(Past Thea) -

[Stalker Journal: Entry NO. 7]

I hiked further into the dark woods with a flashlight in hand. I could hear the chirping of grasshoppers and the hooting of owls in the background.

I regretted accepting the dare given to me by my friends; to go to the old treehouse in the woods and take an item from there as proof.

Finally spotting the treehouse ahead, I smiled and ran inside it. I quickly picked up a small tin of peanuts and exited, not wanting to stay in the woods for longer than necessary.

In my excitement of being halfway done with the dare, I ran West, not South, and only found out about it after I spotted a cabin. I started panicking seeing I was lost in the woods at night.

My fear only grew when I heard rustling behind me, I looked around and saw nothing. Just then, I heard a wolf howl in the distance and I froze in terror.

Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder and I judo flipped the person over me, letting out an ear-shattering scream at the same time.

The person groaned, "What the hell! Here I am trying to help you and you freaking judo flip me!"

He looked up and made eye contact.

Mystery guy.

With adrenaline and dread still rushing in my veins, I panicked and hit him hard with my flashlight. Before he could retaliate, I ran away from him.

I probably ran a mile a two and came across the treehouse again. This time I followed the correct path and actually reached home.

(Present Thea) -

Chance and I sat on the grass, at the park, staring at the blue above and reminiscing about the many times we met.

"You know it really freaks me out...how we came across one another so many times back home and now we're even at the same college," I whispered and turned to look at him, to see him already intently looking at me.

"It freaks me out too," he nodded, "but here we are, sitting together as friends when of us could potentially be a murderer or sociopath," he looked at me with a serious look and my eyes widened.

"Oh my god..." But I wasn't able to finish my sentence since Chance broke out laughing.

For the first ten seconds of his laughter, I was confused as to what happened but as soon I realized, I shoved him and he dropped to the ground, still laughing and clutching his stomach.

"You idiot, you- you asshole, you scared me. You always take advantage of my innocence" I huffed, turning to look at the other way.

Eventually, his laughter died down so I decided to look at him but one look at my face and he broke out snickering once again.

"I'm done with you," I growled and stood up, fed with him laughing at me. I was embarrassed and I hated being embarrassed, it led to me being uncomfortable and nervous.

I crossed my arms and started to walk to my dorms. Only then I realized that I was taking a joke too seriously and being way overdramatic. I contemplated going back and apologizing but I didn't have to since Chance came up to me.

"Thea, wait up! I'm sorry for laughing at you if I hurt your feelings," he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It's not even your fault, I was being overdramatic and I was actually gonna come over to you to apologize," I smiled at him and he grinned.

"So you wanna head back now?"

"Yeah, I have to get started on the lasagne since I'm gonna surprise Lexi, she always cooks for me and I feel bad."

"That reminds me, I have to cook today. Noah and I have been eating way too much fast food these days."

"Wanna cook the lasagne together? We'll make two dishes, one for you and one for me, it'll be fun to do it together."

"Sure, your dorm?"

"Only if you give me a piggyback ride back home."

Chance chuckled at my request but nonetheless went in front of me and crouched down. Beaming, I got on top of him and he stood upright once I was secure. He began walking and I rested my head on his shoulder, a comfortable silence between us.

Only when we reached my dorm, did he let me down and I unlocked the door with my keys, walking in.

"I'm gonna change into something comfortable because I'm not cooking in jeans and this itchy shirt, I don't know why I bought this. Anyways, make yourself at home," I told Chance as sat down on the couch and went to my room, locking the door behind me.

I quickly threw off my clothes and put on an oversized hoodie, with booty shorts underneath. I considered sitting down for a minute to go through my social media but in the end, decided not to.

If I sat down now, I wouldn't be able to get up.

Just as I unlocked the door, my phone rang and I looked around to find it.

"Pick up the damn phone!" I heard Chance yell from outside and I came outside.

"I can't find it," I explained to him, pouting, and Chance looked at me as if I was the dumbest person in the world.

"It's in your hand..." he pointed out with an 'Are you serious?' expression on his face. I made an 'o' shape with my mouth and sheepishly smiled while he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

I looked at the caller ID and turned towards Chance, "My brother's video calling me, mind if I take it?"

"Not at all," he replied and pulled me down to the couch next to him.

I finally answered the call and immediately heard my brother's voice.

"Fucking finally, where were you?" He was not in front of the camera so I could only hear him. I explained to him that I couldn't find my phone and he laughed at my stupidity before coming into my view.

"You're a dumbass," he deadpanned. "Also, why do you have Dylan's hoodie?"

"This is Dylan's?"

"Yes, that's his lucky sweatshirt, he's been searching for it for ages."

"Whatever, can I call you back later though, I'm with someone right now."

"Sure, go ignore your brother who lives miles away and called you because he actually missed you and entertain your friends."

I laughed, then corrected him, "Friend, not friends."

I moved the camera towards Chance who awkwardly waved at my brother, the latter immediately started shouting incoherent things about how I was alone with a boy. Knowing that his rant wasn't stopping anytime soon, I rolled my eyes and ended the call but only after yelling an 'I love you, bye,' and sticking my tongue out at him.

"So I'm guessing he's protective?"

"Oh very, one time he punched a guy for catcalling me."

"So what do you think he would do if I do this..."

With one swift movement, I was lying on the couch with Chance practically straddling me, one of his hands pinned my wrists above my head while the other resting on the side of my face. My legs were trapped between his, making it hard for me to move.

"What're you doing?," I asked, breathing heavily as he leaned down towards my ear.

"Oh nothing," he answered in a husky voice. "Just testing how ticklish you are."

My eyes widened and I burst out laughing as he started to tickle me.

"Stop," I managed to get out in between my laughing fit.

"Say 'Chance is the most handsome person in the world' and I'll think about it," he reasoned while smirking and I quickly obliged. As promised he stopped tickling me but he was still on top of me, giving me a cheeky smile.

I stared into his pale blue eyes and found myself lost in them. As soon as I snapped out of my daze, I saw him looking at me, an intense look on his face.

"You're staring," I pointed out.

"So? You were too, I'm just returning the favor," he retorted, that cheeky loop sided grin back on his face.

"Yeah, that's it. Get off me," with that I pinned him down, smacked his forehead, and got off him. He was so busy gawking at me that he didn't even notice me setting my hands free from his grasp.

"Geez woman, you're so violent. Remind me not to get on your bad side," he commented and I chuckled.

Filing a pot with some water, I added a pinch of salt and put it on the stove to boil. Once it comes to a boil, I poured in a bit of olive oil and added in the lasagna noodles.

I took out two onions and tomatoes each and gave them to Chance, telling him to chop them up. While he did that, I took a separate pan to cook the beef mince in, I add in the spices and the tomato puree and turned back to face Chance.

"Are you done with chopping those?" Unexpectedly, Chance was standing right behind me. He held up the cutting board filled with unevenly cut vegetables and I added them in the pan. Once the sauce was cooked and I began to assemble it in two separate dishes.

Pasta, sauce, cheese, repeat. I did this two more times, sprinkled some oregano and fresh basil on top and I was done.

I walked to the couch and sat down next to Chance.

"When you leave take the dish with you, just plop it in the oven for fifteen to twenty and minutes and you're good to go," I told him. "You know, you weren't much help at all. I practically made it all by myself."

He sheepishly smiled, "I don't know how to cook."

I tilted my head in curiosity, "Then what would you've done dinner?"

Once again his signature cheeky grin was on his face, "I would've ordered take out, then pretended that I made it."

I threw my head back laughing. That was a very Chance thing to do.

"Welp, I gotta go shower so... leave," I deadpanned and pointed to the door.

"You're kicking me out?" Chance fake pouted and put a hand over his heart, feigning hurt.

"Yep," I admitted, then pulled him up, dragged him to the door, and kicked him out. "Here's your lasagna, bye," and I slammed the door shut in his face. I could him snickering from outside.

While some would say that what I did was rude, I thought it was justified. Chance was very mostly an energetic person but he had his moments of laziness. Last week when he was over, I had to call Noah to drag him out because he fell asleep on my bed, watching Netflix and wouldn't get up because he said and I quote, "I'm comfy."

I checked my phone as I sat on the couch again. My inbox was full of texts from my family.

Bubba: Who was that?
Why're you not answering me?
I'm telling dad.

Dad: Lucky told me you were alone with a boy, Who is he?
Why're you with him?
Are you dating?
Tell me his name!

Mom: Thea, Lucky tells me you were with a boy.
Are you finally dating someone?
Bring him over for dinner when you visit.

Lil sis: WHEN THE FUCK DID YOU GET A BOYFRIEND?!?!?!
GIMME THE DETAILS!

I signed and called my mom, explaining to her about how Chance was just a friend. She understood and told me that she'll tell dad and Nevaeh. Thanking up, I hung up and ran a hand through my hair, my mom was the only sane person in the family... well the sanest anyway.

._.

Hey guys! My tab is fixed so here's another chapter.

I'm currently on my period, dying from cramps. Pray for me.

Also Happy Ramadan to any Muslims reading this! I hope you all have a wonderful Ramadan.

That's it for now.

Potato out.