▪︎THE LUNA▪︎Book 1

Chapter eighteen

Hayley's POV

It's currently two in the morning and none of us have fallen asleep yet. We are currently preparing for a prank we plan on carrying out on Parker, seeing as he always has the best reaction when these things happen to him.

After Tiffany made her grand entrance, she got to catch up on the things she missed while her and Parker were staying at grandpa joe's house in Atlanta. Parker and Tiffany are siblings but Parker was adopted at the age of four. His parents had to give him up for adoption because their lives were at stake. Sadly, not even a year passed when they were killed by rogues. At the time, I was around two years old, the same goes for Tiff and Claire.

A lot has changed about Tiffany in the last three years. Her normally pitch black mid back length hair now cascades a few inches past her shoulders with hints of honey brown half way through it and towards the ending. Her skin is more tan than it's ever been, all traces of acne completely gone. I guess you could say she's really blossomed into a beautiful young lady. I've got to stop watching those soap operas.

We tiptoe through the kitchen with a whole bag of flour, a can of whipped cream, and a packet eggs. The eggs aren't completely necessary, it's just a form of self defense in case Parker wakes up and tries attacking us. I have to be the look out which means I have to run behind them and keep them quiet. At first, I thought it would be simple but it's not. Claire and Tiffany haven't stopped giggling the whole time, making me slightly panicked because father could wake up any moment from the movement around the house in such strange hours.

Parker's doorknob makes a slight squeaking noise as it clicks open. Thank goodness he's a heavy sleeper.

***

I giggle as I come to an end with my part of the prank. I squeeze toothpaste into his mouth and some on the tip of his nose for a bit of good luck. I honestly don't know why but I just did. The minty blue tooth paste contrasts with the Santa clause beard whipped cream in both color and scent, making the room itself smell quite awkward. Tiffany has been attaching strings all around the room while Claire sets up the flour and Polaroid camera. The plan is to call his cell phone, which will wake him up. When he rises, the strings will get tugged on and release the bucket of flour onto his head and body, at the same time a picture will be taken as soon as any of the strings are tugged on.

We hurriedly rush to his desk and hide under it, giving us a perfect view of what is to happen seeing as his bed is directly across the desk. I nudge Claire slightly on the shoulder, bringing her out of her trance seeing that she hasn't taken her eyes off of him since we walked into the room. Weird. His phone starts to ring with the three of us slightly giggling as the excitement builds up even more. He tosses and turns but finally picks up after the fifth ring. His hand reaches out to his phone on the night stand and takes hold of it. Putting it on his ear, he tries to forms words but doesn't succeed. At this point, I honestly don't know what's more ridiculous. The fact that he's trying to speak with a mouthful of toothpaste or the fact that he doesn't register what is in his mouth.

Tiffany starts to giggle uncontrollably, her voluminous ringlets of hair bouncing off her shoulders. I silently chuckle as I turn my attention back to Claire. She hasn't stopped staring at him. The only different thing now is the full blown smile plastered on her face with adoration written all over her features.

"What th-" Parker starts to groan after spitting out the toothpaste but gets cut off by the flour that poured onto him. His confused state turns into one of anger as his eyes scan the room on a frantic motion, that is until his eyes zero on Tiffany's. We all take that as our signal to leave as Parker starts to rise. The clicking sound of the camera echoes throughout the room, sharpening everyone's attention.

I rise to my to my feet and race to the door, Tiffany and Claire following in suite as I can hear their slightly panicked exhales.

Claire's POV

I manage to stop staring at him once the Polaroid camera goes off. Hayley and Tiffany make a mad dash for the door, with me following closely behind. Sadly, my attempt at escaping is cut short as the door slams locked immediately after Tiffany.

Parker stands right in front of the door, in all his glory, wearing his superman pj bottoms and a wife beater. His arms cross over his chest as he eyes me with curiosity and something else I can't manage to pick out. He locks the door without even turning back as his eyes travel down my frame. Thank goodness I buttoned down the shirt earlier on. A smile plays on his lips, making my heart flutter in a way it never has before.

I'm pulled out of my hypnotic state as some of his whipped cream beard falls to the ground, making a weird splattering noise. I start to laugh as I take in his current state. More than half of his face is drenched in melting whipped cream, flour and toothpaste. His eyes squint in even more confusion as he scratches his head. Can he possibly get anymore cuter. His head suddenly whips in my direction, sniffing the air as though he was searching for treasure.

"Mate." He speaks lowly, with a voice so deep yet so rich and velvety. His pupils dilate as he stares intently into my own. His indigo darts, stare in a sharp manner and fill with an unfamiliar emotion, as he strides towards me. "Finally." I sigh out loud as I walk over to his bed and plop down onto it. His lemon and minty scent engulfs me and I sigh in content. "What do you mean finally?" He uses an overly heightened voice as he says finally. I turn to my side and glare at him in slight offense as he lays down next to me. Our finger tips brush, sending sparks all over my body.

"I do not sound like that. Did it really take you that long to figure out we're mates?" Feeling his intense gaze burning into the side of my face, I turn and fully look at him. An adorable yet oddly too familiar blush is spread across his cheeks. Moonlight spilling in from the partially open curtain shines on both our faces. His tan skin blends in with the milky white lighting, making him resemble an angel. He shrugs in response to my question, causing me to giggle uncontrollably. Gosh, get a grip Claire.

"You're cute when you giggle." He calmly speaks, all traces of the blush from before gone, as if it wasn't there to begin with. I snort and playfully roll my eyes at his cheesy compliment. His hand reaches out to touch my face but I simply slap it away. He pouts at me and lowers his eyes in embarrassment. "You're more cheesier than I remember." I lightly tease, trying to make his pout reduce.

Smiling brightly, his eyes connect with mine as he moves closer to me. His minty cool breath fans across my face, making me shiver with delight involuntarily. This encourages him to inch further towards me and I let him do so. Why? I have no idea. His lips softly brush against mine and bliss spreads throughout my body, ignoring the very single objection from the logical part of me. Our lips move in synchronization as if  we were puzzle pieces that perfectly fit together.

I abruptly pull away as some of the flour and now completely melted whipped cream smears onto my face, forming a weird sticky paste. "You have no idea how long I've waited to do that." He mummers more to himself but I'm able to hear vaguely as my eyes shut from tiredness.

And that's a wrap on the chapter. There might be a scandal waiting to rise two or three chapters from now 😉. I would write more but I have to sleep so goodnight (East African time) 🙂😴💤. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Peace ✌🏾️