Between Two Fires

^.^ Chapter 8 ^.^

 Unstrapping myself, I walk to the ledge and Josh grabs my hand helping me down.

"That was amazing!!" Josh puts his hand up for a high five and I connect mine with his. The adrenaline was still coursing through my veins, the feeling of the wind rushing through my hair as we zoomed down past the trees still fresh on my mind. I jump up and down in excitement.

"Lets go again?" Josh asks. 

"I'm in!" I say. I make a move to go towards the path but Josh stops me.

"Lets wait for the others to come down." I nod and just then I hear a girl screaming. I look towards the end of the zip line we just came down to see what the commotion is about. Luca is standing with the blonde girl screaming at him.

 "I didn't force you to come down the zip-line." I can barely hear his nonchalant response as he mutters it under his breath. She huffs childishly and changes her demeanor drastically. She plasters a smile on her face places her hands on his arm holding him still. Her hands on him infuriates me inexplicably and I look away.

Where are Lea and Ethan...? My foot taps impatiently on the ground and I'm suddenly not as excited to go down the zip-line again.

"Could you please get this off me? I don't know how to untie the belt..." She trails off, her tone now sweet. I don't wait to hear Lucas' response.

"Josh, I'm going to go ahead to the car to grab some water." 

"Yeah sure, I'll let you know whats happening when Lea gets down here." He nods reassuringly. Before I turn to go I realize Luca and the girl are no longer where they were. 

Probably making out behind a tree with blondie. 

As I approach the car I see movement in the interior. With little hesitation I get closer and see Luca sitting behind the car on the ground taking a swig of MY bottle of water. I walk up to him and he seems startled. His shoulders relax when he sees its me.

"Why are you hiding from your girlfriend?" I say, happily noting that my tone comes out neutral. I smirk and take the bottle from where he placed it beside him, opening it to take a sip.

"Girlfriend?" He looks genuinely confused and then smirks, "Oh you mean Marie?" He turns away and hides his laugh with a not-so-discreet cough.

"I'm sorry did I say something funny?" I put my hand on my hip and glare down at him. The Jerk...He looks up and his eyes widen when he sees me glaring at him.

"No, no, no - I wasn't laughing at you I was just laughing because you thought that me and Marie... Nah. I don't do girlfriends." He pauses and smirks, "Why. Are you jealous?"

This guy is so infuriating! Why would I be jealous.. ugh! Hiding my internal battle I roll my eyes muttering a quiet 'As If' and drop the bottle on his lap. Honestly.

I open the back door of the car and lie down with my legs hanging out the door. It was now close to noon and it was a lot hotter than when we had arrived. I don't hear Luca get up so I assume he is still there. The last couple of days had been eventful but out of everything that had happened, he was always forefront on my mind. He had seemed nice at the beginning and I would be stupid to deny the attraction I had felt when I officially met him yesterday, but today he was being infuriating. 

You say that Cyan, but he hasn't really done anything....Maybe you are jealous? I discard the thought immediately. There was no logic in it, I mean I had just met the guy and there was nothing but a minor attraction between us so jealousy was not a possibility. 

Was it?

I had never been jealous with Seth. That was why I had taken so long to find out he was going behind my back. So why would I be jealous of someone I barely know?

My thoughts are put on hold when I hear voices approaching the car I get out of the car and close the door. Luca is on his phone but puts it away, getting up as well. I spot Josh, Marie, Lea, Ethan and four other people which I can't remember the names of from the party walking towards us. 

"Cyan! If you want to go again a few of us are going up now before it gets any later. We still need to drive up to the cliff for lunch." She signals for me to follow her and I do. They make their way to the cable car and Josh puts his arm around my shoulders.

"Be my partner again?" He asks, winking down at me playfully. I'm about to answer him when I hear Luca call my name.

"I thought you could handle trekking the mountain?" He smirks playfully but his eyes are not on me. They are shooting daggers towards Josh.  "Does this only mean you can only handle going up once?" I had never been able to brush off a challenge.

"I don't know why you are challenging me, but I'll take the bait. I'd rather walk up anyway." Turning to Josh, "You don't have to come walking, I'll just meet you up there." 

"Sure, I'll let the others know." He turns around and jogs off to catch up to them.

"Aren't you going to tell him you'll miss him?" I ignore Luca's mocking tone and walk past him, brushing him roughly with my shoulder as I walk by.

"Why, are you jealous?" The sarcasm is evident in my voice.

The main reason I'd taken him up on the challenge was because I wanted to know why he was so hateful towards Josh. I really didn't think he was that bad - he had been a nice guy so far. 

I wait a couple of minutes before speaking up as we walk up the path. "So - I was wondering.." My legs are actually tired but I refuse to let it show. "Why are you so hostile towards Josh?" I get straight to the point. The silence stretches out few seconds and I am sure he isn't going to give me an answer. 

"It's a long story." I'm surprised to hear him speak up. Although his answer his short when I look at him I can tell he is lost in his thoughts. 

"We are climbing up a mountain. I am pretty sure I have time." I decide to push it a little, hoping for a more elaborate answer. His eyes meet mine and he seems surprised at the fact that I am pushing the subject. There is also a sadness in his eyes which I hadn't expected. It makes me think that the story might not only be long but also much more elaborate than I had initially thought. I look away and decide to drop the subject. 

We go up in silence and, unlike last time, I accept his helping hand to go over the fallen branch on the path. There must be only five minutes left for us to reach the zip-line when he speaks up again.

"He hurt my sister. That's why we don't get along." I feel him grab my wrist softly, pulling us both to a stop. I turn to look at him, his frame towering almost a full head above mine. His eyes are serious and staring right into mine. I try to say something but I can't bring myself to say anything. He speaks up again, "Look - I'm not trying to tell you what to do or judging you in any way. But I would like to warn you to stay away from Josh. He might not seem bad and he can be a good friend but if you expect anything more he will hurt you." Hesitantly he adds, "And I don't want you to get hurt. I think we've both had enough of that." 

I look at him, startled. He drops my arm and gives me a weak smile before continuing up the path. His last comment leaves me dumbfounded. How would he know what I've been through?

Multiple questions ring around my head. I had sought out answers and instead I was left with more questions. Although now instead of feeling frustrated at Luca, I was curious. Which was far more dangerous. 

Curiosity killed the cat... We are almost at the end of the trek but Luca is still lost in thought. I find myself wanting to distract him so I do the first thing that comes to mind.

*****

What does she do?? Sorry for the short chapter but I thought that would be a pretty good way to end it :p Please vote or comment!! I would appreciate it :D Ether way thank you for reading and giving my book a chance, it means a lot <3