As Thomas swiftly left the room, I turned to Valentina, curiosity within me. "Are you wearing some sort of contact lenses?" I inquired, 'a color changing lenses or something?'
Ignoring my question, Valentina issued a solemn warning. "Watch out for Thomas. Don't let him take you somewhere without supervision. And don't be alone with him," she advised, her tone grave and urgent.
Intrigued by her words, I probed further. "Is he planning something against me?" I asked, sensing an underlying tension in the air.
Valentina's response was 'ominous' to say the least. "Stay low and don't bother him or me with anything for your own good," she cautioned, there was a hint of annoyance in her eyes.
Feigning ignorance, I pressed on. "What do you mean by bothering?" I questioned.
Her patience wearing thin, Valentina's voice grew stern. "Stop trying to test us out or whatever and investigating us like a creep," she snapped, her frustration palpable.
Unfazed by her calling me a 'creep', I continued unperturbed. "I was only curious if you and Thomas had some special training, explaining why you both are so capable. And how did you know Thomas was approaching this classroom when he made no sound?" I inquired, my curiosity piqued.
Before I could finish, Valentina cut me off with a sharp retort. "Curiosity killed the cat," she remarked, her gaze steely and unwavering.
Perplexed by her response, I tilted my head slightly and countered, "Thomas is planning to kill me? Isn't that a bit too much?"
Valentina's demeanor shifted as she closed the distance between us, her eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that sent a chill down my spine. "Maybe," she replied cryptically. "But it's best if you stay low from now on. And when the midterms start, forget we ever met—"
Interrupting her, I interjected with a wry remark. "Ah, I see you both are some sort of fugitives on the run or something?"
I spoke again, "are you hiding here? Perhaps hoping to escape whatever was chasing you or chased you both out, from you're previous location?"
Valentina's expression turned blank as she inched closer to my face, her voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "You really are not eager to keep your life intact, are you?" she murmured, her words laced with an underlying threat.
Maintaining my composure, I responded in a neutral tone. "My life? I doubt there's anyone who could take the 'life' away from me," I asserted confidently.
Observing the purple glow in her eyes, I couldn't help but note, 'Interesting contact lenses.'
As Valentina leaned in closer, our noses almost touching, she uttered a final warning. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
And with that ominous declaration, the door suddenly burst open—
"Val! I came by to check.....on yo- oh?" Luna suddenly barged in and looked at us both with her face slightly turning red.
We were in a position that would definitely make anyone imagine 'things' that were to transpire. My and Valentina's faces were so close that they were almost touching.
I stole a quick glance at Valentina.
Her usual intimidating and cold demeanor was nowhere to be seen; instead, she had a shocked expression on her face, standing there like a deer caught in headlights. She obviously was thinking the same thing as me: 'to get caught in this position.'
Anyway, that did not matter to me much. We could hopefully, fingers crossed, explain to her friend that this is all a misunderstanding.
Looking back at Luna and her reaction, one thing came to my mind. 'Yep, that's not going to happen now, is it?'
The situation aside, I was still dumbfounded by how she was able to sense Thomas and not a simple girl like Luna, who made a lot of noise before barging in.
"Ah- th-that, n-no, sorry, i-in a classroom V-Val, you are s-so bold!" Luna, with a tomato face, somehow stuttered those words, barely making any sense.
"B-but wouldn't you g-get into trouble i-if someone were t-to." I could practically see steam coming out of her head before she stopped and then she held the door handle.
"N-never mind, sorry for interrupting!" Then, with a loud 'bang,' she closed the door, and I could hear her footsteps scurrying away from the classroom.
Feeling bewildered and unsure of what to do next, I looked at Valentina and told her, "It seems we'll be sticking together for a while."
"Sh-Shut up! w-we have to clear this misunderstanding and explain it to her," yelled Valentina as she glared at me like it was all my fault.
I didn't understand how it was my fault, as she was the one who approached so close to my face, and she was also the one who somehow was not able to notice Luna approaching.
"Maybe you wanted to get caug—" Before I could finish speaking, I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I looked down and saw a compass stabbing my arm.
I glanced at Valentina, whose expression suggested that if I were to keep my mouth intact, I should stop talking.
I went quiet before attempting to speak again, but she raised her compass, ready to stab me again if I uttered a word.
So, I closed my mouth and took out my phone to show her the time—3:02 pm. I then gestured towards the door, after which she put the compass down.
As I packed my things and was about to leave, she caught my wrist and spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you have a family, right?"
I didn't respond, only looked at her. Was she threatening me by involving my family?
"If you care about them, then don't throw your life away by meddling with us."
She paused, as if trying to say something more, but decided against it. She squeezed my wrist tightly and then let go.
* * *
"Sigh, what the hell is his problem?" I muttered under my breath as I watched Edward exit the door. Just before he left, I squeezed his wrist so tightly that I could hear the sounds of his bones moving.
Throughout the whole ordeal, no, throughout the whole day, he was unfazed by what was happening around him.
"I even hinted that his family could be in danger," I thought to myself. Yet, he showed no reaction, just looked me in the eyes as if to say 'Is that so?'
The information that stood out to me the most was the fact that he was missing for 14 years.
"Apparently, he was living off from streets to streets," Albert had dug up on him.
'Does someone who lived the majority of his life on the streets act like this?'
Definitely not. There's something he's covering up too.
And something tells me that it won't be the last time we'll see each other.