Warning: Mind games?

::

The rest of the school day went on without any incidents. Though he hadn't ridden the bus in the morning, Leo joined Zoey and me in the afternoon. Once again, the two of them convinced me to hang out at Leo's mom's house. The amber-eyed teen even extended his invitation to Zoey, who didn't hesitate to join us.

Ms. Kenari looked even more surprised when she caught sight of Zoey at her doorstep. "And Rick is still nowhere in sight?" She questioned Leo as we stepped inside.

"He's taking his driver's license test today," Zoey responded before Leo had the chance. "If he passes, he's totally going to drive me to and from school. I'm his girlfriend, you know."

"Are you?" Ms. Kenari gasped in delight as she held out her hand. "My, but that boy has great taste. I'm Paulina Kenari."

Zoey shook it with gusto. "Zoey Shy."

"Zoey, Momoiro's best friend?" Leo's mom recalled while Zoey nodded. She had quite the sharp memory to have remembered me mentioning that the other day. "Lovely name. Rick's a lucky one, not that I'm not happy to see Momoiro again." She added while she reached out to ruffle the top of my head.

I hadn't expected the tender gesture, so I flinched for a second. The movement caused me to hiss as the tensing aggravated the sore muscles around my injuries. Ms. Kenari's hand hovered an inch over my head before slowly settling atop my shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" She asked softly.

"I-I'm fine," I whispered, still feeling too shaken to feign in the same way I had earlier that day with my friends. Instead, I gave her a quick nod and ducked into the living room with the others.

Leo had pulled out a trivia-based board game and was already done setting it up with Zoey's help. My bestie was competitive. Our favorite elementary teacher always stocked the back of the room with games for students who finished their classwork early. The two of us would always rush through that work just to play.

"Which piece do you want to play as?" Leo asked as he motioned towards the game pieces.

"We waited for you to pick first," Zoey added. "Just don't pick the bluebird. I'm eyeing that one."

Leo laughed, shaking his head. "Then what was the point of having him choose first?"

"It's fine," I said as I chose the yellow badger piece. "I wasn't going to choose that one, anyway."

The taller teen let out a sigh as he chose the red lion. How fitting for someone with the name Leo to select that one. The thought made me smile. As the game proceeded, Zoey kept making up answers to the questions she didn't know in a way that had Leo and me laughing our butts off. But, there was still no clear winner, even when we were halfway through.

"Alright," I declared as I rolled up my sleeves in determination and began to shake the dice. "I better land on that green triangle this time." When I reached out to roll the dice on the board, a loud gasp from behind me made me jump.

My head tilted in the direction of the gasp and found Mrs. Kenari standing near me with a tray full of snacks. Her gaze was set firmly on my revealed arm. When I noticed what she was staring at, I felt the blood draining from my face. The bruises, which had already begun to darken earlier last night, were such a dark blue-violet that the imprint of my father's larger hand curled around my arm was clearly shown.

Tugging my sleeves back down, I felt the shame rising within me in waves. Without looking anyone in the eye, I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the Kenari household. My heart thundered in my chest when I heard their distant calls while running all the way back home.

::

When I got home and checked the refrigerator's contents, I realized that my father had done as I had imagined. He ate half of his dinner late at night and put the rest away. As I heated it up, I thought of the snacks I hadn't even gotten the chance to eat at the Kenari household. I set the food on the table with a deep sigh just as my father entered the kitchen. He didn't even glance my way as he sat down to eat.

Thank goodness.

Tonight, it seemed that I'd have a reprieve, or so I hoped. My steps were quiet and hesitant as I made my way to my room. Genbu Takiwa had never been a predictable man. I hoped he'd eat and leave me in peace.

However, my heart stammered when I felt my father's hand on my shoulder. Hadn't he just been in the kitchen? How had he been able to make less noise than I had?

"I'll leave you another 20 for pizza tomorrow," he whispered into my ear. "I expect it to already be here by the time I get back."

Tremors ransacked my body as I curled in on myself. However, the older man simply gave the back of my head a sharp swat before walking back over to the kitchen. I couldn't bring myself to turn around and so much as look in his direction. With a trembling hand, I opened the door to my room and locked it behind me.

As I slid down and wrapped my arms around my knees, I couldn't help but prefer feeling the separation situation symptoms instead of the icy fear that overtook me.

::::

Greener than leaves of a lotus, alight with a fire so bright...know that I'm more than devoted; despite always feeling contrite…

I splashed my contrite guard's feet with water since he refused to join me. But, I enjoyed the sound of his singing voice too much to create a bigger interruption. If he wished to sing his woes to me, I'd allow it. Instead, I waded to the edge of the immense tub and peered up at him.

Darling, I'm not blind...what we share can't be right…

Nevis knelt down to caress the side of my face. I leaned into the touch and held my own hand against his to keep it in place. It was the warmth that I craved.

So why is it I wish to love you with all my might?

A soft, tender kiss was pressed to my forehead as my heart skipped a beat. I wasn't as open and eloquent with my words, but I felt the same. What would we have to do to remain this way?

::::

The following morning, my dreams left me with a strange sense of longing. Did I genuinely want to see Leo, or was the Raemka of my dreams missing Nevis? Where did the prince end and I begin? I wanted nothing to do with the dreams...his memories. They weren't mine, and I wasn't him.

As I stretched, I found that my sore muscles were a duller ache than yesterday. But, the damage had already been done. It wasn't just Zoey who saw my bruises that time. The Kenaris had, as well. I was a nervous wreck by the time I boarded the morning bus. I didn't know how to face any of them.

To my surprise, neither Zoey nor Leo boarded the bus that morning. As I stepped off at the bus ramp, I noticed why. Rick, Leo, and Zoey were walking towards the building from the student parking lot instead.

For a moment, I tried to hide behind a tall classmate to try to get past them unnoticed, but all three of them headed towards me as soon as they caught sight of my blond hair. For the first time in my life, I actually envied Prince Raemka's dark locks. He would undoubtedly blend into the crowd a lot easier if he wanted to.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked as he rushed over to gently take both of my hands into his. I hadn't even realized how bad our symptoms hung over our heads until that steady touch lightened the load. How strange, even the soreness felt like less of a burden.

"He's not going to answer you honestly just so you know," Zoey griped. "He's always been like that."

I saw Rick tossing me a pitying glance out of the corner of my eye and shook my head.

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"See? Like I said," my bestie hissed while a firm frown formed on Leo's face.

"H-hey...so, as you can see, Momo, mah man," Rick responded loudly as he showed me his driver's license. "I can drive now. So, are you going with us off-campus for lunch?" He was clearly trying to change the subject for my sake, which I greatly appreciated. I hadn't known him for long, and already I wanted him to be a longtime friend.

"Yeah," I replied.

"He drives surprisingly well," Zoey whispered into my ear as we headed into the hallways. Just before the four of us split ways to get to our classes, she took hold of my face and squished my cheeks together as she inspected me. "We have to talk later this afternoon, you hear?"

I couldn't bring myself to give her an answer, which placed a sour expression on her face before she walked away.