Ivy
Aria glanced at me and tried to escape but I caught
up quickly.
"Why are you running too? Why is everyone
running from me? Did I do something?" I asked, staring deep into her eyes,
expecting some sympathy and answers.
She sighed, maybe finally realising that I wasn't
aware of anything.
"The Serpent Circle." She paused
dramatically, her head lowered as she continued. "What's your relationship
with them?" She asked, leaving me puzzled.
I raised a brow in confusion but her face was stern.
I scoffed, trying my best not to laugh as I spoke. "Nothing. No
relationship at all."
"I just arrived, I don't know anyone. You know
that." I spoke and she rolled her eyes, seemingly tired of my behaviour.
"Are you really oblivious or you're just
pretending? Cassian called you his." She spoke, leaving me dazzled. I
stared down at her as I felt my heart pounding.
He didn't acknowledge her yesterday. Was it only for
this?
Was he playing games with me or something?
The questions kept playing in my head. "He was
talking to his friends when someone mentioned you and he directly called you
his, claiming no one should hurt you. Ivy, why did I never know this?"
She asked, speaking like I had betrayed years of
friendship but honestly, my mind wasn't on her.
The only thing on my mind was why he would do this.
I stood there, countless thoughts running through my
mind before Aria's voice finally snapped me out of it.
"You didn't know about this?" She asked, her voice carrying a hint of
curiosity. I shook my head automatically and she sighed, moving closer to me as
she entangled her hands in mine.
"I thought as much, you didn't seem
dishonest." She smiled, beaming as
she dragged me away like she wasn't the one who ran from me a few minutes ago.
"So...how did you cross them?" Aria asked,
shaking me but I was unable to speak.
I was still thinking about what she said but
suddenly she paused, leaving me startled. I looked towards her to see her
glaring hard.
"Oh. I looked towards him but I didn't think it
would cause all this." I said, but she didn't seem to believe a single
word, I smiled, shaking her before I continued.
"He is probably doing it to tease me, after all
they are famous for that." I said and she nodded reluctantly leading me to
the next class.
***
The lecture began with a roll call, and it was
normal until Cassian walked in.
The entire class was stunned with most of the people
sitting at the edge of their seats. I also felt the same, my heart beat
quickened as soon as I saw.
Deep inside me, I was praying he didn't do anything
stupid because obviously, he didn't come to this class often.
My body shook as I tried my best to not to look at
him and where he would pick. After a few minutes, I breathed a sigh of relief
seeing he had chosen a seat far away from me.
I sighed, a smile rising on my face as I stared at
the lecturer who hit me with another bomb.
"For the rest of the class, you will pair up in
twos to finish the project." She spoke and began calling names according
to the attendance. I sighed in relief after I heard that I wasn't paired with
Cassian.
After the lecturer finished with the names, the
students got up moving towards their party and mine seemed nice enough.
He had the same sweet smile Aria had as he
introduced himself. "My name is Kale, I hope we have a fun time
together."
I smile back at him with a nod also shaking his
hand. I turned away after the lecturer's voice echoed, however her words fell
on deaf ears as I caught him staring at me.
My knees felt numb as I saw his gaze on him. He
stared hard, not wavering even one bit. I shook, looking away but my actions
triggered Kale.
"What's wrong? You seem flustered." He
asked, his eyes filled with empathy as his hands slipped into mine.
I shook my head, taking a glance at his hand which
he immediately pulled out.
"I'm sorry, It was just a reflex." He said
and I nodded. I didn't really care what it was. All I needed and wanted was
Cassian to take his gaze off me and maybe take back his statement but he
didn't.
For each minute I turned towards him, his gaze was
sharp on me. He stared hard at me like he wanted to tear me apart.
The stare got so suffocating to the extent that I
could feel my breath caught in my lungs.
I struggled to breath as Kale looked at me in shock
and confusion. "Do you need to switch? Or take a nap?" He asked,
seeming to notice that I had trouble in where I sat.
I nodded immediately, trying best not to look
towards Cassian so he wouldn't be alerted.
"Alright." He agreed immediately,
switching with me while I kept my head lowered throughout the whole class, my
mind running through the possible ways I could use to run away when the class
was over.
Soon, I heard a tap on the table.
I looked up to see Kale who muttered slowly,
"Class is over now, are you feeling better?"
I nodded, I really wanted to hold him down and tell
him to help me but I couldn't put a stranger in trouble.
"I'll work on the project for you since you
were practically not listening. Let's just practice together after the next
class." He said and I nodded, still leaving my head lowered. Too scared to
even check if Cassian was still here.
"Bye for now." He waved and I smiled,
waving back at him when I heard a voice behind me sending chills down my spine.
"Are you done hiding?"