Well, this is awkward.

It has been ten minutes since I was left alone in the presence of Sebert Rosenwood and, since then, we didn't exchange a word.

For the last ten minutes, I have been observing the man before me, and I have to say he became even more handsome in the past two years. Although he should still be thirteen, the little bit of childishness left on his face two years ago has almost completely disappeared. He looked more like a young man than a pre-pubescent youth. His poker face improved too. All this time, Sebert kept a relaxed countenance and a serene face. I couldn't read his face at all.

People say that the attack is the best defense. Instead of keeping wondering what was going on in his head, I should take the initiative.

"H-How have you been, mister Rosenwood? "

He made a very exaggerated stunned and hurt expression.

D*nm, although he was pretending, it still made me feel a little bad.

"Why are you calling me Mister Rosenwood? Although it has been a while, I thought we got quite close that night."

Sh*t.

My smile remained frozen.

"Hahaha, sorry, I think I don't understand."

He gave me a playful smile.

"Don't you remember? The way you called me that night?"

Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t.

My instincts were screaming for me to run away. Should I pretend that I don't remember anything?

"I'm sorry, my memories of that night are a little fuzzy."

He didn't seem disappointed with my pretense and kept smiling. I felt shivers down my spine.

"Should I refresh your memory then? We became so intimate that night, with you poking and touching me here and there. We were so close that you even scolded me on my face. Don't you remember?"

He brought his face next to my ear and whispered

"How you called me little Seb."

Shhhhh********tt!!!

Dear readers, in the forty years of my existence, I swear my face never got as red as it was now. I could make a f*cking flamingo feel envious.

Waah, can't I just die!

"Please, could you just forget it?"

He chuckled.

"Why? Oh, is it because I didn't come to find you for such a long time? I'm sorry, I should rectify that. For starters, how about I also give you a nickname? What about Nollie? Or maybe little Nolan? No, I just thought a perfect nickname... Baby Nolan suits you quite well, don't you think?"

If you're 'little' then I'm a baby? What a petty man.

It's been two years, for God's sake!

This son of a b*tch is having a lot of fun, isn't he?

"Please great lord, have mercy on me, I was but a child who didn't know his place."

Please, just stop it.

However, after all his teasing, I felt a little more relaxed somehow.

" I have been pretty busy these past two years so I couldn't come to meet you in person before. You must have felt pretty disappointed, no?"

Not.at.all.

If you just had forgotten my existence for good, then everything would be perfect.

"How could I?"

" Yes, I understand if you're angry, but I was so busy I thought I'd die. My grandfather is merciless. However, even though my schedule was so packed that I barely had time to eat, I still made time to learn more about you. I wanted to be friends with you, after all."

"Oh, you didn't need to do that..."

" Of course I needed! Your birthday, friends, weight, height, blood type, schedule, and even your family relations. I learned it all and more."

Was this a threat? My whole body shivered again as I got an ominous premonition. However, as he looked at me with puppy-like eyes that seemed to say 'praise me', I slowly relaxed again.

I should be overthinking again. Maybe he really wanted a friend? Although the way he phrased it was a little weird, maybe he just didn't know how to make friends and tried a little too hard?

His looks are that of an adult, but he was still a thirteen year old child after all. 

From our interaction until now, besides humiliating myself that night, it didn't seem like I said something I shouldn't.

But for assurance sake, I should still try to avoid interacting with this person.

"Even so, you really didn't need to care so much about a person who didn't know his place and did such unsightly things in your presence. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are much better than me that'd be delighted with the opportunity of being your friend. This one is not worthy of your attention."

"Oh, so you don't want to be my friend?"

He said, still smiling yet, somehow, I felt like I was in danger. As if I gave him the wrong answer, he'd eat me alive.

"It's not that I don't want. Rather, how could a lowly person like me dare to be friends with the great young master?"

"You don't dare, uh?"

Then, his whole atmosphere changed.

"Then I don't need to keep it, do I?"

"What?"

Sebert slowly got up from the place he was sitting and started to walk into my direction.

"I can't just let a person who knows so much about me and my family walk around freely, can I? "

He walked behind me, touching my neck briefly with his hands. The touch felt like a poisonous snake was crawling in my neck, searching for the best place to bite, and making my whole body tremble of fear.

"Nolan Riverstone, would you like to choose your end or-"

I froze. I was utterly terrified. My heart was beating so fast that it felt like it'd come out of my chest at any given moment. My whole body started to sweat profusely as I felt his breath closer and closer to my ears.

Then, like a devil, he whispered in a deep, hypnotizing voice those honeyed words, as if offering a cup of cold water to a dying, dehydrated person on a desert.

"-would you like to become my friend?"