The sudden hit was enough to make René stumble back in dizziness as he loosened the grip around Fabien's collar. Max took the chance to run away from the two boys who cornered him as the Attention suddenly turned to René. He ran to Fabian and grabbed his arm again to run away from the dead end. If they stayed there any longer, they surely would be dead meat by now.

He also saw the other boys who almost caught up with them but they only watched them running again over another street.

René shook his head as his vision got restored again but the dizzy feeling was still there. He looked sternly in the direction of Fabien and Max as he gritted his teeth.

After a long whirl from left to right, Fabien and Max were finally out of their reach. They fell back on the park bench as they heavily gasped for air. Max glanced back to see if they followed them but the only thing he saw was an old lady with a dog walking down the park. He smirked as he turned back to his friend who was gasping deeply.

"We finally got rid of their asses. Did you see Renés face? That's the best thing I encountered in my life.", Max said, laughing his butt off. He patted Fabien's shoulder in amusement.

"Yeah. Some things never change. He still has a grudge against me even though I didn't do anything. Again.", Fabien said, narrowing his brows in irritation. The things René said to his face didn't sound plausible one bit. Max looked at him with amused eyes.

"A lot of guys were having grudges against you after Christine confessed to you. She was very popular in middle school.", he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Fabien narrowed his brows at this comment as he looked back on the wide meadow of the park.

"I didn't know that. But I'm sadder that she paid for our ice creams but we didn't even return the favor. Kind of a shame.", he said, disappointed. He leaned against the bench as Christine's face popped up in his head. I hope to god René doesn't do anything to her. René was already known for being physical with Christine in middle school and he didn't change much from back then. Right?

Max noticed a familiar wagon at the park.

"Be right back.", Max suddenly exclaimed, getting up from the bench. Fabien made a confused expression as he watched his friend walking up to the white-colored wagon. It also looked colorful and looked like they were selling something in it.

After a while, Max quickly walked back to Fabien's side with a grin as he held two ice creams in his hands.

"I thought you didn't have enough money.", Fabien said, taking the lemon-flavored ice cream. Max sighed while falling back on his seat.

"What? These are really cheap.. My broke ass can't afford a fancy one but for sure a normal one.", he said. Fabien smirked as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Fair enough.", he exclaimed.

There was a long silence between them as they sat under the bright sun. They looked over to the people who enjoyed their walk in the park with laughter. Fabien could hear the birds chirping in the sky as he felt the bright sunshine on his skin. His heart rate calmed down with every second as his mind was blanked out from René and the rest. For some strange reason... He couldn't remember being this calm after a long time.

"That was fun! Even though we could've been seriously hurt right there..", Max suddenly exclaimed, pulling Fabien out of his daydream.

"It wasn't the first time you did something like that. Seriously... I always ask myself how you have that much power to go piss them off each time. I remember that you did the same in middle school.", he continued, a wide grin formed on his face. Fabien couldn't help but smile.

"I have Impulse for things that go on my nerve. I was still young back then.", he said, sighing in exhaustion. He wanted to palm his face as he remembered that he walked into a dead end. He was done for sure if René decided to hit him right away. Max stared at Fabien in a weird way.

"I also had no idea that you had that side to you. You always seemed like a goody-two-shoes who's shy around girls.", he said, loosely. He licked on his ice cream while remembering the time where Fabien was always too scared to talk to the teachers. He would stutter much more often and look like a dense kid. But he was still sweet.

"I didn't expect that you would get perfect marks on exams. You always sounded like an idiot in middle school.", Fabien exclaimed with the same energy. Max glared at him with an annoyed smirk. Well, he isn't cute anymore...

"I'll show you idiot.", Max said back, about to hit Fabien's shoulder with everything he got. Fabien laughed while trying to save his ice cream. After a while, they finally stopped as they enjoyed the calm breeze of the park again.

"Still... This was a major change on your part. Don't you think so..", Max said, his eyes suddenly turning wary. He slightly turned back to Fabien who seemed not to pay much attention to him. The silence was calm... But also suffocating on Max's end as he looked to his bag.

"Hey, can't you really remember what happened... You know, that night the police supposedly found you in the Forrest.", he said, avoiding Fabien's eyes. He looked quite nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck. Fabien instantly turned to him with a weird look.

"You always told us you can't remember anything..", Max continued, still not looking at his friend.

"Why are you asking me that?", Fabien asked, narrowing his brows in irritation. Max put both his arms in the air.

"I'm just curious! And worried you know... I'm just making sure you aren't too concerned about the thing Angelo said.", he said, looking at him with concerned eyes. Max surely meant the grey-eyed guy who made a remark about Fabien's dad. So the guy's name is Angelo...

Fabien chuckled slightly before turning away with a bitter smile.

"You never asked me about that thing. You seem even more worried than usual that's scaring me. What happened to you?", he asked, light-hearted. Max looked like on the verge of bursting up as he narrowed his brows in annoyance.

"Hey! Am I not always looking out for you when shit hits you hard? Even at the dead end, I pulled you out at the right time..", he said, irritated. He leaned back while sighing in vain.

"I'm just kidding. I know that... But, you truly seem strangely more concerned than usual.", Fabien finally said, analyzing Max. His friend gulped subtly as he stared at his friend's deep and piercing blue eyes. He knew that Fabien was confused. The blonde boy sighed with a defeated face as he rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes turned back to his bag as he reached out for it.

Of course, Fabien was curious about the thing Max was trying to hide but something else caught his eyes. The boy instantly widened his eyes as he noticed long blonde and green hair at the side of Max's head. There were two familiar persons walking through the park not too far away from him...

"Well, I can't hide it anymore. Don't take it the wrong way okay? I was just worried so I may have done something you might despise me for... I know you told me to always stay away from your stuff..", Max said, as he took his bag and placed it on his legs. Max looked at Fabien with concern but suddenly noticed that he wasn't even staring at him. His eyes were gazing almost through him like he was trying to see what's behind the blonde boy. Why is he so pale?

"Fabien..?", he asked, grabbing his bag tighter in his grip. But the boy seemed to be paralyzed.

Fabien finally noticed the familiarity and the strange black bag they were holding. It was large... There is no way Fabien wouldn't notice them. They looked exactly like the new students.

"I'm sorry. Can we talk later?", Fabien said, giving Max a weak smile. He instantly grabbed his bag as he got up from the bench in a hurry.

"Wait... Where are you going?", Max asked him, utterly confused.

"I-I remember I have something important to do.", Fabien said quickly, trying to act as naturally as possible. He instantly backed off while walking in the same direction as Elise and Lucian.

"Okay..but-", Max tried to say but Fabien was already off. He was gone behind the hills like a magician disappearing in its hat.

"Fabien wait! I have something to talk to you!", he tried further, finally realizing that his friend just ditched him. He stood up from the bench on the verge of following him but something held him back... He didn't know what. He fell back on the bench while looking at his bag where he still had that notebook in it and then back at Fabien's direction.

"This dude... Ignoring me again.", he said, sighing.