“Can I sit?” Bryan points with his head to the free seat next to me, which belongs to Jasper.I half-close my eyes and cross my arms, “No-”Well, my answer means nothing to Bryan because he sits anyway. My body immediately starts moving away, allowing us to get distant, making me lean my arm against the bus window. I turn my face, looking out at the scenery I hadn't been aware of before.“I didn't know you were going with us.” He starts, his eyes on me — I know because I can feel his gaze burning my skin. “And I don't think you knew either… if you did, I'm sure you wouldn't come.”I furrow my brows and look at him with resentment. “You think I would miss this opportunity because of you?”His eyes widen slightly, “No, that's not what I meant… It's just that since you hate me so much-”“No… I think you misunderstand.” I interrupt him slowly, keeping my attention on his expressions, “I don't hate you, Bryan. To hate someone, there has to be some kind of feeling. But I don't feel anything
“Let me say something…” Bryan says as Scarlett gets off the bus.I take my eyes off her and place them on him, who is getting up from where I should be sitting.“You should stay away from Scarlett.”“Funny you say that, when the person who harms and hurts her the most is you.” I reply sarcastically, crossing my arms so that my muscles bulge slightly at my shirt.Bryan doesn't seem to like my response, as his expression tightens.“Instead of worrying about Scarlett, why don't you spend your attention on your girlfriend Alice? She seems to have a lot of free time, since she's always blaming Scarlett for things that you're responsible for.”“I haven't done anything. What Alice does is up to her.” Bryan snorts, getting out of the seat to stand in the aisle in front of me. “And contrary to what you think, I care about Scarlett… a lot more than you can imagine.”I grit my teeth sharply, making the muscles in my jaw jump. I don't like that answer, not one bit… But why?“If you care, why did
“What?” I say out loud, then cover my mouth for almost shouting, and feel my face heat up. My cheeks are probably red as my hair.Jasper takes a few moments to understand what he's said, and his eyes widen slightly… wait, is he getting flushed…?“No, not like that.” He says quickly, swinging the key, “I want you to have my room.”“Oh…” I give a silly laugh, lowering my hand slightly, secretly amused at the way Jasper looks away and seems unable to look at me at the moment. “But you're with Bryan, aren't you? And even if you weren't, girls can't stay in the boys' room.”He finally looks back at me and puts a smug smile on his lips. “This one is exclusive, Reddy. I rented it with my own money, there's no one to share it with.”I look at the key he keeps dangling, picking it up fearfully, leaving it in my open palms… and bite my lip, unsure of what to do.When they started to sign the groups, and Alice's name was placed in room 1B, I get an extreme relief. However, my turn came, and does
Amber is approaching quickly, and when she notices me, her expression closes. Only then I realize that Jasper's hands are still on my arms, and he's holding me close to his body.What is she doing here?And why are they both out here so late…?I put my palms on his chest to discreetly push him away, but he doesn't move a single muscle. Biting the inside of my cheek, I feel a bitterness rise in my throat… I'm clearly in the way of something.Jasper's eyes are on me, even though Amber is standing next to him, looking directly into his face with eyes that shine like this starry sky. It makes my stomach twist.“I knew it was you… I wouldn't be able to mistake you for anyone else.” Amber touches his arm, entwining her fingers around the muscle in his arm, exposed by the t-shirt. And her eyes go to his hand on my skin.“What are you doing here, Amber?” Jasper rests his eyes on her, pulling his arm free of her touch, but keeping one of his hands on me.“Your team will be participating in the
The intensity of Jasper's gaze makes me hold my breath. At this point, I feel like I could do anything he wishes, but… Footsteps in the hallway give me a jolt. Familiar male voices make us both widen our eyes slightly because, jeez… aren't those the teachers?I turn the knob sharply, opening the door, which makes me stag backwards into the room and tumble to the floor. Jasper also loses his balance and falls right on top of me, backing his weight on his arms to not hurt me.But the voices are getting louder and louder….“The door…” I mutter low, pointing desperately with my head, “Close the door!”Jasper uses his leg to push the door shut with a loud thud. The voices pause for a moment, but soon they're talking again, passing by the room, completely oblivious to our fall.I breathe a sigh of relief, throwing my head back, closing my eyes while I slide my elbows across the floor and lean my back on the soft carpet. But relief doesn't last long, as I quickly realize that Jasper is still
The first stage of the math contest has finally begun. With a quick glance, I can count at least a hundred candidates… a considerable number that will surely be whittled down today.According to the schedule Mr. Thompson handed out to us, this is an elimination stage. We'll be taking a twenty-question test with complex equations within an hour. Anyone who doesn't finish in time or get the minimal grade to pass will not qualify for the next round. Each question is worth five points, and it's needed at least 80.In other words, if you get more than four questions wrong… you're out.And I have to admit that this makes me a bit anxious.We're separated into four groups to take the tests. I'm in Group B, while Kevin is in Group C. The groups were drawn, so there's not much to be done.I wave at him with my hand and walk to my room, drying my hand on the sides of my pants that seem tighter than usual. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that all the clothes I packed had been replaced by othe
As expected, sharing a room with Bryan is like spending time in hell. I didn't sleep very well because of his hostility, and also because my mind kept going back to the last kiss with Scarlett.Her smell has been getting sweeter. It doesn't seem like it's changed, but still, there's something different. It's hard to explain, and even harder to resist.I close the locker with a single hand and start to straighten my team shirt, when I notice that Bryan already finished putting his uniform and is setting a wristband on his right arm now…Nathan approaches and wraps his arms around Bryan's neck, saying with a proud tone, “Here we go, the lucky wristband!”Lucky wristband?I furrow my brows and this simple reaction catches Nathan's eyes, who flashes a mischievous grin, as if he's had a wicked idea. Even though they're best friends, sometimes I feel like Nathan is ready to throw him into the fire when necessary for his own entertainment.And my perception doesn't fail because Nathan soon s
When the game ended, our team won easily, with a great score of 34 for our college compared to 7 for our opponent. I couldn't stop cheering loudly because Jasper scored most of the points. He really gave his best in that game, and although Bryan made the first baskets, he was soon overshadowed.And while I'm celebrating with the other people in the bleachers, who are also won over our team's performance, Jasper's eyes stop on mine. Even though we're far apart, and he's still retreating from the court with the other players, he's holding my gaze so intently that it completely steals the air from my lungs.This makes me feel funny, and makes me stand up abruptly, attracting Kevin's attention… “What happened?”“I need to… go to the bathroom.” I force a smile, “Actually, I think I'll head back to the Hotel first… I'm not comfortable with, um… public restrooms.”Oh, dear.Kevin's expression is confused, but I just ignore it and, before I get down from the bleachers, I notice that Jasper is