Once In A Blue Moon

Chapter 4: Countering Conspiracy

   "Stalking again?"

  "Ahhh!!" I screamed as I jumped while turning around to see who spoke. Figure skaters would be amazed.

  Lucas Wayson stood with the dumb smirk of his that I so badly wanted to slap away. 'Or kiss,' my subconscious said. I growled in annoyance at myself but Lucas misunderstood it. "I didn't do anything wrong. I only took a video of you as evidence," Lucas said.

  Wait. Video?

  My eyes shifted from his face to his hand holding a phone. "You filmed me?" I asked in disbelief. There was a moment of silence between us when he didn't reply. While his guard was still down, I quickly reached out my hand to grab his phone but just as I thought, his reflexes were faster. Times like this made me wish I had taken martial arts. 

  I almost fell forward when he dodged me, stepping to the left swiftly. When I regained balance, I stood straight and faced him. "Filming others without their consent is illegal!" I snarled.

  "So is stalking," Lucas retaliated. The smirk was still not leaving his face. Clearly, he found this very amusing. 

  Giving up, I groaned and asked, "What do you want, Lucas Wayson?"

  My question seemed to catch his interest because he stood straighter from his relaxed pose. "Why are you stalking Jeremy?" he asked, crossing his arms. His smirk morphed into a creepy smile.

  "How do you know it's Jeremy and not someone else?" I retorted, crossing my arms as well.

  He raised an eyebrow. "I saw you sneaking behind him all the time. Even during lunch, you kept looking at Jeremy," he explained. I gulped. Was I that obvious? I decided not to reply to his earlier question. 

  However, the tension in the atmosphere was suffocating me. Lucas was really good at staring someone down. I groaned once again then said, "Fine. The truth is Jeremy is planning horrible to my best friend, Miriam. I wanted to gather evidence on why he did it."

  "How do you know Jeremy is planning something?"

  I rolled my eyes. "A little birdie whispered into my ear," I replied curtly. He seemed unsatisfied with my answer so I said, "Whatever. The important thing here is that my best friend is in trouble and Jeremy is the cause."

  Silence followed after. Lucas seemed to be thinking as we stared at each other. I tried to read his facial expression but I still couldn't tell what he could be thinking about. "Let me help you," he offered.

  I was completely taken aback. "W-what?" I spluttered. "Why would you?" I asked with a surprised tone.

  He smirked as if he expected my reaction. "Whatever you're doing is more fun than school. Besides, I always sit with Jeremy. What better partner you can have other than me?" he said.

  I placed a finger under my chin as I thought about it. He's right. I wanted information on Jeremy and Lucas is the one closest to Jeremy. I've made up my mind.

  "I accept your offer," I stated, reaching out my hand for him to shake. Lucas' smirk only grew as he reached out as hand as well. When our palms touched, my heart suddenly picked up speed. I quickly retracted my hand because I didn't like the nice feeling I was getting.

  After we exchanged phone numbers, I left so Miriam could drop me home. I felt glad to have found a partner to help me save Miriam. However, I couldn't help but get an ominous feeling in my stomach. It felt like I was forgetting something important.

**Two days later**

  "Jeremy Allen asked me out!" Miriam squealed in excitement. My spoon dropped from my hand as I stared at her in disbelief.

  No.

  Miriam didn't seem to notice my distraught as she continued, "He asked me just today in History class. He told me I was on his mind for a long time!" She squealed again.

  "I don't know, Miriam. Jeremy seems like bad news," Finn said, frowning. Meanwhile, Cory looked uncomfortable as his eyes shifted nervously.

  "You're just jealous," Miriam retorted, sticking her tongue out at Finn. Finn simply rolled her eyes then sighed in surrender.  Miriam then turned to me, surprising me a little. "Aren't you happy for me?" she asked, looking quite desperate.

  "Y-yeah...," I replied awkwardly. What was I supposed to say? Jeremy is an evil mastermind? Miriam was completely blinded by love that I bet she won't consider my words.

  Also, I didn't remember Miriam being asked out this early. Miriam became Jeremy's girlfriend only 2 days after today. It was in Chemistry class that she told me, not during lunch. This was terrible. Could the small changes I did, change the events of the future? What if I couldn't save Miriam again? 

  No. I won't let that happen.

  After school, I stood by the main doors, waiting for a specific someone. I sighed in exhaustion as my head throbbed. Miriam cooed about Jeremy in the two classes we had together after lunch hour.  My anxious thoughts were so distracting that I couldn't focus very well in my classes.

  Once I spotted Lucas, I waved my hand to catch his attention. The dumb smirk formed on his face the moment he saw me which made me frown. When he reached me, I said, "You really gotta stop making that face every time you see me."

  "What face?" he asked, feigning innocence.

  "The face that says, 'I am looking at the girl whose idiocy is my source of entertainment.'" I said, crossing my arms.

  Lucas let out a snort. "Your words, not mine. Anyway, why did you text me to meet you here?"

  He made me realize the dire situation again which made me feel gloomy. "Jeremy asked out Miriam," I answered.

  "So? Everybody knows that by now," he shrugged.

  "Did nothing about Jeremy doing something to my best friend enter your head?" I grumbled.

  As I was waiting for Lucas to reply, I saw his eyes shifting to whatever was behind me. I looked behind to see what it was. I saw some kids whispering and staring at us. One was even pointing at us discreetly.

  Before I knew it, my arm was being pulled, dragging me out of the crowd's sight. I let lead him me because wherever he was going would be better than here. We ended up in the parking lot where the motorcycles are parked.

  "Where are we going?" I asked.

  "Somewhere nice," he grinned suspiciously as he grabbed a helmet to wear it. 

  I crossed my arms. "Maybe a more specific answer?" I said sarcastically in a sweet voice.

  Lucas didn't reply me but instead took another helmet from the under-seat compartment. He forcefully placed the helmet on my head and fixed the strap under my chin. I couldn't hide my embarrassment as he stared intently at my face. The heat rising to my face and palms getting sweaty was the effect of my nervousness. I've never had a guy other than Aiden this close to me before.

  While I was in my thoughts, Lucas had already gotten on his motorbike. "Hop on," he said after starting the engine.

  "I can wear this myself," I said, pointing at the helmet. As usual, Lucas kept quiet while I literally hopped on the motorbike because I have short legs.