Chapter 24

SEBASTIAN

I floated on the surface, sighing with content at the feeling of the water flowing through my fingers. My hair tickled the sides of my face, living a life of its own. The sounds of the world around me were muffled, the chaotic noise almost muted.

For a moment, the world was a peaceful, serene heaven.

Unfortunately, it was only a moment.

"You gonna stay there forever?" The voice was loud, even through the water.

I opened my eyes, still floating in the water to see Marcus staring down at me, a sly grin on his face.

"Five more minutes?" I ask, barely hearing my own voice.

"You've been in there for an hour. An hour!" He spluttered.

Indeed it had been an hour, I straightened myself vertically and glanced at the clock on the far wall of the school swimming pool. I pulled myself out, making a mental note to come back sometime during the week.

I got ready, meeting Marcus at the entrance of the changing rooms and we began walking to the apartments. It was a gloomy day at Rowell Academy, most people stayed inside, savouring the heat and comfort of their homes.

Our conversation was broken by the loud meow of a cat. I could hear the soft sound of pats as Marbles, the campus cat, approached us, something shiny dangling from its jaw. It sat in front of us with a mischievous look in its bright turquoise-blue eyes. It plopped down in front of us, staring us both down.

"Stupid cat!" the cry of a female voice rings out behind us, their breathless pants growing louder as they near us.

We turn to face a red-faced woman, flushed and clearly annoyed.

"Hey, Margo." I greet with a small wave.

"You know her? Damn, how do you know all these hot girls? What's your secret?" Marcus asks, astonished. I give him a weird look, a mixture of 'what are you on' and 'was that necessary' topped with the perfect amount of judgment.

"Um...I'm not going to comment on that. Anyway, straight to the point, do you know how to handle cats? This bloody cat decided to steal my car keys when I dropped them." She spluttered, a desperate look crossing her face.

"Sure, a little, I used to have one but Marcus is really good with cats, he adores the-" I go to turn to Marcus but he's gone.

"Who's a good little kitty? Who's the fluffiest kitty I've ever seen?" I turn to see him cooing over Marbles, ruffing his fur and stroking him, each time he asked a question Marbles would meow.

"Wow, I see what you mean." Margo's eyes are wide.

"Here are your keys by the way," Marcus mumbled, tossing Margo her keys whilst stroking Marbles.

"I really don't know how to...react to that. Are you like a cat whisperer or something?" Margo chuckled.

"No, I just have an intense love for these fluffy mysterious creatures. You have to treat them like royalty." He laughed. With a last meow and stroke, Marbles wandered off to torment another student.

"This may seem silly but how can I thank you?" She asked, fumbling with her keys.

"Can you take me to Starbucks in the city?" He grinned, his eyes lit up with excitement.

His smile was just as wide now as it was then at the Academy. Margo and I were sat at a table with our coffees watching Marcus talking to the cashier. Cupid must be on his side because there was nobody coming in or waiting in line.

"How's the case going?" Margo asks after a moment of silence.

"It's hard to say. I'm not sure at the moment. So far, Rachel has backed off completely so that must mean Audrey is working on setting up Rachel and Oliver at the moment. Who know's how long that will take." I conceded, slouching in my seat a little.

"Audrey is a genius academically, but in life, she knows it's not so simple. She knows a situation in life can't just be answered with the whiz of a formula. She's a very wise person, she knows these things take time and patience, something Audrey is very well used to," Margo explained, "just trust her."

At that moment, Marcus joined us at the table, a plate with two types of muffins and some other type of dessert. When Marcus was told that Margo would be paying he went full out.

"So, what'cha talking about?" He asks, glancing between us, his cheeks lightly dusted with pink.

"Well, what I wanna know is who that handsome boy was." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Marcus flushed red, his eyes wide in surprise, "no-one." He answered immediately.

"Sure, okay. I believe you," she sarcastically retorted.

"Whatever." He pouted, his childish side coming out.

About two hours pass by without us realising. We were still sitting at a table in Starbucks, our conversations kept jumping from one topic to another. I realised that for once I wasn't aware of my surroundings, I felt happy and my stomach hurt from laughing too hard.

"Damn, where have you been?" Marcus asks, clutching his stomach.

"Well, we've just never met before despite us both going to Rowell Academy. I usually meet new people under the weirdest of circumstances." She giggled, a sound I'm not quite used to hearing. A Parkinson giggling? Or is that something Audrey misses out on?

It took me a moment to realise that Margo was making direct eye-contact with me. "What?" I blurted, feeling completely oblivious and out of the loop.

"How did you both meet? I also know it's a bit late but who are you? All I know is that your name is Margo." Marcus scratched his head in confusion.

"My name is Margo Parkinson. Audrey, Sebastian's girlfriend, is my baby sister. We met when I caught Sebastian and Audrey at a table together in the school cafeteria." She replied, her answer was mainly true.

Marcus' jaw dropped as he came to a sudden realisation. "No wonder you looked familiar, it's because you look alike." He admitted.

"Yes, a little. I take after my dad more, she takes after our mum. Although I work as a part-time model I can't help but feel jealous of her, she hit the gene jackpot." She pouted.

"Yeah, she's beautiful. There's a lot of people who think that. They're either walking past the apartments, or they live there. There's a lot of people in the high school who think that. My sister is one of them." Marcus agrees.

"Your sister? Gracie?" I ask, my eyebrows raised.

"I only have one sister." Marcus retorts, making a 'duh' face.

"Whatever man. I'm tired, give me a break." I groan, leaning my forehead on my arms.

"Then eat an apple," Marcus suggests, "you know, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' or something like that."

"An apple a day can keep anyone away if you throw it hard enough." Margo chuckles, finishing the rest of her coffee and standing.

We follow, Marcus waving a goodbye to his Starbucks boy and then pouting as soon as the door closes.

"Just while I'm here with you now, Sebastian, you probably won't see Audrey for a while. Don't get me wrong, she's still working on the plan but she's has arrangements to attend to." Margo cautioned, her voice hushed so that Marcus can't hear, "it seems the contract will be coming to an end soon. I give it about a month."

"A month?" I blurted, loud enough that Marcus, who had skipped ahead a few feet, turned around abruptly, a concerned look on his face.

"Nothing," I reply, waving him off.

"Aren't you happy? Everything will be sorted soon. Don't worry, once this is all done you won't ever have to see Audrey again." She assured.

But that was anything but assuring.