"Duke? Where's Luka?!!" in a surprised or rather anxious tone, Brianna asked.
Duke, who's rather confused by the question, answers in a rather carelessly dismissive tone, "What are you talking about? Luka's right here…" Then he turns and realizes that Luka isn't there anymore. He says while stuttering in a confused manner, "B..But he was right here a minute ago," looking around to find him.
"That guy wasn't kidding when he said communication isn't one of his strengths; he just ghosted us without even a warning", Brittney says.
"Well, it wouldn't be ghosting if he did give us a warning," says Duke.
"Ghosted or not, I'm gonna find him. I've never lost a friend before, and I'm not starting now," Brianna says in a cringe-declaring tone. Then they all leave the hall in search of Luka.
Meanwhile, Luka is sitting in a Cafe with a cup of cappuccino in front of him on the table checking out the environment around the cafe, opposite him was a girl with dark purple hair that flowed down like a waterfall, and eyes that had a deep reddish colour resembling that of plum and gave a sort of sparkle that gave her looks a hint of mystery and allure. The vibrancy of the colors complements her complementary features.
Thirty Minutes Earlier...
Luka's on his way to the cafe, listening to some music on his headphones, when he catches a glimpse of something with a dark purple hue move quickly into an alleyway between the school music studio and the digital media arts lab, so he heads over there, takes off his headphones, and bags it.
"Heh… I gotta say, there's nothing sweeter than seeing a girl break down, crying, begging, and scared out of her damn mind," a guy says with a menacing tone while keeping a cocky, sadistic look on his face while pulling a girl with dark hair.
"Ha ha, nice one, Jason, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," another guy following Jason says as he laughs.
"Hey, Jason, Rocky, can I leave now?" the last guy who's behind says, quivering desperately. Rocky stops, turns back, and grabs him by the shirt in a fit of instant rage.
"You don't leave till I say you do, got it?".
"No need to threaten him, Rocky, you're already an accomplice, so if word of what's happening here gets out, you would also take part in the consequences. And I wonder, Jamie, how would your wonderful father react to that?" Jason says to Jamie with a smirk and a soft, threatening tone.
Jamie, weak in the knees, falls to the ground as thoughts and memories of whipping and torture begin to resurface.
"You can go now, Jamie, it's not like we need you for what we're about to do next," says Jason. Jamie then stands up quickly and runs out of the alley, covering his face with a handkerchief, but he instantly locks eyes with Luka the moment he leaves the alley and runs away quickly to avoid getting caught.
Jason drags the girl to the back of the music studio and pushes her to the ground. "You think you're some kind of celebrity just cuz you have a nice face?"
"And she slapped me, right in front of everyone," Rocky yells angrily.
"Now, look at you. Pathetic." He grabs her face and looks her in the eyes, making her tremble. Then he tries to kiss her lips, but she slaps him off and stands up to make a run for it. Rocky blocks the alley they came in through.
"You ain't going nowhere till we're done with you."
"And once we're done, you'll never be able to act so high and mighty ever again." He goes close and grabs her from behind and begins kissing her neck as she tries to scream, but he covers her mouth with his hand.
Luka walks into the alley, pushes Rocky aside, and walks towards Jason and the girl. "Hey, stop right there. If you move another step, I'll make sure you regret it." Jason looks into Luka's eyes and begins fidgeting restlessly and shaking nonstop.
"No one ignores me and gets away with it," Rocky says before coming up to Luka with a trash can. He gets close and is about to hit him, but Luka slams a punch into his stomach before he can act, and he falls to the ground, crumpled and groaning "hngggh" at the pain. And Luka moves forward towards Jason.
Thinking of a plan and getting an idea anxiously, lets her go. "Fine, fine, I'll let her go," he says, then releases her, and she runs to Luka and hides behind him. She's still shaking and trembling, but not crying. "But please don't tell anyone about this, I can't afford to be expelled again".
Not interested in anything he had to say, Luka turns back and leaves through the alley, with the girl in front of him leading the way. Jason then smirks and runs towards Luka with his fist clenched, and he lunges at him.
"You don't treat art like it's some sort of trash," Luka whispers before turning back and landing a blow on Jason's face that sends him slamming into the building beside them.
The girl, still a bit shaky, becomes all red around the face after she hears what Luka whispers and begins smiling, though still shocked from the transpired event, she feels a bit of relief that it actually happened and that Luka's the one who came to her rescue.
Back to the Present...
"I'm really grateful for your help back there, I didn't think I was going to leave that place safely," She says, shriveled up on the chair facing Luka. Luka doesn't respond - he just keeps sipping his cappuccino. She, on the other hand, takes it as a quiet sign of disgust toward her and shrinks into her chair.
"My advice is that you learn to protect and stand up for yourself. I didn't save you; I just don't like seeing the beauty of art being destroyed." Luka says as he stands up and walks toward the exit.
She blooms up and smiles, then stands up and says anxiously before he exits, "I'm Aria, Aria Delve. Can I at least know your name?".
He stops right in front of the exit and says, "I'm Luka," then walks out.
Aria stood in silence, a pink flush rising to her cheeks. "Luka," she whispers, smiling and cuddling herself as she feels a strange warmth run through her body.