Next Level

Zander's Point Of View

“Where are we Harley?” I asked him in a panicked voice.

I didn't like this. I didn't like it one bit.

For about half an hour now Harley’s been trying to work out how to get back to the school and/ or find our way home. So far all that his random walking around has done is get us even more lost than we were to start with.

I'm sure he told me that he knew where we were. He promised! I'm really starting to feel scared now though. earlier he was certain he’d be able to get us back, but now, he looks just about as confident as I do.

What if we really are lost? No one else knows where we are. Neither of us told anyone we were leaving, and to be honest, I doubt anyone has actually noticed we’re missing yet. We’ve been gone now for a few hours tops. They’ll just think we’ve bunked off and gone to hang out in the park like most people do around here. No one would look for us here.

Maybe they’ll never find us.

Harley still wasn't answering my question. I'm assuming that’s because he seriously has no idea where we are either. We’re lost. Let’s face it. There’s no getting out of this.

I was getting used to the speed he walks at now though. At least that’s one positive that could come out of this; I might be able to walk a little faster. Everything else is negative. Completely and utterly negative.

If, on the bright side, we do find our way back, then we’ll be hammered with another negative after wards: Trouble .

We are so dead.

“Harley,” I said quietly, almost in tears now. “I'm scared.”

When I said him that, he stopped completely still for a second.

“Scared?” he asked me with a raised eyebrow.

Sure he was trying to act big and brave, but I know he isn't. He’s just as scared as I am, maybe even more then that because he’s also afraid to even admit to being scared in the first place.

“Yes,” I whispered. I wasn't embarrassed. The only excuse for my quiet voice was that I didn't want to cry. (Not that I didn't want him to see me cry – I’d just rather not do it full stop). “I'm scared,” I said again, making sure he heard me.

The look on Harley’s face said it all. He had no idea what to do or say not. I bet no one has ever told him that they were scared before. I doubt he’s ever told them either...

“Erm,” he sighed, looking like he was trying to keep a straight face. Trust him to find my fear funny! He ran his hand through his short brown hair and then shrugged his shoulders at me.

He was clueless. He had no idea what to say to me.

“You hungry?” he asked randomly before scowling. I'm guessing he thought that was a stupid way to respond to what I just told him; I actually don’t agree though.

His question does have some relevance. If I was back at the flat and not stuck here we probably would’ve started working on the tea at some point around now. Plus, we both missed out on lunch while we were of together.

“Kinda,” I said shyly, looking down to my shoes.

We’d been gone for way over three hours now. I suppose it hasn’t been too bad, but I’d love to be able to go back home now.

“Harley, erm, honestly, do you know where we are?” I asked him nervously. He stayed quiet for a while. “Please answer me this time,” I pleaded. I want an answer!

“No,” he admitted sharply. “Happy, Zander? We’re lost okay!”

I stood back from him when I saw the angry look in his eyes. This guy really does have issues. If you think about it though, he’s probably still too good compared to me. I bet he’s never taken a life. Harley’s never killed someone. Compared to me; he’s an angel.

“Sorry,” he frowned, noticing that he scared me a little just then.

“How do we get back?” I asked him after deciding to ignore his sudden angriness as well as his appreciated apology. He shrugged his shoulders at me, not knowing how to answer. “Can’t we just, like, go back the way we came?” I suggested quietly. Usually that’d be the first thing you’d do if you got lost – retrace your steps – but I knew Harley didn't want to go back to that street we were on before. I'm guessing that’s why I ended up being the one suggesting going back instead of him.

“Stupid idea,” he hissed at me, looking at the ground and kicking up some grit from the road.

“Why’s it stupid?” I asked him strongly. “It’s the smart thing to do when you think about it.”

“I'm not going back there,” he told me in an even firmer voice than the one I’d just managed to use. I knew he wasn't going to budge on this, but for some reason I wanted to see if he’d tell me why.

“You don’t have to go then,” I told him, “but I’m going to.”

“No-” he started but I quickly interrupted him.

“Do you seriously think I want to walk around the streets with you just because you’re
too chicken to go back there? If we just turned round hours ago then I’d be back home right now!”

I'm not sure where any of that came from, but I'm extremely glad I said it. Harley looked shocked, but at the same time, slightly impressed with me.

“You really don’t get it,” he sighed, shaking his head at me. “I'm not letting you go back there...” he whispered, “I can’t.”

I noticed the sincere look in his eyes. He was being serious.

“I thought... Earlier, didn't you say something?” I asked him, suddenly remembering the reason why he said we were here in the first place. He told me he was looking for someone.

“Look, I say a lot of things, but you’re not going back there,” he told me.

“Fine, whatever,” I snapped a little but quickly calmed myself down again. “But what about that guy you were looking for? I know you didn't find him, so don’t you have to go back to him or something?”

He looked shocked again. Did he think I’d forget about that?

“I’ll find him tomorrow,” he whispered after a long pause. “You don’t need to worry about that.” Harley stared off into the distance for a few minutes before looking back at me and sighing. “I should probably get you home soon,” he muttered.

“But...You said you didn't know where we-”

“I lied,” he said, cutting me off before I could finish.

The look on his face was strange.... it was then that his words truly sunk in.

All of this was a lie?

I was definitely right when I said that he has problems.

“You what?” I gasped a little.

For some reason I didn't even suspect that he could’ve lied to me. This isn't the sort of thing you lie about. You don’t tell some they’re lost for a stupid joke!

“I lied,” he spat. “Funny, right?”

I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. Not long ago I was almost in tears, but to him, this whole thing is just one big old joke.

“I really thought you were better than that,” I whispered, refusing to say one more word to him after that.

He tried talking to me, but nothing he said was along the lines of ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘Let me explain’ so I just ignored him.

When we reached a point that I was familiar with I muttered a brief “I can find my own way from here,” to him and started to head towards the flat without even a goodbye. He didn't say anything to me either, but as I was walking away I was certain that his eyes were on me. Watching me.

I still had a bit of a way to walk, but it was I distance that I’d rather just walk alone.