Let Them Burn

Halfway through our reunion with some friends, my fiancée went missing. I was about to look for her when comments started popping right in front of me. "What's the second lead doing, coming to his car? The male and female lead are still going at it!" "I love seeing how his new car has become the stage for the lead characters' first time!" "That's what he gets for taking the male lead's spot for too long!" Our mutuals stopped us. "Helga's gone to get you a present. You should go back and wait." "Friends for life. They're covering up for the male and female leads," read one comment. "The beautiful female lead belongs to no one but the male lead! If I were there, I’d lie to that jerk too!" "Man, they kissed so passionately before getting in that they even damaged the bumper." I looked at the scorching sun, then at the car. The AC wasn't on. I called my car insurance agency. "Hey, my bumper was damaged. Come over here in an hour. I'll be waiting by my car." "An hour? The male and female leads are going to die from the heat!!" Chapter 1 Circle of Friends Helga Claude and Yves Chaucer's friends frowned. "You're going to wait for an hour? It's a hundred degrees out here. You'll get sunburned. Go back inside. You can come out when the insurance guy arrives." "No. The bumper got damaged because I looked away for two seconds. What if someone hits it again? This is a new car." I called the shopkeeper. "Get me some fans and sunshades. Also, twenty cold watermelons. Bring me the freezer you keep your popsicles in. We can watch the sea from here!" "What's he doing, watching the sea? Yeah, he's having fun, but the male and female lead are going to be cooked in the car!" "And the AC's not on! Everyone's here. They'll be exposed if they turn on the AC!" "Oh, dear! It's 100 degrees out here! It'll be way hotter in the car! Gosh, can't he just die already? He keeps doing evil stuff!" "Harold Zimmer." Melissa Milford, a business owner and the one with the most power in their friend group, stopped me. "We have no interest in the sea. If you won't go back in, just stay here." She gathered the other guys and went away. All of them glared at me and sneered, then turned away as well. "It's awesome how they're all leaving!" "That's Melissa for you. Harold simps for them. I bet he'll go up and apologize right away!" "The male and female lead can finally come out!" I clenched my fists. Yeah, I was a sycophant for this friend group. They grew up with Yves and Helga. I was the latecomer, but we already had that marriage deal since we were five. "Can't he drop dead now? His parents died after saving the female lead from the flood when she was five, yeah, but so what? It's no big deal." "They should feel honored they get to save the female lead! Not every supporting role gets to have that!" "Besides, he's the evil side character. It's because his parents died that the female lead's father was moved and took pity on him. That's why he married his daughter to him. He's beneath her." "He got lucky and is still playing the victim? No one owes him anything!" "Calm down. He'll be going after the male lead a lot, and he'll meet a grisly end! Just keep reading!" I noticed my parents being mentioned. I closed my eyes, trying to suppress the pain. When I was five, I had no idea Helga had a childhood friend. After we got engaged post-college, I found out she and Yves had their own circle and would have weekly gatherings and trips. I tried to make myself a part of that, but every gathering I showed up would just ruin the vibe. Chapter 2 More Lies Even if I gave them presents, all they did was say thanks and toss it aside. They wouldn't even take it back with them. Even if I was the one paying for their trips, Yves and Helga were the ones setting the destination. This beach gathering was an example. I looked at my new car, my eyes bloodshot. The comments said I would meet a grisly end, eh? I'd throw that exact end right back at these people! "What are you still doing here?" Melissa Milford frowned disapprovingly. "You're going to stay here?" "Yeah, you guys head in." Everyone froze. The old me would've followed them in a hurry in case they hated me. But why should I humble myself? I paid for the meals, the travel expenses, everything. Melissa didn't argue. She quickly looked at the seemingly fine car of mine and said sternly, "Helga wants you to wait inside. You have no place in our circle anyway. If you won't listen to us, you're never welcome to our trips again." "Nice! Good job, Melissa! You hit that guy where it hurts!" "Everyone knows that guy wants to be a part of the circle!" "Sure," I answered, and they froze. Those people exchanged looks. Some people tried to whisper, but I heard them clearly. "He seems different." "Stop this, Harold! Helga will hate you even more if you keep this up!" "Nice! He can't take it if the female lead doesn't love him!" "Keep it up, side character!" "I'd have dropped this book if I didn't know this guy dies horribly!" I stared at the comments and frowned. Seeing my expression, Melisa smirked. "You get the point. Get back in there. Everyone's waiting." "No, I'll be waiting out here. You can go in if you want to." Everyone froze. I took a sip of the watermelon juice. "What is wrong with this guy today? Has he never seen the sea before? He's already seen enough water when the flood killed his parents, right?" "Scram, you bastard! The female lead's already going to faint in the male lead's arms!" "Turn on the AC, guys!" "Are you stupid? Everyone will realize they're in the car, and their affair will be busted!" "But I love how the sweat rolls off the male lead's muscles. Nice." "Come on, Harold. Please." For once, these assholes were pleading, but I wasn't playing along. "My new car already has a damaged bumper. I’m not just going to let that slide. This could be sabotage. What if it gets worse if no one's watching?" "But…" "Gosh, no one crashed it! If he knew it was because the male lead kissed the female lead too passionately on the hood, he'd be furious!" "I want to see him scream when he finds out the truth." "Um, I think they should come out first. She's starting to lose consciousness.." "They're the main characters. They won't die. In fact, this adds to the suspense!" "What are you guys doing here?" I froze when I heard the familiar voice. It was my childhood friend, Yvonne Quinton. "You noticed, Harold. I bumped into your car when I passed by earlier, and I was just going to apologize." "Oh, so you're the culprit." Melissa quickly ran with it. "Should've said so. Harold thought someone's sabotaging him, and he called the car insurance agency." Yvonne laughed. "I had something to do, so I couldn't hang around." She tried dragging me away. "I'm sorry. My treat this time. Come on, let's get back in and order anything you want!" "No. I'm waiting for the insurance guys." Chapter 3 More Betrayals Melissa panicked. "We're friends, aren't we? Must you do everything by the book?" Yvonne agreed. "It's scorching. You'll get sunburned. I'll pay you however much you want. Let's go in." "No, I don't want to burn a hole in your wallet. We'll wait for the insurance." "Gosh, is he stuck to the chair or something? He's ruining things!" "The male and female leads still have more scenes to come! No one wants to watch you sitting around!" "Oh, don't be so stubborn. Move him inside, people!" I felt my legs leaving the ground as people held me up. "That's more like it!" "Yeah! Use brute force on the guy if he won't work with you! That's what he gets for ruining things!" "God, give me a girl like her. She saves the male lead the moment she finds out he's in trouble! And she goes after even her own childhood friend!" "That's the male lead for you! No one can resist him!" "I'd help the male lead if I were Yvonne too!" I grabbed the doorframe as hard as I could. "Tell them to let me go, Yvonne!" Yvonne grinned and pulled my hand down. "Don't be shy. We're childhood friends." "Do it, girl! The male lead is helping the female lead change! Move that guy in and they can get out!" "Man, there goes their screentime. I blame this bastard." I clenched my teeth and chomped Yvonne's hand that was on my shoulder. She screamed, and I was let down. Blood was seeping from the bite mark on Yvonne's wrist. "What the hell is his problem?" "He's going back! Oh, no! The female lead is fainting! She'll die if she doesn't come out!" "The male lead is fainting too, but he's holding her hand tightly! Goodness!" "Are you mad? You bit me!" Yvonne covered her wound. Coldly, I said, "The insurance guy is on his way. You can go inside if you want, but not me." "You…" Yvonne looked at her bleeding hand. "Are you going in or not?" "No." "Fine!" Yvonne clenched her teeth and called 911. "Yeah, someone bit me. Yes, it's assault. You can get here in three minutes? Okay, good. I don't want him to keep hurting anyone." "Yeah! The male and female leads are nearly out, but they can hang in there for three minutes!" "Once the cops take him, they can come out!" "The insurance guy is still half an hour away! LMAO! The side character's going to be booted as the love interest!" The cops arrived a while later. Melissa and the others pointed at me. "That's him! We saw him bite Yvonne! We can prove it!" "Yeah, we can get our statements taken!" "Best friends, these people. I'm crying." "Childhood friends. You don't see that a lot now." The cop looked at Yvonne's wound and frowned. "This is a serious assault, sir. You need to come with us." "But…" I wanted to say something, but I was already cuffed, and they were going to drag me into the car. "Hah! The male and female leads are in the trunk now!" "I didn't hurt anyone! Officer, wait! Please!" "You wounded someone, so we can't let you wander around. Get in the car." "But…" "Get in! They're unlocking the trunk! Once he gets in, they can get out!" Just then, someone crashed into my car. "Watch where you're parking, Harold! We're on the side of the road!" "What is the female lead's mother doing here?" I stared at the Audi A8 that crashed into my car in shock. That was the present I bought for Helga's mother, Fiona West. Chapter 4 Unreasonable Mother I really wanted to get her and her family's approval, but now, Fiona was pointing at me. "Just drive your car into the sea if you can't even park! Don't block the road! You ruined my bumper, you evil brat! Your parents should've taken you with them! My daughter wouldn't have had to marry someone like you just to repay her debt! Yves is a lot better than you!" "Ah, mother knows best. This bastard is holding the favor over them and breaking up the male and female lead." "The female lead is hot and gentle. She's beyond his league." "Only tall, handsome, and chiseled guys like the male lead get to screw the female lead. Go knock her up, and she'll hate this guy even more!" The cops had to work more and register this as another traffic incident. Fiona was still embellishing her story, and I laughed. "Your daughter isn't hostage to the favor. She's getting railed by your beloved Yves in the car right now." Fiona went white. "That's nonsense!" I pointed at the car with my chin. "Check the trunk if you don't believe me. You'll catch Yves with his pants down. I bet I can find traces of two persons' DNA on the seat. His and your daughter's." "You bastard!" She slapped me. "You're a lowlife yourself, so you're making up stories about my daughter and Yves? Orphans like you know nothing about decorum! You're destined for nothing! My poor girl had her life ruined because of you!" The cops grabbed her wrist. I touched my swollen cheek, then clenched my teeth and slapped her as hard as I could. "I'm an orphan because my parents saved your daughter. You'd be crying at her grave if not for them, and I'd still have a family!" "You…" Fiona clutched her chest. The cops pulled us apart, with Fiona still crying. "You saw what he did, officers. He blocked my path, made up stories about my daughter, and beat the elderly! Arrest him!" The passersby surrounded us, and they frowned. Melissa and the others selectively explained the story. "He did bite someone first, and he did slap the lady." "My God, how dare the bastard hit that lady! Put me in there! I'll slap that bastard to death!" "Get the two lead characters out already! The female lead has fainted!" "They'll get heat strokes at this rate! Oh no, the female lead is already having one!" "Save her!" "He can't. He's dehydrated. They'll die if they don't open the door!" "Turn on the AC! So what if they're found out?" "They don't have the strength!" "I suggest you open the trunk, ma'am." "You're lying!" Fiona spat at me. "I won't play into your hands! I bet you did something shameful with another woman in your car, so you're smearing her! I'll kill you, bastard!" She charged at me, ignoring the cops. Chaos ensued, and the cops spent five minutes just to subdue her. My clothes were torn, and Fiona was still screaming. "Arrest that bastard! He smeared my daughter's name!" The cops had no avenue left. "We'll see if it's the truth. Open the trunk." Fiona glared at me. "No one's stupid enough to hide in a car at this temperature! Let's see it!" "No, no, no! They took off their clothes again because it's too hot!" The trunk's lid swung up.