New Age

Chapter 20 ~ Nightmares Are Contagious

“Look at them, he really likes her.” Lucas says to me, we’re both sitting on the couch watching Spencer teach Sparrow how to cook noodles.

“And she really likes you.” It’s true; Sparrow has developed a crush on Lucas, every time he walks in the room her attention instantly snaps to him, and sometimes, most times she would find a reason to touch or hold his hands. Ugh, all the while Lucas shrugs her off and tries to stay away from her.

“Don’t tell me about it, last night the girl came into my room saying she had nightmares and needed comfort.” He sighs, I laugh.

“What did you do with that one?”

“I told her that counting sheep helped and that nightmares were contagious.”  

“You told her nightmares were contagious?” I laugh even harder.

“She went away! She said she didn’t want to give me nightmares.” He shrugs, a cheeky smile on his face. I play punch him in the shoulder.

“Ow, that hurt Mika, what’d you do that for?” Lucas whines in a childish voice. I mock him and he punches me back. I punch him back and Lucas ends up tickling me, and I’m very ticklish. I squeal and squirm, trying to get away but Lucas has me clutched tightly to him. I try rolling away from him but we somehow end up on the floor, Lucas is still tickling me from above, his knees on either side of my hips. Then he stops and I realise how this must look, but I don’t move. Lucas is looking at me intensely and I’m looking back. Are we gonna kiss? What’s going on here? I don’t like Lucas like that! Or do I? Lucas slowly but surely starts moving his face closer to mine and I find myself doing the same. I can’t stop.

“Ahem!” Someone coughs loudly from the kitchen; Lucas and I quickly scramble away from each other and go back to sitting on the couch, like nothing happened. Spencer’s looking at us with a amused but disappointed look on his face, whilst Sparrow looks at us with anger and a tiny bit of confusion. I know, I’m confused too.

“Dinner’s ready.” Spencer whispers as he heads back into the kitchen. Lucas follows and awkwardly walks past Sparrow. I get up to but I’m stopped by the look Sparrow gives me, it’s a ‘stay away, he’s mine’ look. Little girl, I was here first.

Why am I saying that? I don’t like Lucas. I think.

Lucas’ POV

I walk past Sparrow and into the kitchen; geez that kid is scary.

What just happened there? If Spencer hadn’t interrupted us would we have kissed? It was exactly like that dream I had, except we were in a different house, she wasn’t sitting on my lap in the first place and we didn’t actually end up kissing. I didn’t think she liked me like that, but she was leaning in to kiss too. Does she like me? This is Mika we’re talking about, she probably doesn’t.

Spencer at the table snaps me out of my thoughts; he’s got a tear running his cheek. I walk to the chair next to him and sit down.

“Spence, I’m sorry, I didn’t, we didn’t know what we were doing, it was just,” I start.

“I got a letter from Juliette.” Juliette? How did she know we were here? Where is she?

“And? What did it say?”

“She said she was happy, that she’s over you and that she knows you were in love with Mika. I didn’t believe her, but seeing you two in there just now made me see what she saw. You do love her don’t you?” He looks at me, his eyes threatening to spill another tear.

“What else did Juliette say? Trying to take the subject off of Mika and I, whatever we were.

“She wants to see us again, all of us.” He looks back down, not pressing on the Mika and I thing.

“Where?”

“She didn’t say, just that if I left a reply on the front door with my answer, she’ll come to us.”

“How does she know we’re here?”

“I don’t know, but I want to find out. I want to see her again, I’m going to leave on note saying yes, Lucas, whether you want to see her again or not.” I nod; I want to see Juliette too.

“Okay. But tell me as soon as you get a reply.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Mika says from behind me, I turn around and see her leaning on the wall; she is beautiful.

“Why not?” Spencer says with a tiny bit of ice in his voice. Calm down mate.

“How do you know it’s not someone pretending to be her? Or she could be working with the Robo.”

“If she was working with the Robo and knew where we lived then we wouldn’t be here now.” Spencer’s got a point there.

“Unless she doesn’t want them to find you, you said she wants to see you again, which obviously means she’s missing you, therefore she still cares about you, and tipping you off to the Robo would show she doesn’t care.” Mika also has very good point. Damn these two are good! But so am I.

“We’ll ask her a question before we say yes, we don’t have to say yes right away.” See people? Win win!

“What question?” At least he’s considering my idea.

“We could ask her if she’s working with the Robo.”

“Like she’ll answer that one truthfully.”

“Okay, what about how she knows where we live?”

“Same again, she won’t tell us truthfully, how about something only she’ll know and can’t lie about?”

“Roger.” Spencer says.

“Who?”

“He was a dog I found while you were away, and before Mika turned up. We looked after him and named him Roger but one day when we went on a raid he had left. We looked for him and eventually we found him, he was behind a dumpster and dead. Rats were eating his corpse and Juliette couldn’t get out of bed for days.”

“So we ask her, what happened to Roger?” I conclude.

“Hmm.” Mika says before getting a glare from Spencer and sitting at the table.

Sparrow then comes in and see Spencer’s dried tears, she goes over to him and gives holds his hand, which he squeezes gratefully. I have to say honestly, I’m getting sick and tired of this girl, she’s tearing our friendships apart. Spencer no longer trusts Mika and she hates Mika too, it’s kind of like them against Mika and I’m the peacekeeper, the good-looking fella on the side.

“Dinner?” I stand up and go to get the noodles. Leaving those three at the table in silence. When I come back I find that Mika’s gone and Sparrow and Spencer’s at the other end of the table. Sparrow’s smiling evilly and Spencer’s got his head in his hands. What the hell happened here? Where’s Mika?