Chapter 8 Stalker

KACE walked her way towards her apartment after hours of making the flyers. She decided to stop by at a convenience store nearby. She sat by the window and ate her noodles quietly while still in deep thought.

Where in the world can I find students to complete the editorial board?

She banged her head on the table trying to rack her brain for some answers.

Meanwhile, Luke had been following Kace on her way home after Nix gave him her address. He thought it was not right to follow someone but he needed to talk to her about Chemistry. When she entered the convenience store, he secretly hid on one of the aisles inside and watched her eat. He thought that would be the right time to go up to her but he just couldn't find the courage to move.

Suddenly, his phone rang. "Lance?" He answered.

"Luke, where are you?" His brother asked.

He scanned the store. "Uh... just somewhere near our house."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Luke noticed Kace standing up already so he quickly said, "Ah... just wait inside the house. I have to hang up. Bye."

He followed Kace outside the store and when he was about to walk any further, someone grabbed him by the arm. "Luke!"

He turned around and saw his brother. "Lance?"

"Luke, what are you doing following someone around?" Lance interrogated him.

"And what are you doing following me around?" Luke asked his brother back.

"I was walking when I saw you coming here so I followed you and then I noticed you're following a girl." Lance emphasized the last word. "Why?"

Luke sighed. "It's for our Chemistry."

"Okay. Then why are you secretly following her?"

"Because I don't know how to ask her."

Lance raised a brow in question. "I don't understand you at all."

"Let's just... go home." Luke pulled him by the arm.

"Aren't you gonna talk to her?"

"No. Not when you're here." Luke grabbed his brother and dragged him away.

But then, Lance managed to free himself from him. "Alright. I'll go home now. Just make sure to come home early tonight."

Luke just nodded. After his brother left, he followed Kace's trail and soon enough, he saw her walking inside a bookstore this time. He walked his way in and watched Kace as she searched for books in the aisle.

Why am I even doing this? He thought to himself and sighed.

When he looked at her again, she wasn't there anymore. He searched for her on the other aisles but to no avail. He was about to give up and just forget about asking her... not until he bumped into someone behind him.

"Oh... sorry." He bowed his head.

***

KACE was surprised to see Luke inside the bookstore. She thought she was just imagining it when she saw him inside the convenience store.

Now Luke was there in the bookstore again and she even bumped into him.

Was he following me?

But, she didn't want to ask him that. Instead, she blurted out, "Luke, you're here."

The guy just smiled. His smile was so endearing that she bet all the girls would die to see it. The new student had only been in their school for a week and yet, he already gained a lot of popularity.

Kace knew this because everytime Luke would enter the cafeteria, the girls would stare at him like he was a God. She thought he could even make it into the group of Popular Guys. But that wouldn't happen knowing how egocentric Chandler was. He wouldn't want someone else to steal his spotlight.

"Uhm... are you going to buy a book?" She asked him hoping to get a response.

"No," he said with a blank expression.

She didn't really understand why Luke always wore that kind of face but it worried her because she felt that something was going on with him.

She just nodded. Then, she thought this was the right time to thank him after the things he did so she said, "Thank you for saving me at the soccer field earlier."

"I didn't save you. I just kicked the ball back," Luke explained in monotone.

"Still, I wanna thank you for that. And for giving me back my ID." She felt that he was feeling uncomfortable already so she decided to just end her conversation with him. "I'll get going now then. See you in class."

Luke grabbed her arm when she was about to turn her back. "W-Wait..."

She was stunned after feeling his arm on her wrist. She turned back at him with a confused look. "Why?"

"Uhm... it's about Chemistry. I was just... wondering if we could be lab partners," he said without looking at her.

Kace didn't respond. She was actually planning to be partners with Nix or any of the guys from her squad but she didn't want to turn him down either. She figured he would need more assistance so she decided to just agree. "Alright."

"All right?" He asked again trying to confirm what he heard. He wasn't really expecting her to say yes at an instant.

She nodded and smiled at him. "Yes. We could be lab partners."

"O-Okay. Thanks," he just said.

"Have you eaten yet? Do you want to eat outside?" Kace offered. "Maybe we could already start planning for our project."

"But haven't you eaten already?" Luke asked knowing that she ate noodles at the store earlier. But after saying it, he totally regretted it.

I knew it! He was really there at the store.

But she tried to ignore his remark. "Come on. Let's go." She dragged him out of the store and searched for a nearby restaurant.

***

IT was getting late and the sun had already gone down. Chandler was in the midst of driving his car when suddenly, he saw a familiar face walking on the sidewalk.

Kace was holding the hand of a guy who was strangely familiar to him. He stopped his car on the side and decided to call Kris after seeing the two enter a Chinese restaurant.

"Chandler, why'd you call?" Kris answered his phone.

"Where are you right now?" He asked.

"I'm on my way to Kace's apartment. Why?" He asked in an irritated tone. "Don't play mind games with me now, Chandler."

"She's not there, so don't bother going."

"Then I'll just wait for her. I'm sure she's just going to come home late again."

Chandler sighed. "All right then."

He hung up after that. He wanted to let him know but he thought it was better if he'd just find it out himself. But instead of going home, he decided to just go inside the restaurant to watch their move, just in case something would happen.

***

AS they waited for their order to show up, Luke saw the flyers inside Kace's folder. She noticed him staring at it so she handed him one.

"That's for our pub. We're hoping we could recruit writers to complete our staff line-up," she explained to him. Then she thought of asking him, "Would you like to join?"

"Uh... I don't write," he mumbled.

"But we also need photojournalists. Maybe you could be one."

"I don't take pictures."

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm being desperate."

"No it's all right."

"Do you think... we can recruit students?" She asked him.

He sensed the burden she was feeling. He wanted to say something nice just to comfort her. "Don't worry. I'm sure you will find students to join you."

She looked at him and smiled. She didn't think Luke would say something like that to her. "You think so?"

He nodded.

She smiled. "Thank you."

***

IT was already completely dark after they finished eating. Luke and Kace remained silent until the time they stepped out of the restaurant. She turned to him before deciding to leave. She felt the need to thank him again for comforting her even just a bit. "Thank you Luke."

"F-For what?"

"I just wanna thank you." She smiled. "I'll get going now, lab partner."

"W-Wait." He stopped her again. "Are you going to walk home?"

She nodded. "Why?"

"Uhm... I just... thought maybe you want me to walk you home?" He was actually worried that something might happen in the streets especially that she's a girl. He didn't want to feel guilty if something bad would happen.

Meanwhile, Kace wasn't able to speak. She was actually surprised because this was the first time someone asked her that. It sent an unusual feeling inside her.

Although she wanted to accept his offer, she was kinda used to walking alone, sometimes even later than that time. "I can walk home just fine. Thank you. I think I'll owe you more if I'll let you."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. You don't have to owe me anything."

***