Shading the light

Chapter 8- Lover Boy

Marcus's POV :
Marcus walked into the kitchen, and dumped an armful of plates into the sink. He leaned against the counter for a brief moment, closing his eyes.
"You okay?" Said a voice.
Opening his eyes, he saw Niomi looking at him, her green eyes narrowed with worry.
"Yeah, yeah," Marcus reassured. "It's just that we were up pretty late last night, what with Jim and his burning fever."
"Do you want to take a break for a while? I can take some of your shift..."
"No, no, I'm fine. I can handle it."
"Aw, look at you, being so brave," Niomi teased.
Marcus simply answered by rolling his eyes. "Did you see Adelaide out there, by the way?" He added.
"No... Did you talk to her?"
"Oh, yeah. She's a feisty one, that one."
Niomi raised her eyebrows. "Really? How about Joe? Did he talk to her?"
Marcus scrunched up his nose. "Yeah. He pissed her off, I think. She was going to leave, but then they had this conversation near the door,"
"Someone's been spying,"
"Well... It was hard to miss. And I think she gave him her number."
Niomi giggled, and Marcus laughed along with her, his tiredness gone.

***

Joe's POV :
Staring out of the café window, Joe watched Adelaide cross the road. Her long hair swished; to and fro, the slight wind whipping it around in different directions. He wished that she had smiled- he could tell she was on the verge of doing so a few times, but she always refrained herself. He remembered her beautiful grey eyes boring into him while he annoyed her, the way her mouth twitched, the way her pinky stuck up in the air while she drank her coffee. He remembered every little thing she did.
Oh God, I think I'm obsessed with her.
"Heeey, Lover Boy," a voice said.
Joe turned and frowned at Niomi. "What?"
She laughed freely, the plates in her arms wobbling dangerously. "Marcus told me all about your little talk with Miss Adelaide Nightshade."
"It was nothing. I was playing her..."
Niomi suddenly leaned in closer, and whispered, "Don't try to hide it, Joe. Besides, who knows what she can do. She's unpredictable." With her warning delivered, she walked off, leaving Joe to his own thoughts.

***

Tanya's POV :
Jim's forehead was beaded with sweat, so Tanya placed the damp cloth on again. He'd been like this for hours- shivering, but his temperature had been boiling, constantly tossing and turning. She knew that he'd be fine in a few days, but she always grew worried and desperate when he became... Sick. Weak. A wave of anger surged up in her towards Adelaide, the girl who had caused this. If she hadn't been at the park, eavesdropping, then Jim wouldn't have been in this condition, and everything would be fine. Tanya
Exhaled deeply, breathing out her anger, and composed herself. It wasn't Adelaide's fault. She didn't know how dangerous she was. She didn't know about the the group's 'secret'.

It wasn't her fault. But it soon could be.