"It's just last night was long-was working on a new track," he says.
She pats him on the back while leaving. "Good good. You are doing alright."
Everyone loves Damien for some invisible reason. I don't get why. Does he deserve all this attention? Just because he can raise M.H's standards?
Damien waves at his friends. For a second I thought he'd wave at me. Why am I having these weird thoughts lately?
I take my stuff and head to the library. I find Henrietta there. Seeing me she slides the book from her front. "Saint!"
Why there's no-one in the library today except me and her?
"I came to have some alone time. If you'd excuse me." I take the farthest seat from her and rub my arms.
"Saint," she calls me again more delicately this time.
I lift my head.
"Have you forgiven me yet?" She asks taking out a box from her bag. She walks to me holding out her hand. The hairs on my back stand up. She puts the box on my desk now leaning over it.
"I've made some cookies. Please accept these, Saint. Otherwise I wouldn't forgive myself."
She opens the box revealing cute teddy shaped cookies. Some of them are baked a little too much.
She grins sheepishly as her ears turn pink. "I baked something for the first time. Sorry if it's not very savory." She grabs a piece and brings it near my mouth. "Please?"
She won't let it go hm? I take it from her hand biting into it slowly. Um hm... Not bad. Not sweet enough. Like...they're made for the first time.
"How is it?" She asks bringing her face very closer to mine.
If I move my head our lips would touch. A feeling of dread passes over me. "They're good...for a beginner."
But she doesn't budge.
"Henrietta... I need to move. Can you?"
She brushes her thumb across my face to remove some crumbs. I don't think there was any. She just needed an excuse.
"Even I haven't tasted them yet."
I give one to her. But she doesn't eat it. Her eyes flutter dreamily as she peers into my eyes. "Saint, do you know how badly I've wanted to kiss you? It's been so long..." She puts her right hand under my chin.
Now I have to admit Maia is better than her. She's not a leech at least. That previous chill starts crawling back again. I brush off her hand but she corners me when I try to slip out.
"Why are you so cruel Saint? Did some girl break your heart in the past?" There's a drunken lust in her eyes.
"I never dated anyone. How would someone break my heart?" My tongue slips. I really didn't want to respond.
The malicious grin widens on her lips as she traps me in her arms. While dealing with a girl, it's not very wise to go with force. Women are deceptive. They can put nasty blames on innocent guys. That happened once while I was in middle school final year. I shoved a girl against a chair, she staggered and I threw a book at her when she tried to hug me after confessing to me. That didn't go well. I don't know what she told the teacher but I got suspended for a week.
"Henrietta you know my answer right? Let go."
My body becomes rigid as her breath mingles with my own. "Will I be in jail Saint? If I kiss you? Right now..."
No way! My first kiss from someone like her?! I struggle in her grasp.
"Why can't you like me huh?! What's so bad about me Saint? What are you scared of?"
You. I'm scared of you. Girls like you.
Her lips before I could hit her for real, touches mine rudely and intensely for a brief moment before someone yanks her away from me.
She's kissed me! Against my will.
I open my eyes to see a seething Damien who's firm grip on her collar keeps her at a weird position.
"This is called assault let me break it down for ya."
"Uh... Damien... I.."
He doesn't listen. He brings her hand behind her back as she yelps. "Ahh...I'm sorry. Let me go ugh!"
"Don't make me do things I don't want to. You know what will happen to you now." Damien growls outrageously.
I see tears welling up in her eyes. I've never seen him like this before. Did he go too far?
I put my hand on his shoulder and sign him that it's enough for now. We don't want to attract unnecessary attention for something like this.
As Henrietta dashed off of our sight Damien turns at me, with eyes blazing-something akin to amber and bronze melting together in a hearth.
"The first kiss didn't go well huh..." The words crushes their way out of his teeth. "That bitch!"
"How the heck do you know?" I gulp and a realisation hits me. "Don't tell me you heard all of it and didn't step in before just for your own amusement."
He watches me lick my bottom lip as I let my hips sag lower to flop down on the chair.
"Oh I could tell even if..." He stops mid sentence then comes closer. "The expression that your pretty little face made mere seconds ago..."
Now he puts both of his hands on either of my chair drooping his upper half on me. "Those lips... Those pure saintly lips could never..."
Is he mocking me now? That I never kissed anyone before!? That all I do is being a porcelain doll, pretty and poise?
"Shut up! It wasn't even a kiss!"
"Right." His expression darkens. "What do you call a proper kiss then?"
He lowers himself even more on me. If anyone sees us in this way, it'll easily give them the wrong idea.
"Move away!" As soon as I force myself to get up he pushes me back in the chair.
His right hand goes behind my head, placing his hand on my neck like a master to their servant he plummets his mint flavored lips onto mine. The way his tongue dances across my own, sucking every essence out like an ancient demon, causes tiny little tremors spread throughout my veins as my lungs beg for more air. I gasp pushing him away from me. What did he do?!
I take a mouthful of air still reeling from the impact of his tongue's collision with mine. He touches his mouth feeling the wet little swelling of his bottom lip. That was some kiss! My first deep kiss.
But Damien shrugs as if no harm was done. "Now that's called a proper kiss. Wouldn't you agree my angel?"
Is everything a joke to him? He did it just for fun! To show me what a proper kiss feels like?!
I punch him on his jawline as he groans loudly. "What the..!" He presses on the spot giving me a conflicted look.
"How could you be so pathetic Damien Frost?! You're a rock-headed fool! Insensitive jerk! You've lived your whole life chasing fun." He could never care for anyone's feelings.
"Saint!" He calls out in confusion. "Don't tell me you're mad at me because I did it without your consent! Tell me, are you upset that I kissed you?"
Am I? Should I? What the fuck! "You have the nerve to ask that?
He takes a step back. "I... I thought..."
"WHAT DID YOU THINK? That I'd worship even your name like everybody does in this academy? Or that I'd praise your immense talent of kissing whoever is yet to be kissed? Are you even capable of thinking?"
"Won't you even hear me out?" His question also rings out like a plea.
"Hear what?"
"About the explanation of that day... Kate and I..."
I raise my hands in dismissal. "I don't care Damien. I don't care who you spend your days with, who you eat with, or who you sleep with."
There's a contemptuous smirk tugging at his lips and a flicker of pain in his eyes. For a second I regret those words but I wasn't wrong. It's his life. I shouldn't get myself involved anymore.
••••
The next day despite my head's constant nagging that I shouldn't go, I wake up at 8.00a.m.
Last night I had another weird dream. And Damien was in it too. This wicked guy's playing tricks with my mind. So he and I were fighting in the dream-like a couple fight... Gross! He's never been serious his whole life.
Mom knocks twice then enters. I kept the door open.
"Sein!" She comes to me. "You look dead."
Huh?
She touches my forehead in mild panic. "There's an imprint of immense fatigue on your face baby. You have just woke up. Did you sleep at all?"
She sets the coffee cup down. "You should rest at home today, okay? You don't have to go."
My mind travels back to yesterday's happening in the library. Damien Frost... What else could I have expected? A willful spoilt brat inconsiderate of other's feelings.
"Honey? Where are you spacing out?"
I tremble shaking it off. "Nothing. Hey mom.."
"Yes?"
"Have you ever had an annoying friend who you disliked but they'd still continue to piss you off?"
She closes her eyes for a fraction of seconds to reminisce some memories which brought a fond flow to her face. "There used to be someone like that."
I pull up my front hair with my left hand. "How did you deal with it-them?"
••••
I'll be late today I can just blindly say that. Talking to mom earlier and then thinking about it all while showering wasn't really a great idea. I wasted 40 minutes in there. Why do I feel a bad omen that something might happen today?
My earlier hunch becomes a dreadful present the moment I step into the school ground.
Everyone's looking at me with ape like faces. Their eyes hold curiosity, confusion, criticism and an unknown distaste.
I continue with my strides towards the classroom while maintaining my signature blank face. Some intentional gossip buzzes throughout the hallways.
"He's here! He has come!"
"Did he see it?" A guy with spikes in his head asks his friend.
They're from class B. What are they talking about?
The other guy gives him a disdainful glare. "Who cares? As long as it's not me I'm happy to be a spectator."
As I continue now with slow steps I hear more.
"He's the one there... He's quite daring. We've seen it."
"Hell yeah," someone agrees to that comment. "I thought he's all calm and serious. I even feared him at the beginning. Guess nobody is all saintly."
Dread fills me as I stand just outside my classroom holding the door. They all are talking about me. What has happened?
I look at my wrist. All that tension that I'll be late today... I'm starting to regret it now that I'm on time.
Someone slides the door open from inside. It's Zeb. Seeing me his already pissed off face widens into a scowl. "You!"
Then he faces the direction where Todd sits. "Hey I'm going out for some air. Coming?"
Todd gets up from his seat. "Yeah."
Mika grabs his hand. "Why are you leaving now? Class's about to start."
"Screw it! Nobody's interested in today's lecture anyway!" Todd brushes past me with a furious face.
I take my usual seat. Chris's not come today. Prof. George enters with an oddly stern face and the class begins.
10 minutes pass. Suddenly the door opens. Damien.
She says nothing when he enters and takes his seat behind me.
The others look our way with those same previous eyes. I fail to concentrate even for a second. From his expression I feel Damien detects the odd vibe from the air too. But none of us can figure out what exactly it is.