Twisted Deception

~𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 70~

chapter 70
———

Third Person POV
The sun started to rise above the clouds as the teens had slowly started to wake up one by one.

Zane, for an example, had woken up just a minute ago to see Nathan still sleeping on his back with his left arm stretched out while Sofia somehow made herself comfortable on his left side as her head laid on his chest.

Zane smirked, seeing this as an opportunity. He got up, tiptoeing over to his bed.

"Ugh...Zane, what're you doing?" Jane groaned, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Shh!" Zane put a finger to his lip.

"What, what's going on?" Emma yawned, putting on her brand new black glasses.

Zane turned back to Nathan, taking a moment to observe him.

He took a deep breath before leaping into the air.

"RISE AND SHI—"

Zane quickly noticed something shiny poking up at him, making him grip the headboard tightly in both hands while keeping his body balanced against the end of the wall where the bed ended.

"Oh, come on" Zane complained. "How're you this awake in the morning?"

"I woke up an hour ago, dingus" Nathan answered in a sleepy voice, subconsciously wrapping his left arm around Sofia and running small circles on her back with his thumb. "Do you mind? I'm trying to fall asleep here."

Zane frowned. "Why hasn't Sofia woken up by now?"

"I don't know, now shut up before I drown you in the lake" Nathan threatened.

The vibrations from Nathan's voice slowly rumbled against Sofia's face, making her groan as she slowly woke herself up.

"Who, who're you gonna drown?" Sofia whispered.

"Nobody, now go back to sleep." Nathan pulled her head back down onto his chest.

"No, I wanna know" Sofia whispered, her cheek still against his chest.

Nathan sighed. "It's Zane. He's being an idiot at eight in the morning."

"...Zane's always been an idiot" Sofia sleepily groaned. "But you don't have to kill him for it. Just go back to sleep."

"I can't, he's stalked above us" Nathan pulled her head up to stare him in the eyes.

"Just tell me where you're going today" Zane pleaded. "I don't wanna be bored."

Nathan groaned. "I was just gonna go on a hike, shit."

"Okay then, I'm coming with you" Zane agreed.

"See? Probably solved." Sofia buried her face in Nathan's shoulder, intaking his rich, forest-like smell.

"Whatever." Nathan held Sofia's face in both hands, making her stare directly into his eyes. "I'm assuming that you're gonna come with us on our hike."

"Mmm, but I wanna sleep~" Sofia whined.

"I have to leave soon" Nathan chuckled. "And you're clearly still asleep if you're being whiny."

"Mmm, fine." Sofia raised herself up and rubbed her eyes.

Once she let out a yawn, she opened her eyes and noticeably blushed. One being that she remembered that she had been cuddled up on him and two being that she felt something hard poke up against her back.

"Um, would you mind—"

"Oh, yeah yeah, sorry." Sofia quickly moved to the side, hugging her knees against her chest. "Also, why is Zane hanging above us?"

"He was being nosy" Nathan answered. "Anyways, get ready before."

Sofia groaned.

———

The group had started walking through the woods with the best sporty gear they could find. They all wore knee length shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers while Jane carried around a bag of water bottles.

"Why are we doing this again?" Lucas grumbled.

"Sin wanted to go on a hike by himself, but Zane didn't want to be bored today so he followed along and somehow, Sofia got dragged in afterwards" Emma explained.

Xena snapped a few pictures with her blue, polaroid camera. "Then, Jane suggested that we come with and well...here we are."

The group started walking up a sandy trail as the row of green pine trees began to disappear.

"God...how much longer...are we gonna keep walking~?!" Isaac whined, putting his hands on his knees as he continuously pants.

"Come on Isaac, it's only been ten minutes" Sofia put her hands on her hips. "Work up some sweat, will ya?"

Isaac looked up and glared at her as he continued to pant.

Xena then took out her phone, taking more pictures as they continued to walk.

"Sofia, I bet you can't climb that tree by the time I count to four" Zane challenged.

"Bet you I can" Sofia argued.

"Then, prove it" Zane challenged.

"Uh, no." Nathan wrapped his arm around Sofia's waist just as she was ready to run up the tree on the right side of them. "I don't wanna be responsible for anyone's injuries out here. If you do anything stupid, you're gonna win something stupid. Got it?"

"Yes, Mom" Zane mocked.

Nathan rolled his eyes, pulling Sofia with him as he continued to walk in front of them.

"Why did you stop me?" Sofia asked.

"I just told you why" Nathan answered.

"I know, but....you've been acting strange since this morning" Sofia clarified.

"I've been acting weird?" Nathan asked. "Says the one who had herself curled up against me like a leech and smelling me in her sleep. By the way, you drooled on my shirt."

Sofia slightly blushed. "That was beyond my control and you know that!"

"Do I now?" Nathan mocked. "You know, for someone who sounds completely out of it in the morning, you somehow made barbaric hair look attractive."

"Shut up!" Sofia pushed him, making him laugh.

Jane nudged Isaac.

"I know this is random, but do you have any plans before school ends?" Jane asked, starting a new conversation.

"...No, actually" Isaac answered. "I have some after school ends, though. You?"

"Well, I was planning to go to the school board around the time school ends to report the principal but I threw that out the window" Jane answered.

"Wait, for real?" Isaac asked. "Why'd you give it up?"

"It was flawed from the beginning" Jane answered. "Even if I did report them, I have no proof of their actions. Many students have tried in the past, so I doubt that my feeble attempt could mean anything."

"So, you're just gonna set it aside? While they and those other troublemakers do more damage?" Emma asked.

"...Maybe" Jane mumbled. "But the most I can do now is give every other student at least two good performances before graduation."

"Performances?" Zane asked.

"Yeah, prom and the play" Jane answered. "As long as I can keep those on schedule, I'm okay with everything."