Heather and I decided it was much too risky to talk about this in the bathroom- since somebody could come in any second- so we decided to bunk our classes and go somewhere private. It wasn't exactly hard to bunk class, since Sixthformers were allowed to come and go as they please (due to having free periods), so we just walked out of the school gates. 

"Where can we go?" Mike asked, "Our house is a no-go." 

"My mum should be at work, so we can go to mine. He's not following us, anyway." I offered, leading the way to mine.

"You can tell?" Oscar scoffed, looking at me incredulously. 

"It's crazy, right? He's dead certain, though." Heather jibed, making them all look at me. 

"I can just tell. It freaked me out at first too." I defended, feeling judged. 

On the way to my house, I revealed the details of what had happened so far to the rest of the gang. Heather asked a million more questions, not convinced that he wasn't dangerous. She really thought we should report him, but I was adamant he wasn't going to harm me. I could just feel it, it's hard to explain. 

I unlocked my front door, letting everyone inside. I decided it would be better to hang out in my room, since the rest of the house was pretty open. They called me paranoid, but it wouldn't be the first time he was outside my house... Xavier. 

It feels strange knowing his name. It was a good kind of strange, which just made it stranger. Whenever anyone said it, I got a round of tingles sent up my spine and my toes curled. I really needed to talk to him again, to see if what I felt really was attraction or if I was confusing it for something else. After all, I had never felt attraction, so I could be mixing it up with fear. 

Heather eyed the new lock on my window and pulled the curtains shut, taking a seat on my bed. I sat next to her, the rest finding places to sit on my desk, floor and desk chair. The room fell into silence and I cleared my throat awkwardly. 

"Ava, can you start by telling us everything you know about Xavier. I know his name, but he was a bit cocky when he presumed that we would know who the hell he was. I can't even picture his face." Heather took charge, directing our meeting. 

"I don't know that much, but it's definitely his account. He's twenty one, finished University and runs his family's business. Sorry it's vague, I only know him through other people. A few people in our Sixth Form work for his business. He's a pretty big deal in town, but very mysterious. It honestly doesn't surprise me that he's a creep- he's so secretive." Ava revealed what she knew, pretending to shiver jokingly. 

"Wait, family business? Is his dad's name Malcolm?" Mike asked, "I recognise the name now. I remember when Xavier was three years above us at school, but I didn't know he took over Malcolm's business."

"What do you know about Malcolm?" I inquired, my curiosity peaked, "What's the business?" 

"Well I'm not exactly sure, but I recognise the order name. At the store, we used to get massive orders placed by the name of 'Malcolm' for a company. It's nothing out of the ordinary, just food supplies. Recently, the order name changed. It wasn't changed to Xavier, though." Mike answered, "It was by the name of Evans."

"That's his last name." Ava inserted, "Xavier Evans. Malcolm Evans." 

The name sent shivers down my spine and I reached for my cigarettes. I'm glad we lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone, or this would be a lot harder. Everyone in our group smoked in some kind of capacity, so within a few minutes my room looked like the smoking room at a club. 

"Does anyone have a photo?" I tried to mask my hopefulness, downplaying it.

Everyone shook their head, making me slightly disappointed. I had been trying to imagine what he looked like underneath that mask. I was hoping that once I saw his face, the attraction I felt disappeared. Maybe I was only attracted to the mystery. At least, that's what I was trying to tell myself. Secretly, I just really wanted to see his face.

"You should try googling him. If it's a legit business, it should come up." Fred pointed out.

Heather got right on it, typing his name into her phone. Nothing noticeable came up, so she tried searching Malcolm's name instead, which produced the name of their company and a business website. I peered over her shoulder. 

"Evans Associates- it's a consulting business." I read out, wrinkling my nose. 

"There's a business email and number. Should we ring it?" Heather questioned, looking at me. 

"Fine, but on your phone. Withhold the number." I instructed, "Put it on speaker. Heather, you talk. He won't recognise your voice."

She nodded and we all went quiet, watching Heather press the call button. I inhaled my cigarette, letting it calm me down in this situation. My heart was thudding hard at the possibility that he could pick up the phone and I would hear his voice again- I hope I don't freak out like before, not when I'm in front of all my friends.

The number didn't even ring. We all looked at each other, shocked. The number provided on the website wasn't real. I took Heather's phone, looking at their website again. It looked professional, but very vague. It didn't say what the business really did, other than 'consult'. I found the contact section and double checked she had used the right number. She had. 

"There's an address." Heather pointed out, "Google map it."

I did as she suggested and laughed at the results. 

"It's the address of the public library. This business is fake." I shook my head, showing everyone the results. 

"Ava said people at school say they work there, though." Oscar reminded us, "Are they lying too?"

This whole situation wasn't looking good. I was sure that this guy wasn't harmful, but if everything about him online is this private and shrouded in lies, that's a big red flag. Maybe he is dangerous. 

"I don't have a good feeling about this, Cameron. Do you want me to stay here tonight, just in case?" Heather offered, taking my hand comfortingly.

"I'm fine, Heather. He leaves me alone, for the most part. He only comes when I'm in trouble." I shrugged, stubbing my ciggie butt in the ashtray.

"I disagree. Falling on your ass because you were scared isn't being in trouble. He's the trouble." Heather objected.

"Anyway... Mick, Fred's a drug dealer." I changed the topic, making Mick's eyes light up.

"You are?" Mick grinned, "Can you get me stuff by this weekend? Mates rates?"

"What did I tell you!" Fred groaned, "I told you he'd want mates rates."

"You'd ruin his business, Mick." Mike chuckled, "Plus, you give away more than you smoke."

"Cut your losses, Mick. They're not going to sleep with you because you gave them weed; try being a decent person." Oscar teased, making Mick hold up his hands in innocence.

"I was only asking. I'll pay full price, then." He laughed, "Didn't realise it was so deep."

I laid back on the bed, letting them bicker as I stared up at the ceiling. I really should fix the flaking paint- one day it's going to fall on me while I sleep. I thought about our conversation and the revelation that Xavier's business was fake. Was he money laundering or something? I didn't expect him to be a full-blown criminal. I wasn't going to report him, but this changes things. 

I considered my options. I could use it to blackmail him- get him to leave me alone. That was dangerous and felt mean-spirited, though. I didn't want to black mail anyone- especially a criminal who I'm attracted to. Also, it's not like we have concrete evidence. If only I knew where they were actually based.

"Wait, Mike. Didn't you say your shop made deliveries to the company?" I quizzed, "Surely, that means there's a delivery address on record."

"That's a good point. I'll go into work this evening, try and get it for you. It might be a bit hard, though. The boss leaves all the paperwork in his office, which he's usually in. If he's not, it's locked. I'm not sure how I'd get around that." Mike apologised, "I'll try, though."

"What are you going to do with the address? Show up?" Ava questioned.

"I was thinking more scope it out, see what's going on. Give him a taste of his own medicine- follow him. Find out what's going on." I mused.

"It doesn't sound like a good idea. Going there would just put you in danger. I think getting the address is good, but you shouldn't just show up." Oscar shook his head, acting as the voice of reason, "I get that you want answers, but it could be seriously dodgy. Especially if they've got a whole front to their business. They've gone through all this to protect what they're doing; they won't be happy some eighteen year old has worked it out."

"It wasn't exactly hard." I muttered, frowning. 

He was right, probably, but I just wanted to know. I was curious. 

"I have an idea. If you ring him, Mike can pretend to be from the store. Tell him there's a problem with your documents and you need to double check the address for the delivery." Fred proposed, surprising me for the hundredth time today.

"That's not a bad idea. It could work." I nodded, pulling up Xavier's number.

"I'm down for that." Mike nodded.

I called him in the same way I had the other night, so that he would have no idea who was calling him, since my caller ID is blocked. He wouldn't know that this was the same phone calling him as the other night, so it seemed foolproof. I handed the phone to Mike and he cleared his throat, getting ready.

"Hello?" A groggy, deep voice sounded through the speaker phone, making me gasp.

Heather slapped a hand over my mouth, shooting me a glare as if to say 'shut up'. I pushed her hand away, covering my mouth with a pillow. Hearing that voice sent me crazy- it was ridiculously sexy. It sounded as if he had just woken up.

"Good morning, sir. Sorry to disturb you, but have I reached Xavier Evans?" Mike was doing a great job, he sounded much more professional than any of us did. 

"You have. Who is this?" Xavier's voice was gruff, making my heart sing. He seemed a little irritated at being awoken, though. 

"Great. I'm calling from Cost-drops, regarding your repeat order. I apologise, but there's been a problem with our system. To avoid any delay, we need to confirm your address." Mike lied through his teeth, doing a pretty good job. I would have believed him.

"Right." The voice confirmed, giving me hope that he was going to fall for it, "I just have one question."

We all shared a panicked look, wondering what was wrong. Mike kept his composure, sitting up straight and taking it in his stride.

"Of course, sir." He replied.

"How did you get my personal mobile number?" Xavier asked lazily, not giving anything away.

"I'm sorry, sir. This is the number I was given by my manager. I'm only following orders." Mike continued to keep his cool, impressing me. 

I held the pillow closer to me, feeling anxious. Xavier was catching on. 

"I'll email it to your boss, then." Xavier confirmed, "Have a good day." 

With that, he was gone. Mike dropped the phone onto the bed and we all groaned- I thought we almost had it. We were so close. I thanked him for trying anyway, picking up my phone. It was nice to hear his voice, but I was annoyed that I didn't get any more information from the conversation. 

"I can't believe you squeaked when you heard his voice." Oscar teased, making me blush slightly, "Oh my god. It's so weird seeing you show emotion in a romantic way." 

"I hope I don't lose my job." Mike chuckled.