When they arrived at Rachael's house, the trio discreetly made their way to Rachael's bedroom, seeking seclusion from prying eyes. The risk of her parents stumbling upon them in the living room was too great, and they couldn't afford to arouse suspicion.
Once inside, Christina settled onto the bed and swiftly double-tapped her Lav, attempting to establish contact with Mike.
"Mike, are you there?" she asked. However, the silence was deafening.
Undeterred, she repeated the process several times, but each attempt yielded the same result: nothing.
"Perhaps we should give it some more time," Stefan suggested. "As Djuma said, Mike is safe, his supposed son couldn't harm him anyway."
"Are you serious, Stefan?!" Rachael exclaimed. "Will you stop spouting nonsense?"
She rose from her bed and approached Stefan, who sat on the plastic chair beside her.
"Do you honestly believe Mike is safe with his son? Do you think Djuma's world would be secure if my brother falls under his son's influence?"
"And what about Mike himself?" Christina chimed in. "What if he's possessed by Jran? Have you forgotten the risks?"
Stefan nodded slowly. "Dammit... I was a fool," he muttered.
"Are you only realizing it now?" Rachael whispered.
"I only agreed with what you said earlier. Let's wait for a while and try again," Christina said. "If this Lav is as powerful as Djuma described, it should connect me to Mike once he's awake."
"Awake? What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not sure. I just assumed he might be asleep or... something. Or what else do you think could be blocking our connection?"
"Whatever," Rachael mouthed. She settled back onto her bed with a somber face. Stefan, however, sought to lift the mood.
"Are we going to stay depressed like this until we try again?" He let out a deep sigh as he scanned the room. "Shouldn't we do something fun to lighten the mood?"
"That's a good idea. You can start."
"Start with what?"
"Ummm… Tell us how you and Mike met and became best friends."
Stefan's hands rose in a defensive gesture. "That's a long story, guys."
"I adore stories, especially the long, winding ones," Rachael intervened, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Now, come on, Stefan, share it with us. Don't be shy."
"Whatever," he began.
"It all started during our first year of junior high school when I met Mike. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew we'd get along famously. Back then, I was quite the troublemaker – always getting into scrapes and fights because I refused to back down from bullies."
"It was a sunny day after school, and Liam and his friends had cornered me in the alleyway. They were demanding I pay for Liam's cellphone, which I'd accidentally smashed during a previous altercation. The thing was, I hadn't started that fight – they had – but they wanted me to compensate them."
"In any case, I was determined not to give in. I'd rather face them down and risk getting beaten than pay for something that wasn't entirely my fault. I've never been one to back away from a fight anyways."
"Oh! I remember Liam," Christina said. "Wasn't he that boy who acted like a psychopath? The one who got expelled along with his friends?"
Stefan nodded, a careless grin plastered on his face. "Yeah! Of course, you, of all people, must remember him. People used to call him your boyfriend. You guys' behavior was stark alike that—"
Christina's face transformed from relaxed to raging in an instant. She sat up abruptly, her eyes blazing with disgust.
"If you die here right now, nobody would find out, do you know that?" she snapped.
Stefan's grin faltered, and he gasped, shifting uncomfortably on his chair. "I'm... aware, why are you—"
"If you're aware, then you'd think twice before getting on my nerves. Especially now that I'm hypersensitive about Mike's unresponsiveness," Christina cut him off again.
"I... I'm sorry," Stefan stammered. He's seen Christina get mad countless times, but not the type of anger that's direct to him. He must as well watch what comes out of his mouth next, especially now that Mike's not with him.
However, Christina's gaze still lingered on him, icy and unyielding.
"You don't have to threaten me like that. You're so scary!" Stefan whispered.
"Whatever," Christina waved her hand dismissively. "If you say that again, I might kill you for real."
She then laid back down on the bed.
"You guys can kill yourselves for all I care. I'm more interested in how you and Mike became best friends," Rachael, who had been quietly observing the exchange, finally intervened.
"That's all you have to say about this?" Stefan sniffed. "After hearing your friend threaten to kill me, you're still interested in how Mike and I became friends?"
"Of course, I'm dying to know. Why would I care about your little childish fight?" Rachael hissed, unfazed.
"You're unbelievable, Rachael. I'm no longer in the mood to share any story right now."
"I might be the one killing you this afternoon if you get on my nerves, Stefan. Now, continue with the story if you don't want to have your head smashed. Did you guys get into a fight?"
"I wasn't a pushover!" Stefan snapped, his voice rising in anger. However, as he met Rachael's expectant gaze, his tone gradually returned to normal.
"Right, sorry about that," he said, clearing his throat. "Where was I? Ah yes; Liam and his friends… The fight was interesting at first until I almost got killed. Liam and his gang broke my arm, and they weren't stopping there. They were trying to break my leg when Mike appeared. That was the first time I saw the other side of him."
Christina sat up, leaning in, her interest piqued. "So, he fought them?" she asked.
"Of course not, he ran away," Stefan replied. "He didn't even look back. I've never seen anyone run so fast like that before – he dropped his school bag and vanished."
Rachael's face fell, her interest evaporating. "Shit! You just ruined everything," she grumbled, flopping onto her bed. "Why would he run when someone's in danger? I'm not interested in the story anymore."
"The story's boring anyway, forget it," Christina added. "I'm no longer interested also."
"But I haven't told you why he ran – there's a reason for it," Stefan persuaded.
But his words fell on deaf ears. Rachael and Christina remained unresponsive, their silence a palpable rejection.
"Actually… he came back to my rescue," Stefan said, reigniting their interest.
Rachael and Christina sat up, staring at him curiously.
"Did he… really come back to help you fight the gang?" Christina asked, leaning in, her anticipation building.
Stefan shook his head. "No, he came back with an ambulance."
The girls' faces fell again, their expressions morphing from curiosity to disappointment. They glared at Stefan for a moment before hissing and lying back down on the bed.
"I knew it," Rachael muttered. "There's nothing good coming from listening to him."
"At least he came back with some help," Stefan rushed to defend Mike's actions. "Some people wouldn't have come back. It's normal for him to be scared of getting into trouble, but at least he came back to save me."
"You're dumb," Christina sneered. "What if you'd died before he returned?"
"But I'm alive, thanks to him," Stefan countered. "There's nothing he would've done if he hadn't run anyway. He'd have been beaten along with me."
The girls remained unimpressed.
"Whatever, it's a boring story to begin with," Christina said, staring at the ceiling.
An unnerving silence followed. Rachael and Christina lay motionless on the bed, while Stefan sat quietly, his attempts at storytelling was met with indifference.
He slowly rose from his chair, his senses heightened, scanning the room for any signs of danger. "You guys aren't thinking of killing me, right?"
Christina snatched a pillow from the top of the bed and put it under her head.
"Sit down, dumbass. We're not murderers," she yelled.
Undeterred, Stefan tried again. "Let me tell you guys another story. It was during our junior year final exams, Mike and I—"
"Shut up!" Christina and Rachael shouted simultaneously.
As his words were cut short, he sighed and tried again. "That's right then. I'm not usually talkative; I just wanted to—"
"I said shut up, idiot!" The duo, once again, drowned him out, shouting in perfect harmony.
The room fell silent, and Stefan sank back into his chair, a chastened expression on his face.
"Alright then, let's all remain depressed."