Lucas gave him a sideways glance, clearly not buying it but deciding not to press further. “Fair enough. But hey, speaking of things on my mind,” he began, his tone more serious now, “I heard something... interesting the other day.”
Ash raised an eyebrow, curious. “Oh? What’s that?”
‘Yeah, I know, some hero crap-’
“It’s about Blake.”
“... What about him?” Ash asked keeping his voice neutral, but it definitely rattled him.
“Nothing of much importance, I guess. Just heard some rumors from around. You know there’s a boss, right?” Lucas shrugged.
Ash tensed up, trying to keep his expression neutral. “Yeah, so?” he asked, though his instincts were screaming that this wasn’t going to be good news.
“Well...” Lucas plopped down on the bench near the bus stop, stretching his legs out in front of him as if he had all the time in the world.
“Word is, Blake’s supposed to meet the guy. Big deal, apparently. You know how these things go. Rumors flying everywhere.”
‘Why?! When?! Where?!’
Ash’s heart sank, but he plopped down next to Lucas. “Where’d you hear that?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant, though his mind was racing.
Lucas leaned back, resting his arms on the top of the bench, his gaze wandering to the cloudy sky above. “Eh, you pick up things here and there. People talk, you know?” he added with a chuckle.
“...Why are you telling it to me?” Ash asked, his heart and mind racing way faster than usual.
“...You know Ash, I wanted to…” Lucas trailed off, leaning back casually, but his eyes never left Ash's.
But Ash couldn’t focus on the words. His eyes were drawn to Lucas’s face, to his eyes- eyes that he had always thought were a deep, warm brown.
The moonlight cast a strange glow on Lucas's face, making his eyes appear different, not the familiar brown Ash had always known, but tinged with a subtle, almost eerie red around the edges.
“I can’t keep a thing to myself, you know, so I wondered I'd tell you instead.” Lucas continued on.
‘What…? Is that just the light? No... They actually look...’ Ash’s kept his expression neutral, not wanting to show Lucas he noticed anything strange.
Those eyes weren’t brown. They were-
“...Red,” he whispered, barely aware that he had spoken the word out loud.
‘Bloody red,’ he thought, the color so vivid it almost looked like they were glowing in the darkness, a faint glint catching on the edges.
“Uh, huh? Oh, red?” Lucas asked, then smiled, wholeheartedly, “Yeah, I know Ash. My eyes have a red shade to them, cool, isn’t it?”
“...Yeah,” Ash blurted.
‘When did he- Why didn’t I notice sooner? God, it’s giving me shivers-’
Lucas gave a lazy grin, “My mother had red eyes, I was told,” he said, his voice casual but holding an undertone, “But she had complete red, but I got red and brown, from my mom and dad, get it?”
Ash didn’t respond.
Lucas just shrugged, as if the whole thing was no big deal. “Guess I got lucky with the mix,” he added, leaning back and stretching his arms. “But hey, you’re the first one to notice it in this lighting. Sharp eyes, Ash.”
‘Sharp eyes? No, it’s just… you’ve never shown them like that before,’ Ash thought, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He forced a smile instead, nodding along.
“Yeah, I guess I never paid attention.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Lucas chuckled, “That’s what I like about you, Ash. You don’t notice things when it matters.”
‘When it matters? What’s that supposed to mean?’
Ash tried focusing on keeping his voice even. “Alright, but... why me? Why tell me this?”
Lucas snorted, “ Well, whaddya expect? If I tell Jason about it, he’s gonna get all jumpy, and go there to meet the boss in person.”
Ash nodded, ‘That makes sense.’
“But…don’t you think I’d go to see him?” Ash asked, despite the loud pounding of his heart.
“No. I guess not, Ash.” Lucas gave him a smile, “You really aren’t the type to…uh…do this kind of stuff.”
“Right.”
‘Quick, Asher, ask him, when and where he’s gonna meet him?!’
“Uh, Will you go?” Ash asked, in an attempt to know where and when the event’s taking place.
“Nah, besides, it’s after school, you know, the sports ground faculty near the school? It’s there, in a dusty old dumpster.” Lucas shrugged, as if he were standing there right now.
‘Got it, the sports grounds faculty place, near that warehouse, and date….?’
“Oh, and on 02 October.”
Ash tensed, ‘02 October….? Dad is coming back on that day. Oh, but who cares? It's not like I’m going to see the Boss, right?’
Looked like Ash didn’t even know for himself if he was supposed to see the boss or not.
Ash swallowed hard. “Right... October 2nd, near the warehouse,” he repeated, hoping his voice didn’t sound as shaky as he felt.
Lucas just gave a nonchalant nod, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, exactly. I thought I took things off of my mind. Hey Ash?”
“...Yeah?” Ash replied, his posture rigid.
Lucas fixed his eyes on Ash’s onyx ones, “You really aren’t thinking of…going there, are you?”
‘Of course, I am, dumbhead.’
“Um, No. You know me, I would never.” Ash shrugged.
Lucas studied him for a moment, his red-tinted eyes narrowing slightly. “Good,” he said, his voice softer now, almost... sincere? “Because I trust you, Ash. Out of everyone, I know you’re smart enough not to get yourself involved in this mess.”
Ash was too shocked to respond.
“I mean it,” Lucas continued, leaning in just a bit closer, his gaze locking onto Ash’s. “You’re the only one I can talk to about stuff like this without worrying you’ll do something reckless. That’s why I told you, alright? ”
“I... I get it,” Ash replied slowly, still trying to gauge Lucas’s intentions.
Lucas’s expression softened, a rare, genuine smile spreading across his face. “Yeah? Good. I knew I could count on you.” He paused, then added, almost as an afterthought,
“You trust me too, right, Ash?”
The question hung in the air between them, and for a moment, Ash didn’t know what to say. ‘Do I trust him? Do I really?’
“Why do you…ask?” Ash looked at his feet, as if staring at them would provide him with some kind of clue.
“Just wonderin’,” Lucas said, then glanced over to Ash, “I just wanted to know if you trust me too. ‘Cause I do, I can do anything if it comes to my friends. If it comes to you.” Ash glanced at him, his orbs trembling, from what Lucas could tell.
“I…know.” Ash breathed out.
Lucas chuckled, and then looked to the sky above, black clouds gathering, “I’m glad that you aren’t really thinking of that. You know, I was afraid you would go there…because of me. And then you might get hurt…,” Lucas trailed for a bit, and then continued, “And you know, stuff like that.”
Ash felt a pang in his chest at Lucas’s words, but he forced himself to keep his expression neutral. ‘Why’s he suddenly getting all sentimental? This isn’t like him…’
He tried to laugh it off. “Because of you? What are you, my babysitter?” Ash joked, though the words came out more strained than he intended.
Lucas gave a half-smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but I’m serious, Ash.”
He turned his gaze away from the sky and looked directly at him, the intensity in those half-red eyes sending a shiver down Ash’s spine. “I just don’t want you to get tangled up in this mess. You’ve got your own stuff to worry about, right? No need to go playing hero for some guy you don’t even know.”
‘Is he... trying to protect me? Or just steering me away from something he doesn’t want me to see?’ Ash’s mind raced, trying to piece it all together.
Lucas was usually the laid-back type, the kind who never took anything seriously, but right now... he almost seemed worried.
“Yeah, I got it, Lucas,” Ash replied, forcing a grin. “I’m not planning on getting myself killed, don’t worry.”
‘But you’re wrong, Lucas. I’m exactly the reckless type if it means figuring out what the hell’s going on.’
But Lucas didn’t seem convinced.
He stared at Ash for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “Good. I’d hate it if something happened to you because of me,” he murmured, almost too quietly for Ash to hear.
Ash’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What the hell is this?’
“Lucas…” Ash started, but he didn’t even know what he wanted to ask.
Maybe, ‘Why do you care so much?’ But he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.
Lucas must’ve sensed his hesitation because he quickly flashed that easy-going grin again, the one Ash was more familiar with.
“Hey, enough of the heavy talk, yeah? I’m just being dramatic.” He waved a hand, brushing it off like it was nothing. “Let’s just get out of here before it starts raining.”
“Yeah… sure.”
‘02 October,’ Ash thought, the date ringing in his mind like a warning bell. ‘I have three days to figure this out. Three days to decide if I’m going to walk right into whatever trap Lucas is trying to keep me away from... or if I’m going to face whatever’s waiting for me on the other side.’