"Jake, tell me what the hell is going on here!" I demanded as soon as we stepped out of the dark corridor, but he still didn’t answer. My anger flared. "Jake!" I repeated, louder this time.
Without a word, he grabbed my arm, pulling me into the school basement before closing the door behind us with a sharp click.
“Just shut up for a second… okay?” he growled, his voice low and dangerous as he jammed a chair under the doorknob. I blinked at him in disbelief. Did he just… growl? \*Who does that?\*
"Did you just growl at me?" I asked, incredulous.
He sighed, his expression hard. "You need to stop asking questions!"
That only fueled my frustration. "You need to stop \*telling\* me what to do and start answering those questions!" I whisper-yelled, trying to keep my voice low but failing as my temper rose. Seriously, I could be the next Nancy Drew with how many questions I had lined up, and I wasn’t about to stop now.
What he did next nearly caused me to jump out of my skin. Without warning, Jake touched the door behind him—and just like that, it vanished. The door was replaced by a solid wall. I could feel my entire body shaking with fear. What the hell had just happened?
“We need to leave,” Jake said, his tone serious. “And you need to forget everything you saw today.”
I gaped at him. "Are you crazy? Forget what happened? I don’t even know what the hell just \*happened!\*” My voice cracked, barely holding it together. I was struggling to breathe, my thoughts a jumbled mess. This was all too much to process. I honestly wondered if I was trapped in some sort of nightmare, waiting to wake up. But no, this was real. Too real.
Jake stood in front of me, his face unreadable. Then, slowly, a smirk curled up on his lips, a look that made me both uneasy and strangely intrigued. What was going on in his head?
“What?” I snapped, crossing my arms as I took a step back, instinctively trying to put some distance between us. His smirk widened, as if he found my reaction amusing.
I gasped when his eyes darkened, taking on a more intense shade of grey. In one swift movement, he closed the distance between us, leaving barely any space between our bodies. My heartbeat sped up uncontrollably. I could feel the warmth of his breath on my face, minty and intoxicating. He leaned in closer, and I fought the overwhelming urge to pull him into a kiss right then and there. \*What is happening to me?\* My body was betraying me, every nerve tingling at his proximity.
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even move. My whole body had gone numb, and my knees felt like they might buckle beneath me. I prayed that I wouldn’t collapse in front of him.
Then, in a low, hushed tone, Jake whispered into my ear, “You talk a lot, my little mate. I’ll explain everything when the time is right... patience will earn you answers.” He pulled back, his stormy grey eyes lingering on mine for a moment before he turned and walked out, leaving me standing there with a whirlwind of emotions—and even more questions. \*Bastard!\*
\---
I couldn’t stop replaying everything that had just happened in my mind. As I walked through the school lobby, heading for the parking lot, I muttered to myself, “What the \*hell\* just happened?” I blinked a few times, hoping that maybe I was still dreaming and I’d wake up in my bed, realizing this was all some bizarre nightmare. But no, it was all too real. I groaned, rubbing my face with both hands. "I'm so screwed."
“Hey, Prisca, you look awful,” came a voice from behind me. I turned around to see Bryan approaching, his usual playful grin plastered on his face.
I rolled my eyes, trying to push away the weirdness of the day. “Thanks for the compliment,” I said sarcastically, watching as he plopped down next to me on the cement bench.
“Anytime, love. Anytime,” he teased, then his expression shifted to curiosity. “But seriously, why do you look like you’ve just seen pigs flying over a rainbow?”
I let out a small laugh despite myself, but then quickly frowned. “Trust me, you don’t want to know what I’ve seen. And, by the way, shouldn't you be at home or something?"
Bryan raised an eyebrow, his own frown matching mine. “I never went home. I left my calculator in the science lab, and I need it for my assignments,” he explained, then gave me a pointed look. “Now spill it. You’re killing me with suspense over here.”
I sighed. “You do know you could’ve just used your phone’s calculator, right?” I muttered, then gave in. “Alright, here goes... Just promise me you won’t think I’m crazy.”
He nodded seriously. “Why do you always think I’ll say that? I won’t. I promise.”
So, I told him everything, though I conveniently left out the part about Jake getting up close and personal. Bryan sat there, wide-eyed, like he had, in fact, just seen pigs flying over a rainbow.
For a minute, there was nothing but awkward silence. Then finally, Bryan broke it, looking a little shaken. “Well, that was... one hell of a day.”
I snorted. “You think? So, you don’t think I’m completely bat-shit crazy?”
He offered a small, reassuring smile. “Not in a million years.”
I smiled back at him, relieved beyond belief. I loved this guy—my best friend, the brother I never had. He always had my back. But something was nagging at me, something I couldn’t quite shake. Why was it so easy for Bryan to believe me? I mean, I was glad he did, but... was it because he thought I was really losing it and just didn’t want to upset me, or was there something more to it?
I couldn't help but wonder.