The Last Crescent

Chapter 25

Neoma

11:50 am

My first four classes are finally done, and I'm starving. I walked to find my locker since I couldn't and put my backpack inside earlier. I got a text from Matt.

I walk into the front door. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand. I look around, but I can't see anything out of the ordinary. Ignore the feeling and head out; I see Ava, Xander, Curtis, Matt, and Greyson standing by Greyson's car. "It's about time you got here; come on, let's go eat," Ava grabs my hand. "we're taking my car since it's bigger." Ava pulls me to the Tesla on the other side of the parking lot. "that's your car?!?" And nods. "yeah, and no, it's my parent's car, but I use it more than they do, so technically, it's a loaner." I look at Matt, and he shrugs. Greyson and I get in the back seat of this spaceship of a car, and Xander and Matt get in the car next to us. "they aren't coming with us?" I ask. "they are, but since they are newly mated and Curtis is tired of the PDA, they are taking their car," Greyson says.

Chills continue to run down my spine. I look over at the tree where I first saw that man. Something isn't sitting right, and for the first time, I don't know what it is. Greyson furrows his brows at me. "What's wrong?" he grabs my hand. "right, let's get moving," Ava announces before I can respond; she pulls out of the driveway and heads onto the street; Xander and Matt follow shortly behind. "So babe, I thought we could be Roger Rabbit and Jessica Rabbit for tomorrow's party."Ava continues to discuss possible costume options, but Greyson maintains eye contact with me. I squeeze his hand and mouth. "I'm ok," he nods.
Later? He asks
Later.

It's a short drive to the diner. It's a cute little 50s-themed place. We get out of the car and head inside; sitting in the booth at the back of the restaurant, Matt and Xander drop their stuff and disappear into the bathroom. "Here they go again," Curtis jokes. A familiar teenager comes to the table. "hey guys," her amethyst necklace catches my eyes. Greyson smiles at her. "hey, Avery, I didn't know you worked today," she shrugs. "I had a day off from class. I thought I'd pick up a shift," she looks at me. "hey Neoma It's nice to see you again," she extends her hand out to me. "yeah same," she smiles; her beauty is captivating and mysterious. Her milk chocolate skin and blonde highlighted curly hair that pins up into a bun add to the allure of her beauty. Her light brown eyes remind me of a tiger-striped crystal my mom always had on her dresser. She's dressed like a pin-up waitress, but I'm assuming that her uniform considers the theme of this restaurant. "You guys pair nicely together, now I'm guessing the usual?" She writes on the notepad, "You guessed it." she places six utensil sets wrapped in a napkin on the table and takes away the menus. "right, I'll be back." she walks off; Curtis and Ava are whispering and giggling amongst themselves. Greyson stretches his arm over me, resting it on the back of my seat; I stare out the window, trying to see if someone is watching. "You know I can feel what you feel," he whispers in my ear. "what's wrong?" I look into his eyes and see a mixture of fear and concern. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing." Before he could respond, Xander and Matt returned to the group with their hair in disarray. Xander has his shirt inside out while Matt has his on backward. "you may wanna turn that around," I point to his shirt. "And X your shirt, yeah, it's inside out," Greyson starts to chuckle.