CHAPTER 2: CIRCULATED

Bzzt! Bzzt!

The insistent buzz of the doorbell reverberated in Luke's minimally decorated studio apartment.

BZZT! BZZT!

It begins again.

... Still no answer

This time it's replaced with continuous loud banging on the door jolted him upright

He rubs away the sleep from his eyes, he peeled a piece of paper off his arm, realizing the mess he'd left on his coffee table.

Another couple more loud banging resounds throughout his apartment.

Furrowing his brows he gets up from the floor

"Coming!" He yells, as he gets up, a stinging sensation on his feet causes him to tumble back to the ground. Pressing his hands against the pain, he winced, trying to alleviate the discomfort.

The banging persisted, urging him to his feet. With furrowed brows, he limped to the door. "I told you I'm com--"

He opens the door, about to give that person a piece of his mind "I told you I'm com-!"

"Took you long enough!" Diaz, his younger brother, slipped through the door, mocking Luke's irritation.

Rolling his eyes, Luke retorted, "Yeah, well someone could've been a little more patient!" He shut the door behind him.

Eyeing the chaos in his brother's apartment "Ugh! What a mess." He turns to look at him "If moving out means coming home to this." He eyes him up and down "I'd never move out!"

He walks towards him "I don't think my idiot teenage brother deserves to nag at me when he can't even grow a beard yet!" Squinting his eyes near his face teasingly

"This brother fed your stupid Star Wars toy to Jelly." Diaz slips out his tongue, taunting Luke

His eyes shot wide "M-my 1979 Rocket Firing Boba Fett?!" Glaring at him "Oh Ho! I am so gonna kill you, Diaz!" He begins chasing him around the apartment

After a short chase he sees the clock on the wall and starts to panic "It's- No!" Looking at Diaz "What time did you get here?"

Diaz shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm being serious Diaz! What time?" He asks again

He thinks for a moment than answers "Mom and I left the house at 9. I thought you didn't have work today since you opened the door."

Trying to process what he just said "You do that when I'm-!" Luke took a deep breath, restraining his frustration. "You know what? I'll deal with you later." He hastily gathered his files, preparing to leave. "There are groceries in the freezer. Just don't burn the whole building down."

Without waiting for a reply, he left Diaz alone in the apartment, a mischievous smirk playing on his brother's lips. Diaz pondered his options, his fingers pressed together in contemplation. "Now," he mused aloud, "What shall I do?"

-----------------------------------------

Upon arriving at Daily Gazette, Luke couldn't shake off the feeling of countless eyes following his every step as he walked through the office. Fidgeting with the files peeking out of his bag, he tried to distract himself from the relentless stares.

Pushing open the glass door to his department, he quickened his pace toward his desk, hoping to find solace in his work.

Digging into his bag for a blue folder, flips the page towards a page with a picture of Noé, Kali and Zyion in one frame, placing it next to his computer and begins typing on his keyboard

However, he couldn't escape the probing gaze of his colleague, Sid, who leaned against his table divider with a sly smirk.

"You're late," Sid teased, nudging Luke's desk lightly.

Luke sighed in annoyance. "What?" He asks in a slightly higher tone, annoyed

"Someone became famous overnight..." he playfully taps his chin but doesn't proceed further

He turns his chair towards Sid, interested "What are you talking about?"

Excitedly, Sid slips his hand into his trouser's pocket, pulling out his phone

Moving closer to Luke "A video of you gaping over Noé has gone viral!" He revealed

"What?!" His eyes immediately grew wide

"I'm being serious, here..." He shows Luke his phone

dragging Sid's arm closer for him to watch the video

His mouth dropped open, and he almost dropped the phone in his disbelief.

"DUDE?!" Sid exclaimed.

Luke looks at him with a crooked smile on his lips, regretfully "Sorry..."

Moving his head towards Sid's phone, his face grew darker and darker as the video reaches its end

"I'm screwed..." he express, while his whole body froze

Sid chuckled, trying to find the right words. "You look great, even if your mouth was... um, surprised," he said, attempting to be tactful.

"Thanks, Sid," Luke replied, a bit sarcastically, though he knew Sid meant well.

He sank lower into his chair, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Just then Antony, Ms. Jorelle's secretary appears "Luke?" He eyes him up and down judgingly "Ms. Jorelle is expecting you and a story."

Cocking his head, he walks away

As they both watch him, Sid looks back at Luke and brings his voice down to a whisper "Never liked him since day uno." He pops one finger up

He raises an eyebrow knowingly while organizing all his papers and files, as he gets up "You're not the only one, bud." He pats Sid on the shoulder before heading towards Ms. Jorelle's office

Knocking on the glass door, she motions her hand, signaling him to enter

"Take a seat Luke." She doesn't move her eyes from the computer screen in front of her

Once Luke was sat "Ms. Jorelle, I just want to say how incredibly sorry I-"

"What are you talking about?" She clasped her hands together

"Th-the video, Ms."

She nods knowingly "Oh that!"

He shifts uncomfortably in his chair, bracing himself for what comes next

She turns back to her screen searching for something "Thanks to that Daily Gazette receives more traffic now than ever."

He blinks a couple of time "Pa-pardon?" In disbelief

Turning her computer around "Everyone's been curious about the guy who Noé mesmerized. Who you are, where you work, relationship status..."

Articles title piled on top of each other

"Guy took a break from work to appreciate God's art!"

"Noé's beauty left mysterious guy speechless!"

"This one's my favorite." Ms. Jorelle specifically read an article out "Mysterious guy drooling over Noé's beauty" she finishes, looking at a picture attached to the article and confirms "You were drooling a little bit." She teases

Showing an awkward half smile Luke, his eye twitches slightly, Ughh there goes my dignity! As he tries to stop his whole body from having a mental breakdown

"Now, what have you got for me?" she asked, her tone serious.

Taking a deep breath, Luke presented his idea, handing her a bundle of papers.

"This would make a great article." He pointed at the title, "Zyion caught looking at Kali fondly, are sparks flying between the two?" along with a picture of Zyion and Kali.

"Hmm..." Ms. Jorelle raised an intrigued eyebrow as she perused the article

Luke felt as though time went by excruciatingly slow.

Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!

The wall clock hanging on the wall resounds continuously through the silence.

As she finishes, she nod's approvingly "Have these all digitalized and hand the drive to my secretary."

Luke's whole face lit up "Thank you, Ms." As he gets up from his seat, picking up the papers he presented in front of her

She waved her hand dismissing him from her office

Walking out of the office clutching the papers tightly, he headed back to his desk, his smile growing wider with each step.