^^New chandelier

On Saturday I woke up with a throb in my head. I got little sleep last night because I was searching for different ways to fix the chandelier and found nothing. I looked for new ones but they were expensive, I couldn't even afford to buy their structures.

I yawned and got up from my bed. It was seven in the morning and I only got three hours of sleep. I walked to my wardrobe and look for something to wear. It wasn't a school day, so I had to wear something casual. I always prepared my things at night but didn't get the chance to do it last night.

Since the beginning of this year, everything's been different.

After minutes of searching in my small closet, I took out my purple turtleneck sweater shirt with light blue jeans, perfect to cover my fading bruise. It's been a week since it happened and I was covering it carefully at home and school, but Andrew caught me off yesterday and he saw it. It's not that visible, but he still noticed it.

Lumbering to the hall, I went inside the bathroom and took a quick shower. I wrapped my hair with the towel and changed into my clothes. Standing in front of the mirror, I observed my face. I had eye bags and my eyes were still red from sleep. I applied moisturizer on my face and lip balm on my chap lips. Not knowing what to do with the eye bags, I unwrapped the towel and pat dried my hair because first I don't like to waste electricity, and second; I don't have a dryer.

After drying my hair and I walked to my room and picked up my glasses, bag and phone then went downstairs. Mom and dad, as usual, were playing their crossword.

"Good morning!" I said, yawning, and put my bag down beside the wall.

"Morning." They greeted me back, and I was about to sit when the doorbell rang. All of us frowned at each other. I glanced at the clock and it was around eight.

Who could be here this early?

"Are we expecting someone?" Mom asked dad, and he shrugged.

"I'll go check it," I said and strode towards the door. The bell rang again, and I looked through the peephole before opening it.

My eyes bugged out when I saw the last person I expected to be. As if he felt my gaze, he glanced straight in the peephole, and I jerked back.

What the...

"Who is it?!" Dad asked from the kitchen.

"Uh... It's someone from my school!" I replied.

I stood with my hand on the doorknob, debating if I should open it or not, and the bell rang again. Against my will, I cracked the door and peeked my head out. Andrew looked at me, and his lips stretched into a grin.

This grin is not a good sign.

"Hi." He said waving his fingers then shoved his hands in his jeans pocket. I gave him a once-over. He wore a black and white check jacket with a white shirt and black jeans.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered so my parents wouldn't hear me.

"I'm here to pick you." He beamed.

"What..." My brow furrowed. "That is unnecessary. I can go by myself like I do every day."

"Yeah, but..." He gave me a lopsided grin. "You don't have your bicycle with you, remember." I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned.

How can I forget about that?!

"Are you... Not going to invite me in?" He asked and tried to look through the door over my head.

"No," I said without hesitation, and he arched his brows at me.

"Why not?"

"Because..." I trailed off, not sure what to say. "You can be a serial killer."

He gave me a deadpan look. "Serial killer?"

My brain is not working because of the lack of sleep.

"Yeah... I mean-" I flinched when I heard mom from behind.

"What's taking you so long?"

"Nothing, mom," I said, turning around. Andrew took the advantage of that and pushed the door along with me and walked inside like he owned the house.

"Hello, Mrs. Smith." He gave her a toothy grin. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

My mom's jaw literally dropped, and I watched as her wide eyes wandered at Andrew's standing figure. She rubbed her eyes and looked at Andrew again, making sure she was seeing him.

"Ah... Honey... Come out here!" Mom screamed and my dad came out of the kitchen running.

"What happened-" he halted in his steps when his gaze went to Andrew.

"Am I dreaming or is there a handsome boy standing in our living room," she asked him, keeping her eyes on Andrew. Dad pinched mom's arm, making her shriek. "Ouch! What was that for?!" She slapped dad's arm.

He winced and rubbed where she hit her. "Making sure you weren't dreaming."

I groaned and rubbed my face as my parents fought over the handsome boy. They acted like this was their first time seeing a good-looking guy. Speaking of him, I peeked through my fingers and saw Andrew staring at my parents with a frown on his face.

He must think they are crazy species.

"Mom... Dad!" I said, getting their attention. "This is Andrew Pierce, and he's my..." I trailed off, not sure what to say.

We are not friends nor acquaintances... Maybe I should refer to him as my stalker or bully...

"I'm working on the fundraiser with your daughter." Andrew finished for me and extended his hands to my parents. "It's nice to meet you." He gave them his charming smile.

"Oh boy, he's real..." My mom gasped when she grabbed his hand.

"Wait..." My dad's eyes darted to me. "Did you just say... Pierce?"

"Yeah..." I fiddle with my fingers.

The clichés family are really famous and well known in the whole West Hills.

"Wow..." Mom blinked her eyes. "I never imagined a Pierce standing in my living room."

"We need to get going," I said, grabbing Andrew's jacket and tugged him. I didn't want my parents to make things more awkward. "We have a lot of work to do-"

"Wait!" My mom snapped out of her daydreams. "You haven't eaten breakfast-"

"I'm not hungry-"

"You are not going without eating." She sternly said, getting back to her mother's mode.

"Fine." I huffed because I knew it was no use arguing with her.

She smiled and gazed at Andrew. "Would you like to have breakfast with us?" she asked him sweetly.

"I'd love to. I haven't eaten because I was in a hurry to pick Lillian." He glanced at me with a mischievous grin on his face.

"That's wonderful!" she cheerfully clapped and went inside the kitchen with dad and Andrew behind her.

I squinted my eyes at Andrew and wondered what he was planning in his thick head. Entering the kitchen, I saw dad taking his seat at the head and Andrew sat beside him. Mom went to the stove and cooked him breakfast. Carefully sitting beside Andrew, I whispered.

"What are you doing?"

"Eating breakfast." He said in a duh tone.

"But why?"

"Because I'm hungry." I groaned at the stupid answers he gave.

"You are seriously a pretty face with no brain," I grumbled.

Andrew frowned. "What-"

"Here you go!" My mom's energetic voice cut through him as she put filled plates in front of us. "You are a grown man you should eat as much as you want." She said to Andrew the same dialogue she used on my big brother Luke.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Smith." Andrew smiled and dug in.

I grimaced at the sight of bacon on my plate and before I could ask my dad to take it, Andrew picked it from my plate and shoved it in his mouth. I watched him with a jaw drop and he shrugged.

"What? Your Mom said to eat as much as I want."

Before I could process my dad started talking to him.

"So..." We turned our heads towards him. "How's your preparation going for the fundraiser?"

Andrew started telling him while I slipped my milk. It shocked my parents when I told them I was volunteering. I was always closed off and didn't do many activities except for reading.

"... Now we have to work on the chandelier that I mistakenly broke," Andrew said, breaking my thoughts.

"Wow..." dad exclaimed. "There are few people who accept their mistakes."

"Yeah..." Mom sat in front of him, looking proud. "So, how did you guys meet? Lillian never mentioned you before."

And here we go...

"I first met her, when me and my friends kidnapped her," Andrew said, making my parents stunned.

They darted their gazes from him to me, and I sighed. "It was some kind of... Get to know each other thing with the new student."

I'm still not sure what it was, so let's go with this.

"That's a really interesting story." Mom grinned, putting her arms on the table and chin in her palm, leaning towards us. "How did it go?" She waggled her brows.

"I'm still trying to process the kidnapping part..." Dad said, looking confused. "But please tell us what happened next?"

Andrew opened his mouth, but I cut him off before he could make things more confusing. "We had a very nice chat and got to introduce ourselves and that's it."

"That's it?" My mom pouted and darted her eyes to Andrew.

Please say nothing stupid!

"Yeah, that's it," I said, backing up Lillian. I got the hint that she didn't tell her parents about it, and it wasn't my place to say anything.

"When things about to get interesting 'that's it' happens." Her mother grumbled.

I came to her house thinking that something wrong was going on but it was definitely a misunderstanding because no way in hell her sweet parents are anything like that.

Maybe she did strangle her neck with a muffler.

"Are you coming to the fundraiser?" I asked, eating the toast.

"No." Her mother pouted. "I have a night shift at the hospital." I glanced at her dad, and he shrugged.

"What's the point in going when your wife isn't." He said, glancing at his wife, and she gave him a sweet smile.

Wow, that's... really cute.

"Now if you'll excuse us," Lillian said, getting up. "We need to go."

"But your breakfast-" her mother started but halted when Lillian shoved the egg in her mouth.

"Dwne." She announced with a mouth full and snapped her eyes to me.

"I'm done too." I cleared my throat. "Thank you so much for the meal, Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

"Oh, no need for that." We got up from our seats and her parents walked us to the gate.

I went to my car and opened the door for Lillian. She scanned me from behind her glasses but sat inside.

"Bye!" Her parents waved at us.

"Do visit us again for dinner, Andrew!" Her mother screamed, and I nodded my head. "Have fun and enjoy your youth while you still can!"

I heard Lillian groan when I opened the door of the driver's seat. Chuckling, I sat in my car and started the engine.

As soon as we took off from her house. She started fuming.

"What is wrong with you?!" I opened my mouth, but she continued. "Yesterday I clearly told you to leave me alone and if stalking at school wasn't enough, you are raiding my house!"

"I was not raiding-"

"The way you burst in even though I told you not to come in tells me otherwise." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"Listen." I looked around, making sure there wasn't much traffic, and turned to Lillian. "I thought you were lying about your bruise and you were getting mistreated at home and I've heard enough stories from my mom to know how things work... I just wanted to make sure."

"Why do you care?" I opened my mouth, but she shook her head, making me halt. "Don't answer that..."

After that, we went silent, and I drove towards our school. From her house, it was far, and I admired how she cycled all the way daily. I parked my car in my usual spot and got out.

Lillian sighed in relief when she saw her bicycle parked like yesterday.

"I told you no one will steal it," I said, closing the door.

"Right..." she mumbled, and we walked inside the school.

We passed the ballroom and saw everyone furiously working. I saw Nate instructing everyone; it was the last day to wrap things up.

I assured Nate that we'll make the chandelier today and he doesn't have to worry about it. Lillian and I stepped into the room Nate gave us, and I grinned when I saw the packages I ordered yesterday.

"What is this?" Lillian asked as she observed the big boxes.

"These..." I stood next to the box and put my elbow leaning on it, "...is our new chandelier."

"When did you order them?"

"When you accused me of playing on my phone." Now that made her eyes go round.

"I... I..." She ducked her head in embarrassment. "What about the money-"

"David is going to pay for them."

"Why?" She frowned.

"Because he lied to me even though he knew how much I hate lies so this is his punishment."

"But... Where will he get the money?"

"That's his problem." I winked.

"We are here!" We turned around and saw enthusiastic Louis entering the room with the others.

"Oh, my baby..." Chloe ran to Lillian and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry to hear about what happened, and I wasn't there to help you." She patted Lillian like she was her mom.

"What are you doing here?" Lillian asked as she stared at everyone.

"Andrew told us what happened." Ben stepped towards me.

"What he did was a douche move..." Toby narrowed his eyes at me and I groaned.

"But he was feeling guilty and wanted to make up for it," Ben added.

"You told them?" Lillian looked at me, astonished.

"No matter how hard we would have worked, we can not finish the chandelier alone, so I asked them to help since they're all free," I replied.

"Not free." Brittany scoffed. "I was supposed to go shopping for the costume but I came here just for you."

"And I love you for that." I smiled, putting my arm around her shoulder.

"Let's start this!" Louis said, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"I don't get how you're so energetic for work." Tiana yawned.

"You don't get to act tired when you agreed to help them." Maddie rolled her eyes at Tiana, then grinned, looking between Lillian and me. "What do we have to do? And don't hesitate to give me manly work." She flexed her biceps. "I'm capable of doing things."

"Yeah..." Jordan snorted. "And when you'll get exhausted, I'll have to do your work too-Oph!" Maddie elbowed him. "Alright give us manly work." He winced, rubbing his side.

"Dude..." David gulped, scanning the boxes. "How much stuff did you order?"

"Only the required ones." I gave him a lopsided smirk. "The idea is to make a skeleton chandelier." I showed them the picture I googled yesterday.

"That's a great idea for the paranormal theme." Ben praised.

"Yeah, better than the tree thing they made," Louis added.

"How are we going to make that thing?" Jordan asked.

"We don't have to do much..." I gestured towards the boxes. "I ordered the structure of the chandelier and the bones. We just have to stick them to the frame."

"Oh-oh!" Chloe bounced on her steps. "We can also paint the skulls red to give them a blood effect."

"That's a great idea!" Louis agreed with her, and she blushed. "It'll look more realistic that way."

Maddie nodded her head. "We can add candle-shaped lights on the heads-"

"And paint the wax red." Jordan completed it for her.

"Everyone agreed to it?" I asked, and they nodded. "Let's do this!" I clapped my hands and everyone walked to the boxes.

We divided the work into groups. Chloe, Louis, Brittany, and Tiana got the painting job while the remaining attached the bones to the frame. We separated the frame into three parts. David, Maddie, and Jordan got the lower, and they hanged the bones on it. Toby and Lillian prepared the skulls, and Ben and I did the upper part of the chandelier.

After hours of working, we took a break for lunch and then for back to work again. The painting team finished before us and left because they had to buy costumes and David left with them because he was the chauffeur of Tiana and Brittany.

We finished assembling the chandelier around five, and now only the lighting and its connection were left to do.

"I'll take it from here," I said and thanked them. "You guys should go and take a rest now."

"Yeah..." Maddie cracked her neck. "My backache like bit*h."

Jordan chuckled. "That's what happens when you do manly work." Maddie punched him and we burst to laugh.

"You want me to drop you?" Toby asked Lillian, and she shook her head.

"I'm going to stay till it's complete." They nodded, and everyone walked out of the room.

"Hey, Drew!" Ben said, making me turn to him. "Do nothing stupid again I will not let you go away with it every time." He said darting his gaze to Lillian.

"I won't," I assured him.

Last night I told him what happened, and he was fuming. After hours of listening to him, he forgive me and agreed to help.

I got back to work, and Lillian stood beside me. "If you want something, just let me know."

"You don't have to stay. I'll finish it-"

"I'm not leaving you alone when we are both in this mess together." She firmly said and sat on the chair in front.

"As you wish..." I mumbled.

I was almost done with the circuit when I touched the wire and didn't realize it was switched on.

"F**k!" I cursed when the electric shock ran up my arm.

"Oh my God!" Lillian gasped and in an instant, she was by my side. "That must have hurt!"

"I'm fine. It was just a spark-"

"Do you feel anything weird like...numbness or do your brain feel light like you're about to faint?"

I frowned. "What-"

"You should go and get yourself checked in the nurse's room because it's dangerous and the electric shock causes loss of consciousness, muscle spasms, breathing problems, headache-"

"Whoa whoa!" I grabbed her shoulders, cutting her off. "Calm down girl it's just a spark."

"Oh..." she murmured as her cheeks turned red. "Sorry..." I chuckled, letting go of her.

She's cute.

"I thought you hated me and now you're worried?" I teased her.

"I just don't want you to die with me being here alone with you and get caught in another mess." My grin faded away at that.

Scratch what I said earlier.

After that, I completed attaching the lights, and we called Nate. He was impressed to see the work and was ecstatic to show it to Miss Grace.

Lillian and I walked to the school gate together, and I watched the sky and saw it was clear.

"It's not raining so I can go home on my bicycle." Lillian's side glanced at me. "You don't have to manhandle me like yesterday."