Blood Exchange 1

"Michelia is dead."

"What?"

The man immediately turned back, ignoring Neil's confusion with his nonsense. Neil shook his head in disbelief. "You're lying."

"You asked, I answered. Let me say it one more time, Michelia has died with her head cut off."

"What do you mean?" Neil asked.

"Of course, you'll always forget. Holy shit."

The minutes went by with Neil's thoughts wandering, his brain was constantly racing with the many unreasonable events and it was very hard for him to accept. How come?

The weeks that Neil passed were too many mysteries. Starting from strange dreams of him with someone Neil calls mother, who he considers a monster.

He even found someone screaming for help in the toilet, but suddenly Neil found himself in the classroom and fell asleep. It is impossible. Neil was sure it was real.

Then this person spoke that Michelia who was here had died with her head cut off. Of course, that's impossible, Neil reassured himself. If it's true, of course, people at school don't just sit around like they don't know anything.

Neil flipped through the pages of his notebook. He studied every lesson note that was etched on it, just like his own. He carried his fingers along the surface of the paper which was not very flat due to the pressure of writing.

Until Neil's eyes caught a small inscription right on the last page of the book. Neil started reading it silently.

'Locked up in invisible bars, I just want to get out.'

Neil's brows furrowed not understanding what his other self wrote in this book. Is this just a meaningless snippet? Or does it mean something more than this?

Neil doesn't know.

He flipped through another page, but nothing else caught his attention just an ordinary textbook.

"Neil, what's on your mind right now?"

Neil shuddered as Sain touched his neck. He didn't turn around to protest Sain as his teacher's gaze fell on Neil.

"You're not sitting here?" asked Neil in the smallest voice possible.

"This is my seat now. I can see the marks I made from here," he said lightly.

Neil's cheeks started to feel hot with Sain's words, he pulled his chair hoping it was out of Sain's reach. His hand unconsciously rose to rub his neck uncomfortably and tried to cover it with his collar. He also felt Sain's gaze gently caressing the skin of his neck.

He didn't know that what Sain did would leave a trail like this, so as long as Neil walked he had this?

Neil became even more embarrassed, and could no longer contain the burning feeling in his cheeks and ears.

"Please stop, Riksa," Neil whispered to himself.

***

When the recess bell started to ring, Neil quickly ran away from the classroom. He ran down the corridor to wherever he could hide it from Sain. Because Neil was embarrassed by what Sain did in class.

How can Sain look normal?

Neil's steps slowed when his attention was distracted by the sound of broken glass coming from a warehouse with a half-closed door.

Neil slowly walked towards it because of his curiosity, he didn't want a similar incident that was like a dream to repeat itself in Neil's life.

Neil peeked through the doorway and felt relief run through his body when all he saw there was Faiz. Neil opened the door a little wider, he glanced back again in case someone noticed him.

"Faiz?" Neil spoke up, he accidentally startled Faiz by dropping a small wooden block on the floor.

"Neil, I'm shocked. What are you doing here?" he asked, stroking his chest.

"I went around and saw you," replied Neil, of course, he couldn't possibly say he was escaping from the reach of a Space Scientist.

"As I believed it," Faiz said half mockingly, he turned his back to Neil with his hands he put on his waist.

"What are you doing?" Neil asked rhetorically after seeing the shards of a mirror strewn across the dirty warehouse floor.

"Neil, you've tried to do the same as me?" Faiz turned to look at Neil.

Neil returned the gaze and felt his neck dry. Neil nodded and replied, "I've tried, but it's like what happened to you. Nothing happened."

Neil thought for a moment thinking about whether he should tell this to Faiz or not. In the end, Neil said "But a magical thing happened when I hit the mirror until it bled. Riksa came, he scratched his hand then put our hands together. That was the first thing I saw when my hand quickly healed instantly. This world is strange, isn't it?"

Faiz listened to Neil talk, he then asked, "Did he tell you what he did?"

Neil tapped his chin reminiscing, "I feel like blood exchange."

"What? Do you just believe what he's doing?"

Neil's brows furrowed, he somehow didn't like the tone Faiz used that alluded to Sain. "I believed him. He only healed my hand."

"He tricked you!" Faiz said angrily.

"Why did he cheat on me? Sain is not that kind of person," said Neil disapprovingly when the person he loved so much was accused like this.

Faiz grabbed Neil's shoulder and pressed him. "Listen to me carefully, Neil. Sain took advantage of it, it wasn't an ordinary blood exchange to heal you. It was an exchange of blood-forming a bond more than marriage. You didn't know it?"

"How did you know about that?" asked Neil in disbelief, because he trusted Sain more than this.

"I've read it in a book in this library and remember when you mentioned it. You also don't know that there is a small black crescent-shaped mark on your neck. It's a sign of Sain's complete ownership of you, Neil. How could you be tricked by him with the trouble this big," said Faiz panting with anger and rumbling reaching Neil.

In Neil's mind he trusted Faiz, he was very angry at Sain for tricking him. However, in Neil's heart, he couldn't. Neil already loves Sain more than his own life. This drags down a dilemma in Neil's life.

Neil shook his head and said, "There's no way he would do that. What for?"

"For you of course."

"You mistook for sure?"

Faiz took a deep breath placed his hand on his waist and looked back at Neil. "Everyone knows about it here Neil, it's only you that Sain always covers with new information you know."

"No, Faiz, you are the one like that." Neil doesn't believe Faiz's words, Sain loves him he can't do that.

Faiz shook Neil's shoulder again. "What's the matter with you, Neil?"