Celine needs my help

Chapter 16

Kierra's POV

"Kierra, I need your help."

I was a little unsure of how to react. Celine of all people, needed my help? That couldn't be right. Yeah, something fishy was definitely going on.

"What do you mean you need my help? What do you need my help with?" I questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

I noticed that she seemed unable to sit still and was looking around anxiously and it made me even more curious. What exactly brought Celine here?

"You know what? Forget it. This was a mistake," she murmured and began to make a hasty retreat. I shot up to my feet almost immediately and grabbed her wrist to stop her. "What do you mean? Tell me what's going on, Celine."

"As I said, don't worry about it. Forget I even asked, okay? No one should know I was ever here. Got it?" She turned and left the classroom leaving me more confused than I had ever been in a while.

I was unable to stop thinking about the weird encounter even after recess ended. I knew that someone was definitely going on with Celine and I just had to find out.

So I decided that I was going to visit her. Emily, of course, couldn't know. If she knew I was going to meet Celine, she would lose her shit. I was, however, at a complete loss as to how I was supposed to leave without telling her.

I was still trying to come up with a plan as I headed out of the very last class for the day to meet up with Emily when Chase popped up out of the blue, startling me.

"Gosh Chase! You startled me!" I muttered, my hand pressed to my chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're not mad at me, are you?" he pouted.

"No, no. Not at all. It's just..." I trailed off as I was suddenly struck with an idea that would totally help me out of my predicament.

"Hey! Hey! Earth to Kierra!" Chase said, snapping his fingers in my face.

"Oh, yeah... Come with me for a sec, will ya?" I said as I grabbed his wrist and began to pull him through the crowd of outgoing students.

Outside, I ran into Emily and flashed her a huge grin with Chase by my side.

"Hey, Chase. Hey Kierra. What's going on?" Emily asked, glancing between us.

"Well Emily, I can't come over to your place today."

"What? Why not?"

"Because... Chase asked me out!" I announced with as much glee as I could manage.

"What?!" Emily and Chase exclaimed at the same time. I nudged Chase quickly in the side and gestured for him to play along. Thankfully, he got the message, regained his composure, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him as he said, "It's the truth. I asked her out and she said yes."

"Really? And when did this happen?" Emily inquired, sounding suspicious.

"After recess. Can you go home without me?"

"Yeah sure but don't be late, okay? I still need your help with my homework," she reminded me.

"Mmhmm." I nodded. She turned to Chase then and told him, "Keep her safe. Got it, Mister?"

"I will do my best," Chase replied and did a dramatic bow to which I rolled my eyes.

"Okay okay. Bye, Emily," I waved as I watched her get on the bus which soon drove away. With Emily gone, I could finally heave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Chase. You're a lifesaver," I thanked him profusely and was walking away when Chase jumped in my path.

"Where are you going? I believe we were supposed to be on a date," he remarked, smiling cheekily at me.

"Chase, come on," I sighed. "I didn't mean it. I just didn't want Emily to know where I'm actually going."

"Oh okay. I get it. You used me."

"No... I mean yes but I'm sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you another time. I really have to go now though," I said and tried leaving but Chase blocked my path again.

"Where are you going? I could take you there," he offered. "I have a car."

"I don't want to bother you."

"You're not. Just let me keep you company. That's how you can make it up to me. What do you say?"

I glanced up at him thoughtfully. He seemed very eager to drive me to my destination plus I had used him so there would be no harm done.

"Okay. I'll let you keep me company," I agreed and was quite surprised to see his face light up. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed my wrist and led me to the parking lot where his car was parked. It was a black shiny sports car and I couldn't help but be in awe of it. "Is this really your car?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Basically. It used to be my cousin's but he got a new one a few weeks after and gave it to me. Hop in," he told me. I did as he said and sank back into the comfortable leather seat.

"So where are you going?" he asked after starting the car.

"Oh yeah. Do you know where Celine lives?"

There was an instant change in his expression when I mentioned Celine. It happened so quickly and I would have missed it if I hadn't been looking right at him. What exactly happened between him and Celine anyway?

"Yeah, I do. Why do you wanna go there?"

"Personal reasons," I responded vaguely. I expected him to pressure me for more details like he usually would but he just nodded and drove out onto the road quietly.

Something had definitely happened between Celine and Chase. The only question was what? Guess I had another mystery to solve.