Chapter 5: The Truth

"Psst! You all look straight up fools down there!" Mikael said to the man in a spooky costume. "I know that's you Karl." he added.

Shocked about the fact that their plan already messed up, Karl slowly stood. Anger is visible in his eyes and with clutched fists, he swiftly attacked with a right cross directly aimed at Mikael.

Little do they know, Mikael already expected this to happen. He first looked at Andrea and lightly pushed her aside. After that, he abruptly moved to the side and dodged the attack by grabbing Karl's arm and putting it to his back and pinned him through the nearest wall.

"Hey! Mikael stop it." Suddenly he felt arms around his waist and a head leaned on his back. "Please... Will you?" After hearing the soft voice' pleads, which turned out to be Andrea's, his grip to Karl's arm loosened and he eventually let go.

As the pressure subsides, Karl took advantage and wriggled away from Mikael. "Remember this day dude! This is not yet over!" And without wasting any time, darts out of trouble and fled the scene.

But instead of chasing after Karl, he turns around and faces Andrea, who has tears on the side of her eyes.

Intrigued, he asked her why did she stop him from pinning Karl down.

"Why you looked like you're so concerned for him Andrea? You like him?" Mikael asked her sarcastically.

"Why do you put it that way?! I'm more concerned about YOUR safety dummy!" Andrea replied. "If I didn't do anything you'll fall in their trap!" She added.

Meanwhile in the school quadrangle, Karl angrily punches a wall and busts his hand. "Argh, shit! Nothing really goes for me today!" and he sighs while pressing on to the wound in his knuckles. A few seconds later his minion finally had the courage to speak up. "Uhmm... I'm sorry bro I cannot aim it at..." he cannot even finish what he wanted to say as Karl butts in. "What you're sorry will do? Will it humiliate that bastard? Will it cover him in paint as we planned? No right?! Then stop hurling those excuses of yours or else I'll be the one to hurl you out of this school!" his grief is heard throughout the whole quadrangle while his uninjured hand is clutched and trembling because of the mixed emotions of frustration and anger.

"What do you mean trap? I don't understand." Mikael stands there dumbfoundedly to what Andrea said just now.

'Of course you'll not understand cause you didn't see it.' she mumbled to herself. "What did you say? Did you say anything?" Mikael said to clarify what she really meant. "I said... I said did you not saw Karl signaling his minion to throw a paintball to you?" she answers.

'Signaling? When? Did he really do that?' Mikael thought to himself as he removed his eyes from Andrea and looked at the ceiling to think. But unexpectedly...

"Yes! He's signaling! Don't you trust me?" Andrea shouted like there's a fire about to start. "Hey woah, calm down okay? It's not that I don't trust you, I just want to..." he suddenly stopped on his tracks. "Wait a minute, how did you know I said that? I was trying to remember if I saw him do it earlier so no one would hear that except me." he said as he is puzzled on how Andrea managed to read what's on his mind.

"Uhmm... Before I answer that... Can you promise me one thing? You'll not judge me okay?" she tries to assure herself that Mikael's not one of those people who poke fun at her. "Why would I judge you? We're friends, you can share any secret and I promise it'll never leak out. Besides you already know my real identity and I deserve an explanation oh how on Earth you predicted that you'll die if I was a half step late on the incident and this, how did you know everything? C'mon spill the beans!" he assured Andrea.

"Okay. If you laugh at me I'll really punch you." she said. "Look me in the eye and think of something. What you feel or want or whatever, just think of something." and the pair of ruby eyes of hers shine through his heart.

'I think I like you.'

She blinked her eyes and tried to read his mind again, but it's still the same. She suddenly felt fire coursing through her chest and finally reaches her face which makes her blush.

"Hey, you're blushing... I suppose you got the message." he grins as his eyes were fixed to Andrea. "You... you're mean! You're just... just teasing me right?!" she then covers her face from embarrassment.

"Why suddenly being shy? I'm not finished yet..." he then puts his hands gently around her shoulders. "C'mon look at me again." but Andrea doesn't move a bit so he made the move himself. He cupped his chin and guides it so that she manages to look him at eye to eye.

'As my best friend'

Andrea finally breathed a sigh of relief after deciphering Mikael's message and shortly playfully punched him in the arm. "You should've said it earlier, dummy."

"So, is it true? You could read other people's minds?" the aura of the conversation suddenly turned serious from playful. Andrea couldn't do nothing but to nod. "Hey. Don't look so down, you might stab yourself." Mikael tries to lighten up the mood and it seems like he accomplished it as she let out a laugh and finished it by saying "You're funny aren't you?".

"Since you already know that I could read minds, you yourself owe me an explanation too." then it's now her turn to cup Mikael's head to focus his sight on her. "You can see my future in your dreams aren't you?".