ONE PLUS ONE

002: peekaboo

       "Lydia!"

       A shrill scream left Lydia's lips, attracting the attention of students walking down the hallway. Malia had been beside the red-haired girl when she spoke up, leaning over her from behind, so she could speak right into her ear. She didn't expect such a reaction—maybe a small gasp—so she was bewildered when she watched Lydia fall down to her knees, put her hand on her heart that was beating against her rib cage with a wild pace, galloping away due to the sudden voice beside her, and let soft pants pass her lips. It was odd to see the redhead not care about the eyes set on her, looking down at her like she was a lunatic, but Malia realized it was either because Lydia was too busy trying to slow down her heartbeat and shake off the shock or the fact that she knew they would turn away after a few seconds and forget about the incident as other problems and scenes would cloud it over within an hour or two.

       Flipping her red hair out of her face, Lydia brought her gaze upward. Fury was striking in her green eyes, wrath waiting to be unleashed until she found the culprit. Malia had to admit, if she wasn't best friends with Lydia, she would be scared of the girl. When Lydia got livid, she was as unpredictable and dangerous as a rabid dog, and she looked the part well, too. But Malia knew the redhead would never go further than spit out profanities and shoot death glares—if it was really bad, she might go as far as give a light smack to the head or arm—so she remained on her spot, calm and relaxed. Besides, the furious facade died down a bit when Lydia realized it was merely her best friend. "Malia," she hissed through clenched teeth, "do not scare me like that. God, I'm probably gonna get wrinkles and white hair when I'm twenty because of you."

       Malia rolled her eyes, shooting her hand forward, to pull the girl up from the floor; it was her form of unspoken apology, and Lydia took it without hesitation. "Why do you get so scared when I'm right behind you?" was all Malia replied with.

      Lydia froze in the midst of dusting off her black floral dress. Fists clenching at her sides and eyes burning through thin air, Malia knew she had pushed her friend beyond her limits. It was the last straw, and she blew it just like that. Lydia gritted her teeth before parting her pink lips. "Because," she started with a sweet tone—too sweet to be good—and an innocent smile on her lips, "I didn't know you're right behind me!" There it was; the anger was out of the cage, and once it was out and about, it was a nightmare to get it under control again. "Think, Malia. Just think. Would you know if I stood behind you all of the sudden?"

       Malia cocked her head to the side, as if she was pondering over the question before finding an answer, even though she had it all along. "Yes, I would be able to hear your heels clicking from the other end of the hallway."

      Lydia opened her mouth to spew out a few harsh words back but closed it before a sound left her throat. Instead, she sighed and ran her hand through her red hair. "Fine, I give up," she muttered under her breath, followed by a few incoherent words—Malia guessed they were far from positive since Lydia didn't dare to say them loud and clear, so it might be for the best that she couldn't hear them—and another heavy sigh. "What do you want, anyway? What could be so important that you would set my life on the line for it?"

       Malia looked past Lydia's last remark, her mind too excited and hyper to focus on anything but the topic at hand. A bright smile spread across her face, her features lighting up with joy. She had been eager to announce her new idea to her friend for the past ten minutes, her patience running out with each second, so she was overjoyed to able to finally speak up. "You," she began, pointing at Lydia, "are going to be my new tutor!"

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i hate this but i'm writing these chapters on record time, so i'm actually pretty happy