FIXated

Predators: Nothing’s Free

Once Raphael looked up, what he noticed first were the pair of green irises staring down at him, observing every reaction he made before her gaze locked onto him. There was a subtle quiver on the corners of her lips, forming a small smile. His eyes widened, and he felt his cheeks flushing with heat as if burning with tension. He failed to recognize the consequences of this situation, and she was right. At this moment, she could do anything—whatever she meant by that. What made him even think of trusting her?

Raphael finally spoke out. “Look, I got no choice, Sylvia.”

Sylvia paused, tilting her head to the side. “What do you mean by that?”

A deep breath escaped from his lips as he admitted. “I had to do it... “

He left a short pause, hoping to gauge her reaction first, and keeping her gaze on him. She did not seem uninterested and appeared to be listening with intent, so he decided to continue. His words were caught in a mix of stutter and murmur under his breath.

“…or else they are going to spread that picture.... of us...in here.”

Upon revealing the truth, he expected to see more— a change in expression or even just a sarcastic reaction. But instead, just a mild raise of her brows.

Not a flinch or a gasp of surprise.

Does she even care, or does she know it all along?

She let out another smile. "If that's what you are worried about... I'll take care of it."

Raphael furrowed his brows upon hearing her respond with a simple dismissive answer. It was a serious matter to him, so he pressed on.

"How certain are you?"

"I can do a lot of things, Raphael.... “

Her voice came out in a gleeful whisper— slow and breathy, dragging her words longer than intended as her hand playfully glided across his chest before settling onto the left side, feeling his pulse pounding against her touch. It was warm and tender, but at the same time, it sent him shivers down his skin.

Then, she resumed. “Just like what happened a while ago."

Raphael remained frozen in his seat. Was that a confession?

After witnessing what had happened to the Predators— getting banned from the platform and apparently having their accounts hacked—Raphael thought it was either a perfectly timed coincidence or an inevitable consequence of their negative reputation. But all this time, their accusation was right; she was behind everything that happened.

Now, he felt conflicted. Should I trust her?

He was not entirely convinced, but given his current situation, who else could he entrust with this besides her? There was no other choice. After all, this mess was between the two of them.

"Fine... if you say so."

His shoulders dropped as he huffed in agreement. A dull pain shot through him from the binds on his wrist, causing him to grunt in discomfort as his body squirmed, trying to loosen the tie but to no avail.

He begged. "Now... can you help me up, please?"

Sylvia chuckled softly. “Whatever you say…”

As she leaned in closer, her hand slipped from his chest, moving up his neck before sliding down his back to reach for the knot behind, while the other hand came to rest against his side. Her knee settled against the edge of the bench in between his thighs, not close enough to feel it against his crotch. Somehow, it reminded him of the same moment as the last time. Raphael let out a gasp in realization while her body inched closer, her chest moving toward his face.

W-wait. Not at this position!

His thoughts quietly protested, but no words ever came out of his mouth as his eyes kept staring at her full set. He noticed too much—the small, intricate details of her lace, the light pink flush that ran across her chest, and the loose strap of her top that rolled off her shoulder.

That only worsened the burning sensation on his cheeks and hastened the pounding on his chest. She was close, too close for comfort.

Instinctively, he diverted his attention, not wanting to see anything more than that or worse to receive it face-first. He held his eyes shut as he tried to convince himself.

She was trying to help. That was all there was to it.

"Ugh. Really... " Sylvia clicked her tongue and whined as she tried to pry the knots by force. “Why did they have to tie you so tight?”

The sweet fragrance of cherries became more apparent from his position as the scent reached the tip of his nose. Right there, he felt it—soft as cushions with a particular heaviness and warmth that engulfed him over his shoulder, sitting above his chest. He bit hard against the bottom of his lip, trying to resist the feeling as it pressed even further while she tried to loosen his bounds little by little. Eventually, the rope gave way as she pulled it off in one clean tug.

That released the tension on his arms and wrists; the dull ache slowly dissipated. He took a breath of relief.

"It's all good now," Raphael reported while shaking off the tingling in his wrists. He wanted her to get up from this awkward position without force.

Surprisingly, she did.

Her hand pressed against his shoulder, pushing him away as she tried to stand upright. As her foot stepped back onto the ground, she stumbled forward and lost her balance.

Spoiler

[collapse]

She exclaimed. “Oh—"

Raphael caught her with both of his hands against the fabric of her shirt, holding her by the waist. They caught each other's gaze in a whim.

There was a brief moment of silence between them—no words, just her lips agape, breathing gently. Raphael could distinctly hear his chest hammering for some time ever since. Her hand still held in support over his chest, staying a half second before she pushed herself upright once more.

Well…That was weirdly… awkward.

She smiled at him while fixing the strap of her top and pulling the flannel shirt over her shoulders. Then, she spoke up. "Well...it's done. You're free to go."

Raphael blinked a couple of times in disbelief, too stunned to speak as his mind tried to process what had just happened.

Did he hear her right?

He was free to go with no consequences or other circumstances, not what he expected at all. As Sylvia turned to leave, he could only watch her figure slowly retreating.

That should have been it, but no, that was not enough. He needed more— a firm confirmation. Then, he called out her name.

"Sylvia!"

She stopped in her tracks and looked at him over her shoulder. “Hm?”

When a soft breeze blew past them, her bright locks fluttered along with the wind. Her fingers brushed her hair to the sides, tucking it behind her ear once the breeze settled.

"You promise, right?" Raphael asked, hoping for reassurance.

"Of course...” Sylvia affirmed with a grin, but it was not the same as before. “But that means you owe me once again, Raphael."

Once again, Raphael was left sitting there dumbfounded. He did not know how to respond after that and only watched her figure resume her steps, not bothering to wait for his response and slowly retreating into the distance.

He let out a deep sigh. “Guess nothing’s free when it comes to her.”

---

The sun began to settle down over the horizon, painting the skies in hues of pinkish purples and blues. From the distance, the sound of bells rang, coming from the direction of the dormitories.

It was already this late that dinner service started.

Raphael finally stood from his seat and fixed the buttons of his shirt before heading on towards the exit and leaving the scene.

While walking towards the dorm housing, dragging his feet against the hard cobblestone as exhaustion, with added anxiety, came crashing down on him, whatever happened to him today was too much. He never felt so drained physically and mentally after a long day.

All of a sudden, a hand tugged his shirt from behind him by the arm.

“Hi, roomie!”

A warm, vibrant voice spoke up right next to him as Raphael glanced over his shoulder to see a pair of golden irises beaming up in sparkles, and his soft, fluffy white locks bouncing with his movement.

It had been a few days since he last saw his roommate, Harian.

“H-Harian—” Raphael was caught by surprise. “What are you doing here?”

He giggled. “You silly. I am heading to the dorms to eat dinner like you do.”

“Oh, right… Sorry, it's just that I have not seen you that much.”

Harian gave him a rub on his arm, laughing once more. “Don’t worry much about it. How are you faring right now—? You looked—”

Raphael looked at him in confusion as his words got caught in a stutter. His expression changed—the smile on his face faded, turning into a frown. His hand clasped against his cheek, inspecting him from side to side.

He muttered. “Terrible…. What’s with all the dirt and wounds?”

“W-what?” Raphael blinked, feeling the sides of his face and neck. “Ah— I just tried to apply for the theater club… apparently I had to do something acting, so yeah… this is all just make-up.”

He rubbed some of the wound on his face before showing him the smudge marks on his fingers to prove his point. Harian nodded upon seeing the evidence.

“I see.” He smiled once more and nudged his side. “Never thought you would be interested in acting.”

Raphael rubbed the back of his head. “Y-yeah. Just checking it out.”

“Oh, well! It’s good seeing you around, Raphael.” Harian gave him a gentle embrace from behind that lasted for a few seconds. “Glad you’re alright.”

“Thanks, Harian. It’s good to see you too.”

“Shall we eat together then?”

Raphael nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, of course…. Maybe after I bathe myself.”

“Oh, yeah. You look nasty.” Harian teased him before beckoning him to come. “Let’s go then.”

Raphael sighed as he continued walking down the path, now tagging along with him. Harian began talking more about his day, working the final days of preparation before his new album release. It was a breath of fresh air and unspoken comfort whenever he came around. Although he tried his best to listen, his mind went blank, barely following Harian’s words before realizing that he had been dragging his feet once more.

Harian called him out from a few feet away. “Hurry up, roomie, you’re walking too slow.”

“Fine. I’m coming.” Raphael sighed, taking longer strides to quicken his pace before taking over him.

Once he passed by him, Harian paused for a moment. A subtle scent of sweet cherries caught his senses, a peculiar choice from Raphael’s arsenal of cool, earthy fragrance. He never remembered him using such; even his own basket of colognes and perfumes had nothing similar.

Could it be—? No, no. Maybe this was a mistake.

Harian hated making assumptions and quietly dismissed his thoughts, shaking his head to snap him out of it. Raphael had already covered a few distances ahead of him, not even waiting for him.

“Hey, Raphael, wait up!” Harian called him out for the second time as he followed behind, running, trying to keep up with his pace this time.