015

015

Gaia
"So Olivia," I drummed my fingers excitedly on my thighs as my eyes scanned the many sheets of paper she'd scattered across our apartment's dining table. She'd insisted that I shouldn't touch any of it, so my curiosity was eating me up. “What's all this and when do we start?"

"Patience, young one." She hummed, practically floating into the room from the kitchen, a huge bottle of Scotch in her hand and two petite glasses. Setting them both on the table, she took her seat across mine and looked me dead in the eye. “We do not rush the matters of intense snooping like this."

"You're drunk." I plucked a glass from the far end of the table, downing it in one gulp with a fair amount of the beverage in front of me. In one swift gulp, I scarfed down the vile liquid, leaving a hot bitter trail as it slid down my esophagus. “And it's barely even midnight."

"Tis the best time to be high and dry." She hiccupped, and I bit back a laugh. “And it helps me to focus on the task at hand."

"Yes." I nodded enthusiastically. "Back to business."

I was really excited about digging through this Penny's life and finding something incriminating. Which was weird because I barely knew her and her very face seemed to light something in me.

Anger.

"According to my sources." Olivia buzzed, the large bottle in her grasp. “Everyone in this school has secrets, especially the ones who pretend to be goody-two-shoes...."

"Just like Penny." I finished for her, tilting my head to see if I could make anything out of the papers. “So what's hers?"

"I have a hunch." Olivia paused. “Rumour has it that she sells answers to other rich kids who can't afford to study on their own and the answers are usually pretty accurate since she's a TA."

"So all we have to do is find them or some sort of evidence to back this up?" Olivia nodded so hard I feared her head would fall off. “What's your secret, Olivia?"

"Ha." She laughed.b”If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Right," I smirked.

If only she knew...

"So when..." I stopped mid sentence as my phone vibrated all the way from the couch. Groaning, I pushed myself out of the chair and made my way to the couch. “Who could be calling me at this ungodly hour? I swear if it's Tate with one of those dry jokes, he's going to get reduced to frostbite."

"What do you want,Tate?!" I barked into the phone, without bothering to check the caller ID. “I swear if it's ...."

"Kid." The voice on the other end of the phone shut me up immediately. I swallowed nervously as I took a peek at the caller ID and groaned inwardly. “It's me, not Tate."

"I'm sorry." I rubbed my temple in utter embarrassment. “I didn't check my caller ID before picking up your call."

"It's fine." He sounded strained like he was fighting back the urge to tease me as usual. I guess he was still mad at me, and that broke my heart a tiny bit.

"Yeah." I drawled." You needed something?"

"Actually yes." He quipped in such a professional tone, I'd almost forgotten about the awkward moment we just had. “You have to get to Mr. Corvin's apartment stat."

"What?" I felt my eyes widen just like saucers. “Why!? It's almost midnight and it's chilly...."

"There's been a break-in, possibly by his stalker and his life could be in danger." He cut me off. “The investigative team is already on their way but you're needed in case things get ugly and he needs to make a quick getaway."

"Great," I mumbled incoherently, pressing my fingers into my palm.

"You have that tracking app on your phone." He continued, oblivious to my imminent attempt to keep my cool. “Track him and make sure he's safe. And make sure he doesn't know you're supposed to be guarding him. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Chief," I grumbled and the call went dead, a little beep resounding in my ear.

Tossing my phone to the couch, I inhaled and exhaled, trying desperately to keep calm and not blow up.

Now I have to babysit the asshole even in the hell of the night.

Thanks, Chief, that's fucking great.

Slipping into a quick change of clothes that wouldn't draw unnecessary attention and hopefully won't blow my cover, I left a passed out Kim on the dining table and shut the door behind me.

Tonight was definitely going to be a long one.

Tugging down at my balaclava, I hissed as the wooly fabric kissed my face continuously, leaving me with the menacing urge to keep on scratching till I could peel off a layer of my epidermis. The holes slotted for my eyes and mouth made it a bit harder to see under the dim light from the moon.

Could this night get any worse?

Crouching behind a rose bush opposite Mr asshole's house, I scanned the perimeter. His house was situated far from the other houses in that street, except for a grove of trees that seemed to give his compound some sort of tropical forest vibe and it was cute, even for a weirdo like him.

From where I was squatting, I could easily make out his silhouette propped against the living room window, anxiously glancing at his phone now and then, a panicked expression etched into his pretty face.

He looked really anxious, but there wasn't much I could do, except if the investigative team couldn't handle it and things got ugly. So I waited, constantly using my binoculars to spy on him once every two minutes.

"This has got to be the worst stakeout I've ever been to." I groaned, plucking out the petals of a rose flower. “I've been sitting here for almost an hour...wait."

I squinted to adjust to the dark environment. Before I could register anything else, a black figure slid out by the side of the house and stood before pressing itself against what was probably the back door. The figure glanced left and right before pulling out a phone. It chimed loudly in the dead of the night at exactly the same time Maxim's did.

So whoever that was, was texting Cassian! Could it be? Oh my God! That's the stalker.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins as I thought of a plan to catch that scumbag. If I could catch whoever that was, I wouldn't have to see his bloody face ever again.

"But wait," I muttered to myself, stopping dead in my tracks. “if I somehow mess this up, it'll only make Chief madder at me than he was before. And he did ask me to stay put."

“But you have a head start already.” A voice whispered in my ear. “Just go for it.”

But ...

“We both know you'll regret it if you don't go.” The voice came again, and this time, I couldn't argue.

"Fine." Squaring my shoulders, I scaled the bush and advanced stealthily towards the house. The wind whipped through the night, sending a chill down my spine, but that didn't stop my determination to snag that stalker. My black ensemble made me undetectable as I slipped through the wrought iron gate towering above me.

Crouching so hard that my face was almost kissing the paved cobblestones in the yard, I snuck past Cassian's window, his worried expression growing by the minute. In less than a second, the only barrier between me and the mystery person was the bend in the structure of Maxim's apartment.

My eyes danced around for some sort of distraction, till it fell on some cans stashed in the corner.

On top of being an asshole, he basically lives in a pigsty. Oh, help me, God.

I picked up one of the cans and tossed it away to the side hoping I'd catch our mystery person's attention, and it worked. The hooded figure straightened in alarm, his eyes searching for whoever had thrown the can. I still couldn't make out his facial features as he cautiously walked to where the can was now lying discarded.

"This is my chance," I muttered as I tiptoed towards the crouched figure. I was just about to land a blow when he turned immediately, his legs barely missing me.

I jumped back, immediately moving into a fighting stance. My legs were spread apart with my hands balled into fists as I finally took in my opponent. His hoodie was tied so tight I could only make out the shape of his nose and his pristine jawline. It was definitely a he.

His muscles rippled under his hoodie as he assessed me coolly, an eerie silence filling the night. For what seemed like an eternity, no one moved. Each one of us assessing the other and waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Hia!" He raised his feet in the air, barely missing me again. Not giving me much of a chance, he threw two more punches which I dodged successfully.

"Is that all you've got? " I smirked, advancing towards him. Without giving him any moment to reply, my boots came in contact with his rock-hard chest, sending him reeling backward. “I can beat you in my sleep."

"We'll see about that." His voice was dangerously low. I turned to land another punch in his guts but was intercepted as he grabbed me in a headlock, his huge hands threatening to crack my skull in half. “Not so tough now, eh?"

"Let..go.." my head swirled as I tried to break free my his grip. It wasn't helping that the scotch I'd taken was only beginning to hit me right now. Clenching my teeth together and baring my nails against his skin, I kicked and thrashed. I had to free myself from his grip somehow.

"Shit." I heard him curse as his hands released my head almost immediately. I staggered backward, just in time to see him scale the other side of the fence and sprint away, tail between his legs. Before I could comprehend anything else, another arm gripped me and spun me around, smashing a vase to the side of my head.

I fell limply to the ground, my eyes registering a weirdly familiar pair of black shoes before the darkness swallowed me whole.