"Lydia, why'd you keep that hottie only to yourself? You should have let me in on the news too!"
By news, what my colleague Georgia Pets actually meant was that I didn't share the hot gossip on me and Michael.
"Well, it's not like I had the chance to tell you when it happened. I was 'on the field', remember?" I said taking a sip of my juice at the cafeteria.
"Yeah, and maybe on something else too… So, tell me how it was when you first did it!" she asked, really excited.
I choked on my juice because, since I was starting to know Georgia, I also knew where she was knocking at.
"Georgia!" I almost shouted.
"Ok, ok, I know, 'take things easy'" she said, like trying to imitate me.
I went grumpy back to my lunch and took a bite of my hamburger.
"But still, he's a really hot guy! You sure were lucky to get him! And also that guy Alex, he really isn't someone to be ignored either" she said in a daze. "By the way, he seemed to be friends with your guy, didn't he?"
"Well…"
I noticed that the two knew each other, but they didn't actually look like friends to me. At least, not from Michael's point of view. Even though Alex seemed really friendly and enthusiastic, Michael didn't look the part at all. I wonder what happened between the two. Alex seemed like a nice guy as well…
"Speak of the devil…" I heard Georgia say in a low voice, waking me from my 'inner conflict'"
When I turned around, I saw Michael's gaze catch mine, and we locked eyes. I was starting to understand them now. There was something about them that didn't seem right. Even more than usual.
"I'll let you guys have some space. From the way he looks at you, it seems he's barely keeping himself from eating you."
"… Really…"
Georgia left with a giggle which I knew what actually meant.
I don't even know when Michael moved so fast. The next second, he was already sitting where Georgia was before.
"Lydia, we need to talk." he said the moment he sat down.
"Alright, but-" I started, but then was interrupted by another storm.
"Hey guys! Mind if I join you for lunch as well?"
The smile he had on his face made it impossible to refuse him. He had the brightest smile I'd ever seen, and with his blond hair, he was simply shining! He seemed to be the type of person that didn't have a care in the world, with a happy-go-lucky character which would light the mood everywhere he went. Alex Maxden.
"Not at all, please do!" I said, barely without even thinking.
"Thanks! It feels so good when you come some somewhere and then you meet up with old friends. Right Mike?" he said, smiling at Michael.
On the other hand, I was almost surprised that Michael's eyes weren't shooting laser beams at him. But then, he seemed to have regained his composure, even though he was still keeping an eye on him.
"Yeah… it is…" he finally answered.
"You know, this really brings me back to the old times." he said, taking some French fries. "Back then, the three of us would always spend time together like this. Well, she wouldn't be able to stay with us all the time, but when she would, it'd be so much fun!"
"… The three of you?" I asked, getting caught in the conversation and in my curiosity.
"Yeah, me, Mike and Beea. We were like best buds."
"With Beea too?? Wow! So that means you guys would be together like all the time…" I said, feeling a teensy-weensy bit of jealousy inside me.
"Yeah, we were doing stuff like best friends do, like hanging around, helping each-other in need, sharing secrets…"
"That's so cool! I always wanted a best friend like that! Your relationship seems so special…"
Without realizing it, I got into a really lively conversation with Alex. And despite Michael's constant glares, I was enjoying it.
"Yeah, it was
very special… Even though not all of us shared the same feelings for the other person…"
"Alex, that's enough!" Michael suddenly said. His eyes seemed to have already caught fire as he stood in front of Alex.
"Whoa, Mike, calm down, I was trying to…" Alex paused, looked at me, and then back at Michael "… see your feelings."
There was a short moment when the two were like in an eye-to-eye battle, with Michael in blazing angel and Alex with his usual composed expression.
"Well, I've got to get going" said Alex. "Work's calling!" he said as he took off.
If there was something that I could relate Alex to, that was a tornado. A sudden coming, and then leaving everything in a restless state. The state Michael was in that moment…
"Well, he sure seems like a pretty entertaining guy…" I said, trying to break the awkward silence that set in.
"Don't get too close to him" he said, as if he was giving me an order.
"… Whaa-?"
"Just like you heard. Don't get too close to him."
"But why?"
He didn't answer my question. In fact, he wasn't even looking at me.
"You know, when asking someone for a favor, you're supposed to ask them nicely
and say your reasons! And I can't understand why you're saying this, because Alex seems to be a really friendly person!"
"You don't know him!"
"Yeah? Then
you tell me why shouldn't I be friends with a person that'll be my, in fact
our colleague! You were friends, weren't you?!"
He didn't budge, nor did he answer my question. Instead, he seemed calm. So calm that it was making me angry.
"I'm saying this for your own good. He's not good to be a friend of yours."
Now that really made me mad.
"I think I'm old enough to choose who I make friends with!"
It wasn't that I was talking Alex's side, or that I wanted to be his friend so badly, but what was actually pissing me off was that Michael was starting to order me around. And I
so didn't like that!
"Lydia, who do you believe in more, me, or some guy you just met?" he said, and I could see in his eyes that he was getting desperate.
"Michael, I want to believe in you! But to do that, you also have to believe in ME! And keeping secrets shut inside you all the time isn't helping at all!"
I was so angry that I almost knocked down the coffee table as I left the cafeteria.
Michael didn't follow me. Neither did his 'visions'. It seemed like he really wanted to leave me in the dark this time as well.
Ok, I get it! If he wasn't going to explain things to me, I'd get them from elsewhere! I was already too involved in this anyway…
Still, Alex wasn't exactly a solution… sure, he seemed ok, but still, Michael DIDN'T seem ok. And first, I had to find out the reason behind that.
Which left Beea…if only I could get to call her and meet up with her today, without Michael finding out…
I was so caught in thoughts that I wasn't aware of my surroundings until I bumped into someone
"Ouch, I'm so sorry-" I said, but stopped the moment I saw Alex in front of me. For a moment there, I felt a bit uncomfortable being alone with him, without Michael by my side. Without feeling his protection…
"No, it's ok, I wasn't looking where I was going either" he said, pulling a 'tehe' smile. "This place is so big, it's really easy for a newcomer to get lost in here."
I giggled.
"Well, everyone's like that at first. It took me a few days until I got used to the place as well."
It was so easy to carry out a conversation with him.
"Hey, can you give me a tour around? It's gonna help me big time!" he said, with that bright smile that made it impossible for me to say no.
"Of course, that's what colleagues are for." I said, smiling back at him.
"Thanks a bunch!"
Showing him around the place was really entertaining. He'd always seem so amazed by the things around and we'd keep talking about a lot of random stuff. Well, everything except their past. I even thought about asking him directly, without having to call Beea anymore. But by the looks of it, I thought they just had a childish fight that Alex overcame and Michael couldn't.
By the time we got to the archives, people weren't around anymore. Since this side of the company is like a storage, people only came when they needed to dump in some unnecessary papers or documents which they thought they could use in the future.
"Alex, this here's the archives" I said as I opened the door. "It's where you-" I started, but stopped as one hand covered my mouth, and the other one was holding my arm, pushing me into the archives room. I managed to turn my head around, and saw Alex's face.
He was grinning. Not his usual grin, but a different one. This time, I couldn't see any kindness in there. Only evil.
"You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover."
He was keeping me really close, and I could feel his face close.
How could I have made a mistake like that!? Despite Michael's warning, I let myself be misled by his behavior. Now I was alone with him, in this kind of situation!
This time, panic really overwhelmed me. I was pulling myself, trying to get free from his grasp.
"Scared? Well, that guy did try to warn you. He sent a lot of 'visible messages' for you, to warn you about me and to calm you down after you fought. Oh, but I forgot, I was the one who was stopping them all…"
Visible messages? He knew about Michael's power!
And he said he was also stopping them. The moment I realized what he meant was when I saw a pair of blazing red eyes and the shiny fangs show from his grin.
He was also a vampire.
And even worse than that, his mouth was dangerously close to my neck. I could feel his breathing, as his fangs were ready to pierce my skin.
I had to get away. If I didn't, I knew something really bad would happen…
Before he got the chance to bite me, I turned it all the way around. I bit his hand that he had at my mouth so hard, that I could even hear the flesh tore, and him yell. The moment he took his other hand from my arm to press it against his wound, I took it as a chance and sprinted out of there.
There was a split of a second when I saw in my head images of a place in the company, not too far from where I was, and Michael was in there, searching for me. It was enough for me to know where I should head to. I was heading for the one who made me feel the safest.
Somehow, a part of his vision managed to get through Alex. I didn't know how he was stopping them, but it just meant that he also had a power just like Michael did.
But even so, Michael didn't stop. For even the slightest chance like this, he was trying to reach me. And this helped my reunite with my knight. As if knowing that I was coming, he came and he found me first. The moment I saw him, I immediately ran towards him and jumped into his arms. I felt safe again.
"Michael!!" I was crying so hard that I could barely even see anything or hear anything anymore. I could only feel when he kissed me, and that was the only thing that managed to calm down. When I met Michael's soft gaze, his midnight blue eyes looking right back at me, and for a short moment, I could only feel that there was only me and him.
But we weren't…
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" I said, my eyes welling again.
"It's ok, you're safe now" he said as he hugged me tight.
"Are you sure of that?" said a voice that made me jerk. A few feet away was Alex, staring right at us.
As I looked back at Michael, his eyes now turned burning red. He held me by his side, barely keeping himself from attacking the person in front of us.
"Why? Why did you have to involve Lydia in this as well, Alex?!" yelled Michael.
"You were the one that stole that person's happiness! Now I'm going to steal yours! This way, you can give her happiness back to her. I'll make you do it even if you don't want to!"
"You know that she is not going to be happy about this. Then why are you doing it?"
"I swore that I'll bring her the happiness she wants. She deserves better than being used as a tool for her feelings. I want to protect what's precious to me and see her happy again!"
"Alex, this is not the right way!"
Just when I thought it'd end in a bloodbath between vampires, we heard some people coming towards where we were. People from the company which had no idea about what was happening so close to them…
Fortunately, that made them stop. They didn't want to expose themselves.
"We'll see if it's the right way or not" he grinned. "We have aaaaall the time in the world to do that. But until then…" He changed his smile to the one he had when he first came, making it seem like the Alex Maxden from a few minutes ago didn't even exist "…we still need to carry on with own work."
His eyes this time had a different spark. This time, evil thoughts were showing in them.
"We'll end this later, guys!" he said as he turned around and went on to the offices.
"That bastard, mocking me like that…" Michael grunted.
But after this conversation, there was something else that was bothering me as well.
"Michael… who is 'that person'?"
He stood silent for a moment, before he looked away.
"It's Beea…"
