Dating A Gangster

Calix ran the tip of his tongue across his lower lip while he sprinted across the empty hall. The sweet taste of the chocolate candy still lingered in his mouth...

And so were Klein's moist lips.

Calix shook his head, catching himself getting distracted by the memory of the kiss. He didn't know what came over to his mind to do that. He could have just handed another chocolate candy to Klein. But after learning that the werewolf injured him—scratched Klein! It's the only thing that came to mind.

It's as if it's the last and only chance he could get before Klein became like the monsters he was hunting. Before they came to the inevitable point where he had to... slay him, too.

Calix gritted his teeth as he rounded a corner, a burning bile of anger welling up inside him. He shouldn't have let Klein come back to this school. Now it's happening again. He's failed to protect someone again.

Several gunshots echoed from the next building, followed by another roar, halting Calix to hide against a wall. He peeked to the sideways to find two white-uniformed school security personnel pointing at the uppermost part of the building.

The night was still young, around eight in the evening, but the LED bulbs inside the building cast enough light to a figure that shouldn't have appeared this early. Not when the crescent moon was still waxing.

Calix hid behind the wall again, bewildered.

According to the information he had gathered about Khalil Chua, he was only eighteen, so he should still be in the middle phase of his transformation, regardless if he's a purebred or not. But from the looks of it, Khalil seemed to have reached the peak of his transformation.

"A premature shifting?" Calix mused.

Crouching down, Calix opened the metallic briefcase he brought with him, revealing a Smith & Wesson 500 Magnum—one of the most powerful handguns in the world. It belonged to his father, but it's still functioning.

After loading it with magnum bullets, Calix hid the box in a nearby bush and ran inside the building. He needed to check first if there were other students and evacuate them. Dealing with the werewolf can be done later.

Actually, with a commotion this big, almost in the heart of a metropolitan area, there's a high chance the military would get involved. He had broken into a school he's not attending. It could get ugly if he the authority found him here.

Calix checked each room he passed by, then moved on to the next floor after he made sure it was clear. By the time he reached the third floor, he was already out of breath. "Damn, why is this school like this? It looks like a mall of books!"

Upon reaching the fifth floor, Calix was closed to giving up. It was already empty. Maybe the security guards had already evacuated everyone? No, he had to double check. Calix went for the stairs to the sixth floor, but a voice reached his ears.

Calix stopped and turned around to find a familiar girl at the end of the hall. He remembered her name was Maya, as he had seen her hanging around Klein and Khalil. Though he didn't know if she was also clueless like Klein, so he didn't lower his guard.

"Klein, is that you? Hello?"

"He's already outside," Calix answered, stepping back into the hallway. "Why are you still here? You need to leave."

At his reply, Maya ran towards him. "Are you sure, Mister? He left the study room earlier to use the men's room and didn't come back. I still have his books with me. He wouldn't just abandon the books he borrowed."

Who cares about some books if they were being attacked by a werewolf?

"Are you not aware of what's happening outside?" Calix asked.

"I am. They said there's a terrorist who entered the school. I heard the gunshots," Maya said, then her eyes trailed down to the gun he's holding. She slapped a hand to her mouth to muffle her scream and took a step back.

"T-This is not what it looks like, I swear."

Maya shook her head. "Don't! Please, I don't want to die yet. I still have webnovels I need to finish reading!"

Calix sweatdropped. This girl sure knew her priorities. He sighed and put the gun away. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're Klein's friend."

Human friend, at least.

"How do you know Klein? What did you do to him?"

"We're friends."

The accusation in her eyes didn't diminish. "I don't believe you. Klein will never be friends with someone like you!"

"But it's true. He's been to my apartment," Calix said honestly.

Maya took another step back, still shaking her head. "Nothing you'd say would convince me. Klein is not the type to come over to people's apartment. He hasn't even come over to my house!"

"Well, that sucks, but I'm telling the truth. Klein spent the night at my apartment yesterday. He fell asleep after I gave him a massage, so I dropped him off at school today wearing the same clothes."

"I told you, nothing you say would—! Wait, what? Hold on." Maya rested her thumb and index finger to her chin, thinking. "He did say during lunch that he slept over at a friend's house. That's why he didn't get to change his clothes. You're that friend?"

"If you still don't believe me, here." Calix removed his maroon jacket and handed it to her. "Smell it. It's the same perfume he's wearing today."

With a cautious look, Maya accepted the article of clothing, then gave it sniff it. "Yeah, it's the same smell."

"Do you believe me now? We need to leave. It's dangerous here. There's a—"

Maya gasped, shaking her head. She stared at the jacket in disbelief, then shifted her gaze to Calix. She scanned him from head to toe. "Sleeping over? Giving massages? Sharing the same perfume? Oh, no! Klein is dating a gangster!"

As soon as those words left her, the glass panel in the hallway shattered and a humongous creature burst inside. Both Calix and Maya turned to a livid werewolf wearing nothing but an unfriendly snarl.

Oh, fuck!