Chapter 12 - La Ronde

The amus.e.m.e.nt park wasn't as crowded as it usually is, and there was almost no waiting line. By the look of it, they could do every rollercoaster at least once, instead of only five to seven for the whole day. Additionally, despite the cloudless sky and the bright sun, the temperature was less hot than the previous day as a cool breeze steadily blew throughout the place.

In short, it was the perfect day for going to La Ronde.

There was only one problem; Misha couldn't ride most of the rollercoasters. Making him wait for them every time they did one was too unreasonable, and they also couldn't let him wander alone in the park. That was too irresponsible. Therefore, Mrs. Brown proposed to split up. She would go with her son to the area of the amus.e.m.e.nt park specially made for kids, or to the smaller rollercoasters that didn't require to be too tall, whereas the teenagers could go wherever they wanted to.

However, before anyone else could give their opinions, Gabriel proposed something else. With a shy demeanor, he admitted, "To be frank, I'm not very good with heights. So, I can stay with Misha, and you can go with the girls."

Everyone blinked once, slightly taken aback by his words, especially Misha.

In his past life, they separated for the whole day, and the child never actually saw him riding a rollercoaster. Camille even seemed to be mocking him when they reunited, and Gabriel was deadly pale back then. Afterward, they never had the chance to go back to the amus.e.m.e.nt park together. His sister worked too much and rarely took leave from work, and even holidays were hard to come by.

Now that Misha thought about it, even when they did go out, they never did any activities that implied heights; hiking, cinema, haunted house, this kind of activities in which their feet were firmly grounded.

Really? Gabriel was afraid of heights!? But it was the first time the child heard about this! The idea felt weird, and Misha couldn't help but stare at the tall teenager in disbelief. In his mind, this man feared nothing and could overcome everything.

For a moment, the boy wasn't able to react, dumbstruck. How come Gabriel dared to differ from his imagination!? That man was a big, bad wolf in sheep's clothing and didn't possess any human characteristics. He shouldn't be able to feel fear!

Misha refused to accept it.

"Why didn't you say so before we came here?" asked Masha, running a hand in her fluffy hair. If Gabriel didn't like amus.e.m.e.nt parks, she would have chosen something else.

"Because it's your birthday," winked Gabriel, a small smile stretching his lips. "And you were looking forward to this day so much!"

"Dunce!" complained Masha with burning cheeks, hitting his arm near his shoulder, which made the teenager wince a little. Her fists were heavy despite her thin arms, and she didn't even know how to control her strength.

While puffing out her cheeks, Masha tended to hide her embarrassment by hitting the person who teased her. Thus, Gabriel often ended up with small bruises on his arms or his t.h.i.g.hs after provoking her a little, but no matter how much it hurt, he still hadn't learned his lesson, and he never would.

On the side, Camille was smiling ear to ear as she watched them, repeating, "Oh? You were that excited?"

"Oh, shut up!" w.h.i.n.ed Masha, hiding her face in her hands. Wasn't it normal to be excited when it was your birthday, and you were out celebrating it with your loved ones? No? It was only her?

From the corner of his eyes, Misha saw his sister's bright red ears and felt conflicted. It seemed like Gabriel already had an important place in her heart. Why the hell did she fell for that bastard so quickly!? It made things difficult for him! He already didn't know how to get rid of the man as it is! He felt like crying. The task was too complicated for his small brain.

Smiling, Mrs. Brown said, interrupting the teenagers' prattle and Misha's silent lamentations, "Thank you, Gabriel, but I think I will be more reassured if I stay with my son."

"Yes, I understand," politely answered the teenager, a pleasant smile on his lips. After all, they met for the first time yesterday, and he couldn't expect a mother to trust him wholeheartedly with her treasured son so soon. "But I also have a cellphone. So, we can contact each other at any time if something happens."

In Gabriel's hands, the old fashionable device seemed new, and the teenage girls looked at it with envy.

Before Misha traveled back in time, almost everyone owned a cellphone, even the kids, but fifteen years ago, the situation was different. Not every teenager had one, on the contrary. It was the same for the a.d.u.l.ts as couples often shared one cellphone, and most used a wired telephone. It was the same for his parents, and since his father was currently in Russia, his mother used their cellphone. This fact slowly made his way in Misha's mind, and the child couldn't help but lift his head and give a puzzled look at the teenage boy.

Now, Misha wasn't a clueless kid, and he knew what this meant, and as he thought about it, many information suddenly flowed in his head. Many things that he hadn't paid attention to when he was a child came to his mind — for example, the car Gabriel owned at the age of seventeen, or the brand new clothes he wore now and then.

'What the f.u.c.k!? His parents are freaking rich, or what!?' Misha thought, biting his lower lips. If that guy was loaded, how come he never helped when their situation was so dire his sister had to work her a.s.s off until she broke down from exhaustion!? It wouldn't have killed him to lend some pocket money!

In the corner of his mind, Misha knew things weren't as simple as this, but he refused to acknowledge it, blaming Gabriel over and over again. It was easier this way. That man could have lessened his sister's monetary burden, but he didn't. Misha also deliberately ignored the fact that this young, pampered master was at their home every day, cooking and doing the housework.

In Misha's family, they were all born stubborn and proud. As long as his sister could move by herself, he knew she would never accept to depend on her lover to pull her through tough times. Misha was the same, but it didn't mean he would approve of his sister's stubbornness.

"Misha, are you okay?"

Gabriel's voice was like a cold shower, and Misha pulled back his mind into the present. How long has he been staring at the teenager? The child didn't know, but it was long enough to draw Gabriel's attention on him.

Instinctively, the boy nodded, then pointed the cellphone with his index, saying as he tilted his head, "I was wondering how do you use that? Can you really call people with it? It doesn't even have a cable!"

Afterward, Gabriel lent the cellphone to him while discussing the issue with his mother, letting the kid play with it for a while without knowing the child was making a mess of its system and its contact list. Misha felt quite pleased with himself, especially when he saw Gabriel's face as he tried to understand what happened to his phone.

For a moment, they talked about what to do until Misha gave his own opinions, saying as he tried to act cute, fluttering his long eyelashes, "I want to go with Gabriel."

Everyone was stunned, and Misha even needed to repeat his words. He knew it wasn't in line with his bratty personality since he usually would prefer to stay with Masha, but he didn't want his sister or his mother to pass too much time with that devil. If Misha could keep them separate, they wouldn't be able to get close, or so he thought. Also, the child wanted to know what was hidden in that devil's head. Why did he want to pass the day with him, doing boring things and taking care of an unknown kid? Was it to put him on his side, or for something else?

"Are you sure?" asked his mother, a bit doubtful.

It seemed like his son was very fond of Gabriel, and she didn't know how to take the news. That son of her was picky when it came down to people. At his age, he only had one friend, after all.

"Yeah! You can have a girl's time, and we can have a boy's time! Dereck said it was a good thing!" the child explained while repeatedly nodding, his eyes brimming with expectation.

Tender smiles slipped on their lips as the group looked at the small child who had stars in his eyes. How could they refuse?

However, Misha didn't wait for their answer and grabbed Gabriel's wrist, dragging him in the opposite direction, while Camille chuckled a little, and her sister's mouth mimed a silent "sorry" to the teenage boy. The child acted as if he didn't notice it, almost skipping while pulling his human trophy behind him.

Surprisingly, the touch of his skin didn't disgust Misha as much as he thought it would. On the contrary, it felt "normal," a feeling he hadn't experienced for a long time.

Before Misha could ponder over the reason, Gabriel called, "Wait, wait, wait! I need to give my number to your mother first. Okay?"

The child stopped, glancing at the boy over his shoulder. A hint of maturity that shouldn't be present in his eyes glinted, but the child quickly hid it, nodding and smiling. He let go of his wrist, and Gabriel went back to his mother a few feets away.

Misha lowered his eyes, staring at his open hand. It was so small, so smooth. It was a hand that still hadn't experienced any hardship. As he looked at it, Misha wondered why he could touch the teenager so easily, and a vicious voice whispered inside of his head, "Because he was the one who saved you from your father — the one who protected you even if it meant losing everything."

The child bit his lower lips and shook his head. Now, it didn't mean anything to him. In any case, that guy took so long before realizing what his father did to him while he was asleep; before realizing that beneath his clothes, bruises covered his white-jade skin all over.

Once Gabriel wrote his number on a small paper and gave it to Misha's mother, he turned back, saying, "Let's go?"

The child clenched his fist and repeated with false enthusiasm, "Let's go!"

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Author's note

ML: *Looks at his phone, then looks at the small, smiling kids in front of him* Misha... What did you do to my phone?

ML: You know, I didn't mean this kind of "playing."

MC: You didn't specify anything when you lent it to me ~

ML: I know, I know.. But now, how I'm supposed to find out who exactly is the contact behind the surname you put in? You renamed all of them! Who is Mister Lama? Melon seed? Pig head? Lovely Princess?

MC: *shrugged* Don't know... ♪～(´ε｀ )

Ml: *sighs* Great... (╥﹏╥)

Author here! A few days ago, I received what you could call 'bad news.' This year, my scholarship application was rejected, and thus, I need to work full time to pay my university fees and daily necessities while being at school full time as well. Moreover, I don't have a lodgement close to my school and need to travel 4 hours by bus and subways a day to go to my classes (luckily, I was able to pack all of my courses in three days).

Therefore, I will only be able to post one chapter every week on Friday (I hope). However, I opened a ko-fi, and if the donation reaches the goal I set, I will write another chapter in the week, and then reset another goal for the next week. I know some people don't like this kind of thing, but if I write more than one chapter a week, I will need to sacrifice other things, like my social life. So, this way, the donation will help me out to pay for my food, and I will write an extra chapter in exchange! :)

I also created a twitter, if you want to know what happens to me and all, although I mostly post my drawings and nothing else.

So, twitter: twitter.com/RsVaesen

Thank you for reading! And sorry for the long explanation. T-T