Little Spark

34 - Warning Signs

It's been five days. I assume the phone was destroyed by whatever caused that awful cracking sound because every call since Friday night has been met with a 'this number is no longer in service' message. I actually didn't sleep much over the weekend because I spent the majority of my nights staring at my closet door hoping it would suddenly open and he would come out. I even went to the tree in the park for a few hours on Sunday afternoon thinking maybe he would come by there since it seemed to be a place of solace for him. He didn't.

It's Wednesday now, and for the third day in a row, I'm spending my lunch period in the library, aimlessly sifting through the newspaper archives. It's a wack (and failing) attempt to disregard the facts that: a) for the life of me, I can't remember where I've seen that sign in the photo, and as such, I've made zero Little Spark progress in the past week and a half; b) Reign is pretending he doesn't know me—I've seen him on multiple occasions this week, laughing and flirting with other girls like I never existed—and c) my 'friends' seem to be carrying on just fine without me around.... Apollo and Luca have apparently decided to remain loyal to Candis because I haven't heard from either of them since the carnival. I get that she was their friend long before I came into the picture, but that doesn't make the rejection any less sucky.

"Bliss?" A masculine voice interrupts my irate musings, and my pulse picks up pace. I slowly turn around, deflating at the sight of Apollo. Luca is with him.

"Oh," I say. "It's you guys."

"I was pretty sure we'd find you here," Luca says.

"Yep." I turn back to the archives and pretend to continue my search. "Guess that makes perfect sense considering your abilities."

"Listen, Bliss," Apollo says, "I'm sorry we've been distant over the past few days—"

"Look, I get it. Candis was your friend first."

"Huh?" Luca sounds genuinely confused.

I inhale deeply then force myself to face them. "That's what this is about, isn't it? Candis isn't speaking to me so you can't either?"

"Pffft. What are we, twelve?" she says with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Candis is just being Candis. There's been a lot of other stuff going on—"

"Which is what we need to talk to you about," Apollo says, cutting her off before she discloses too much. "Will you meet us at Common Grounds after school?"

I look at them skeptically, my bruised feelings threatening to bust through the paper-thin surface of my aloof demeanor.

"I know you think we've abandoned you, B," Luca says, reading my brain—I hate when she does that. "But you have to trust us. It's important."

As we stand there in silence, I think about how alone I've felt since the carnival. Frankly, I want to tell them no, I won't meet them anywhere, but I can tell from the look on Luca's face and the visible tension in Apollo's shoulders that declining wouldn't be in my best interests.

"Yeah, alright. I guess I'll see you after school."

****************

As I expected, Luca and Apollo are already inside Common Grounds when I park my bike, but I get the shock of my life when Von smiles and waves at me from the seat next to Apollo. Which, of course makes me wonder where—

"Candis isn't here," Luca says. "She had a thing."

"Oh." My eyes flick to Von.

"Wondering what I'm doing here?" he asks. I look at my shoes, slightly embarrassed by my glaring discomfort. It makes him laugh. "Don't worry, Bliss," he says. "I'd be wondering too."