All The Way

COHERENCE FOR ONCE?

|14|

I feel relieved, lighter from the weight of guilt that was thumping upon me. As I look into his eyes, squinted by the big grin on his face, I see hope. The hope of a future where we may be friends, good friends, without all this rivalry that we carry with us everywhere we go.

"So, how's the cake then?" I ask James as he digs into his slice of cake with a wooden fork. I look up towards him hopefully, wishing that my cooking turns out at least as good as my plan, albeit the chances of that are quite shallow.

"mmhhh mmhhh...." he takes a bite, then another and finally keeps his fork down. He turns to face me, on his right, and then grins ".... I never thought you could make something sweet with that bitter mind of yours". Looking at my deadpan expression, he laughs. Fucking laughs, like a hyena (of course, I've never seen a hyena laugh). I slap him on the arm with all the force I could muster.

"Haha very funny Alarie, very funny."

"Thank you, Jones, for finally humouring my sense of humour. Get it? humouring my sense of humour"

"Really? Puns now? You've stooped low James, quite low."

James chuckles, making his eyes look like little crescents. He then picks up his fork and continues eating. I pick up another fork and take a bite directly out of the cake. We continue eating, making small talk when I hear a thud. More like a metal clank, I think. I quickly avert my gaze towards James who has a similar expression on his face. Surprise is evident in our eyes. I look towards my wristwatch.

12:45 am

Who could it be? That too in the library. My hand automatically reaches towards my bag, preparing to sprint off in case the situation arises. I hope not. Heavens no.

James and I jump onto our feet as we hear another metallic clank, followed by heavy footsteps that seem to be coming our way. I throw the bag on my shoulder just as James picks up the plates and the cake, and shoves them into the plastic bag I had bought with the plates. I look into his eyes, with panic, as the footsteps grow louder with each second. He slips my hand into his and pulls us towards the farthest bookshelf at our side. We make our way away from the table with silent footsteps, fully alert of the person who could catch us any second now. We drop my bag as well as the cake bag into the corner of the wall and stand behind the MODERN CHEMISTRY AND THERMODYNAMICS section, with our backs to the wall. James and I, me being slightly behind him with his back facing my front, slowly bend forward to inspect the noise of this sudden intruder.

The footsteps grow louder until they come to a halt. Then a voice booms, echoing through the whole room.

"ANYBODY HERE? IS ANYBODY HERE? HELLO?"

A sigh of relief fills my lungs until frustration takes its place. "it's the damned watchman"

Before I could think about the stupid act I just pulled off, I feel a large hand clasp my mouth, pushing my body against the mahogany bookshelf. I slightly raise my eyes to find a panicked James shushing me with a finger on his lips.

"WHO WAS IT? COME OUT RIGHT NOW OR I WILL BEAT YOU WITH A STICK!!!"

A slight chuckle escapes James' lips before he quickly composes himself and shifts us towards the corner of the wall, with his back to the wall and mine still pushed against the wooden shelves. We hear the footsteps moving in our direction until they come to a sudden halt.

"I APOLOGISE TO THE HOLY SPIRITS I MIGHT HAVE DISTURBED, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME O HOLY SPIRITS!!!" we hear the watchman chanting this loudly as he starts moving towards the other direction. The footsteps slowly retreat until only a faint sound could be heard. Then suddenly all the lights in the library go out and we hear a loud thud.

THE DOOR.

I glance at James in hopes to be able to see him but all I can see is the faint outline of his silhouette in the pitch-black room. James' hand tenses before he slowly removes his hand from my face.

"Give me a second"

"But......." before I could say any further, I'm blinded by the sharp beam of a flashlight. Taking a few seconds to adjust from the impromptu attack on my eyes, I see James looking at me, holding up his phone in one hand that illuminates our surroundings. With his other hand still holding onto the wrist of my right hand, he takes a few steps towards me.

Our breaths are short and fast, from the adrenaline pumping through our blood. He stares at me with an expression I can't decipher. His face is relaxed yet uptight at the same time. I take this moment to look into his eyes. They are strikingly blue, like the sky just before dusk. No, they're grey like the sky during an afternoon thunderstorm. I see his eyes shift from an azuring blue to an almost pale grey within the shifting beam of his phone's flashlight. How have I never noticed this, the way his eyes shift between blue and grey every second? They seem so entrancing, with black pupils being a stark contrast against the pools of pastel.

The black almost swallows the whole iris making his eyes look almost surreal. I'm so lost in trying to take in every feature of his face that I fail to notice when he takes my hand in his. I look down and then back up at him. He lets out a deep sigh and loses his grip on my hand.

"I'll go check it out, you stay here."

"...but"

"No buts Jones, stay here. I'll be back. I promise, alright" Giving me a reassuring look, he takes quick steps to reach the library door on the other side. With darkness surrounding me once again, I dig out my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and turn on the flashlight.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

I take a long breath and close my eyes for a second. I can deal with my crush later, right now we are in a do-or-die situation. Not really, but it is easily the most adventurous and thrill-esqe situation that I've found myself in.

Suddenly, the lights in the room are turned on, lightening up the whole library like it was before the watchman arrived. WITH HIS BAD LUCK.

I pick up my bag and the cake from the floor and start walking around the shelves to reach the table we were sitting on before all this fiasco. I find James quietly sitting on the table with his head resting on his folded arms.

"So?"

He lifts his head to look me in the eyes, with a mischievous gaze and a cheshire grin on his face "So?"

I look at him with an almost ridiculous expression, raising my eyebrows in question.

"So, we're bloody screwed," he says with a large grin forming on his slender pallor.

I take a sharp breath, realising the position we've been put in,

"SHIT, WE ARE BLOODY SCREWED."

♡

A/N: FINALLY POSTING AN UPDATE AFTER ALMOST 2 MONTHS!!!
After a slump, a reader's and writer's block and short vacations, here's the chapter. I hope you enjoy it!!!

Do vote the story if you liked it. Would mean the world to me :))