8:01am, April 15
A few gentle knocks on her door stirred her awake. When had she fallen asleep? Luce couldn't remember, but she probably only got a few hours of sleep. After Cam told her someone was trying to kill her, all she could do was think about her predicament and wonder why her, why now? It was so unfair. Why should she suffer for something her past self had done? She wasn't even the same person anymore. Suddenly getting enough sleep was the least of her worries. Her birthday was tomorrow, yet her mind was filled with thoughts about death and mortality.
"Luce, are you awake? Can I come in?" Daniel asked.
"Daniel?" Luce wondered why he was here so early.
She quickly got off her bed, smoothing out her tangled hair as she opened the door for him. Her roommate's bed was empty. No doubt, Aubrey was dozing off in her 7:30am sociology class.
"Good morning! Happy day-before-your-birthday!" he said, smiling and giving her a small brown paper box tied with a black ribbon, a neat little bow on top. "It's your favorite, chocolate chunk coconut oatmeal cookies."
"Aw, thank you. Daniel, you shouldn't have. This bakery is so far away."
"I ordered them yesterday and paid extra for them to be delivered by today. I know you love them and you deserve a treat." He ruffled her hair playfully before noticing the dark circles under her eyes. "Especially after you stayed up all night killing zombies? You look..."
Luce laughed and set down the box on her desk. "I know. I had some major cramming to do... Biology test today."
"Oh. You poor thing." Daniel squeezed her shoulder and rubbed his thumb against it soothingly. "Well, don't you have a class that starts at 8:30? My morning class was cancelled, so I thought I would hang out with you in your first class today."
"Yes, I'd better get ready! And I'd love that, Daniel. We rarely get to spend time together in class. I just need about fifteen minutes in the bathroom, then we can go." Since she was a freshman and Daniel was a junior, it was hard for them to find classes they could both take. It became even more difficult after he joined their college soccer team. Training sessions ate up so much of his time.
Luce quickly grabbed her bag of toiletries, a t-shirt and a pair of jeans and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Be right back!"
Daniel nodded and grinned as she rushed out the door, trying to forget her chilling conversation with Cam.
8:56am, April 15
It was hopeless. Luce could not pretend that everything was okay. Having Daniel next to her did help her feel safer. But she couldn't help looking around the lecture hall nervously, wondering if she could be attacked right here. As her philosophy professor lectured about Descartes and Daniel worked on an essay on his laptop, she scanned the room, searching for anything suspicious. Even though nothing seemed out of the ordinary, she couldn't stop herself from panicking and looking over and over. Luce also flinched at the slightest noises. Sure enough, Cam was here, sitting a few rows away. Each time her eyes briefly met his, he stared back at her, his emerald eyes dark with some unfathomable emotion.
"Luce, what's wrong? Is there a reason why you're so jumpy today? And you must have looked around the lecture hall over ten times now." Daniel looked at her intently, a worried expression on his face.
"I'm okay. Too much caffeine, I guess." She took another sip from her cup of coffee. "I was just looking for a friend. She...uh...owes me money." Damn, she needed to work on her lying skills.
"Okay..." Daniel didn't seem convinced. "But no more coffee, for now."
Luce nodded sheepishly and he smiled and took the cup from her hand and put it on the floor, near his feet. Daniel focused on his laptop screen and started typing again. She took a few deep breaths and tried to regain her composure. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her. Luce took it out and read the text.
Unknown number: Calm. Down. If you keep freaking out, he will know everything by the end of the day.
Luce: Cam? How did you get my number?
She glanced at Cam, a few rows down, and saw that he was indeed texting on his phone.
Cam: I got it off your phone the time I interrupted your text conversation with Aubrey. What I wanted was your phone number, not to read your texts.
Luce: Well, you read them anyway, didn't you? And how am I supposed to keep calm, under the circumstances? Any normal person would freak out!
Cam: I don't expect you to be completely stoic, but you need to take it down a few notches. Daniel cannot know about this. I already told you that I have a way of knowing when these incidents will happen. I will let you know when you need to be more cautious and ready for it. You need to trust me.
Luce: Okay, I'm sorry. I'll try. I know... I do trust you.
She knew his eyes were on her, so she looked up from her phone and their eyes locked. His eyes softened and he gave her a disarming smile. Somehow, Luce was able keep herself from blushing. Her phone buzzed again.
Cam: I'm always nearby if you need me, Luce. I won't let anything bad happen to you.
Luce: Thank you, Cam.
Cam: "You know that I'll protect you. From all of the obscene."
Luce: "You know that I will save you. From all of the unclean." I love that song. Blurry, by Puddle of Mudd, right?
Cam: Yes. You have good taste, Luce. I like this song, too. "You could be my someone. You could be my scene."
Luce: "Cause I am lost without you. I cannot live at all."
Cam: "This pain you gave to me. Can you take it all away?"
It felt like Cam was not talking about the song anymore. Feelings of guilt and longing washed over her. What did she do to him in their past life to hurt him so badly? Was it just a bad breakup or something much worse?
"Texting Aubrey?" Daniel wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
"Yeah," Luce replied, turning off her phone's screen and pushing it back into her pocket. "I better get back to taking notes, though." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Cam was still watching her, his expression unreadable.
"Give me a kiss, first? I can't seem to concentrate on my essay when you're right next to me," Daniel whispered.
"Daniel..." Luce blushed and tried to think of an excuse to avoid kissing Daniel in front of Cam.
But Daniel was already leaning towards her and she found herself closing her eyes and hoping Cam had turned away. As soon as their lips touched, she forgot about everything else. The kiss quickly went from being tender and chaste to something else entirely. Luckily they were sitting at the back of the room and there were only a few other students that could see them doing this. His sexy kisses, his sexy tongue, was turning her on. No one should be this turned on in class. Finally, Daniel pulled away, Luce whimpering in protest. He quietly laughed and cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply a few more times, almost making her moan.
"God, I'm just so crazy about you. I can't stop thinking about you... I just want you all the time," Daniel breathlessly said, resting his forehead against hers.
"I feel the same way," Luce whispered.
He pulled back and gazed at her. "You're so adorable even when you're all fidgety from too much coffee. Though I do hope you've settled down by tonight."
"Tonight? We're doing something tonight?" Luce asked.
Daniel gave her a mysterious smile and moved closer to whisper in her ear. "I want to be with you at midnight...be the first person to wish you happy birthday. I'm taking you to the beach house tonight. Just you and me."
For a second, she thought he said "I'm taking you at the beach house tonight" and the thought of it made her body hot all over. Her face must be tomato red by now.
"There's no one else I'd rather be with at midnight on my birthday, Daniel. I can't wait." Luce smiled sweetly at him.
"No, Luce. I'm the one who can't wait," Daniel winked and gave her a roguish smile.
It was all she could do to tear her eyes away from him and pay attention to what her professor was saying. But she knew she had to, or else they would end up making out again. She was aware that she had a big, stupid smile on her face, but she couldn't stop smiling. Were they finally going to take their relationship to the next level tonight? The sexiest, hottest level that she had been fantasizing about forever? A romantic night in a beach house, just the two of them. Wait, not just the two of them. Cam followed her everywhere. Oh no. She and Daniel were all over each other and Cam was right there! Did he see everything? She reluctantly looked towards him. Cam had turned towards the front of the room, seeming to be absorbed in the lecture. Thank goodness.
Her phone vibrated. It wasn't a text from Cam, he hadn't touched his phone. She pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. Oh my God... All the warmth that Daniel's kisses gave her faded away and she was sharply pulled back to the cold, harsh reality of real life.
Nick: happy birthday, Luce! i know it's not until tomorrow. but i'm pretty busy friday and was afraid i'll forget to tell you. see you on saturday, birthday girl...
Kate's Notes:
This stupid hot weather has really made it hard to find a time where it's cool enough for me to get in the right mood to write my fanfiction. Sigh. I doubt I'll be able to make it to 10K for Camp Nano, but it's okay. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to reach it. 8 days since the last update. Not bad, right? Though I couldn't post on Wednesday...
By the way, if you read my notes last time, you'll know that I am obsessed with long skirts right now. Lol. I ordered the "nude chiffon maxi skirt" from Chicwish (lots of cute clothes but from China, quality might be questionable. Similar to Yesstyle website, but maybe a bit better) and also, one in black. If you google "nude chiffon maxi skirt chicwish", it'll show up right away.
Oh, I am going to upload pics when writing this story to my livejournal page at kateng1031 from now on! Actors that I imagine as my characters, locations that I like and might use/used, clothes that I like and might use/used, things I might use in the story, etc. Note that some of them are gifs! Some gifs are already "moving" but some are frozen until you click on them. They don't allow links here... But here's how you get there. kateng1031 . livejournal . com slash profile. Then go in Photos. Then go in Fanfic Pics album! :) I hope you like seeing the pictures and can better imagine what the locations, clothes, things, etc. look like!
-Sorry, I'm aware that I am addicted to ellipses and I use it way too much... Lol. I'm trying to pay attention to that and not overuse it!
-Isn't Daniel the sweetest boyfriend ever? cookies and going to class with her and all... i am still having trouble finding daniel's "voice". I know Cam and Luce very well and feel like I can write their lines easily. but Daniel...i'm not sure. i will try to do a better job of it! sorry... i don't want to make daniel just a nicer version of cam. lol...
-I like that song and suddenly i thought of using it. i dunno if it was weird that he suddenly mentions it. oh well, i love how the theme of that angsty song is something cam could totally relate to!
-what is daniel hinting at? is tonight the night? ;)
-and lol, nick is the 1st to wish her happy bday instead of daniel. though it's not her bday yet, so it shouldn't count, right? damn that guy, ruining the moment...