CRESCENT BOUND

A New Ally (2)

Elara's POV

I blinked, completely thrown off guard. I walked toward the table, and before I could even pull out a chair or utter a single word, he tapped the edge of the wooden surface sharply with his fingertips. Tap. Tap. Tap. A cold, deliberate rhythm designed to get on every single one of my nerves.

"Why are you late?" he growled in a muffled voice through that ridiculous white medical mask. "I don't waste time."

I started babbling nervously to defend myself, waving my hands around like a maniac.

"I think you're early, though don't you think? You know what," I continued as I grabbed the chair to sit down, dramatically tossing my hair over my shoulder. "I was watching a really romantic movie, also had a lot of chores going on, then baked a pie," I said as I took my books out of my bag, unzipping the compartments with unnecessary force. "Time flies so fast when you are just enjoying your Sunday, and I figured anyway..."

"Enough," he blurted out, flat and icy, which completely took me off guard.

He didn't even bother looking up at me. He just kept his grey eyes fixed on his notebook as if my entire existence was nothing more than annoying background noise.

"Listen carefully, I have not all day for all this rubbish, okay? If you want us to pass this thing, you better focus," he continued, not even granting me a fraction of a second of eye contact.

"You quite remind me of a chipmunk. That's your name now."

"What did you just call me?" I asked, completely taken aback, my jaw practically hitting the dusty floorboards.

"A chipmunk," he answered smoothly, still not looking at me, his fingers turning a textbook page with precise, effortless grace.

"I am Elara in case you have forgotten!"

"I don't care what your name is, Chipmunk."

"Well, suit yourself. Chipmunks are adorable, so whatever... By the way, what's with the mask?" I asked, leaning in closer across the table to inspect him.

He quickly averted his gaze, looking thoroughly uncomfortable for a fraction of a second before his stone mask slammed back down. "None of your business. You know you should be useful and go grab the books we need for the project."

I sat there, crossing my arms tight against my chest, staring right at his nose mask, pretending not to hear him.

"Are you dumb?" he said, slowly lifting his head to look at me with his eyes now. That piercing look always sent a dark, shivers down my spine tremor straight through me.

"Okay, fine," I snapped, rolling my eyes and standing up so fast my chair squeaked against the floor.

As I walked down the long rows of bookshelves, I found myself softly humming to my favorite song,minding my own business while piling the heavy, dusty books into my arms one by one. I was so focused on balancing the towering stack that threatened to obscure my vision completely that I failed to watch where I was going, turning a sharp corner and bumping squarely into someone. The books dropped one by one on the floor with deafening thuds.

I muttered under my breath, "This is all that jerk's fault. If he could be a gentleman and help me, but no, arrogance is just his nature."

"Oh, I am so sorry!" I gasped, looking up in sheer panic.

The girl I bumped into smiled warmly as she crouched down to help me pick the heavy volumes from the floor. A sudden hint of recognition flashed through her eyes.

"I think I know you," she said softly.

"Mmm, you do?" I muttered, surprised, balancing two large binders against my knees.

"Yh, I have seen you in the hallway when Lila and her minions were bullying you just a few days ago. Are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of genuine concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a gentle smile, feeling a wave of relief wash over me.

She had long, silky silver-blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders and rare, icy blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through the gloomy library lighting.

"I'm Xena, by the way, and you are?" she asked, handing me another book.

"Elara," I said, taking it from her. "Nice to make an acquaintance."

"Same here," she responded smoothly. "Mmmm, what brings you here?"

"Elara. No one barely visits the town library," she noted, looking around the empty, cavernous hall.

"Oh, I have been assigned with my classmate for a project," I explained, rolling my eyes dramatically toward the front of the building.

"Oh, okay, your partner must be really selfish to let you carry all this."

"Oh honestly, it's a total disaster. He's a jerk. a really huge one. An absolute walking red flag with a severe personality deficit. But I can survive," I spoke, shaking my head. "I really have to run back before he freezes me with his death glare."

Xena chuckled softly, looking at the massive stack of books weighing me down.

"Well, you definitely can't carry all that. Can I tag along and help you? I was seated that way anyway."

"Really? That would be great. Thank you so much," I beamed, feeling like I had just found an unexpected lifeline.

A mischievous thought popped into my head as we walked side by side down the carpeted aisle. If Kaelen wanted to act like a cold, arrogant prince, I would bring back company and force him to socialize.

As we approached the table, I dropped my half of the books with a dramatic THUD that shook our wooden desk. Kaelen didn't even flinch. He just kept writing with his sleek black pen, completely unbothered.

"We got company, I hope you don't mind," I said brightly, way too cheerfully, practically beaming with fake delight.

Kaelen slowly raised his eyes. That cold, lazy, bored look and then his gaze landed squarely on Xena.

Xena stiffened instantly. Her whole body froze like a statue, and the warm, friendly smile she had worn a second ago vanished without a trace. Her rare blue eyes went wide as saucers as she stared back at him in sheer shock.

"Oh," she said quickly, taking a nervous step back. "You know what, Elara, I just remembered I have something to do at home. I should I should go"

"Oh, don't be shy," I said, completely oblivious to the electric panic in the air as I grabbed her wrist tightly. "He doesn't bite. He's human like all of us, so stay."

Kaelen's eyes flicked down to my hand, wrapped around her wrist, and then slowly slid back up to her face. His expression didn't change a single millimeter, but something deep in his grey eyes darkened even deeper.

"I insist," I said, grabbing an empty chair from the adjacent table and forcibly pushing Xena down into it. "You helped me. The least I can do is let you sit."

Xena sat down stiffly, her spine rigid, staring directly at the wooden grain of the table as if her life depended on it. Kaelen let out a low, annoyed sigh, casually flipping open one of the dusty genetics books I had brought over.

"Fine. If she wants to waste her time, let her," he muttered coldly, his voice dripping with icy contempt.

I opened my mouth to shoot back another insult, but then I noticed it. Underneath the table, Xena's hands were trembling slightly against her lap.

And Kaelen, without even looking up from his page, said quietly:

"You should have gone home when you had the chance, Xena."

I was completely taken aback ...

Wait, you two know each other ?