Pendulum || TAENNIE FF

⚔Chapter 23: Time's running strangely

A U T H O R

"Why aren't you touching your food?" Firo asked Heather who was spaced out since they went to the cafeteria. "Heather." He called, getting her attention. "What's bothering you."

"Nothing. Just... Just thoughts." She started eating and went to the library after. She looked for that book yesterday and found herself a comfortable seat near the window. "In Ruins," she read the title. She turned to the next page and started reading.

'A dwarf, a beast, a mermaid, whatever you may be, you have been blessed with a gift from the moment you came into this world. You're special, even if you don't know that yet. You have magic, though you don't know that yet.'

'Chapter one, Vampires.'

Heather's eyes grew big. "Strange. I got extremely curious about what happened earlier," she told herself. "Flake sounded mad when Gracie brought up that topic. That exhausted tone, as if he's been enduring their false accusations for a long time." She turned to the book and read.

'Seeing one is an honor. But meeting one can be a curse.' Heather's brows furrowed. 'Vampires are naturally cold creatures. Selfish and ignorant, some say. They're ruthless and vile. You can't befriend one just because you want to. They think highly of themselves and treat the rest of the creatures as pathetic servants. But here's a useful secret: all that's a myth.'

'Vampires are simply mysterious creatures. Every vampire keeps a secret. That secret drives them to ignore everything and act tough on the outside, for the reason of protecting and keeping their secret hidden from the world. They're the most misunderstood creatures. It's only their masks that can be seen, not their real faces.'

"Does Flake have deep secrets too? If he does, what could it be? He clearly told Gracie he isn't the lost prince out of anger... Out of anger?" Heather was getting onto something. "Maybe he only said that to shut her up? Or maybe he is that prince but he desperately wants to hide it and is so frustrated because the whole school knows about his secret?" Then she remembered what he told her. "And he's actually glad I heard him say that he's not? Exactly what does he mean by that?"

She turned to the next page, wanting to learn more. But to her disappointment, the whole thing was torn out. She tried searching for it within the book, hoping that it was accidentally torn, was folded, and stuck between the pages. But it wasn't.

"Now this is suspicious." At that moment, she suddenly thought of their Skill Control teacher, Eva Lee. "She said she read this book but none of my classmates seemed to know that this existed. She must've read this and tore that page." Then it hit her again. "How did she read what's on my mind yesterday? Come to think of it, that vampire guy told me he can read my mind and he's a vampire-- Hold on." She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "Does Ms. Lee know something? That's why she tore the page to hide it? Is she somehow related to Flake or the lost prince?" She suddenly heard the bells chime, indicating the start of their next class. "All right. I'll deal with this later."

She stood up and returned the book to the shelf. On her way out, she bumped into Flake who was on his way inside the library. She looked at him for a second, then Flake just passed by her. Out of curiosity, Heather followed where he went and found him going to the farthest part of the room.

"Should I?" She thought and stopped. "He might try something." She was cautious. Flake can do anything bad if she follows him there. "But why would he go here when classes are about to start? I have the right to question that. I'm in his class." She took a step back and headed to the door. "Whatever. I'll dig on him some other time. I can't miss class because of him."

As she said, she went straight to their next class which is Life and Nature. It's her first time in that class since it wasn't introduced yesterday. "Good afternoon, everyone. I'm professor Benjamin So, your Life and Nature teacher. As you all know, Life and Nature is a subject where we can explore the woods and meet rare creatures. Our beloved headmaster has approved of going to the Unlighted Forest, finally. That means for our first class, we can all go to the legendary forest of Parailla and learn about its wonders."

Flake suddenly went in, getting everyone's attention. "I'm sorry. I had to take care of something." He said and sat on a vacant chair beside Heather. She looked at him and wondered what was so urgent that he had to sacrifice class for it. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" He asked, causing Heather to look away.

"No." She quickly answered. "If you don't mind, though...Flake Kim," She started and crossed her arms. "What were you doing in the library? Classes were starting but you ran all the way there."

"Why should I tell you?" He asked back, annoying her. "Are you that interested?"

Heather scoffed and faced him. "Is it a sin to be interested? And don't give meaning to it. I'm genuinely curious. If you're really not the lost prince, you wouldn't act so suspiciously. You running away from the topic makes me think you're hiding something."

"Should I be honest?" He looked at her from the side of his eyes. "What do you want to hear? It seems to me that you're expecting something. What should I tell you?"

Heather sure does expect him to say he's doing something shady. But who would share a secret? Especially, Flake. The guy's too covered to show his true colors. "I think the truth is good enough. But oh well... I'm sure you're too cowardly to tell me. You really don't have to." She tried provoking him and smiled.

Flake turned his head to face her. "I was following you." Heather widened her eyes with her brows furrowed. It was an answer she didn't see coming. "Why did you have to be so interested in knowing me?"

"Am not..!" She quickly, quietly denied. "What nonsense are you talking about? I went there to read." Well, that was her prior motive. It's just that, the book she read sidetracked her. "I didn't know you were delusional."

"Let's not play around, shall we? You really should stop when I tell you to." He seriously said. Heather got scared by his tone for a second but didn't want to show it. She kept a straight face and didn't budge. "I'm warning you out of concern. It's not worth it, Heather."

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Was it too confusing?😅 It's jumping so far but it'll be clearer after a few chapters😊 I'm trying a different method from Neon Street and I really hope it's less confusing🥴

By the way, you guys could always not the read the book everyday. We need to sort our priorities, okie💖 I've seen comments apologizing for not being early or for missing out... I'll keep updating and updating but you guys can just read the book during your free time or if you're bored. It's really fine❣✨

I hope you guys like the chapter!!🤗💚 Love you alll!!🥺