Chapitre 24: What a coincidence

Ike was running. He could feel his heart thumping against his chest, catching up to his breathing. In his grip was his phone, vibrating each second while his message log was being flooded by someone.

Honk! Honk!

Ike's steps skidded to a halt, turning his head, only to see the beam of a car flashing on him while its honk echoed. Everything happened so fast that he didn't even feel pain as the vehicle crashed into him.

Ike slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but caught a person's face hovering over his face. He blinked weakly but continuously until his vision cleared up, only to see Ashley looking back at him in anticipation.

"You're awake?" her voice was loud and energetic, making him wince as his hearing was quite sensitive. "Oh, sorry."

Ashley lowered her voice, moving back as he propped his elbows on the surface of the mattress. When Ike sat up, he looked around. He was in his room and it was almost just like how he left it this morning. The only difference was this girl and the bag of first aid on the bedside table.

'I passed out, huh?' he muttered inwardly, touching the bridge of his nose to feel the bandaid across it. He arched a brow, casting Ashley a look.

"What?" her brows rose in defense mode. "You fainted in front of your house, so we have to carry you inside. Bernis said there's no need to take you to the hospital. We aren't burglars who just go inside other people's homes and steal things."

Ashley frowned while under his gaze. "Don't look at me like that. Someone punched you straight in the face and —"

"Thanks."

She blinked, wide-eyed. "What?"

"Thanks," Ike repeated indifferently, massaging his brows with one hand. "I guess that punch had an after-effect. I would've woken up outside my house if you weren't there and carried me in."

"Well…" she cleared her throat, shaking her head mildly. "That's surprising."

"Why?"

"Because I thought you'd get angry." She shrugged. "Isn't that obvious?"

"I give credit where credit is due. Do you have any idea how hard it is to do the laundry?" Ike cast her a plain look, unsmiling. "The road is dirty. I can only imagine how much time I would need to clean my uniform."

"..."

Ashley was rendered speechless, staring at him blankly. "That's your concern?"

"Mhm. It's not like I will die." Ike planted his hand across his shoulder, raising his other arm to stretch it in a circular motion. "I passed out because I strained my body when I should be resting. Doctor's advice."

After stretching his stiff shoulders, he faced her squarely. "So, thanks. But you can't use this as leverage to recruit me as part of whatever. Do you understand?"

"Gosh…" Ashley clicked her tongue, arching a brow when he flung his legs out of the bed. "Where are you going?"

"While I was out, you can say I had a little of enlightenment... or just something that touched my intrigue," he explained lazily, dragging his feet toward the computer. "I need to learn how to restore my old phone."

Ashley watched Ike pick up his phone on the bedside table before sitting in front of his computer. He was acting as if nothing happened; he wasn't even chasing her out or offering her anything as he just went through some tabs, researching how to restore his phone.

"People say I am weird, but I don't think I'm that weird compared to you," she commented, leaning back with her palms on the surface of the mattress. "Today, you had a duel which you won. But you conceded instead of paying off the negative in your records. And then, just right outside your house, you passed out. But the second you wake up, you are trying to learn how to restore your phone."

"What are you expect me to do? Kowtow and thank you for being great friends?" he asked without casting her a look, keeping 99% of his focus on the computer screen. "I'm already being kind by letting you stay until you're ready to go."

"What if I will never be ready to go?"

"There are two more rooms in this house that I don't use. Just pay monthly rent, electricity, and water bill."

"That's it?"

"I need a source of income for my future."

Ashley scrunched up her face, staring at him, who was too focused on his computer. When Ike stopped typing and faced her, her brows rose, waiting for whatever he had to add.

"The only rule is that never go inside my room or bother me, and I won't bother you," he added before going back to what he was doing.

She shook her head, looking around the room. It wasn't that bad. Ike's house wasn't big or small; it was decent. Living all alone, this place was surely spacious for him. Ashley set her eyes back on him again before she sighed.

"I, honestly, don't know how to make you agree," she expressed, only to get ignored. "I mean, if I want to, I can just do what other captains do. But it's in my philosophy to not force things on other people."

Ashley pushed herself up, realizing there wasn't much of anything to do here anymore. She stared at him for a moment. When he didn't say anything, she shook her head and marched toward the open door.

As soon as she reached the door, she stopped when he spoke.

"Close the gate properly."

Ashley looked back at him, only to see him still on his computer.

"I'm not going," she said. "Bernis is in the kitchen, making dinner. Come down once you're done. Lending us your ear isn't too much to ask when we took care of you while you're passed out, right?"

She kept her gaze on him, but he didn't react. Another sigh slipped past her lips, not knowing if he even listened or just completely ignored her.

"Whatever," she mumbled, waving dismissively to help Bernis in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, as she left the room, Ike slowed down. He blinked ever so slowly, looking back at the open door where she left.

'If I remember correctly, they said they were a part of the student council,' he thought, running his tongue across his inner cheek. 'What a coincidence… since this boy's portion of memory suddenly piqued my interest.'

A/N:

Went to a family event, so I missed uploading. Will upload more tomorrow to make up for it. ^^

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