Greetings

Still hanging in anticipation there? Well sorry; this chapter is as same as the last one

Take that!

Onto the story!

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Chapter 3
His Secret Friend

Truthfully, Astrid wasn't looking forward in school. She doesn't even like it; that was why she didn't school for one hundred and eighty years of her life. She always believed that school life was worthless and boring.

That was until she met Hackett. When she found out that he was in the same school with her, she was looking forward to it. She was even happier that they shared the same classes. So that was why school went well for her whenever Hackett was with her.

They had finished school an hour ago and now they were at the café where Hackett was working, drinking cappuccinos. Similar like in school, everyone at the café, the employer and employees along with the daily visiting customers, knew about Astrid's crush on Hackett and decided to keep it a secret.

The boss of the café was having a very good mood today and decided to give Hackett a day off but that was just partially of the reason. Astrid knew that the boss gave him a day off was also because he gave Hackett some time to be with Astrid, if the wink didn't say any louder.

During the time, Astrid was trying to solve a problem she faced in Mathematics. She was struggling with it as she scratched her head, thinking. Frustrated, she drank her cappuccino, making it half empty and slammed the mug down onto the table, spilling the content a bit onto the table.

"You need some help, Milady?" Hackett came up, holding his cup of cappuccino as he sat down next to her. He knew Astrid was struggling as he could tell from the scowl on her face and her tangled and messed up hair.

"I can't solve this stupid thing," she growled at the book, making Hackett thinking that the book was quivering in fear and begged for forgiveness that it doesn't know it had made. He slid the book closer to him to check on her mistakes and all.

"Oh, you only need to do this. You got any pencil?" using an extra pencil, Hackett wrote down an equation and pointed out the mistakes she was doing. Astrid was nodding sometimes and questioned him from one time to another.

The two was so engrossed in their work with each other they don't even notice the stares they received from everyone at the café.

The customers were glancing at the pair, grinning into their mugs as the two interacted. The two spoke in soft words as Hackett patiently taught her while Astrid closely listened to him.

The employees propped their head with their hands as they watched the two. They sat very closely with each other that their thighs were touched and their shoulder brushed. Somehow, the two either not noticed this or they just ignore it.

They looked cute together, that was what ran through everyone's mind currently.

The front door suddenly swung open, signaling that someone was entering the café. Suddenly, everyone – except for the pair – stopped what they were doing as a different bell rang through the café.

Everyone was entranced by this new ringing of a bell. Whoever had the bell or what ever the bell was, it gave out a gorgeous melody rings.

"Excuse me," said a person at the counter of the café, breaking the entranced girl behind the counter to reality.

"Do you need an order… s-sir…?" the girl behind the counter trailed off as she looked up at the seven foot figure before her. She felt scared over his massive size and the scar across this right eye but his smile was warm and friendly, assuring her that he was a kind guy.

"One Chocolate Shake please?" he kindly asked and the girl jotted down the order and then disappeared.

Suddenly, the gorgeous ring disappeared, snapping everyone back into reality. They were confused on why they were entranced by just a bell. The girl came back with a tall glass of Chocolate Shake with a green straw.

"Thank you," he picked up the tall glass and paid the girl. Through the entire time, the girl's eyes were focused on the man's right arm.

The whole right forearm of the seven foot man was completely covered with green clothes, from knuckles to just below his elbows and leaving his fingers and thumb bared.

Then she noticed that there was a gorgeous silver ring placed on the ring finger. The ring was beautifully engraved with green branch-like design and no gems on it.

Then, there was the green ribbon tied around his wrist. Tied onto the ribbon was, however, a gorgeous silver bell with green branch-like design engraved on it. Her eyes widened in realization.

The gorgeous rang they all just heard earlier was coming from the bell on the man's wrist. Even the slightest movement was enough to make the bell rang. That was the bell that made the gorgeous rings that entranced everyone.

Well, everyone except for the pair.

The seven foot man looked around for a moment until his dark green eyes landed onto the pair. His eyebrows softly shot up.

"Well, look what we have here," he spoke as he approached the pair. Since the two sat on one side of the table, the man slid into the other side of the chair, sipping up his Chocolate Shake drink.

The two were so engrossed in their works they don't even realized an extra company, even if the person was seven feet tall and sat on the other side of the table. That was until he belched, making the pair jumped out from their skin. They both looked up to the extra company.

"RJ?"
"Ralph?"

Hackett and Astrid spoke at the same time, making them turned sharply toward each other with confusion on their face.

"You know him?"
"You know him?"

Again, they spoke the same time.

"Well, yeah I do"
"Well, yeah I do"

"Since when?"
"Since when?"

"Um…"
"Uh…"

They spoke at the same time, making everyone at the café thinking that the two would make a perfect couple together.

Astrid was quite worried that Hackett would find out that RJ Ralph was not a Human. If he did, he would probably flip out and having a simultaneous heart attack and stroke…

She did not want that to happen, ever.

"If you're asking, yes Astrid, I know Hackett. And yes, Hackett, I know Astrid," RJ decided to answer their synchronized questions.

"Since when did you know each other?" Astrid asked Hackett, glancing worriedly towards RJ who seemed to be calmed and relaxed about the situation.

"Uh… I met his few months ago," Hackett answered. The date he given to her was exactly three days after RJ fell down from the sky, literally. "What about you?" he asked.

"Oh, I met him few months ago too," she answered, tried to sound casual so it would not raise a suspicion. "Why didn't you tell me about him?" she suddenly asked.

"Oh, uh…" Hackett looked somewhat nervous. RJ decided to help him out.

"I was away for a few months to visit my family back in my home country for the past few months. I didn't give Hackett enough time for him to introduce me to you," RJ spoke and sipped up the chocolate drink.

"Yeah, that," Hackett rubbed the back of his neck. Then suddenly, he and Astrid turned sharply to their friend. "You're home country?"

"You never told us about your home country," Astrid said as she and Hackett waiting for an answer. She knew that RJ doesn't live on this Earth, so she just played along to avoid suspicion.

"Oh," RJ put down the tall glass. "I came from a small country called Brunei Darussalam. It's a small country and very peaceful; I love the place," he stated dreamingly. "Unfortunately, the country is not quite famous and sandwiched between the two east Malaysia," RJ answered.

"Oh," Astrid slowly said.

"Anyway, look at the time; it's getting late," RJ told them and they looked at their watches. Their eyes widened at the time.

"Wow, it is getting late," Hackett stated as Astrid gathered her stuff into her back. "Dad would probably be worry right now," he added as he stood up.

The trio stood in front of the café, preparing to go to their separate ways.

"I'll have to go now, Milady," Hackett said. He pecked her cheek before he ran away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Astrid!" he yelled at the distant.

Astrid was blushing at the kiss she received from Hackett. It was actually his way of saying goodbye to her.

The two were completely oblivious to the giggling coming from inside the café who witnessed the whole thing, pressing themselves on the window glass.

Astrid suddenly turned toward RJ with anger in her eyes. RJ just raised an eyebrow of confusion.

"What?"

"You didn't told me that you know Hackett"

"Oh, so you can ask me to found out every secret about him so that you know how to get him to like you, and then you ask me to steal one of his shirts so you can wear it every night as your only pajama?"

Astrid blushed, knowing that that was what she was going to ask.

"No," she lied. She made her way to her home with RJ walking beside her. "Is it really true that your home country is Brunei Darussalam?"

"Actually no, it's not. It's actually the alternate version of me living there. He speaks to himself a lot; quite an amusing lad," RJ stated.

"He knew about me and my journey across worlds and alternate universes. He was curious, so I told him about my time in an alternate universe where I am a legendary street racer," he told her as he scratched the itch on his eyebrow, making the bell gorgeously rang. Then, he chuckled nervously.

"I wasn't supposed to be that exposed to that alternate universe; I wasn't even planning to make myself known. But those three races I had with the racers there were actually a bit too much, and the damage had already done. The Army Ants and I had to wear special costumes to disguise ourselves as normal Human," he explained absently, his chuckle lost its nervousness, becoming more amusing.

"I have to create a convincing bluff, and the Army Washers had to… how do I say this… 'insert' me into everyone's mind to think that I am an old Norse Mythology teacher and that there is a café in Freezing-To-Death"

"Wait, hold on; you actually told your time in an alternate universe to an ordinary Human?" Astrid interrupted him, staring at him with wide inrediculous eyes.

"That's what I said," RJ affirmed. "He took it quite well, actually; instead of blowing up like you expected"

Sometimes, Astrid hates his 'Heartbeat'.

"I didn't know that the young lad actually wrote down my story and published it into the internet. I think he named it… Chasing… something… I don't know; I wasn't paying attention"

"Well, that's nice to know"

"Anyway, I did that so I can cover you up," Astrid looked at him with confusion. "I made that up so Hackett won't find out that I'm not an alien and you're a Vampire"

"Oh, okay," she said and looked forward. She was completely missed noticing the mysterious grinned he gave her.

"Anyway, I have to go. See you next time, Young Lass!" RJ saluted and disappeared around the corner. She kept staring at the corner as she was lost in thought, thinking.

'At least, I know one of Hackett's secret; he knew about RJ. Well, partially about him'