Man, this took me a while to write. But the good new is, we're only one chapter away from *suddenly gagged, probably for the best*
"You do realize this isn't necessary, right?" Josh asks. "I mean, do you really think you need to spy on your best, if only, friend? Just ask him."
I stuff a pair of binoculars into my backpack. "He won't tell me, that much is obvious. So, the only logical solution is following him around to see what he's hiding." I can hear him sigh behind me. Who cares what he thinks? I'm finding out what Grant is up to if it's the last thing I do.
"You're logic is kind of flawed," he mutters back, just loud enough for me to hear.
"Watch it! Or I'm not letting you come along."
"Travid's making me so you don't fall off a balcony or something. Why do I always get stuck babysitting you guys?"
"Because he thinks you're one of the only responsible ones. Now are you in or not?"
"I'm coming. But don't think it's because I want to." I try not to show it, but I'm kind of relieved. I'd get so bored spying on Grant on my own, even if I brought a book to keep me busy. You can't exactly watch someone and read at the same time.
I heft my bag onto my shoulders, ready to go. Maybe Josh was right, and I packed excessively, but I want to be sure I'm fine for the day. But before either of us can get moving, the door slams open. Standing there is the person I least want to see: Anna. And she's hefting a bag almost as large as mine.
It can't be...
"I see you're ready to go, Danny," she says with a grin. "I was wondering how long it would take you slowpokes."
The words fly out before I can restrain them. "Who said you could come along?" I shout at her. I can't help myself. Even spending a whole day by myself would be better than an hour with her!
Josh raises a hand, the look on his face as apathetic as ever. "That would be me." I shoot him an icy glare. Why can't he understand that Anna and I can't spend time around each other? All we do is fight. And she causes them all! "Did you really expect me to spend time with only you all day? Even your crazy conspiracy theories get stale after a while."
Anna adjusts her bag. "Yeah, Danny. We all know you're a little crazy, but it gets old to hear that homework is a plot to steal our youth."
"Well at least I've got something going on in my brain!"
"Says the guy who averages straight D's?"
Okay, that's it! And I can tell Anna's feeling the same way. But before I can take two steps toward her, something collides with the side of my face. Hard. The next thing I know, I'm on the ground and Anna's positively hysterical. I whip my head toward Josh, who's reaching down to pick up the hardcover book he'd thrown at me.
"Was that really necessary?" I yell at him. "Why did you hit me and not her?" I can practically feel the mark that book must have made on my face...
"You were closer," He replies bluntly. "Now let's get going already. If I'm already roped into this, we might as well get started." I pick myself off the ground as the two of them leave the room. How did everything already get off track like this?
**Marinae city**
"You know, I'm pretty sure this qualifies as stalking," Anna quips. "I mean, we've been following him all day."
"I'm just surprised he hasn't noticed us yet," Josh says with a sigh. "I mean, I get the feeling you've done this before." My eyes narrow.
"Seriously?" I ask. "Why do you think I do stuff like this all of the time?"
The two of them speak at the same time, with practically identical deadpan expressions. "Because you do."
"No, I don't."
"What about that time you tried to break into the school through the roof to get a book from the library?" Josh asks.
"And the time you interrogated that kid for supposedly stealing you calculator." Anna explains.
"You brought us along for both of those too, now that I think about it." Okay, I'm annoyed with both of them now. Why did I bring them along?
Oh wait, I didn't.
"Both of you shut up. He's on the move." Finally, Grant's gotten his food from the fast-food place and he's on his way out. Without waiting for Josh or Anna, I start to follow. I honestly couldn't care less if they keep following. If anything, they'll make me easier to spot.
Luckily, there are plenty of people out today, and because of it, I'm able to sneak through the crowds, just the perfect distance behind him (as described by James Bond movies). He'll never know I'm here!
**Marinae City**
Of course, that wouldn't be too bad. Maybe Josh was right and I should have just asked him outright. Grant doesn't do anything interesting, and on his first day off of school! It's a good thing I'm friends with him, or he'd never do anything cool. I mean, what kind of guy goes to the bank, willingly, and doesn't even get the free candy? What was he even doing there, getting a loan?
While I'm peering out of an alley, there's a tap on my shoulder. I jump and spin around, not exactly surprised to see that it's Anna. Josh already went home. "What do you want? I'm spying."
She rolls her eyes. "Stalking, actually. But you should probably know that it looks like it's about to rain in a few minutes." Huh? I look up at the sky. Well, there sure are dark clouds everywhere, but it doesn't really look like rain. Or a hurricane. I'm no meterowhat-agist, but it doesn't exactly look like rain. But either way, I don't want to get stuck in the rain like this.
Once again, there's another tap on my shoulder. I don't look this time, knowing it's just Anna being weird again. But I'm proven wrong in the next few seconds.
"You really have to stop stalking me." Okay, that voice was way too deep to be Anna. I turn around and practically scream in surprise.
"Grant? What are you doing here?" His eyes narrow. "I mean, uh... didn't know you were around." I try to lean casually against the building next to me. "You know, it's kind of rude to sneak up on people like this."
"Danny."
"You didn't even tell me you didn't want to hang out today."
"Danny, seriously."
"I mean, where's the love and friendsh-"
"Danny!" Okay, his shout was loud. Loud enough to finally shut me up. "Why were you following me all day? And don't tell me it was Anna's or Josh's idea." Curses. I knew they were too obvious.
"Well..."
"This is about yesterday, isn't it?" Wow, straight to the point. Gotta give it to him sometimes.
I give him a sheepish grin. "Kinda."
He sighs. I feel like I've heard that a lot today. Or lately. In my life...
"Look, I know everyone has their secrets and whatever, but yesterday was weird, okay? You don't run around through alleys all worried, keep me from seeing stuff, and people don't just fall asleep! Now can you just tell me what's going-" Suddenly, a boom of thunder races over us. Wow, that sounds close. The two of us look up at the sky. It's only been a minutes or two, but the sky's already filled with black clouds. We're just in time to see another bolt of lightning race across them.
"Look, I'll explain later, but I really have to get home right now. You two should too." I almost forgot Anna was still here with all of this going on. But even so, I'm not letting this go. I reach out and grab his arm as hard as I can before Grant can run away.
"Oh no you don't. I'm going with you, and you can't stop me." He gives me a stern glare, but I return it with a harsh one. I'm not backing down on this one. But after a few moments of this stare down, he finally backs down, annoyed groan included.
"Fine. I can't shake you off for long. But try to stay close; this might get rough."
"Wait, do you mean because of the rain and crowds?" Anna asks. Again, who invited her?
"Yeah, sorta." Grant takes off, and it isn't long before we start to follow.