CHAPTER THIRTY ONE - FAKE DATE?

MONA’S POV

My hands trembled as the note fell from my hands and I stood up immediately, looking around my classmates' faces, trying to see if the culprit could be in my class, just hidden in plain sight.

No one seemed out of the ordinary, they all continued laughing and talking with each other while I stood there, feeling like I was losing my mind.

“Hello!!!” I called out suddenly, and everyone turned to look at me.

This had to be the first time I was talking so loudly to my classmates, but this was important.

“Did anyone see any strange person come in and drop something on my desk?” I asked them.

“Er… no?” One of my classmates answered, sounding unsure.

“Mona?” Vera called out as she walked closer to where I stood.

“What is going on? Are you okay?” she asked, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a worried look.

“You look shaken up, what is it? Did something happen?” she asked me.

And I pointed at the note on the floor, Vera followed my gaze and bent to pick it up as I stayed silent, hearing the rest of the class whispering about me, giving me curious looks

“What the fuck?” she whispered, sounding taken aback.

“Did you see anyone come to my desk while I went to the toilet? Anyone at all?” I asked her, loud enough for my classmates to hear. Desperately hoping that at least one of them saw something.

“No, I didn't,” Vera replied, sounding helpless.

“I honestly don't think anyone did, we were all too busy with our stuff to care,” she said and my stomach sank in disappointment.

I sighed angrily, knowing that whoever had dropped this note had successfully gotten away.

My frustration made me grab the note from her hand and rush out of the class.

“Mona? Wait? Where are you going?” Vera called after me.

“I will be back,” I assured her with a glance before I headed out

I knew who I had to find.

I rushed out to find Aster seated at the back of his classroom, his head on his table like he was asleep.

I skeptical approached his table, unsure of whether to wake him up or not.

Just as I was about to touch him, a guy appeared in my front, blocking my path.

“Can you please leave him alone?” he asked him and I stared back at him in confusion.

I recognized him as one of the guys that followed Aster around.

“You don't understand, I have to speak with Aster right now,” I explained to him, my tone urgent as I hoped he would understand.

“No, I think it is you who doesn't understand. Every since you showed up in this school, I have seen him make more effort for you compared to any other girl and in return all you have done is to spite him,” he fired back at me, making me step back in surprise.

I definitely wasn't expecting any of that

“Look, I have to talk to Aster about something very important and I would appreciate it if you could mind your business and get out of my way,” I retorted, hating how entitled he felt to tell me his opinion of me.

He could hate me for all that I cared, I was still going to talk to Aster this afternoon.

I tried to move to Aster but the guy reappeared, blocking me. I shifted to the right and he blocked me again.

“Can you seriously get out of my way?!” I yelled at him angrily and he shook his head.

“Sammy, let her pass,” Aster said, sounding bored as he raised his head from the desk.

Sammy gave me an annoyed look as he got out of my way, finally allowing me to see Aster.

“So… did you miss me?” Aster asked, giving me a playful look. His lip had a cut that had almost healed by now and his blue eyes settled on mine, expecting me to say something.

“I am not here because I missed you Aster,” I replied and Sammy gave an irritated grunt.

“I am here because something crazy just happened,” I said, giving him a look.

Aster gave me a small smile as he turned to look at me fully, “and you are telling me about this instead of your boyfriend? Why?” 

“Because this involves you,” I replied him in a low tone, not sure who was listening to us.

Aster stared at me for a second before his eyes widened as he finally realized what I was trying to say and stood up from his seat suddenly.

“We should talk in private,” I said, looking up at him.

“Yeah, we should,” he replied, staring down at me in a way that made my chest tighten.

Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and led me out of the classroom with him, giving Sammy a look that said not to follow him.

Aster led me into a janitor's closet, closing the door behind us and making me suddenly aware of how close he was to me as he turned back to face me.

“What did you learn about my stalker?” he asked, his blue eyes locked on mine.

“I think your stalker left me a note this afternoon,” I said, as I fished the folded paper out of my pocket and handed it over to him.

Aster's eyes read the note quickly, his jaw hardened by the time he had finished.

“What do you think? Doesn't it feel like a warning or a threat somehow?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest, trying to calm my racing heart somehow.

“It is definitely a threat.”

“We have to do something about this?” 

“Did any of your classmates see who it was?” he asked and I shook my head.

“We should go to the principal with this note, whoever is behind this is definitely a girl, someone you may have broken up with or something.”

“We don't have to see the principal because of the note. He would just ask you to stay away from me and I don't want that,” he confessed, locked eyes on me as my stomach began to do flips.

“Well maybe it is for the best. I don't understand why this person would think that I still have something to do with you, why didn't they send this note to your current girlfriend?” I asked him and he scoffed.

“Sierra was just a fling and you know that, but even so, I am going to ask her if she received a note.”

Yeah because calling her a fling was going to make me feel better.

“Anyway, I just had to share this with you,” I said, my eyes on the door handle. I couldn't wait to be out of this room away from this asshole.

“I am going to do what the note says and stay away, I honestly can't handle any trouble on my back.”

“Mona? Hold on,” Aster said, blocking my path.

“What if you didn't stay away?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, whoever this stalker is, is trying to tear us apart and what if we don't let them?”

“Tear us apart? Aster, there is no us!!” I said, slightly raising my voice as I looked up at him.

“You can keep telling yourself that until you believe it.”

“What I am saying is that we need to fish the stalker out somehow because this nit involves you whether you like it or not,” Aster said, and I rolled my eyes, knowing that he was right.

“So what exactly are you suggesting?” 

“I want us to piss the stalker off somehow, make them make a mistake. Principal Markus is fixing cameras in the school secretly, but it won't capture anything unless the stalker has to warn us of something.”

My eyes slightly widened as I figured out what he was driving at.

“So you want us to fake date?” I asked and a smile appeared on his lips.

“Yes Mona, let's enter a fake relationship and draw this stalker out,” he said with a smile that made my stomach heat up in anticipation.