AUDREY
The dining hall was packed to the brim, students crowded around the tables like a committee of vultures surrounding their prey, auras emitted panic as soon as they turned from the till in search of a table to eat at.
Conversations and rowdy youth robbed the silence of its charm, just like I was robbed of the ability to read my book at this moment. I currently sat at my usual table with Libby on my left, accompanied by James and Margo clutching my arm on my right.
"Why haven't you got a boyfriend yet Audrey." She whines, tugging my arm. "I want to be an auntie, hurry up." The more she speaks, the more she sounds like a child.
"I'm eight-teen, I don't need a boyfriend I need my degree, and speak for yourself." I retort, pushing her away.
"But I want a niece or nephew to spoil with my awesomeness." She bawled, setting her head on the table in defeat.
"Uh, Audrey, is it okay if I sit here with you?" I turn to see a sheepish Sebastian glancing at each one of us.
"Who is this handsome man? Do you know him, Audrey?" Margo flirts, standing to greet him, "I'm Margo Parkinson, it's a pleasure to meet you hot stuff and of course you can sit with us." She bats her eyelashes and drags him over.
He shyly takes his place beside me, glancing in shock when Margo sits next to him, staring at him in adoration. I couldn't help but release a small chuckle at the frightened looking Sebastian as if he were a mouse in the middle of a litter of cats.
"Margo, Sebastian King, Sebastian, my sister Margo. Sebastian is my," I pause, watching Margo turn to me in anticipation, "boyfriend." I finish, smiling when Margo's eyes widen tremendously.
"You have a boyfriend? Ah, the wait is over! When are you getting married, I expect a niece or nephew soon." She throws her arms around Sebastian in happiness, and probably excitement.
"Wow, slow down Margo. He's my boyfriend for the case but we don't know if Rachel, the girl who has a crush on him, is around." I hiss quietly.
"Ah, gotcha. Has she approached you yet? Does she know?" Margo questions, lowering her voice to a quiet murmur. She was the head of the Cupid's Database until four years ago, she knows what these cases involve.
"Yeah, she came in at lunchtime when you were studying in the Library. She saw, the whole school saw." I replied, taking a sip of my water.
"Don't you only work on the sidelines, I thought you didn't directly get involved." Margo glanced between Sebastian and me, her brows furrowed.
"No one in the profile binder was a believable match for me... Until Audrey walked in." Sebastian pointed out, earning nods from Libby, James and me.
"Yes, but despite this Rachel is in denial and won't give up. She even followed us to the beach yesterday." I commented, resting my head on my hand.
"Sheesh, she's one of those girls. They're the worst." She shakes her head and glances around the room.
The rest of lunch was spent by us talking and laughing, the usual. I glanced over at Sebastian, seeing him laugh at one of Libby's jokes. He fit in quite well, maybe he would consider joining CUPID'S Database after this is all finished.
Sometime along the way, we were joined by Marcus and Logan who only contributed to the growing laughter. Everything was great until I glanced at Margo and Logan who looked relatively uncomfortable beside each other, Margo more than Logan. Margo was staring at her hands, avoiding Logan's adoring stare.
The bell chimed, signalling the end of Lunch. Margo shot up like a rocket, shouting a quick 'goodbye' before running off with Logan staring longingly after her. My gaze was then attracted to a flash of red hair belonging a girl who glared daggers at me on her way out.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who saw as Sebastian apologized and walked me to the Science building. We made small talk along the way, often bringing up talk about Rachel's character. What? I need to get as much information as possible, Cupid doesn't stop working.
We said our goodbyes, going into our individual lecture halls, well, his was in another building. I took a deep breath as I entered the hall, knowing that this was going to be a long couple of hours.
SEBASTIAN
As I sat through the lecture, I couldn't help but wonder what will happen after the plan is completed. When Rachel and Oliver get together that's Audrey's work done, our case is closed and I never speak about the Cupid's Database again, I basically have to forget everything. The butterflies of doom tickled my stomach, dread overwhelmed me just thinking about it.
Do I want it to end? What about Audrey? I could tell she's going through a lot, I've caught her in bad moments before and I'm certain something is up. She's not happy, that much I can tell. She's independent and doesn't ask for help, but when she smiles she looks so alone. If I know anything it would be that Audrey isn't really affected by the things others say, but is it because she's had worse?
I've had worse things thrown in my face.
That day on the beach, she watched the sunset as if it were the last time she would see it. She appreciated it as if she were stuck in a trance. The look on her face, the way her eyes gleamed with sorrow and loneliness, that's not something I can just ignore.
Before I knew it, the lecture was over and it was time to leave. All around me, grouchy students yawned and stretched, the lecture must have been a tough one. If I listened I would have known, I'm glad I recorded it. We left in a crowd, all trying to fit through the door at once, pushing and pulling. I breathed in relief, feeling the fresh air fill my lungs in contrast to that of the stuffy lecture room.
Just like last time, students littered the campus ground. The sun shone as brightly, the sky just as blue, the air just as warm. I could almost taste the summer air, I could feel the cool breeze that relieved me from the hot air for a moment. The birds sang, the students laughed, and I stood still.
I glanced around me, trying to find a familiar face in the throng of students. Upon finding a girl with black hair leaning on a familiar silver car with a book, I march over breaking into a sprint halfway.
"Audrey." I watch her look up, she smiled at me but I could see she was annoyed at me for disturbing her reading. "Sorry." I winced.
"Yeah, whatever. What's up?" She asks, throwing her book into her back, chucking that into the boot of the car.
"Nothing really. Just finished the lecture and I'm willing to go to sleep soon." I answer, giving her my bag when she holds out her hand. "Did you wait for me?"
"Yes, we have to go to the base. As you know, we have a plan to follow, we're having a meeting for updates and whatnot." She informs, getting into the car, I follow in suit.
"If we need to go the base, why are we getting in the car?" I wonder aloud, glancing over at a pissed Audrey.
"Libby wants food. I want coffee. She always does this; can't she get food herself? Wait, no. That's a bad idea. She doesn't even know what a proper breakfast and would probably starve to death if I didn't feed her." She murmurs, lost in her thoughts.
We arrive at the shopping complex after fifteen minutes, it's a public complex, not a private complex. You see, a private complex was built for those at Rowell Academy, high-end brands, overpriced food and is very posh in general. We enter through the automatic doors and we take the escalator to the basement where the supermarket is.
"What does Libby want?" I ask as she gets a basket.
"She just said, 'junk food', that means, Oreos, doughnuts, crisps and chocolate. Maybe I'll get her marshmallows, she loves marshmallows." She mutters, grabbing packets and bags off the shelves as we venture around the aisles. She is careful to make sure only to pick the food that Libby and the others like, should they want any.
"We need to refill the snack cupboard anyway." She claimed, as her excuse for buying a multipack of crisps. By the time we had finished and headed back with the snacks and coffee I was exhausted, I don't know why since Audrey did most of the lifting despite my offers to help.
We arrived at the base, greeted by shouts and cries of joy. We set the bags down on the table and took our seats at the long table, mine being beside Audrey.
"We have already made the plan so that isn't going to change, in fact, we have even more of a reason to use it since Rachel isn't giving up. My shadows have heard her talking to her...supportive friends, about trying to sabotage their relationship. We will need to put this plan into action soon but we need to wait for the right moment." Libby's voice sliced through the silence, completely different to how she usually sounds.
"Luckily my job is much easier and is shorter than Audrey's so it will be over soon. However, our teams will still be working together even though I would have done my part. And plus, she got us our favourite snacks, anyone else would have just grabbed what was on the shelf." She chuckled, laughing as Audrey groaned and face planted.
"Anyway, as I said, we must begin preparations, I'm planning to do this next week but I want you to stay alert in case I decide to do it earlier. Since Rachel isn't giving up and plans to sabotage their relationship we don't know what will happen. Audrey?" She gestures towards Audrey, taking her seat as Audrey stands.
"Like Libby said, we don't know what will happen. On my part, there is a banquet being held for Rachel's father, Chris Heart, the famous author, in one of my family's hotels. Libby's mother will be planning the event with my mother. Rachel's mother, Cheryl Heart will also be there also to debut her daughter's upcoming acting career in playing the main role in the movie adaptation of her father's novel." She brings up a trailer of the movie where Rachel is very obviously, the main lead.
"But where do we come in?" She asks, pausing the video where a familiar name is displayed on the screen, "Outfit designer, Jackson King."
"My brother? Why is he doing the outfit designs, wouldn't they hire a professional?" I blurted.
"This is a test or an opportunity that your parents have arranged for him. Needless to say, we will all be there. For Rachel, we will go together for the sake of keeping up appearances. Of course, my mother and Libby's mother can't do it alone, so we have arranged a team to help. Oliver's mother, Siobhan Reynolds, will be directing the movie." She concluded.
"Ah, I remember Rachel telling me about this, she has to be escorted down the grand staircase by-" I pause, guilt suffocating me. I look around the room and all eyes are on me, I look to Audrey to see her concerned, but she realizes I'm in panic mode and gives me a small smile.
"By you?" She asks, I nod. "We have made some arrangements, the one who will be escorting her now will be Olivier, so you have nothing to worry about." She smiles, her soft voice calming me instantly.
"Alright, you know the plan. Dismissed." Libby finishes. With that, we left.