Now this looked bad. Nicole stared at me the whole lesson, her eyes revealing clearly that she wasn't happy. I had been late for half an hour, and Nicole probably thought we enjoyed some time together with Jake. And when the lesson was over, Nicole just disappeared, so I didn't even get a chance to say anything.

At the cafeteria I shared a table with only Rudy. I often glanced over at the door, but Nicole still hadn't showed up. In my opinion, she is overreacting.

"Did you talk to Nicole?" I finally asked Rudy. He didn't chat much lately, but at least he didn't leave me alone.

"She believes you were late in purpose, to be alone with Jake. You know, you and him have been seen kinda together lately."

I sighed. Of course that was what Nicole thought. But then I suddenly remembered I don't have any real reasons to tell them why I actually was late. I can't declare them how suddenly hyenas started to follow us, and how Jake, as a jaguar, then led me to his house where he took a gun and started shooting the hyenas.

"We got lost," I finally said, poking my food with a fork.

I saw it in Rudy's eyes like he knew I was lying. But he only nodded and kept eating.

"There is nothing between me and Jake, honestly." My voice sounded almost pleading. I didn't want them to get so wrong picture of what really happened, just because I can't tell the truth. It was all Jake's fault. Why can't he just leave me alone?

"Jake knows these woods," he eventually mumbled. I barely heard it.

"Why do you think so?"

He shrugged. "Jake lives in the middle of a forest himself, doesn't he?"

"How should I know," I muttered, turning my gaze back on the table.

"You two came with his mother's car."

He even knows that the car belongs to Jake's mother? "How did you know when came with a car?"

"I sat under the window in the class," he answered nonchalantly.

I sighed again and tried to eat something, though my appetite was gone. Rudy didn't say anything else either. And I noticed he wasn't eating much, too. I wonder what has made him so out of mood lately. Should I ask him about it?

But before I could, I heard familiar footsteps and a tray was placed on the table, across from me. Looking nonchalant, Nicole sat down and stared at me for a moment, not exactly seeing anything. Though I could tell she held herself back from bursting out the words neither of us wanted to hear. But her glimpse at me was short. Then, without saying anything, she started eating. I knew she wouldn't be the first to say anything, which meant I had to be. I didn't want to lose my best friend just because of Jake.

"Nicole, I'm sorry," I said sincerely. "Nothing happened between me and him... We just got lost."

"No, no, It's nothing," she answered with fake apathy. "I just hoped that my best friend will be honest enough to tell me when she and a guy - who I really like - get into some kind of relationship. Maybe I just don't know you as much as I thought." Though she made herself look like she didn't care, I could see anger and betrayal in her eyes.

"I am honest. Nicole, please... I don't like Jake-"

"You don't have to say this."

"But I'm telling the truth." I sighed. "Nicole, you are more important to me. We've been besties since we were little kids. I wouldn't lie to you like that."

Nicole slowly raised her head to look at me. Now I could see them full with sadness. I'm sure that she wouldn't like to lose me just because some guy, too.

"I promise you that Jake doesn't interest me. And when he comes close to me again, I'll tell him out loud to leave me alone." But another thing was to actually get him to leave.

"So, he hits on you?" she asked quietly.

For a moment I hesitated. "I'm not even sure what he wants. But nothing happened between us in the woods this morning. We just got lost."

Nicole nodded slowly, but I don't know if she actually believed me this time. Also, now it seemed like we all had lost our appetites. Rudy now looked completely as if he were somewhere else. But hopefully I managed to get Nicole's trust back. At least a little bit. And I really hope that Jake won't ruin it again.

After this chat, I noticed how Nicole tried to avoid that topic. She talked with me again. But I'm still afraid that it might take some time to gain back all her trust. I know Nicole's personality well. She is a good friend, but at times she can get a little stubborn.

To the time the lessons were over, Rudy's uneasy status and quietness had really made me worry. But just at the moment when I tried to talk to him, his cellphone rang. After answering the call, for a long moment he didn't say anything to whoever had called him. I don't know who it was, but according to Rudy's face, he didn't like what he was hearing. Eventually he said, "I'll be right there," with his serious tone, and took off, with no words to us of what had happened.

So there was nothing other left for me to do than head home and hope he would tell me tomorrow. Unfortunately, though, I didn't make it far before Jake caught up with me again.

"Hey Selina," he said with a wide smile on his face.

"What?" I actually managed to keep my voice calm, only a little irritated. But I still pulled away when he came next to me.

"We still have to finish our biology assignment. We need to compose a poster."

"Then do it with Melany."

"I don't think much would come out from cooperation. She doesn't even want me near her."

"Same here," I said, adding some speed. But of course it didn't distract Jake.

"But you at least don't try to look so scared every time I'm around. And I also don't really think you would trust Melany enough to do it alone with her," he carried on. And he was right. I knew practically nothing about Melany.

"It's only some schoolwork..."

"...that is an important mark this year," he finished my sentence. I rolled my eyes when he smiled. I wondered why Jake needed it so badly, but to me, it really was important.

"So, how about your place?"

"I don't want to-"

"You don't have any bigger plans for today, right? And I have free time. So your place it is."

"Jake..."

But Jake ignored me, no matter how much I tried to protest. I almost didn't even notice the time pass, and already we were in front of my house. There I did my last try to convince him to leave, but Jake seemed harder to brake than a brick wall.

"Okay, okay then," I sighed. Even though the thought of letting a murderer like him into my house made my heart sick, let alone the fact that I'm putting myself in danger. But what else could I do?

"We only do this poster, then you're gone," I added, searching my bag for my mobile.

"Who you're calling to?" he asked, sounding like we were some best friends. It really irritated me, but I tried not to show it out.

"To Nicole. You almost tore us apart today, so I think it's better to this time tell her right away that I'm dealing with you again," I said, choosing Nicole's number. I didn't think it was necessary to hide our quarrel with Nicole. Jake probably knew what Nicole thinks of him.

"Nothing would ever come out of me and that girl," he replied, smirking.

"That's what I hope, too," I mumbled to myself, while waiting for Nicole to pick up.

Of course Nicole wasn't happy to hear what I had to tell her. But she did thank me for informing her, and it seemed that this time she trusted me more. But how long can it last if Jake keeps following me around like this?

As the door was locked, I assumed my mum wasn't at home. When we got inside, I walked through the living room to the kitchen, over to the staircase. Jake followed me slowly, looking around the rooms like he was on a tour.

"We're alone?" he asked eventually. I only nodded and headed up the stairs. Jake being at my house made me feel even more nerveous than I had thought. Impatiently I waited for him to follow me up here so we could get it over with soon enough.

I took out an A3 paper sheet and some pencils. But when Jake finally made it to my room, he again started looking around instead. He crossed the room, opened the door to the balcony and went outside. Leaning against the railing he seemed to enjoy the view of thick forest behind our house.

I stood at the doorway and stared at him, a little confused. "Did you really come here to do the assignment?" I asked hesitantly.

He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "What else then?" he said when returning back inside. I closed the door behind him. Cold air from outside gave me goosebumps. I then took a seat on the edge of my bed. But Jake still didn't look much like someone in mood of doing some schoolwork.

"Jake, what to you want?"

He sent me a questioning look.

"You can't actually care about my marks at school. But still you wanted so badly to get me into those woods. And now this poster? It's clear that you don't really want to do this."

Jake took a seat next to me on the bed. "But maybe..." He looked me into eye and smiled widely. "Maybe I'm hitting on you."

I stared at him with a scowl, pulling a little away as he had come too close. "You tried to kill me," I said monotonically.

"Yes," he said simply, his eyes flying over the room, but not stopping on me. "I tried. That was in the past."

I didn't get him. Probably he was just playing with me. And if it was so, I might be in trouble. Jake couldn't catch me that night, so why shouldn't he want to kill me now? Only this time he wanted to make things more fun. I mean, he wouldn't actually tell me if he's hitting on me?

"Just... let's do this and then you'll leave," I said, standing up to start with the poster myself.

"You don't believe me?" He was still smiling. I didn't like that.

"Let's leave that, or you'll be going right away," I replied, now sounding a little more irritated.

"You're gonna throw me out?" He looked amused.

I glowered at him but didn't say anything. Of course I wouldn't be able to throw him out.

"Or..." he said slowly while standing up, too, "...you're feeling the same for me."

Now my eyes went wide open. "What? No!" How can he even come up with something like that?

Jake laughed, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Just, please. Last chance. We're going to do this assignment and you're going to leave, or... or I'm going to call the police."

He was still smirking, but he finally took a seat behind the table. "Okay, let's do it," he said, taking the paper sheet horizontally in front of him. I let out a quiet sigh when sitting back on my bed again, where I would be close enough to work with the poster, too. "And don't mind me," he added shortly after, taking a green highlighter from the pencils I had put on the table, and wrote a title to our poster. "I'm just fooling around."