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NIGHT, MYSTERIOUS NIGHT

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"I bet my newest earrings on it. It's your veela mate." Darcy said, pointing at Selene as she gradually drank a gulp of soft drinks from the glass she was holding.

Darcy was at the bar to accompany Selene who had responsibility for a specific bar tonight as the former person dangled her legs from the side and rested her elbow on the counter.

Selene immediately called Darcy after the god-knows-how-mysterious-it-is incident and Darcy proposed that they should meet at the grill and she would keep her company while Selene vented about her vanished uncle and the unknown note.

"I'm sure it was those freshmen or the sophomores, pulling pranks. Apparently, making them work on the junior prom wasn't enough. " Selene grudgingly said as she delivered drinks to the customers, who were sitting on the stools of the bar.

Darcy stated more impossible possibilities about the mysterious piece of paper. As their imagination levels were something off the limit, they started talking about a billionaire satan.

"What if it's lucifer and he wants to make you his queen in hell?" Darcy said, wiggling her brows. Before Selene could reply with a maybe, Darcy cut her off.

"Wait no, even hell won't welcome you." Darcy received frosty glare from the blonde as she chuckled to herself, keeping herself busy so she didn't waste any time, recovering from the cut that was still bleeding.

Whatever you call it, a heartbreak or a betrayal, It hurt and she blamed herself for it. She mustn't have let anyone in or take control of something she always hid.

Water brimmed in Darcy's eyes as she promised to herself to not give in ever and looked around to avoid Selene's posture cause damn that girl's eyes understand everything.

And Darcy won't let anyone see that somehow a guy managed to hurt her.

As she turned around her face, she spotted a familiar hateful redhead entering the grill as she addressed Selene.

"Look who's here, Selene. The new girl." Darcy spat lowly as if new girl title was a curse, as her eyes followed Adira, the latter setting herself comfortably in a table, far from them.

Selene reclined her head a little right as she saw Adira, sitting in a table far away and right in front of them. Selene straightened her lips as she mumbled,"It's not really her fault, Darce. It's Ian we should blame and hate."

Selene was never a hater except for certain persons and she had this bad habit of not thinking anybody as bad or evil. She took everybody for good and was nice even to the person that she did not know for life.

"I don't care. She's a bitch." Darcy disagreed as she shook her deadly gaze from Adira and turned to face Selene rather than any other stranger.

After a couple of moment, a guy approached and sat on the empty tool beside Darcy, glancing at her merely. Selene and Darcy immediately recognized the person from the other night as their brows cringed.

Lloyd gave them a crooked smile as he turned full front to face Darcy.

Selene was staring at the person who was obviously new in the town cause there were no person in town whom they didn't know or the other way around. Guess the pranks they pulled were quite famous. Especially the police station one.

Selene's lips almost broke into a smile when she remembered the legendary prank in Verlaten falls history but managed to keep the curious face on as she continued staring.

"Hi, girls. Looks like we meet again." Lloyd smiled at them in turns which appeared a lot creepy to the girls as Darcy turned her body away from facing him and put her elbows on the bar.

Selene cleared her throat as she remembered her duty as a waitress and quite unpleasantly asked,"Anything you would like to drink, sir?"

"A martini would do." He replied as he again glanced at Darcy who was extremely uncomfortable in a stranger's presence from her very birth or so she would say.

"Are you uncomfortable, beautiful?" He asked softly as if he was threatening a night full of tortures, looking closely at Darcy whose jaw clicked in annoyance as Selene left them alone to bring the man's drink.

Darcy slowly turned her face like a feather towards Lloyd as her intimidating brown eyes examined his expressions with a bored and annoyed gaze. But she stayed quiet.

"What's your name?" He asked, tilting his head to a side as his brown locks fell to the same side.

He looked really good under the low grill light, his cheekbones contrasting to the light. Anytime Darcy would've replied a snarky remark but for some reason, she stayed quiet.

She was convinced it had nothing to do with his first entry in his town or Adira's words. She was simply tired and didn't wanna waste her breath.

As if that was possible.

As she was about to open her mouth to reply, suddenly Adira stepped in the scene as she placed her hand on Lloyd's shoulder with a force as she gave Darcy a small smile.

Adira then glanced at Lloyd, putting her another hand on her waist as she gave him a bright smile. "Hey there, Lloyd."

Mysteriously, her hand slowly traced near the exposed area of his jacket and she poked him on the bare neck as he flinched.

"One snap and you will be gone, Owen." Lloyd sneered as he looked at Adira with sheer hatred in his eyes, Adira mirroring the same compassion.

"Uh huh, you're forgetting something Lloyd. And besides, you wouldn't do that in a grill full of people, would you?" Adira replied as she gave him a sweet smile which looked like anything but genuine.

Darcy's forehead creased, hearing their conversation which didn't make a simple ounce of meaning.

Then Darcy's gaze shifted at Adira's hand which was situated on Lloyd's shoulder, covered in some kind of bicycle gloves.

"You better watch your back, Owen. Your daddy won't be there everytime to save his princess." Lloyd spat as his eyes spotted a man, entering the grill. Darcy followed his eyes as her eyes fell upon a man in his mid thirties with olive black hair.

The way he was dressed, there was no way anyone could say that he was more than thirty but Darcy somehow knew those crinkles resembled aging.

"Bye Lloyd. Hope you run faster for your life." Adira bid him goodbye with a smile as the aforementioned guy hastily stood up and vanished within moments.

"What the hell just happened?" Selene voice rang as she stood their with a glass of martini in her hand as two pairs of eyes turned towards her.

Darcy immediately looked at Adira with a barrel of questions ready in her mind to shoot.

"What exactly are you two? And why do you two hate each other so much that you rip each other's throats?" Darcy asked impatiently without even caring that it might be something personal which she wouldn't want to share.

Before Adira could reply, Darcy cut her off saying,"And is that your father," Darcy looked at the entrance where she last saw the man Lloyd referred to as Adira's father but found him nowhere,

"-wait, where is he?"

Adira sat on the stool, right beside Darcy as she started talking,"Look, this goes a year back and I'm not trying to harm any of you. Just trust me on this and don't tell any stranger your name by yourself."

Before Both of the girls could demand an explanation, Adira left them stranded and confused. Selene and Darcy watched Adira's silhouette walk out from the grill as Darcy aggressively sighed saying,

"That girl is such a bitchy mystery."

Selene lightly chuckled at Darcy's annoyed face as they returned back to their gossiping, not caring what just happened a few minutes ago.

"I think I should leave. Mom's already mad enough, don't wanna blast a lava." Darcy glanced at her phone as she looked at Selene if she was okay with Darcy leaving.

"Why, what did you do this time?" Selene mused as a mischievous grin dangled from her lips.

"Oh nothing. I just finished mom's leftover hangover juice and filled it with bitter gourd paste." Darcy smirked as Selene's eyes zeroed on her best friend and her mouth gaped at her.

"You evil daughter." Selene exclaimed as they both burst into laughter.

Soon after Darcy left, Selene's working time was almost over. At ten o'clock, Selene finally left the grill, tightening her coat around her body, hoping the cold to decrease.

As she walked by, she spotted a guy, sitting on a bench with his head down.

She didn't give it much thought as she decided to walk past him without her curious mind asking who he was. She walked past him but soon slowed down her pace as she heard a male voice calling her name.

"Selene!"

She turned around, tucking her dark blonde locks behind her ear as she recognised the guy from her class.

"Zach?" She asked, furrowing her brows as she continued, "What are doing here in this time?"

"I thought I would earn a hey or something but okay," He let out hearty chuckle as he continued, "I was actually waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?" Selene asked as she gulped, knowing that she was already nervous going home in this time of the night and now there was a boy in the scene.

Not that he would do something but night time kinda puts more fear into something Selene fears or hates.

"Why?"

"Do you like Strawberries?"

Was he serious?

Selene's eyebrows furrowed so hard as she exclaimed,"Sorry?" She was already half dead because of the cold and half nervous because of the night and he was asking if she liked strawberries?

"I asked if you like Strawberries." Zach repeated his question for her to understand this time.

"No, I don't like them at all." Selene honestly answered. He looked a little defeated as he again asked,

"Are you free tomorrow?"

Selene sure was free the next day but she was planning to use it for herself but then again she didn't like turning people down so she was in a little battle with inner mind.

Before the battle with herself could turn into a war, an all-too-familiar posture stepped out of the dark as if he came to stop the war and bring peace in the world as her saviour, which actually sounded cringe but that was the sole truth.

The guy tapped on Zach's shoulder as Zach turned his face around just to see a dark wavy haired boy, Selene's male best friend smirking down at the guy.

"See she doesn't like strawberries." The guy remarked as a faint smile appeared on Selene's lips, seeing the aforementioned guy always knew how to step in the right time.

Aiden Gray could be called a self centred proud bastard but that's what Selene believed. From the general point of view, he could be both a nerd and a sassy remarkable guy who was impossible to forget.

His posterior gave off a careless arrogant vibe which crushed a lot of girls. And for that, Selene never forget to fill him in with his new stalker and tease him about it.

"No one knows her better than me." His voice again spoke arrogantly as Selene tried to object by saying Darcy's name but he cut her off by dragging her by her sleeves as she waved Zach goodbye who was left alone there.

Selene was quite relieved to get away cause she wasn't unaware of the fact that Zach Earling had unresolved feelings towards her and that kind of made her uncomfortable in his presence.

She didn't feel the same and moreover, she felt guilty for it. Zach was still hoping for her while Selene was questioning her emotions which never really cooperated in this teenage love times.

Selene whirled around, her dark blonde locks shifting from place to place as she gripped Aiden's arm and almost beamed at the slight happiness she didn't know of.

She always felt empty of those adrenaline rushes. So she didn't give it much thought. Rather she wanted to stay away from it in order to focus in her studies.

"Yet another time Aiden Gray dragged me away from a guy. How scandalous." Selene dramatically put her free hand on her cheek as she gazed cheekily before a hand smacked behind her head.

"Ouch!" Selene groaned as she rubbed the back of her head.

"You dream too much, Silvester. Even the ghosts around you knew how much irritated you were. Your face says everything." Aiden nonchalantly spoke as they both walked towards their houses, arm in arm.

Earlier, Selene texted Aiden if he could meet her since his school tests were finished now. So Aiden came straight to the grill, knowing her shift would end around this time.

"What a fine way to say you were jealous." Selene wittily remarked as Aiden scoffed, again familiarizing himself with this certain kind of tone after a week of hell tests.

"In your wildest dreams." He rolled his eyes at her as he unlinked his arm from hers and slung it around her neck which might look affection in other people's eyes but Selene knew exactly what it was.

You could never comprehend what goes in Aiden gray's mind cause his words would say something and his actions would say otherwise.

Selene looked up to his face through narrowed slits just to see a faint smirk on his face, his lips opening to say something that Selene's ears had heard from the very beginning of her friendship with him.

"You're so short, homie." His grin brightened like a star cause he knew that one simple question how much irritated Selene to her very core.

"I'm not short. You're the one who's abnormally tall here." Selene protested as if that was gonna change the fact that Aiden was at least two inch taller than her and also a year older.

"Yeah sure. Whatever floats your boat, sweetie." Aiden smirked knowingly.

"Way to ruin my rarely happy mood, you pain in the ass." Selene grudged, her lips forming into a small pout unknowingly.

Selene didn't give a damn about how she looked most of the time but being a teenage girl, she was sure insecure about her figure and to top it of all, She would've looked like an all time zombie unicorn if it wasn't for Darcy who went for shopping with her all the time.

"Did you finish reading 'One of us is lying'?" Aiden asked about the book he lended her read just like everytime and heard her opinion about it.

One of the mutual things they liked as best friends. From reading books an unhealthy amount to singing like two freaks at midnight, they were like the duo everyone wished they never had.

"Ha, It only took three hours. Though my head ached after that. No matter, no matter," Selene brushed it off as she sighed,"Although I wished Nate and Browyn as endgame."

"Bad boy and the nerd? No thank you. Where has your standard fallen, Sel?" Aiden snorted lightly as Selene frowned at him.

"Come on. Nate wasn't that bad." Selene murmured lowly as he looked down at her, almost reaching their destinations by foot.

"He sold drugs, Selene. Why are you girls such suckers for bad guys? I would never understand." Aiden exhaled loudly as she just straightened her lips.

"Maybe because they know better than to fall in love and girls love a challenge." Selene stated, unfazed for a moment.

Then when she caught Aiden staring at her with raised brows, she immediately raised her hands in surrender,"Just saying, dude."

He just shook his head at her as moments later, the clouded sky stared to clean up, letting the moonlight shine on the pathway.

Selene looked up at the sky, the moonlight falling on them, almost like faded light. Suddenly a painful rush went through her veins without acknowledgement as she grabbed her locket in instinct.

Her breathing quickened than the normal pace as she started to feel insecure or rather unsafe under the moonlight.

This has happened one too many times but neither once she got an explanation nor she told anyone. Selene wasn't sure what really was the reason of this kind of feeling so she just blamed it on her asthma.

Her skin started to prickle which she thought because of the shivering breeze as she detached herself from Aiden, trying to grasp air to breathe.

Aiden immediately understood that she was having an asthma attack since he knew and was in this situation a couple of times.

"Aiden, my purse........" She breathed through the sentence as he grabbed her figure, taking her under a shadowed place, making her sit on the unused bench near their houses under an oak tree.

Selene put her hand on her chest, gasping for breath and her eyes tickling with water because of the torturous feeling that was running through her body.

Aiden panickingly searched through her purse and soon got hold of the inhaler as he handed it to her. Grabbing the inhaler for dear life, Selene sucked a deep breath using the inhaler as she finally closed her mouth, breathing through her nose for a short time.

Seconds later, she exhaled out a puff of breath, indicating her breathing turned back to normal but the burning sensation in her skin was still there.

All the time Aiden's hand was clutched with Selene's as he was kneeled down on the snow, staring at her reddened face and rubbing soothing circles at the back of her hand.

"I need to get home......" Selene muttered, her voice almost faded and unrecognizable, rather say unworldly. He feebly nodded at her as he grabbed her purse in one hand and helped her stand up, taking half of her weight on him.

It was really curious that how the burning on her skin slowly vanished as they returned back to their households and the moon hid itself behind the dark clouds at the same time, leaving the night in it's darkness again.

And how she never realized that the burning grew a little bit more painful as the days passed by or as she grew older.

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A/N: OoooO, who's that boyy
Guess we gotta find out if we love him or not :3