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I lifted my weight up to a sitting position on top of a sturdy school table I spotted at the very far left hallway. As soon as I sat comfortably, I removed the pair of Cinderella-like shoes Marcus had given me, kicking it away, then swayed my feet back and forth.
At a height of five feet flat, many had found it fascinating how my feet could never touch the ground while sitting. It was rather comfortable, truth be told. Being fun sized had its perks.
An out breath escaped my mouth. I didn't anticipate the night to be so uneventful. Hopes were set too high, I suppose. Partly, it was my fault for expecting too much out of this night. I should've steered clear from my wishful thinking of a romantic date (and Erin's the main culprit!)
"Here, drink this."
My head tilted up to Cedric, offering me a bottled water that he took out of the vending machine across the hallway.
I gladly took it out of his hand. "Thank you."
He smiled back then settled down beside me with a little distance from me, popping open his soda beverage then gulped out of it.
Gripping the top lid, I twisted it open to drink from it. The cold liquid ran through my throat like a rapid waterfall.
"Better now?" he asked.
Slowly, I bobbed my head up and down. "Thanks for bringing me here, it's quite a view."
Instead of taking me home, he offered to show me around St. Mary's. According to him, it'd be a waste of time and effort if I were to go home without seeing the entirety of the school.
Without second thoughts, I agreed.
And he was right. The interior of the older building was truly captivating. Built in the 1960s, traces of old fashioned walls and floors had lingered despite the unchanging wave of new style and interior design. Instead of abandoning it or demolishing it for extensive and sophisticated facility, the school decided to keep it as a reminder of the school's milestone and surprisingly enough, students still use this side of the building for holding student council and club room.
Although the classrooms were a little small compare to the main buildings, the atmosphere around here was calming, and I could see myself doing a sketch of the lovely view behind me.
The school was very close to the lake, and with the striking luminescent moon, the waters of the lake were like a sheet of shimmering paper, stretching for miles on end.
It was breathtaking. The old building wasn't that far from the shore but the barricade between the shoreline and the school property indicated that it was strictly prohibited to go beyond.
"Why did you take me here?" I asked while my eyes were glued to the breathtaking view.
"Just because,"
Squinting my eyes, I gave him a shrill look. "That sounds fishy."
Cedric raised both his hands. "I don't mean you any harm, Emerald."
"Unless..." The ominous tone of his voice made my suspicion deepen.
"What?"
"Unless you really want to hear the story that roams around this building." He continued in a sing-song tone but with a hint of eeriness.
I gulped, feeling eerie all of a sudden. "W-what story are you talking about?"
"Only the bravest of the brave come up to this building." Cedric started, not breaking our eye contact.
Fear crept in me when the corners of his mouth quirked upward. "And only the survivors come out with their spirit intact. They say that they hear faint cry in the girl's washroom, do you see the old clinic down the hall?" he pointed at the far end where the lights were dimmed out. "A student committed suicide there."
The thought of transparent ghosts sitting in one of the girl's cubicle and a hanging suicidal teenage girl bombarded my mind. "Don't scare me like that!" I yelled.
Cedric only laughed in delight. "Chill, I just made that one up."
"That's not cool!"
But the damage had been done. Creepy imagery of the dead had lingered in my brain.
"I, uh, I need to go the washroom for a bit. Just wait here," Cedric said, serious this time.
My eyes rounded in utter bewilderment. "You're leaving me here after you tell me those creepy stuff?"
"I'll be fast."
I was going to protest but then just like that, he walked away, leaving me unaccompanied—just me and my messed up mind.
I waited patiently anyway as I busied myself by watching the moonlight illuminate the lake not far from my sight. Pushing my brain to think for distracting thoughts, I sighed. Cedric was gone too long. Too long for a washroom break, at least.
I gathered the shoes I kicked off a while back to follow him downstairs.
The spooky feeling did not fade. Curse Cedric for making me an overthinking maniac. The left side of the brain—the most rational side was left defeated. I was an artist after all, thus, the vivid imageries from my right brain would dominate.
Cool down, Emerald. There's no such thing as ghost... there's no such thing as ghost! They don't exist. It's just a figment of your imagination.
Pushing the scary thoughts away, I walked on, minding each of my small strides. The stairs were not very far, but my being alone in an unknown abandoned building had rendered me nervous. Who knew what had happened here? What if what Cedric had said were actually true?
Oh God, help me.
I peered down the stairs, leaning half of my weight to the wall.
"Cedric?" I called, the sound of my voice bouncing through the empty hallways, echoing.
No answer.
"Cedric, I swear this is not funny at all!"
Okay, this was getting a little too bizarre and creepy by each passing moment.
"Ced—"
I paused when I caught a faint noise of footsteps clanked against the old wooden floors. It was from downstairs; I was sure of it. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth.
I leaned my back completely flat to the wall this time, waiting for him to reach me. The footsteps thudded louder as if he was in a hurry to come up.
Much to my surprise, the man was not who I expected to come up.
"Marcus," My mouth uttered his name in a soft tone, the uncontrolled shaking of my legs finally stabilized.
Did you look for me? I wanted to ask out loud but I was in utter shell shock. How did he find me here?
Without the five-inch-heels he got me, Marcus towered me. He wasn't that tall but the way he looked down on me with fiery eyes made me flinch. Even with the lack of light in the hallways, my head imagined his eyebrows furrowed in an unfriendly expression. He did not need to tell me he was mad— it was prevalent.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, uninterested.
"What are you doing here?" he passed back the question; his stoic expression remained the same. "With Cedric."
I rolled my eyes at him. "I asked you first."
He crossed his arms, raking his gaze all over me. I pursed my lips, signaling my refusal to say a word as I waited for his reply.
Finally, he let out a tired out breath. "Cedric texted me not too long ago. He said you wanted to go home so he took you here to distract you."
I bit my lips. That Cedric! He must've lied about the washroom break and texted Marcus while I was waiting here.
"Let me ask you again," he started, his nose flaring in anger. "Why are you with him?"
My body quivered when he pressed the word 'him'. Marcus had the nerve to be angry at me when he was the one at fault here.
"So what if we're here? We're just talking." I replied without looking at him.
"At an abandoned building?" he exclaimed, his voice raised an octave. "A man and a woman alone don't pray behind closed doors."
A nerve snapped on my forehead the moment I caught what he was implying, making me turn to him. "Oh? So I can't talk to the most familiar person in this goddamn event while you get to flirt with... someone while I get stood up?"
My chest pitched up and down after my speech. Little by little, his expression morphed from angry to aggravated to—wretched? His pursed lips were now an upside down smile.
We were playing the no-blinking-game as my back leaned against the cold wall. His copper orbs were intact on mine, reading me, arresting me. I looked at him intently, waiting for his backlash but he chose to be inaudible. He was aware of what I what I was talking about just by the way the color drained from his face.
I was feeling slightly triumphant at catching him off guard, but to hear his justification... I wasn't ready.
"I'm not flirting." he retorted with a low resonance. "And I didn't stand you up and I didn't bring you here to flirt with Cedric, either."
"I'm not flirting." I copied, our faces closer this time. "Pray tell, Marcus, why am I even at this event, huh?"
A hopeless groan escaped his mouth. "I thought it would be a great idea to familiarize yourself with my parents. Of course, I will not introduce you to them— not yet anyway, but at least you will get an insight on how they act around people."
My cheeks felt warm all of a sudden. "You parents... they were here?"
"Yes, but we can't be seen together in public, remember? It's your rule so I had Cedric watch you for me even though I really want to stay by your side."
The warmth in my cheeks was almost burning. I must be so red right now. "So... this is part of the deal."
He nodded. "What else could it be?"
"You could've just told me. You were being secretive about it!"
"I'm sorry. Did I get you excited?" he said with a mischievous grin.
My head couldn't decipher this man sometimes. One moment, he'd be calm and funny. The next, he'd be a complete puzzle.
"In your dreams." I spat a lie.
"You saw me with Cathy, didn't you?" Marcus added and I was a little baffled by his familiarity with the classical musician.
"If you're concerned about that, we're just discussing about the plan. I told her about it and she's really indebted to you."
I blinked once, twice, and my brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"
"Catherine is a childhood friend and my sister's best friend. We may look like we're flirting, but we're not. She said you're doing her a favor, too, so she wants me to pass her thanks to you."
My expression softened while my cheeks were getting warmer and warmer from embarrassment.
"So that means you didn't set me up in the auction just so you can have your own, private time with her?"
He shot me the same confusing look. "What auction? And why would I do that?"
"You gave me a red dress and apparently that is for the auction."
He only gave me a confused expression—a very long one. I shook my head lightly, furrowing my eyebrows, and pressing him an intent gaze to think deeper.
But, nothing. He did not say a word and he seemed... innocent.
"I rest my case. Just take me home, please," I muttered, trying to break through his arms acting like a wall.
He did not move an inch. "Why are you still mad at me?"
"I'm not mad." I replied, pushing myself out of his body barrier he created.
"Are you mad that I didn't answer you text this morning?"
Yes?
"No,"
"Are you mad at me because I didn't meet you earlier outside?"
"No!"
"Then tell me, dammit!"
I'm mad because I saw you with her and it just... hurts. I couldn't blurt that out loud, could I? It was as good as saying "I like you" in person.
I tiny squeal escaped my mouth when the lights flickered then completely shut off, sending goose bumps on my neck.
"W-what's going on?" I asked; my voice shaky.
"This building is old so it's a bit unstable." He explained. "Let's go before my parents find out I'm gone and left Cathy alone."
He grabbed my hand with a mighty grip, trying not to lose me in the dark. He took out his iPhone from his pocket and popped the flashlight app.
A few minutes later, we reached the main door after going three floors down. Thank goodness I wasn't wearing the ridiculously high heels, or else I'd be rolling in the dark.
The absence of light had made the serene looking establishment turn into a haunted building. I put my arms around me, feeling a little chilly air seeping through the tiny cracks of the old windows.
Marcus cursed as he shook the knob and the door open.
"W-what's wrong this time?"
"Tch. We're locked in."
I joined his panic-stricken banging of the door, screaming in case someone would come by to help us out. But even Marcus couldn't even break the old doors— it was too sturdy despite the old age of the building.
"It's no use. With everyone gathered in the main building, no one will come all the way back to the old building."
I sighed. "Can't you at least call somebody?"
Marcus checked his phone. The illuminated phone revealed his angst expression. "There's no service," Marcus uttered. "That idiot."
"Who are you talking about?" I asked.
"Cedric. It's probably a payback. No, it is payback."
I shot up a brow. "Payback? Explain."
"I did a silly prank on him and my sister a long time ago. It was prom night and I locked them both in here. That idiot can't even move on from that."
I gaped at him. "Why would you do that?"
"Like I said, it was a prank."
I let out a defeated sigh. "Well, looks like you got punked."
But the slight distraction from our awful reality quickly faded when silence took over. The awkward situation was slowly eating me inside.
Talk about something, anything.
My stomach rumbled so loud that Marcus turned his head towards my direction. We were a few feet apart, sitting and patiently waiting for someone to come to the building.
Now that I thought about it, all I had was a virgin piña colada.
"You didn't eat at all?"
Slowly, I shook my head and my voice small. "No."
A loud crumpling sound came from his direction, probably grabbing something from his pocket. I felt his figure moving towards me.
"If you want you can have this," he said.
I met his gaze, his yellowish-brown eyes concealed within the darkness of the room yet I could feel the intensity of his orbs.
"Why do you have that in your pocket?"
He shrugged and smiled. "I took too much crackers for the soup."
I muttered my thanks anyway and grabbed it. The crackers weren't a lot, but enough to fill my stomach. I just hoped we would get out of here soon.
I started on munching on the dry crackers, his vigilant eyes watching me. I ignored him as I finished the last cracker.
"I'll go check if the backdoors are open."
Panic surged me. The idea of being left alone in the dark was nauseating and the creepy images flashed before my eyes. Before he could step up. I caught a handful of his suit, holding a chunk of the fabric tightly.
Marcus stopped, looked back at me. "What's wrong?"
"C-can I come with you?" I stuttered.
"You're going to slow me down."
I bit my lips. "But I— "
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
My pride took over. "Me? Afraid?" I pointed at myself. "Yeah, right."
Marcus shrugged. "All right. Be a good girl and stay here then."
"No! I think it's better if both of us look for a way out. It fastens the search." I proposed even before he could leave my side. I stood up and patted my behind, then tailed behind him.
Marcus took out his phone and used it to give us light. We walked straight with only the sound of old creaky floors beneath our soles, unsure of where our feet were taking us. Not for me, anyway.
"I thought bringing you with me means it fastens our escape plan?" he said without looking back at me.
"Yeah?" I replied, unsure where he was getting at.
"How come you're still behind me? Grabbing my suit like a kid?"
Even without the light, I could envision him with a triumphant grin by his tone. I let go right away.
"If you're afraid, that's okay. You could've just told me that."
"You're going to make fun of me." I said as I stop from pacing behind him. He must've felt my letting go and halted as well.
"I will not do that to you." He reassured then grabbed my hand and continued to trek the dark place. The warmth of his hand dazed me. I never noticed how my hands felt like a dwarf's clasped in his.
After walking straight, we took a left turn and I suspected it to be the backdoor. Marcus yanked the knob, twisting and shaking it but his effort fruitless.
"I swear I'll plot a better payback. Just watch your back Cedric." Marcus chanted as he beat the door.
"What are gonna do? No one knows we're here except Cedric."
Marcus looked at me, seriousness written all over his face.
"W-what now?" I couldn't shake the ominous feeling inside me.
"We'll have to stay for the night."
Oh boy. Being alone in this dark, old building with Marcus was not good news at all.
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A/N: This is all I can say to Emerald right now:
LOL. I hope you guys like the chapter! Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share.
Song: ♪ Can't Help Falling by Laurell ♪