Beneath The Surface

~Chapter Twenty Three Setting Traps And Questioning Sanity ~

Vieana wasn't proud of herself.

Okay.
That was a lie.

She was extremely proud of herself.

Sure, the plan was a little insane. Maybe a touch illegal. But desperate times called for desperate measures - and right now, her desperation was spelled Fisher freaking Lewis.

---

The setup was simple:

Text him that she needed help.
Something vague, something urgent enough that a hero couldn't resist.

If Fisher showed up? Fine.
If MoonShadow showed up?
Game. Over.

She sat cross-legged on the bleachers at the old soccer field, heart hammering against her ribs as she typed:

Vieana:

> Hey. Can you meet me?
Kinda important.
Please don't be late.

She hesitated only a second before hitting send.

Now, she waited.

Waited for either her best worst decision or undeniable proof that she was absolutely, one hundred percent insane.

---

The sky darkened overhead, bleeding into shades of deep blue and purple. The air cooled sharply.
The field was completely empty, aside from a few moths fluttering near the old floodlights.

Five minutes passed.
Then ten.

Nothing.

Vieana's stomach twisted.

Maybe he wasn't coming.
Maybe she was wrong.

Maybe she was a total idiot, sitting here in the middle of nowhere waiting for-

A shadow dropped from the bleachers behind her with a soft thud.

Vieana jolted, spinning around.

And there he was.

MoonShadow.

Mask gleaming under the floodlights. Black clothes blending into the night. Chest rising and falling just slightly too fast, like he'd sprinted the whole way here.

He looked wild. On edge.

Like he wasn't sure if she was bleeding out somewhere or being kidnapped or-

"Are you okay?" he asked, voice slightly distorted but still cutting through the night air like a blade.

Vieana swallowed hard.

MoonShadow.

Not Fisher.

At least... not visibly.

She kept her voice steady. "Yeah. I'm fine."

His shoulders relaxed by a fraction, tension bleeding out of him.

"I thought you were-" he started, then cut himself off.

Vieana narrowed her eyes.

"You thought what?"

MoonShadow shook his head, stepping back like he needed more space between them.

"Nothing," he said. "Just... be careful. There's a lot going on right now."

"You seem like you're used to handling it."

He tilted his head slightly, studying her.

For a moment, neither of them moved.
Neither of them spoke.

Vieana's heart slammed against her chest so hard she was sure he could hear it.

"Why do you help people?" she asked suddenly, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. "Why risk everything?"

He was silent for a long beat.

Then he said, voice low:

"Because sometimes... you don't get a second chance to fix things."

There was something raw in the way he said it.

Something broken.

Vieana sucked in a breath, reeling.

Because for all the world, it sounded like something Fisher Lewis would say.

The mask.
The voice.
The attitude.

It all blurred together until she wasn't sure where one ended and the other began.

MoonShadow turned away first, disappearing into the dark with a swirl of his cape.

And just like that, he was gone.

Again.

Leaving Vieana alone on the bleachers, clutching her phone like it might somehow explain the mess unraveling in her chest.