❥˙๑ Chapter 47
The tension that had momentarily lifted settled back in, heavier than before.
Seth's fingers twitched as he watched the car from the window, its unmoving presence setting off every alarm in his mind. He had seen it before. Too many times for it to be nothing.
He forced himself to exhale slowly. Think. Stay calm.
Behind him, Ethan and Seira were still caught up in their conversation.
"So, are we actually going to follow Ethan's schedule, or is this just a guideline?" Seira asked, waving the paper in the air.
Ethan placed a hand over his chest, looking mock-offended. "Excuse me, this is a masterfully crafted plan. Everything on there is important."
Seira raised a brow. "Including the ice cream break?"
"Especially the ice cream break."
Seth barely heard them. His gaze stayed locked on the car.
It wasn't just parked randomly. It was positioned perfectly, like it had been waiting.
Waiting for them.
Waiting for Seira.
He clenched his jaw and turned back to face them, hands shoved deep into his pockets. "We're leaving after we finish this science assignment, right?"
Ethan gave him a look. "Obviously? That's the whole point of detention. Suffer through the work, then get out."
Seira tapped her pencil against her desk, frowning. "Don't remind me. I don't even get why we have to do a whole worksheet. Shouldn't detention be, like, sitting here and being miserable in silence?"
"It is," Ethan said. "But the principal has a personal vendetta against fun."
Seth barely reacted. He was too busy thinking.
Something wasn't adding up.
Why today? Why now?
He had been careful. Made the first step last night, like he said. But now something else was happening?
His fingers curled into fists.
This wasn't random.
He just didn't know what the next move was.
"Oi."
Seth snapped out of his thoughts to see Ethan staring at him.
Ethan raised a brow. "You good? You're acting weird."
"I'm fine," Seth muttered.
Ethan didn't look convinced, but he let it go. "Then focus on your damn assignment. The faster we finish, the faster we leave."
Seira sighed and rested her head on her hand. "Right. Science time."
Seth forced himself to sit down, picking up his pen.
The assignment was nothing complicated—mostly review questions about some biology topic he only half-remembered. Something about cell structures, DNA replication, and photosynthesis.
But he wasn't paying attention to any of it.
Not when his instincts were screaming that something was off.
Seira tapped her pen against the paper, her eyes narrowing at one of the questions. "Why is this question so weird?"
Ethan leaned over to look. "What's it say?"
"'Explain the process of mitosis using an analogy.'"
Ethan smirked. "Okay, easy. Mitosis is like—"
"Don't say something stupid," Seth muttered without looking up.
"Too late," Ethan said. "It's like when you buy a burger, and then the restaurant duplicates it so you have two."
Seira blinked. "That's... actually not bad?"
Seth exhaled sharply through his nose, shaking his head. "You're both idiots."
Ethan grinned. "Yeah, but I'm a fun idiot."
Seira giggled and went back to writing.
---
The clock ticked on.
Minutes passed. Then an hour.
Finally—they were done.
Ethan stretched dramatically, groaning. "I swear, that was painful."
Seira slammed her notebook shut. "Let's never do that again."
Seth stood, already focused on the next step. "Let's go."
Ethan raised a brow. "Damn, in a hurry much?"
Seira grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "He probably just wants to leave before the principal finds an excuse to keep us longer."
Ethan hummed. "Fair."
As they walked out of the classroom, Seth's eyes flickered to the window one last time.
The car was still there.
Waiting.
His jaw clenched.
He needed to stay close to Seira.
Because whoever was behind that car—wasn't just watching.
They were waiting to make a move.