Chapter 41: Secret, Strong Feelings

Discomfort urged her to look down. Halora wondered why they came inside together. From what she knew, Sebastian hated to be with her but things changed abruptly without her knowledge.

While the rest of the students who waited for the movie turned their heads and gossiped about them.

They looked perfect as a couple. Sebastian is a badass, rich young man while Sandra is a hopeless, crazy, popular woman in the school.

"Oh, nice to see the two of you here! Did you just arrived, if you don't mind me asking?"

Sandra wore a revealing white off-shoulder dress. She paired it with the new trend black rubber shoes. Her hair was braided like a goddess with small, alluring hair clips.

"A–are you a–asking me?" Halora stuttered, pointed herself by her index finger.

It surprised her. Her presence brought a thousand bolts of lightning. Sandra giggled mischievously, tapped Halora's shoulder unexpectedly.

She said, "I am looking at you and that means I am asking you, Halora. Hmm, you look tensed suddenly?"

Roy looked at the young man behind his cousin. He felt the tension between them before things become worsen, he cleared his throat which caught Sandra's attention.

"The movie will start any moment, instead of pestering her, why don't you sit down and keep your mouth shut?" He rolled his eyes like a spoiled brat kid.

Sandra shut her mouth, looked around for a vacant seat. But, there were two spot left. Instead of being angry, she took the chcane for granted to make Halora jealous of her.

She turned around, stooped, and whispered something to the campus bad boy who secretly watched over the elusive girl before him.

"Alright, we don't have another choice but to stay at this place for almost two hours." Sebastian's cold voice fascinated Sandra. They silently seated next to Roy and Halora but no one ever tried to speak.

By then, forty-five students waited for the horror movie to start. They ate popcorns silently with their friends and boyfriend as they temporarily stopped from the gossip they knew when the volunteers entered inside the movie room with a wide smile on their faces.

The girl who smiled at Halora earlier went to the front, carrying a remote control. "Alright, before I press the start button, let me just remind all of you that no one is allowed to go outside of this room anymore."

"Which means, all of you must stay within the room until the movie ended. No one should break any rules or we will give you punishments. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Everyone agreed to the rules. The volunteers didn't waste enough time to delay the movie. The girl pressed the start button, turned off the lights, and seated at the corner with the rest of them.

They used the school's mini arena as it looked like a real one. It has a wide space enough for the students to enjoy, relax and savor the moment.

Halora gulped, rubbed her hands between her knees when a loud, horrifying sound effect echoed around the room.

"If you are afraid, you can just hold my hand, Halora."

Sebastian heard it, he noticed that it only gave discomfort to Halora. He clenched his jaw, controlled the jealousy he felt at the moment.

"N–no, I... I mean, I like watching horror m–movies even I'm all by myself!" She rejected his friendly offer which made Sebastian smiled sweetly.

Inside of his head, he glorified, celebrated that Halora never wanted to be her protector. If only he could manipulate Halora's mind, he should have been seated next to her.

"She doesn't need your help." He murmured which made Roy angry and offended.

He was about to say something but Halora suddenly squeezed his arms, stopped him right away. Her round, brown eyes filled with pity and grace as she begged for him to ignore what he has said.

Because of the rules, Roy remained silent and obeyed her. He never wanted to ruin the chance to enjoy with her after a long, long year.

"Hey, do you want some soda? You looked tensed!"

"No." He replied shortly.

Sandra gulped, caressed her cold arms as the movie started. It was all about the group of teenagers who went on a far, waterfalls vacation.

It was found at the very secluded town of an abandoned City, long years ago.

They used the female lead's red car without her parents' consent. "Hey, dude, what are you doing? Why don't you join us here?" One of them called the male lead who secretly discussed something with the female lead.

He rubbed the back of his head, fake him a smile, and said, "Y–yeah, just a moment!" He replied.

They were four girls and five boys. The rest already went to the cold, clear water with their best swimwear.

"Halora,"

"Hmm."

"What do you think of the movie? "

Roy suddenly poked her waist without knowing that she listened to the character's dialogue. She screamed abruptly when something appeared out of nowhere.

"Angel, get out from the water, now!" The female lead scream. She was certain of what she has seen and there was no point in being a fool.

Sandra rolled her eyes because of Halora's irrational reaction. She covered her mouth, giggled secretly while a few of the students looked her way.

"Tss, what a chicken!" Sandra whispered to the wind, sipped a little amount of soda.

She said, "Why don't you tell her to calm down and never scream like that again, Adrian. Everyone is looking at her, aren't you embarrassed by that?"

Sebastian gritted his teeth. He wanted to grip Sandra's wrist tightly enough for her to stop. But things were different, he was not Halora's best friend.

"I–I'm sorry, I... I was surprised by the appearance of the killer." Halora apologized to her.

She bowed her head, took some popcorn from the hand of Roy. She gave him an assuring smile that made the other young man jealous of him.

Roy moved his head closer to her, "Don't look at me that way!" He pinched the tip of her nose as he couldn't hide it anymore.

His eyes glowed in the dark until she asked him, "Why are you telling me not to smile, huh? Are you going to hit me?" He chuckled, covered his scarlet face as he remained speechless.

Out of nowhere, Sebastian crossed his legs, looked at the big screen, and said, "He's secretly in love with you."