Chapter 2 ~ Uhm… Am I Missing Something?
1374 Words
{Grace’s POV}
The concerning thing about Damian Reyes wasn’t even his face.
Okay.
No.
That was a lie.
His face was definitely part of the problem.
Because no human being should look like that good while simultaneously giving off the energy of a mafia boss deciding who gets fed to sharks.
So the concerning thing I’m referring to is his aura.
Sofia kept talking as we continued through campus, but my brain had become partially distracted by the memory of Damian’s eyes. Not in a romantic way. More in a “those eyes have definitely witnessed crazy things” kind of way.
“Grace?”
“Hm?”
“You’re doing the thing.”
“What thing?”
“The thing where you stare into space and mentally leave your body.”
“I’m still here emotionally.”
“Debatable.”
Fair.
Students passed us constantly as we crossed the main courtyard again. Montclair felt alive in an overwhelming sort of way, like everyone had already figured out the rhythm except me.
Sofia adjusted her bag on her shoulder. “Anyway, just… avoid Damian.”
I looked at her. “You’re saying that like he’s a contagious disease.”
“He kind of is.”
“That dramatic?”
She gave me a look. “Grace. I’m serious.”
I waited for more explanation, but Sofia only sighed and continued walking.
Interesting.
Very mysterious.
Very illegal underground fight club energy.
“He’s really that feared?” I asked eventually.
Sofia hesitated before nodding once. “People don’t mess with Damian Reyes.”
That was all she said. Nothing else. And honestly, the way she said it made the air a bit stiffer.
Before I could talk about anything else, my stomach growled loud enough to qualify as a yell.
“Sofia.”
Sofia looked at me slowly.
“I’m hungry,” I admitted.
“You’ve been here three hours.”
“And I’ve been starving beautifully the entire time.”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on. I’ll take you to the cafeteria.”
“Thank you. You’re the only person standing between me and becoming campus roadkill.”
“I hate how often you say things like that.”
“You’ll miss it if I stop.”
She didn’t respond. She only shook her head which meant I was right.
The cafeteria was enormous when we got there. And loud— and it smelled so good I nearly became emotional.
“Oh my God.”
Sofia laughed as I stood frozen near the entrance staring at the food stations like a pilgrim seeing heaven for the first time.
“This is embarrassing.”
“No,” I whispered, grabbing a tray, “this is love.”
Ten minutes later, I had a burger, fries and a drink; enough happiness to temporarily heal my abandonment issues
“I think this is my favorite place on campus,” I announced sincerely.
“Of course it is,” Sofia said. “Food is involved.”
The cafeteria was packed, so after fighting through approximately six hundred students and one guy who nearly elbowed me over ketchup, Sofia led me toward a large hall beside the arts building.
The room was spacious and partially crowded, with different groups scattered around talking, laughing, studying, or pretending to study while flirting aggressively.
It was much calmer and had space. I dropped into one of the chairs gratefully and immediately took a bite of my burger.
Then another.
Then another.
Oh wow.
“This burger might actually fix my life.”
Sofia laughed softly while opening her drink. “You’ve had one bite.”
“One bite was enough. This is art.”
“Please don’t grow passionate over cafeteria food.”
“No promises.”
We sat there for a while talking about classes, professors, and how apparently one economics lecturer failed students “for fun.”
Which honestly sounded illegal.
I was halfway through explaining why food never taste the same when stolen from other people’s plates— they taste better, scientifically.
And I was doing that when the atmosphere in the room shifted.
Subtly at first.
A few students stood up. Someone grabbed their bag quickly. Another group started leaving.
Sofia suddenly stiffened beside me. “Oh shit.”
I barely looked up from my burger. “God. This is so good.”
“Grace.”
“The fries are okay but this burger?” I gestured with it dramatically. “Life-changing.”
I was on my second one.
More students started moving as chairs scraped softly against the floor while conversations lowered around us.
Sofia turned toward the entrance of the hall and her expression immediately became the visual equivalent of a heart attack.
“Grace!”
I finally glanced around properly. People were definitely leaving now. Not casually either.
Purposefully.
Like someone had pulled a silent fire alarm.
“Huh,” I muttered, chewing thoughtfully. “Maybe they ran out of burgers.”
Sofia stared at me in disbelief. “Are you serious right now?”
“What?”
She looked like she wanted to physically shake me.
Around us, more students gathered their things and moved toward the exits, though not all of them actually left. Some slowed down instead, lingering nearby with very obvious curiosity.
Like they were waiting for something.
Or someone.
Then the movement in the room shifted again, this time toward us.
Sofia, who wanted to speak, went completely still now and with that and a mouthful, I followed her line of sight… and that was when I saw him.
Damian Reyes walked through the hall with the same terrifying calmness he’d had outside earlier, except he came towards us, and up close, the effect was somehow worse.
Dark hoodie, black jeans, tattooed hands… and those eyes.
Meanwhile, nobody should legally have cheekbones that sharp while also looking emotionally unavailable enough to ruin lives from a distance.
Several guys followed behind him, but the room still centered around Damian automatically. Conversations lowered and people moved away without him asking.
Like everybody already understood the rules.
Meanwhile I had no idea what game we were apparently playing… and now he stopped directly at our table.
Not near it.
Before it.
Sofia grabbed my arm under the table so suddenly I almost inhaled a french fry.
“Why are you crushing my circulation?” I whispered with my mouthful.
“Get up.”
“What?”
“NOW!”
Before I could respond, Damian put a hand in his pocket and settled before us in that obvious attention-calling manner, and this obviously called my attention back to him.
Up close, he looked even more dangerous somehow. Not loud-dangerous.
Controlled-dangerous.
The kind that sat quietly in the corner of a room while everybody else instinctively monitored their behavior.
His gaze flicked briefly toward Sofia before landing on me… and stayed there.
The hall had gone almost silent now and students openly stared from different corners of the room.
I became vaguely aware that Sofia had already half-stood beside me, clutching her bag like she was preparing to be chased by a something wild.
Meanwhile I was still sitting there holding half a burger, hungry but mostly confused.
Uhm… Am I missing something?
I asked myself and that was when I heard it. Damian’s voice, low and deep.
“Leave.”
That was it.
No explanation or human warmth whatsoever. Just leave.
I blinked once, then slowly looked around the room properly for the first time.
Almost everybody had moved away for which they all looked cautious.
Oh. That explained… literally everything.
Realizing this, I sighed, and because my brain was deeply committed to its own routines, I took my time to chew and swallow the burger in my mouth.
With that, the silence in the room somehow became louder and Sofia made a tiny choking sound beside me.
I didn’t pay much attention to her. I finished chewing and when I was done, I settled the halved piece of the burger down and looked back at Damian.
I sighed again. “You know manners are free, right?” I said… and the entire hall froze.
Actually froze.
Someone dropped their tray of food…
- Writer
