Cruel Me

Chapter 9: See You Again (present)

(present)

Junior, huh.

No wonder Frisco knew so much about Halo. He was a junior like her, while the rest of us were seniors. Apparently, he and Halo also had a lot of classes together.

"Hey, Oz."

I nodded to the dude who greeted me as I passed him in the corridor. Several people followed. A couple of high fives here and a few pats on the back there were a regular thing on a Monday, while I only nodded to some of them in turn as I walked down the hallway.

It was a little after three in the afternoon. Students were either going home, heading to their part-time jobs, or on their way to their clubs.

Good thing I had half an hour to spare before heading off to practice. In the meantime, I plan on tracking down a certain purple-eyed dork. I heard from Frisco that she was part of the AV Club. I seriously wasn't expecting that.

Call me stereotypical, but I sorta pictured her as the type of girl reading in the library during lunch. I never would've guessed that she liked hanging out in what we all liked to call the cockpit (school's AV station), which was where the cool geeks were.

When I got to the other side of the school, I slowed down and looked around. The walls were colorful, filled with club posters and paintings. There were no trophy cases or anything. But it looked like an awesome fucking art show.

I didn't come by here often. This area mostly contained the artsy clubs of the school. A world I knew nothing about since I usually hung out at the west wing where the jocks were.

After a couple of steps down the hall, it didn't take a genius to find out which one was the cockpit. First off, it was the only door without a glass window on it. Second, they had a big ass sign by their door saying it was.

I didn't care to knock. I just turned the knob and opened the door.

Half a dozen heads turned to my direction. They instantly froze when they realized it was me. Some jaws were even dropped. Typical day.

My eyes scanned the faces. No Halo.

I caught a familiar mint green hair, though.

"Milo, right?" I asked, slightly tilting my head and pointing at him as I stepped closer.

He nodded slowly but he didn't speak, eyes wide and confused. He wore thin-framed hipster glasses. A little pale and a bit on the lanky side.

"I'm looking for Halo," I explained, scanning the room again. They were all staring at me curiously now. I turned my attention back to Milo. "Do you know where she is?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but got cut off.

"Music room," piped up Halo's brunette friend.

Brooklyn.

She looked confused, her dark brown eyes asked questions she didn't speak out. I bet she was wondering why the hell I was looking for her friend. I absentmindedly gripped the book I was holding.

I could tell her I wanted to return something that belonged to Halo.

Truth? I just wanted to see her again.

"It's across the hall," added Brooklyn. She came up to me by the doorway and pointed to the other side of the corridor. "Halo's a good girl," she whispered under her breath in a stern tone, tinged with a bit of warning.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

When I looked at her, I saw something in her eyes. There was a slight fear in them, but that didn't stop her from being protective of Halo. That much I could respect.