Chapter 5: The beast who's friends with the Beauty

Nevertheless, he headed to Ryder’s house. Maybe it was because his stomach was filled or because this time he had Ryder’s consent for visiting her that his footsteps were quicker than the previous nights.

He walked to the backyard, strangely in a good mood, but as soon as he got close, a loud shout startled him. Sure enough, when he checked behind the face, what faced him wasn’t only Ryder but also another girl with wild curly hair and a petite body.

Jake recognized her immediately. That was Jasmine… that girl was quite the odd type. She had a rather violent nature, but back when he was still in school, Jake had also noticed that despite the fierce attitude, Jasmine was extremely kindhearted. She was the only person Jake had seen around Ryder.

If Ryder thinks of her as a friend, she surely is a good person. Jake was sure of it. However, he also knew that this friend of Ryder was also too overprotective. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to deal with her. What if she attacked him?

He was about to turn around and leave when Jasmine asked Ryder a question that made Jake stop in his tracks.

"So why did you name that guy Midnight?"

Ryder told Jasmine about me?

Now Jake was too curious to leave. He wanted to know what Ryder would tell her friend. Even though he didn’t dare to look at the girls for fear of getting caught, he squatted against the fence and shamelessly eavesdropped on the girls’ conversation.

It’s not shameless if it’s for a noble reason.

Knowing what Ryder thought of him was extremely important! Therefore, it’s noble!

No one in the world would convince Jake that he was being a bit of a creep at the moment, yet given the fact that his self-esteem had taken a strong hit the moment depression punched him in the face as if it was the reincarnation of Mohammed Ali, it was kinda acceptable from him to want some assurance from the girl he used to like.

"For two reasons," Ryder said but didn’t continue with the explanation. This only got Jasmine impatient.

"Those two reasons being..." Jasmine urged her, but Ryder just smirked at her and scrolled down her phone. "Just spit it out already. I'm sorry, okay?!"

Ryder giggled happily at her achievement in angering Jasmine. This friend of hers who had been playing games a few minutes ago had mistreated her laptop by hitting and cursing it. She needed to get punished for it. After angering her, Ryder was finally satisfied.

"Okay, okay. Well, the nickname first came to me because of a book I have read. You know the one with the psychopath that killed his victims every midnight."

Jake frowned. He was extremely displeased.

She named me after the fucking psycho!!! And he even dies at the end! Is she wishing me an early death or what?

"The one you kept calling your baby? That died in the end, and you mourned him for a whole week?" Jasmine asked and the gloomy expression on Jake’s face was instantly replaced by a blush. His face felt hot, and his heart was pounding against his chest.

B-baby?

Now his ears turned red as well.

Does that mean that… that she…

"He was precious and adorable and didn't deserve all that happened to him. My baby deserved all the love in the world." Ryder stubbornly defended a psychopath from a book.

Her words only made Jake feel as if he was about to explode from overheating.

Truth be told Ryder felt hesitant about giving Jake a name from a book, even worse, that of a "psychopath", she couldn't help but think that this situation and that of the book were somewhat similar. She thought the stranger most likely hadn't read that book. However, judging by the way Jake talked, Ryder somewhat believed he was well-read, so to save herself some face in case he had read that particular book, she came up with the second reason, which was 40% an excuse.

How could she know the fucking stranger was actually her favorite writer who wrote the fucking book?!!

However, Jake’s thoughts were going a bit astray. The words “baby” and “my baby” echoed in his head over and over again. Even though he knew it was pretty absurd and not possible, Jake couldn’t help but think that maybe Ryder… liked him… a bit?

He shook his head, trying to shoo away those thoughts in his head. What like!! She doesn’t even know who I am. Of course, it’s not because she likes me! Fool! A fucking fool, that’s what I am!

While Jake was busy with his self-criticism, Ryder told Jasmine the second reason.

"The second reason is that, by so far, he has shown up in the middle of the night."

"Why at midnight?" Jasmine asked curiously.

When Ryder first told her how a stranger had broken into her backyard, she almost lost her shit. But since nothing bad happened, she just thanked God and was happy it was over without anyone getting hurt. Then Ryder came to her the next day only to tell her the stranger came again. And again… Of course, she had to tag along and check this weirdo herself!

"I don't know." Ryder shrugged. She had also wondered about this but didn't dare to ponder over it too much, scared that her imagination would take her too far.

"Maybe he's into some weird shit." Jasmine thought out loud.

NO, I’M NOT! Jake roared in his mind. DON’T PUT IDEAS IN HER HEAD! I’M INNOCENT!

"None of the kind." Jake couldn’t hide anymore. If he didn't intrude, this Jasmine girl would put all sorts of weird ideas in Ryder's head. What would he do if Ryder thought he was some kind of drug dealer or a pimp?

However, the sudden male voice coming from over the fence, sacred the two girls shirtless. With this being the fourth time he had scared her shitless with his sudden appearance, Ryder was starting to consider tying a bell on his neck. But the scare Ryder got didn't even compare with the almost heart attack Jasmine got who was experiencing this for the first time.

Sure enough, Jasmine simply lost her shit.

Upon noticing the dark figure of Jake, only a head and two arms resting over the fence, with the light nearby barely casting any light on him, a hoodie covering half of his face, AND with the thought of the psychopath Ryder just had mentioned giving this man a terrifying aura, Jasmine screamed. "What the actual hell!!!"

Right after that, before Jake could react, a chair flew in his direction.

Ryder barely had time to grab the laptop off Jasmine's hands as the brat almost threw it to the stranger, not caring if it would kill the guy or if it would make Ryder kill her for breaking THE DAMNED LAPTOP!!! Yet, by the time Ryder snatched the laptop from Jasmine, hugging it against her chest like a baby in need of comfort, Jasmine had already gotten hold of the nearest thing to her, that being the chair she was sitting on, and threw it to Jake.

Fortunately, the chair hit the fence, and Jake flinched instinctively.

Holy shit, this nutcase wants to kill me!

But just throwing a chair at him didn’t satisfy Jasmine. Soon she got hold of whatever other item was near her and threw it at Jake again. This went on for quite a while. There were markers, scissors, and an empty cup that fortunately was plastic flying in his direction, barely managing to dodge them.

Jake had never been in such a situation where his life was in danger. He was experiencing a life-or-death situation! He even thought he would go meet his mom! As soon as he thought of that, the plastic cup hit him right on the forehead as if knocking some sense in that head of his. In a daze, Jake took his words back.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m not going to meet mom. I take it back.

Ryder watched in a daze as Jasmine was showering the poor Jake in all sorts of things, dodging most of them, some almost hitting him. With the plastic cup hitting his forehead, Jake was about to shout, but right then he saw Jasmine trying to grab a small sewing machine on the working table and paled.

Does she want to fucking kill him on the spot?

Mom!!! I think I’m coming to you!

Jasmine really wanted to kill him on the spot. She grabbed the sewing machine, but due to it being too heavy to be thrown, she went for the other best thing to throw, but the table was empty for this idiot had thrown everything at the poor guy.

Seeing the working table empty, without thinking about it, she went to grab Ryder. Only when she met Ryder's cognac eyes which were like two pits of fire as if daring her to touch her, did Jasmine come back to her senses.

When she realized that she had tried to throw Ryder at the stranger, her face flushed red in embarrassment. To hide the embarrassment, she directed her attention at the dark figure of the man that was panting and sweating from all the dodging. The scare he got from all this shortened his lifespan by thirty years.

"Who the fuck are you, you creep!!!"

WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING A CREEP, YOU LUNATIC!

Ryder was in a bad mood. Earlier that day, when Jasmine suggested coming over to see this Midnight guy, she had promised not to do anything too excessive, like trying to murder him. Yet what did she do? She really tried to kill the guy the moment she saw him! Who will deal with the cops if Midnight was killed right behind her house!

Glaring at Jasmine for breaking her promise, Ryder smacked the back of Jasmine's head. "What are you being an idiot for? Who else could he be?"

Jasmine narrowed her eyes at the guy and snorted. "He's ugly."

Jake, who actually was quite popular back in high school because he was too handsome, suddenly was called ugly.

"...."

WHAT DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT BEAUTY!

Even though he had lost a lot of weight and his face was gloomy with dark circles under his eyes, his looks were still striking. Natural beauty wasn’t something to be marred by only these. He just looked… a little bit less handsome…

Still, Jake flared up in anger. Where am I ugly, you old fart!!! You can't even see my face! He felt wronged. So wronged. Out of spite, he decided to make Jeremy cook him a lot of things so he would gain the lost pounds so he would be handsome again. Then we will see who is ugly!!! Hmph!

On the other hand, Ryder rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Can you just... calm down, please?" She bent over and grabbed two stuffed animals she and Jasmine had made this afternoon, one rabbit and one wolf. The two stuffed animals that had fallen on the ground when Jasmine threw the chair were picked up by Ryder, who then handed them to Jasmine as if saying: think of happy thoughts.

Jasmine glared at Jake one last time before looking down at the wolf and her expression finally softened. A sigh of relief left Ryder's heart as she saw that the situation had finally calmed down. After she made sure that Jasmine wouldn't go berserk again, Ryder turned her eyes at Midnight and guilt filled her eyes.

She had wanted to fish out some other hint from the guy, but it was not likely to happen now that he had gone through a near-death experience in Jasmine's hands. Furthermore, Ryder was convinced Jake most likely got bullied during the day and the fact that now he also got bullied by Jasmine….

Vexed, Ryder put down the laptop and gave a warning look at Jasmine, then she walked over to where Jake was to collect the things Jasmine had thrown. Jake took a few steps back, hiding further into the darkness of the night, scared that Ryder would see his face.

"Are you hurt?" Ryder asked him, somewhat worried.

Does my pride count? Jake thought, but he shook his head. It was pointless to get angry. He couldn’t vent and leave a bad impression on Ryder. Besides… Ryder sounds worried about me? Only this thought improved his mood.

"She's quite... charming," Jake said.

Ryder glared at him for ridiculing Jasmine, but couldn't help it and chuckled a bit. If it were someone else, they would have already jumped over the fence and thrown hands, or at least sworn all kinds of names and profanities, yet Midnight appeared calm and collected as if nothing had happened. Seeing this, Ryder's impression of him improved.

"Why are you bothering my sweet daughter, you ugly creep!" Jasmine called from the working table where she was sitting on in the absence of the chair.

Daughter? Jake bit his tongue. This nutjob... If she is your daughter, then I’m her uncle!

How could Jake know how that strange head of Jasmine worked? The girl was very protective of her friends and really thought of them as kids she had to take care of.

Ryder brought all the things that Jasmine had thrown back to their places and pinched Jasmine's ass off the working table. "Don't bully him.”

"How am I bullying him?" Jasmine felt wronged. How is it her fault for trying to protect her precious daughter?

"Jaz, you promised."

Only now did Jasmine remember the promise. Blushing in embarrassment, she shut her mouth and sat on the chair with a pout. Ryder ruffled her hair in satisfaction and sat on the table, her legs dangling in the air. "This is my friend, Jasmine." She introduced her.

"Mhm... I know." Jake muttered, and then instantly regretted it. Shit! He shouldn't have said that. Now she will know I know her from school.

Ryder widened her eyes and Jasmine who had just calmed down jumped at him grabbing his hood.

The sudden attack took Jake by surprise, and he desperately tried to hide his face from Jasmine. He can’t let her see his face! The two, standing on two different sides of the fence, were fighting over a hood.

"Who the hell are you?! How do you know me? How do you know her? What are your intentions?" Jasmine spat the questions rapidly, with her claws on Jake’s hood, almost scratching him a few times.

Get this lunatic away from me before she kills me!!!

Jake once again thought tonight, for sure, he will go meet his mom.

Ryder was stupefied in such a situation not knowing what to do. Half of her was hoping for Jasmine to shove the hood off, and the other half was feeling bad for Jake and the puzzle of his identity that would be gone the moment the hood was off.

After a lot of struggles, Jake freed himself from Jasmine's claws, falling to the ground, his hands still holding onto the hood. All the energy he got from what he had eaten earlier was exhausted just like that by this fierce struggle. Now he was worried he wouldn’t be able to walk back home.

Since Jake had succeeded in protecting his secret identity, Ryder decided to come to his help and dragged Jasmine away before she could jump on him again.

Deciding to call Jeremy to come to pick him up, Jake patted his clothes off the dirt and stood up. "Soft and gentle in appearance, but with the spirit of a beast." He muttered to himself, but Ryder caught the words and froze. Her face flushed bright red. To hide it, she pushed Jasmine inside the house. "Please stay put and at least let me see him off."

"What if he does anything to you?" Jasmine asked concerned.

"He didn't do anything to you even after you attacked him twice."

Jasmine frowned. She has a point. "Whatever. I had to shit anyway." She snorted and left before she could do or say anything else that would lose her face.

With Jasmine walking inside the house, Ryder turned to Midnight and leaned over the fence, on her hands she held a small white cat, a plushie she had made. Somewhat she hadn't let go of it all this time. The blush on her face had somewhat faded, and she appeared calmer.  "I'm sorry." She muttered.

Finally being alone, Jake felt self-conscious. "It's okay." He pulled the hood down his face farther down.

He was called ugly twice!

I’m not ugly, okay!

I’m just… I just have lost weight, that’s all!

Ryder tapped the fence lightly with her foot. "I have two things to ask you. Will you answer them?"

Jake bit his lower lip. "Depends on the question."

She won’t ask me not to show up again, will she?

"Sometimes tears can ease the pain in one's heart... This phrase is from "Who Killed Midnight", isn't it?"

Even though she had calmed down, the redness surfaced on her face again from embarrassment. Only after hearing the young man use another phrase from that book did she remember where the first one was from.

Jake wanted to slap himself. JUST QUIT MUTTERING BOOK QUOTES, YOU WEIRDO!! She will find out this way.

But he couldn’t deny it. The question was more of a rhetorical one. It would be useless to deny anything.

“Mhm."

"Why didn't you say anything then? I named you after a book character."

"You looked quite excited about it," Jake said softly, getting shy.

Ryder felt even more guilty. Why the fuck did she name him Midnight? Better named him Spiderman, no difference. "We can think of another nickname..."

"It's okay..." Jake interrupted her. No way will he let her call anything else. She… she said she loved this character... "What's the second question?"

Ryder chewed on her lip for a bit, fidgeting with the small stuffed animal, not that confident about asking anymore. In the end, she had nothing to lose anyway. "Why did you come at midnight these few nights?"

Jake didn't answer right away. His heart felt heavy as he got reminded of things he had pushed at the back of his head while coming here. The air filling his lungs suddenly felt more like water, as if he was drowning.

He couldn’t answer this question honestly, even if he wanted to. What would he say? That was the first time he was kinda high and had no idea what crazy thought brought him here?

Or that the second and third time he just wanted to come because… because he liked talking to her. Because he had always wanted to talk to his crush, even though it was quite meaningless now…

The whole midnight thing… the last two times was mostly because of the first time. He thought, since she was out in the backyard at that time once and then twice, the third time would also be the case.

The first night…

Jake sighed. He looked up at the dark sky as he thought back to his mother’s death anniversary, how he wanted to be alone…

"I like the stars." His voice sounded somewhat distant when he finally answered. "And I like quietness... I wanted to taste both of them at the same time."

Wow…… that was good. Gotta use it in the book. 

Ryder didn't know how to respond to such a confession. It wasn't the reply she wanted, and Jake had avoided the answer quite skillfully. Suddenly, she felt bad for him, without understanding where this feeling was coming from. For the first time, Ryder had the urge to protect someone. With the redness of her cheeks turning bright scarlet by the overwhelming feeling that suddenly filled her heart and took her by surprise, she threw the small stuffed cat at Jake and left after muttering a quick "I made it myself".

Jake had barely managed to catch the stuffed animal thrown at him. He looked down at it in confusion. When he looked up at Ryder, who had already returned inside the house, closing the door behind her.

The small white cat in his hands was made of soft material, with big black eyes... A soft smile lingered on his lips, his cheeks turning red again.

Now that Ryder walked inside her house, it was pointless to stay. Jake fished his phone from his pocket and was about to dial Jeremy, but his finger froze midair.

It was almost midnight, and Jeremy had to take care of Leah. He can’t possibly leave her home alone only to come to pick him up. He was already doing a lot by worrying about himself daily.

Chewing on his lip, Jake finally decided to call his father.

It didn’t even take two seconds for Mathew to answer the phone. It was like he was waiting for his call all this time. This thought pricked Jake’s heart and he didn’t know how to feel.

“Jake, where are you? Are you okay? Did something happen? When are you coming home? Are you hurt?” The questions came like rapid fire, intensifying that feeling in his heart.

“Can… can you pick me up? I’m too tired to walk back home.” Jake muttered while staring at his shoes. 

Awkward. This is too awkward!

Aghhhh! I should eat more so this situation won’t repeat itself!

EXTRA:

Jake: *standing in front of the mirror*

Jake: I'm pretty aren't I?

Jeremy: Is that a question or a statement?

Jake: Question.

Jeremy: You're ugly.

Leah: Who's ugly? Daddy is ugly! Jay is the prettiest.

Jeremy:  .....

Jeremy: Do you even have me in your heart, you unfilial child!!!

Leah: But daddy said that I shouldn't tell lies (●'◡'●)