This is a continuation of Lucas' past. You can think of it as a filler if you want to. Many thanks to those who continue to read and tolerate this story. Feedback will be greatly appreciated. I am anticipating about three more chapters for Utterly Unexpected. Enjoy.
HISTORY LESSON 2
Lucas took his seat next to a window at the back of his English class. His classmates couldn't keep still. Girls huddled up in groups and whispered to each other, giggling and looking his way. Boys gave him looks so cold they made Antarctica look like Australia's badlands. He couldn't figure out why he was the centre of everyone's attention. None of them knew who he really was, so he was pretty much a normal kid.
He sighed, wishing that his English teacher was there. How fortunate. Both she and the substitute are absent. I hope this will all end quickly. Turning to stare out the window, he forced himself to keep a scowl off his face.
Julie held her pocket mirror high up, puckering her lips and staring inside. She eyed Lucas' reflection and discreetly nudged Alice who peered into it also. Joseph glanced over at them then snatched the mirror away. Sliding onto the desk he leaned down and whispered viciously, "Julie, what are you trying to do to my sister? I don't want you putting any funny thoughts into her head!"
Julie pressed a hand to her heart and reeled back in shock. "Me?! Why would I do something like that?" Alice pulled the mirror from his grasp. "Come on Joe. You know me better than that. Can't you just take my word for it? I am not interested in him."
He rolled his eyes and threw a file jacket before them. Runo pulled her desk closer and placed a sheet of paper with printed text beside it. "This is what we've come up with so far. I wanna get a lot more dirt on him." Julie opened the file jacket and browsed through the pile of glossy photos while Alice skimmed over the few points that Runo had made.
"By the way Runo, how late did you get home last night?" Joseph playfully pulled at strands of Julie's hair.
"Um…around eight. Dan lives on my street, so he walked me home when we got off at our stop."
"Did your parents fuss?"
"Not really. They were just a bit worried. Said I should give them a call next time, and it was okay since I was with you guys. They called your mom just to make sure. Were you guys okay?"
"Yeah. Mother was glad that we were going out with you guys. She said that we hadn't gone out as a group in a while. But Runo, just my suggestion, let's not get too carried away next time. Even though we're travelling as a group, I still don't like the idea of us going home so late. Just because the crime rate is dropping doesn't mean we can get careless."
"I was about to suggest the same thing. Dan's getting all twitchy and weird, and I don't want him to lecture me again."
Julie, who was completely ignoring them suddenly turned to Alice and said, "Hey, why don't we try being bold for a bit?"
"Bold?" she questioned, turning to her.
"Our target is looking right this way. If we keep sneaking around we're not gonna get anything out of him. It can't possibly hurt if one of us actually goes up to him and tries to be friendly."
"But Julie, the plan…"
"Yeah, yeah. I remember the plan, but do you really think that he'll agree to tell some random girl who hasn't even said a word of greeting to him before about his life. It would be great if one of us could befriend him and pretend that we arranged the interview for him. If he learns that Runo and Joe are friends of his friend, then I think he'll agree. Especially if his friend is a head turner."
"Well…that does make sense, but who would that person be?"
"You, dummy!"
"Wh-What? Why me? Can't you or Chan do it? Come to think of it, you're the perfect person to do the job."
"No can do. All of us are taken."
"All of you?" Alice asked, tilting her head at Runo.
Julie rolled her eyes. "Come on Alice. It's pretty obvious."
"It'll look and feel weird if we do it. I don't want it to look like I'm getting closer to another guy and being unfaithful to Billy and I'm sure Chan wouldn't like to see Joe getting jealous. Dan would start getting all possessive."
Alice saw her point, but she still felt unsettled. She wasn't outright scared of him; just a bit wary. She wanted to talk her way out of it, but seeing that it was Julie she was dealing with, it didn't make much sense.
"I don't even know how to start up a conversation. If I go up to him and say, "Oh! What lovely weather we're having, he'll think I'm a freak."
Julie patted her on the back, shoved a book into her hands and thanked her stars that Joe was busy vetting things with Runo.
After about five minutes, Alice drew in a deep breath and rose from her seat. "I'll be right back. I'm going to return this book to the library from now so we can have a head start later." Joe nodded and Julie waved her away.
She held the book in her right hand and swung it slightly as she kept her head straight. When she was at his desk, she 'accidentally' bumped a book off his table. The book as well as a pencil case sitting atop it slid off and fell to the ground with a thud. Alice gasped and quickly apologized, stooping down to collect the scattered contents of the case first. Never once did she look up at him.
Lucas was about to come to her aid when she stopped him, explaining that it was her fault so she should be the one to clean up the mess.
Standing up, she handed the case to him and placed the book on his desk. "Thanks," he murmured, staring at her curiously. Some of the other students turned around to see what was happening. Remembering Julie's encouragement, Alice looked at him. Goosebumps crept up her arms as his cold eyes washed over her skin.
"Really, you didn't have to. It's no big deal," he said, the curiosity evident in his voice.
"I'm really clumsy so I just can't stop myself from feeling bad."
He tilted his head slightly, an eyebrow rising in interest. Not because of the reactions of the people in front of him, but because of the politeness and humility of the girl before him.
"Y-You're Lucas right? Lucas Schneider?"
"Yeah. And you are?"
"Alice Gehabich." One of his eyes twitched involuntarily when he heard the last name, but he kept his mouth shut.
"You don't talk very much, do you?" Alice went on. "I haven't seen you speak to anyone before."
Lucas fiddled with the cover of the novel that had fallen from his desk. Alice eyed it, looking for a way out since she just realized that her 'conversation' was rolling to a dead stop. "Is that book from the school's library?"
"Yeah. I just finished it in Math class as a matter of fact."
Yes! I've hit the gold mine! Now I know at least one thing that makes this guy tick.
"You read novels in Math class?"
"Yup. That teacher is boring, so I bring a novel to every class."
"Is this the first time you're reading something done by this author?"
"Yes. And I'm not impressed. It was so boring that I actually considered giving up on it and listening to Mr. Kagayumi for once."
Alice giggled. "I could lend you one of his best books. You might change your opinion."
The corner of his lips tilted upwards in a lopsided smile. "That would be nice."
"Oh, and I happen to be going over to the library right now. Why not let me return that for you?"
"Are you sure? It's kind of heavy."
"It won't be a problem." Without waiting for a response, Alice snatched up the book and placed it on top of hers. "So, I'll see you around?"
"Sure Alice. Nice to meet you and thanks."
She nodded and walked out of the room.
Alice Gehabich eh? Interesting girl.
Joseph stared on, wide eyed and Julie did a fist pump. Runo whispered a prayer of thanks while scribbling down some jottings, silently urging the class to be dismissed.
A shrill ringing echoed through his ears, jolting him awake. Lucas sat upright in his seat but instantly regretted it because of the sharp shock of pain that ripped through his skull. He shielded his face with both hands and tried to figure out what was happening. He was in class. Literature class. Spoke to some girl then got bored after she left. Fell asleep.
Slowly, he cracked an eye open. A blur of colours gradually materialized into distinguishable humans exiting the classroom. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, waiting for the classroom to clear before he exited. It didn't take long for that to happen. It was Friday afternoon anyways, and teens happened to be pretty busy on those days.
With a sigh, he picked up his things and headed to his locker. By the time he got everything ready, the main halls were empty, save for a few kids he thought he saw sitting with Alice in his Literature class. Noticing that she wasn't there, he shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the building.
The tall trees swayed in the wind, some of their leaves beginning to yellow, as it was early fall. Two school buses remained parked at one end of the lot, students filing in, chatting with friends and laughing. Lucas frowned. He had only ever had good relationships with three people, and all of them were far out of his reach. Turning away from the bus, he decided to walk home.
He was just about to cross the street when a dark blue SUV pulled up before him. The window wound down, revealing a man with wavy brown hair and a kindly face. Lucas face brightened in recognition.
"Marshall! What are you doing here?"
"I've come to pick you up. I hope you're not busy this weekend," he said, before motioning the boy to get in.
After Lucas seated himself comfortably in the vehicle, he faced Marshall. "Why? What's happening?"
"Well, since you are an official band member and all, you'll need to join us for practice. We usually get together on Friday evenings and spend the weekends at the band house. Sorry for the short notice. It kinda slipped the old noggin last night." The man chuckled and scratched the back of his head as he steered with his free hand.
"That's great. I'm totally free."
"What about homework?"
"That won't be a problem. I can finish all of it in about three hours or so."
"So I'll just head to your home so we can pack your things, then we'll start off."
A black minivan travelled behind Marshall's vehicle. A woman with tanned skin and a head of wavy white hair manned the wheel while a certain blue-head scribbled madly onto a notepad. Julie's sister turned out to be quite the expert when it came on to tailing, as neither of the occupants of the SUV seemed to notice them. Julie gaped when she noticed the familiar turns that they were taking in the affluent residential area. She nudged Alice who nodded slowly.
"No way!" she exclaimed when they finally came to a stop. "He lives like, just a few houses down from you guys!"
Joseph cringed behind the camera he was using. Daniel moaned.
"Hey, Alice! I just had the best idea!" Julie started bouncing up and down in her seat. Daisy, her sister, rolled her eyes. The redhead looked at her questioningly.
"Didn't you say something about getting a book for him? Since you're so close to home, you can grab it!"
"And then what?" Joseph muttered half heartedly.
"Isn't it obvious? If we keep trailing them like this, then we'll never get anywhere. If we don't actually get to talk to this guy, then we'd just be wasting our time. But if Alice comes with that book, we'd actually have a way to speak with him without it looking awkward. She can just confront him and start up a conversation. Your excuse can be that you wanted to get that book to him as soon as possible because you forgot it was Friday and you wouldn't be seeing him the next day."
"You know Jules, that actually makes sense." Runo observed.
She raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying Runo?"
"People, if Allie is gonna get the book, then she has to do it now. The target and his accomplice are entering that house. Please be quick. I want to be ready when they get out."
Alice nodded and slid the door open. Joseph face-palmed himself when he saw how serious she was about the whole thing. What scared him was that she wasn't so into it only for Runo's benefit. He knew what she was like when she took an interest in someone, and it seemed like this was exactly the case. "What have you dragged my sister into?" he moaned. Dan placed a hand on his shoulder in sympathy.
Daisy grinned, understanding quite well what it felt like when a younger sibling started to gain independence.
A few minutes later, the door to the minivan slid open once more and Alice stepped inside, cradling a heavy leather bound book to her chest.
"Is mother home yet?" Joe asked.
The girl shook her head and scooted close to a window so she could get a better view of Lucas' house. For some reason, she couldn't remember ever going inside or meeting its previous inhabitants even though she had been living in that community for years.
"Oi Runo, Joe, get ready. Target has left the building."
Lucas and Marshall exited the building. They were talking about something. Marshall carried a brown duffel bag to the vehicle ahead of Lucas, who had his schoolbag slung over a shoulder and was locking the door.
Daisy revved up the engine after they had driven off a distance. They tailed them all the way to a well known shopping centre on the outskirts of the city.
Daniel scoffed when he saw them get out of the vehicle. Joseph face-palmed for the second time that day. "We're not following them inside, right?"
There was no reply, but when they saw Runo and Julie rising from their seats, both groaned in annoyance. Alice and Daniel stayed behind while the four walked up to the four storey structure.
"What are we going to do if they get into the elevator? The place is so crammed that there'll be no way we can find them." Joseph said.
"Yeah. And if we do get in with them, then most likely he'll recognize us and get suspicious when Alice makes her appearance."
Runo, who had no answer to the question, made it her point of duty to pretend that she was so focused on watching the back of Lucas' teal head that she didn't hear them.
Luckily for them, though, neither he nor Marshall showed any signs of going upstairs. Instead, they weaved through the crowd and headed towards the food court. Dan's eyes brightened when he realized where he was. The marvellous scents of all sorts of food – local and international – gave him renewed zeal and zest.
"Oi! Look! They're going over to that new crepe stand." Without waiting another second, the boy marched off in the direction of the booth.
"Don't be slouchy Runo! Remember we don't have all day!" he called behind him.
The girl squeezed the hard plastic pen in her hand so hard that one side of it cracked. "Stupid gorger. If only you were this enthusiastic from the start," she grumbled, stomping after him.
Joseph let the camera hang around his neck and placed both hands behind his head. "Well, it seems like they'll be staying over at that old junkyard for a while. Maybe we should have a stakeout."
Julie looked at him in shock. She then clasped both hands together and bounced up and down on her heels. "It looks like you guys are finally on the program!" With that, she dragged him after the other two.
Both parties – the stalkers and the stalked – walked out of that mall with arms full of large paper bags.
"Hey lads! We're back." Marshall called as he closed the front door with his foot. He walked through the well lit rooms to the kitchen and stowed the sweet crepes away in the refrigerator. He placed the bag of savoury ones in a microwave on top of the fridge that Lucas had missed the first time he saw the place.
Muted moans and shouts could be heard coming from down the hallway. When the two went up to the door, there was a heavy thud. Marshall swung the door open and an eyebrow instantly shot up. He tried to prevent Lucas from entering; however, he managed to squeeze around him.
Hikari lay on the floor panting, several strands of hair slipping out of the messy bun that he had pinned it up in that morning. He was desperately trying to push a whimpering Mizuki off him. The latter had latched himself on to the younger man, and the only thing that separated the two was a cushion. Davey was kneeling down behind them and trying to pull Mizuki off by the waist. He even tried hitting him with an empty beer bottle, but to no avail.
Lucas coughed awkwardly.
Marshall stepped inside and cracked his knuckles.
Violet eyes beseeched Marshall to come to help too. "Please. Marshall, get him off me! He's crushing me."
Hikari's glasses were cast aside at one corner of the room and his face contorted in pain. Lucas was surprised that Hikari was defenceless towards Mizuki of all persons.
Davey stopped attempting to free his friend from Mizuki's bone crushing hug. Instead, he collapsed, breathing heavily and wiping sweat from his face.
Lucas eased to the side quietly while Marshall walked up to Mizuki and pressed two fingers down firmly on his throat. The man went limp immediately. Hikari lost no time in removing his arms from around his waist and extracting himself from beneath him.
"Ari-gato," he gasped between breaths. Lucas put his schoolbag down and went to retrieve his glasses. He took them with a nod in thanks and held up a finger. "Just, give us…a moment."
Lucas nodded. Meanwhile, Marshall carried Lucas around to the studios and showed him into the room that wasn't even mentioned before. The walls were grey and it had the same equipment as the other rooms. The only difference was that the cello which stayed in Hikari's adjoining room had been relocated to this place.
As Marshall put his duffel bag down, Lucas said, "Let me guess. This was Hikari's fiancée's – I mean your cellist's room."
Marshall nodded. "But now, it's yours. I hope you don't mind staying with us. I know we're a strange bunch-"
"No. It's okay, really. I think I'll enjoy my time here."
Marshall smiled and beckoned him to go back to the main room to rejoin the others. When there, Marshall found himself sighing and shaking his head. Hikari was standing on a chair to lower the temperature of the air conditioning unit (the remote needed batteries and nobody had bothered to get them), while Davey was on his feet once more, but kicking Mizuki in the back. "Hey. Get up jackass."
The man stirred then dragged himself into a sitting position. His brown eyes seemed tired and glazed over and he hugged the cushion close to his chest. Lucas didn't miss the changes. Mizuki now had blonde highlights in his hair. Face flushed, he looked up at Lucas, however, not one drop of recognition showed. "Who are you?" he slurred.
Lucas could smell the alcohol on him from where he was standing.
He was unsure of how to respond and Marshall sensed his discomfort. Motioning him to have a seat, he walked up to Mizuki and kneeled down. Placing a hand on his forehead, he said, "You really did a number on yourself this time boy. You'd better be glad that you recover quickly."
Mizuki pouted. "She left me."
"Alright. Don't think about her. You'll be okay in a bit." Marshall helped him into a chair and dimmed the lights a bit. Soon, soft snoring could be heard from his direction.
"Finally," Roscoe muttered. "Hey Lucas, Marsh. How's the ride here?"
"Comfortable," Lucas responded.
"We picked up some food on the way."
"Yeah, we'll just have it with the movies later. So how was school today? Met any new friends? Anyone bullying you?"
Lucas scratched the back of his head. "Er…no bullies. I did meet this girl though. She was somewhat interesting."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"Where does she live?"
"I don't have a clue."
"Are you attracted to her?"
"Hey! Roscoe! Why are you cross examining the stripling? You'll make him uncomfortable." Marshall scolded.
"Sorry. I'm just a bit overprotective, I guess." He ran a hand through his blue hair.
Hikari finally got off the chair, though he nearly hurt himself in the process.
He undid the now very messy bun and smoothed his hair back.
Lucas squinted in confusion. The cold Hikari that he had seen the day before seemed like a totally different person now. The man before him still had the grace of Hikari; however, he was clumsy in a cute, childish way.
An eye twitched. "What are you giving me that look for?" he asked, sitting down tentatively.
Lucas shook his head. "It's just that I didn't expect you to be like this."
Hikari raised an eyebrow in question.
Davey chuckled. "He may be cold and antisocial, but Hikari is prone to injuring himself. He's even totally defenceless. The only thing that could possibly help him is an actual weapon."
Hikari narrowed his eyes at him.
"His ego is huge, but easily injured, so it's fun to watch him mess up."
"Speak for yourself," he spat out.
"Aaw. Come here." Davey pulled Hikari over to him and put him in a headlock. "You know I don't mean that, doru."
The younger man pouted at the nickname.
"Anyways, laddie how about we get your work done before Mizuki wakes up. That way you won't have to worry about it all weekend."
"What subjects do you have?" Hikari asked.
"Physics, Geography and Economics. I also have this chapter in a novel to read for Literature class."
"I'm good with Physics. Roscoe can take Economics and Marshall can do Geography. Mizuki is a pro in the arts, so he can help you with Literature when he gets up."
"Thanks a lot," Lucas said, removing supplies from his bag. "I'll work with you on the Physics first, Hikari."
Two hours later, Mizuki stirred. Groaning softly, he staggered to his feet before sinking to the ground. He held his head for a few moments before opening his eyes. Books were scattered all over the carpet. Lucas, Davey, Marshall and Hikari were all sitting in circle playing cards.
After the pounding in his head lessened, he crawled stealthily over to the group and peered into some of the books. He quivered when he recognized some of the formulae he had learned in Physics class back in high school and cringed when he saw lines filled with boring global financial trends, stock markets and the like. The notes on volcanoes, however, brought a smile to his lips.
Though not fully recovered, he felt mischievous. Hangovers didn't affect him that much any way and he had an uncanny knack for healing quickly. He decided to go mess with everyone's favourite doru, Hikari. He knew that whenever the man started doing something, whether work or a leisure time activity, he usually became absorbed in it after a while. Taking advantage of this fact, he crept behind Hikari and blew softly on the base of his neck. The man froze. His hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and goose bumps covered his skin. An eye twitched sporadically and all the cards in his hand fell out.
"You damn halfwit! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?!" he uncharacteristically shouted. It seemed like all the teasing that he had gotten for the day went to his head, because he tackled Mizuki to the ground.
Davey's mouth fell open in shock and Marshall's eyes widened a bit. Hikari rarely shouted. They barely even heard him raise his voice when people were frustrating him. What was even more shocking to them was that he initiated a battle that he knew he had no chance of winning. Hikari did not do stupid things like that. Yet, there he was, on the floor, screaming and shouting for help as Mizuki pulled his hair and tickled him on his sides where his shirt had ridden up.
Marshall quickly got a camera and videoed the whole thing. Eventually, when his head began to throb from the noise, Mizuki released his captive and crawled over to Marshall for comfort. He lay his head on his lap and stretched his legs across Lucas', ensuring that he didn't even glance at Davey, knowing that he would never receive any affection from him.
Hikari quickly regained his senses and scraped up what little dignity he had left to return to the circle. Face flushed and hands trembling, he quietly stuttered out an apology and an explanation for his strange behaviour. Davey tried his best to stifle laughter. It wasn't every day that someone got to see Mr. Stoic get flustered.
"Mizuki?"
"Hn?"
"Why did you get drunk?" Lucas asked, fiddling with his cards.
He looked straight at him. His brown eyes still looked tired, but this time, they looked sorrowful as well.
"You said 'she left me' just before you fell asleep."
Mizuki smiled and propped himself up with an elbow. "I cope with my problems a bit differently from you, Lu. Coming here and drinking helps to calm me down. Sometimes I go over the top and get wasted, but such is life. I happened to be in a relationship with this wonderful girl for around two months now. She wanted sex, but I wanted to wait until I get married, and she left because of that. When I went home last night, I saw a note stuck to my refrigerator. That's all she left for me. I used to give her the best of everything. I never denied her of anything. She got gifts regularly, and I loved her dearly, but she forgot all about my feelings and just up and left because we had a few differences when it came on to something as simple as sex."
"Sorry to hear."
He closed his eyes and continued, not minding sharing a little bit of his life with his friends. "That's why I read my novels. I can fantasize and dream about what I don't have a chance experiencing in real life. I want to have that sort of bond with someone, but once the 'right' woman comes along, that's always the big problem."
"So if you really want to bond with them so badly, why don't you just forget the whole marriage thing? Lots of guys are comfortable with one-nighters."
"That is definitely one principle that I'm never going to compromise. It wouldn't even make a difference if I did though," he muttered.
"Eh? Why not?"
Mizuki flinched. "Oh you heard that…It's complicated. I have problems down there. That in itself is a major turnoff to my 'partners'."
Davey narrowed his eyes. "Those books you read don't help it. They only make it more painful."
"Davey, I'm an optimist. I focus on positives, not negatives. Trust me; the pain is well worth it."
"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Lu has a girl that he's interested in." Marshall smirked.
The once depressed brown eyes instantly brightened. "Eh? You do? What body type? Personality? What foods does she like? Wh-"
"Hey. Slow down. When he says interested, he means a normal, healthy teenage interest. Not one of your obsessions." Hikari was back to his old self and Lucas nearly sighed in relief.
"Tell me how you feel about her," Mizuki ordered as he stood up and pulled the boy into an isolated corner of the room to chat more openly.
Davey shook his head. "Might as well get the things ready. Now that you've gotten him started, he won't be stopping for now."
He started putting the books away while Hikari attended to the movies for the evening and Marshall took care of the food.
"Do you want to get…you know…intimate with her?" he raised an eyebrow.
Lucas got flustered and shook his hands wildly. "N-no! Of c-course not. She just caught my eye, I guess…"
Mizuki rolled his eyes. "Have you ever been in a relationship before?"
He remained silent.
"What's her name?"
"Alice. Alice Gehabich."
Mizuki nearly fell flat on his face when he heard the last name. "Whoa. This'll be complicated. Does she know who you are?"
"No."
The man swooned. "Ah. Forbidden love. Two young souls enchanted by each other but have to keep it a secret, as their parents are rivals."
Lucas pouted and folded his arms. "It's not like that. I don't really care if the girl I like is my dad's rival. I'm not even inheriting the company anyway, so what difference should it make to me?"
"That's the spirit. Now, since you've admitted that you like the girl, I'll look up her number then give her a call."
"Wait. What? What're you calling her for?"
"So you can talk to her, dummy. I wanna see what my future daughter in law looks like too."
"No!" Lucas shouted. He tried to grab Mizuki's cell phone away, but the man simply held his hand up and out of his reach.
"Come on. You'll never get a girl if you're like this." Mizuki's eyes suddenly flashed gold, and he placed his free hand atop Lucas' head. "'Kay Lu. Just hear me out. I'll give you a choice. You can either talk to her and try getting some experience relationship-wise or, I can read some of my novels to you. I have some extra graphic ones I'm sure you'll enjoy."
Lucas blush intensified at the thought of what exactly Mizuki was reading every day and he stopped struggling.
"F-find her number."
A victory smile flashed across Mizuki's face. He was about to ask Marshall for the phone book when there was a loud knock on the front door. Everyone froze. Visitors never came there. People didn't generally walk through the back alleys anyway. The knock came again.
Davey got up and went into the kitchen for a bread knife while Marshall followed, his hand on a pistol that he carried everywhere with him. The two men approached the front door. Marshall slowly opened it.
Soft moonlight filtered in and illuminated the neat junkyard. An unfamiliar black minivan was parked near to the house and a petite redhead stood in the doorway, clutching a thick book to her ample chest. She squeaked when she saw two menacing men looming before her, weapons in hand. Marshall quickly returned the pistol to its holster and leaned forward to see her face clearly.
"Little lassie, what are you doing out here at this time of night?"
Davey looked as if he'd nearly have a heart failure. "Don't you know how dangerous it is for you to be out here alone?"
"U-um. I'm not alone, sir. I'm with my friends. They're in the van over there."
"Eh? Then why are you children here? These are secluded alleys you know. Rapists and thieves love places like those."
"We…well, I came here looking for someone. I have something to give to him."
"And who might that be?" Davey queried, looking at her suspiciously.
"L-Lucas. Lucas Schneider."
Schneider? I wonder if it's Lu she's talking about. "And who might you be?"
"Alice."
The men's eyes widened when she said her name. They instinctively looked her up and down and thanked the heavens that Lucas had a good taste in women.
"Come inside, Alice." Marshall said, not thinking before he spoke.
"I-I prefer to wait out here till I see him." She shifted uncomfortably.
"Sorry about that Miss. I'd do the same thing. We'll go get him for ya." Davey and Marshall left the door open and went around to the studios.
"Hey, Mizuki. You don't have to call her anymore. She's right outside; asked for him too."
Mizuki snickered then pushed Lucas out of the room. The boy paled, but went out anyway.
When he saw the girl, something swelled in his chest. He walked up to her and looked outside, then he inspected her, concern evident in his eyes and voice. "Alice! What are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did something happen."
She shook her head. "No. Nothing happened. All's well."
Lucas sighed in relief and brought her inside, closing the door behind him. Figuring it would be best to speak in private, he stayed in the front room. "I'm really sorry. There're no chairs in this room, so you can't sit. We have a few in the back, but I don't think you want to be around those weird guys right now."
Alice shook her head. "It's okay. I don't mind." The fear she had of him dissipated and his eyes didn't seem so cold and unwelcoming anymore.
"Alright. So…how did you find me?"
"Actually, some friends and I were at the mall and we saw you walking out with someone. I remembered that I had the book that I wanted to give to you, so we just followed you here." She smiled and handed it to him.
"Really? Thanks a bunch, Alice!" He ran his fingers over the leather cover and itched to dig into the first pages.
"Would you like to read the blurb now?"
"I don't read blurbs. They spoil the surprises sometimes, you know," he explained, kind of shocked that he could be so casual around her. "By the way, are your friends outside?"
"Yeah."
"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but they're creeping me out."
Alice nearly choked. "Creeping you out?"
"Yeah. Especially the blue haired girl and the silver haired one. They always stare at me then turn away when they think I'm looking. A lot of people do that, but the freaky thing is that whenever she looks away, the blue haired one writes something on this notepad she carries around with her. There's someone that's always taking pictures, but I don't remember what he looks like."
Alice sighed and face-palmed. "They'll probably kill me when they found out I told you this, but, Runo works for the school newspaper, and since you're sort of a hot topic now, she thinks it would be great to write an article about you. The one taking the pictures is my brother, her temporary photographer."
Lucas scratched the back of his head and blushed. "Well, if all they wanted was an interview, why didn't they just ask?"
"Runo's too scared to ask you, and they think you're stuck up because you don't talk to anyone at school."
He winced. Looking at his attitude, he could see why people would think that though. Alice noticed and almost hated herself for putting it so bluntly.
"Do you think so too?" It slipped out. He wasn't thinking. When since did this girl's opinions of himself matter to him?
"Of course not. I actually think you're sweet." Another awkward sentence. The tips of her ears reddened. "I hope I'm not being too forward," she laughed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spotted a red haired man down the hallway. Lucas saw him too, because his skin drained of all colour.
"Hey," he whispered. "Bear with me and don't hate me for this, okay. Just play along."
Lucas waited until she nodded hesitantly in consent before gently pushing her against a wall and pressing his lips to hers. Alice was shocked and remained still for two seconds. Then something popped inside her. She ran her tongue against his bottom lip and was half surprised when he allowed her access to his mouth. Slipping her tongue inside, she lost no time in exploring his warm mouth and tangling her hands in his hair. The weirdest thing of all was that he was kissing her back. Mizuki grinned and slunk away into the studio hall. After a few seconds, Alice pulled away and opened her eyes. Lucas, who had his hands around her waist rest his forehead on hers, eyes still closed. Alice secretly chided herself. She was sure that Lucas had meant that to be a chaste kiss, but she blew everything out of proportion.
"Th-thanks," he whispered. He didn't move. Her body remained flush to his.
"Did you like it?" she asked awkwardly.
"Y-yeah. That was my first time."
"Mine too."
Lucas opened his grey eyes and stared at her sceptically. Luckily for him, she didn't see.
"So things don't get weird between us, why don't we…um…get together. You know, in a relationship…Just for experience though! We don't have to get emotionally attached if you don't want to." She rambled, avoiding his eyes. Lucas chuckled.
"That would be okay with me." He suddenly realized what he had done and the position he was holding her in and quickly pulled away and coughed nervously.
"S-so, you guys can come over tomorrow morning. I'll be staying over for the night, but I'm not sure what plans those guys have for tomorrow afternoon, so I think morning would be the best."
"Thanks. See you tomorrow then," she said with a smile. She placed a hand on his chest and gave him a sweet, chaste kiss that lingered on his lips. He watched her as she left the house. That was definitely unexpected.
On the way back home, Julie praised Alice for getting their interview so early. Everything she said went through one ear and came out the other. Joseph noticed the way the girl lightly brushed her lips with her fingers.
"What happened back there? You're awfully quiet," he said, eyeing her intensely.
Alice shrank back in her seat beside him. "N-nothing," she stuttered quickly. Daniel and Runo raised their eyebrows while Julie squealed in delight. Daisy wished Joseph luck.
His eyes narrowed. "You have some serious explaining to do when we get home, Alice Gehabich."
Yep. That's all folks.
Quote: "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
- A.A Milne
~Anne Callendar
