Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 3

The first thing Luna noticed when she walked into the gym during practice after school was the red liquid on Trae's white shoes. Then she saw it on his hands which were clutching his nose. He was laughing, taking a tissue from one of the cheerleaders.

Luna walked up to him, noticing Colin standing behind him with a guilty look in his dark brown eyes. He was running a slightly shaking hand through his dark chestnut colored hair.

"What happened to you?" She laughed involuntarily at the lopsided grin plastered to his face under the blood. His chin was tipped up and he was straining to look at her. Any jealousy she had felt for the cheerleaders melted when she saw the way his grin changed when he looked at her.

"Colin hit me in the face trying to pass the ball to Lloyd. It's alright though, I'll live... probably." He moved his hand away for a moment and the blood spurted out again.

Luna rolled her eyes at that. "You three are so irresponsible."

"Can you check if it's broken?" His face was pulled into a tight smile, slight panic in his eyes.

Luna gestured for him to come closer. He bent his knees until his face was level with hers. He was only slightly above average height, just shorter than Lloyd. Although she was average height for a girl, and her shoes gave her about another inch, she still looked miniature standing next to him.

She held a dry tissue and pressed on the bridge of his nose. He winced, but didn't cry out. "Doesn't seem broken." She shrugged, pushing him away.

He straightened, checking to see if he had stopped bleeding. "Cool, thanks," he said quickly, throwing down the tissues onto the bottom row of bleachers and running back to the court, a bruise already forming across his face. Luna sighed dramatically, walking off the court.

Aside from Razaia, there was only one other girl in the empty bleachers, sitting on the other side of the stairs. Luna hopped up and sat beside Razaia who was lost in her thoughts watching the boys practice.

"He really needs to be more careful," Luna said, snapping Razaia back into the present.

"Who, Trae or Colin?" She responded with a slight laugh to her tone.

"All three of them." Luna waved her hand dismissively with a scoff.

Razaia laughed out loud. "You know how they are."

"Yeah, irresponsible." Luna sighed, looking away from the court. "One day they're all going to fall off the edge of a cliff."

Razaia laughed again at Luna's dry tone. "Don't say that."

"Right, sorry, they're all going to shove each other off the edge of a cliff because they think they're funny."

Razaia snickered. "You have so much faith in them."

Luna rolled her eyes, letting a silence fall over them. They watched the boys for a few minutes, not a word exchanged between the two of them.

"What do you think about Lily-Rose?" Luna said finally, her thoughts drifting to the quiet blonde.

"I don't know, she seems really nice," Razaia responded, not tearing her eyes from the court. "Lloyd's definitely got a thing for her."

"I think he was freaking her out. Did you see how tense she was?" Luna let her gaze wander the gym, not focusing on anything in particular.

"I guess so, now that you mention it. She just seems kind of... fragile. Like she'll shatter if you say the wrong thing." Razaia shrugged.

"She seems lonely. Do you think she wants to be friends with us?"

"Luna, everyone wants to be friends with you."

"That's not true," Luna protested.

"I think it is. You have a tendency to attract good people."

"Do you really think so?"

"I do."

Luna looked back to the court, watching the boys fooling around. From the corner of her eye, Luna could see the cheerleaders practicing by the door, throwing around pom-poms and dirty looks. The door swung open and a girl walked inside. She had long hair so blonde it was almost white, cascading down her back in soft waves. Her eyes were ice blue, tearing through anything she set her gaze on. She stalked through the gym, an expression as cold as her teary eyes set across her face.

She stepped up to Eve, snatching up her wrist and dragging her away from the group. She looked as though she had been crying for a while. Luna guessed that the girl was Eve's younger sister. They didn't look very much alike, Eve was tall with dark hair and brilliant green eyes, while the girl was short with light eyes and lighter hair.

Her gestures were frantic, as if she wanted them to leave immediately. Eve was dismissive, waving a hand at her and pushing her towards the bleachers. The other girl looked panicked, clamping her hands over her ears and curling against herself as she sat down on the floor. Eve rolled her eyes and walked back to the cheerleaders.

☆★☆

"Are you sure your nose is okay?" Luna asked as Trae pulled up in front of her house.

"Yeah, it's fine. It stopped hurting after a while." He smiled, one corner lifting higher than the other.

"Good," she said in response, trying not to look away from him. "I'll pretend it's not completely blue."

"Is it really?" He pulled down the sun visor and stared at himself in the mirror. He flipped it back up, sending her a smirk. "Well, at least I look like I've been in a fight."

"No you don't, you dork. You look like you got hit in the face with a basketball."

"That's only because you know what actually happened," he pouted.

She mocked his pout, opening the door. "Yeah, sure," she rolled her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow." The corners of her lips lifted, her cheeks tinting pink. "Bye Trae."

"Bye," his smile widened as she closed the door, and he drove off towards his house.

Lloyd rolled his eyes at her. "Can you stop it with the nose? It wasn't that big of a deal."

Luna shrugged. "Wouldn't want his nose to end up looking like mine," she ran a finger over the bridge of her nose.

He rolled his eyes again. "You're so dramatic."