Destroyer of Time: Pyrokinesis

Chapter Seventeen: Fast Track

     "That should be my line to you, Ms. I-didn't-get-your-last-name." I tried to sound playful, even though my insides were slowly melting under her burning gaze. 

Then she cracked a smile, and I knew that I survived. I wasn't sure why she was angry, but I was glad that I diffused that bomb. "Right." 

I glanced around the empty parking lot. "I hate to say this, but I'm starting to think that you're following me. One more time I see you around, I might just think you're my stalker." I spoke with a smile to emphasize the joke. 

I was glad when she just rolled her eyes, smiled, and scoffed. "Certainly think highly of yourself, don't you?"

       "Hey! Twice now that you came out of nowhere and approached me. Tell me that's not even slightly suspicious."

I waited for any form of anger to appear in her face, but she shook her head. "You're right. That's pretty suspicious. But I can assure you that it's just by coincidence." 

       "I didn't know you like," I glanced towards the store. "Pizza. I hate to tell you this, but the shop is close."

She followed my gaze to Hot Zone. "It seems open to me."

My eyes went back to her. "I promise you. It's not. You can check if you don't believe me, though."

       "Strangely enough, I believe you." She left her post beside the tree and started approaching me. I kept my place on the side of my car and waited for her. She stood in front of me and placed her hand on her hips. "Too bad. Maybe I'll go somewhere else, then."

       "I don't think you'll find anywhere open." I glanced around the area again. "Something weird's going on tonight. I think it'd be safer if you just go home."

       "So this is not a common thing, then?" she asked with a smile. "I was beginning to think that this is one of those places that go to sleep at eight and wake up at four."

I chuckled. "Nah. Not that kind of town. We actually have some nightlife here. But tonight's just different. You probably noticed, but no one's really out right now." 

Rizza crossed her arms. "Then why are you on and about?" 

       "Oh. I came to meet a friend." I hooked my thumb towards the store direction. "But we found it too creepy to stick around, so we've decided to go home. You actually just missed him." 

She didn't react in any way, and that lack of reaction was more unnerving than showing any at all. "Is that right? The same friend I saw you with at the club?" 

       "Yeah. That's right." I frowned, remembering the question Nick kept asking. I took another look at her. She fit the description he gave perfectly. She might be the person he was looking for, after all. The only thing left for me to do was to question her about her involvement with him. 

I opened my mouth but hesitated. Nick said that she owed him money, but the way he persisted with his questions made me believe there was something more. Something that he didn't share with me. Not that I'd been entirely honest with him lately. 

I felt something strange stirred inside me. We'd been friends since we were children. We grew up together, shared so many experiences, and we were there for each other through thick and thin. So now I found myself feeling guilty for every lie I told him. I didn't want to keep secrets from my best friend. Right then and there, I'd decided to be honest with him and tell him the truth next time I see him. 

Rizza noticed my silence, and she edged closer to me. I was startled when I felt her hand touch my shoulder lightly. "Hey. Are you okay?" 

       "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry. I was just thinking of something." I put out what hopefully was a somewhat convincing happy smile. "Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you." 

She took a step back and crossed her arms again. "Go ahead. Ask me." 

I took a deep breath first before I went ahead. "Well, long story short, the friend that you saw me with from the club has been me if I've seen a girl that seems to perfectly describe you. So I'm just wondering if you're the same person that he's been talking about."

I expected her to deny it instantly, but she didn't. She pursed her lips instead and raised a brow. "What reason would your friend happen to have to look for this girl that you say looks like me?"

       "So you're saying that you're not that girl?"

       "I'm saying that I want to know the why first before I answer your question."

       Annoying woman. 

I forced a smile on my face and nodded. "Right. Well, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable sharing that information with you."

She gave me a sweet smile in return. "Then, I'm not sure if I can provide any information then."

We stared at each other, unwilling to look away. It made me think of those old western movies where cowboys had those standoffs at sundown. The only differences were that it was evening, and I was about to cave because she had the meanest stare I'd ever seen. She looked like she wanted to gut me like a fish and feed the innards to me. 

I decided to break it off, concluding that there was nothing wrong with her knowing that little detail. "Fine.    I'll tell you." It was a bit annoying to see the triumphant smile appear on her face, but at the same time, I was glad because she looked even hotter smiling. I cleared my throat. "If you must know, Nick, the friend I was talking about, is looking for this girl because apparently, she owes him."

     "Owes him what?"

I stopped. I couldn't recall Nick ever mentioning what she owed him. If I remembered correctly, he was very cagey when I asked him about that. "He didn't say. Must be money." 

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, and then she burst out laughing. "Sure. Do I look like someone that would owe anyone money?"

I gave her a once over, not because I didn't form my answer already because I did, but because I just wanted to give her a once over, and it was the perfect opportunity to ogle her without looking like a creep. 

       But am I not a creep for doing it, to begin with?

I stopped that line of thought and nodded. "You certainly don't look like you need money." She honestly didn't look like she was poor. Her clothes appeared to be all designer brands. From her high heel boots to her manicured fingers to her perfectly straight hair, she could certainly be a model. Nick was not wrong. 

       "Exactly. Tell me, how long have you known this friend of yours?"

       "Nick?" 

       "Yep. That's the one."

I couldn't stop the irritation that stirred in me with her inquiry. Suddenly, she took an interest in Nick. It wasn't new for me and Nick to like the same girl. Usually, if that case happened, whoever the girl took an interest in would pursue her. The other would give way and not interfere. It was an unspoken rule that we had fallen into. Since I wasn't into "playing the field," there wasn't much of a problem for both of us. But Rizza showing interest in him might change that. 

I didn't know her well, sure. But I knew myself well enough to know that we at least had some chemistry going on. I was still recovering from the previous breakup I had just months ago, and I seriously didn't consider looking for a new relationship, but there was something about her that spoke to me. Sure, it was the first time that we had some form of an actual conversation, but I was willing to explore this new avenue with her, and I wouldn't be able to do that if she liked Nick.   

       "What do you wanna know?" I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice, but just imagining the two of them together pissed me off. 

       "How about you start with how you met each other?" 

I thought of the time she was asking and couldn't help but chuckle. The day we met was undoubtedly an unforgettable memory. 

I smiled, recalling the memory vividly. "It was one particularly hot summer day. I could remember that clearly. I was eight years old during the time. That summer, they announced that they were releasing G62-Armada."

       "Wait. G62-Armada? Wasn't that the transforming drone?"

I looked at her in surprise. I didn't expect her to know that. "Yeah. That's right. It was the latest drone for that series. It had that new cool feature of transforming anytime you want. Even in midair. It was dope."

She snorted but kept the smile on her face. "You sound exactly like someone I know. He went crazy over that toy too."

I gasped in mocked outrage. "G62-Armada was not a toy! It was a masterpiece!"

She laughed at my expression. "Uh, huh. So you say. Anyway, your story?"

I gave her a side-eye, pretending to be still offended about her classification of a work of art. "Anyway, they just announced G62-Armada that summer with an early release in fall. Obviously, I needed to get it."

       "Obviously," she muttered teasingly.

I chose to ignore her. "I couldn't ask my dad for money, and my mom wasn't around, so I found myself in a little dilemma."

       "Why couldn't you ask your dad?" 

I hesitated for a second. I wasn't sure I was ready to tell her anything about my family yet. She was practically a stranger. "Well, let's just say he was a bit uptight." It was a half-truth. "So I had to make some money. What can an eight-year-old kid do to earn money?"

       "Hmm. Not sure."

       "Two words. Lemonade stand." I grinned proudly, and she snickered. "So, that summer, I decided to put up a lemonade stand to fund my dream."

       "I'm sensing a but here."

       "But... I wasn't the only one who had that idea."

       "Your friend, I presume?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Well, he wasn't my friend at that time. His family just recently moved into the house in front of ours at the beginning of that month. So, to me, during the time, he was nothing but competition."

       "So, what happened?"

       "We started having some sort of rivalry. Every day, we would open our lemonade stands and try to attract customers. Sometimes, he would get them, and then sometimes, I would get them. It's funny cause I remember how we glared at each other throughout that summer. For months, we spent doing nothing but that, but the day before the release of G62-Armada, I found myself sitting on the sidewalk in front of my lemonade stand. I was sad because I didn't make enough money to buy the G62-Armada."

     "Oh. That sucks." She sounded sympathetic and not mocking. 

     "Yeah. Then, out of nowhere, the kid from the house across the street appeared in front of me. He asked me why I looked sad. I told him about my little situation. Then he got the biggest smile like I told the funniest joke. I thought he was laughing at me, so I stood up and was about to walk away from him, but then he told me that he was also trying to save up for the same thing. Since he also didn't make enough to buy it for himself, he proposed an idea. He said that we could pool our money together and buy the G62-Armada. Then, we can share it together." 

       "So, what did you do?"

       "What else? I said yes. We put our money together, and the next day, I was a proud owner of G62-Armada." I puffed my chest slightly. 

She laughed. "Correction. Co-owner."

       "Whatever. What mattered was that I got to own that masterpiece. But more importantly, that was how I met my best friend." 

       "Aww. That's so cute." 

I felt my face heat up, and I hoped that it was dark enough that she couldn't see it in my face. I wasn't easily embarrassed, but for some reason, I couldn't help but feel that when it came to her. I scratched my chin, suddenly out of words to say. 

       "Well, I should get going since the place is close," she said. "I guess I'll see you around." 

She turned around and walked away, but before I could stop myself, I called out to her. "Hey! Wait a second." She stopped and glanced at me. Now or never. "Can I get your number? Just if you ever want to eat somewhere or something, you can message me."

It was a lame excuse to get her number, and I could admit that it wasn't my smoothest move, but I was a bit desperate, and that was the first thing that came to mind. Yet everyone thinks I'm a genius. I could tell that she thought so too. Therefore, I was surprised by her response. "Eat somewhere or something, huh? Why not? You got your phone?"

I was frozen for a second, not expecting her to agree quickly, but when I gathered my thoughts again, I scrambled to pull out my phone. However, I searched all my pockets and found that my phone was missing. I hadn't opened my car yet, so it was unlikely that it would be inside. That only left either the outside of the pizza store or the table we were sitting at earlier. 

       "Problem?" Rizza asked with concern. 

       "Yeah. I think I misplaced my phone. I'm gonna go and check inside the store. I might've left it on the table."

       "I thought the store was closed?'

       "Yeah, it is. But the owner left it open. He might be coming to close it later. I don't really know. I told you. It's been a weird night."

She looked a bit skeptical but didn't say anything. She just nodded. "Alright."

       "Just give me a minute. I'll be back quick."

I strode quickly towards the store, carefully looking on the ground I was walking on to make sure that I didn't drop it on the way to my car. I was just about to cross the space between the parking lot and Hot Zone when a sudden bright light flashed to my side. My eyes were instantly drawn to it, and I stopped in my tracks because of the blinding light burning my eyes. 

The next thing that happened was forever embedded in my memory. I heard a loud sound like the car throttling its engine, and through a squinted glance, I saw the car speeding up towards me. I didn't think. I reflexively dodge to the side just as that car was to connect to my body. I launched myself sideways, but my body slammed hard on the concrete, and even worse, my head hit the pavement hard. 

The sudden impact of my head connecting to the sidewalk turned my brain to mush. The world was suddenly spinning, and I heard the loud screeching of tires fading further and further away. I laid there, unmoving, trying to stop the world from moving so fast, but I couldn't. 

I heard a scream of my name and the sound of footsteps approaching me before the world went dark. 

       Holy f**k. Not again.