I shook my head, blowing out a big breath, willing myself to calm down. “I’m fine. Have you seen Zach?” I asked, looking down the hallway in the hopes that I’d catch a glimpse of him.

Luke made a distasteful scoffing noise in the back of his throat and shook his head. “I don’t have any classes with him,” he muttered, somewhat angrily.

I squeezed his hand reassuringly. I didn’t want him feeling jealous of Zach all the time. There was nothing between us other than friendship; there was no need for him to worry about that. I still loved Luke dearly, everyday I was starting to realise that more and more. “I know I said I’d eat with you but I really need to find him and make sure he’s okay.” I willed him with my eyes to understand and not somehow think that I was choosing Zach over him. It wasn’t like that at all.

He clicked his tongue and nodded. “Figured you’d say that. Everyone’s been talking about him all morning. I guessed you’d be worried about how he’s coping,” he muttered. “You’re too nice for your own good sometimes,” he added.

I smiled, stepping closer to him and letting my side brush against his. “Do you think you could give me a ride home tonight? Alex is training, he was going to drive me home first, but I’d rather you do it,” I asked, knowing that would put him in a better mood. I wasn’t just playing him; I was genuinely planning on asking him for a ride before I cancelled our lunch plans.

He grinned at me then, nodding eagerly. “Sure! Is your dad home or is he back to work?”

“He’s working,” I confirmed.

Luke’s eyes lit up at that. “Maybe I should stay at yours for a little while tonight then, just so you’re not in the house on your own,” he suggested, grinning slyly.

I chuckled and nodded. “I’d like that.” Now I definitely couldn’t wait for the end of the day to get here. Another reason to look forward to the end of the school day!

“I’ll help you find, Zach,” Luke suggested, stepping to the side so I could start walking.

“I know where he’ll be.” At least, I think I do anyway. “I just want to grab a sandwich first,” I added, leading us towards the lunchroom.

After buying a sandwich for both me and Zach, Luke followed me out to the school field. Just as I thought he would be, Zach was running laps. Not just jogging this time though, he seemed to sprint for a hundred yards then jog again. He obviously had a lot of stress and issues to run away today. Maybe his ADHD was playing up because of everything that was going on this morning.

I stepped onto the field and saw Zach’s head turn in my direction. He didn’t stop though, just carried on right past me with his little jogging/sprinting task. I turned back to Luke and smiled sweetly. “Thanks for making sure I got here okay. I’ll be fine now. I’ll meet you at the end of school.”

He frowned, looking up at Zach again for a few seconds before he nodded and walked off. I sat down on the grass, sighing contentedly as I straightened my legs, finally taking the weight off of my ankle. It felt as though it was swollen again because I’d been walking too much on it.

When Zach didn’t stop next to me a second time I cleared my throat dramatically. “Are you ignoring me? Kinda rude don’t you think?” I called to his back as he streaked past. He slowed down, looking at me over his shoulder, his brows furrowed. I smiled and held up the sandwich that I’d bought for him. “You know you want to sit with me really,” I called teasingly.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he slowed down again before coming to a stop, turning and taking lazy steps towards me, his breathing ragged. A bead of seat ran down the side of his face and he swiped it away quickly as he got to me, looking down at me with confused, inquisitive eyes. I tilted my head up, squinting because the sun was just over his shoulder and was shining in my eyes.

“Why do you never take the hint and leave me alone? Seriously, you shouldn’t talk to me, especially not with everyone looking at me like I’m the devil incarnate,” he huffed.

I chuckled and patted the grass beside me. “Maybe I’m not too good at taking hints. Or maybe I know you’re not the devil incarnate and want to be your friend,” I suggested.

He just stared at me for a few seconds, seeming unsure and confused. I guessed then that he wasn’t used to having friends because he didn’t seem to understand that I just wanted to hang out with him for no other reason than to see if he was alright. Finally, he sat down next to me.

I held out the sandwich carton and bumped his shoulder with mine. “Stressed?” I asked.

He snorted and nodded, taking the packet and tearing it open. “Hard day, yeah,” he confirmed, taking a humongous bite of his food. “How about you?” he asked. “How’s the ankle now?”

I wriggled it a little, testing it, and winced. “Sore. It’s alright though,” I answered. “Want to talk about your morning?”

He blew out a big breath and shook his head, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’ll deal with it in my own way,” he muttered, looking out across the school field again as he took another bite.

“By running?” I asked. He nodded in confirmation, and we fell into silence. I didn’t really know what to say, he obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and I didn’t want to make it worse by forcing the issue. I was hoping that just by being here I was showing support. I hoped he took it that way at least.

After we’d finished eating in silence, he pulled one leg up, leaning over and stretching out his thigh and back. “I got a show this weekend,” he said suddenly.

A show? “Yeah? A freerunning show?”

He grinned then, his body seeming to loosen and be more like the free and easy Zach that I was fast becoming used to. “Well it’s hardly going to be a strip show, is it?” he teased.

I giggled, chewing on my lip as I hit him on the arm. “Shut up,” I scolded. “So am I invited?”

“Er…” He seemed a little shocked by my question. “If you want to go, sure, I guess.”

I grinned excitedly, clasping my hands together as I nodded eagerly. “Heck yeah I want to! Where is it? Do I need to buy tickets?” I asked, already planning to ask Charlotte and Beth to come with me so that I wasn’t alone. I figured that my dad would insist that Alex come along too, but I didn’t mind that actually.

Zach grinned, his whole face lighting up as if he hadn’t expected me to want to watch him perform. “It’s at the fairground. You know they sometimes book acts to perform at the back arena, well this Saturday afternoon that’s me and my team,” he boasted proudly.

The fairground, this sounded even better by the second! I knew the place he was talking about too. They often booked live bands or demonstrations and stuff to entertain the crowds. If it was a fairground then I could probably get a group of people to go and watch Zach too. Everyone loved to go there and we hadn’t been for ages.

“I’m definitely coming!” I chirped excitedly. “I can’t wait to see you actually perform properly.”

Zach grinned, pulling up a few strands of grass and launching into a spiel about their routine and what they were trying to include in it. When the bell rang half an hour later his face fell. The easy smile that was there seconds before, was now gone, replaced by a resigned frown.

I gripped his knee, squeezing gently. “Just ignore everyone and what they’re saying. I know you didn’t do anything wrong, and they’ll all feel stupid when they catch the murderer and have to apologise for doubting you. Rise above it. Don’t give them a reaction, because that’s what they’re looking for,” I advised, looking at him sympathetically.

He sighed and nodded, pushing himself up and then holding down both hands to help me up. “You’re full of this kind of encouraging crap, huh? Don’t you ever think that it would just be easier for you to ignore me and not draw attention to yourself like this?” he asked curiously.

I shrugged, placing my hands in his. “Sure. But then I’d miss your sparkling wit and dumbass teasing comments,” I joked, laughing and letting him pull me to my feet. He burst out laughing, shaking his head in amusement.

Chapter 26

By the time the day of the fair came around, I was more than excited to see Zach perform. I hadn’t seen him do his thing since the last time I went to watch him with his group. A whole load of us were going to the fair, watching his performance, and then spending a little time on the rides before I was heading back to Charlotte’s place for sleepover. It was going to be a fantastic day, and made even better because of the fact that this was the first time I had been allowed out of the house without having either my dad or brother escort me. Though, of course, I was with Luke, so he was in sole charge of protecting me and delivering me to Charlotte’s place in one piece. I actually liked the fact that my dad had started trusting Luke again.

In the last week Luke and I had grown closer again. Several times over the last few days I was close to just throwing my arms around him and letting everything else disappear. The tension between us had been hotting up everyday. I wasn’t used to hanging around with him and not kissing him and cuddling him. I missed him so much that it hurt.

We’d been at the fair for almost two hours already, just wandering around and going on the odd ride. Luke had already won me a stuffed crocodile from one of the stalls and a cheap plastic beaded necklace that he insisted that I wear because he’d tried so hard to win it for me. When the loudspeaker announced that the traceur spectacular would be starting in ten minutes, Beth looped her arm through mine. “Let’s go get a spot near the front,” she suggested, guiding us towards the back of the fairground where they said it would take place.

The grassy performance area was huge. It was cordoned off by a little red ribbon that ran around the whole place so that people could sit all the way around and still have a clear view. Beth walked us right up to the front, stepping over people and ignoring them as they complained. She waved her hand dismissively, telling them that we were friends with the performers, so we had priority. That hadn’t really gone down too well, but we didn’t stick around to hear the rest of the complaint as we weaved through the waiting people, getting closer and closer to the performance zone.