Chasing Danger

14. Talk of the School

Ciara's POV

Everyone was talking about Jace and I when I got to school Monday morning. We were still a trending topic on Twitter. With that being said, I think I'd say my birthday party was an absolute success.

"Ciara you definitely need to bring Jace to prom in May" Kyla said to me as we met at the lockers, after first period.

"Girl there is no way I can do that" I said, giggling. "Jace is a celebrity, he won't even have space to breathe if I brought him to prom."

"So what? You're becoming a celebrity yourself. Plus if you don't bring him, who are you going to bring? You'll look dumb going by yourself" Kyla responded.

I sighed in defeat. I knew Kyla was somewhat right, and I'd look foolish going to prom alone when everyone now thinks I'm with Jace.

"I'll consider it, but that's not a definite yes!" I said as I witnessed Kyla's expression go through different stages.

***

When lunch came around, I felt super weird. I typically go to lunch before Kyla, and then wait at our table. I don't eat until she gets there, we believe it's bad luck to eat before. Yeah, that's our best friend tradition.

But when I sat down, people started piling up around me. Puzzled, I asked the girl to my left what's up.

"Is Jace good in bed?" she asked.
"What?" I asked quite quickly, I couldn't don't what I felt more, confusion or anger.

"Well you guys were laying down together naked under sheets at your party, so it's assumed that you guys did something" another girl said.

I honestly felt like I didn't owe anybody an explanation, and I didn't feel like going into detail, so I got up and headed to my locker. I decided I'd text Kyla and if she wanted to join me, she could.

After fuming for a good five minutes with my head in my locker so nobody would see me, Kyla appeared.

"What's up?" She asked me.
"People actually think Jace and I slept together" I responded.

Her eyes got wide with my statement.
"No" she said.
"Yes" I responded.

"You gotta say you did it!" Kyla said, seeming more involved than I was at this point.

"Are you crazy?!" I asked Kyla. "There's no way I could do that. Jace probably wouldn't be okay with me lying about something like that, and mama dukes would murder me".

"Oh please Ciara" Kyla said. "Think about it, that'll get you more publicity if it were to get out, and it would solidify your spot as Jace's girl" she continued.

Kyla's POV

Obviously I wasn't going to spread a rumor if Ciara wasn't okay with it. However, I was going to talk to Jace about this. I think it would definitely help Ciara. Maybe it wouldn't really benefit Jace seeing as people out there think him and Leslye are a thing, but I don't owe loyalty or friendship to Jace. I owe it to Ciara.

Ciara and I walked from the lockers to the lunch tables outside. We grabbed our bags because we only had two classes left. The rule is you can have your bag during and after lunch, but not before.

When we sat down and I asked Ciara if I could check my grades on her phone. Earlier, my WiFi was down so this was a believable excuse.

When she gave me her phone, I texted Jace's number to my phone. Then, I deleted that text off of her phone. Lastly, I exited out of iMessage and went online to make it look like I was looking at my grades.

"Thanks friend" I said. I must've said it in a weird tone because Ciara furrowed her brows at me like she knew I was doing something I shouldn't be doing. I really just hope this doesn't backfire.

Our short silence was cut off when we started to smell something. It smelt almost like an active grill at a cookout, but heavier.

"You smell that?" I asked Ciara.
"Yeah, it smells bad, really bad" she replied.

After staring at the school building for a little bit, we saw orange flames illuminate the freshman wing. Not too long after, the fire alarm rang.

Ciara was literally dumbfounded. Her expression was priceless. Her jaw was wide open, and her eyes were still. She didn't blink or avert them.

"Parents have received calls about the fire" we heard over the intercom. "All students are to evacuate and head home. If you're waiting for a ride, walk to the corner of Westend ave. If you're waiting for the bus, head down Walker-bend road" the voice continued.

"Good thing we got our bags" Ciara said standing up, "let's head home".

***
As we got to the street we part ways on, I started planning what I'd say to Jace in my head.

"Bye friend" I said as I kissed Ciara on the cheek.
"Bye babe" she jokingly said as she kissed me back.

We headed our separate ways and I took out my phone to text Jace.