62 Can you ?

Yuree

" You said you would never leave me but now - " I started with tears in my eyes but he cut me off .

" I'm not leaving you . Our relationship can still work , even if we have to keep it a secr- " I cut him off before he could finish .

" No ! Not again , Nathan . You said you would tell the truth about us but now , you're trying to put me back in the closet . " I said angrily , " Is this what you wanted ? Is this what I am to you ? Just an object you can pick and drop whenever you - "

" No , Lucas . " he said coming up to me and taking my hands , " You know you're the most important thing in the world to me . But my family - "

" The family you said you're not afraid of ? Liar . Coward . " I taunted him , " You're a coward and I can't believe I'm seeing it now . "

" I'm a coward ? You are the one who begged me never to say anything to anyone ." he said now angry too , " You pleaded with me and I agreed to keep our relationship a secret . Then all of a sudden , you want us to flaunt it infront of everyone's faces . "

" So is it my fault you're marrying her ? Is it my fault you couldn't say no to your parents ? " I demanded , " You could have said no , I wasn't there to stop you ! But you said yes , you agreed and you proposed to her . "

" That doesn't mean our relationship is over . " he said trying to touch me but I shook him off , " Come on , Lucas . We can still be lovers , secret lovers but still lovers ."

" No , Nathan . I don't want that ." I told him , " I thought I could be happy with those secret moments but I can't . I want more than just little parts of you ; I want all of you."

" You do have me . I'm right here ."he said and I smiled humourlessly ,

" What about when you have a child ? Will you still be here ? " I asked him and turned away .

" Cut ! " Mrs Wen said and I breathed out with relief . The next part would have been Nathan embracing Lucas from behind and I was barely managing to keep up with acting like I liked Zac .

" Well , this is definitely an improvement . " Mrs Wen said and that was high praise coming from her , " But , I have still have alot of points I need you to polish up before we perform . "

" Yes , Mam ." I said and Zac nodded his head absentmindedly .

" Now , the next scenes we can do next week and if , I repeat , if you manage to do well enough ... I might tell the school board we're ready . If you prove good enough ." She said getting up and leaving the auditorium .

" We'll never be good enough . " One of the other actors , Carl I think , said rolling his eyes .

" But we can try , " I said optimistically .

" I don't have to try . I'm good enough ." Zac said with a smirk .

" Good for you . " I said and turned to walk away but then I remembered something .

" Zac ? " I asked him and he tilted his head with a smile .

" Are you ready to tell me you love me ? " he asked and I felt irked . Could he be serious for a second ?

" No , I wanted to ask you ... when did you join drama club here ? " I said and he looked to the side .

" I joined on Tuesday , that's when Mrs Wen brought me here. " he said , " Why are you asking ? "

" No reason . " I said thoughtfully , it wasn't him then . He wasn't Zascare.

I got off stage and taking my backpack , I left the auditorium .

Who could he be ? I wondered , Zascare had said we had ignored him since Monday but if Zac had come on Tuesday then who was Zascare ?

I had thought it was Zac because one ; his name went with Zascare's name and two ; he seemed as cocky as the Reaper I had seen .

Of course there was a reason I was looking for him . I wanted to hear his ' truth ' about Bee . The other night in the park , I had gotten the feeling that Olibia hadn't been telling the complete truth about not knowing about Bee's past .

Speaking of Bee , I thought looking around the empty parking lot , where was my Corpse ? I smiled a bit at the thought . My Corpse , so strange yet now it had an endearing ring to it . Last night had been ... amazing.

Bee had been so gentle with me and I was so stunned at his knowledge . Clearly he had done this before , I had thought but then with who ? Where ?

Bee's past was a question mark and if Olibia couldn't help him then maybe Zascare could . Not that i trusted the Reaper , oh no , he gave of a deadly vibe . He was always so cold , so aloof and so indifferent . The conversation I had heard between him and Olibia had picked my interest about them and Bee .

But before I could ask Zascare anything , I needed to find him . Preferably today but I had no clue who he was . I couldn't ask everyone around school or anything just as dumb . I couldn't even talk about this with Bee because Olibia was always around him .

Again , I thought looking around , where was Bee ?

" You're leaving Yuree ? "

I started as I heard the voice behind me . I turned around and felt my panic wobble like jelly . A tall boy dressed in a green and blue shirt , with grey long pants stood infront of me . He had a sharp face and when he smiled , the braces he wore stung my eyes with sunlight .

" Hi , Hort . " I said and he smiled , Ah ! those braces .

" Are you going home now ? " he asked me and I nodded my head .

" Yes , why are you here Hort ? " I asked him , " Did you have detention ? "

" No , I ... was waiting for you ." he said looking down shyly and I shivered .

" That's okay . You didn't have to - you DONT have to wait for me . " I said and he looked up at me with his blue eyes .

" But does this mean ... you don't want to be with me ? Is it because of the Corpse ? "

" Hort look I ... I ... ," I stopped as he said the word ' Corpse ' . Hort tilted his head and looked at me with a smirk . A smirk that gave me chills .

" Unbelievable . " he said turning around , " I've been here for so long and yet you still can't recognise me . I even removed those glasses to make it easier on you but nope ... you still couldn't see me."

" You ... You're ... him ." I said quietly and he smiled coldly . A cool breeze rose up and ruffled his black hair . The hair began to change colour into a white grey like storm clouds .

" Is this a better clue or do I need to manifest my cloak ? " Zascare said laughing at the look on my face .

" You were Hort the whole time ? " I asked him astounded but he shook his head.

" No , the mortal is real . I'm only using his body , I've been using it for the past week . " he said and opened his mouth , ' I can't fake these mechanisms on his teeth . But it was fun pretending to be him . Especially with you . You really dislike him and yet you try to be kind to him . So perverse . "

" I'm not trying to be kind to Hort . Besides the collecting things , he seems like a nice guy ." I said defensively and he smiled .

" Do you know what he does with your things when he collects them ? " he asked , " Do you want to know ? Can you handle it ? "

" I ... no , it's none of my business . I actually want to talk to you ... about Bee ." I said and he looked around the parking lot .

" Just you ? Where is the Corpse ? " he asked and I swallowed.

" He's busy , he works here you know ." I lied , don't move your eyes , I yelled to myself mentally .

" So you were looking for me but not him ? Does he not care to hear what I know about him ? " he asked tilting his head .

" No ...I don't think Bee believes you know anything . Especially after Olibia told him you were lying the other night ." I said and he narrowed his eyes and blew out through his mouth slowly . A wind rushed up and shook the trees , making leaves fall .

" Of course he did . He'll believe anything she says I'm sure . " he said coldly and then he turned to me , " But you ... why are you here ? Don't you believe I lied aswell ? "

" I ... am not sure ." I said evasively and he cackled coldly .

" You DONT believe her . That's why you are looking for me. " he said amused , " Well since I'm here now , what do you want know ? What does Yuree Rosi want to ask ? "

" You know my name ? " I asked him and he sighed softly .

" That and more . Now ... ask ." he said and I took a breath .

" You said you knew who Bee was or who he had been when he was alive . Who is that ? " I asked and he looked up and then to the sides . He sighed softly and nodded his head as if responding to something .

" I'm sorry but the fate of the universe is dependent on how I answer you and I can't answer that question . Choose something else . " he said and I frowned at this .

" What do you mean ? How can knowing who Bee was affect the universe ? " I asked and he smiled .

" Oh , it could lead to the end of all life if delivered wrongly . I can't answer this question , you must choose something else ."

I felt irritation , " Fine , then where did Bee live ? Did he have a family ? "

"The first one I can't answer but the second one is a yes . He did he have a family . "

" Really ? " I asked excitedly but his next words free my joy to a halt .

" Yes but they're all dead . " he said simply ," You have two questions left before I leave . I have little interest in you Beloved . Right now ,I'm just humouring myself ."

" That's harsh . " I said and he waved me to continue , " Okay , umm Is there anyone who knew Bee when he was alive and do they live in my town ? "

" Those are two questions , you realise this ? " he said and I nodded my head .

" Well , these I can answer . Yes they're people who once knew him and yes they live in this town . " he said and smiled at me with a shine in his eyes .

" Infact ... you know them already ." he said and he snapped his fingers . A white flash struck and when I opened my eyes again he was gone .

" I ... know them ? Who ? " I wondered outloud but he didn't return .

This was new information ... assuming it wasn't lies . Zascare didn't seem to even want to talk to me and this business of universal destruction . What did it have to do with Bee knowing who he was ?

I was thrown from my thoughts as mom's car came up infront of me . When the window drew down I was surprised to see Bee behind the driver's seat .

" You can drive Bee ? " I said getting inside the car , " I didn't know that ."

" I did not know I could aswell , but Gus requested me to pick you up from school . " he said turning to me with worried eyes , " Mrs Rosi is in the hospital ."

" Mom's in the hospital !? " I said , " What happened ? Is she okay ? Where's Gus ? "

" She fell ill and is currently asleep . Gus is there at this moment . He called old Lu and told me to get the car from a friend of his close by . " Bee explained , " Does Nymph wish to return home or -"

" Take me to the hospital . Now , please ." I said and he nodded his head .

Oh my gosh , Mom ... what happened to you ? I thought , please be okay when I get there .