Hey.

Chapter Twenty Six - 333 Is The Lesser Known Sibling Of 666

"You need to see me do a Parrot Nevaeh. One look at me and you'll be mystified." Ashton bossed about.

"Pirouette," I corrected him, jumping slightly to search through the crowd of bobbing heads. The mass of students crawled forward, excitement and apprehensiveness fluttering through the hallway every step we approached closer to the outdoor field.

"I already told him that. Don't bother. It's what he calls it even though it doesn't have feathers." Sunny said.

"Actually it can have feathers." Ashton sassed. "I could decorate a tutu and wear it and do a parrot just to prove it." Of course, he would say that.

Sunny glared at him before going back to arranging her flashcards which she kept arranging non-stop for half an hour now. Her curly hair was left untied and as if it knew this, it took it's time consuming more space than an average basketball. Her breathing was ragged and below her high-quality eyeliner, I could see the weariness making it clear that the upcoming election was getting to her.

A flash of red caught my eye and instinctively my hand came up and hovered just above her chest. "Your top's unbuttoned," I whispered.

Slapping her cards on River's face, she cooly buttoned up her shirt. I applaud her for doing it so calmly. If that was me I would've blushed and rushed to a sedated place just to button my blouse up.

And I don't even have boobs to show off.

Speaking of blouse, I glanced down at my uniform. Long white sleeves swallowed my whole arm, the cuffs folded at my wrist because it was a little loose on me. The skirt, a checkered yellow and burnt orange pattern end a couple of inches below my knees. The same pattern inked on the collar. The necktie was plain yellow with the orange logo of our school embroidered in the middle.

About time it arrived.

The cylindrical fluorescent lights flickered for a second and I had to force my eyes to shut.

I leaned sideways and my head connected on a soft yet hard surface. I immediately knew who it was.

The person forcefully tried to shrug me off.

"Don't move. Just, five minutes." I whined, continuing to walk with my eyes closed and head perched on River's arm.

"You girls need to stop treating me like furniture and more of a human."

"Oh darling, go buy yourself a train." Sunny tried and miserably failed to sound calm with how her usual confident voice morphed into a high-pitched breakage.

"I would but I don't have money."

"That's a lie. You have money," Sam intercepted River with a thought of her own. I smiled at how she isn't too afraid to enter conversations like she used to be.

"It was metaphorical!" My head jumped a little as River used his arm to demonstrate his frustration, and in the late second realized that I was leaning there, dropped it back to his sides. "And what Sunny said was random. Why didn't anyone point that out."

"Because," A cold voice, much like ice answered from the back. "there are more random things rather than what she stated."

"Name some then." River ordered.

"A walrus has knees," I stated.

"The letter G is simply a curved line," Aiden supplied.

Another voice answered, "333 is the lesser-known sibling of 666." I didn't have to guess to know who said it.

"Ow!" I counted the number of slaps inflicted upon Ashton, hopefully at the back of his head. It was four.

"Sunny would you please fucking stop twitching," Logan warned. "And stop shuffling those cards, it's making me nervous too."

I opened my eyes and looked at her, frantically recoiling when my face met her curls. "Bleh, bleh, puhst," I blew a raspberry in front of me, furious to get the bitter taste of hairspray out of my tongue.

Sunny laughed. A full, slap your friend because it's so funny laugh.

Glad I could be of service.

Multiple chuckles of my friends followed.

Idiots.

I stood straighter and rubbed my eyes, biting back a yawn. Squinting, my gaze traveled around and landed on the color of the lockers. They were grey, like run-down cobblestones molded back together by a professional cement mixer. Some even had words scribbled on it. Big Teddy one said. The Athletes' hallway.

Just above it, a massive flyer danced still. Vibrant and big, bold lettering drew me in and I blinked at it the first time I read it. "What day is it today?"

Craning my head around me, I was met with confused expressions,

"Monday. September first. Why do you look like you're about to faint." Aiden answered as he swiped at his phone. I think he uses it almost every minute now. From shoving his headphones in the hole at the bottom to getting the answers for our science homework, he always had it present. Like there's a secret pocket hole in his hand and he would just go Abracadabra and there it is. A phone.

In a snap, the tiredness that I was feeling burst around my body, leaving only anxiousness and panic in its wake. "You mean Regionals is next week?"

"Uh...yeah." River pronounced slowly.

"Wait," Sunny stopped walking. "Regionals is in two weeks? What. No, it can't be." Pausing, she stared whirled around to face Logan. "Can it?"

My fingers itched to tug her by the shirt and lead her somewhere to discuss this. Anywhere else but the middle of the hallway. I spared a look at people giving us scowls and tried to smile without grimacing.

Raising an eyebrow about an inch high, Logan met Sunny's eyes with a cold gaze of his own. In doing so, his expression morphed into a less harsh one. He didn't notice. Sunny didn't even notice. Heck, many people wouldn't even notice.

"It can."

"No, it can't. I forbid you to ever telling me that."

Logan sighed, eyes flickering to the side for a moment before he grabbed her by the shoulders and wheeled her away, leaving us. "Stop stalling, you have an election to win."

River followed behind them, hands in his pockets, looking like he ruled an empire in his past life. He always looked like that. All confident and suave. Only a few people were with us. Some lurking in the corners, sitting by the stairs and a senior passed by with another boy giving him a piggy-back ride shouting curses.

Sam fell in step beside me. She gestured to the skin under my eyes. "You look like a zombie," She inspected closely. "Without the decaying skin and fraying hair, that is. Were you finishing a book last night?"

"Apart from helping Lavender and Violet with their homework, trying my best to strangle Xavier mentally and helping him," I gestured to Ashton. "finish his science essay then yes, I indeed had finished a book last night."

Aiden made a tsk sound at the back of his throat, hiding his phone at the back of his trousers. He shook his head, making his still wet, matted hair drizzle us with droplets. "You two are no doubt are BTTEOT."

"BTTEOT?" All three of us turned to look at him and I made sure to check him from head to toe, inspecting if he had a gash on hid forehead that none of us noticed. Maybe he ate a spaghetti dumped in poison, or that he drank too much water and hadn't peed yet making all the toxins that were supposed to be in pee flow through his veins and ended up being a gobbled up soup in his brain.

Maybe, just maybe, I need to sleep.

"BTTEOT. Bookworms till the end of time. I'm surprised you didn't know that. Are any of your brains working?" The copper-head thumped us all in the back of our heads.

I irritably rubbed the spot. "Is yours working?"

"Yes. It's working perfectly well."

"Doesn't seem like it." Ashton narrowed his eyes at him, his yellow tie had wandered off and draped itself around his neck.

"And we're not Bookworms." Sam glared. She pushed up her glasses and I noticed as we walked past a corner that we were almost out the field, the main entrance doors closer and into view.

"We're Bibliophiles." I finished.

I heard a snicker. "Bibliophile," Ashton laughed again. "It's like a crossbreed between a Bible and a pedophile. Bibliophile."

I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed Sam's hand. I pulled her with me and just as were right in front of the entrance doors, I heard my name being called. "Nevaeh! Yoohoo! Over here."

I stopped and looked for the owner of the voice. The cheery familiar voice.

Then sighed when I caught sight of Sunny holding a wary looking Blake by the arm, holding him in place. Wasn't she stressing over her speech a few minutes ago?

"Hey," I smiled and gently pulled Blake away from her death grip.

"Hey," He smiled back.

Sunny watched us with those dark eyes of hers and suddenly, without warning pushed past me, making me stumble into Blake. "Don't you dare follow us! Blake takes her away." She hollered as I watched her tow all of my friends away, grasping Sam's hand and Ashton's ear, grinning and pulling the two away while nudging the others to leave,

"But it's your final speech!" I yelled back. "Today's election. Good friends support friends- even the annoying, not down to earth, psychopath friends you know."

Were there people looking? I don't know. Am I probably going to get caught shouting the whole building down? I don't know. And I don't care.

Not right now. I was sleepy, and I want to cry and I want to go with them but now they left me with someone I was desperately trying not to catch feelings for.

Well, trying not to catch more feelings for.

Maybe I was lying.

Maybe I'm not.

I don't care right now, I need close my eyes or else I'll take a nap right here on the floor.

"Here." Blake extended a black water bottle to me. With paint splatters and muggy fingerprints decorating it.

I stared at it. Then I stared at hid face. "If you're trying to poison me I'll give you a D plus for the effort. You can kill me in so many ways and you choose this?" I raised an eyebrow at him, eliciting green wide eyes in return. His blonde hair was a mess and my lips lifted at the sides as I watched his long slender fingers try to fix it. In my opinion, he didn't have to, he was still attractive even with the pink tint coating his cheeks.

He rolled his eyes and in a movement too fast for my hazy mind to comprehend, he held my hand and placed the bottle in it. "Just drink it. It's coffee and I haven't drunk on it yet."

"So... zero cootie germs?" I asked meekly, smiling at him.

He tilted his head and smiled back making his glasses slide a little on the bridge of his nose. "Zero cootie germs."

That was the moment Ms. Yezzett made her entrance. "Good, you guys are here." I and Blake jumped at her popping out of nowhere.

She was holding a little hand and I smiled at the sight of Cybella. Her blonde curls were in a fluffy ponytail and her white tube made her look even cuter. Much cuter than Blaze. And I wanted to kidnap the kid the last time I saw him so that must be saying something.

"Can you guys watch over her for a moment? I need to get something really quick." She pleaded and before either of us could agree or object, she was out of the door. Her heels making the satisfying click-clack sound as she went.

More like an exit. I snickered at my inside joke. God, I am turning into a lunatic.

"Hi," Cybella timidly waved.

I grinned, pushing the thought of making a little girl cry at the farthest back of my mind. At the far, far, very far back along with some of my other thoughts. I guess it's true when they said you aren't you when you're sleep-deprived.

"Hey, Cybella. Do you remember me?" I asked, slowly sitting down the floor with my skirt forming an umbrella shape to keep my unmentionables from display. She nodded frantically, waving quickly to a student who had just entered the building running. The poor man couldn't resist her youthful charm and smiled at her, waving back, still running making him bump into a trashcan.

Cybella giggled. "What about me?" Blake asked, still standing making both of us girls crane our heads up at him. I saw her nod at the corner of my eye but I didn't know for sure because my eyes were taking in a different matter. A really really different matter.

It was the first time my I noticed Blake was wearing the uniform. White long sleeves covered his arms, the ends rumpled making me give the idea that he didn't care at all, burnt orange trousers and a yellow tie under his collar. All the male students were wearing it but it was different on him.

Different in a good way.

I must've been looking at him in a not so subtle way that he held out a hand.

I frowned at the hand. If he noticed me checking him out he didn't say anything about it and I found myself smiling at the thought. About how everyone else I know would have teased me to the ends of the Earths. How the main protagonists in books I read about didn't do that. "I can stand up on my own, you know."

"I know you can. I'm just trying to help." He flashed me a lopsided grin.

Tentatively, I placed my hand in his and as he gently pulled me up I squeaked when I felt someone pushing on my backside. I turned around with the bottle still in my hand and was greeted with Cybella, arms stretched out and palms facing outwards.

"What made you so late today?" I asked Blake as my eyes followed Cybella who was busy staring at the bulletin board a few feet away. I tried my best not to freak out seeing as he still held my hand. His hold was loose. Kind of like it was on the bridge of letting go.

He didn't though.

No, he didn't because when I turned to look at his face, he was staring at Cybella with watchful guarded eyes. This should be illegal.

Holding Blake's hand was like holding your hand near a flame. Close enough to feel how thousands of nerves there would go bonkers at the small gesture but far enough not to have any collateral damage. Collateral damage like the barrier in my heart keeping me from succumbing into that not-to-be-named-feeling .

"Vennice forgot where she placed her inhaler so I had to help her find it all over the house. Turnes out it was just in her bag the whole time. Mom was the one who found it," I felt his finger move slowly, drawing a line from the knuckle of my middle finger until it went lower and lower.

And as I felt his hand slipping away from my hold slowly, something inside of me broke making me grab his hand again. Blake's head whipped towards me, shocked at my action. I could still feel his gaze on me as I tried my best to search where my brain was.

Maybe I left it at home this morning.

"Um," Clearing my throat, I lightly skimmed my index finger over the small patch of white paint in the skin of the middle of his thumb and pointer. "I noticed that you always have paint splatters every day whether it be on your clothes or leg or shoe. I thought it was just that one time but then you started having them daily. Is it because of the upcoming regionals next next week?" My voice was quiet.

I met his gaze to see him already looking at me with a calculating look in his eyes. There was something else in there but I couldn't point it out. His eyes flickered towards where our skin met then back up to me. He didn't say anything for a moment then that as when he slowly nodded his head. "Yes."

I nodded back and let go of his hand, turning to the side and hastily opening the water bottle. I took a small sip. My heart was beating so loudly that it ringed in my ears. I felt my hair stick up behind my neck. Why is it so hot suddenly? Is mother nature being hijacked or something?

I heard Blake's voice. "Wait, where's Cybella?" I turned to where I had last seen her a couple of seconds ago but was met with only school tiles and an abandoned hallway.

We both turned to each other with alert eyes. I walked forward and started calling out. "Cybella! Cybella!"

"Nevaeh," I looked back behind me and quieted down when I saw Blake place a finger on his lips. "Listen," He whispered.

I listened but there was nothing. Only the mediocre chatter from the field outside. Then I heard it. A child's voice babbling something about steps. "One step. Two-step. Four-step. Three-step."

We followed the voice and it led us into an opened door. I spared a look at Blake and saw him nod. I pushed the door open and was met by lots of stairs climbing up to different directions after each floor level.

I sighed in relief when I saw the little girl we were finding and dashed up the stairs. The devious child had already reached about ten steps. "Boo," Picking her up by her waist, I hoisted her in my hip, Blake beside me.

I started to descend the stairs when she began whining. "No. No, I wanna go there," She pointed up to where a door was planted, probably leading to the rooftop.

But I wasn't having it, she could've fallen and I would never forgive myself if something had happened to her. "What was that? Oh, I think your mommy's looking for you princess. We should go down now."

She started to wail. Without tears falling from her eyes. Are you kidding me?

"Okay okay, fine," I grumbled and started to climb up. "But only for a minute."

Pushing the door open with my foot, I set her down and huffed when she began running and laughing. The wind was cool in due to our elevated state and as I craned my neck to gaze at the sky I noticed how the vast expanse was filled with nothing but clouds stretching out, accompanied with streams of light.

I heard a mumble beside me. "What?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I said I hate kids." Blake looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"That's rich coming from someone who has what, eleven siblings. And don't forget the fact that at least three of them are children,"

"Sixteen," He corrected, taking off his glasses and wiping them with his sleeves. "And just because you hate kids doesn't mean you wouldn't play with them or smile at them. Because you know you were once like them at one point in life and your kindness along with any nostalgic feeling calms your hatred leading you sometimes to think that you don't hate them. It's like an illusion that deflects anything you throw at it."

I didn't say anything back, too caught up at what he said, at what it meant as he placed his glasses back on his face, light hair tickling each other as a cool sweep in of the wind floated past us and glanced at me. "What?" He blushed and tried to avoid my gaze.

I shook my head. "Nothing, It's just...I never looked at it like that." I drew my gaze away from him, grinning as Cybella gripped my right hand in hers, motioning towards the edge of the balcony where a wall of cream bricks sat on top of each other.

Walking towards it, I held the toddler's hand. "What do you want me to do?" I asked, my voice drifting to a more gentle tone. My eyes found Blake's and I raised an eyebrow at why he still hasn't moved from his spot.

"Up," She raised both her arms and I shook my head at her, smiling as I lifted her in my arms for the second time today.

"Woah," I whispered at the view of numerous people scattered all across a wide field, with grass a vibrant green color and sports equipment thrown unto the side of It all, a stage was stationed at the farthest right. A lectern decorated with a yellow banner stood in the middle of the stage, where a few smudgy blobs of people were standing and huddling up together. Even in my view, I could tell that we are at a high level. Automatically my eyes were searching for my friends, but then I stopped when I realized that I couldn't even see the faces of people.

I padded across the concrete floor, going over to another side of the square-shaped balcony and observed the sight below me. It was at the front of the school, an asphalt parking lot, a tidy pathway leading to the main door cutting through a small rectangular section of bushes and ornamental trees. "I didn't know this place existed," I said, turning to Blake and coking my head at him to move towards the vast space below us.

"Hey," I asked again, "Are you okay?"He was getting paler and paler by the minute and I know it isn't his natural color given that he was paler and more white-washed than me. He bit his lip, eyes blinking a few times before he gave me a smile that ended up more of a weird quirk of his lip. He nodded.

"Okay..." I nodded slowly. "Wait, isn't that your brother's car?" I squinted my eyes in hopes of seeing more clearly. The car was the same one I saw at the Owens' house, I was sure of it.

In a second Blake was beside me, gauging the scene with apprehension clear in his face. "That's Callum's car," I too, stared at the body beside the driver's seat with an arm draped across the car door. "He was the one who dropped us a while ago but why is he still here?"

A screeching sound of microphone static rang throughout the air and I involuntarily shut my eyes seeing as my hands were preoccupied with carrying Cybella, who had been silent the whole time, taking in the sights before us.

As I opened my eyes after the awful sound resonated, the image of Cybella puffing out her cheeks and closing her eyes shut had me chuckling. I looked over to where the sound came from and couldn't help but walk at a fast pace towards the other edge of the balcony when my eyes saw Sunny. I admit I couldn't be sure it was her but the flashy neon light shoes were a dead giveaway that only Sunnylia Lenox had the courage, will, and madness to do.

"Hey it hadn't started yet," I said, dropping the water bottle at the space beside my feet. A wave of nostalgia washed over my weary form as the memory of elementary elections smashed on me in full force. I had won the position of Student president at my old school back then, and now, looking back elicited a feeling of dread at the pit of my stomach because I know I wouldn't do it again. I couldn't.

Is it wrong to envy your past self for their accomplishments?

Oh, how easy things have been then.

I shook my head lightly and gently let Cybella down to the floor. She picked up the water bottle and settled herself on the floor. Her mother's going to kill me.

That was the moment I noticed the silence. Not only from the crowd of teenagers from below but from where I was standing. I spared a glanced at Blake and sighed, relief coursing it's way through me when I realized he didn't leave without me.

Wait, no. Something's not right.

His shoulders are way too heavy with tension and his breathing seems to be labored. "Hey, you okay?" I subconsciously placed my hand on his shoulder. Standing beside him now, made me see his face. It was pale. The kind of pale where the skin turns dull and gray, not his usual light complexion－which to be honest I am quite jealous of because of how smooth it is. I felt him flinch under my touch so I drew my hand back.

He sent a shaky smile my way and nodded.

"Are you sure? You're not," I raised an eyebrow and let my eyes drift to where he dozed off. We were in a high place and I remembered how he had a fear of heights. The coffee had entered my system. My mind may be easily preoccupied with frivolous things but I always remember tiny details like these and act on impulse. "Come on, Ms. Yezett might be looking for Cybella," Grabbing his wrist, I pulled him away from the edge hoping to ease the tension off him. Please don't let my hand be sweaty.

His eyes were wide behind his glasses when I lead him away and when his intense gaze met mine, my mind flashed back to the hallway where I irrationally took his hand.

Holy shit iguana poodles that was dumb

So dumb. Why are you so dumb Nevaeh?

I find myself asking this almost every day, no wait, I meant every day.

"Look there," I quickly pointed my finger upwards. "See that cloud there? That's an Altocumulus cloud. See the ripples that look like elongated fluff rows. They're pretty aren't they, There's no need to worry though. They don't often produce rain and when they do it's most lightly going to be light." I explained, smiling as Cybella followed to where my finger was pointing.

"What?" I laughed at Blake's look of disbelief.

"I said," I dragged the word how teachers use to teach first graders making his eyes narrow dangerously. "That's an Altocumulus cloud."

"How do you know that?"

I shrugged. "When you're trapped in your house you tend to get bored and pick up a few things."

"I know what you're doing," His abrupt reply made me stop in my tracks.

I turned to face him. Did he just grow taller? Why does he seem so much taller than before, I cursed mentally hating the fact that people keep getting taller while I was stuck with being 5'6 for almost two years now. I didn't even grow an inch. That should not be allowed.

I was told I was tall for my age, and being more dominant in the height gave me a sense of pride especially when I was in middle school and I was taller than the boys in my class. Even Ashton and Aiden couldn't surpass it. My eyes that were once in level with the bridge of his nose now only ended until the tip.

"Good for you," The remark left my mouth before I could even blink.

His eyes widened a little before returning to his calm and collected expression as he leaned forward, bending slightly. "Good for me." I found myself being nervous suddenly. No, no, no he was the one who was supposed to be nervous, not me.

So why was my heartbeat ringing in my ears?

Uno reverse card! Like, right now, please.

"You're distracting me," He let out a small smile. Good, because your simple existence is a distraction to me. "Thank you. For pulling me away from the edge. Heights are not a strong suit of mine as you already know." Oh, right, height.

I smiled, holding Cybella's hand and the tumbler in both hands. We silently climbed down the stairs. Cybella kept jumping from step to step and I had to pull her hands whenever she did so because she might fall. We waited for a few minutes at the entrance and waited for Ms. Yezzet.

I considered searching around the school just in case she had already passed but stopped when the main door creaked open and in entered a panicked looking Ms. Yezett. "Thank you," She tightly smiled. "I hope I didn't cause you any trouble with looking out for her, I know she can be quite a handful."

Blake and I shared a look. "No, not at all," We said in unison.

"Alright then, we'll be going now," She flashed a small tense smile and hurriedly walked away. Not before Cybella passed the water bottle to me.

"Bye Cloudy!"

I stared at them as they rounded up the corner. When they did, I frowned and narrowed my eyes. "I'm not that scary looking," I mumbled and glared when I heard a snicker behind me but Blake hid his smile behind his hand and tried to avoid my eyes. Unluckily for him, I was quicker.

I rolled my eyes and faced away from him. Stupid boy.

Then I felt it.

Be honest. Is the chapter written well? Because in my terms it's not.

What do you think happened?

Thoughts on Xia and Xavier? They'll be in the next couple of chaps, don't worry.

There's a star at the bottom of the page.... So...... Mind pressing it?