Chapter Nine
Azalea's POV
The cool air outside seemed colder when Hayden entered my house, carrying a small, modest bag. Everything about him made the atmosphere around us seem gloomier. How his eyes had a depressing droop, the hunch in his back, and the slow amble in the way he walked. I couldn't blame him, really. I wasn't exactly expecting him to be doing cartwheels.
He then stumbled past me, as if in a daze. I watched Z show him to a couch, feeling the itchy tire in my eyes. He dropped his backpack on the ground before he sat down. She gave him a blanket and wrapped it around him. Hayden didn't adjust it at all, he just sat there, still, his bloodshot eyes fixated on something. After that, Z left the room to retrieve something.
I slowly approached the couch Hayden was sitting on, and sat down in the plush chair next to it. He didn't even gaze upward to acknowledge that I was there, and continued to stare at nothing. Despite having a blanket bundled around him, he shivered. I expected him to start crying, but no tears and no noises were heard.
"I'm so cold," he finally whispered. "So, so cold."
I didn't know how to respond to this. I wasn't very good at comforting people.
"I could turn on the heat," I offered. But I knew what kind of coldness he was feeling.
He gazed up at me for what seemed like a while. Then, "I'm good."
I raised an eyebrow, and stood up and backed away from him with my hands up. "Okay, just trying to help."
He looked at me quizzically. I could imagine him thinking, She wants to help me? Since when? And meanwhile, I was thinking, Just trying to manipulate you into trusting me, pal. Nothing personal.
I kept walking and found myself at the staircase. I glanced up. The hall light was on, and Z turned the corner to come downstairs, carrying a pillow.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To the mall," I replied sarcastically.
Z gave me a blank stare.
I sighed. "Back to bed, where else?"
Looking annoyed, she met me at the bottom of the stairs. Murmuring in my ear, she said, "Stay with Hayden. Offer moral support."
"And why do I need to do that? Why not you?"
"Because it's your mission!" she whispered furiously, shoving the pillow into my hands.
Z glanced back, and then locked eyes with me. "Trust me. It will help."
"Fine," I grumbled. "Fine, fine, fine, fine."
I stalked off to the couch where Hayden was sitting without another word. I quickly changed my annoyed and cranky demeanor to seem convincing.
"Here's a pillow," I said with a soft tone, handing Hayden the white, cushiony object.
He accepted it, and placed it on the arm of the couch. Looking unsettled, he carefully lowered his body to a laying position, and placed his head on the pillow. His eyes didn't twitch or blink, they just continued to stay wide open.
"Can't sleep," he muttered.
Apparently it was now my job to please him, according to Z. So I thought of what puts me to sleep. Oh! I know!
"How about I give you a math textbook to read?" I offered him. "Those do the trick."
"Uh, sure," he said uncertainly.
So I went upstairs and brought down my geometry book. I flipped to a random page. It was a chapter focusing on the Pythagorean Theorem.
"Do you want me to read it?" I asked Hayden.
"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged.
"Okay. Here we go. In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem, also known as Pythagoras' theorem, is a relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the square of the hypotenuse..." I kept reading more and more, five pages, ten pages, and honestly, I was about to pass out myself. When I decided to call it quits, I glanced up, and Hayden was fast asleep.
See? Didn't I tell him that it bores you to sleep?
I smirked. I was very glad that I stayed to do that. I quietly opened up his bag, and searched it. I felt a few things, some toiletries, clothes. But no laptop. I silently panicked. Why didn't he bring it with him? His mission is to defend the laptop! I walked briskly over to my tied tennis shoes and forcefully slid them on without untying. Then I moved over to the front door and opened and closed it as quietly as possible.
••••••••••••
November was a cold and dark month. You barely get any sun, since the sun rises early and also sets early. It seemed especially desolate because my mission wasn't going well... at all. I wasn't expecting to stay here until towards the end of fall. I was convinced that I would be in and out fast. It's been an uneventful two months since the night I searched Hayden's house and couldn't find his laptop anywhere. It was getting close to Thanksgiving break, and not so far away from the real prize: winter break. But hopefully I won't be here then.
"Azalea, I'm throwing a party for the neighborhood," Z told me while she was standing under the doorframe to my room.
"Yay, socializing," I muttered with false enthusiasm.
"I'm doing this for you," she said sharply.
I looked up at her in a bored manner. "And how exactly will this help me?"
"There could be people that are possibly on Hayden's side, and have the laptop," she replied.
"Sounds silly," I said. "The neighbors probably don't have the laptop. None of them seem suspicious."
"You don't know that!" Z waved her finger at me.
I focused on the wall. "Uh huh, sure."
But Z may be right. Hayden could in fact have allies within the neighborhood... it couldn't hurt to try. And if all else fails, I have a back-up plan.
"Fine, let's give it a try," I grumbled.
"Awesome!" Z clapped her hands together. "I was hoping you'd say that, because you would've had to do it anyway. Party starts in a few hours."
I nearly fell off my bed. "Wait, WHAT?!"
"While you were up here moping, I prepared food," she explained.
I hopped off of the bed to follow her downstairs. "I wasn't moping. Just... thinking. About how this mission was failing." I paused. "Well I guess that is moping, now that I think about it."
"Surely you would've had the time to think the definition of moping over?" Z said as she walked down the stairs. "You know, because you were thinking so much upstairs."
"Do you not believe me?" I asked. "I have long thinking rituals from time to time. It's a thing."
She didn't seem convinced. "You would think after over three months of living with you I would've caught at least one of your "thinking rituals"."
"You did, just now," I said. "Congrats. Also, what did you think I was doing?"
Z laughed. "I really don't know. I was just messing with you."
I headed over to the chair to sit as Z started cooking again.
"Haha, you're funny," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "So, so funny."
•••••••••••••••••
"Azalea! Get the door!"
Grumbling, I opened the door. The first thing I saw was completely normal, something you would expect from your typical houseguest. It was Carla Brown, holding a platter of food with a warm smile on her face. After that it went downhill. It was the first time I had really seen Hayden a month. Sure, he was at school, but we didn't interact much. All I knew was that he developed a focusing problem over the last two months. But he appeared to be so exhausted. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he looked half-asleep. It seemed as if he was struggling to stay awake right now.
Then I noticed that he brought along his "cousin" (I knew that he wasn't really his cousin, but I thought it was funny that Hayden tried) Ashton. He freaked me out. He had this over-exaggerated smile, his face was tomato red and his eyes were so wide that I thought they would pop out of his head.
I made a sound that was a mixture between nervous laughter and a cough. "Come on in."
Hayden dizzily stumbled in and Ashton helped him through the door with a look of unease crossing his face. Carla didn't seem to notice, though.
When there were a good amount of people over, others started serving themselves food for dinner. Our neighbors sat in various areas of the house with their plates, chatting and eating. I grabbed a plate and served myself some fruit, and traveled around the house, surveying people. They gave me rude glares when they caught me staring.
I glanced around. I felt as if I was being watched...
...and sure enough, I was. Ashton, with a smitten expression on his face, was observing me from afar. Hayden came behind him, mumbling something. Ashton, still staring at me, said something to Hayden and gestured towards me. I grunted, and moved on.
I approached Z, who was in the kitchen.
"Observing people is hard," I whispered. "Everyone always glares at me when they catch me. Isn't there an easier way to do it?"
"Climb in the vents then," she said.
I couldn't help but grin. "Seriously? You're not kidding?"
"Does it look like I'm lying?" she asked me.
"Sweet! I'll head up there."
I climbed up the stairs to the second floor, a floor in which was not occupied, and opened the door to the attic that was on the ceiling. There was a loose vent on the wall there, so I opened it up, and there was a wide, metallic tunnel that lead onward. I ducked down, and crawled forward. I felt like a very awkward penguin sliding through the vent on my belly, trying to be soundless. I kept pushing myself, and my torso kept rubbing against the metal. It stung after a while.
Finally, I came to a opening. I looked down and could see people through the thick bars. People that didn't look suspicious. I sighed. I told Z this was a stupid idea! But she's about as desperate as I am, so I'll give her points for trying.
Just before I was about to move on, I heard a loud stumble and some clumsy crawling. Who would want to follow me... oh.
I knew who the person was before he came into view.
Ashton.
Hayden's POV
"I'm gonna go and follow Azalea," Ashton said, looking determined.
I looked at him, feeling light headed. "Yeah. That's aweeeesome."
Ashton gave me a strange stare. "Are you feeling okay? You've never acted this loopy... ever."
"Yes, I am fine," I said sternly. "I am so fine that I could win a fineness contest."
"Yeah, I'm staying with you," Ashton said, looking convinced.
I squinted. "No no no, please don't stay. I don't need babysitting or whatever that's called. I'm fine. Really."
"You're fine," he echoed, seeming skeptical.
"Yes," I said.
"Okay," Ashton said. "I'm gonna leave before I change my mind. But I have to ask, what are you planning on doing?"
"I'm just... gonna sit on this couch for a while," I murmured to Ashton, and hobbled over to the comfortable-looking seat.
Leaning back and exhaling, my eyes started getting droopy and began to slide closed... No! I shot up and sat up straight. My head was throbbing, and I felt a headache coming on. I drowsily glanced around the room. The conversations that were floating about seemed like everyone was speaking in a different language. I lazily gazed over at the people that were sitting on the couch across from me, staring at me strangely.
What's their problem? I thought.
They shot me a slight glare. I was confused. Why were they so hostile? I didn't do anything wrong. I think. Did I do anything wrong?
"Are you feeling okay?" one of them asked me.
No... I felt horrible. Ever since my mom nearly got killed, I've been staying up, watching her every night. I was so scared that the cloaked man would return and really kill her this time. As a result, I lost sleep. I dozed occasionally each night, though, so that's good enough.
"I'm fine," I said.
"You were asleep for ten minutes," the girl told me.
"I... I was?" I said, sitting up straight. My face flushed with embarrassment.
I looked over to the corner of the room, feeling uncomfortable, and saw a figure. The brightness of the room didn't seem to affect the darkness that shaded him. He slowly turned around and stared at me. I could feel my muscles go numb, and my heart pound out of my chest. I slightly spasmed out of fear and blinked. He was gone. I looked back at the girl, and she appeared to be concerned for my health.
"I'm fine," I mumbled. "I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine."
She didn't look so sure. "Do you have parents? Maybe they should know about this..."
"I don't have parents, I have a mom," I said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone. Gosh, why does everyone assume that my father's around too?! "Besides, it's not your business anyway! I can monitor myself, thank you very much."
Whoa! Where did that come from? I was feeling irritable and crabby, so that might've been it. I immediately felt guilty after those words came out of my mouth.
The girl shot me a dirty look. "Sorry for being concerned." She got up and left.
I leaned back with a sigh. Since when did I have rude outbursts like that? My body's answer to that thought was a splitting headache. It wasn't a valid answer, but it was a sign. That maybe I should get home and sleep.
But what about Ashton? I can't leave him alone. But he has Azalea. But he barely knows her. And my mom will suspect that something is up with me, and I'm guessing that it won't be the first time she did over the past couple months. Maybe I should just stop home for some Tylenol...
I stood up, and my legs wobbled. Come on legs, don't fail me now...
But you're absolutely fine! Why would you need medicine?
Of course I'm not fine. I haven't slept well for two months! I could start fresh now, while nobody knows of my issue.
But who's going to protect your mom if the cloaked man comes back? You're fine, really!
A wave of nausea passed over me. I snapped out of my thought process and realized that I was on the ground, leaning up against the couch. I rubbed my eyes and made a strange moaning sound. Did I pass out? I might've. Nobody was crowding around me, so that was a plus. Maybe I appeared to have gotten up and then sit down, leaning on the couch, so it wasn't major. Because last thing I wanted was attention. I hate attention.
I felt nauseous once more. I haven't been feeling the greatest over the weeks, but this may be the worst I've gotten. I slowly got up, and immediately felt light-headed. I saw dots, and strange, strange things I couldn't comprehend, but I knew I had to stay stabilized and focus on walking and making it out the door. Or at least to the bathroom. I slowly moved towards the front door, and saw something. A dark figure. My eyes widened, and my muscles tensed up. But how could he be there? Couldn't everyone have seen him? Or was it just me?
I backed away in fear. My breaths became distorted, and I felt as if I was in a racquetball court, where the quietest sounds made echoes. My eyes were rolling back, but I resisted to fall asleep. With failing vision, I tried to continue heading... somewhere. My hands hit the walls for support, but the walls seemed to sink in. My pupils dilated in astonishment. Then my legs lost all of the feeling in them. I looked up and saw the cloaked man stare at me as I collapsed to the ground and blacked out.
Azalea's POV
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, brows furrowing.
"I... I could ask you the same thing," Ashton said, seeming to gain some confidence. His face was still very red. "Who goes out of their way to climb in vents?"
"You do."
"So do you."
I gave him a long stare. He's too in love with me to see my bad side. So in theory, he was harmless.
"The reason I came up here was to escape from the party my mom planned," I lied. "It was very unexpected, and I hate social events. She forced me into it."
He nodded. "I never liked those events either. I just came upon Hayden's request."
I really think it was the other way around... but no matter. He's buying it!
"Speaking of which, I'm really worried about him. He hasn't been himself lately. Unless you think walking like you're going to fall any minute and mumbling strange things seems like him."
I chuckled. "I wonder why he's like that."
"He's been messed up since that incident with his mom," Ashton pointed out. "Could be the case."
"He's still hung up on that? That was two months ago!"
"Hayden doesn't exactly get past things that quickly, knowing him..." He looked deep in thought. "But I get that he's like that. And I feel bad."
"Yeah, I guess so," I sighed. "I don't consider him a friend, you know. We're just friendly."
"Oh, okay," he said, no emotions betraying him. He changed the subject. "So, uh, do you like Minecraft at all?"
"It's an all right game," I replied. "Once you get past the terrible graphics, it's kind of fun."
"They aren't that bad," I heard him mutter. Then, in a louder voice, "I'm a big Minecraft enthusiast."
"I game sometimes too," I said. "Mainly I code. I'm learning Java right now, but I know a couple other languages."
"What languages do you know?" he inquired.
"Lua, C++," I answered. "Lua's my favorite though."
"That's very cool," he said with an awed expression. "Very, very, very cool."
I started crawling aimlessly through the vents, trying to occupy myself. This small talk was making me feel awkward. Ashton followed closely behind. Finally, we reached a dead end, with slits underneath us to view what was going on. I peered through them, and saw a commotion. People were huddling around something interesting. But what?
"Check this out, Ashton," I nudged him, and moved aside so he could see.
He looked troubled, and wordlessly crawled to the slitted view that was a few feet away from us. I saw him flinch, and glance up at me anxiously. "It's Hayden."
"What's wrong with him?" I wondered.
"He's unconscious, and everyone is huddled around him," he said with his hands covering his face. "I shouldn't have left him! Nuts!"
He did some kind of fast crawl, but ended up slipping and landing on his back. He groaned, and got up. I quickly followed behind him, making sure he didn't fall or go the wrong way. We swiftly left the vents, and raced down the stairs to see if Hayden was okay.
The first thing I saw was Carla looking extremely upset, her gaze set on her son's limp but breathing body. His messy dark hair looked especially ruffled, his eyes were peacefully closed, and his abnormally pale skin made it seem as if he were dead. On regular circumstances, Hayden would've appeared to have been taking a nice long nap. Perhaps that's what he was doing, but I doubted it.
"Hayden never sleeps unless it's by force," Ashton said nervously.
"Do you think he's just sleeping?"
"I can't think of any other reason why he would be this way."
Carla picked him up and looked as if she was overtaken by nostalgia. She needed some help because he probably wasn't easy to carry, but she seemed sad as she exited the house, her son in her arms.
"I have to go now," Ashton said to me. "Thanks for hanging out with me!"
"Yeah," I said absent-mindedly as he rushed out of the door after the two. "It was great."
••••••••••••••••••
"There's a guy on Minecraft's side that loves you?" Z laughed. "Perfect! Manipulate the plans out of him!"
"That sounds like a good plan, only it'll take some time," I said. "I've figured out a quicker plan, though."
"What is it?" she asked, looking intrigued.
"I'll tell you later, it's still vague," I lied.
That was completely false. I thought about it for a while, and I decided that I needed assistance.
Assistance that will win the war.