Hunted

Act 18; Trip

"Kacey!"

Why am I running?

"Kacey come back!"

Why am I running away?

"Kacey, what happened? Hey!"

Why am I running away from him?

"Hey! Did I do something wrong? Tell me!"

You didn't do anything wrong. It's me. I'm what's wrong. Worse, I don't know what's wrong with me.

"Amelia!"

She tripped.

Noah ran toward her, faster than ever, his nerves catching him before he even knew he had fell.

"Amelia!" Was she all right? Did she scrape her knee? Her feet? Her toes? Her hands? Anywhere? Oh God, was she all right? "Amelia, talk to me!"

Shit. She knew these shoes were tripping hazards. She slipped on her own feet with nothing to blame but her own disgrace. Shouldn't she show more tact? She was a dancer after all, and a ballerina at that. She should have had better control of that trot. She tried to stand, supporting herself with her elbows. Her world was spinning. Did she hit her head somewhere?

Someone was calling her name. She should answer. It wasn't her father's voice though. Nah, this voice was too young, like he just got out of puberty. "Galen?" She said in a breath.

Who? Noah shook his head. No time for questions. Clinic. Gotta get her to the clinic. Then he'll ask questions. "Amelia. You hit your head. I'm taking you to the clinic." Technically, he was asking permission. Unfortunately, the girl was too distraught to understand anything.

He carried her in his arms, one hand supporting the legs by the knees and the other keeping her back steady. She was heavier than she looked, but he didn't feel an ounce of fat. Muscle... Ah, heck. The girl was buffier than he was.

"Galen, what's going on?" Her words weren't loud, they were whispers, but the tone indicated she was trying to speak up, trying to come back to consciousness. Where did she hit her head?

He looked around the surroundings. No bump or cracks on the flat surfaces. Did her face hit the pavement? Talk about having two left feet. He should tell people she wasn't a dancer. That'd be a disgrace to her name. Ah, heck again. He'd been screaming her name since she fell, hadn't he?

"What happened!?" Came a voice from behind.

He looked back, instinctively paling at the group that came out of the building's double doors.

They crowded behind him, and leading the pack of curious cats was Zack Florence, the eldest Heir with the most power among the four siblings ruling the school, his face contorted in shock and recognition at the sight of the girl in his arms.

Zack stopped dead on his tracks, the other seniors behind him doing the same, and Lydia was at the back looking apologetic. He had asked her to keep them at bay until he explained his situation. She had done her best, but it wasn't enough.

"I--... I can explain." Noah stuttered, shifting Amelia's weight so her head rested in the crook of his neck. Her breath tickled, but he wasn't complaining.

"Galen, why are you so close?" Who the frick-frack was Galen, anyway!? "I think I can stand on my own though, let me go." She sounded like she was about to fall asleep. She was standing in the middle of the teeter-totter of consciousness, and Noah was sure she'd lean on the unconscious side sooner or later. He wished it'd be sooner. Oh God, please knock her out already.

"Um. This is not what it looks like." Noah stated factually.

Zack got his senses back, which was why his shock turned into a glare. "Oh really? Because to me, it looks like you picked up another stray."

The group behind him took a moment to process the statement, then guffawed in a chorus, all except Lydia who was suppressing a smile, her shoulders jerking up and down. Noah crimsoned. God, they'd never let him live that one down. Not even after graduation, he bet. He suddenly felt sorry for Amelia for landing on him for support. Ah heck. Gotta brace himself now. No turning back.

He nodded stiffly. "Then it is exactly what it looks like."

Zack's throat rumbled when he washed a hand over his face, a sound resembling a suppressed groan. Or maybe a squelched roar. His glare toward the gamer guy intensified. "Seriously!? Have you learned nothing from your last fiasco!? Are you just gonna repeat what happened three years ago!?"

"Come on! This is different!" He sounded defensive. Maybe because he was. "Anyway, can we walk and talk? I gotta get her to the clinic. She bumped her head when she tripped."

Zack look flabbergasted. "She tripped." He pronounced the words in a way that accentuated both. He was asking how it was possible for Amelia Walters, renowned prima ballerina with featherlike feet, could possibly just... trip.

It wasn't the first time, Noah thought. She did almost fall off a building by accident. He saw how her body tensed at the last second, an indication that she still wanted to live. But she almost fell anyway because of her own misstep. He nodded at Zack.

"Hey, that girl looks awfully familiar." Said a boy beside Zack who was running for Prom King so early in the school year. His name was Aiden.

"H-her name's Kacey! Kacey Boyne!" Lydia piped from the back, looking panicked. Noah had explained to her to ensure everyone knew her by the name and none other. And also a lot of other stuff she was inclined to follow since she owed the gamer guy a solid.

"What, you mean like from that old Sci-Fi series?" Said a girl with a dyed-blonde pixie cut that contrasted her dark skin. Her name was Mary. "No way is THAT her name."

"I-it is though!" Lydia defended.

As the others continued to bicker against the outnumbered jock girl, Zack's glare toward Noah intensified yet again, making him feel smaller than he actually was. Of course the homecoming king wouldn't like his actions. The last stray he picked up was a nobody. Now he picked up someone the rest of the world might already be looking for, and he could get into juvy for a filed case of kidnapping. Worst case scenario: He'd be thrown in jail and tarnish DDA's good name. He was practically legal after all. That was Zack's main concern: the preservation of DDA's celebrated name. And Noah knew that it would be the reason why he'd help him out.

The homecoming king shook his head a few times, his hands on his hips, before sighing a heavy breath. "The rest of you stay here." He announced. "I'll be the only one escorting them."

The crowd protested, moving their attention from Lydia to Zack to do so, giving the jock girl the window of opportunity to silently exit the scene from under their noses to avoid further questioning later on.

Noah sighed through his nose in silent relief, then turned his head slightly toward the dancer girl laying her head on his shoulder, asleep with uneven breaths. She was so close, he could kiss her. He looked away, his face burning. No, he shouldn't think like that, not when he was helping her with no ulterior motives. Even so, he felt warm.

"Galen, have you talked to dad yet? " A sleepy voice lulled through his ear. "He said he wanted to talk about my test results with you."

The sentence felt like cold water dumped over him with the ice cubes lingering under his shirt. Seriously, who the heck is this Galen guy!? He looked straight forward when Zack gave him an inquisitive look toward his behavior, leading the way to the clinic.

He should focus on getting her healed first.

Then he could ask her all the questions he wanted.