn't it?"

'What is he talking about? He's become very talkative.' Yina felt a bit more at ease. But that didn't mean she blindly trusted Jonathan, who, by his own admission, was influenced by his powers.

The more Yina knew about Jonathan, the more comfortable she felt.

'Maybe because I'm too used to hearing people's thoughts, I have trust issues with those I can't hear anything from. Now that he's just saying what comes to mind, I'm getting more familiar with him.' Yina was learning more about herself at this time than she had alone, and strangely, it was thanks to her new friend.

"I... I think so too."

Jonathan looked at her, seemingly surprised.

'What? Did I do something wrong? I just agreed with him.' Yina was about to panic when Jonathan smiled.

"It's strange, isn't it? We're friends, but we still don't feel like friends. I suppose those ideas will fade as time goes on." Jonathan said this with a calmer voice.

Yina nodded at Jonathan's words, and then they both fell silent.

The lunch break was three times longer than the usual break between classes. So even though they had finished eating, they still had about an hour before classes began.

"What can I do? I'm very serious when it comes to socializing. I don't feel that sympathy. When someone talks to me, I get bored pretty quickly. I'm thinking of getting a hobby or joining a club or something; video games have started to bore me." Jonathan kept talking and talking, and Yina only nodded at first until she started to respond.

"You're amazing; I wouldn't talk for so long with a newly met person, even if we were friends." Yina said these words and didn't think about them, which embarrassed her a bit.

"I think what you need to do is start the conversation first. If you let them start the conversation, they have control over the topic. But if you start it, you can choose a topic you know about."

Yina contemplated Jonathan's words and nodded.

"Yes, I think you're right. But what should the topic be? Of course, I can't say something others don't know, right?"

"Um, it depends on what you have in common. For example, if they're your classmates, it could be related to school or something you're sure they know about."

Yina laughed awkwardly. Though she could keep up with the conversation, she wasn't enjoying it.

No matter how normal their conversation was, Jonathan, in her eyes, remained a boy she didn't quite understand.

"You've been standing there all this time; don't you want to sit down?" Jonathan asked as he rubbed the air.

Yina looked at where she was supposed to sit. Jonathan had gone into the first step of the stairs, and she was standing on the flat curve.

She wanted to sit because her legs were getting tired after standing for about half an hour.

"I don't think I can." Yina shook her head.

Jonathan's eyes seemed to understand what was going on. "There's only thirty minutes left until class starts. We can talk later."

This was exhausting; Yina wasn't contributing much to the conversation, so after a while, Jonathan wanted to leave.

But before Jonathan turned around, he remembered something. "And about the alibi, just mention that we went to that video game room and stayed until late like we did yesterday."

When Jonathan left, Yina stayed for a second longer.

'I guess there's no harm in helping him.' But as soon as she stepped out of the emergency stairs, she unexpectedly saw Jonathan still standing there with another girl.

'Alicia?' Yina was surprised because she had seen her coming out right from the place where they weren't supposed to be.

"So, Jon, what are you and Yina doing in the forbidden place the teacher just talked about?" Alicia looked at them and joked.

"Um... We just had lunch. It's quieter here."

'Jon just changed; everything about him completely shifted as soon as Alicia arrived...' Yina frowned and watched Jonathan talk to someone else.

'He was very friendly before, but now he seems very introverted. He acts that way with others all the time. He only changes when he's alone with me, which is good, right?'

Since she couldn't hear Jonathan's thoughts, Yina was eager to know and understand him. After all, if she understands him inside and out, it would be almost the same as hearing his inner thoughts.

The confusion Yina feels with people is based solely on what she hears from them; that's also one of her major drawbacks.