Hidden Memories

XIV. People's Eyes

"This is where you pose for this scene, Freia," Hunter whispered as he moved me to the bed by my shoulders. When I stood in front of it, he pushed me down and made me sit at the edge of it. He looked down at me with a smirk and said, "Good girl."

"Hunter! Stop flirting with Freia and act like her brother!" Spectra yelled from her piano at the bottom of the stage. We were rehearsing for the play in the auditorium. Hunter played as my character's brother, and Nero took the act as a town's most wanted criminal.

Hunter chuckled loudly and said, "I'm not flirting with her!"

"Sure, you aren't," Spectra retorted, clearly irritated. "You should back off from Freia, if I were you. Or you'll get lit by the Hell's flames."

"Are you threatening me?" Hunter turned to Spectra, arms crossed over his chest, showing his muscles as he stared down at her. I stayed on the bed, watching the drama unfold before me, partly amused at my favorite couple arguing.

"Nope, but you should worry about Nero."

At the corner of my eye, Nero perked up from his spot behind the fake window. It was set up at my left as one of the background props for this play. His face contorted into confusion when he saw that Spectra and Hunter was having a stare down. His eyes flickered to me, and I pretended that his stare wasn't making me self-conscious of my position on the bed, in front of Hunter.

"Alright, students. Let's continue this on Thursday," Mrs. Lightwood announced as she looked down at her watch. She turned away and left us without a second glance at us.

That kind of attitude was no news to us, so, we only shrugged it off. She was the wife of our advisor, Mr. Lightwood. Both were very neglectful towards their students, only stood to discuss and grade our works but ironically never gave any advice to us.

I stood up and walked over to my sling bag, laid on one of the seats as I heard footsteps coming towards me. Walking faster, I thought of the biggest possibility that those footsteps belonged the boy who has been in my dreams for the past month.

"Freia," he pulled my shoulders, making me face him. His beautiful lips was in a sad pout, making me want to kiss them. "How long are you gonna ignore me?"

"I'm ignoring you?" I sounded surprised. I have been ignoring him, hoping for Clarence to realize that I was damn serious about this boy's safety.

"You were," he said, his brows drawn together, "for three weeks."

"I'm sorry, but I'm needed somewhere," I said, sadly, staring at the wall of the auditorium past him. I always wondered if the curtains were regularly washed, it looked bright and crimson. The auditorium was big enough to fit all student from the Elementary and High School.

"But I need you." My heart leaped up to my throat, halting my breathing in a second. My eyes snapped back at him, wide and scared. I felt scared, for him. He will be endangered if Fabio finds out on what kind of effect this boy gives me. My teeth grinded as I tried to muster an apologetic face to silently say that I was, in fact, sorry.

"I need to go." And so, I turned my back at him for the first time today.

As I walked towards the place my friends and I usually met on weekdays, I thought back to my dreams and compared the boy in it and Nero in my daily activities.

The boy in my dreams always greeted me with a huge grin with his eyes shining. Always laughed and teased me. Nero had all of these, of course, but there was an additional emotion in them. Sadness, might be the right word for it. He had less shine in his eyes, especially when they were on me. When he held my hands, it always felt like he didn't want to let go as if I would disappear.