“I was led to believe that this person was a leader and a man, but what I found was that he is indeed a boy. A boy with an entitled sense of being, lacking in wit, perhaps even, a notable IQ. His only talent: giving a decent estimate while throwing a ball. The whole experience truly saddened me. This is what our society has come to. This is celebrity. This overgrown, arrogant, self-obsessed man-boy is famous in our small town. .
“As Rudyard Kipling so eloquently said,
âIf you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, or walk with kings nor lose the common touch
,
you'll be a man my sonâ¦'
Clearly, I had not encountered a man,” I finished.
Exit stage left.
Exit stage left
, my mind screamed out. But I couldn't. The room was quiet, students wondering if
said
boy was sitting in
said
seat, behind
said
reader.
I looked up from my essay that I clutched in my hands, and I met his eyes.
Fury.
I saw flashes of it.
Icy fury.
Then just as quickly as it was there, it was gone. His black eyes gave me nothing.
They just stared.
Watched
.
Seethed.
Mr. Simmons cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Thank you, Caroline. You can have a seat now.”
Right in front of the angry man.
I walked quickly over to my seat and sat down but not before I caught Teddy's shocked face. He knew whom I was talking about; I was positive I'd get an earful when we left class.
“Anyone want to go next?”
“I'll go,” I said in a steady voice.
She obviously couldn't help herself and quickly turned around and stared at me with a shocked look. Her long hair whipped around her face, framing it beautifully. I had to will myself not to stare at her longer than necessary. She was like a spectacular Botticelli painting.
Delicate.
One of a kind.
I had walked into the classroom and it had taken all of my self-control to remain cool, calm. Disinterested. The girl who sat in her seat with a beautiful mane of hair was breathtaking. She looked so different from the night before. Staring at me wide-eyed and innocent. She was more than stunning.
She left me speechless. And I had never been speechless in my life.
Despite my reservations, I felt like I had to sit near her, next to her. I was, after all, summoned here to protect her. In order to do that properly, she had to be as close as possible, I told myself hesitantly as I took the seat behind her.
And then, like all the other men in the room, I had watched her walk to the front of the classroom, her hair swaying behind her, her sweet, angelic face looking distressed, and I had been enchanted.
Until she opened her mouth.
And now I couldn't let her get away with it. She had crossed the line.
And she had to be tamed.
“Ummm, sure, Devilyn.” Mr. Simmons looked perplexed by it as well. “But you don't have to do this. I know you're not prepared.”
“I'm prepared, Mr. Simmons,” I said with a bit of arrogance. “I'm always prepared.”
I could have sworn that she rolled her eyes but not before she turned beet red.
I strode confidently to the front of the class and looked around for a moment, making eye contact with a few students.
Then I stared straight at her and began my speech.
“The metaphorical phrase coined by Edwin Rolfe, âdon't judge a book by its cover' is an apropos phrase for the twenty-first century. In spite of progress made, we must still fight against society's ignorant prejudices.”
Her mouth dropped open. I tried not to smile.
“Smart, beautiful, average, unattractive, kind, gentle, and arrogant⦠People make so many false presumptions. We can't just assume that walking up to a perfect stranger under a guise and expecting that at that moment they will be willing and able to cooperate will lead to a desired result. I experienced just that. My first day at this new school, I was feeling overwhelmed, carrying many burdens and responsibilities, meeting with so many new faces. Then I met one face that demanded my immediate attention without caring or consideration. This stranger approached me with the assumption that I would be willing to share intimate details of my life upon command.”
Her face turned bright red.
“Walk in someone else's shoes for one moment, gaze through the microscope into someone else's life. You may be surprised, and you may realize that life is hard enough. Let's leave judgment in the hands of the universe and hope that it is fair.”
The room broke out in applause. I smiled as I looked around at my entranced audience. Then my gaze met hers dead on.
“I obviously speak proper English. But I can also repeat it in German, Spanish, French, Latin, and even Japanese, if you'd like.”
It felt like I was dying. Not a quick death, nor a merciful death, but a slow, painstaking, prison-camp one. Where little insects carefully eat away at each part of your body for hours at a time.
The worst part about it was that he was smart. He was way smart. This was really bad. I thought the class would never end. I didn't hear any of the other presentations because I could feel him sitting behind me breathing. I knew he had a smirk on his face because he had given me a healthy view of it as he walked by my seat. This in turn caused me to break out in a deep sweat.
I felt each drop run down my neck, and I didn't want to keep rubbing it so the
he
would get any satisfaction. Even though I knew that
he
was satisfied.
He
won.
And the worst part was that it wasn't even that hard. I had gone down in flames. Giant ones.
After what felt like a lifetime of agony, I was finally saved by the bell. The moment it rang, I took a deep breath and waited for him to rise and walk by my desk and out of my life. I slowly reached down to grab my things. My term in purgatory was complete. Now, all that was left was to face the questioning stares of Teddy.
“You've got to tell me everything,” he said in amazement.
“Didn't you get a healthy dose of it in class?” I shrugged.
“It must have been pretty bad,” he said compassionately. “I've never known you to lash out at someone like that.”
“I guess he just brings out the worst in me.”
“What exactly happened?” he asked as we walked to our lockers.
“It really wasn't a big deal, well I guess it was at the time. He kind of blew me off in front of a crowd of people.” I tried to smile, but I honestly just hated talking it about it all over again. I knew that Teddy wouldn't let up until I told him the whole story.
“Well, that sucks.”
“Yeah, it did, but no big deal. It's not like I even care what he thinks.”
Lie.
“It was more that he was rude to me in front of Jordana and her cronies,” I sighed. “And then when I got home I was thinking about what to write, and since it was fresh in my mind, I kind of just went to town.”
“I'll say,” Teddy said as he laughed. I gave him a dirty look. “Don't worry about it, your presentation was so much better than his,” Teddy rushed out loyally.
“I'm over it.” I tried to smile.
Another lie.
“So did he give you enough material for your interview?”
“No. Nothing. Now I have to deal with Natalie.”
Teddy chuckled, “Now, I'm starting to feel sorry for you!”
“I know, sucks to be me,” I said as I reached into my locker to grab my History book. “Listen, don't forget to save me a seat at lunch.”
“Always,” Teddy called out as he walked toward his next class. I was glad to have a moment alone. To collect my thoughts before my next class. With any luck I wouldn't see him the rest of the day, I thought as I walked towards A.P. History with Mr. Allen. I could handle one class, one hour each day, but that was it.
I guess
Fate
had a different plan.
It was as if someone or thing was playing a sick joke on me. Devilyn was my shadow the entire day. His locker not only ended up being right next to mine, he was literally in
every
class with me. There was no escaping him. Every corner I turned, every step I took. He was everywhere.
All around me. Occupying my personal space and my mind.
Thankfully, he was great at ignoring me. And I was trying real hard to do the same. But it was hard for me to not steal quick peaks at him when I thought he wasn't looking. It was hard not to stare at him. He was so beautiful. And now I knew he was smart as well. When the lunch bell rang I was more than relieved. I was the opposite of hungry, but I needed a break.
But that turned out to be just as bad. He ended up sitting at the table across from mine, so I spent the whole hour staring at him as he openly and willingly flirted with Jordana Kroll.
Troll
. What was wrong with me? My stomach turned.
Why did I even care?
Why was he so perfect?
Why did he hate me?
I wanted to hate her.
But I didn't.
Couldn't.
But I loved watching her squirm. I don't know why I seemed to take great pleasure in it. She tried, almost successfully, to humiliate me, but she had undoubtedly underestimated her opponent.
I wanted to laugh gleefully in her face but then something about the way her doe eyes looked up at me made me regret my actions. She was spectacular with her hair down, framing her alabaster skin.
Sitting behind her was another matter altogether. I felt like I was forced by some unknown power to sit there. And it ended up being torture for me. The sweet fragrance of her hair hit me in the face every time she fidgeted nervously in her seat. It seemed to permeate my senses, taking all self-control away from me. It took everything I had not to reach out and touch it. I knew it would feel like silk.
After our third class together I knew that it wasn't just a coincidence that she haunted my every step in school. When I realized our lockers were right next to each other, I almost screamed
His
name in the hallway. He had done it.
Intentionally.
There was no escaping her. He would make sure of that. She would haunt my every move, and I would have to suffer through it.
But two could play his game.
I just had to control my temper. I reminded myself that I shouldn't show such emotion. I needed to control myself. We could surely co-exist. It wasn't necessary to be so antagonistic. I was here to protect her. And I promised to do so.
I did my best to ignore her for the rest of the day. I focused my attention on the pretty Jordana instead. She annoyed me, but she would do.
I had taken great care to use
Magik
and whisper into the cheerleaders' ears the night before to make sure they did not remember how I humiliated Caroline.
It was one of my many powers. I could make the humans forget events and whisper new tales to them of what they saw, and they would remember exactly what I told them. And if I wanted, I could have them do my bidding. I had never used this one particular dark gift of mine, even though most of my kind used it sparingly from time to time. I had never coerced someone into doing something that I wanted because I believed in free will, and I also knew that using this power could and would undoubtedly become an aphrodisiac. Once I opened that door, there would be no stopping me.
It would be like Pandora's Box.
But for the first time in centuries, I had made an exception. My justification in using my powers was a simple one. Students in high school were fickle, and I most certainly didn't want to turn Caroline into an overnight social pariah, and I felt like she might be headed down that track given my sudden but expected popularity. It was no arrogance on my part. Nor was it coveted. It came with the territory.
The one thing that I did notice, and with certainly no help from me, was that she seemed to be well liked. Not incredibly popular but liked nevertheless. She had a smile for everyone, and she was kind. It was hard not to appreciate that.
As I sat across from Caroline during lunch, I tried my hardest to completely ignore her, but each time she didn't look at me, I looked at her. I watched the subtle ways she brushed back her silky hair away from her face. I watched her fidget uncomfortably in her seat when she accidentally met my gaze. And I watched the soft and genuine smile she had for her best friend, Teddy.
She was comfortable with him.
Safe.
She sat close to him. She leaned on him. And in doing so, her shoulder brushed his a few times, especially when he leaned in to tell her something.
And every time he did, he would linger.
His lingering was another matter altogether. Worse yet, I knew every time they touched. Every single time his hand would brush against hers, or he would lean over to whisper something to her, I knew it. I was acutely in tune with it. There was plenty of room on the bench for him to avoid contact with her, but he chose to sit nice and close.
My eyes narrowed as I watched him, then I quickly gained control. What did I care?
She was not mine.
Just then, the two shared a secret laugh together. It was obvious they were incredibly close. I knew that they had grown up together, and it also appeared that they always studied with each other. Teddy whispered something in her ear, and Caroline smiled widely, showing her straight, perfect, white teeth. My jaw clenched together when Teddy leaned in again. His lips a breath away from her ear.
I could feel the blood rush through my veins. The anger that was threatening to spill over was overpowering. I had to use all my strength to look away.
She didn't belong to me.
She was not mine I kept reminding myself.
But she is yours
, Devilyn.
The fates have made it so
, my mind responded quickly.
Defensively
.
I stood up abruptly and the entire table turned toward me. I stared at Caroline, knowing my gaze was intense because my thoughts were taking a turn for the worst. She blushed and looked away, afraid to be caught staring. With my eyes on Caroline, I extended a hand to Jordana.