Rejected bond

It had been such a long day. After sitting for six hours, studying the human body and endless chemical reactions, class was finally over. Exhausted and half-asleep, I slumped outside my department building, waiting for Rudy so we could go find something to eat. I could feel it again—that strange sensation of being watched. Slowly, I lifted my head toward the direction it came from. My eyes caught a glimpse of something… red. Crimson eyes, locked onto mine. But like a flash of lightning, they vanished. One second they were there. The next, gone. This had been happening for the past few weeks. Those eyes always appeared and disappeared before I could make sense of them. And the strangest part? I had never seen anyone in school with eyes like that. “Why are you staring at them?” Rudy asked, approaching from the restroom. I blinked, pulling my attention away. “Why would I stare at those arrogant girls? I didn’t even notice them.” Calista and her two friends stood not far away—the school’s most popular clique and, unfortunately, its worst bullies. I always tried to avoid them. My personality made it easy for people like Calista to walk all over me. I hated myself for being this weak. Whenever I got shouted at or scolded, I’d cry and run away like a baby. That weakness didn’t go unnoticed by Calista. She made it her favorite sport—mocking me in front of others, laughing as I stumbled away, and sometimes even ordering me around like I was her personal servant. Rudy was the only one who ever stepped in for me. She had been my friend since our first year, always fierce, never afraid. She scoffed. “So, what’s on your mind, if I may ask, my lady?” What I was about to say felt so strange that I lowered my voice to almost a whisper. “This is going to sound crazy, but… it’s true.” Rudy’s eyes narrowed with curiosity as she sat beside me. She hadn’t seen me this moody in a while, and she knew I wasn’t the type to make things up. “There’s this guy,” I began, staring ahead blankly. “He has red eyes. I walked into him last week—and since then, I’ve seen him everywhere I go.” “But the weirdest part?” I turned to her. “No one else seems to notice him. It’s like I’m the only one who sees him.” She gasped dramatically. “Hmmm… Let me guess. Are you talking about the new hot student?” she teased, jokingly poking my side. I straightened up, curiosity sparked like fire. “There’s a new student?! Which department? Why am I just hearing about this?! Why didn’t you tell me?!” “Whoa, slow down!” she laughed, placing a hand over my mouth to stop my rambling. She tried to hold in her laughter, but my excitement must’ve looked hilarious. Realizing how ridiculous I probably looked, I felt my cheeks burn. I stood to leave, embarrassed, but she grabbed my hand. Then she burst out laughing. “You’ve got to be kidding me right now,” I muttered, trying to shake her off, but she held tight. “Okay, okay—I’m sorry!” she said between laughs. “Daciana, this is the first time I’ve seen you this worked up over a guy. The way you just acted left me no choice!” She wiped her eyes. “His name is Tristan. He’s in the business department. But apparently, he only comes to school once a week. I also heard his dad is some rich king from a faraway country.” “How do you know all this? You just said he barely comes to school!” I asked, piecing together details, wondering if Tristan could be the same red-eyed guy. “I heard it from two girls outside the library,” Rudy said proudly. “And you know me—never let gossip go to waste.” “Well then,” I said firmly, “we have to find this new student.” “We?” she echoed, raising a brow. “Yes, we,” I repeated. “Because you’re the one with the juicy info.” Before she could protest, I was already dragging her toward the business department building. When we arrived, I let go of her sleeve and folded my arms. “Now that we’re here, where is he?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at the self-proclaimed gossip queen. Everyone in school knew Rudy—not just students, but even the lecturers and staff. If there was something happening on campus, Rudy knew about it. She was like the school’s walking search engine. Sometimes I wondered how she managed to memorize all that drama and still ace her exams. But then again, we were both top students—one of the few reasons we became friends in our first year. Now in our third year, we had only one year left together before life split us apart. “I don’t even know what he looks like!” Rudy cried suddenly. Her voice was loud—too loud. Heads turned. Students stared. I reached over and clamped my hand over her mouth, but the damage was done. Then I heard it. A voice that made my stomach drop. “What are you both looking for?” Callista demanded behind me. No. Not now. I regretted everything—dragging Rudy here, not thinking things through. Now we had to deal with Calista and her circus of bullies. “Who are you to ask us that?” Rudy shot back, already irritated. “Well, well, look who’s grown some guts,” Callista smirked. “And if I have? What are you going to do about it?” Rudy snapped without hesitation. “Let’s just go,” I whispered, tugging Rudy’s hand. “We can come back another time.” “You dragged me here, and now you want to leave because of Calista and her little i***t?” she hissed. Tears welled up in my eyes. I hated this. I hated myself for always feeling so helpless. Why couldn’t I just be strong—just once? I tried to hold back the tears, but it was no use. The more I fought them, the faster they came. “ And who are you calling a little i***t?!” one of Calista’s friends barked, sounding like a dog ready to pounce. Their voices faded behind me as I took off running. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.