Chapter 2

As Luc continues to keep an eye on Valarie, Emma gets a call from her boyfriend, and he seems very worried.

Valarie searched through the countless rows of books in the medical shelf. She was getting frustrated with her project, as well as Luc. At the thought of Luc, Valarie glanced up to search for him. He was nowhere in sight, which gave Valarie some time to herself.

"Mister Tuller should at least give us an idea on what books could help us..." Valarie complained. She never complained about projects; they were never a big issue for her. But for some reason, meeting Luc made this particular project a bit too much to bear with. "As suspicious as he is... Luc's pretty helpful..." Valarie let a smile creep onto her face at the thought of Luc. Realizing that she was slipping off track, Valarie shook her head and focused on the bookshelf again.

As she continued to search, a familiar voice whispered in her ear, "Looking for something, papillon?"

Valarie jumped, her heart pacing dangerously quickly. She turned around, and lowered her fist when she looked up at the man. "Luc, again? Why can't you leave me alone?"

"Because you are so desperate." Luc grinned and placed a hand on the bookshelf behind Valarie. "I find it a little... cute."

Valarie felt the blood rush to her face as she heard the word 'cute'. She wasn't used to receiving compliments, especially from guys. Seeing Luc grin at her, Valarie turned her attention to Luc's hand, which was by her right shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Me? Just 'elping." He pulled back, holding a small blue textbook. 'Living With SPD' was printed in thin letters on the cover. Luc smiled as he handed it to Valarie and said, "I'm sure zis book will 'elp you very much with your... project."

Valarie noticed the man pause, and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. She remained silent, however, aware that Luc could be dangerous and 'fishy as a tuna sandwich' as Emma would say.

Luc, in turn, noticed Valarie's reaction, and let out a forced and tense laugh. "Well, I wish you luck with your project," he said in an attempt to avert suspicion from himself. "I 'ave to leave now, but I look forward to seeing you again." With another chuckle, he strolled out of the library, hands in his coat pockets.

~-~-~

Emma groaned hoarsely as she stared at her blank computer screen; she wanted to work on the actual project, but she just couldn't think straight. Her confusion, as well as boredom, peaking, Emma reached for her phone, which was blinking wildly. She turned it on and saw several alerts of missed calls: all from her boyfriend, Blake Anderson. Realizing that she left her phone on silent for a long time, Emma immediately dialed his number and put him on speaker phone.

"Blakey!" Emma cried. "I'm sorry, I left my phone on vibrate, and-"

"Oh, Hell, I was worried me luv was ignorin' me!" The Scottish-American sighed to calm himself down. "But of course, that would nae happen. You luv me too much."

"Someone's narcissistic..." Emma mumbled.

"Me, luv?" Blake whined. "How harsh of ye!"

"God, Blake..." Emma groaned. "You had too much to drink?"

"Course not, luv..." Blake spoke in a sing-songy tone. "But so, how did that interview go?"

"Ee, for the project?" Emma squeaked. She mentally kicked herself for sounding so worried, and tried to release her stress. "Uh... Perfect!"

"I know ye lyin'..." Blake drawled. "Wit happened?"

"Oh nothing too special..." Emma explained. "The guy was just a bit funny in the head... Sorta like you."

"Funny!" Blake cried. "I am nowt funny, luv, you are!"

"I'm just joking!" Emma yelped.

"Ah- right..." Blake forced out a chuckle. "I know that..."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Emma sang. "You're so serious."

"That's what I get for being raised by a strict father..." Blake sighed. "But anyways, glad to hear from ye again."

A small smile crept onto Emma's face. "Oh, yeah, you missed me since earlier today, right?"

"Eh, lots of people hate m'accent, so..." Blake mumbled.

"Really?" Emma asked. "I like Scottish accents."

"Heh..." Blake chuckled. "I hope that's nowt the only reason why ye like me."

"Blakester!" Emma whined. "I also like your reactions to the nicknames I give you!"

Blake grumbled something unintelligible.

"Oh, loosen up, Blake!" Emma chirped.

"Ahem..." Blake's tone changed suddenly. "But anyways, what happened to ye partner?" Blake asked. "Or are ye makin' her do all the work? Sort of like what ye always do?"

"She's at the library." Emma glanced out her window, as if she could see the library from such a far distance. "And I do not make people do all the work!"

"Sure you don't." Blake lowered his voice to a whisper, which was barely audible on Emma's speakers. "But another question: does she think this guy is funny in the head?"

"No." Emma said rather blatantly.

Blake fell silent for a minute, then forced out a laugh. "Oh, well, maybe ye jus' paranoid!"

Emma rolled her eyes. "You're the one who called me ten times!"

"Sure, luv, but still..." Blake paused.

"Still...?" Emma could practically feel the tension heating from Blake to Emma through the phone. She wanted to ask Blake for an explanation, but she didn't want to scare him away, either. After all, they've grown really close as a couple in such a short time.

"Em, luv, this man's name, again?" Blake finally asked. His voice was strained, almost as if he were stressed or under a lot of pressure. "Could ye remind me?"

"Uh..." Emma lifted her gaze as she searched through her memories. "Luc was his name. Luc Chamberlain, I think."

"Silver badge?" Blake guessed.

Emma's stomach twisted at her boyfriend's words. 'Something is wrong here...' she thought. Knowing silence would only make matters worse, Emma simply responded to Blake's question with a low "Right-o".

"I see..." Blake mumbled.

"Blakey?" Emma whispered. "What's going on? I can feel the tension around you, and we're miles apart."

"Stay away from him." Blake ordered.

Emma frowned at the strange reaction coming from Blake. While the young man was careful, he never struck Emma as the protective type. His reaction confirmed Emma's suspicion: something was very wrong.

Emma contemplated on the matters a bit before finally continuing the conversation. "Why, exactly?" she asked.

"T'man is not good." Blake explained in a low murmur. "I'm worried I won't see ye again, see, luv? Just be careful, please."

Shivers climbed up Emma's spine and back down. If she and her partner really met someone who wasn't good, then it was possible that either, if not both, of them were in danger. But what really bothered Emma was that her own teacher pointed them towards Luc in the first place.

Blake took note of the silence and whispered, "Who told ye about him?"

"A teacher..." Emma squeaked. "Why?"

Blake took a minute before finally echoing her words. "A teacher, hm..." He sighed loudly. "Which teacher?"

"The one for Scientific Research." Emma was afraid to say his name to Blake, given the previous warning about Luc. She had to make sure that Tuller's name didn't reach the Frenchman, even if it meant dodging Blake's questions. "Why do you ask?" Emma was growing slightly wary of Blake, much to her dismay. "I think I'm worthy of an explanation."

"It's a very urgent matter." Blake explained. "But I don't want ye to get involved in this. It's very, well..." Blake sighed again. "Very troublesome."

"Hanging out with you is troublesome." Emma sneered. "What's going on?"

Blake's voice could barely be heard over the phone. He was clearly talking to himself... or talking to someone...

"Blake?" Emma called.

The young man returned to the phone. He spoke with a more confident and even commanding tone. "On t'last day of school, ye two girls meet up with me at the parking lot, okay?"

"Huh?" Emma frowned. "Well, okay then, but I'll need to give Val a reason to come with me. After all, she's not a big fan of me."

"Say it's about Luc." Blake suggested.

"So, basically, tell her the truth?" Emma guessed. "Fine by me, but if she doesn't show up, it's your fault."

"I'm sure she'll show up." Blake sang. "Ye are t'one to notice if someone likes someone, aye?"

Emma laughed. "Well, you got me there."

"See, I know ye well." Blake chuckled. "But... On a serious note, I'm heading back t'Scotland for late summer, so if ye two decide to conduct an investigation, I won't be available in July."

"Aw, c'mon, Blake!" Emma whined.

"I'd luv t'stay the entire summer, but I cannae. Ah, well, good luck with ye project." Blake said, a bit too quickly. "I'm heading off for work now. I'll chat with ye later?"

"Of course!" Emma chirped.

Blake let out a chuckle, but it seemed to lack energy. "Aye, well, bye..." he mumbled. "Luv ye."

"Love you, too." Emma hung up and placed the phone next to the keyboard. She noticed the lack of energy in Blake's voice, and she knew something was wrong, and she was willing to do anything to get to the bottom of it.

~-~-~

Valarie rested her head on the table as she boredly looked through the book that she carefully balanced in front of her. She never realized how much of a toll her Science Research class would take on her. In fact, she couldn't remember any moment where a project would take so much life out of her.

Several minutes passed, philosophical thoughts and questions about Luc running through Valarie's mind. It was strange that the man wouldn't stop bothering her, even when he wasn't physically with her. It was then, as Valarie was thinking about him, when Luc appeared... Again.

"Why, you are still 'ere, Valarie?" Luc sat on a chair next to the girl. "I can't believe a young lady like you would work so 'ard on a project."

Valarie didn't bother to look up at the man because he was bothering her too much. But what bothered her the most was his emphasis on the word 'project'. It was strange, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

"Maybe I can 'elp you?" Luc held out his hand as a sign of offering. He was smiling down at the girl, enjoying her presence.

Valarie kept her gaze on the text in the book, which was slowly growing blurry. She was so focused on her schoolwork, that she lost track of time. After staring at paper for such a long time, she was growing very drowsy.

"Valarie?" Luc called.

The girl held back a yawn, but couldn't help but close her eyes for just a few seconds. She needed to rest her eyes from books and her mind from reality, even if it was only for a short time. Before she knew it, she drifted off into a deep slumber.

~-~-~

"Who are you?" Valarie looked up at a masked man, who was laughing at her. "What do you want from me?"

"Before I answer your question, young girl, let me ask you a question," the masked man purred. "Are you not wearing a mask, as well?"

"A mask?" Valarie echoed.

"Answer me!" the man bellowed, slamming his fist on a table.

"I-I..." Valarie stammered. "Yeah, I guess!" She groaned on the inside, realizing how pathetic her response was.

"Correct," the man said. "Now, who am I, you asked?"

Valarie nodded vigorously. She needed an answer from him; he was just too peculiar, wearing a literal mask to hide himself.

"You are a cat," the man explained, "and I am a lion."

Valarie frowned. "What?"

The man chuckled through his mask. "Of course you wouldn't understand," he drawled. "But in time, you will see what I mean."

"Wait, no!" Valarie cried. "Tell me more!"

Her vision grew blurry, even to the point that she could barely make out the five fingers on her own right hand. It wasn't too long after when darkness overcame her. She was drifting in a dark and endless rift.

Author's Note

~FRENCH TERMS~
Papillon - Butterfly

~SCOTTISH TERMS~
Aye - Yes
Dinnae - Don't
Wit - What
Ye - You
Cannae - Can't

Reviews

[Alli B]

You do a really good job of creating suspense. Luc seems threatening, in a way that makes my skin crawl a little bit, which is good for a story like this. He strikes me right away as someone who is untrustworthy, and there is a sense of mystery about what happened to him and why the girls were sent to him rather than a good book or internet source. I just really hope this doesn't end up in a romance between the two of them, because that seems to be the way the modern book industry is going nowadays.

Speaking of romance, Blake and Emma don't really seem like a couple, especially one stated to be in the first few months, which is typically the 'honeymoon' phase. He seems more like an overprotective brother to her, or god forbidding, even her gruff father. It would help if you included a few lines of Emma or Blake being sweet and romantic, even if it's just them calling each other things like 'sweetie' or 'babe'. If it's your intention to show a loveless relationship, good for you, but otherwise, it just lacks the love.

[Kyria Chari]

Yeah, there are too many creepy boyfriends in books nowadays... I'm going to avoid that as much as possible.

And I'm probably going to edit this chapter a teeny bit to show some romance between Blake and Emma.

[Alli B]

I blame Twilight. I know it's like beating a dead horse, but Edward qualifies for all 15 warning traits for an abuser, and yet people think he's just *dreamy*. People noticed that, got inspired, and now romance writers think the main character feeling threatened by the love interest at first is a sign of love. I fear for the generation that grows up on this.

However, if you take out the romance and the rose tinted goggles like you're doing... it becomes a psychological thriller, and maybe will slap some sense into those people.

Make haste, Kyria! The future of the world is depending on your depiction of a creepy dude! *Salutes* (Okay, not really, but if you make even just one person realize that creepy boyfriends aren't sweet but, you know, creepy, then you will have done a great service.)

[Kyria Chari]

Oh, no, Twilight... *Shudder* Yeah, the only thing between Valarie and Luc would be the fact that Val finds his hair fabulous. And she's jealous of that. I guess... I don't know anymore. @_@'