Chapter 39

"Andrew, you should take good care of yourself. Okay?" "Alright. I will listen to you." "You should eat a lot of healthy food and it should be on time. You should also try to complete eight hours of sleep every day. Sleep and eating healthy foods is important for a grown man like you." Andrew did not know whether to cry or laugh. Ever since Rhianne saw him today, she kept firing him a lot of advice on how he should take good care of himself. Andrew saw the deadpanned expression of Keith who was standing behind Rhianne. It seems like she really had this habit of acting like an auntie to anyone. "I heard the weather in abroad is different from this city. Do not forget to wear your jacket when the weather is too cold. And also drink a lot of water so you can avoid dehydration and dry skin. Okay?" "I get it, Little Auntie Rhianne. You can stop now." "Hey! Who are you calling Little Auntie?!" Instead of bickering back, Andrew put his hand on Rhianne's head and gently pats her hair. Rhianne pursed her lips but she did not try to remove his hands. When he looked at Keith again, Andrew saw his displeased expression. This put a small smile on Andrew's face. After a few more minutes of waiting at the airport, it was time for Andrew to go. Today was the day he will go abroad and stay with his auntie who lives there. Rhianne met Andrew's auntie last week and she is a very kind lady. She will surely take good care of him. It's been a week since Andrew revealed everything that happened with him to Rhianne. For the past few days, a lot of things had happened. Andrew's mom was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. That is because the investigators discovered that his mom was abusing him for almost three years. Andrew did not show up on his mom's trial in court. Even though he loathed his mother too much, she was still the woman who gave birth to him in this world. He does not want to see how the police put handcuffs on his mother and pulled her inside the jail. In the end, it was his auntie who attended his mother's trial. Andrew also finished the documents he needed for school transfer. He will transfer to the same school where his cousins were attending. As for their properties in this city, it will be transferred in Andrew's name once he reaches the legal age. And lastly, his relationship with Keith and Rhianne became a little better. Rhianne was not avoiding Andrew unlike before. She was now treating him like a true friend. Though they do not have any similarities, the relationship between Keith and Andrew also became milder. For the whole week, Rhianne noticed that Andrew was showing them not a practiced smile but a real smile. It seems like his burden was now gone and he can now finally do whatever he wants. When Rhianne apologized to Andrew about her weird behaviors towards him, he just dismissed it as if what she did was nothing. It was good that Andrew forgave her quickly and told her to forget about it since he never took her actions to his heart. After knowing his kindness, she prays in her heart that Andrew will always be happy and free of worries and pain. "I have to go now, Rhianne." Andrew said. "You should always take good care of yourself, okay?" "I know." Rhianne gets something from her small bag and gave it to Andrew. It was a small card that contains all of her contact information. "My phone number, email address, and social media accounts were written there. Contact me once you arrived there." "You really want me to contact you?" "Of course! We're now friends, right?" "Ah." Andrew looked at the card in his hand. "Rhianne, are you not afraid that you will get into trouble once we become close with each other?" "Of course not. Why do you ask?" Andrew did not say anything after that. He was only staring at Rhianne's face for a long time. When he was about to touch her face, someone blocked his hand. Keith put something on Andrew's hand before pushing it away from Rhianne. He also put a contact card on Andrew's hand. "Contact me instead of Rhianne." Keith bluntly said. "Do not disturb her too much." His intention was very clear to Andrew. He does not want him to contact Rhianne that much. Shaking his head, he put the cards he was holding inside his wallet. Afterward, he looks at Rhianne again. "I am going now. See you next time." Before Rhianne can answer him, Andrew pulled her into his arms and hugged her petite body. Even Keith was surprised by his action. Andrew released Rhianne from his arms before walking towards Keith. "Take good care of her. She's a precious girl." Andrew whispered to Keith. "Tch. You do not have to tell me that." "Oh? Well then. Good luck with pursuing her." After patting Keith's shoulder, Andrew grabbed his luggage and waved his hand towards them. After that, he walked towards the boarding area. But suddenly, Andrew stopped walking to look at Rhianne and Keith again. Rhianne waved her hand at him and mouthed 'Have a safe flight.' at him. He smiled at her before he turned around and finally left. Rhianne and Keith stayed in the airport for a while. After making sure that Andrew safely boarded the airplane, they decided to go to an ice cream parlor first before Keith brings Rhianne to his brother's hospital for her weekly check-up. Rhianne was quiet until they arrived at their destination. Keith gave her a little space and even took the initiative to order for her since he already knows what ice cream flavor she wanted the most. After ordering a cup of double chocolate chips flavored ice cream and a cone of coffee-flavored ice cream, Keith returned to their table where Rhianne was already waiting for him. After giving her ice cream, Keith sat in front of Rhianne and observed her expression. Rhianne does not look like she will be crying at any moment, but she was not happy either. "Mr. Protagonist." "Hmm?" "Keith." "Yes?" "Keith Tristan Lancester." "..." "Keith Lancester, the most handsome male lead." "..." Sighing, Rhianne scooped a huge portion of her ice cream using her spoon and ate it. The sweet and creamy flavor of the ice cream melted on her mouth. After eating three spoons of her ice cream, she set aside her cup and look at Keith again. "Do you hate it?" Rhianne asked. "What do you mean?" "The way I call you. Mr. Protagonist. Do you hate it?" "Why do you asked?" "Well..." Rhianne realized her mistake after accepting Andrew as her friend. It was really unfair for Andrew to be treated like a villain although he never did anything wrong yet. Her fears came from the book she was reading in her past life. In that world, Rhianne Cartel died because of Andrew Gartin. But isn't she a part of that 'world' now? And she is now that 'Rhianne Cartel' who was also a character in that book. Scratch that. They are no longer a character in a book. They are now all alive. See? The 'male lead' she was admiring was sitting in front of her. He was real and currently talking with her right now. "You know, I can call you with your name starting—" "No." "No?" "...You can continue calling me that." "Ah? I thought you hated it? Remember the first day of our school? You told me to stop calling you that." "I changed my mind. You can call me that." "O...kay?" "But in one condition." Keith said in a serious voice. "And that is?" "Promise me that nickname is exclusive only for me." "Sure!" Rhianne quickly agreed. Although this is not a fiction anymore,  the fact that Keith is the original male lead in the story will never change. So obviously, he is the only one who will receive that nickname. "Promise?" Keith asked. "Pinky promise!" Rhianne said as she forced Keith to intertwined their pinky fingers. "Tch. This is too childish." Keith murmured, though he never pulled his hand away from Rhianne's grasp. Rhianne was in a good mood so she chose to ignore his comment. "Then Mr. Protagonist, we should study hard to make our dreams come true in the future! You will become a great CEO, I will become a famous movie director and Andrew will become an awesome pilot!" While spending the past week, Andrew accidentally mentioned his dream to Rhianne. He does not want to manage a company just like what his mother wanted for him. Andrew's dream is to become a pilot and fly those huge airplanes and helicopters. And now that he was free to do what he whatever he wants, Andrew decided to pursue his dream just like Rhianne and Keith. 'Then I will try my best to become a pilot in the future.' She remembered when Andrew said those words, he had a huge smile on his face. He looked so peaceful and relaxed at that time. "Mr. Protagonist, let us do our best!" Looking at their intertwined pinky fingers, she smiles brightly and even swung their hands a little. Everything is good for now. And Rhianne hopes this good feeling will remain.