Us Against the Apocalypse

7 - The Boy and the Diary

After washing her hair (the plait had luckily stayed in), Bluebell made her way towards the courtyard with her new clothes and new flower - she'd replaced the withered daisy with a far more substantial one that she'd found outside. She was looking far more presentable than before, and felt a little embarrassed about her previous appearance. She was looking forward to seeing everyone, but the courtyard seemed, for the most part, empty. There was a crowd of around twenty teenagers, therefore the entirety of the pool, standing somewhere near the edge of the courtyard.

It reminded Bluebell of the vote, and she felt a prickle of nervousness. Whatever they were doing all gathered together, it couldn't be good. Leo was standing in the centre, trying to keep the peace. Bluebell could just make him out between two heads.

As she darted forwards, approaching the crowd, the worry she'd been feeling grew into sheer amazement. Standing beside Leo was a face she'd never seen before, presumably another boy from the pool, and he was behaving like there was no apocalypse whatsoever.

He was clean from head to toe, not a speck of dirt in sight, and his gaze was flickering restlessly from person to person. His eyes were dark blue, glittering like stars, and his skin was the colour of honey, lightly tanned and seemingly flawless. He had smooth chestnut-coloured hair which disappeared into a short ponytail, stretching a few centimetres past his shoulders. He was wearing a trendy dark beige hoodie and grey-black jeans which would easily mask any dirt they picked up.

At the time, he wasn't smiling, but Bluebell imagined that his smile would be very comforting, and that he was the type of guy who smiled a lot. He was frantic and outnumbered, apparently afraid, which gave off the impression that he was a newcomer to the group.

Bluebell had to wave her arms around a bit to throw off any suspicions that he was in any way related to her.

Then again, even if he was, she wouldn't have any idea about it.

The stranger hadn't noticed Bluebell yet, and she wasn't sure if he ever would. He was far too busy with the rest of the group, avoiding harassment as best he could. A couple of girls seemed ecstatic about his arrival, while a good few seemed extremely mistrusting. Still unsure of whether he was supposed to be there or not, Bluebell stepped into the mob.

'Can everyone keep calm?' Leo questioned, forced to raise his voice for the first time since Bluebell arrived. 'I know who he is, but we have to keep quiet so we don't attract zombies.'

At his shout, about half of the rampaging kids fell silent, with the other half just as deafening as ever.

The guy in the middle seemed desperate, and held his finger to his lips. 'I'm just looking for my diary, okay? I'll sign autographs later, I promise...'

Diary?

The word sent alarm bells ringing in Bluebell's mind, and she immediately put two and two together. A boy being swarmed by girls, showing up out of nowhere in search of his diary...

Could this really be Harley?

It all seemed too convenient.

Overcome by both excitement and guilt, she stayed where she was, out of sight of the potential celebrity and away from the prying eyes of Leo and the others. Before she knew it, Harley was looking in her direction anyway, and the unsettled pair locked eyes.

It was almost as if he was begging her for help, maybe because she was the only girl who wasn't freaking out.

'Umm, Harley?' Her voice was drowned out by the frenzy of squawking, and Harley put a finger to his ear to explain that he couldn't hear her.