Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 5

Luna sat beside Razaia and Lily, cheering the boys on. The basketball game was going quite well, their school leading with a few points.

The girls cheered as Colin got the ball in the hoop again, Razaia standing up and screaming. Razaia's over the top volume was rubbing off on her, she could feel her throat burning and people staring. She didn't mind it as long as her friends could hear her.

Lloyd smirked at them as he ran past them, flipping his gaze back to the game. Trae blew a kiss in their direction, his face flushed dark red, the white and red uniform hanging off his slim frame. Colin shook his head at them all, glancing at his feet as a small smile played on his lips.

As soon as the game was over, three cheering sweaty boys and three annoyed girls squeezed into Trae's car, opening all the windows and the sunroof, letting in some air and letting out the overwhelming smell of sweat and boy.

This time Lloyd sat in the front, leaving Colin awkwardly pushed up against the backseat door, trying not to crush Razaia between himself and Luna. Razaia was dowsing herself in vanilla perfume, spraying some on Colin and ranting about the importance of deodorant.

Lily looked uncomfortable in the back, pushing herself up against the door and acting as though she wasn't paying attention to the others.

Trae turned on the radio, the sound blaring as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Luna leaned over to turn it down. "God Trae, are you trying to get pulled over?" She laughed, sitting back into the seat, Lily's elbow jabbing into her side.

Trae shot her a playful grin through the rearview mirror, and quickly returned his gaze to the road as a light turned green.

They talked until they reached the ice cream parlor, cool air from the inside biting Luna's bare arms and making the boys feel sticky. They ordered quickly, deciding to take their victory party down to the park.

The moon was almost fully hidden, the small sliver of light disappearing behind a thick cloud. The lack of light had hardly any effect on their vision, their eyes easily adjusting to take in light as if the sun was shining on them rather than the crescent moon playing hide and seek.

They sat on a stretch of rocks a few meters away from the waterfall, watching pure water tumble down from the rocks nearly a hundred meters above their heads.

Luna wasn't aware someone was sneaking up to her until a hand was waving in front of her face, Razaia's dark fingers and neon yellow nails suddenly blocking out her view of the water startling her.

"Your ice cream is melting," Lily noted in an even tone, finishing her own and handing the empty paper bowl to Lloyd.

"You know if you don't want it, I'll take it," Trae said with his everlasting playful tone. Luna shivered at his words as he leaned over to her from his spot behind her, resting his elbow on her shoulder.

She cracked a smile, handing it to him. "Here."

His impish grin widened as he took it from her hands, his arm slipping from her shoulder. She held his gaze only for a moment before it returned to the water, almost against her own will.

"Luna, are you okay?" He put a hand on her shoulder, leaning down until his face was level with hers.

She nodded, her gaze flicking to meet his for only a second. "I'm just thinking." She looked towards the others, broken off into pairs. Razaia was telling a story, Colin watching her intently with a soft smile. Lily-Rose was staring at her feet as Lloyd tried to talk to her. And Trae was right behind her, finishing her ice cream. "Do you think things are okay?" She asked softly, avoiding his eyes.

He paused. "Yeah? I'm mean, nothing's wrong..."

"But things are wrong, just no one's talking about them." She stared up at him, watching his expression change.

"Like what? You mean between us or..."

Her face flushed. "I mean in society. People are dying, crime is rising, and—"

"You shouldn't be worrying about that," he cut her off, sitting down beside her. "Our lives are fine. Everything is great."

"But don't you miss Harper?" Her tone was soft.

He looked away from her, staring at the water. She tore her gaze from his face and looked towards the water with him. "Of course I do," he said after a pause. "But there isn't anything I can do about it, so I try not to think about it."

"But if there was something you could do about it, would you?"

He paused again. "If there was something, I would. But there isn't."

"If I could do something to change the world, would you stand by my side?" Her words were almost a whisper.

He turned to stare at her again. "I would follow you anywhere, you know that. I'll support you forever."

She smiled. "Thanks, Trae."