Chapter 9: Ch 9: Running to get Away

The annoying grin remained on Alan’s face as he looked at Noah’s relaxed back. Daniel gritted his teeth and quickly turned around so that Alan was not able to look at Noah at all.

"Excuse me, but aren’t you being far too possessive of your roommate? As far as I know, you both have not even known each other for a full day. N-Not that it is my concern or anything."

It was too late for this Esper to pretend to be innocent. His cover had been blown the second Daniel laid eyes on him.

But his question was one that stumped him.

Why was he going so far for Noah? He had never felt this possessive over anything before, be it a person or an object.

Even his adopted parents’ attention had never made him want to act like this. And it was something he had actively fought to get when he was younger.

There was...something familiar about Noah, but Daniel could not explain that feeling in mere words.

"I...isn’t it human nature to want to protect someone weaker from a difficult situation? I don’t need to give you a reason behind my actions."

Daniel got defensive really fast, and Alan almost pressed him further when Noah let out a sharp breath before looking up with a startled expression.

"What...time...is...it? What...what...class?"

Noah’s question reminded the other two that this was no time to be fighting. They needed to head to class or they would be marked absent.

Both Alan and Noah had medical excuses, but Daniel did not. And that meant he had to hurry.

"Hey, let go of the door. I will help Noah get dressed, so fuck off."

Alan finally let go of the door after being cursed at, and he backed off as well. But he decided to keep standing outside the door and wait for the pair inside to finish changing.

Daniel could feel his presence right outside, which made him feel even more annoyed. So he decided that it was time to sneak out.

He helped Noah change and packed his stuff, but when it came time to head out, he decided to head toward the balcony instead.

"Noah, can you understand me? Alan is outside the door, and I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to head to class with him. Do you agree?"

Noah looked uncertain, but he was also half out of it because of the drugs. So he simply nodded at every question Daniel asked him.

Daniel almost felt bad about taking advantage of Noah, but it was necessary if he wanted to get away from Alan.

By the time Noah realized what was happening, it was too late, and they were already crossing into someone else’s balcony.

...

’Huh...what are we doing? Am I flying? No, wait! I think I am falling. Someone, help me!’

Noah suddenly felt awake as the adrenaline made the effects of the drugs in his system fade. Suddenly, he felt like he could think properly, and he became aware of what was happening.

He looked to his side, only to see Daniel clutching his hand and tugging him toward the next balcony.

"Ugh, what are we doing right now? Ouch, I think my arm is starting to hurt."

Noah complained as Daniel pulled him onto the parapet of the balcony before urging him to jump.

The balconies were close enough that the jump was possible, and Noah landed on his feet without getting hurt. He noticed Daniel heading toward the door and trying to force it open before making a frustrated face.

Noah’s question made Daniel turn toward him and give him a simple answer.

"We are trying to run away from a problem. Let’s concentrate on finding one door that has been left open, and then we can head to class. If worse comes to worst...we can just jump down. Don’t worry, I will catch you since this is only the first floor."

That...was not really the problem here. Noah wanted to know what they were running away from.

His memories were fuzzy, but Noah had a feeling he had seen Alan in them. Alan was helping him the last thing he remembered before his memory went blank.

Still, if he combined the clues in his memory with what was happening, the conclusion felt maddening.

"Daniel, I am just asking to confirm, but are we running away from Alan?"

The other Guide paused, and his eyes gave Noah a look that told him not to ask. So he shut his mouth and quietly followed after Daniel.

After trying three more balconies, they finally found an unfortunate soul who had left their room open. So they quickly got inside and unlocked the front door as well.

But as soon as they did, they came across Alan.

"Ah, I was waiting for you both to come out, but then it started to get late. When you both did not reply, I decided to head out and call the doctor to check on you. But it’s clear that you two must not have heard me calling and decided to come out after I left. Right?"

Alan definitely knew that they had tried to run away from him, but he seemed happy not to push the topic.

He even made up an excuse for them that sounded semi-believable. But the fact that they met him outside the room they had just come out of was too much of a coincidence.

It was clear to Noah that Alan had known about their escape, and he had been waiting to catch them. And for now, it would be better not to escalate the situation.

Only...Daniel had no such fear, and he decided to curse.

"Darn it! We were so close to getting away. Hey, Esper, when we did not answer you, you should have gotten the message and fucked off-"

Noah looked at the time and suddenly realized that they had no time to be arguing. They only had ten minutes before their first class started, and he had no intention of being late.

"Daniel, can you curse Alan later? We only have ten minutes until class-"

Daniel suddenly grabbed Noah’s hand and bolted toward the classroom. Alan followed them with an amused smile on his face.

His intention of following them was clear, but there was no time for Daniel to argue with him. Their first priority was to get to class after all.

And despite their hurry, they still ended up being late to class, and the one who was blamed was, of course, Noah.