[ Otto's POV - 2 months into the new school year ]

I'm on my way home from hanging out with Jessy at her place on Wednesday afternoon. By good habit, I'm taking the shortcut through the park. If I'd take the roads around the park, it would take me twenty minutes longer to get home. Plus, all the trees around me are painted in the most beautiful autumn colours. I'm marvelling at all the beauty, when I spy someone sitting in a crouched position behind a tree and some bushes, with his back towards me. I'm still too far off to see the situation clearly, but it almost looks as if that person is trying to hide.

Strange, but none of my business. So I keep on walking. But as I get closer to the crouched person, I recognise him.

”Alex?" I ask incredulously. He doesn't physically jump in fright, but I can tell that I startled him. He slowly turns to face me. His whole posture is stiff and he looks almost afraid to see who called his name. I see his face relax once he recognises me and he breathes a breath of relief.

"O! Otto, it's you," he says as he sneaks another glance around the tree and motions me to come closer. "Could you please keep your voice down? Hanna is nearby and I don't want her to find me."

I blink in surprise, but huddle next to him so we're both hidden from view and can continue to talk quietly. "Why don't you want Hanna to find you?"

Alex nervously runs a hand through his hair and sighs again. "She's been coming on to me way too strongly. I've tried to tell her to back off, but she just won't listen. To this point in time, I don't even understand how she keeps finding me."

Wait...? He's running away from a girl that makes advances at him? Well, that's unexpected. But then again, I'm starting to realise that I've misjudged him completely. Alex is kind and quick to help. Nothing like the boy with the rotten personality I'd painted him as.

Before I can say anything to comfort him, I spot someone over his shoulder, past the tree and coming our way. It's Hanna and her eyes are scanning the area.

"Hanna!" I exclaim in a hurried whisper. Alex's eyes immediately widen with panic and I suddenly feel the need to protect him. So I grab his hand and pull him further into the shrubbery, still crouching and sneaking around so Hanna won't see us. Once I think we're far enough from the open field, I pull him inside one of the shurbs. He's following me without complaint so far, but now I suddenly hear him yelp. The next thing I know, a heavy weight is crushing me to the ground.

"Sorry. My foot got caught in some roots," he whispers closely to my ear as the heavy weight lifts again. I quickly turn to face him and urgently hold a finger to my lips. He looks at my finger oddly, but stops moving.

I listen as footsteps come closer. I can hear her walk around the tree and rumage through the shrubs where I had found Alex earlier, but she doesn't look through any of the other shrubs. I glance at Alex. He looks very focused on listening too, but I can tell that he's terrified.

"Alex? Are you there?" I suddenly hear Hanna call out and it sends a shiver down my spine. I watch Alex as he presses his lips together in a slightly bent downward line and frowns. Wait, … Is he considering to answer her?! No! He can't! Hanna hasn't found us yet!

So I gently touch his cheek to draw his attention to me and once he looks at me with a million questions in his eyes, I lightly shake my head and point at myself.

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I don't know what he made of my silent message, but he nodds and visibly calms down.

Good. Now all we have to do is wait for Hanna to leave.

Alex and I both startle when a happy pop-song disturbs the peaceful ambiance.

"Hello?" I hear Hanna say soon after. Had she been looking at her phone when it rang?

"What do you mean, what am I doing? You know what I am doing!" Hanna says and a silence follows as she listens to the person speaking on the phone.

"No, that wasn't me. I can't even find him. He's not hiding where I expected him to be," Hanna says. My blood runs cold as I listen to her answers. I look at Alex's face and can tell that he's feeling the same dread as I am. Reflexively I reach out towards him and cover his ears with my hands. When he looks at me questioningly again, I shake my head again, telling him silently not to listen anymore. He looks surprised for a second, but then a smile ghosts over his face. He nodds and closes his eyes. I must say, I'm surprised that he hasn't shaken off my hands from his head yet. I thought any touch from females would scare him for a long while, but he seems to trust me, somehow.

"Are you serious right now? You're telling me not to interfere?! … I thought you'd entrusted this task to me?! … Results? Well, yes. But…" Hanna's conversation on the phone continues until she heaves a heavy sigh. "Ok, understood. I'll go home then. See you later."

After that, she puts away her phone and leaves.

I feel myself release a breath when I can't hear her footsteps anymore.

"She's gone now," I say as I pull my hands back from Alex's ears. I watch him open his eyes and see how his eyes adjust to the change in light. Then he looks at me.

Dear Lord, this boy's looks should be forbidden. He's too good looking for his own good. Suddenly, I feel the need to increase the space between us, but before I can say or do anything, he moves away on his own.

"Thank you," he says as he reaches out a hand to help me up. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there. And sorry for tripping earlier. I haven't hurt you, have I? You're covered in leafs."

He says as he wipes some leafs from my shoulders and plucks some from my hair.

I look down to look at myself. He's right. Even the front of my coat is covered in dirt and leafs. I quickly brush all the dirt off of myself as Alex continues to pick leafs from my hair.

"Ah, how embarrassing. But you have nothing to apologise for. It was me who pulled you into the bush, after all," I say as I start finger-combing through my hair.

"Did I hurt you?" he asks again.

"No, you didn't," I say as I study the look on his face, but I can't read him at all. "How are you doing?"

He seems to consider for a moment.

"Better than she usually leaves me. I actually learned a thing or two today. Apparently, I'm predictable. Heck, she knew exactly where I'd be hiding. She didn't even try to look any further, even though I was only two meters away."

I'm glad he's taking it so well. What happened earlier was easily ten times more terrifying than when Thomas encounters me.

"Funny," I say, still half in thought. "Last time it was you who saved me from Thomas… You seemed so confident back then… How could Hanna possibly form a problem for you?"

He looks at me thoughtfully for a moment, as if he has a few things he wants to say about the encounter with Thomas back then too, but doesn't.

"A gentleman never raises a hand at a lady, Otto," he finally says.

"Even when she is clearly crossing the line?!"

"The difference in strength between boys and girls is simply too large. The chance is too high that I'll hurt her if I retaliate."

I think about it for a moment.

"But you know… There won't always be bushes around to hide in… It's too bad that you don't know karate, or something. I'm sure that there are some useful holds for those kinds of situations. I bet they hurt to the person who's being held, but don't actually do damage."

His face lights up.

"That's a great idea! I'll have to look into that," he says happily. Seriously, his smile should be illegal.

"Anyway," I say as I fish one of the last leaves from my hair and will my face not to blush. "I was on my way home before I spotted you. So I think I'll be on my way now."

"Of course! Don't let me keep you. And thanks again, for saving me," he says happily.

"My pleasure."