Luna

Chapter Five: Zombie

"So, strawberry, not vanilla?"

An overly bright smile was plastered onto my face. Dahlia looked at me like I was an alien, and Noah frowned suspiciously.

"Um, yes?" Noah grabbed his milkshake off the counter. It was in a to-go cup, which meant he wasn't planning on staying long. But, for some reason, he was hesitating to leave.

"Lune, we ought to go," Dahlia knocked her elbow into my arm, giving Noah a none-too-friendly look. I thought it was a bit severe, honestly.

But wait – what? Why was I suddenly feeling defensive toward this deranged boy I didn't even know?

The tiny bit of curiosity that was in Noah's gaze flickered off. He wasn't about to show any interest in us, not outwardly, that was for sure.

"Really? But, erm..." I glanced offhandedly at the menu. "I'm actually a little hungry, Dahl," I quipped.

Don't ask me what I was thinking.

It was just so strange to see Noah outside of school. It made me notice different aspects about him, like the thick clusters of his dark eyelashes and the subtle glint in those hazel eyes. He looked so approachable, and it was almost alarming. I couldn't tear myself away.

Dahlia looked stricken. "Luna..."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Noah's rich voice washed over me accusingly, and I swallowed hard.

"None of your business," Dahlia shot back, pulling my hand. But I refused to budge.

"Um, Dahlia... why don't you head back? I'll give you a call tonight." Dahlia's expression was clearly confused, her mouth hanging open.

"I'm not leaving you here with him," she whispered furiously, and I blushed. Noah definitely heard that.

"It's fine, really. I'll just call a cab to take me home later. We both know Mr and Mrs Khan can afford it." I rolled my eyes. If they were going to show me 'affection' by buying me things, I might as well take advantage of it in times like these.

A scoff came from where Noah was standing. "Look, I'm going to go." For some reason, my chest sunk at that.

I don't know what it was – maybe it was the fact that Noah was standing in front of me, head tilted inquisitively to one side, a ridiculously bright pink strawberry milkshake in one hand, and his hair even more unruly than usual because of the wind. But, I didn't want to leave. No one can look that threatening sipping a milkshake, after all.

I wanted to try a different tactic. The kind where, instead of stalking Noah and waiting for him to sacrifice a bat, I might, instead, actually just suck it up and work with him. For the sake of physics, of course.

"Noah, wait—"

I was cut off by Dahlia turning her back to Noah, facing me, and giving me a good, hard glare. "I know we've been making fun of the situation all day, but Luna..." her voice went really quiet, and I hoped Noah couldn't hear. "He's actually psycho. Don't forget that."

"Our project's only a few more weeks, Dahlia," I said reassuringly, but her words managed to get under my skin. I was beginning to look at Noah like he was a demon again. Ugh, it was all too confusing. "At least I can try to make them bearable—"

Noah wasn't willing to stick around as the two of us whispered frantically a few paces away, and I sent Dahlia an apologetic look as I ran ahead to cut him off at the door.

"Look, I actually want to talk to you... erm... about ... robots," I finished lamely.

Noah arched a brow. His gaze slid over to Dahlia, who was obviously upset, and then back to me. "So, you are stalking me then," he said calmly.