Chapter 2– The boy who hated me
1422 Words
“Partner assignment?” I repeated.
The receptionist blinked at me like she was processing what I just said in her head.
“Oh… Yes. Professor Hale assigns semester partners for Advanced Literature”
I have been in this school for less than twenty minutes, and I was already academically chained to that psychopath.
Mom glanced at my schedule. “Oh, that’s good. It'll help you make friends”
I stared at her. “Mom, if that guy becomes my friend, call the police because I’ve obviously joined a cult.”
Dad grabbed another box from the floor. “Val!”
“I’m just saying he looked one bad day away from burying bodies in the woods.” I shrugged.
The receptionist’s face was filled with horror. “Dormitories are separated by grade level,” the receptionist said quickly. “Your room is on the third floor of the west wing. Curfew begins at ten. Students are not permitted in the forest after dark”
“Why? Are there bears?” I asked expectantly.
The receptionist folded her hands tightly together. "Something like that"
Mom squeezed my shoulder. “You’ll be fine, sweetheart.”
I forced a smile. Of course I would be fine as long as I don't cross paths with that psychopath again.
Dad and Vance followed one of the student volunteers upstairs with our luggage while Mom stayed behind to finish paperwork. I walked around, glancing around the massive entrance hall. Students moved through the corridors in groups, their voices echoing softly against the stone walls.
Every single person looked expensive, meanwhile I looked like I bought my wardrobe from clearance racks.
“Transfer student?”
I turned. A girl about my age stood nearby holding several textbooks against her chest.
Unlike the terrifyingly beautiful students outside, she looked almost normal. Brown curls, round glasses, kind eyes.
“That obvious?” I asked.
She smiled. “Only because everyone’s talking about you already and you smell different”
“Should I be worried?"
"Probably”
Well… at least she was honest.
She stepped closer. “I’m Maya”
“Valentina but call me Val, I hate the full name” I scrunch my face and she laughed softly.
“You mouthed something at Killian Ashwood in front of half the school," she said carefully. “That was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid”
“I call it brave”
Maya laughed softly, then her expression shifted slightly.
“Just… try not to provoke him”
“You’re like the fifth person acting like this guy runs an underground crime ring”
Her smile disappeared. “You really don’t know anything about Ashwood pack, do you?”
Before I could answer and question her about a pack, loud footsteps echoed from the staircase.
Vance appeared carrying two boxes. “Mom says hurry up before Dad throws out his back pretending he’s still thirty”
I grabbed one of the boxes from him. “You’re deeply disrespectful to our aging father”
“You literally called him prehistoric last week”
“That was affectionate.”
Maya watched us strangely. “Your brother?”
“Unlucky right?” Vance said.
“Rude,” I replied.
“Younger?” Maya asked.
“Yeah, I'm his elder sister”
“It's just a year”
I rolled my eyes and the tension in my chest eased. Vance's presence has always been like that, even when things sucked, he somehow made them feel less terrible.
“Orientation starts at six,” Maya said. “You should probably avoid being late. Principal Volkov hates interruptions.”
“Does this school employ anyone who sounds normal?”
Maya opened her mouth to answer then suddenly froze. The entire hallway seemed to shift around us, students moved aside instinctively and spoke in hush tones.
And without even turning around, I already knew who it was.
Killian Ashwood.
I felt him before I saw him which was ridiculous. Nobody should have that kind of presence, Vance stiffened beside me and that caught my attention immediately.
“What’s wrong with you?” I whispered.
“Nothing,” he muttered too quickly.
Killian walked past us surrounded by two other guys I barely noticed from earlier. One blond, the other had red hair with tattoos peeking from beneath his uniform sleeves.
The blond guy smirked when he noticed me. “That’s the human?”
If I'm not human, what am I supposed to be?.
Before I could react, Killian’s gaze snapped toward him sharply and the blond immediately shut noup.
Interesting.
Killian stopped walking, for one horrible second, those cold gray eyes locked onto mine again.
Gawd. There was something deeply unsettling about him. Like violence sat just beneath his skin.
“You’re staring,” I said when I couldn't take it anymore.
Maya inhaled sharply and Vance looked like he wants to locked my lips and throw the key deep inside the ocean.
Killian’s expression darkened. “You talk too much,” he said.
His voice was lower than I expected.
“And you glare too much. We all have hobbies.” I countered back. “I thought you only know how to glare, I don't know you speak too”
The blond guy stifle a laugh and Killian looked more irritated.
Good.
Maybe if he kept glaring like that, his face would eventually freeze.
“Killian” a female voice called. The blonde girl from earlier approached us, her sharp eyes immediately landing on me.
Ah. There she was, the future evil queen of my nightmares. She slid beside Killian naturally, like she belonged there.
“What’s your name?” she asked lightly.
The question sounded harmless but her eyes did not. I'm not dumb to know when someone is pretending to be playing nice.
“Val” Maya answered.
The blonde girl’s gaze flickered over me slowly and put on a fake smile “I’m Selena Voss” she said.
“Okay” I said in a bored tone and selena blinked.
I guess she expected stronger reactions, sorry to disappoint.
“You should be careful” she continued sweetly. “Ashwood can be overwhelming for outsiders.”
“Thanks” I replied. “I’ll try not to die mysteriously in the woods”
Nobody laughed… not even a little. I guess being funny isn't my thing. Killian suddenly stepped forward, not close enough to touch me but close enough that my pulse tripped embarrassingly.
His eyes narrowed slightly, then he leaned down just enough for only me to hear. “Stay away from me”
The words should have sounded simple, instead they sounded like a warning or maybe a threat. Something hot and angry sparked in my chest.
Excuse him?
I tilted my head and drag him by his jacket and lean closer to his ear. The students gasped but they are not my worry. “Trust me” I whispered back. “Being near you isn’t exactly on my bucket list either.”
For the first time since meeting him, something flickered across Killian's face. Surprise but it vanished almost instantly. But I saw it.
Selena slipped her hand through his arm possessively and pull him away from my hold.
“Orientation starts soon,” she said softly.
Killian didn’t move, his eyes stayed on mine another second, without another word, he turned and walked away. The two guys followed behind him.
Selena lingered behind just long enough to give me one final cold look before leaving too.
Then Maya slowly turned toward me. “You have a death wish.”
“How?”
Nobody answered… I looked toward Vance and he was still staring after Killian, his face full of worry.
A strange uneasiness crawled through me. “Okay,” I said slowly. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Vance looked at me too quickly. “Nothing.”
Liar.
Before I could push further, the loud bell overhead suddenly rang through the academy. The sound echoed unnaturally deep through the halls, students immediately started moving.
Maya grabbed her books tighter. “You should get to orientation early,” she said quietly.
“Why?”
Her expression shifted strangely.
“Because the Alpha and Luna is coming tonight”
I frowned. “What?”
But Maya had already walked away.
Leaving me standing in the middle of the hallway with Vance beside me and a growing feeling that Ashwood Academy was hiding something much bigger than weird rich kids with anger issues.
- Writer
