Rose's POV
I pulled the jacket tighter around myself and buried lower part of my head in the scarf, but nothing helped. The cold seemed to come from inside of me. Freezing weather certainly didn't provide aid in my efforts of not turning to ice. Setting my foot out of the school bus for the first time in a week, I looked up. Thick fog surrounded the whole school. Small crystals of ice floating in the air frosted the skin of my face taking me into its freezing embrace.
I felt so sleepy.
Bounce by my side yanked me out of thought. I moved my gaze to the brunette standing next to me. I clenched my jaw and shook my head.
"C'mon Rosebear", Layla whined as we moved towards the school, "don't be upset, just be happy I had so much fun"
I looked at the school. It was similar to the old one but advanced. It looked like it leveled up. Same shape, but different content.
"It's not like I'll get married or even have a relationship", she continued. I sighed.
"Layla I'm not upset", I clarified, "just disappointed in the connection between your eyes and your brain"
"I see perfectly fine"
"But you don't really process the visual information you receive"
She scoffed. "I can guarantee you, I received it very skillfully"
I rolled my eyes trying to contain laughter. She grinned victoriously and bounced up and down.
"I'm not approving your dangerous behavior with unpredictable psycho", I retorted and she suddenly stopped moving and tilted her head.
"So you want me to be left dry and crispy", she stated seriously. I cringed and continued walking leaving her behind. "You know, when you open up something, especially when you're young, you need to keep using it or it will go bad"
I sighed. "That's not how it works"
"It does for me", she laughed as she caught up with me.
"Why can't you find someone normal", I begged.
"I'll find someone normal when I search for a baby daddy"
I shook my head. "Just promise me you'll be careful"
"Always", she said and winked at me.
I shivered as the cold breeze hit me letting the shaky breath escape my lips. Layla watched me with worry clearly printed on her face. She didn't say anything just pulled me into a side hug. We continued walking that way in comfortable silence.
Just as we were to enter the new classroom I stumbled forward due to the impact behind me. All I saw was back of Daniel's head as he merely walked on without apology. I frowned and gave Layla the look just as she opened her mouth to throw an insult at him. She closed her mouth and shrugged.
"I'm too freaking mature for that bitch anyway", she murmured flipping her hair and pulled me to our new seats. As I sat down on oddly comfortable chair, a see-through screen appeared in front of me. It startled me at first, but when I took a closer look at it, I saw small icons all around.
"Isn't this whopping great", Layla said chuckling and pressing random places on her screen. I didn't see anything happen. When she finally noticed my confusion, she stopped. "No one can see what you're doing on the screen and there is so many possibilities", she smirked viciously, "just explore"
"So we have no more books?"
"Nah, you'll get a watch and it has all you need", she said and I raised my eyebrow.
"A watch?"
"Yes, a watch that projects the same screen", she rolled her eyes and looked back to her screen with wicked smile. I turned back and pulled my clothes tighter around me.
The teacher came and lesson started without the only person I wanted to see that day. Realization that I won't see him before tomorrow seemed to suck all the heat that was left in me. It scared me how physically dependant I became. I've been losing myself to him and I'm not blind or brainless not to notice it. I blinked slowly trying to warm up my freezing eyeballs and shivered.
I was just a kid and those feelings were too grown up for me to keep up. Closing my eyes I thought how desperately I was trying to control my emotions so they don't turn toxic. But all my efforts were in vain and little by little I ceased to care. Like a true addict.
Door flew open and I jerked my head towards it. Shining hazel eyes met mine. He tilted his head studying me and lazily walked closer.
"Kayden", Ma-Lea warned, "You're late".
He moved his gaze to her and shrugged. "I am here, am I not?"
She shook her head and decided to ignore him continuing the lesson. The banter in the classroom resumed. Kayden frowned as he stood right by my table.
"What?" I scowled.
"You look cold", he stated and suddenly put his hand on my forehead. He raised his eyebrows and moved away, shaking the hand that touched me.
"Yikes", he said and went to the back leaving me speechless.
Creepy weirdo.
I looked over to Layla, but she seemed to be too entertained with drawing what appeared to be penis shapes on her screen to notice Kayden and our odd little exchange. I sighed and made an effort to listen to Ma-Lea trying not to think about the suffocating coldness that crept into my bones.
Time passed painfully slow and all I wanted was to sleep. Everything seemed to be slowed down and muted, so it seemed to take forever before the time for lunch pause came. I got up with everyone else. Layla took my hand and we went out. On our way through hallways Emery's blonde head popped up by our side. She flashed us a smile as we greeted her.
"I was just wandering if you're coming to a party tonight", she said.
"A party you say", Kayden's voice chimed in as he appeared by Layla's side.
"Yeah, you know that there's a memorial this evening, but only old people like those kind of stuff", Emery continued.
"Memorial for what?" I asked confused.
"Luxa is exploding tonight", Layla explained, "Ma-Lea was just talking about it, didn't you listen?"
I shrugged.
"It will be so much fun", Emery continued and I focused at her leaving Layla to deal with Kayden, "My brother helped me organize it and it's going to be huge."
"What kind of a party?" I asked. She seemed to be very excited about it.
"Oh it's mixed, like a bit of your rave kind of thing with our vibe to it", she chatted, "I'd really like if you came, you can bring the others if you want, I'll send you a car"
I smiled. She really wanted to include everything and everyone and looked like she genuinely cared. But I really didn't feel like partying.
"It will be awesome, I don't have a doubt about it", I said, "I just don't..."
"Rose, I'll see you later, okay?" Layla said through Kayden's chuckles as he pulled her forward. I succeeded to open my mouth beginning to protest, but they were gone. I could only hear her laugh in the distance as I stood dumbfounded. I blinked a few times.
"He'll get bored soon, don't worry about it", Emery said and motioned with her head to follow her. I took a deep breath and went after her.
I ended up eating with Emery and a few of her friends listening to her blabbing about a party that really sounded like a blast. They even made me smile a few times and lately that was immensely difficult. I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that she was making such an effort to be my friend as I was being an energy-sucking mess at the moment. The pause was coming to an end I excused myself to go to bathroom. On the way out I threw away almost all the food from my plate. It was a waste I knew it, but I couldn't bear to eat any of it.
Looking at myself in the bathroom mirror I cringed. The sad girl from the other side of the mirror looked at me with dull green eyes making me sick to my stomach. Locks of strawberry blond hair fell flat by her pale face. There was no color in her cheeks.
I looked like a dying person.
Maybe washing my face would bring me back to life, but mare thought of cold water on my skin made me shiver. I rubbed my eyes trying to drive away drowsiness and pinched my cheeks making them a bit healthier looking. I smiled at the mirror - it looked fake but good enough. With a deep breath, knowing I was late for class, I exited. As I walked around the corner, I heard shuffling and people talking. One of the angry voices was Layla so I fastened the pace to see what was going on.
"You know the rules", one of our strict, stuffy teachers said.
"What freaking rules?" Layla screamed.
"Hush yourself", teacher interjected.
"By rule you mean that little note at the end of the introductory speech in the beginning saying not to get involved with each other", she whisper-yelled, "and haven't we gone forward from then â we're completely equal now remember"
Kayden laughed.
I finally got close enough to see them. Layla was standing closely to the teacher, boiling mad, with her hair messy and unbuttoned shirt and Kayden was leaning to the wall, smirking, with arms crossed on his chest.
"Equal", teacher scoffed, "even if we were, I don't remember giving green light to unnatural behavior"
Layla widened her eyes crazily and gritted her teeth. "Unnatural", she exploded.
"What is happening?" I interrupted getting all the attention.
"Get back to the class, this doesn't concern you", teacher waved me off.
"It does if you're calling any relationship with my kind unnatural", I said as I got closer. The tension intensified in silence where only angry breaths could be heard. The teacher looked at us disgusted frowning deeply.
"Come on, Renyen", Kayden drawled breaking the silence with lazy smile on his lips, "it's not that big of a deal"
Teacher turned to him with his eyes glowing dangerously. "You are only a disturbance here, sowing chaos in this school or wherever you set your foot to", as he talked Kayden bowed and laughed, "You think that you're untouchable because royals protect you, but soon even they will see you for who you are and then you will be stranded alone to fend for yourself with all the enemies you've made"
Kayden's smile dropped and he pushed himself from the wall walking to the teacher slowly. "Careful", he sang tilting his head, "I might think you're threatening me"
Teacher flinched but stood his ground. No one could bear that look for long - neither could Renyen, so he moved his gaze to Layla.
"You're suspended", he said simply and started going away. She stood astonished for a moment.
"Me?! What about him?" she shouted and started running after him only to be caught in Kayden's arms that she struggled against, "it's because I'm a girl and only girls are responsible for sex, aren't they? Only girls have to think about the consequences and beware of everything that could go wrong. You expect us to stay pure and for what â so you can find some other flaw to poke at. Go on, sharpen your knife, cut me down but I won't be silent just because I'm a girl I promise you that"
I saw two big guards from the bus coming through hallway in our direction.
Teacher turned towards us. "It's not because you're a girl, it's because you're human", he gave us a distorted smile, "and staying in school is big enough punishment for that", he paused and gave Kayden a nasty look spitting words at him, "boy". With that he just left.
Layla looked crazy with her messy hair and wild eyes ready to fight. Kayden seemed to notice it so he pulled her in his embrace whispering something in her ear. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
I looked over to guards coming our way - two scary giants with guns in their hands. I walked towards them.
"What are you doing?" I asked a guard as I neared him. He didn't even spare me a glance and just pushed me out of the way with way too much force. Being gentle was not one of their attributes for sure. I rubbed the spot just beneath my neck feeling the bruise already forming.
"I asked you a question?" I yelled. They didn't even flinch. It frustrated me how helpless I felt.
Kayden let Layla go and she raised her hands peacefully in the air. "I'm going on my own", she said and gave them a fake smile as she walked past them. They turned around and followed her out without a word.
I just kept my eyes on them until they left my view. Once again I was left alone and confused. I solely stood there trying to process the situation that just happened. My mind kept glitching. I closed my eyes and breathed out. I just wanted to cry out my incompetence to focus or do anything useful. Everything was happening way too fast for me. I let one more shaky breath out.
"Well, that was fun", Kayden said breaking the silence again. I opened my eyes seeing him stand by my side and looking down the hall. I rolled my eyes feeling completely washed out.
"I'm so not in the mood for you", I murmured tuning away to go as far away from that psycho as I could.
"You seem not to be in mood for anything", he retorted following me with his hands in his pockets not sparing me a glance, "except for Adrian"
I sighed and fastened the pace.
"Am I right?" he asked looking at me and smirking wickedly, "I mean he was always like that, even as a kid â making all the girls literally obsess over him". I stopped and so did he.
I tuned to face him. "Could you give me a bit of freaking space for one minute just to compose myself after my best friend have gotten thrown out of the school because of one godforsaken jerk", I demanded as I put my finger on his chest an push him away slightly.
He clasped wrist of that hand and just looked at me vaguely narrowing his shining hazel eyes with crazy-looking, unnatural gray circle around the pupil. His glare sent chills down my spine. He seemed like he was looking right through all the skin, meat and bone to my soul. But I didn't look away. Not today. He smiled.
"Just come to the party tonight", he said as he let me go, "Adrian will be there, I'll make sure of it"
"Wha..."
"I have a theory totest, little human", he said and vanished.