"HEY," I said casually, stepping over to Mason as he talked with his friends.
He glanced down at me briefly, his eyes dark. "Yo."
I smiled sweetly. "So... uh... how's everything going?"
"Fine." His tone was short, curt.
I felt my lips thin, and I just looked over at his friends who were all just conversing with each other.
"A... Mace," I said then, "do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?"
He blinked before nodding. "Kay, sure."
We separated from his group, and stopped at a corner that I shrunk myself in.
"So... uh..." I hesitated, "did you have any thoughts about the wedding or anything?"
He shrugged. "What about it?"
I puffed my cheek in annoyance. "Well... we're getting married this summer, so I was just wondering if you wanted to add anything."
He shook his head slowly. "No. I'm good."
I just nodded slowly. "Uhm... alright."
We were silent for a moment, and I swallowed something hard.
"Is something wrong?" I asked him.
He gazed down at me, brows arched. "Huh?"
"Well, it's just... you've been acting kind of cold and distant lately," I said then, voice soft. "I'm getting concerned."
I did want things to work out between us, honestly. We were being forced to marry each other, but he's the one that brought up the "boyfriend" idea thing, so... I was really hoping this would be one of those situations where "arranged marriage was perfect for me" kind of thing.
But his closed-off sentences were making me weary about the fact.
"Everything's fine," he replied then, patting my head. "No need to worry. Just have classes to get to that I don't want."
"Right..." I said quietly, not believing him.
"See ya," he said then, stepping backward.
I gripped the strap of my backpack tighter, my jaw locking.
➿⭐︎➿⭐︎➿
TODAY WAS going to be exhausting.
I walked into my physics class, lips pursed as I took in the hundred-seated lecture hall.
I'd honestly prefer a more... hands on experience for science rather than sitting and listening to lectures.
Biology was pretty fun last semester. I got to cut open pigs and look at internal organs.
My lips curled at the memory.
I stood at the front desk, scanning the crowd that just started flooding the room.
Should I have gone toward the back or sit more toward the front? Both had their perks and kinks.
But—as my eyes scanned the sea of students—my sight landed on a particularly short girl.
I narrowed my eyes.
She looked about five-foot, her hair black and slipping over her shoulder as she unpacked her bag.
I wasn't completely sure who it was... until my gaze settled on her familiar ocean-blue eyes.
I felt my breath catch.
Oh, wait... was that...?
I just stared at her for a moment, and it didn't seem like she noticed me completely because she was too busy finding a pencil.
Her hair was longer... thinner, but her skin was still pale as ever. She looked so innocent and beautiful compared to the others in the room... the soft eyeliner curling off at the corner of her eye.
I'd seen her around. Constantly.
Ever since she escaped I didn't touch her, but I was always around... keeping an eye on her.
Always.
Little did I know that I'd end up having a class with my little baby girl. I hadn't spoken to her in ages.
I smiled and stepped over to the table, my veins heating with excitement as I settled in the seat next to hers.
She immediately paused and gazed over at me, her brows drawing together.
I watched her expression with ease, looking down at her lips and their familiar pink softness.
I wanted to touch them.
But I just locked eyes with hers. "Hello, there."
She looked oddly uncomfortable, as if she didn't know what to do or how to react.
She then gazed down at her notebook. "Hi."
I tipped my head to the side. Does my baby girl not remember me?
"What's your name?" I said casually.
She just pulled some hair away from her face. "Cameron."
It is. It is my baby girl.
"Cameron..." I whispered, letting the name slip off my tongue.
I've waited ages to talk to you, and I always watch you, but... I can never speak to you.
I know someone took over that house, but I rarely ever see you. You always hide your face in the daylight... all I could see was your friend, Maddie.
But you wouldn't like knowing that.
A small smile peeked through my lips, and I had to resist the urge to tuck a strand of hair away from her face.
I want you again. I want you with me again.
It will happen, Angel.
Don't you worry.
➿⭐︎➿⭐︎➿
THE WORLD sucks today apparently.
My first class was canceled, so I got up early for nothing, and then this one was still up and running.
It was odd because classes on the first day don't usually cancel, but... whatever.
This class was some boring shit about physics... I just wasn't a physics chick.
I just glanced briefly down at my phone before a new student settled beside me.
I blinked, glancing over hazily to see who it was.
Nobody sits beside me. I'm like a wall of lonely darkness.
It was a guy. He was tall, broad, muscular. Very brunet. His eyes reminded me of freshly cut tree-sap, soft like honey.
He glanced over at me briefly, smiling a little. "Hello."
I looked back forward. "Hi."
Care to sit somewhere else... in this hundred-seated lecture hall?
His form did seem familiar, though. It was odd... he reminded me of someone, but I couldn't quite place it.
Just the feeling was giving me goosebumps, trailing up my skin like a thousand pricks.
The professor came in shortly after, setting her computer on the lecture desk and sighing.
"So," the guy next to me said, "what's your name?"
I just shuffled in my seat uncomfortably.
Even his voice is familiar.
"Cameron," I said.
"Cameron," he repeated, his voice echoing my name smoothly. "Thought so."
I glanced over. "Huh?"
"Nothing," he smiled sweetly, "you just... look like a Cameron."
"Look like a Cameron?" I echoed. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"There's no need to get defensive," he chuckled, "I was just complimenting you."
I grumbled under my breath and stared back forward, the lecture about to start.
He set his hands on the desk, leaning on them casually.
I glanced briefly down at his hand, my lips pursing when I found a tattoo on his right wrist: a spark of fire engulfed in a rattle-snake's tail.
I then looked up at him. "You're a FireNight."
He glanced down, smirking. "Very observant."
"I tend to be," I said proudly before looking back forward.
I didn't know much about the FireNight. Just that they were some frat in our university that wasn't to be trifled with. No one asked questions about them, and it was better to keep it that way.
I was ninety percent sure that Mason was a part of them, or acquainted with them.
Still, though... I felt like I knew this guy from somewhere.
Was he one of Mason's friends?
Silence fell among us for a moment before I turned to him. "Do I know you?"
Why was I asking him these questions...? I had a really bad feeling that I wasn't supposed to be talking to him.
Something about him was... off.
He just locked gazes with me. "Do I look familiar somehow?"
I wasn't sure. I couldn't place it.
"What's your name?" I wondered then.
He closed his eyes sweetly. "That's classified."
I glared then. "You can't tell me your name?"
"Well, I can. I just don't want to."
I groaned and stared back forward, the lecture now starting.
The entire class, his eyes were focused ahead, his breaths even, his stance calm. He looked oddly composed for the vibe he was giving off.
There was darkness swarming around him, something toxic and dangerous.
It gave me goosebumps.
But who was he...? I couldn't place it. It was so nerve-racking, and I couldn't wrap my head around it.
By the time class ended, I had stood and started gathering my things. For some odd reason, every ounce of my being was screaming for me to leave this classroom. Right now.
But as I gathered my stuff, I finally stood.
"Oh, Miss Envy," the professor said. "Please, stay for a moment."
I paused, my breaths heaving when I gazed up.
Her smile was slight.
Stay...? Why?
I swallowed something hard, the unnerving feeling only swarming inside me and getting worse. "A... alright. Is there something you needed?"
"I just wanted to talk to you," the man behind me said.
I froze, glancing back to find him still sitting in the seat beside me.
But now that all the students were gone, his kind expression vanished to a darker one... one that was... not normal.
There was a subtle darkness too it, and it made me wonder what he was thinking about.
I just pursed my lips and kept my stance, trying to remain strong. "What is it?"
"Your name," he said then, smirking. "What is it?"
"Cameron," I replied.
"Cameron what?"
I glanced back at the professor to find her packing her things.
Is she really going to leave me alone in here?
With him?
I then looked back at him. "Cameron Envy."
"And how old are you?"
His questions were all too familiar. I had a vague feeling he was trying to push something out of me.
I glared. "Why do you need to know this?"
He just chuckled. "I was just curious. No need to get defensive."
I then caught my backpack. "I should be going, whatever your name is."
"Are you alright?" he asked me then, making me pause.
I just looked back at him nervously as the professor started leaving the classroom. "Yes."
"You look unsettled," he told me then, tipping his head to the side.
Yes, well... you do have that effect.
I just turned. "I really should get going. I have class next."
"I can walk you," he suggested.
"I have a boyfriend," I said immediately, thinking that would deter him.
The smirk never left his face. "So?"
"So I shouldn't really be conversing with other men," I stated then.
"You're an adult. You can do what you want."
"Maybe you have those circumstances, but I don't." I sighed, continuing to stuff my pack.
My mother made sure to have complete power over me until Mason did.
He remained silent, watching me as I continued to gather my things.
"Asher," he said then, making me pause.
I gazed up then, my brows drawing together. "Huh?"
"My name," he stated, smirking slightly. "It's Asher."
➿⭐︎➿⭐︎➿
"MY NAME," I stated then, amusement crawling through me. "It's Asher."
Cameron paused packing for a moment, but then went back to her belongings and swung her pack over her shoulder. "Alright."
She clearly recognized the name but couldn't place it.
Does my baby girl really not remember me?
As she checked her surroundings to make sure she wasn't missing anything, I quickly gazed down at my phone to text Nash:
Hey. I need you to look up something.
The house. Does Cameron still own it?
Let me check.
"Why don't you sit down?" I suggested, gesturing to the seat next to me. "Just for a couple minutes, is all. You won't be late to your next class, promise."
She now looked uneasy, as if she wasn't sure if I was going to jump out and stab her or not.
But she settled down in the seat, clearly making her decision.
I had to resist smiling.
"Do you live in the dorms?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "I live in a house."
I know.
I love seeing you walk outside to admire the sun.
Nash suddenly replied:
No, sir.
Her mother changed the deed to her name.
But Cameron still lives there.
I felt a smile creep up on my face.
Alone?
Yes, sir.
My teeth showed through my grin.
I thought her friend was living there with her. Surprising.
She's alone...? All alone?
Oh. Good.
"Good news?" she joked.
I glanced over at her, my smile slight. "The best."
"So... you're part of the FireNight?" she asked me curiously.
Oh? She was trying to make conversation. Maybe she wasn't as scared as she looked.
I just chuckled. "Angel, I'm the lead of the FireNight."
She stared for a moment, and I could almost hear her heart throbbing hard against her chest.
Something else popped in that head. She recognized something else or was trying to determine if I was a threat.
"Do you know my boyfriend?" she asked me then. "Mason?"
Fuckwad? Of course.
I wanted to slaughter him. He took something that belonged to me. Judging by her uneasy and stressed demeanor, I suspected he still wasn't the nicest boy on Santa's list.
"I do," I replied smoothly.
"Is he a part of your frat?" she asked curiously.
She's still full of questions. At least that hadn't changed.
I just chuckled, shaking my head. "The number one rule of a fight club is to not talk about a fight club."
I want to leave you questioning.
"Oh, alright." She was silent for a moment, her hands in her lap.
"So, what are your hobbies?" I asked her. "Why'd you choose physics?"
Tell me everything about you.
"I don't have many hobbies," she said gently. "Drawing, I guess."
"You like art?" I wondered.
She did love drawing when she was stuck with me.
She nodded briefly. "Yes."
My lips curled into another smirk.
She's shy. My baby girl looks so shy.
She just swallowed something hard before standing. "I should really get going. It was nice to meet you, uh... Asher."
She caught her pack and swung it over her shoulder, starting out from the room.
My eyes followed her before I smirked.
"Call me Cookie, little one."
She immediately froze, calculating.
I watched her with a dark smile, waiting for her reaction.
Remember me, now?
Her chest heaved up and down slowly, and she just swallowed something hard.
But she then looked back at me, her brows drawing together. "Uh... okay. See ya."
And she left the room.
She recognizes it, but she can't place it.
I just set my cheek in my hand. "Found you."
I take care of your house. In a way... you always belonged to me.
You live under my roof, Angel. You've always been mine.
Always.
I'll make you remember that.
Word Count: 2416
a/n
So now I have another song stuck in my head, but yeah.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I was thinking about dividing it into different chapters but decided against it.
And also... the song I was listening to was "Harlequin" by Vana.
Just on repeat. All the time.
No wonder I get bored of songs so easily lolol
- Aspen
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoE6nLLvYeX
