Pretty Pheonix

Chapter 11 | Housemates

"Hey, you're still coming to my house tonight right?" Olivia asks as we walk out of the school entrance — and no, we weren't walking together. She just cornered me by my locker and followed me out.

I look at her from the corner of my eye, "yeah... what makes you think I wouldn't?"

She shrugs, "nothing, I just wasn't sure because of your cheek. Did the school nurse really not have anything to stop it?"

"She gave me an ice pack."  I tell her simply. It isn't anything serious, really. Not like I broke a bone. Is this how other teenagers usually react to people getting minor bruises? Pathetic.

Olivia's eyebrows furrow down, "just that? I thought you had an allergic reaction."

Oh right.

"I did..." I drawl on with my lie, "but it caused an average swelling. An ice pack sort of helped."

"Hmm, strange but okay. Well, see you in three hours." She says and walks off to wherever her car is parked.

As I walk home, I try not to think about Agent Falcon and why he suddenly showed up. Is there something going on that I don't know about? Does it have anything to do with a student or the school itself? Is the matter big?

I think the main thing that has me confused is why Falcon is here of all places. The chances that two agents would be place in the same area—for separate reasons still—is as rare as finding a four-leaf clover in the IIO. We simply don't do it in order to be as discrete as possible.

There's just something really wrong about this. I shake my head to get rid of the thoughts and decide that it's not my problem. If there is a problem, clearly he's here to fix it... but it would be fun to—nope.

"Let's not go there." I tell myself as I take the corner to my house, "remember you have your own mission to deal with." I remind myself and somehow saying that changes the way I feel. I hold my head high, feeling much better, but I'm forced to a stop with what I see up ahead.

Parked in my driveway is Falcon's black motorcycle and not far from it is it's owner, waiting near the front door with his phone out and a duffel bag over his shoulder.

Just when I thought I could escape him, he shows up at my house with a bag. What the hell is going on?

I tighten my hands around the straps of my bag and cross the rest of the distance to the front yard to find the answer.

"Hello there, are you lost or something? And what is with that?" I ask when I reach the front door, eyeing his bag. I pull my key from my schoolbag and unlock the front door as I wait for his response. I mean is he seriously that obsessed with me?

"I'm moving in." He says and I freeze.

Are my ears playing with me or did he just say he was moving in?

"What?" I ask, pretending I wasn't just shocked a moment ago. It's probably nothing at all. I must have just heard it wrong... even though I know my hearing is sharp.

I wait for him to answer.

"I said I'm moving in matey!" Falcon drops his bag and throws his arms over my shoulders and jumps on me, practically forcing me to carry his elephant weight and strangling me at the same time. I grab the door handle just to keep us from falling although I'm sure it just might break as well.

I look around, hoping no one is nearby to see me carrying someone almost twice my size and sigh with relief when no one is around.

"Get off of me, you idiot!" I cry, struggling to keep the both of us supported. He chuckles and stands up on his own two feet, letting go of me.