Chapter 6

Well….. that was rather dumb of me, Jinx thought.

He forgot that Kuroi had been looking at him in THAT kinda light and his remark a few minutes ago might have made it worse.

Jinx sat down at the libraries table with his Mt. Dew. He knew he didn't have to worry about the librarian kicking him out for having soda because they were friends.

It's always best to make friends in higher places, Jinx thought as he took another swig.

Now he could eat or drink in the library, whereas the other kids got yelled at and kicked out.

It was always funny to see a freshman bring in a snack and get screamed at for eating it every year.

He once brought in a bowl of cereal and ate it in front of her while she played games on her phone one morning, yup it's good to make friends sometimes.

But probably not this person, Jinx thought as he saw Kuroi walking down the hallway through the glass window the library had.

He shrunk down in his chair hoping to avoid his line of sight and nearly fell off his chair.

“Fucking hell.” He snarled and fell on the floor with an OMPF!

“Well that was graceful.” Kuroi leaned over the table to look at him after entering the library.

“Did I ask your opinion on my ability to appeal to people using the power of my balance?...No? Because I didn't.” Jinx looked at him with a chilling glare.

Kuroi smiled hesitantly at him.

“Sorry if it seems like I am following you around…..uhm even though I am…. Well… that came out wrong uhm…” He smiled hesitantly again.

Well… at least he's honest about his creepiness, Jinx thought.

“Watashi wa anata o yurusu.”(I forgive you) Jinx took another sip of his soda.

Kuroi’s eyes widened.

“Anata wa nihongo o hanasu?”

Jinx winced, this one was a hard one for him to understand, but he was pretty sure he was asking him if he spoke japanese since he said nihongo.

Jinx pinched two fingers in a sign that meant a little bit.

“Though I will admit i'm not 100% what you just said, but I took context and what I do know to figure it out.” Jinx’s Mt. Dew was running out and starting to distress him, he needed his caffeine fix.

Jinx swirled the small amount of liquid left in the bottle, more interested in that than the nutjob in front of him. His budget only allowed him to buy so much food or soda a week to make sure he had enough to invest later in life so he could live on his own.

“......Jin! ??ho- Are Are you listening to me!?”

Jinx startled out of his thoughts and looked up into Kuroi’s face which was only a few inches from his own.

He nearly fell backwards with his chair.

“No *huff* I was not.” Jinx looked at him annoyed.

“I was fantasizing all the ways the I could possibly get you to stop bugging me.” Jinx smirked.

“Any luck thinking of one?” Kuroi sat down opposite of him.

“Well earlier I had thought of hitting you with my textbook in class before. But as of now none that will not end up backfiring in my face.” He took the last sip of his Mt. Dew and felt a rush of sadness hit him as the last drops passed his lips.

NO MORE CAFFEINE, Jinx cried mentally.

“You look sad...why?” Kuroi looked at him in confusion.

Jinx sighed, it wasn't like he would understand a caffeine addiction and not being able to quench it properly. Jinx’s head was already starting to hurt a bit from the caffeine withdrawal.

He hoped the Mt. Dew would start working soon, it was such an annoyance to deal with.

“Im out of Mt. Dew….” He mumbled as he shook the bottle lightly.

“Oh uh….” Kuroi seemed to be at a loss for words.

Jinx shrugged and put the bottle down on the table.

“Caffeine can be considered an addictive substance you know, it can cause mild dependency. But it doesn't cause any major withdrawal symptoms like other drugs do, so some doctors have issues thinking of it as a serious addiction. But there are a few good things that caffeine is believed to help. It can help with depression, the natural antioxidants can act as an anti-inflammatory in the brain since depression is related to inflammation. But there is also another issue. Some people believe it actually makes depression worse, although my belief is that it CAN not that it will. Over consumption of it can lead to issues with ones sleep cycle which can induce symptoms like depression or possibly be the cause. It is not proven as of now that lack of sleep is the cause of depression but it is known to be a symptom of depression.”

Jinx realized he had started rambling because of his disappointment.

He looked up to a shocked Kuroi.

Oh boy, well at least he may have gotten weirded out by my randomness, Jinx thought.