Hidden Away

part 14

My eyes narrowed. Maybe I can still turn to my advantage, after all... "Hey, you're a gamer right? Maybe you wanna play a game?"

"What kind of game?"

"Truth or drink. We can ask each other questions and you either answer or drink from your cup.The first person to finish their drink loses and has to do anything the other person asks for."

"Oh, no! That's way to scary for me! Besides..." He jerked his thumb at the clock behind the counter. "Its getting really late, we should just finish our drinks and go." Ah shit, he foiled my plans. Just as expected from Zachary Smith. As I sat there pondering on how to make a smooth exit... the clock struck midnight. I stood up. "I have to go to the school to meet Kenna."

"...What?"  I walked over to the door. At least, I tried. Zachary had caught hold of my wrist, preventing me from moving. "You should at least finish your drink before leaving."

"I have to go to school to meet Kenna." I tried to pull my arm out from his grasp, but he wouldnt budge. This was a problem. "There's no need to glare at me like that. Just finish your drink and I'll let you go."

"I have to go to school to meet Kenna."

"I know. I wont stop you. Just finish your drink first." I clenched my fist and smashed it into his cheek, knocking his head to the side. I could hear gasps from the people around us. That wasn't a problem. The problem was that Zachary was still not letting go. Zacharys head swiveled back towards me. He spat something out.  When he grinned at me, his teeth were gleaming with blood. "Just finish your goddamn drink, Echo."

I growl as I yell loudly.
"Let me GO! ZACHARY LET GO!" My breath was taken from my lungs as my back was pushed into a glass wall. My yells grew louder as he  pinned me down with his body, growling into my face. "Just...stay...still...for a bit!..."  dimly, I noticed him picking up my cup with one hand and swallowing the contents. Before I could react, I pressed his lips against mine. "Mmph..!" I was so shocked when he pinched my nose shut that I opened my mouth to gasp and nearly choked when the hot tea flowed into my mouth. The heat seemed to spread through my entire body, scalding the very depth of my soul. I gulped down a few mouthfuls of the liquid before I managed to push him off of me. "Zachary... what the... did you just-?! ...Zachary?" Zachary collapsed onto the floor, giggling helplessly. "Uh,  are you ok?... do you need a hand?... oh God... are you bleeding?" Zachary snickered as he got to his feet, looking utterly drained and satisfied at the same time. "Still want to go to school, Echo?"

"What are you talking about? It's midnight. Seriously, did you hit your head on something-?" And that's when the cafe owner threw us both out for causing a disturbance. "Go have your lovers' quarrel somewhere else!" I spluttered, trying to deny that we were lovers. But Zachary just laughed and dragged on an utterly confused me down the street. I was horrified when he told me I tried to attack him, but when I asked him why... "oh I dont know, might have been your sickness acting up." Liar. That was definitely not just any illness. Damn it, what happend to me. "You feel fine now, though. Right?" I actually did. Healthier than I'd felt in ages, even. "Yeah, I do feel better now,  for some reason." I vaguely remember him forcing the spiked drink on me. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"

"What? Of course not!" Uh huh...I believe you... "well, since you're ok now, you can walk home by yourself, right? I'll see you!" And then Zachary left, just like that. It almost made me feel like an abandoned puppy... other than the fact he spiked my drink, I kinda had fun. As soon as he dissappeared around the corner, I pulled out my phone. "H-hey, are you ok?! I was watching the entire thing and-"

"I'm fine, just incredibly confused. What the hell just happened?" Lucien recounted the entire incident, my face getting paler and paler with each twist in the tale. When he was done, I tried to speak, but what came out was just a strangled moan. "Its ok, Echo. It's over now. You're-"