Sweeter than Cake [MxM] [English Version]

15 / Need Some Alone Time

Along the way to the toilet, Lynx said that suddenly two students had approached their seats to talk. Since the one who had been talking didn't respond, they had thrown flour and eggs to provoke Lynx.

"Who exactly is Smith?" I asked when we were in the men's restroom on the second floor.

"Their father worked as a raw material procurement staff and was expelled a few years ago for corruption with the suppliers he included."

Oh, okay. His family matters again.

I saw the sink and toilet cubicle while thinking about where Lynx should clean his messy head. The flour and eggs that need to be removed would clog the sink pipe. So I told him to wash his face first in the sink and then wash his hair in the toilet cubicle.

I looked at Lynx washing his face from the side. He didn't seem bothered at all by what had just happened.

"How many people have terrorized you this week?"

"Hmm... Ten people maybe?"

Lynx's answer left me exhaling deeply. I didn't understand if this kind of terror was so trivial for him that he didn’t take any concern about it.

After finishing cleaning his face at the sink, Lynx walked directly to one of the empty cubicles. Followed by me.

"Rui....please..." Lynx pointed at his still very dirty head casually.

"..... you can even actually clean everything yourself..."

Lynx was half crouched and his head was down toward the toilet seat. Meanwhile, I aimed the water sprayer at Lynx's head to clean the lump of dough stuck to his hair.

I was grumbling about the cleaning which made Lynx's head dirty. But I did it anyway. I was like a mother taking care of her child who was still in elementary school.

"Your hair is clean now."

Lynx rose from his crouched position. And when his face slightly looked up, I realized that there was a lump of flour stuck to his temple.

"Wait a minute... don't move..."

My words and movements were an example of a spontaneous, unconscious reaction. My hand moved automatically towards Lynx's face and my eyes focused on the same point. That was a simple thing I had usually done for Lynx since elementary because I thought I was his best friend. I could touch Lynx’s lips whenever I wanted. And I could stare at him for as long as I wanted.

But, our relationship was different right now. Our status needed to be questioned when someone had buried feelings for another. And the fact that Lynx was feeling something when I touched him like this made me stunned.

The moment my index finger touched Lynx's skin, my head was like being struck by lightning.

Damn... what am I doing now?

My eyeballs moved to the left and caught Lynx's unmoved gaze. At that moment, I wanted to withdraw my right hand as quickly as possible. However, the response from Lynx's left hand was faster in holding this awkward position.

Just the thought of Lynx staring at me unblinkingly when I touched his face gave me goosebumps. Moreover, Lynx pushed my right hand on his cheek. With his big and cold hand after washing, he moved my hand to his lips. Slowly. Then he licked and sucked the tips of my fingers.

His sharp eyes seemed to be watching every response I was about to make. I didn’t know why I couldn’t move. Though I could try to pull my hand back because every movement was done very slowly. I was standing still and paralyzed like a statue.

The portrait of Lynx's face filled my mind at that moment. His piercing eyes were behind his wet hair. And his lips got wet while playing with my finger between them. I must have been bewitched by Lynx to describe what I saw as a piece of sexy art.

"What if someone comes..."

It seemed that I chose the wrong sentence. Instead of refusing, I even questioned trivial things. As if my brain and my mouth were ordered by my eyes to continue witnessing Lynx’s sexy face.

Lynx didn’t let me talk. He covered my mouth with his mouth while closing the toilet cubicle door and locked it without touching it.

I rolled my eyes. Lynx looked at me without breaking the kiss. I tried to push Lynx's body but he held my hand and instead turned to push me against the cubicle wall.

Sure enough, not long after my body hit the wall of the cubicle, there was a loud noise from outside. No less than two male students were already in this toilet. In the same room, two men were kissing and they were only separated by a cubicle door.

Finally, Lynx cut the kiss when I glared at him frowning.

"You teased me first," Lynx whispered, just before he disappeared from my sight.

Lynx had teleported to the next room and pressed the toilet flush button. He did it on purpose because I made some noisy sounds afterward. The sound of my gasping breath seemed to be able to be heard by everyone in this room if it wasn't saved by the sound of splashing water.

I took a deep breath. Didn’t know what made me so nervous. If it was from the kiss. Or because people would see what we had done. Or because Lynx’s sexy face made me stunned for a while. However, I needed to be more vigilant about everything I do to Lynx.

Rui... you are dealing with someone who has liked you since elementary school. And during that time, you can do things that can seduce Lynx without realizing it, so that your best friend has to hold back his feelings.

Rui... you should be more careful and reduce your reactivity.

My mind was spinning between the fact I received from Mom this morning and the kiss I had just had. These two pieces of information made me lock myself in the toilet cubicle for quite a long time.

After about five minutes, I walked out of the toilet and saw a figure dressed in a white shirt with a flour-stained blazer folded in his left hand. Lynx was waiting for me in front of the toilet. Meanwhile, the mob of students who almost caught me and Lynx kissing was nowhere to be seen in this corridor.

"Apparently, you were just calming yourself down in there. I thought you were in there longer than this to get 'something' done." Lynx made quote symbols by bending his index and middle fingers.

I looked at Lynx in disbelief. Behind his flat face and cold eyes, it turned out that his thoughts were very wild. Lynx smiled mischievously seeing my expression, which showed I understood the meaning of his words.

"That's right... Rui wouldn't be easily aroused just by kissing, right?" said Lynx in a low voice and looking ahead, without looking at the person he was talking to.

Lynx's words made me want to punch him right now. But I couldn't do it because we were both being watched by a teacher from the principal's office, which was twenty meters away. I could only continue my footsteps in the second-floor corridor while scratching my head which didn't itch.

"Why are you noisier than me now?"

"When you watch xxx movies together you can last longer...."

"Please stop talking, Lynx..."

I really couldn't keep up with the wild thoughts of my own best friend.

"They harassed Lynx first," I said, taking over when Lynx was asked by the principal in the principal's office.

Lynx stood beside me very quietly. One of the injured Smith family members was sitting across from the principal's seat due to difficulty standing. And the other was standing beside his brother.

"Lynx was only doing defense moves," I added when I saw the principal looking dizzy seeing the four students in his room.

A teacher who broke up the fight between Lynx and the two twins from the Smith family whispered something to the principal. The principal looked at Lynx, squinting behind the frames of his glasses that were already touching his nostrils.

"Lynx Olivine, you broke the Smith brothers' identity cards," said the principal, repeating the information his right-hand teacher had received.

"He didn't break it, sir. It's just that their ID cards are too fragile. Just like their shins.”

My words invited two pairs of wide eyes to stare at me. While Lynx coughed a little beside me. I could already imagine his face turning mischievous because of my words.

"We have to ask your parents to come here. You two go to the infirmary. The nurse will take care of you."

After the Smith brothers left the principal's office with one of the Smiths carried by the other, the principal continued his sentence.

"We still have to invite your parents. If Reinhard Olivine doesn’t make it, then you can call your mother. Otherwise, the whole school will be noisy."

"Thank you very much, sir," I said as I bowed and left the room.

The current condition was similar to when Lynx and I were in the teacher's room or the principal's office at Johnson Middle School. The teachers could only make small talk in front of the other students and it was as if Lynx had been compensated for his actions.

But in the end, Lynx will not be punished at all. First, no one could prove Lynx really guilty although Lynx seemed to do something without having empathy for others. And second, not a single teacher dared to bully a child from the biggest contributor to the school where they worked.

"You go home. I need some alone time tonight," I said as we went out of the principal’s office and walked towards class 10-C.

I knew my words could confuse Lynx in choosing a response. It could be seen from the way Lynx looked at me questioningly for a while.

But unexpectedly Lynx didn’t argue my words at all. He suddenly stepped in front of me, so we looked at each other. He smiled and raised his hand slowly. Touched my forehead, which was covered with bangs gently.

"Okay, I get it," Lynx turned around and walked ahead of me.

I didn’t need to explain anything about the awkwardness I felt. I didn’t need to remind Lynx that I was still pretty scared of being touched by him suddenly. Lynx has thought of everything for me.

*****

Just before I went down to the second floor of my house to have dinner, the sound of cellphone ringtones filled my room.

Oh... Kai...

Within seconds, I was disappointed that Lynx wasn't calling me. I shook my head after coming to my senses. No. I needed to get away from that p*****t’s hard-to-be-forgotten face.

"You took my phone for so long! I almost hung up."

The high-volume shrill sound from the cellphone screen made me decide to press the loudspeaker button instead of putting my ear to it.

"I just finished showering, Kai. What's wrong?"

"Really you huh... As your friend, I'm really worried about your condition. You just disappeared all day yesterday. Today you've skipped class too. I've known you since middle school. When you play truant there must be an unpleasant incident around that guy. And my instinct came true. That guy hurt another student again..."

Kai's long statement made me want to cut him off immediately. Especially Kai's accusation against Lynx as the object of the perpetrator, not as the victim.

"Hey, it's obvious the two students started the fight. Stop accusing Lynx of one side like that, Kai."

"Okay! I'm just worried about you, but you always stand up for Lynx without wanting to understand my thoughts or those around you. Maybe you've never thought of me as your friend."

Always, Kai... always...

I really didn’t want to deal with people who use their feelings too much when arguing. But Kai was an exception. Kai often helped me with all his heart and selflessly. Although Kai's expectations of me as a close friend never materialized, I always counted Kai as someone I would definitely help when he was in trouble.

"Please, Kai... how many times have I said that, apart from Lynx, you're the only one I can count on at school?"

"So just as a reliable person? Huh?"

"Everyone's terms are different."

"So I'm still not your friend, right?"

"Kai Nicholson is a friend of Rui Hemlock Oleander. Do I have to keep saying it when you are childish like this?"

"Yeay! Because you are my friend, tomorrow please accompany me."

"Even if you don't provoke me like that, I'll still go if I want to. And won't go if I don't want to go."

"So are you going or not here?"

"You've planned something, right?"

Kai and I had a very high-speed telephone conversation. If there was a long pause like now, it meant Kai was trying to change the strategy in his plan.

"How many people are you going to invite tomorrow? Which places do you have planned for tomorrow?" I asked before Kai's answer.

"Hehe.... not much. I won’t invite my friends to socialize with you anymore. Actually... I'm approaching someone and, coincidentally, the friend I'm approaching is close to you. Please invite Manna for tomorrow, Rui. ...please...."

When I heard the familiar name, I felt as if my heart felt heavier than usual. It was as if gravity was pressing my heart down.

I kept asking whether this feeling was a good thing or a bad thing. From Kai's point of view, the opportunity to be close to Manna was a good thing. But from Lynx's point of view, of course, this was going to be bad.

I couldn't explain my own feelings. This inability made me helpless.

"Hello..."

Kai's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Okay. I just need to ask Manna to accompany you to find a gift for your mother, right?"

"Yes!! I will approach Manna's friend and you can be close to Manna too. You can say I'm a good friend, right?"

"It's up to you, Kai...."

After hanging up the phone from Kai, my mind, which had started to calm down, become tangled again. Although I thought about a lot of things that could happen, I was not like Lynx, who seemed to have a long-term strategy for his life.

So far I have really enjoyed all the decisions I have made. No matter how hard I had to adapt, I could do it. I could always take lessons from everything I’ve done, both good and bad lessons. But I was not sure when I should bring along my feeling.

After finding out Lynx liked me, I couldn’t easily enjoy the decision I had made. I was sure I would regret leaving Lynx, but that didn't mean making the opposite choice made my life okay. Engaging feelings in my problems with Lynx made me feel like a helpless lump of flesh.

So I preferred to choose the win-win solution for tomorrow's plan.

"Hey, Lynx... I'm going to see Manna tomorrow," I said, initiating the conversation on the phone that linked to Lynx Olivine.

As usual, Lynx didn't answer quickly.

"Kai asked me out because he wanted to get close to Manna's friend. I just wanted you to know...maybe I'll try to approach Manna… But… I still don't mind what you did to me…"

At that moment, I felt I was labeling myself a bi-s****l because I almost blew up about the kissing moment.

"You won't mind even if I follow you while you guys are dating?"

I didn't expect that "Lynx did to me" would include watching me on a date. Despite everything Lynx had done when we were alone: ​​touching, kissing, and other sensual things.

That's right... How can I forget about Lynx’s possessiveness?

"So you're going to stalk me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I just needed to change my appearance, didn't I?"