Kisses after midnight (WICKED #0) | ✓

38

AMELIA LOOKED SAD TO see her friend go and without waiting a second, Mateo pushed Chase towards her. He stumbled and Mateo grabbed a bewildered Luca and pulled him along to the group of waiting people to their left. Chase looked at him in betrayal and Mateo gave him a thumbs up, grinning all the way, before mouthing a lot of undecipherable words.

Gabriela wasn't sure what to think of the whole spectacle she just witnessed, but thankfully for him Amelia only noticed him standing there alone a second after. He immediately straightened his back and fixed his hair, offering her a shy smile.

"Did your friend become a ghost too?" she said.

"Yeah," Chase said dazedly," a person, ghost, whatever you want."

"What?" she blinked.

"Did I say that out loud?" Chase said, cheeks reddening," I meant to just nod."

Before he could make it any worse Milo interrupted them, a charming smile on his face as he gestured at Chase.

"Why don't you pair up together?" he suggested," you both don't have a partner yet."

"I'm up for it," Amelia smiled," if you don't mind, of course."

"I don't," Chase said, voice a bit too loud. He scraped his throat, quickly collecting himself and repeating it with a lower tone. "I mean, I don't mind."

"Great," she beamed," I'm Amelia, by the way."

"Chase," he said," like the verb."

"Did he just explain the name Chase?" Luca murmured to Mateo.

"As he should," Mateo said," it is a weird name. What is he chasing? Love? Fortune? Friendship?"

Luca stared at him for a second, but then just decided not to reply, shaking his head instead. Despite all his friends discussing him, Chase only seemed focused on Amelia, her reply to him a soft chuckle. Gabriela still felt slightly worried for how Chase would act, but a teacher gestured for her to come along before she could help.

Alina blew her friend a kiss, giggling as she skipped beside her and Milo. Though Amelia kept mostly to herself, Alina was a whole different story. Her reputation preceded her by far and though Gabriela wasn't one to listen to rumors, the way Alina smiled was enough to confirm every one of them. There was something sharply dangerous about it, like the girl was a second away from snapping, her smirk with too many and yet no emotions all at once.

"That verb guy sure is funny," she said, whistling along to a Christmas song after.

"His name is Chase, not verb guy," Milo said.

"That's the first time I've heard you correctly say his name," Gabriela said.

"Thank you for noticing," Milo smiled proudly," I suck with names so I tried."

"Let me guess yours," Alina said, stopping right in her tracks and pointing at him," is it Brad?"

"Do I look like a Brad?" Milo frowned," did I turn white and privileged when I wasn't looking?"

Alina didn't seem bothered, squinting as she looked at Milo. "Gregory then."

"I'm not even going to reply to that."