Mischievous Party

Outside the hallway, Pio was on his way back to the meeting room but the lights were turned off.

Pio's footsteps halted the lover's rendezvous. Jenny covered her lips and gently pushed Lucas away. 

'Huh? That's weird. They were just here, right?' Pio thought as he swaggered towards his boss's cubicle. 

Pio looked around the office but not even his boss's shadow could be seen. He shrugged it off then went back to work thinking that his boss would be back before the day ends.

Pio sat back on his seat, rolled up his sleeves and dived into his mountain-high pile of paperwork.

After a few minutes, Pio heard a soft giggle within earshot. 'Who dared bring a kid here?' 

Pio stood up and scanned the office but was met with nothing but rows of deserted cubicles. He glanced at his watch and noticed the time, 'Oh it's  lunch break. That explains why.'

*Hee hee hee hee hee*

Another round of soft giggles.

Pio slowly sat down and was now in high-alert.

*Hahahahahaha*

Left with no choice, Pio shut his eyes and grasped at his tiny crucifix pendant, "Our father, who art in…"

*beeeeeep*

Pio jolted in his seat, his forehead full of sweat pellets but immediately ducked when he saw his boss and Jenny come out of the dark meeting room.

"Hahahaha! Wait, let's fix your collar first," Jenny's soft giggles sent another round of Halloween terror on one of the toughest fighters in the Capital.

Pio stealthily sat back on his seat. 

'So it was her,'' he thought as he nervously laughed. What he did not know was he laughed loud enough for the pair to hear him.

The hairs on Pio's nape raised when he felt a deathly glare on his back. Slowly, his office chair was swiveled, revealing his boss's neutral face.

But that was not neutral. Pio knew that face all too well and it definitely showed something else. He abruptly stood up to dodge the bullet and reported his fresh intel on the spot.

"Sir, coordinates," Pio said as he handed a small piece of paper scribbled with numbers — a smug look clearly visible on his face.

Lucas folded the paper, tucked it in Pio's front pocket and patted it twice before bursting his right-hand man's bubble, "There's nothing to celebrate about. I don't see a body. Your intel is..."

"Useless," Pio finished Lucas's sentence. His boss was right. He clenched his hands until his knuckles turned white — embarrassed at his incompetence. 

How could Pio miss that crucial detail and sat around the office like the problem was already solved? 

Lucas patted his right-hand man's arm then walked away; trailing behind Jenny Huang like a loyal bodyguard.

Western Command Zone - Military Base

Zoey tiptoed out of the Sai Household. She checked left and right and breathe a sigh of relief when she saw the coast was clear. Across the street stood a lanky boy, waving his arms high in the air.

Zoey hurriedly walked out of the driveway towards the direction of the giant.

"Let's do it in your room," she whispered to Grant but he shushed her right away and covered her mouth.

"No, they will hear us," Grant irritatingly whispered. 

Grant quickly dragged the lithe girl far away from their homes. They reached a secluded area a few hundred meters away and settled behind a tree.

Zoey took off her hoodie and hung it on her arm and went ahead to unzip Grant's hoodie too which only took him by surprise.

Grant's heart raced like a galloping horse in the racetrack. He looked at Zoey's eye and tucked some loose hair behind her ears. 

She mouthed a 'thank you' before removing his hoodie for him and hung it together with her hoodie.

When the duo was all set and ready, Zoey scavenged for the treasure in her white Chanel flap bag.

The pair moved deeper into the wooded area to hide from the wandering eyes of possible passersby when they heard footsteps come near.

Zoey and Grant crouched behind a tree, an Arturo Fuente cigar now clipped between Grant's fingers. He brought it closer to his nose and sniffed the intoxicating aged and hand-rolled tobacco leaves. 

"Give me the lighter, hurry up," Grant ordered his accomplice. He's been eyeing Uncle Long's collection ever since he laid his eyes on it. His eyes twinkled in anticipation to taste the rich flavor of the finely crafted tobacco cigar.

Zoey shuffled in her flap bag and found a gold-plated Zippo lighter. It took her awhile to find one that her eyes shone brighter than the lighter's flame when she remembered her adrenaline rush while searching for it at home.

Grant ignited the lighter but before he lit the cigar, he waved the flame in front of Zoey's face, making a circular motion that attracted the girl's eye.

"Watch the flame, Zoey. On the count of three, you will be under my spell. One, two… "

*snap*

Zoey closed the zippo lid and stuck a tongue out to Grant and snobbishly declared: "I won't ever be under your spell. Hurry up! Somebody might see us."

Grant's lips quivered in annoyance. How could this Macaw ruin but not really ruin his mood?

He ignited the lighter one more time and lit the cigar. He puffed a smoke and a wild coughing fit ensued.

"Oh sh*t, this is bad," whiffs of smoke came out of his mouth and nose like a tiny dragon who just learned how to breathe fire.

Zoey silently laughed at how silly Grant looked; her smile reached her light-brown hooded eyes.

Grant smiled too upon seeing her carefree self and patted her head, "Do you want to try? Here…"

Zoey was about to take the stick from Grant but he pulled it away at the last minute and said, "No, your hand will smell. Let me hold it for you." 

Zoey bobbed her head, her eyes glistened under the shade of the big oak tree and her smile akin to a child who went to Disneyland for the first time.

Grant watched as Zoey's lips enveloped the cigar, his mouth shaped like an 'O'. How he wished he could turn into a cigar too.

"Blow it out. Blow it out," Grant instructed Zoey as if he was a pro, but unlike him, she didn't cough. She exhaled the smoke like an ace and examined the stick on Grant's hand. 

Zoey inched closer and grabbed Grant's arm, she inhaled another puff and exhaled the smoke up in the air.

The duo's forbidden adventure was cut short when they heard the bushes shuffle behind them. 

Grant dropped the cigar on the sprouting green grass, a sign that spring is almost at its peak. He stomped on the cigar and said, "Zoey, stop smoking. That's bad."

Zoey's nostrils doubled in size, her eyes as sharp as an eagle ready to capture its prey on the ground.

Zoey snatched the lighter from the traitor and burned a good area of Grant's skin. 

"Zoweeeeeeh!" a booming howl was heard within the walls of the military base. People rubbed their ears as if a sonic boom air raid happened.

Zoey raised the zippo before Grant could retaliate; it leveled right in front of Grant's eyes.

"Watch the flame, Grant…" Zoey continued to tease the giant cry baby, "On the count of three you will be under my spell. One, two…"

"Three," Giant said. He lowered the zippo which made Zoey see his raw face — a far cry from the playful and annoying giant. His face looked deep and mysterious that her heart lost control — beating slower than her ragged breath. 

Zoey could hear her heartbeat against the sound of leaves rustling in the spring wind. She swallowed the taste of nicotine in her throat, fiddled on her flap bag strap, and said: "You're boring."

Grant's hand froze midair; he was about to stop Zoey from walking out when they heard a familiar voice.

"How did you cross Zoey this time, Giant?"

It was Hugo with a book and a charcoal pen in hand. 

Hugo heard the pair's misadventures earlier but decided to finish his sketch first and skip the mischievous party of his friends.

Hugo closed his eyes, a smirk etched on his perfectly sculpted face; thick eyebrows, pointed nose, lips that were red as cherry plus his cheekbones and jawline that were on point too. 

Just one more detail then he's done…

Edited by Swaning