I forgot to lock my room's window.

While I was seated on my bed, munching away on the remaining cookies, I heard a faint click and glanced up in time to see an orange-haired male jump into my room from my bedroom window. Ryu Iwasaki glowered at me hard, making my heart halt beating entirely. His arms were folded, eyes sending countless amounts of fear coursing through me.

H-huh...? Rubbing my eyes quickly, I returned my gaze back onto the space, hoping this was all just a pigment of my imagination. But Ryu still stood there, his hostility radiating off of him.

My lungs nearly leapt out of my chest when he took a step closer, closing the distance between us. What? What? Was I dreaming? Lord please tell me this was all just a horrible dream. Please.

Although I was wishing desperately, Ryu's sudden grab to my collar defenestrated all my thoughts. Whimpering, I met his smouldering eyes which contained no other emotion but malice.

"P-p-please don't k-kill m-me!" I squealed, blinking rapidly to suppress the tears welling up in the corner of my eyes.

In response, Ryu glared. "You locked me outside."

Crud. Swallowing hard, I searched discreetly for any signs of my phone. I needed to call for help before I died.

"You're making me wait longer than I wanted," Ryu continued, yanking my body forward.

His fingers grazed my skin allowing me to shiver. The plate of cookies seated on my lap tumbled over the bed and hit the floor as he threw me over his shoulder. I screamed, expecting my face to collide with the floorboards when he lifted me quickly, holding me a few feet above the ground.

I wriggled to be let down but being held off the ground by a six foot tall male when you were only five foot three yourself was pretty difficult. "Let go of me!" I cried, squirming.

"Okay."

Without even a second to waste, Ryu unhanded me and I hit the ground. A yelp of pain escaped my mouth as I winced. Well, that could've gone better.

"Get ready," Ryu ordered, flopping down onto my bed and folding his arms.

Grumbling, I successfully managed to hoist myself off the floor, avoiding to use my sprained arm. I glowered in his direction and Ryu only sent one back— countless times more murderous. Not even a few seconds later, a chill ran up my spine and like a scolded puppy, I looked away quickly. Ugh, why was he so scary? Wasn't he supposed to be Class President or something?

I quickly disregarded the question. There was no way. He just broke into my house. Couldn't he have gotten a hint when I locked him outside? I guess I underestimated him. And I was stupid for not locking my room's window.

I couldn't risk it. I really needed to call the police as soon as possible. I could die if they didn't come soon. My gaze travelled towards my bed where I had left my phone, scrutinizing for a chance to snatch it. It was to my horror to see that Ryu had it clenched in his right hand, and it didn't take long for his gaze to meet mine.

"You have ten seconds."

My eyelids rose considerably at his words as I felt my blood run cold. Ten seconds...? No wait, he had my phone! I couldn't call the police! This was really scary! Maybe I should jump out the window and hope for the best? I would probably still live. I was only on the second floor.

Since I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed when Ryu started counting down. I only watched him say two and one before he rose up from the bed and ambled towards me. By then I had gotten too jittery to even run. I could only watch as Ryu approached me, mouth dropped and stuttering.

Ryu reached out his hand and clasped my collar for the second time. I was up on my feet in a heartbeat and shut my eyes tight, expecting a punch. I could only accept that I was an idiot for not doing what he had wanted.

I felt something cover my head. I was assured it was a blindfold. Probably to keep me from watching him beat me senseless, was what I thought. It was kind. At least I didn't have to witness all my blood leave my body. Blood did make me queasy.

I was waiting for the punch, and seconds later, I felt it. Contact. Starting with the top of my head. I screamed reflexively, reaching for the spot but as I did, something slid off my head and hit the ground. I found myself staring into the face of Ryu's, and came to terms with my hands clasped over my painless head. I blinked as I waited for the pain to jolt me, but it didn't. I glanced behind me to see what had dropped, only to find a large brown coat had fell— Ryu's coat from the other day.

Before I could process what was going on, Ryu was ushering me out the front door. Because I was bemused, I allowed him, and I was outside of my house, heading down the pavement in mere seconds. Ryu had ended up walking beside me, and it was minutes through our silent walk that my senses rushed back to me.

"Uh..." My voice cracked as I turned my head upwards and at an expressionless Ryu.

"Put on the coat. It's cold outside."

At Ryu's words, a burst of cold air hit me in the face. I shivered, instinctively tugging his coat that was resting over my shoulders, closer. After I did, my heart nearly stopped. I halted abruptly.

"What am I doing here?" I gasped, jerking my head left and right. When had I gotten here? And why was I wearing Ryu's coat? A load of questions hit me in the face, starting with one: why wasn't I dead?

"We're ditching the party," Ryu sighed, not stopping his pace. "Damn, you're annoying. We could've been long gone by now."

I could've took it as my opportunity to ditch him, but I knew that I could probably never outrun Ryu, even if I did get a headstart. He'd chase me down in a heartbeat. So instead, I carefully treaded after him, keeping my strides small. I eyed his coat and frowned. I had planned to return this as soon as I saw him and kept it neatly folded on my dresser... Had he spotted it and grabbed it? But then, why was I the one wearing it again?

I returned my attention to Ryo who wore nothing but a thin looking sweater and sweats. Another freezing breeze blew through and I lost sensation in my face. Gosh, it was cold. Looking ahead, I saw Ryu hold up his hands by his mouth, his breaths coming out in puffs. My stomach knotted. He was cold? Well, why wouldn't he be? Even if it was clear of snow, it was extremely windy, and I was still cold despite having his coat on.

His coat.

The thought had unknowingly made me angry. Biting my lip, I slung off the coat and threw it at him. I successfully managed to toss the heavy thing and it ended up hitting his back before landing onto the cement. It had caught Ryu's attention and he stopped before staring between his coat on the ground then at me.

I puffed up my cheeks. "I don't need your coat."

Ryu slowly reached over and picked it up. "You sure?"

"Y-yes," I replied, grasping my arms to keep from shaking from the weather. "It's yours. Not mine. I didn't ask for it."

Ryu spared me a sidelong glance. Then, nodded.

"Can I go home n-now?" I asked.

"No," he answered almost immediately.

"Why?" I knew I shouldn't have asked but my mouth moved on its own. "Why d-did I have to come anyway? I-If you wanted to ditch you sh-should've gone by yourself!"

"Then I'd be the only one to get into trouble if I'm found out," Ryu said. "Besides, it's nice to have company."

It wouldn't be an understatement if I said I was completely irked. "I-I'm going back!"

"If you know what's good for you you won't."

I cursed under my breath. Great. Nonetheless, his empty threat skimmed me. "I c-can't believe your threats anymore."

Ryu had slowed down a bit. "I'm serious."

"Y-you act like you are and you g-glare at m-me but you don't follow through."

Ryu squared his shoulders. "I'll do it," he stated.

I scoffed, "Do what?"

For someone who had me scared shitless minutes before, he couldn't have been any less daunting than a kitten now. I was confused. I could never understand him. One minute he was glaring and grabbing my collar and the next he was lending me his coat? Could he make up his mind already? Was he a delinquent or a gentleman?

"Look, let's just stop talking," Ryu said after a long pause.

"Why? Because I-I'm right?"

"Because you're annoying," he snapped. He suddenly took a right, leaving me speechless.

"Where are we g-going?" I stammered, hastening after him. I eyed the empty neighborhood but my primary focus was to heat myself up.

"To main street."

I blinked. "Then why are we going this way?"

Ryu stopped instantly. He spun around to face me and took off down the pavement we had come from.

Rotating quickly, I gaped after him. "What the..."

My words caught in my throat as Ryu swerved left and into the direction our houses were. I thought we were trying to not go to the party?

Not wanting to argue, I gladly dawdled after the male, hoping to find a way to slip into my house before he could notice, when he halted randomly again. I would've collided into him if I didn't stop at the last second. He swivelled around yet again, his complexion contorted with confusion. "We're back where we started."

My brows knitted together. "We are."

Ryu frowned, his expression shifting to one of annoyance. "This goddamn neighbourhood looks like all the others."

"Except this neighborhood is named differently and none of the houses look the same."

Ryu peered down at me, obviously not liking my sarcasm. "Stop it."

"If I can go h-home," I stuttered, jogging in place. "You won't have to hear my voice or see me. Likewise for me. It'd be perfect."

He glowered. "Those comments are getting me mad."

"Y-you've always made me mad." I paled when the words slipped. I quickly added, "And scared!"

Albeit knowing it should've caused him to snap, Ryu's face lightened. "I still scare you?"

Was that a rhetorical question? "Uh, yes."

Ryu's lips downturned. "I've been trying not to be scary."

Incredulous, I gaped. "You've been trying? Are you kidding me? All you've been doing is glaring and yelling at me!"

His eyes narrowed. "I haven't been glaring."

"What?" I couldn't believe my ears. "You're glaring right now!"

The creases in his forehead deepened. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are! Right now!"

"No, I'm not!" he barked. "I think I know when I am!"

I held my arms up quickly. "S-sorry!"

Ryu's eyes shrunk back in surprise. I peeked through an eyelid to see that he was frowning. Relaxing, I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Anyway, since I'm already here, I'm going back inside my house."

"No, wait!"

Ryu's booming voice froze me. I robotically turned my head to him. "Yes...?"

He took a step towards me. In response, my body subconsciously inched back. His face scrunched up as he held up a fist. "I'm not scary!"

In that moment, I could strongly disagree. It was nice to know he was naturally terrifying.

He ambled closer and I backed away. He continued to advance, and I continued to back up.

"Stop running away!"

"I'm not running!"

"Yes, you are!"

"I-I'm not!"

"Stop being so scared of me! You want my coat? I'll give it to you!"

"Why would I want your coat?"

"Just take it!" he said, thrusting his coat at me. "You're cold so I'll let you keep it. Just agree I'm not scary."

"I don't want your coat!" I asserted.

"Take it!"

"I already said I don't want it!"

"Stop being so annoying!"

"You're the one being annoying!" I snapped. "I do not want your coat, Ryu!"

"Ryu...?"

It was a split second, but the tension had thickened. In slow reactions, Ryu's face morphed maliciously—into a look more murderous than any one of his other glares. That's when I knew I had pushed my luck. I started sweating buckets.

"You are not allowed to call me that," he hissed, shoving his coat into my arms.

I didn't push it away, gawking dumbly. Ryu scowled even more at my reaction. I trembled.

"I'm not scary!" he seethed again, look not faltering in the least.

I bobbed my head vigorously, incapable of speech.

"Say something!"

I opened my mouth to do so but nothing came. What could I even say? It was like he snapped at everything I said, regardless of my sarcasm or not. And when he snapped he was scary.

Ryu inched close to me again but I was immobilized by my fright. It might've been both a miracle or a curse that a police officer happened to be casually stalking up the pavement. Some part of me wanted to scream a huge "HELP ME" so he could come to my rescue, but the other part of me didn't want to take that chance since Ryu was in front of me. Though, I guess I didn't have to worry about it too much because the officer came up from behind Ryu anyway, appearing curious of what was going on between the two of us.

"Is everything all right?" the officer asked, eyes darting from me to Ryu. He wasn't as tall as Ryu and only stood by his shoulders so his body had gotten screened by his.

My face lit up like a little kid's on Christmas. "Actually—"

"I'm not scary, okay!"

What happened next would give me nightmares for the rest of my life. In only an instant, Ryu swung his clenched fist backwards and slammed it straight into the police officer's face. The officer was out like a light, collapsing to the ground without a second to waste. My jaw had fallen to touch the floor and I lost the ability to breath.

"Okay?" Ryu enunciated, stomping his foot.

I jolted, tripping over a rock and falling over and onto my bum. My neck craned upwards in time to see two more police officers racing toward us, infuriated as they talked into walky-takies. The police officers probably had a car parked at the curb because another trailed after them.

Ryu, being oblivious, gritted his teeth. "Wear the coat," he commanded. "You're cold."

"B-b-behind y-y-you..." I croaked.

Ryu didn't hear me. "I keep telling you I'm not scary!" he shouted, once again throwing both his fists back and hitting two more police officers. Just like the first, the two stumbled and flopped. I was in too much shock.

"Th-th-the...p-p-police..." My lips were quivering to the point where I couldn't make coherent sentences. He wasn't aware of them, I figured.

Oh, God.

"Stop shaking already!" Ryu hollered, punching back for the last time to wind the last officer who had lunged for his neck with his taser.

In a minute, and only a punch each, all four of them were out cold. Four police officers were all knocked unconscious.

A shriek of horror filled the air, and it wasn't my own. When I rotated my head to identify it, I wasn't even in the mood to freak out when I found Mom standing by the gate of Ryu's house, looking utterly appalled.

I also didn't have to think it to know that I was utterly screwed.