Chapter two
Luna, now noticing Iris and Mistel sitting at the only other table in the restaurant, gave them a big wave, grinning. They were both good friends with her, Iris being one of her best. They waved and smiled back, Iris rushing over and giving her a hug.
"Luna, I'm so glad to see you!" she gushed, her embrace tight. "I feel like its been forever!"
"It's been two days, Iris! We just had tea at your house, and we talked for hours!"
Ending the hug, Iris laughed, "Well, it seemed like forever to me! Why don't you come over and sit with us?"
Luna looked at Mistel, and saw that mischievous look he often had in his eye. They were gossiping, and as much as she did enjoy gossip, she just wasn't in the mood for that after her long day.
"As much as I'd love to, I'm rather worn out. I think I'm just going to grab something quick to eat at the counter." Iris gave her a small pout and wave, returning to her brother. Luna went over to the counter and sat on the stool, careful to tuck her farm dress underneath her. Just then Raeger came out of the kitchen.
"Luna! I didn't expect such lovely company tonight," he smiled sweetly, putting his elbows on the counter-his face only inches from hers. "What can I get you?" His voice dripped with sweetness.
She had known Raeger long enough to know that was how he acted with most of the girls, but not quite to the extent that he did with her. She, admittedly, had a small crush on him when she first moved to Oak Tree town, but she soon found herself thinking of him as only a friend. A good friend, too, since she found his teasing nature quite funny, as it let her open herself up a little more. She hoped he thought of her the same way.
"Do you have any pies, Raeger?" She asked enthusiastically, flashing her beautiful smile with her eyes wide in anticipation. Raeger chuckled to himself, heading back into the kitchen. Coming back, he held a plate behind his back.
"I know you don't like this very much," he sighed and hung his head low with a frown on his face, "But this is all I have." He pulled the plate around, placing it in front of her-revealing blueberry pie.
"Raeger!" she teasingly yelled, softly slapping his arm. "You know this is my favorite, and you teased me!" She feigned a small frown. Then Raeger pulled a whip cream can seemingly out of no where, putting a dollop on her nose before she could even react. Setting down the plate of pie, he laughed.
"Ah-hem," Nadi coughed. "Raeger, do ya think I could get a refill?" He had asked more coldly than he had intended to. He felt a feeling in his chest that he hadn't ever felt before. It felt like anger, but different. Like painful anger.
"Oh, yeah, of course!" Raeger smiled at Luna, then quickly swiped the whipped cream off her nose with his finger, plopping it in his mouth. He then headed over to Nadi to refill his coffee. When he got to his table he noticed he wasn't looking at him, but instead at the floor with a disgruntled look on his face.
"Thanks," Nadi muttered, still not looking up. Raeger walked back over to Luna, confused at the way Nadi had been treating him. But by the time he had gotten back to the counter Luna was staring behind her at Nadi.
Luna giggled inwardly, watching Nadi glare at his cup of coffee as he took a sip. His face twisted in bitterness. Setting down the mug he picked up the sugar spoon, adding not one, not two, but three heaping spoonfuls of sugar and stirring it madly. He picked up the cup again, put it to his lips, and smiled. Luna giggled outwardly this time, thinking of the time she had coffee with Klaus. He had carefully put in the tiniest of sugar, swirling it around with his spoon so delicately.
At the sound of her giggle, Nadi turned his head around, noticing that she was staring right at him. "Ya know, its kinda creepy to stare at someone while they're eating!"
"I'm sorry! I just couldn't help myself, you're just so beautiful," Luna said in a sing-song voice, giving him a wink. She smiled brightly at him as his face reddened. She turned back around, meeting eyes with Raeger.
"I think you might be the one getting stared at now," he whispered with a smile and nodded his head behind her. Luna's face reddened as she turned around, and sure enough her eyes found rubies staring back at her. Before he could glance away, she saw that his cheeks were redder than ever before, and silently hoped he hadn't noticed the rush of blood that filled her cheeks.
She turned back to Raeger, his eyebrows raised. He touched her cheek with the back of his hand, mockingly exclaiming, "Oh my, Luna! I think you might be coming down with a fever! Your cheeks are so warm, we should get you to the clinic right away!" He laughed pretty hard, clutching his sides.
"Thanks, Raeger," Nadi muttered, slapped money down at his table and waved goodbye to Mistel and Iris, walking toward the door. With his back facing them he sullenly said, "Bye, Luna. See ya later." And with that he was gone.
Raeger turned back to Luna, and noticing her sullen look he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Why is he acting like that? I had thought we had finally became friends..." her voice trailed off, her head hung low.
"Hey, cheer up!" Raeger gently pulled her chin up, "You know how he gets sometimes...But I don't think this was the case this time." Raeger thought for a moment, putting his finger to his chin. Luna tilted her head slightly, giving him a quizzical look. "I think he was jealous," he finally said seriously.
She almost chocked on her pie, sputtering, "Y-you t-think he's jealous?"
"Oh, most definitely. I've seen that look before. Hell, I've given that look before!"
"Oh, no, no, no. We're just friends," she insisted, shaking her head.
Just then Iris and Mistel sat on either side of Luna.
"That didn't seem like just friends to me," Iris sang. "It seemed like the budding of a new romance!"
"I do have to agree, Luna. He looks quite smitten with you, and you with him," Mistel chimed in.
"Did you see the way he was staring at her, with a slightly annoyed look mixed with admiration, I've only ever seen him look at Luna like that!'" Iris gushed. "And the way you were staring at him, with that silly grin upon your face as you watched him pour heaps of sugar in his coffee. It was utterly adorable! Not to mention the way you blushed when you realized he was staring at you. You're infatuated! It's so romantic," Iris swooned.
Luna knew her friend well enough to know what inspiration looked like in her eyes. "Don't even think about it, Iris," Luna stated seriously, narrowing her eyes at Iris.
"Think about what?" Iris gave her the most innocent look she could muster before laughing hysterically.
"Please, guys, don't say anything," she pleaded. "I don't want to hurt our friendship." Although Iris, Mistel, and Raeger were known to gossip she knew she could trust them. She hoped should could trust them.
"Klaus is going to be quite upset," Iris sighed.
Luna was slightly taken aback. "Why!" she said louder than she had intended to.
Iris gave her a quizzical look, stating, "I know you're not daft, Luna. You know he is quite taken with you."
"Sister, correct me if I'm mistaken, but I do recall Luna turning down Klaus when he confessed his feelings," Mistel interrupted.
"But brother, he still thinks she might change her mind," Iris sighed. "He still has hope!" By now Raeger had walked back into the kitchen. Luna put down her fork and was about to get up when Iris suddenly turned to her.
"Luna...I think it would be best if you told Klaus how you feel about him," Iris said, looking her best friend in the eyes. "He deserves the truth."
Hanging her head down, she softly asked, "Would you, maybe, tell him for me?"
Just then Raeger came out of the kitchen, with a scowl on his face he stormed over to Luna, nearly shouting, "No! You need to tell him. I know that you turned him down, but you had told him you just weren't ready for a relationship yet! That gives a man hope, and you need to tell him yourself before he notices the way you look at Nadi."
She had been a little startled at his reaction. Klaus had confessed his feelings for her six days prior. At the time she denied him she truly did think she had denied him because she wasn't ready. Thinking about it now, she realized that was around the time her and Nadi had became better friends.
"Don't worry, sweetie, I'll come with you," Iris said sweetly, hugging her friend, noticing that tears had begun to form in her eyes.
"But we're not dating or anything, I don't even know if he feels that way about me!" Luna pulled away, saying, "If anything further happens, I'll be sure to tell Klaus my feelings, but until then this stays between the three of us. Promise?"
They all nodded, except Mistel. "Please, Mistel?" she begged.
"Fine, as long as it's quick. Three days max."
"I'll see what I can do," she sighed. What have I gotten myself into?
[…]
Now seven-thirty, Nadi sat at the dock of the river, a sullen look on his face. When he first moved here he had thought that Luna was with Klaus. He had often seen them strolling around town together, her arm linked in his. He noticed that Klaus had always smiled brightly and laughed loudly while walking with her. Yet, he noticed, Luna always had feigned smiles that didn't quite reach her eyes when she was with him.
After becoming more close with her, he had built up the nerve to ask how her boyfriend was doing. Laughing, she asked who he was talking about, saying how she didn't have a boyfriend. He had told her he assumed Klaus was her boyfriend, making her laugh even louder. That made his heart feel a joy he didn't quite understand.
Remembering back to last Sunday, Luna had told him about Klaus during their weekly fishing "dates". Apparently, Klaus had confessed his love for her four days earlier. "What did you say to him?" Nadi had asked crossly.
"No, of course!" she shrieked. " I don't feel that way about him".
"Good," he had growled back, his eyes locked on the river.
"Good? Why is that good?"
Nadi had swiftly turned to her, fiercely saying, "I don't trust him. I don't like the way he looks at you."
Luna then giggled, "I can take care of myself, but I do appreciate the way you look out for me. It's rather adorable."
"You're teasing me again..." He had felt flustered.
"Maybe a little, but I am mostly serious." She had looked away from him, but he had caught her blush out of the corner of his eye.
Laying back on the dock with his hands behind his head, he sighed. He had thought that she maybe had started having feelings for him, but after what he saw at the restaurant he wasn't so convinced anymore. Raeger liking Luna hadn't ever crossed his mind. He had come to think of Raeger as a friend, since he had eaten at the restaurant almost every day. He wondered if he should confront him, wanting to ask what his intentions were with Luna.
Nadi knew that Raeger was some what of a playboy, and he didn't want Luna getting involved in those kinds of activities with him. His blood boiled at the thought. Even though she teased him, he could tell deep down that she had an innocence about her, a naivete. He thought Raeger didn't deserve such a wonderful girl. Not only was she beautiful, she had a smile that lit up the whole room. Instead of walking she chose to skip, humming happily wherever she went. She went out of her way to help everyone, not a single complaint escaping her lips. She was everything he wasn't, she was magnificent.
Hearing a crunch of a leaf behind him, he leaned up, twisting his body around to see who it was.
His heart skipped not one, but two beats. It was Luna, although she wasn't smiling.
Keeping his eyes fixated on the dock he asked, "Why are you talking to me? It's getting kind of late, don't you think you should go home?" That had been the first time he had said something to her like that since they first met. He could see the hurt in her eyes, and immediately regretted being so harsh.
"Nadi, I think we need to talk." The way her voice sounded put a pang in his chest.
"Luna, I don't think this is-"
She cut him off, saying, "Tomorrow, at four o'clock, will you meet me at the little bridge?"
Never breaking eye contact with the dock, he reluctantly agreed.
Is this going to break my heart into a million pieces, or make me feel like shooting through the roof?