Perfect Strangers |Complete|

Chapter Seven

Hello! How are we liking the mystery? The next three chapters for this weekend should be out by the end of the day tomorrow! And what do we think of Marcus and Lyla's relationship? Now enjoy chapter seven and tell me if you have any guesses about what happened that fateful night😏😏 Comment your thoughts!

"Lyla?" I look up to see Annie and Marcus standing before me, looking concerned.

I force a smile upon my face as I meet their eyes. "Oh. Hey."

  "You okay? You look shaken, " Annie asks.

   Marcus meets my eyes, concern rippling across his features.  "Yea. What did Alex say?"

     I smile at Marcus as we head out into the hallway towards our lockers so we can grab our lunches. " It's nothing."

          He stares at me, annoyed. "Its obviously not. So what did he say?"

      I sigh. "Fine. He said nice locker decorations this morning, huh? Happy now?

      Annie gasps. "That's sickening."

Marcus' jaw tightens in disgust. "He probably helped plan it out."

I nod. "Maybe." I glance at Annie. " Yea it is, Annie."

Marcus sighs. "I can't believe I was friends with them."

I shrug as we head down the stairs in silence, stopping before our lockers. Most of the Post its are gone, yet some remain, appearing to be glued on.

       Marcus breaks the silence. "Let's eat outside by the benches."

I glance at Annie. "I'm down if you're up for it."

  She smiles. "Sure."

  "Okay." We push open the doors and head outside.

Marcus glances at me as I sigh in relief. I smile as he glances around. "Peace and quiet."

Annie nods. "And it's just pretty around here."

She's right. I glance around the various trees and plants, smiling. "We should do this more often."

Marcus grins. "Every day even."

I nod. "Let's do it." I walk towards the middle of the clearing, not far from the bleachers by the doors, sitting down.

Marcus and Annie sit on both sides of me, opening up their food. Annie glances at us. "How long have you known each other?"

Marcus grins as he arranges his food out of the bag. "Just since that night."

Annie puts down her water bottle, her eyes wide. "Really?"

I nod, biting into my sandwich. "Turns out nearly dying together bonds people fast." I lean my hand on Marcus' shoulder. "And he just can't stay away from me."

Annie laughs as Marcus moves away, letting me fall onto the grass. I reach over and slap his shoulder. "You're so mean."

He laughs. "And you aren't?"

I pause. "No."

Annie shakes her head. "You two are ridiculous but I've always wanted friends like this."

Marcus takes a bite of his apple as he glances at her. "Well, now you do."

She smiles as I turn to her. "How long have you been in town? You weren't here last year."

She puts down her sandwich as she meets my eyes. "I moved into town with my parents a week before..."

Marcus leans forward. "Just you?"