Chapter 8 : Clover

When Kaya looked up, she saw a man's horrified face for a split-second, before someone crashed into her. There was sharp pain on her forehead, before she landed on the floor, on her back. She groaned as she rubbed her red forehead and felt a weight on top of her. There was a sound of something rolling on the concrete and she didn't need to look to know that it was a skateboard.

After a while, the boy grunted and got up, not even bothering to help her stand. As the boy brushed the dust off his jeans and rustled his own hair, he gave her the most annoying stank face she has ever seen.

"Watch where you're going, would you?"

"Excuse me?" Kaya narrowed her eyes as she regained her balance, taking a glance at her glowing watch once more. It was glowing like crazy and she knew that this jerk was a bearer.

"If I recall correctly, you were the one who crashed into me. Why are you even riding a skateboard at this time of the evening? What if you got hit by a car?"

"You were the one who just stopped walking all of a sudden. Also, I'm not stupid enough to actually be on the road." The boy said as he rolled his eyes, giving Kaya the urge to punch him in the face. As he rubbed his forehead, which was also red like hers, she noticed the bracelet that he was wearing.

The bracelet had a gold chain, it's design being multiple swirls flowing around a much thicker base. Sitting horizontally at the center was a gem, it's size and shape very familiar to Kaya, except that it was lacking any color. It was grey, like a stone, which confused her.

"Like I said, he isn't aware of the gem's power." Kiya said as Kaya watched the man put on a beanie, which had fallen off his head after their collision. He was still giving her that stank face, which just irritated her furthermore.

"It will be useless if he doesn't activate the gem. You'll have to help trigger it somehow, so stick around him."

"I'm not staying around this jerk." Kaya snarled, catching the attention of the boy, since her voice was louder than it usually was.

"Well, this jerk is leaving." The boy scoffed as he picked up his skateboard. As he started walking away, Kaya stared at his back. He was wearing a red varsity jacket, his name printed on the back with big letters, a number 9 right under it.

Clover. At least, this time, she was able to get the bearer's name.

"Dammit." She heard Clover hiss under his breath, his nails digging into his black beanie in frustration. "Those fucking idiots. How could they just leave when they know that I'm not from here?!"

Kaya just watched as Clover ranted in front of her. Based on what he said, she figured that the other skaters were his friends and he was tagging along. He looked frustrated so she knew that he definitely didn't know his way around the city. She suddenly had an idea and it alone made her disgusted. However, it was her only chance to possibly trigger Clover's gem, whichever one it was, so she had no other choice.

"You seem troubled." She said as she crossed her arms, still staring at the number nine on Clover's back. There was a moment of silence, then Clover turned around, his eyes piercing into hers. She didn't know that a person could have so much anger in his eyes. What did Kaya ever do to him?

"You're still here?"

Kaya's eyes twitched at that question, her anger nearly reaching the maximum. Her teeth gritted as her hands balled into fists. "Look, Clover, I'm trying to be nice here. Appreciate that, would you?"

Clover fell into silence once again, now fully facing her, one hand clutching his skateboard and the other in his jean's pocket. He still had a scowl on his face but his expression was much softer than it was a few moments ago.

Kaya didn't know why but she felt sympathetic towards Clover, even though he was a complete stranger. She had first hand experience so she knew that he was masking his sadness with toughness and anger. Well, she wasn't sure but it's what she thought. After all, everyone had a reason behind their actions. For all she knew, he could just really be an asshole.

"...I'm not from here." Clover finally spoke up, his voice soft and his eyes fixated to the ground. "I'm not from anywhere, actually."

Just like me.

"I made some friends on the way here. Well, I thought they were, until they left me with you. Heck, I don't even think they noticed that I was gone. I've only spoken to them for what, ten minutes?" As Clover laughed at himself for how pathetic he was, Kaya connected everything in her head. Through this, she knew that her plan would work and she hated it.

"You can stay at my place, if you want." Her words were full of determination and Clover raised an eyebrow at her. "It's not much but it works."

There was a long silence and Kaya just hoped that Clover was weighing the circumstances of going with her or not. He crossed his arms again, his head tilted slightly and gave her a small smirk. This made her raise an eyebrow at him.

"Why would I come to a stranger's house?" Clover chuckled and placed the skateboard back on the ground. "You might be an axe murderer, for all I know. I'm not risking it."

Clover started skating away which made Kaya curse under her breath. She couldn't let him get away, she cannot. She ran as fast as she could and jumped right in front of Clover, almost making him crash into her. Clover slid the skateboard slightly, brushing against the end of her toes and stopped.

"Are you crazy?" Clover spat, obviously back to his angry-at-everything self. "Get out of the way."

"I'm trying to help you, Clover. Even strangers can be kind, you know."

"Tsk, nobody has ever been kind to me. Why would a stranger be? Go away, I don't need your help." Clover pushed her hard, causing her to fall and was gone in a flash, the sound of his skateboard echoing in the empty streets.

As soon as Kaya got up, she screamed in frustration and kicked a nearby trash can. Clover was no longer in her line of sight and she had officially lost yet another wonder after just finding out.

"Out of all the people, him?!" Kaya screamed once again and stomped on the garbage that was spilled on the ground. "Aren't there any requirements for becoming a bearer? Like, you know, not being an asshole?"

"Kaya, his great, great grandfather was chosen to become a bearer, not him. It was merely passed down to him as an heirloom." Kiya said, not really answering Kaya's question which made her frustrated.

"Well, that's just superb." She threw her arms in the air and scanned around her. Now it was silent, no skateboards, nor cars, it was just her.

"I lost Clover, too."

"Don't be too stressed about it, Kaya." Kiya reassured her. "I'm sure that Clover won't be leaving the city any time soon." Kaya sighed and rubbed her red forehead, frustrated by how the situation turned out. She had lost yet another wonder and it didn't help that he was a jerk. She decided to let it slide and search for someone else, since there was a chance another wonder could be in this city, well, that's what Kiya told her. However, there was one problem. Kaya's watch was gone.

"W-What?" She searched all her pockets for the missing accessory but failed to fnd it. She, then dropped on the floor, scaling the ground like a hound, hoping that she just dropped her watch. "No, no, no. It can't be missing. It can't!"

"...Please don't tell me that you lost the watch, Kaya." Kiya said with an exasperated sigh which was definitely not helpful at the moment.

"I didn't lose it, it went missing!" She hissed and continued to search the ground. She was panicking because it was the only tool that could help her find the wonders. Without it, she would be a sitting duck. Then, she realized something.

When Clover crashed into her, she was adjusting her watch, which meant that the strap was loose. She also realized that when Clover left, his other hand was in his pocket, like he was hiding something. When everything finally made sense to her, she stomped on the trash once more and screamed out loud.

"Clover, you bastard!"

...*****...

Clover was still skating through the dark streets of the city. He knew that it was dangerous, especially because his only source of illumination was the moon but he still pushed forward. There was a place he knew where he could at least rest for the night.

"I can't believe that I narrated that part of my life story to a stranger." Clover mumbled as he pulled out the watch from his pocket. "Well at least I got this."

Whenever he ran out of money, he used theft as a last resort. Sure, it wasn't the best way to do it but he needed to survive. As soon as he saw Kaya's glowing watch on the floor, he knew that it was worth a good amount. So, while she was still on the ground, he swiftly snatched the watch and kept it in his pocket. He was amused by how she didn't even notice.

"Why does this keep glowing?" He mumbled in confusion as he stared at the glowing quartz. This made him think that it was some kind of luxurious watch.

"The strap looks like it has some stones on it so it will definitely be worth a few thousand bucks." Clover threw his arms in the air, knowing that he had hit a jackpot and he could finally settle down properly in the city. As he did, he heard a jingle and glanced at his bracelet.

Honestly, Clover sometimes considered the decision of pawning his bracelet but he held himself back. Sure, he hated his parents -I mean, that was why he ran away- but he couldn't help but treat it like his only memory of home.

"Take care of this bracelet, Clove." His mother had told him when he was much younger. "Don't let it out of your sight. This may save your life one day."

"It's just a bracelet."

That was what Clover said every time he remembered his mother's words. He stopped when he realized that he was already at his destination. An abandoned apartment, far away from all the tall buildings, was his temporary home. He climbed up the window and threw his skateboard inside. He coughed a bit at the dust, even though he was used to it and pushed open the bedroom door. The bed creaked as he sat on it. He tried his best to be comfortable on the broken spring mattress and stared at his bracelet.

For some reason, there were times when he could see something swirling inside the gem, like something was locked in it. Of course, he thought, it was just his imagination. With that, he decided. He was going to pawn both the watch and his bracelet.

"It will help me move on from my family." He mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes. He knew that he had failed to convince himself. However, He was unaware that someone had been watching him this whole time.