Grace's POV

"This is amazing." That was all Alice had to say once we were at the Carnival, in between probably thousands of people.

But she didn't seem to mind that, even if one of her arms were wrapped up in a big white bandage. Which was also covered with colorful autographs.

I wasn't surprised.

Alice had managed to make a lot of friends here in such a short period of time. A lot of them came to visit her at the hospital—the main reason why I couldn't see a single white spot left on her plaster.

"Maybe we should get something to eat first." Fraser suggested, pointing towards the crammed up arcade looking restaurant. "And then we can check out the rides."

That, was totally a messed up suggestion. Mainly because I knew that we'd be puking our guts out if we ate first. I had experienced that. But I wasn't pointing that out, especially when Alice nodded eagerly.

Soon, we found ourselves in the crowded arcade. The place was filled up with people and I was starting to feel claustrophobic.

"So, I know Fraser asked you out for this." Alice said the moment Fraser left to get us something to eat. I didn't feel hungry but I knew both of them wouldn't take that as an excuse. "Do you like him?"

I knew that was coming. Not entirely. But well, when it concerned Alice, anything could come your way.

"No." I kept it short, but then I saw Alice's crestfallen look. "You don't just fall in love with the guy who bullied you throughout your childhood."

Alice laughed at that. "You know he has changed, right?"

A lot of people had changed. So many changes. For once, I wished somebody had remained the same.

"I know." I murmured, looking at the group of guys in the corner, taking swigs of their beers and cheering each other up for God knows what.

"All right. If Fraser isn't your type, which I really thought he'd be, what is your type?" She asked, looking at me with sudden interest.

I straightened my hoodie over my jeans. No way in hell was I looking forward to answer that question.

"Dating anyone or even liking someone right now isn't one of my priorities, Alice." I told her. "I don't even remember the last time I went out with a guy."

And I was completely fine with that. There was so much going on in my life right now, so much that I had to figure out.

"Really?" She whispered in surprise. "But you're pretty."

I gave her a blank look at that. Her eyes just seem to widen, "I mean that, Grace. There are rarely people out here with blonde hair and so many girls wish they were like you." She said. "I have been a witness to the looks guys give you in school hallways."

At that point, I knew it was clear exaggeration—something Alice loved doing a lot. That's why I laughed, "Can you not?"

She laughed at that too. "But hey, I wasn't lying. Some guys do give you the look. And besides that, Fraser likes you. I know that."

I didn't know why, though. Why did he like me?

He liked the old Grace. He just didn't know how much I had changed from back then.

Our table was thankfully at the corner of the entire restaurant. Not entirely away from the people but less crowded. I saw Fraser coming up towards us with his same usual grin. And beside him was a waiter with the food.

I was nowhere near hungry but I ate some anyway. Eating something was so much better than facing the questioning stares from Alice and Fraser.

"Talking about the rides," Alice spoke up, chewing on a fry. "We should check out that big rollercoaster."

I felt my stomach churn.

"And that ferris wheel." She added before her eyes widened up in excitement. "Oh, and that slingshot one!"

Fraser looked at me and laughed. "Hey, we'll keep easy on the rides." I gave him a grateful look afterwards.

Once we were finished and I was feeling extremely full, Alice stood up telling us that she needed to use the restroom.

"I hope you're enjoying, Gracie." Fraser looked at me apologetically. "Because she, can be a painful third wheel."

I gave him a look at that. "This wasn't a date, Fraser."

He grinned at that, leaning back against his chair. "Right, I forgot."

I rolled my eyes at that, my gaze unconsciously trailing over behind him. And my eyes almost widened a little when I saw two guys standing at the near corner of the arcade area. They weren't near us, but they weren't far away either.

And one of them was Luca.

"I heard Mr Whittaker was extremely pissed off when he found out that we both ditched his class." Fraser spoke up.

I looked back at him before blinking. "Really?"

He nodded. "What else do you expect that old guy to do?"

"He can't possibly give us detention for that." I frowned. I really didn't want detention.

I found myself looking back at Luca, who was busy talking to that other guy. Obviously, I couldn't hear what they were saying but it seemed serious. More than serious, perhaps.

"Oh Gracie, don't you worry." He replied. "He probably has some long-ass essays for us to write in the next class."

I didn't understand how a Calculus teacher could make us write essays, but I didn't get to ask him that. Because right then Luca looked back at me.

And my breath froze in my lungs, like every single time when he looked at me. Because there was this something when he looked at me and it almost made me forget about the surroundings.

Luca's gaze broke away from mine before it traveled over towards Fraser. And then he walked away, as if he couldn't care less.

What else was I expecting?

"Hey, are you okay?" I saw Fraser leaning closer, looking at me with a small frown.

I blinked, oxygen rushing in my lungs. "Yeah, of course."

He nodded and ran a hand through his black hair. "You went pale all of a sudden."

I shook my head slightly before taking out my phone, checking the time. Few hours till midnight. At least I got a day off from my night shift today. And believe me, Frank –the manager– hadn't been happy with that.

"What's taking her so long?" Fraser asked, looking towards where Alice had vanished off to. Then he stood up, glancing at me. "I'll go check up on her. Stay here, okay?"

I nodded as he walked away. Relaxing in my seat, I blew out a sigh. This Carnival wasn't so bad. Only the amount of people here were creeping me out.

I got busy in my phone then. Opening up random apps until Fraser and Alice came back. Few minutes passed by until someone came, sitting down where Fraser had just been sitting. Expecting it to be Fraser, I looked up and my eyes widened all over again.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed at Luca, who looked very much calm.

He eyed me for few seconds. "Sitting on a chair. Is that a crime?"

I looked at him in disbelief. Then I looked over where Fraser had gone off to. If they both came back, I knew things would get awkward. I really, really didn't want to ruin this normal night.

"Lucius–" He leaned back against the chair, pulling out his phone and ignoring me completely. That frustrated me. He knew how frustrated I got when people ignored me. He knew that and he was still doing it.

On purpose.

"It's strange to know you have feelings for him." He said in a thoughtful way. "When you hated him back two years ago."

I just kept silent at that, looking at him. Why was he doing this? Why was he trying to make this harder for me?

"But then again, so much can change in two years." He raised a brow, still looking at his phone.

"You've changed." I blurted out.

He looked at me then, his gaze boring into mine. "Have I not?"

"Nothing changed in those two years more than you, Lucius." I felt angry. Angry at him.

A small, carefree smirk took over his lips. "Believe me, Rose, you don't even know what you're talking about."

I clenched my jaw. "Don't try to anger me on purpose."

"It's working, isn't it?" He asked. "Oh how much I've missed your uncontrollable tantrums, Rose."

That hurt actually, the way he said those words. But I knew what he was doing; he was trying to hurt me on purpose. Maybe that made him happy.

"Can you just leave?" I asked in a whisper. "I want to...spend this night in a normal way."

He stared at me. Seconds passed by and he didn't even blink. "Normal doesn't come easy, Rose." He said. "You, out of all the people, should know that."

My eyes widened at that. Though before I could've said something, anything, I heard a loud booming sound behind me. Luca's eyes flew over behind me and stayed there for a while. I knew something was wrong, because I started hearing faint shouts out of panic.

I looked behind me immediately but failed to notice the cause of it. People were panicking. The crowd was getting denser.

I looked back at Luca who unlike others looked quite calm. He tapped something on his phone, leaning back against the chair.

"What's going on?" I asked him, looking around in panic. Fraser and Alice were nowhere in sight and Luca wasn't paying any attention to me. "Luca!"

He looked up then, probably surprised that I called him that. His eyes once again flew over behind my shoulder. He got up, stuffing his phone in his pocket. Then he looked back at me.

Was he going to leave me here all alone?

I didn't even know what was going on. Sudden panic coursed through me.

"You remember when you asked me to let you in my business?" He asked even if people were practically running behind him. I looked at him in surprise.

"If you come with me right now, Rose, your wish might just be granted."

_______________________________________________________________________

Crystal 🌿