The Valdez Affair

9. Startling Developments

I wasn't the intrusive type, but neither was Hayley one to be quiet.

She had barely said five sentences since I'd met her, which was really worrying because Hayley usually had a lot to say.

I was trying to catch up with her as she rushed through the crowd after the English class, clearly avoiding me. She had even come in late and caught a seat near the door, so that she could make her quick escape, effectively looking everywhere but at me throughout the forty minutes.

I saw the red shirt she was wearing amid the mass of black, but in a moment, that disappeared too. In a rush of determination, I took off after her. I made my way through the students without seriously injuring anyone and saw her turn a corner.

I didn't stop as I followed her, but just before I could enter the next corridor, I slammed into another body.

"I'm so sorry," I said instantly, leaning down to pick up my bag that had fallen down.

To my surprise, a familiar voice replied, "Haven't you learned the hard way not to run in the school hallways?"

I looked up at him as I straightened myself. "I have somewhere I need to be," I mumbled and proceed to walk past him, except he held out his arm to stop me. He moved to side to position himself right in front of me.

"We're not doing this again, Ariel," he said with a warning tone.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not really comprehending his statement.

"The whole drill we've already carried out in the last two weeks." He sounded annoyed. A first. "I'm not going to let you go back into your little shell just days after we've made peace."

"Oh," I said, my mind wandering back to Hayley. I heard what Sebastian said. I realized that he thought that I was avoiding him again, but I wasn't. All I wanted was to catch hold of Hayley and get the truth out of her.

"Ariel-"

"I'm not avoiding you," I cut him off. "Hayley's hiding from me and I urgently need to talk to her. And-" I heard the familiar shrill sound. "There's the bell."

"Right. I thought you . . " He trailed off, sheepish.

"It's okay," I told him. "I'll find her again."

"What exactly do you need to talk to her about?" Sebastian questioned. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Just a date she'd been to this weekend with Jace," I replied.

He looked thoughtful. "Maybe I can help you with it. I'll see you later." With an abrupt goodbye, he was gone, leaving me alone.

I decided against following him, or else I would get late for my next class. I proceeded on my way instead, trying to push Sebastian's puzzling words to the back of my mind. Along with everything else about him.

~*~

I picked up a few French Fries from Adrian's plate and transferred them to mine, flashing him a big, fake smile while I did so. He rolled his eyes, but look unperturbed otherwise.

"This is stupid," Nicole finally said after moments of silence. "I don't remember the last time it's only been the three of us."

"Well, before today, two of our friends never hooked up with each other," Adrian said.

Nicole widened her eyes. "You think they hooked up?"

"They went on a date, Nic," I reminded her. "There must have been something that happened for both of them to disappear like this."