“Mind if I talk to Aria alone?” Thien addresses Noah.
“Not at all.” Noah replies. He goes into the cafeteria. Thien turns his attention to me and I avert my eyes to the floor.
“I don’t even know where to begin with this train wreck you and Noah are headed towards.” Thien rakes his eyes over me. “Aria, he’s a demon. The way he treats Qi he’ll eventually get around to treating you.”
“Then the two of you will have something in common.” I cut through him with my eyes.
“Okay.” He nods. “I guess I deserve that.”
“And then some.”
“You’re fooling yourself if you think there’s something good in him. He may love you Aria, but he hasn’t the slightest clue how.”
“Then the two of you have that in common as well.” I fold my arms across my chest.
“Marcum Bliss will never let you be with someone like Noah.” He brings my father into this.
I scoff and roll my eyes. “I’m not asking for his Yang. I’m just…having fun.”
“You sleep with him?”
“Did I sleep with you?” I snap. I’m offended he would even ask. “I get that you were doing the noble things with Katnis, but Thien…you were willing to hurt ME to do it. I can’t help but ask myself if you even know what love is. I’ve killed more beings than I can count, but I’ve only ever loved two people outside of my family. You’re one and Noah is the other. Anyone outside of the two of you would lose, HANDS DOWN. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. I would have fought like hell to keep you in my life, but you didn’t do that…you gave up on me.”
His lips move like he wants to say something but no words come out. He nods instead and I go back into the cafeteria to join Noah. Qi doesn’t even try to hide her jealousy as I nestle myself into Noah’s arms. Even Willow’s face twists in disgust. She doesn’t approve of my relationship with Noah and tried to talk me out of dating him for four hours.
“I thought you and Thien were…you know.” Says Asher.
“She gets around.” Qi quickly replies, glaring at me.
I don’t even dignify her comment with a response. She’s just jealous and bitter. I made Noah promise to stop sleeping with Qi before I’d agree to go out with him. Unlike Thien, he didn’t hesitate.
The bell rang for fourth period. Noah’s class was on the other side of campus so I hugged him and walked to fourth period with Willow.
I couldn’t help but notice how unusually quiet Willow was. “Whatever you have to say, say it.” I stop and turn her around to face me.
“Fine. This thing you’ve got going on with Noah…its stupid.” She blurts out.
“Oh for the love of Alpha, we are NOT getting married. We’re just testing the waters.”
“Something tells me his interests go deeper than just testing waters. He’s in love with you Ar, and part of me thinks you love him too, but NEITHER of you are looking at the bigger picture. This…union between you and Noah…it won’t last.”
“Why, because he comes from Kaalen?” I scoff.
“He’s a demon Ar. The moment we go back to Petrem he’ll be banished to Kaalen, just like he was before. What are you going to do then? Are you going to move to Kaalen? There are demons that you helped put there who would love to extinguish your life force.”
“Maybe I won’t go back then. Maybe he and I will stay here.” I suggest.
Willow throws her hands up in frustration and walks away. I follow her into class but now she won’t talk to me anymore. Thien sits next to me and I notice him staring at someone. It’s Desiree.
The classroom has thirty-six students and they’re split down the middle. Eighteen students are on side and eighteen are on the other side. Both sides face the center of the classroom. Thien is on one side next to me, and Desiree is on the other.
I watch the two of them and realize Desiree is crossing and uncrossing her legs. She has Thien’s undivided attention.
Thien pulls out his phone and sends a text. Seconds later Desiree sneaks a peak at her phone and smiles. I’m quickly bored with the circus act between Thien and Desiree, and start to look away when slides her phone inside her skirt and into her underwear. I look around wondering if I’m the only one who sees what’s going on. Everyone in class seems oblivious to the fact that they’re giving a new meaning to the term ‘Sexting’. With his lips curled up into a devious smile, Thien sends a barrage of texts to Desiree who quickly goes from composed to gripping her desk.
Does no one else hear the vibrating session going on right now or is it just me? Please let the bell ring sooner rather than later…
“Perhaps you would like to tell us the definition of cell secretion Ms. Dillon.” Mr. Odem calls on Desiree.
The expression on her face is one of a deer in headlights, but Thien doesn’t relent. Instead he increases the volume of texts he’s sending in her direction to throw her off her game.
Why am I watching this? Because you’re seeing Thien in action and it turns you on…UGH! Shut up Aria! Focus on the chalkboard.
Breathless and gripping her desk, she looks like she’s about to lose it. Her eyes want to close but if she gives in to the growing pleasure between her legs, her little stunt with Thien will be exposed.
“Cell…secretion…is the…is the.” Her eyes roll into the back of her head and she quickly forces them back open. She’s turning bright red and she’s incapable of speaking. I don’t even think she’s breathing at this point.
“Are you alright Ms. Dillon?”
“Yes…dear God yes.” She replies breathlessly. “Cell secretion is the external elimination of substances produced by the cell.” She blurts out.
“Very good.” He nods. “Who can give me an example?”
“Ooh, I can.” Thien raises his hand.
“Mr. Youngblood.” The teacher calls on him.
Thien’s eyes shift to Desiree’s and he smiles. “Hormones…sweat.” He continues to taunt her from across the room.
“Excellent.” Mr. Odem heads back to the chalkboard and writes down those answers.
For the remainder of the period Thien and Desiree exchange telling glances. When the bell finally rings I can’t wait to get to next period.
“Wait up.” Thien catches up with me. We walk to our next class together and his cell goes off. I’m praying it’s the Republic with further instruction, but the dumbass smile on his face tells me it’s the blonde ditz.
Why couldn’t her battery explode and spare us all the agony of her EVER reproducing?
We enter our sixth period class and Thien sits down next me. Noah enters a few moments later and sits on the other side of me. Neither of them have a care in the world, but seated between the two of them, I can’t help but see the irony in this little seating arrangement.
“Why don’t we go to a movie tonight.” Noah suggests.
“We’re on a mission.” I point out.
“So. Who’s going to tell?” He shrugs.
“Mind if I tag along?” Thien asks.
“Why?” Noah glares at him.
“Desiree wants to go out tonight.”
Noah’s expression softens and he readily agrees. I whip my head in his direction and he smirks. He slides me a note and smile forms on my face. Wrapped inside is a picture he’d drawn of us kissing and a single sour skittle.
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