Love Triangle

Chapter 5: Secrets Beneath the Surface

The hallway was quiet, save for the echo of hurried footsteps as Damon walked briskly past lockers. His heart was pounding, not just from the argument with Eliza, but from the fact that everything was unraveling too quickly. He couldn’t afford to lose control, not now, not with everything at stake.

He turned a corner and found Jace by the vending machine, punching buttons half-heartedly, eyes distant. Damon hesitated, then approached.

"You okay?" Damon asked, voice low.

Jace looked up, startled. "You’re asking me that now? After what happened in Redpine? After Eliza’s glare could’ve set me on fire?"

Damon sighed and leaned against the wall. "I didn’t know she’d react like that. I didn’t mean for it to get so obvious."

"You think she’s just mad because of the project?" Jace asked bitterly. "She knows. Or at least she suspects. And you’re making it worse by pretending nothing’s going on."

Damon looked around the hall, then stepped closer. "What do you want me to do, Jace? Announce it to everyone? My dad would kill me. My mom... she’d try to protect me, but she’s scared too."

Jace looked down, fists clenched. "Then maybe you shouldn’t be with either of us. You’re not ready."

That stung. Damon opened his mouth to respond, but a sudden commotion by the stairwell interrupted them.

A group of students screamed as someone stumbled into the hallway bleeding. It was Marco, a senior known for his sarcasm and late-night wandering. Blood ran down his arm, and his eyes were wide with fear.

"Something’s out there," he gasped. "In the woods. It followed me."

The hallway turned silent. A teacher rushed forward, guiding Marco to the nurse’s office. Whispers started immediately.

Jace and Damon exchanged a look. It wasn’t over. Whatever had been awakened in Redpine wasn’t finished.

That evening, the principal called an emergency assembly. Students gathered in the auditorium, murmuring and shifting in their seats. The lights dimmed as Principal Hawkins stepped onto the stage.

"There’s been an incident," he began. "One of our students was injured during a follow-up visit to Redpine. We are temporarily suspending all outdoor excursions until further notice."

Whispers erupted. Damon scanned the room. Eliza sat in the front row, arms crossed, eyes fixed ahead. She hadn't spoken to him since their argument.

He knew she was hurting. He also knew she wasn’t wrong.

Later that night, Damon couldn’t sleep. He paced his room, thoughts a mess. The kiss, Eliza’s accusations, Jace’s disappointment, Marco’s warning, it all circled his mind like vultures.

He heard a soft knock on his window. He turned and saw Jace outside, crouched on the ledge.

"You planning to ignore me forever?" Jace whispered.

Damon opened the window. "It’s not safe. You shouldn’t be here."

Jace climbed in anyway. "Nothing’s safe anymore. And I need answers."

They sat in silence for a moment. Damon finally spoke. "There’s something wrong with that place. Redpine. I felt it. Before the project. Before you and I even... you know."

Jace nodded. "I felt it too. Like we weren’t alone. Like something was watching."

"It followed Marco," Damon said quietly.

Jace turned to him. "What if it followed all of us?"

And suddenly, a cold breeze passed between them, and Damon suddenly felt something else… a flicker of darkness. Something not quite right. The same feeling he’d had back in Redpine when the birds stopped chirping. When the air turned heavy.

He shook it off.

“We can’t do this here. Come with me.”

Jace hesitated, but followed.

They drove in silence, pulling up behind an abandoned diner on the edge of town. It was their unofficial hiding spot, the only place Damon could be honest. Inside, dust clung to the tables like secrets that had been sitting too long. Damon finally spoke.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said. “What happened in Redpine… it wasn’t just the kiss. Something else happened. Something dark.”

“You mean the scream?” Jace said quietly. “I heard it too. You think it followed us back?”

“I don’t know.” Damon sighed. “But Eliza… she thinks I’m hiding something. And I am. You. All of this.”

Jace’s hand clenched. “I’m not some secret to be ashamed of.”

“I’m not ashamed,” Damon said, stepping closer. “I’m scared.”

Suddenly, the light overhead flickered yet again, it was getting stronger. Then again. A cold shiver ran through both of them. Damon looked around. The diner’s windows began to fog, despite the warmth outside.

Then came the scratching faint at first, then louder from the back door.

They froze.

“You heard that?” Jace asked.

Damon nodded. “We’re not alone.”

Jace moved toward the window, but Damon pulled him back. “Don’t.”

Too late. The back door creaked open slowly, though no one had touched it.

Out of the shadows stepped… nothing. The air shifted. Damon could feel something watching.

Then bang!

The door slammed shut again on its own. The fog on the windows cleared in a blink.

And just like that, the presence was gone.

They didn’t speak the whole ride back.

Damon dropped off Jace while returning home, he met Eliza on his doorstep.

"you were with him, weren't you?" she said angrily.

"Eliza not now please"

"You’re hiding something from me aren't you," she said, her voice sharp.

Damon didn’t deny it. "I can’t explain everything yet. But I swear, I’m trying to figure it out."

Eliza’s eyes narrowed. "And Jace? Where does he fit in?"

Damon looked away. "That’s complicated."

"Make it simple. Either you’re with me, or you’re not."

He wanted to say both. But he knew that wasn’t an answer. Not one that would satisfy her. Not anymore.

Eliza angrily left the scene as she couldn't get what she wants out of Damon.

Meanwhile, Clara was upstairs observing what was going on, she had heard Damon parking in, but got worried since he was delaying entering into the house so she decided to check from the window and decided to eavesdrop.

Damon found his mother as he finally enters the house, “Where were you?” Clara West asked gently.

“Out,” he mumbled, brushing past her.

But she caught his wrist. “You’re trembling.”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

Her gaze softened, but her hand tightened. “You’re not. Talk to me.”

He paused. He wanted to tell her everything, about Jace, Eliza, the woods… the thing they’d felt. But he couldn’t. Not yet.

So he said nothing and retreated to his room.

Hours later, Damon’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Jace:

"It followed us back. I found something in my room. Call me.”