Spectra

Chapter 33

Emily

Mrs. Marshall and I began planning, finding anything that might help us get our Lucas back. We observed everything he did. Just looking for everything that could possibly help. We had one theory so far. It seemed like he was in a trance until I talked to him and isolated him from Kayla. When she wasn't there, he was pretty normal, until he saw her or texted her. We decided to test our theory out.

Kayla was over after school while I was as well. The three of us plus Mrs. Marshall were in the lab when she gave me the 'okay' to start. The plan was that once Kayla left, I would stay and hang out with Lucas like usual. Mrs. Marshall would observe. If things went as planned, Lucas would act like he did before meeting Kayla and start to act normal towards me.

The plan commenced once Kayla left. Lucas didn't show much interest in me for a little bit. He sat on the couch flipping through channels. Usually he would ask what I wanted to watch but he hardly noticed I was there. But soon he began talking to me more and more. Laughing, teasing me like usual. That's when we took his phone when he wasn't looking and hid it. That way, Kayla wouldn't be able to text him.

So far everything was going as planned. The results were just what we had anticipated. He was acting like his usual self. The only weird thing was that we thought just isolating him from Kayla would work. But when I wasn't there the other days, he seemed in a trance. I told Lucas I was going to the bathroom and met Mrs. Marshall upstairs.

"We were right!" I grinned. She nodded.

"I don't think it's just being away from Kayla, I think it's you." She suggested. I didn't quite get why that might be. Mrs. Marshall realized I was a few steps behind. "His feelings for you are still there, just covered up by the spell. So when Kayla's not here to cover it, he is back to normal. He still loves you." Mrs. Marshall obviously tried to calm her excitement but was definitely thrilled.

My heart pounded. If this was true, there had to be a way I could get to him. There was still a chance for us. But how would I do it, if every time he saw Kayla he forgot about me.

~~~

The next day I immediately thought of our plan to fix Lucas. Well, we didn't really have a plan. But I'd try out some things whenever I could. The first thing I found that day was on accident, however. I was waiting by the tree when Lucas walked up, sort of in a trance. I noticed the collar of his shirt was messed up.

"Your collar, let me fix that." I said. He stopped and let me re-fold it. I swear in that second the old life in his eyes shined through the dullness. Would just me getting close to him help? To test the idea, I patted his shoulder. Immediately a smile grew on his face, the kind I recognized.

"T-thanks." He stuttered as if it were the first time he spoke to me. Quickly he spun around and began walking towards the school. Finally, I think I had cracked the code.

Later, we arrived in chemistry. I walked through the aisle of desks and tripped myself on the leg of the chair. Falling forwards, I hoped that Lucas would catch me as I had planned. Luckily he did, and a second later I was in his arms. My hands laid on his shoulders as I looked up at him. Once again his eyes were full of happiness. Even with Kayla in the room, it worked.

I couldn't wait to tell Mrs. Marshall. During dismissal I texted her and asked if she could meet me at Jitters. This way, Kayla wouldn't suspect anything and would think that I was just trying to avoid Lucas. Although, I didn't like the idea of leaving Kayla alone in our "superhero lair". But if she wanted to kill Lucas, she would've done it already.