The walk home was quiet, my shoes scuffing against the sidewalk in an uneven rhythm. My house wasn't far from school, but today the short distance felt endless. Shadows stretched across the pavement, curling like tendrils of unease. My walk home that was supposed to be peaceful soon turned on its head as I noticed someone following me.
At first, I tried to brush it off. My mind was definitely playing tricks. But the prickling sensation of being watched just didn't go away. Slowing my pace, I tried to listen. The faint crunch of steps behind me slowed down as well; when I increased my pace, so did the person.
I kept walking, keeping my eyes on the road ahead of me, trying to ignore it. After a few blocks, I couldn't shake the unsettling feeling. I glanced back—and there he was. It was Axel. Again! Like, why the hell was this dude following me? He had stopped dead as I turned.
"What the hell?" I snapped, glaring at him. "Are you seriously following me?"
Axel froze for a split second. He sauntered forward with the casual ease of someone caught red-handed yet entirely unbothered. "No..." That was all he said, and he sounded kind of confused, like 'he didn't know where he was', kind of confused.
"Oh, really? Well, that's not what it looks like," I narrowed my eyes.
He shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets, so I continued, "I thought you said you had a car? You tell me how this looks."
His smirk deepened. He tilted his head as if considering his answer carefully before leaning down slightly, close enough for his breath to tickle my ear. "Well, I don't know that much, but in my opinion, it looks like I'm going home," he murmured, voice like velvet.
I blinked, momentarily thrown off by his proximity—and his height. He was at least a foot taller than me, his shadow swallowing mine.
Straightening up again, he grinned as though this was the most reasonable explanation in the world. "Or maybe I just wanted a scenic route."
"Yeah, sure," I said, stepping back. "Because creeping behind someone is definitely scenic."
He laughed; the sound was light and melodic, but there was an edge to it. "Stalking you? Please. If I wanted to stalk you, don't you think I'd make better use of my car?"
"You were obviously keeping a safe distance between you and me, and that's what stalkers do, so it does beg the question as to whether you were following me or not," I said argumentatively.
"Wow!!! We've got a wild one on our hands—too many horror movies I see—oh, and no. I wasn't stalking you. I mean, just look at your reaction when you saw me that far away. It would have been way worse if I had been walking close to you." He said smiling, not his usual wide, soft smile; this one was a little naughty.
I frowned, unsure whether to feel reassured or insulted. He seemed to thrive on the confusion flickering across my face. This dude must be nuts. Was he really teasing me? And why the hell were his words sort of frightening me? Without thinking, I just blurted out, "You're joking, right? —" Realising I had made a mistake by letting him know that his words had somehow affected me, I added, "—and that just brings about another question: why didn't you take your car since you were going home?" I used air quotes as I said 'going home'.
Axel grinned wider, his expression teetering between amusement and something I couldn't quite place. "Besides, a walk's better, don't you think? Are you going to stand here all day?"
"Sure. For a stalker," I muttered, turning on my heel.
To my dismay, he fell into step beside me, humming under his breath like we were on a casual stroll through the park.
"Still doesn't explain what happened to your car... assuming you do have a car, that is," I pressed.
"Hmm... so you think I don't?" he replied.
"Well, what am I supposed to think? It's not like I've seen it before, and here you are claiming not to be following someone, yet all the signs say you were." I said, giving him a side-eye.
That earned me a soft laugh. "Alright, well, now you know how it feels."
"What?" I asked, crossing my arms confused.
"It's my own petty form of revenge," he said, smiling his soft smile and looking straight ahead at the road in front of us.
"Revenge?" I couldn't help but smile at the thought of this. "For what?!"
He stopped for a second and then continued without glancing or even saying a word to me.
"What?" I asked impatiently. Again, he said nothing. "Fine! Whatever!" I said, quickening my pace, but Axel kept up effortlessly, hands in his pockets, grin firmly in place.
"Alright, out with it," I said finally. "Is it because of the concert? If that's the case, that's stupid. I really do have assignments to do, and if you think about it, I really didn't make you miss the concert; you decided that all on your own, due to some weird reason I have no freaking clue about," he still didn't say anything, but I thought I saw the side of his lips twitching. "DUDE?!…" I groaned.
He smiled finally, looking at me and saying, "That's cute. You sound frustrated. It's adorable."
I sighed. He was tiring. Well, at least on the bright side, we're even, so that's that with the revenge. "So, we're even now, right?" I asked.
"Ha! Not even close," he smirked as he said this.
"Wait, what? You went on about how frustrated I was," I replied, sounding angry in my ears.
"That's what you caught? Cute… Yeah, you're adorable when you're frustrated, but what's that got to do with my revenge?" He asked, all mock-serious.
"But —," I had started, and he interrupted me.
"But what?" he asked, laughing.
"You're impossible," I concluded.
"And you're so adorable." He replied, laughing.
He stopped walking, his sudden stillness catching me off guard. I turned, finding him closer than I expected. His gaze was piercing; the playfulness in his expression dimmed slightly, replaced with something sharper.
"As fun as this little guessing game is," he said, voice softer now, "you know you still owe me an apology, right?"
I immediately remembered our first meeting, in the cafeteria. And then there's this so-called apology of his. Just what did he want me to be sorry for?
I sighed, glancing around. To my surprise—and horror—we were on my street. How had I not noticed? Panic set in. My house wasn't just my refuge—it was my secret. The last thing I needed was for Axel to know where I lived.
No one in school knew where I lived. Ah, that must be his deal, and it was almost working. The others must have told him to try to get close to me so they can know where I stay and use that as tormenting fuel.
"So, uh… where exactly is 'home' for you?" I asked, feigning nonchalance with a new sense of reassured, fearful caution.
He raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly. "So, I still don't get my apology. Hmm..." clearly seeing through my attempt to redirect the conversation. "Not far," he said vaguely.
"Oh…" I sighed.
"Where are you going?" he asked mockingly.
At that moment, the thought that ran through my head was to protect my hideout— "a friend's house," I blurted out.
Axel stopped walking, studying me like I was some fascinating puzzle. "A friend, huh?" he paused for a moment before continuing, "I thought you had assignments."
I forced a laugh. "Yeah, we're doing the assignments together."
He stared at me for a moment, obviously contemplating whether he wanted to believe my story or not. He chose to believe it, letting out an 'oh…kay' in confirmation.
My stomach sank. He wasn't buying it. Before I could dig myself deeper, his phone buzzed. Relief washed over me as he answered; his attention momentarily diverted. Seizing my chance, I quickened my pace, practically sprinting the last block to my house.
But luck wasn't on my side. Mom was outside tending her flowerbeds— 'of all the times, woman'. She straightened when she saw me, waving cheerfully.
"Honey, you're home! Please could you help me get those tools inside as you're coming in?" Luckily for me, she didn't wait for me to answer before going in. I was about to enter my front yard when he caught up with me again.
I froze. My lie unravelled instantly, and Axel, who had somehow caught up to me again, chuckled.
"Your friend's mom seems awfully familiar with you," he teased.
Noticing I had to make my lie really convincing and hoping he wasn't listening too closely to my mom when she said 'home', I replied, "Err, yes. She's... close with my family; she's actually my godmother," I stammered
"Wow, your god-sister and yourself are in the same school and the same class? Do I know her... or is it him?" he pressed further.
I noticed from the way he phrased that sentence and the way each syllable in the sentence was like cutting knives that he had long figured out my lie and was just playing around with me. I didn't have time for these games. Mother already saw me; she'll be wondering what was taking me so long. I needed to end this conversation, and I needed to end it quickly. I went with the quickest, least rude thing that came to my head.
Heat rose to my face again, this time from frustration. "What do you want, Axel? Seriously. I mean, you won't tell me why you don't have your car with you, and you won't answer any of my questions, so please just answer this one. —". Still trying to salvage what little was left of my lie, I added, "Also, I never said we were in the same school, let alone the same class; she's just a friend."
He looked shocked, possibly taken aback by my direct words. He contemplated for a while. Few seconds really, before he leaned in, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. "Okay, How about a deal? I'll tell you why I don't have my car if you promise not to ignore me."
He gave me that same overly attentive look he's been giving all day, like a scientist studying a hypothesis. I couldn't bring myself to utter a word. His request was so out of place. I stared at him, sceptical. "That's it? Why?"
He continued, "Believe me, this is the least taxing thing I could ask of you—well, except you want to give me that apology you owe me."
I sighed. "Alright, whatever. Go on."
"Promise?" he asked, pouting slightly.
I nodded, getting pissed at how he was dragging this out. "Fine," I muttered. "Deal."
He sighed, but he still didn't say anything; he just looked blank. I interrupted his limbo by adding, "Hey! I don't have all day. You know I still have to do my as--"
"-Assignments, yeah, I know." He nodded, and without skipping a beat, launched into some ridiculous story about a prank he pulled on his brother. Half of me tuned him out, but the other half—the half that had agreed to this deal in the first place—couldn't help wondering what he was up to. "Remember, you're not allowed to ignore me anymore." He said, concluding his long rant. He looked at me so deeply that it was like his eyes were drawing me into him.
This wasn't entirely a bad deal, although I had no idea why I accepted it. It must have been because I thought this was the quickest way to get rid of him, and my cover was already blown, so... Still, it wasn't a bad deal. I mean, I've been in the same school with him for four years now, and I've only just met him a couple of days ago; it's not like I have to see him every day, he's a homeschooler after all. So, yeah. This was a good deal. Not that I really needed to know why he had left his car, but still, good deal!
I nodded, assuring him that I understood the criteria for the deal we had just made. His smirk softened into a genuine smile. "Great! I'll be going now. My house is just along that corner," he said, pointing to a corner I wasn't paying attention to.
"Right," I said, with no feeling and making no effort to go inside the house.
"Go on in; your mother might start worrying," he said lightly.
"No, no, no. I told you already, she's my friend's mother, not mine; we're familiar, but not that familiar," I said, trying my best to look convincing.
He scoffed, "Oh, you're still going with that? Alright, so the level of familiarity that is not that familiar makes your friend's house your home?"
I was dumbfounded. So, he did hear all that my mother had said. I had to defend myself and protect my location. "Well–"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," he started waving me off, then continued, "I wonder how your mother would feel if she heard you now. - Godmother, indeed! Go on!"
He was right. My mother would probably feel bad, but she'll understand I had to protect myself eventually. I wanted to say something in my defence, but my brain kept failing me. I couldn't put two words together, let alone form a complete sentence. This sucks. I turned around and headed to the door of the house. I was about to open the door when he called out, "Don't forget the tools, honey."
I stopped dead in my tracks. He had said that way too loudly. Everyone in the house would have probably heard him. Oh, no. This is bad. I turned around to look at him and glare the meanest glare I could summon, but when I turned, he was already walking away, laughing to himself.