World After Worlds

"Why do you keep on looking over there?" Kraig asked Yanarym, she stiffened and directed her eyes on him. He looked where she was staring and saw that it was where Lyndon usually was sitting. "Why are you looking there?" He asked softly with a gentle smile on his face.

"I'm just worried," she lowered her voice, Kraig heard her and paused, worried…of what? Why is she looking at Lyndon? He waited for her to add an explanation but she remained silent. Kraig sensed something was wrong and the indistinguishable turmoil—anxiety reemerged. He stifled, unknowingly glaring his eyes towards her. "Rym?"

"Tiana," she inhaled deeply, "Once you get tired of me, you will like Tiana again." Her voice trembled, Kraig's eyes softened with realization. That was right; Tiana was sitting next to Lyndon… "This moment we are having, it feels like it's going to be over soon."

"Rym, why would you think of something like that? Didn't I tell you many times already? I'm not going to replace you." He smiled and trapped her chin to his index finger and thumb, making her stare at his eyes. Kraig was breathless, how could she look so pretty even when she was this sad? It was making him want to see her cry. "There would be no ending for us," he uttered, huddled his head to place his lips on her.

Upon gaining back his senses he cursed on his head and set distance with them. He should learn how to repress his drive-by kissing her whenever and wherever possible. He gazed at her face after scolding himself and saw that she was averting on anywhere but him. He smiled seeing her face flushed so red. He leaned to her left ear, where she was much more sensitive than the right. "There, it's almost time for class, stop alluring me." He placed his hand on her knee and did not see what reaction she would make. He might have dragged her out of this classroom.

Yanarym saw Lyndon looking in her direction and feigned that she knew. She focused her eyes on Lena and took down some notes, the class went smoothly and it was more interesting than how these men function. She smirked triumphantly.

"Good morning." Lena stepped onto the platform and everyone was hushed. She opened her lesson planner and proceeded at the topic. "Flip your book about enoua to page four-hundred thirty-five. Miles, read the introduction."

"Yes, Miss! Enoua or for a modern term is what we call the love potion…" the class listened intently. "It's been over a thousand decades since the potion was invented by an unknown witch; the first record of its usage was when she was caught when the crown prince of the western kingdom announced his separation to his queen for the witch."

"Stop, Emory, next." Lena was impassive; her eyes were sharp, which made most of the students jumpy and scared of being called.

"Ah! The… the… enoua, ahm,"

"Where's your book young lady?"

"I left it at home, Ms. L-lena,"

"Why? Does your house read your book for you, Emory? Should I grade your house instead of you?" The student bowed her head in shame, "The next time you participate in my class without your book, it's better to take the initiative to leave. Sit down."

"I'm sorry, Miss."

"Kraig read the passage," Lena frowned and flipped the page and turned her scornful eyes to Kraig. Kraig stood up and lifted his book; there was an amenable countenance and respectful gestures toward Lena.

"The enoua was generally presumed to be a love potion, but it was later discovered that the substances in the vial could not induce the person who drank it to fall in love. Rather, the symptoms they exhibited were hypnotherapy. The victims under the influence of enoua were brainwashed and enslaved by the substance." Yanarym read the text with interest. It's like drugs? She thought about the potion and shuffled the books to the sub-category of hazards and side-effects.

"No withdrawal?" she murmured to herself. "This is safe?"

"Do you have anything in mind, Yanarym?" Yanarym was startled when she was called and lifted her eyes and saw Lena and the rest of the class were staring at her.

"I'm surprised it doesn't have any side effects."

During the dismissal, Lena was giving them an assignment, it was by pair and because it was an assignment it should be passed by tomorrow. Normally, Yanarym would initiate to say to Kraig that if he was busy she could do the assignment by herself—that was the usual pattern for them. For most of their projects during those two months, she would do everything by herself. And because Kraig was occupied with his planning of revenge, he would agree to her and would say that he would make it up to her next time.

"Do you want to sleep over tonight?" Kraig asked. Yanarym pretended to be surprised. He's horny. Yanarym thought and faked a sweet smile to him. "Let's do the assignment at my house."

"Aren't you busy? I can do this on my own, it's easy." She assured him and he paused, reluctant to agree. "You've been sleeping well, right?" She added and reached out to touch his cheek, he was astonished for a second because he thought she would remain shy until the afternoon class. He was about to answer her with a roguish remark but she shut him up by grazing her fingertip on his eyelids, to his nose, and his lips. Kraig sensed a goosebump from his face to his spine. The way she meandered her finger on his skin was electrocuting him all over. What was arousing was the way she gazed at him…

Kraig fixed his eyes on her, "I am sleeping well, yes," sometimes he forgot, that not only she was crazy for him, she also cared a lot. Despite that, she was overwhelmed with his flirting. She could set aside her feelings to worry about him. It was making Kraig waver… it felt good—and alarming.

"Liar," she bit her lower lip and stared at him with worried eyes. "You have dark circles," she uttered and stroked her finger on that area, Kraig closed his eyes and rubbed his cheek against her palm. It was warm, small, and soft. As if her touch was a lullaby making him drowsy. He was pretty sure that he won't be able to sleep for the next two days but she was able to make him sleepy. "Do you want to sleep? It's recessed, you can take a break." She whispered to him, moved her body, and patted her shoulder, Kraig smiled widely and chuckled at her cute gesture. How could he sleep on her shoulder? It's small, can she even hold up my head? He wondered but complied. He did not want to make her embarrassed and honestly, he wanted to hold her close as well.

"Silly, how can I rest on your shoulder? It's narrow." He laughed at her and she blushed again, she was about to renounce her invitation offering herself as his pillow, however, instead of lying straight on her shoulder, he grabbed her waist and lifted her from her seat, and transferred her onto his lap.

"L-love!" She gasped in surprise at his suddenness, he chuckled to her ear which was crimson red and she trembled. Kraig wrapped his arms to her torso and she did not struggle to break free but he could feel that she was stiffened. "Love," she was nervous.

"Don't worry. I'll just take a nap on your back." He murmured on her cheek, she flinched as a reaction. He inhaled her to his system and drew her in, with her back facing him. It was still thin, nevertheless wide enough to cater his head. He leaned on her, and she voluntarily swept her hair to the front but he brought it back. "Don't move," he said with a yawn and kissed her bare shoulder as he laid his forehead on her neck and shoulder. She obeyed and froze. He couldn't help but laugh, why is she so cute? He fondled her soft skin, "Love, relax. I'm not gonna eat you."

"I'm relaxed." She exclaimed but she was flustered. Kraig did not say anything anymore because his eyelids were too heavy and his body was drastically feeling lethargic. He rubbed his cheek on her skin and closed his eyes as he nestled on her, hugging her tighter. Gradually he felt her getting accustomed and her body relieved tension.

A thought came to mind: maybe Yanarym used enoua on him. He believed that she made him enchanted. Though only he was immune to it, she also could not create potions as well. The mystery of his affection skyrocketing for her was unexplainable.

"That's right, enoua can only make its victim ecstatic with no harmful physical damage done to the body—that is why it was dangerous," Kraig recalled Lena's explanation to Yanarym when she asked about the side effects of it. "The good feeling of the enoua caused is hard to let go by the victims." It made him wonder as he looked at her, is she an enoua? His enoua.