My nerves are on edge. Maybe it's my open nervousness, but the smell of Jasper is keeping me from concentrating on class. The teacher's words seem so distant. In fact, it's as if everyone around us isn't here, just me and Jasper, with his outstanding presence that makes my skin crawl.
More than that, I can feel Jasper's eyes on me… the way his warmth is so close reminds me of the passionate way he held me, how his firm hands could be soft and make me gasp.
I bite my lips, bothered by these thoughts.
What is wrong with me?
“Trouble concentrating?” I hear Jasper's voice sound low and teasing.
“Don't talk to me.” I reply harshly, trying to look at the teacher explaining and gesturing at the subject that, honestly, isn't difficult for me, not even a bit. But at that moment, it's as if he's speaking a completely unknown and ancient language.
I hear whispering and look at a group of students who are talking quietly among themselves and looking at us. My heart beats rapidly because I also noticed the worried look in Lily's eyes, who seemed to have a lot to say — or ask.
I shiver, moving restlessly in my chair, trying hard to focus on the professor's words, but to no use. Nothing seems to make sense. And when Jasper's arm brushes against mine lightly, I hold my breath, feeling electricity coursing through my body from the simplest touch.
“Miss Davis?”
I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, not noticing that my name sounded low…
“Scarlett Davis!”
I stand up in a jolt, looking at the professor with a surprised expression. I hear some discreet laughter, but the professor doesn't seem to find it funny.
“Could you answer the question?” The professor says harshly, his eyes half-closed.
Question? What question…?
“I… Well, the answer… Hum…” I stutter, trying to remember what the question was, but my mind is completely blank.
“Sit down, Miss Davis… And pay attention in class.” Scolds the teacher, returning to explaining the subject as I sit down, feeling several stares on me, including Jasper's beautiful brown eyes, which seem to pinch my skin... And hear his low laugh…
It annoys me.
***
ㅤ
When the bell rings loudly, the students stand up, but I don't dare to move, nor does Jasper, who looks overly comfortable, with his arms around my chair. My expression isn't very friendly, but he doesn't seem to mind.
I see Lily approaching, and I crack a sweet smile. I start to get up, breathing relieved to finally have some time to put my thoughts in place… But when she stops in front of my desk, she looks at Jasper for a long moment, altering her eyes from me to him.
And so, Lily asks him, “Are you going to have lunch alone?”
Jasper looks at me quickly, but smiles at Lily charmingly, “Apparently, yes… This is the new students' burden.”
“I understand, I used to be the new student too…. Would you like to have lunch with us…? My name is Lily, by the way.”
“Lily!” I call her in surprise, in a high-pitched tone that's louder than I meant.
“Of course.” He replies brightly.
“Sorry, that won't do… I have something serious to discuss with you, Lily…. Very, very serious.” I cast a sharp look at my friend, who cracks a dull, apologetic smile.
“All right…” Before she can agree or deny, I drag her by the arm out of the room, leaving Jasper sitting down.
Outside class, I continue pulling her through the halls.
“Hey, slow down… why are you acting like that…” Lily asks, allowing herself to be dragged along by my quick steps.
And when we reach the stairs that because lunchtime, it's practically empty; most of the students are out of the building. I look around, making sure there's no one around us.
“Are you like this because of the video?”
I feel my chest freeze, “Wait, what? Video? What video?”
Lily gives a sympathetic look, then picks up her phone from her pants pocket, and says, as her eyes get locked on the screen, “Everyone is talking about it… I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm sure it's not what Alice is saying out there.”
“What are you talking about?”
My friend holds out her phone to me, and I see that there's an edited video from the club, the night before, where I'm gesturing to Bryan while Alice hugs his arm. It seems like a funny video, where I seem to be trying to seduce him. But it's the scene that made my world come crashing down.
I feel the air being stolen from my lungs. I put the phone away, unable to keep looking at it for long. What the hell does this mean? Why did someone record this?
“It's on the campus forum… Everyone's just talking about it, Letty.” Lily says fearfully, lowering her eyes. “They're saying around that you tried to seduce Alice's boyfriend, that you're shameless, but I don't believe it.”
It can't be… it can only be a bad dream!
I run my hand through my hair, going in circles. My eyes filled with tears, and I feel like I'm about to collapse. My legs even weaken, so I sit down on one of the stairs' steps, hiding the pitiful expression on my face.
“I'm sorry…” Lily approaches cautiously, “I thought you had already seen…”
How could I even begin to explain this to Lily? My relationship with Bryan has always been a secret between us. Part of that is because I'm naturally reserved, but also because Bryan said he didn't want to attract jealousy to our relationship. I understood that… I understood that we belong to such different worlds, but our love was stronger. He's the popular kid, great at sports. I'm just the nerdy, sweetheart of the teachers… well, some teachers.
Honestly, I feel like an idiot for having believed such ridiculous excuses. Now, I can understand that he just didn't want people to know that we were together… He was probably ashamed of me, and wanted to keep his single status.
So, is that why people are whispering, looking at me with these malicious eyes?
I feel as if the world is cracking under my feet, and I'm free-falling into an abyss.
I can't believe this is happening.
“Look at that, if it's not the slut who tried to seduce my boyfriend…” Alice's voice suddenly appears, causing me to lift my head and face her. I know my eyes are red, and my expression isn't one of the best, but I can't turn them away.
“I should know that you pretend to be a nerd, but you're actually a hussy!” Says one of Alice's friends, laughing at something that isn't the least bit funny.
My expression closes, and I stand up, feeling Lily's worried eyes on me.
I just give a sarcastic laugh, which causes Alice to frown.
“No use denying it, everyone has seen the video!” Adds another of Alice's friends, with crossed arms and an angry expression. “You have to be really shameless to try to seduce him like that, in front of Alice! Especially in a ridiculous dress like that, which doesn't suit you at all…”
I feel, once again, my blood bubbling with anger inside my veins… and the sharp words are begging to leave my lips.
I turn away, too angry to listen to those girls' voices for even a minute. My vision is blurring, and I feel that, at any time, I might lose consciousness. The fear of being out of my mind and causing another accident makes despair greater than anger at Alice's lies.
My steps are fast, and Lily tries to keep up.
But I feel a sharp, quick pain in my head, something that makes my body stiffen in place. The pain isn't enough to consume me, but I bring my hand to my head, looking down at the floor and noticing that someone has thrown a lipstick at me. And again, my blood bubbles, leaving my face hot, and my mind foggy.
“Not only did you try to seduce my boyfriend, are you too cowardly to admit it?”
“I seduced your boyfriend?” I retort, through clenched teeth. “Well, you don't have to worry anymore, the last thing I want is to come between you and Bryan. Enjoy it, Alice, he's all yours.”
I see Alice's expression contorts in anger, as I begin to turn my back on her again. However, I sight she's pulling something out of her purse… a bottle of perfume. Before I truly realize it, I see that she's throwing the glass in my direction, the same way she did with the lipstick.
This time, I know Alice really wants to hurt me.
My eyes widen slightly, it's as if everything is running in slow motion, but my body doesn't dare to respond. I try to move my legs, but they're frozen. So, I just close my eyes, shielding my face, and wait for the sharp, piercing pain of the glass on my skin…
But the pain doesn't come.
I open my eyes fearfully and blink a few times, not understanding what’s happening. The perfume bottle… is exactly in my direction, but it doesn't hit my forehead because stopped at the last moment, so close that almost touched me.
There's a hand holding it, almost covering my eyes…
It's Jasper's hand.
I blink a few times, seeing how Jasper is casually holding the perfume bottle so close to my face. At that distance, I can even notice how the veins and nerves bulge in his hands, extending down his arm, until they disappear into the long sleeve of his shirt, that's raised up to his forearm.My heart is beating so fast that I cannot understand exactly what would happen if the glass hit me — or realize that Jasper is slowly lowering his hand and examining my face, bringing his other hand up to my face, as if making sure that I'm really okay. He doesn't exactly touch me, just a lock of my red hair. Then he flashes me a calm, serene smile. Yet, somehow… I can tell that he's angry. It's a feeling, an omen feeling that assaults my chest and makes it tighten. Yes, I know he's angry… Infuriated.This makes my throat suddenly dry.Only then I notice that Lily was screaming. She runs toward me and holds me by the arms, saying desperately, “Oh, m
I look around in a startle, fearing that someone has heard the explicit and loud — really loud — words Jasper used to refer to last night. I'm so frightened that my heart is beating frantically in my chest, threatening to rip it open and jump out. “H- Hey, shut up!” I grit my teeth, pointing my finger in his direction. “Aren't you ashamed to say… those things?” “Those things were truths, and you did all of them…. I must say, you did them so well that it's etched in my mind.” “Then make an effort to forget them.” I'm harsh, and I know my tone has caused him a certain amount of displeasure, but I don't care. All I want, what I really hope for the most, is to forget what happened yesterday… Forget seeing Bryan with Alice, and the fact that I lost my virginity with a complete stranger. At least, I wish it was really just a stranger, instead of the new student who just transferred into my class. Argh! How unlucky can one person be? “Forget?” He laughs low and leans toward me, causing
For a moment, I thought it was all just an illusion…. After all, it's impossible for humans to growl. Not like that, not with that intensity, as if there were a beast living beneath this skin and muscle, behind that angry countenance and those eyes that glow dangerously.There's no way that this is real…Yeah, there's no way any of it could be real.Yet… Bryan's fingers loosened their grip, and I was able to disentangle myself naturally as I fell back in my chair. And the expression on his face… Bryan is pale, so pale that he looks like a blizzard from a harsh winter day. His eyes are bulging, widened as if he doubts what he saw through it… as if he doubts his sanity as I do.Jasper's looks at me, and that's enough to wake me up… I finally got up from the chair, feeling a little more strength in my legs, and saw that, to my dismay, my movement had also awakened Bryan from his freeze. I’m attempting to leave, but Bryan reaches out to touch my arm again, but he stops midway, a few inche
Girlfriend? I feel my heart skip a beat and then flutter strongly against my chest. A strange feeling of happiness takes over me, and for a moment my lips open, tempted to accept his proposal, even if it's so sudden. But no words dare come out because I swallow them all. Jasper is what any girl would dream of. Tall, muscular, and incredibly handsome. Not only that, his kisses, his touch, his… Well, everything is absurdly perfect. Nothing's lacking, except for his flirty demeanor, which occasionally causes my annoyance to rise. Anyway, he knows how to make a girl blush and melt a heart. But… He's a constant reminder of Bryan's betrayal. A constant reminder of my broken heart. It has been only one day since my months-long relationship was shattered before my eyes. I'm not ready to start a new one, especially with someone I know nothing but the name. Besides… Alice's words are still hammering in my mind. I'm sick of dealing with playboys. That's why, even though my heart aches inexpl
ㅤ— JASPER ROOSEVELT (POV)ㅤWhen my father said that I should go to the Human Word to look for my mate, I confess that I couldn't hold my laugh. The idea seemed ridiculous. I honestly didn't worry about it, since I couldn't imagine the impact that my mate would have on my life… or the consequences of missing her. The effects didn't seem to be a problem until I started feeling them.During my wolf-shape, I noticed some instabilities that, gradually, were also affecting my human form. Small outbursts of anger and lack of control were something that was never really my character. I found out that if a wolf takes too long to find their mate, they will lose control. And to my bad luck, I haven't found mine in eighteen years.Since a wolf who can go crazy at any moment isn't suitable to be the heir to the pack, my father suggested this, which at first, I thought was absurd.But now… I'm really grateful that I listened to him.Especially when Scarlett looks so grumpy looking at her phone. E
My heart is about to fail, I know it. I know because, as I'm turning on my heels and walking quickly down the hallway, I have to swallow the crying and the words that I wish I could shout to the world. I had to swallow the hurt, the disappointment, and this jealousy that's eating me up inside…. A jealousy that shouldn't be here, shouldn't be… I shouldn't feel this, none of this! “Scarlett!” I hear Jasper call my name. Heavens, I'm already able to recognize his voice and each of his sounds even from a distance! But I don't dare look back or stop my quick steps… I don't dare because I know that, even as I swallow all of this, the tears are still threatening to rise to my eyes. I don't have anything to do with this. It doesn't matter if Jasper is with Alice, or with any other girl. It shouldn't matter… Then why am I running away like this? Why am I so, so sad? “Wait!” Suddenly, my wrist is held, and I feel my body freeze in place. I wish I had the strength to disengage myself fro
My lips twitch and for a moment I think about answering that yes, I'll watch this damn Basketball Competition, after all, it's a big event. But then… I remember that they're competing for Alice. I remember Jasper kissing her… And just like that, my courage just shatters.“No, I won't.” I reply quickly, turning my back on her. But I can feel Lily's eyes burning into my skin.“What?” Lily sighs deeply, “Scarlett, you know how important this event is, don't you?”Of course, I do, but…“Are you really not going to watch them? Bryan and Jasper are fighting over you in this competition, you know? Don't be heartless.” Lily says with a sly tone.“Stop saying things like that, Lily. This isn't about me.” I snort, feeling a chill in my stomach because again, the scene I saw between Alice and Jasper returns to my mind, bothering even in my dreams. It's funny how this made me more upset than when I saw Bryan with her at the club.“If it's not about you, who else?” She moves closer to me, placing
Jasper's girlfriend?I can't help but let out a small incredulous laugh because I'm certainly hearing things. Did she say she's Jasper's girlfriend?Maybe my reaction didn't please her because I see her expression shuts even more, with her eyebrows frowning and an angry look taking over her eyes that, now I see, are blue.“Did I say something funny?” She asks snidely, clearly impatient.No, it's not funny… yet I'm about to laugh.It's not funny, not in the least. After all, there's no way it's funny that he asked me to be his girlfriend when he already has one.And Amber? What's his deal with names inspired by colors?Honestly, I don't know if I want to laugh or cry, or just explode, overflowing this anger and conflicting feelings. I don't know how to feel, how to order these thoughts. I'm at a complete loss for words.“Girlfriend?” Lily's voice sounds equally harsh, and I feel like I can finally breathe, thanks to her words.I cast a brief glance at my friend's face, and notice that