Chapter 25: Chapter Twenty Four

[A/N]  It's here! Sorry about updating so late. I'll be honest, I get a bit uncomfortable updating chapters that don't have the kind of content I know people want from me. But I need to write it at my own pace.

The later I am to update and the longer people wait for chapters, the more annoyed some people tend to be if the chapters don't have that kind of content. So I start over analysing the chapters and wonder if I can slip something in here or there.

Rest assured though everyone, this book, when it speeds up, will speed up very fast. These slower paced chapters are very necessary to the storyline.

I also wrote a third update, so I can post it on time on Friday ! (This is impressive for me so pretend you're impressed) wahoo!  ٩(˶ˉ ᵕ ˉ˶)و '-

When school ended it felt the crowd that I drifted out with seemingly caused both Arran and I to drift together, it didn't feel purposeful, but a sort of arranged meeting at the middle as we glanced at each other and stepped out of the front doors. Students moved around us on either side as we exited the building and the sun ahead was prematurely orange in the otherwise bright sky.

I slowed down, or maybe he did, either way the crowd thinned around us as we walked together down the path from the main entrance that lead ultimately to the front gate of the school, enclosed by trees that managed to make the school look a lot more aesthetic than it deserved to be.

"Was it necessary to hand it to me in class?" I asked him my eyes sliding to him from the side.

He smiled, a heartless cold smile. "Isn't that more fun?"

I watched him unintentionally for a while longer, there was an orange tint to his skin now, those dark brown eyes had a sort of glow inside them at this angle, the whites clear and bright, dark eyelashes flanking either side making them brighter. His lips were sort of cupid shaped, and even his jaw seemed to be set nicely, his curly hair was combed and tied back.

I couldn't understand being attracted to someone like him so utterly entirely. Not just the face, even the shape of his Adam's apple, the broad shoulders now made clearer by the lack of a leather jacket, the clear definition to his arms and just the posture in general as he walked, eyes that never seemed to look up at you, always down, from a distance.

He was the kind of guy that seemed to view everyone else as ants.

I mean aside from him naturally being straight... Wasn't that exactly the kind of guy I had been beaten down by for years?

I pictured the corpse being wrapped up in the tarpaulin in the dead of night. Whatever the guy had done probably hadn't deserved being murdered. Yet I let the memory sit like a dream and said nothing to no one, not even a diary.

If with the exaggeratedly good looks, normal Elliot would have kept far away from him. Victor was perfect for normal Elliot. Someone to save me.

I licked my lips as I felt the knife in my pocket and flicked it out. "This is pretty thin, is it real?"

He raised a brow from the side. "What do you think I used that night?"

My eyes went wide and I stared at him, the weapon turning to lead in my pocket, my heart thumping in my chest, for a split second sweat cooling my entire back.

He snickered and looked ahead with half hooded eyes. "It's a switchblade, it's probably dull enough to be fake. If you want to kill someone with it I'd use something else. I use it as cutlery."

The relief felt like a balloon deflating in my chest. My face felt slightly warm as I felt the embarrassment of believing something stupid like that and I tried to pull some distance between us as I looked away, immediately noticing the absence of the warmth brushing my shoulder.

We kept walking and exited the school gates. He seemed unaware of the girl from our class that have him a lengthy stare, even turning slightly to look at him and covering her smile as he hurried ahead of us, as she passed.

She looked at me next while she was moving, briefly, and the warmth left her eyes. I understood it was to make sure I knew she wasn't interested in me but I felt annoyed to see it.

I moved in close to him.

For a split second as we were walking I saw him look over at me, and his eyes rest on me for a moment, eyes that just barely slid down to my lips, and then someone came jogging up behind us and a hand grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey!" Victor smiled at me.

I started at the hand in my shoulder and jolted slightly. I blinked in surprise and looked around at him.

"Uh, Victor, hey..." I smiled at him.

He smiled back, but it didn't look that warm. What did his smiles use to look like? I found it hard to remember. Instead there was this sort of slightly annoyed look to it that stood out to me.

"Hey, you couldn't hear me?"

I blinked, surprised. "You called me?"

His shoulders seemed to relax after a moment of examining my expression and perhaps deciding I was indeed not ignoring him.

He gave a sort of constipated smile to Arran. "I need to borrow him, thanks mate."

He grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards and I stumbled back after him, looking back at Arran, surprised. "Wait-"

Victor took me back to the school gates and I stumbled after him.

I looked back at Arran, startled, and Arran watched us with his hands in his pockets.

It being Friday the next time he wouldn't have the opportunity to get her back wouldn't be until Monday unless he figured out where I lived... He had to angry enough to kill under that ice cold mask of his.

But my eyes just stared back into an set of strangely heartless eyes, and the longer I stared the more I felt an uncomfortable feeling in my chest, my heart thumping away.

The further I was pulled away the darker his eyes seemed, like the eyes of someone looking down from a mountain, yet somehow still razor sharp and pointed exactly at me.

My brows furrowed up at him as he finally dragged me to a stop and smiled at me a little forcefully.

"Don't worry, I got you..." He looked after Arran, where he was calmly walking off without a passing glance.

I was out of breath just from that, I had no stamina at all.

I blinked at him. "Oh... thank you..." I forgot we were painted as enemies now.

Victor nodded. "You can count on me." He smiled wider, eyes pointedly looking at me, as though he was seeking something out.

I wasn't sure what that was but slowly smiled at him, swallowing. I tugged at my arm, the grip on it was oddly tight.

"Uh, Victor?"

He looked slowly at his hand, then laughed and let go, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, but his expression was annoyed.

"So..." He brushed my cheek. "Does this still hurt? Sorry I wasn't able to stop them.."

I touched my face. "Yeah, it's fine... thanks man..." I looked up at him and couldn't help staring. Was Victor always this helpful? That could get annoying pretty fast.

"We can go to a teacher about him, come, Miss Hammond is right by the front desk." He grabbed my wrist and started pulling me and I looked up at him in shock.

I held onto the gate though and shook my head. "Huh? Report who?"

He pressed his lips together and laughed lightly. "Who else?" He nodded in the direction that Arran had left in.

I stared at him, forgetting to speak. A beautiful face blinked right back at me, his elegant fingers apparently unconsciously wrapping newly around my wrist. I should be all nervous and flushed, instead I just looked at him, puzzled.

What would I be reporting Arran for? As far as he knew all Arran had done was mock me. It was Pierson that had shoved gravel in my mouth.

Sure, Victor hadn't seen who exactly had done it, and yes, the video didn't show any faces other than mine, but the voice was distinctly Pierson's and the hand on my mouth was white, not light brown.

"What for?" I asked.

He licked his lips and glanced back down the path. "I thought he was starting something with you?"

"Oh," I chuckled and scratched the back of my head. "No, just a small argument..."

He stared at me. "Right... Sorry I misunderstood then..."

"You didn't, thanks, you know, for helping me out."

He nodded and his eyes travelled over my face. "You want me to have a word with him?"

I just gave him a shy smile that felt familiar to me and I shrugged. "It's okay."

He put a warm hand on my shoulder. "You can always call me if you're in trouble, right?" He asked me with a kind of earnestness in his eyes.

I raised my phone slightly. "I uh, I don't have your number..."

He playfully slapped his forehead. "Oh man, I forgot..."

He put his number into my phone and I watched. I'd have been ecstatic before, but now I watched him through a tunnel and couldn't make out what to feel.

Oddly my hands were slightly clammy as he returned the phone to me and our fingers brushed against each other, as though there was a part of me that was still feeling something, cut off to the rest of my consciousness inside me.

When we parted ways and he headed off through the park and I walked on back to my own sacred home I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

I frowned at it as I pulled it out, expecting it to be Victor.

[ H a l e y  has replied to your message.... ]

[ H a l e y  has replied to your message.... ]

I'd forgotten that I installed that app on my phone at all.

I might have been smiling as I opened up the app. I blinked at the number of notifications, they were link requests... four link requests from classmates whose names I recognised and a couple notifications for the main school message board I'd linked him to. I'd tried to mimic his original account in the things he followed without using a picture or outright saying I was him.

Looking at the message board was mildly disappointing. Someone had cropped and clipped and also removed the sound of the video Pierson had taken of his shoving gravel in my mouth and posted it with the caption; when your brothers a picky eater

Another version of the same video had been posted by another account with the caption: When you got picca and jus wanna share

I closed the message board and licked my lips. I couldn't remember what I was supposed to be feeling anymore.

I opened up the text conversation.

Haley:  thanks wow

Haley:  but I have a bf =(

Me: oh sorry, i was just calling you cute because you are. I call it like I see it.

Me:  not tryna be weird though. i saw your profile and was just super into the poetry.

Me:  do you know Byron?

Me:  your stuff sounds kinda like him

One of the quotes far down on her page was a quote form a poem by Byron about the unfeasible, unimaginable afterlife. Ironically I did quite like poetry, when the English teachers brought it up I liked to listen to it, but other than that never thought to actively seek it out. Byron had a good rhythm, so I'd recognised the quote when I saw it.

I felt like my memory was better these days too. In the past my head had felt permanently filled with cotton, these days it almost felt a little too empty.

My phone vibrated; she replied.

Haley: oh my god... I love Byron

Haley: you literally have no idea how happy you just made me

Haley: favourite poet ever I know its kind of cringe

Haley: do you read a lot of his stuff?

Me:  love byron. tell me what else you like?

Haley: you start =)

I frowned but decided this was better answered quickly, or it would look like I was going through her profile to see what she liked.

Me:  okay so I guess poetry is obvious. animals, i wanna be a vet or somt one day, dont tell anyone bout these first too tho cus no one knows honestly. then theres like impalas regime, thats half my time spent. and roulette.

I had to really think about it, I remembered him playing some kind of roulette game on his phone but I didn't get a good look at it. It couldn't all be things she liked anyway.

Haley: ohh, cool. poetry and animals are my top favs, and food, could eat pizza for days. idk about the others. my bf is hooked on impala and i kind of really dont like it

Haley: no offense. he just spends like wayy too much money on it.

Me: ahhh i hate it when people spend money on impala. those ptw suckers are everywhere

Haley: ptw? :s

Me:  pay to win. they kinda ruin the game. bet hes one of those dipshits with big money. sure u dont wanna switch for a better version?

Haley: hahaha =) I'm ok thanks

Haley: but we can hang out though

Me:  thats fine too :)

I stepped onto the front step and turned the key to the front door of my house.

[A/N]  Thank you to the WPC and my patrons, big big big big hugs... （'・｀ ）♡