Teenage Dilemmas [UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING]

Chapter Three || Runner's Cover is Blown

Lucas

I check my alarm clock: "2:39am." I mutter, making sure not to make a sound. I save the data, box up my files and shut down my Apple Mac laptop, shutting the lid quietly.

"Oh god Runner Finch. I will find you, you rotten criminal." I mutter as I roll myself up in my blue doona and drift off into a deep sleep.

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I wake up and look at my alarm clock: 7:44.

"Wake up Lucas, boy." My dad comes in to my room, ruffling my hair.

"Dad!" I groan and roll over.

"Son, I have to go to work." I realise he has his police uniform on. "How's your case going?"

"I'm going great." I lie easily. I honestly have no information about the whereabouts Runner Finch.

"That's good." My father says "Goodbye Lucas."

"See you Dad." I say, my face in my massive, fluffy pillow.

I groan and rub my eyes and get up to slip on my loose canary yellow Dorian High polo and bright red shorts and lace up my trainers. I check the mirror, my dark blonde hair is sticking up in every direction and I have dark circles imprinted under my silver eyes from my late night last night. I roughly pull a brush through my hair, grab my backpack and sprint out the door along my street to school.

I push my way through the rusting iron gates and see her. She rides through the gates of the school, circles imprinted under her emerald green eyes complemented by short black hair. As she locks her bike up, she looks around and makes her way to the a small group of girls swiftly. I look away from her and grit my teeth, my jaw locking. I stare at her for a little while. And no I do not like her.

"So who are you looking at, Lucas?" My best friend asks behind me as he pats me on the back.

"No one, Jack." I turn around and raise my eyebrows to him. He smirks and his bright green eyes smile and we burst out laughing.

"Shi-" Jack squints and scowls, removing his clear hearing aid, fiddling with it and popping it back into his ear. He taps it a few times and sighs. "God, I hate this hearing aid. What is it like to hear without having to plug an aid into your ear? I seriously don't remember the last time I heard without one."

I stay quiet and my eyes drift over to the girl, rubbing her eyes. "I- I don't know." I stutter. I don't know why but I absolutely hate it when Jack talks about his near deafness. It makes me want to throw up and give him my ears (I am not gay, if your wondering). That sounds weird but i hate it when people are not okay, like sick or whatever. It makes me want to fix them. My friends call my 'condition' weird but I can't stop it. I want to help people.

"Hey, mate, it's okay." Jack puts a hand on my shoulder but I flinch at his touch. "So how's your search for Runner going?" He asks, changing the subject.

"Not good. She has managed to wipe any records of herself off the internet." I say "Except for one photo." I pull out a small print of a ten year old girl with short black hair and round emerald eyes, much like Jack's. Her face is thick with dirt except you can sort of tell that she has lovely olive skin.

"So what did she do, exactly?" a now seen Liam says, resting an elbow on his twins shoulder. They are both bigger than me and about half an inch taller. I am the shortest in the group of freinds and also the oldest. I never hear the end of it. The bell rings and Jack scowls, tapping his hearing aid violently.

"Theft." I say bluntly and I look at the girl again. She laughs and spins her head, hair spinning, hitting her cheeks to look at me. Her face pales from olive to paper white and her emerald green eyes widen in fear. It feels as if a bowling ball was shoved down my throat and falling to the bottom of my stomach. I glance at the picture of the small girl and back up at the one that was looking straight at me.