Chapter 72: Chapter 72

"What? You both look like you've just seen a ghost." He said pointing at each of their pale faces.

"What?" Navaeh croaked out before she froze and cleared her throat.

"I said, oh God! So stressful. Both schools are good, NYU and Stanford, so why fight over which one to go?" He replied lazily.

Navaeh looked to Quinnel to see him not even paying them any attention.

"And oh yeah, I heard literally everything. And I would say, you should follow your dream, if you want to, that is." He replied with a shrug sitting up.

His hand moved to the back to support his whole weight as he looked up at the sky.

"The night is beautiful tonight." He mumbled and Navaeh looked away from him and up at the sky.

"Yeah, it is." She replied.

"Do you know about the superstition that dead people become stars?" He inquired after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, I don't think it's true though." Navaeh replied with a shrug and Quinnel let out a small scoff. She turned her head to him to see he was looking at the siblings not too far from them.

Ashley had caught up with Zaire and was now hitting his back anyhow she liked. She even smacked his butt a few times which Zaire didn't like... At all.

"I mean, I don't believe it either. Cranky old Nina is up there? Yeah, right." Jake chimed in and Navaeh turned her attention to him.

"Cranky old Nina?" She questioned in confusion.

"My granny. She was cranky as hell when she was alive. Even though she was old enough to be senile, she still had the sharpest eyes. She always knew when I had been affected by... You know who, and so she would console me since my parents were never around. So I loved her, so much despite her cranky attitude. If I had been asked whose death hit me the most while we were playing 21 questions... It's most definitely hers." He concluded and Navaeh held unto his upper arm.

"Sorry for your loss." She mumbled and he turned to her to see she had tears in her eyes.

"Uhh, why are you crying?"

"I'm not." She replied with a sniff her eyes looking everywhere but Jake.

"You are. See, those are tears in your eyes. And you can't prove me wrong. The one thing I inherited from my grandma was her sharp eyes."

"Shut up. It's just so... Sad." She mumbled sniffing in her tears.

"Well, yeah... It is sad but it already passed. I'm used to her gone now. You know we all gon' die some day." He replied with a shrug.

"Stop saying it like that!" She yelled while chuckling and then followed by another sniff.

"What? We're going to die... Maybe go to stars... Funny... Go to the stars." He said with a chuckle and she smiled at him looking up at the sky oblivious to the burning gaze on the side of her head.

If looks could kill, both Jake and Navaeh would be 12 feet's under.

Then Jake shuddered suddenly.

"Is it me or the night got colder?" He asked and Navaeh looked to him in confusion.

"Colder? I don't feel– Oh shit, that's cold." She mumbled rubbing her sleeveless arm.

Jake looked to his right to see Quinnel glaring coldly at him. He gulped and immediately faced forward tilting his head to see his eyes was now getting bad.

He inclined his head slightly at about 10 degrees to see his eyes wasn't doubting him. Quinnel was truly glaring at him!

"Uhh, actually... I just remembered. I should call my Mum. And my phone... It's uh, in my room so, I'm– you know, going to my room. In the hotel. And I, uh, get cold easily. Really really easily. So, bye!" Jake stuttered walking with his back while chuckling nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

Immediately his stuttering had finished and the sentence was over, he turned on his heels running to the hotel.

Whether the recipient understood all his gibberish, he didn't care. All he cared for was his life.

Good Riddance.

"Huh? What's wrong with him suddenly?" Navaeh questioned rhetorically tilting her head slightly.

'Hn. I guess he does has to call his Mum. I should probably get going as well. The night is becoming colder.'

She shrugged and got on her feet looking down at the guy that was now looking up at her with a pout.

"Well, are you coming? Or you're still being grumpy, Mr Grumpy Pants?" She questioned crossing her arm.

"I'm not being grumpy and I'm definitely not Mr Grumpy Pants." He growled out and she rolled her eyes.

"And pigs fly."

"If you throw them in the air, they would." Quinnel replied cheesily.

"Ugh. You're too cheesy to be a guy," She mumbled to herself.

"Hot as well." Quinnel replied with a wink and she shook her head before walking ahead.

The two playful siblings had gone up to the hotel after getting sand in their hair, their whole body covered in sand and places you didn't think sand could enter.

"Hey! At least wait for me."

"Walk faster. You have longer legs." She replied simply.

"Night guys." She greeted the few people that were still seated round the bonfire.

"Night!" They replied simultaneously. Some even waved at them as well.

"Did your legs grow longer?" Quinnel asked when he caught up with the girl.

"Why? Cause I'm faster than you?"

"Faster than me? In your dreams, babe." Quinnel replied with a chuckle.

"I am faster than you. I literally just beat you in a walk." Navaeh replied pressing the elevator button.

"That was because I was unprepared and also, that was just one time. It won't happen again." Quinnel replied with an eye roll followed by a scoff as he stepped in after Navaeh into the elevator.

"Yeah, sure. Keep fooling yourself. I'll believe you when it snows before Christmas."

"Ugh! I can't believe this! I'm the athlete here for goodness sakes."

"And I'm a fast walker." Navaeh replied with a smirk.

"Oh please! Don't gloat over just one day of beating me in a walking competition."

"It was a competition? Sure then. I won't gloat on this one. I'll just easily gloat on the next one." She replied with a shrug stepping out of the elevator.

She was surprised when he stepped out after her as well.

"This conversation is not over. I'm only accepting it's over when I beat you in a walk and you accept it that I'm a faster walker."

"I'll do that when you beat me in a walk. Until then, I'm a faster walker." She said with a smile and a wink.

"Let's have a walking match."

"Oh my God! Is that even a thing? Just accept I'm better than you in this aspect! God!"

"It's a thing. It's a legit thing. We just made it a thing and no, until a rematch where we're both ready, I'll never accept your better in that!"

"Geez! You're crazy." She replied walking to her room.

"Are we having the competition now?"

"Jesus! I'm just going to my room! Ugh! You're very competitive by the way."

"I know." He replied eyeing the Gold plated room number with number 53 engraved in black on it.

"Then you should also know how competitive I get when it comes to my position and my reputation." She said turning around tapping his chest lightly with a subtle smile.

"Oh, I know–"

"Shh." She cut him off by placing her slender hand on his pink thin lips.

"Let's talk about this later. Right now, I'm going to bed."

"You can't–"

"Shh. Good Night, Quin."

"Night." He found himself saying. It was like he was hypnotized. Her finger on his lips was doing things to his body that even he didn't understand. And it was just one finger!

What if it was all five fingers on his lips. Or even her lips on– Woah! Too far. Calm down on your imagination Quinnel Ashford.

Then she grinned and pressed the code shielding it with her hand.

"Door Unlocked."

"Adios." She pulled the door open right after that and slipped into the room.

"Door Locked."

That seemed to snap him out of his reverie as he blinked at the spot she was standing in just now.

He looked around awkwardly like a thief that wanted to break into an apartment before he pressed his ear to the door.

Unfortunately, the room was soundproof and so, he practically heard nothing. But his position was hilarious.

His butt was shot out with both arm on the door and his legs spread out as he moved his face around to see if he would hear their voices by chance anywhere. Perhaps through a cracked hole.

A cracked hole in an imported door that costed almost half the cost of the room? Yeah, right.

He was so engrossed in this act that he didn't hear the elevator ding as it opened to reveal two guys and a girl.

The girl stepped out and bade her boyfriend and his friend before she turned around and saw Quinnel.

Raising a brow, she almost let out a loud laugh at his position. Immediately, she turned around to motion for the two guys to come outside and see something while she pressed her hand to her lips to tell them to be quiet as possible.

Her boyfriend and his friend raised a brow but stepped out anyway pressing a button so the elevator didn't go anywhere.

Once they saw what the girl was pointing at, their hand flew to their mouth as they stifled a laugh as well.

The oblivious Quinnel was still looking for the position to hear what the girls were talking about. Were they talking about him? If yes, what were they saying?

The girl brought out her phone and immediately took a shot making sure the room number was visible in the picture.

The shutter sound made Quinnel look around his environment his eyes easily landing on the three friends.

Once they saw he had caught them, they burst out laughing without any hesitation as they held unto each other for dear life.

Quinnel could only purse him lips in embarrassment as he made his way to the opened elevator just standing in the corner.