Trouble In Paradise

37. The Hero

"I'm going to kill you!"

Kyle cowered at the look on Mae's face as she said it.

"Okay, Mae. Let's calm down," I tried to get Mae to put down all the knives she had immediately retrieved to go through with her threat.

"Weren't you, like, sleeping?" Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "Where did all the knives come from in your pajamas?"

Mae turned to him with all her knives raised and he quickly changed tune. "I don't wanna know. Knives are cool," he gulped, nodding his head in rapid motions.

"Guys, focus!" Rhea whisper-yelled. She would've shouted but considering that we were near the boys' tents when we were supposed to be asleep, it was good that she didn't. Loud noises would attract teachers and that would attract trouble.

"Okay, Kyle," Owen started in a calm tone. "You say you saw him last before dinner?"

"I had to feed him," Kyle nodded forlornly. "He wasn't there when I got back."

"Why did you come back from dinner so late?" Brittany frowned.

"I-uh," he blushed, "I dropped that huge vessel with the food. So I stayed back to help," he pouted as if disappointed in himself.

"I forgot you were clumsier than Aria," Mason shook his head.

"Hey!" Kyle and I cried simultaneously.

"I hate cats and I love sleep. Why should I help you search for your cat?" Realising that her comment had made Kyle's expression sadder than before, Mae shifted uncomfortably. "Look man," Mae started softly this time. "It's a cat. He'll come back after he's done playing."

"I'll have to find him. Charles is a special cat," Kyle sniffed. "He loses his way easily."

"Hm, loses his way easily, you say? Miller and he will hit it right off then," Torryn muttered under his breath.

Gifting him with an unimpressed look, I turned to face Mae. She looked at me like she wanted me to make the decision for her as well because she was too angry and sleepy to make the right one herself. Then I looked at Kyle's pouting face with his dark curly hair and chocolate-brown eyes, he looked like an adorable disaster waiting to happen.

In a world where vibes were everything, Kyle gave everyone the "protect this fellow from the cruel world" vibes. That was probably why even Mae Jackson had a hard time being rude to him. He gave me the "younger brother" vibes. I didn't want another younger brother. I already had two; Caleb and Mason.

Well, it's not up to you, is it?

I was tired to the bone and sleep was dancing in front of me like a temptress.

Sighing, I smiled. "Of course, we'll help, Kyle."

A genuine smile lit up his face, making me want to pinch his cheeks.

"Do you know that strong urge that you get to squeeze things because they're cute? I read an article about it once. It's called cute aggression. It said that there is nothing to satisfy how you feel about the thing being so cute and, so the natural human urge is to kill it, so it will stop being cute. But at the same time, we also don't mean them any real harm. What paradoxes humans are," I murmured absentmindedly as I thought about a plan to get Charles back.

There was a horrified silence around me. I nodded to myself, satisfied with the plan.

"Alright, guys. Listen up," I clapped my hands. "As Kyle said, Charles is a lazy and confused cat. He may not be nearby but he also may not be very far either. There are ten of us. Let's make groups of two and look in different places. Sneakily. Also, make sure every group has at least one cell phone between them. Try to avoid getting caught, you guys. Cool?"  I looked around expectantly.