My Favorite Distraction

EPISODE THREE

Xavier examined me as if he were merely inspecting a piece of school property rather than a half-naked human being.

Satisfied with whatever he was looking for, he stepped back, completely ignoring my outrage.

My heart hammered violently against my ribs. A mix of intense humiliation and anger flooded my face, making my ears burn.

Xavier didn't offer an apology or an explanation. He simply looked down at his wrist, tapping the glass face of his watch.

"The tour takes forty minutes," Xavier said, his voice as chillingly calm as before. "Three minutes. Meet me outside."

His eyes locked onto mine. "I don't like to repeat myself," he added.

Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room, shutting the heavy door firmly behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut, the heavy silence of the room collapsed over me.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding as I reached down and yanked my trousers completely off my ankles.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" I muttered through clenched teeth.

I snatched the uniform off the mattress, unfolding the stiff fabric with aggressive, jerky movements.

This wasn't just a strict school. Xavier was a psychopath, and I officially hated him.

I hated this place too.

He had practically stripped me without a single flicker of hesitation or emotion in his eyes.

I threw on the uniform shirt.

Is this what this place is? Some kind of shithole disguised as a school? How am I supposed to survive here if my first day already turns out like this?

I looked at the closed door, half-tempted to pack my bags right then and run. But where would I go?

I hated how weak I had felt against him. He was stronger, and clearly, he lacked any sense of normal human boundaries.

"If I didn't get outside by the time his watch struck three minutes, what would he do next? Drag me out himself?" I whispered under my breath to the room.

I hurriedly dressed up, then i stepped into the corridor, still adjusting the stiff collar of my uniform.

Xavier acknowledged my arrival with a glance at his watch and a curt nod before turning and walking away.

I followed a step behind him as he led me through the school.

The forty-minute tour felt like a four-hour march through the Arctic.

Xavier walked at a brutal, athletic pace, his long legs eating up the hallways of the main building. I had to practically jog just to stay two steps behind him.

"To your left is the academic wing," Xavier said, his voice flat, not even bothering to look back at me.

"Curfew is exactly at nine-thirty. If you are caught out of your room after hours without a signed pass from a department head, you get three weeks of campus cleanup. No exceptions."

I was basically yawning almost every minute. I walked behind him, exhausted.

"This is the athletic quadrant," Xavier announced, finally stopping at the Olympic-sized swimming facilities.

As a swimming student, the sight of the sparkling blue water usually would have excited me. But today, my stomach was too tightly knotted with anxiety to care.

He turned around, his dark, stormy eyes locking onto mine.

"What is your specialty?"

I cleared my throat. "Swimming."

He turned back around.

"Swim..." Mid-sentence, he froze. His words cut off into a sharp intake of breath.

I stopped beside him, confused. Xavier’s entire posture changed. The terrifying calmness was instantly replaced by an intense, desperate rigidity.

His eyes were locked on a boy standing across the courtyard toward us.

It looked like the boy had been watching us for a while tho.

Before I could even ask what was wrong, Xavier bolted.

I stood there, utterly stunned, watching Xavier run across the courtyard like his life depended on it.

He collided with the other boy, throwing his arms around him and pulling him into a tight, desperate embrace.

From where I was standing, the sheer force of the hug looked almost suffocating. The other guy staggered back a step, clearly caught off guard.

"Xavier, let go of me!" I heard him mutter from the other side.

Then, the silence of the courtyard was broken by a sound I never expected to hear from Xavier.

He was sobbing.

Deep, ragged gasps tore from his chest, entirely destroying the cold persona he had worn minutes ago. It was as if the rest of the world, including me, had completely ceased to exist.

"I'm sorry," Xavier choked out, his voice muffled against the boy's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Callum. Please... I'm sorry, Callum."

His hands slid to his waist as he pressed him firmly against his body.

Callum looked around uncomfortably, his eyes briefly meeting mine across the courtyard.

Slowly but firmly, Callum reached up, took hold of Xavier's hands, and peeled himself out of the suffocating grip, forcing some distance between them.

I stood rooted to the ground.

What in my mother's name is going on here? If they weren't both boys, I'd have mistaken them for a lovebirds.

I watched as Callum firmly pushed him away. But Xavier immediately ran back to him, pulling him into another hug.

"Xavier, let go!" he said through gritted teeth.

Then, he suddenly grabbed Xavier's hand and pulled him away.

I glared at their retreating backs until they disappeared behind the double glass doors.

I stood in the empty courtyard for a long time, trying to process the surreal scene I had just witnessed.

Who could this Callum guy be to have made him cry like a desperate child in under a second? I thought.

My mind circled around a dozen different questions, but none of them made any sense.

Eventually, I turned back toward the dorms and retreated to my room.

I kicked off my shoes, collapsed onto the edge of my assigned bed, and stared up at the ceiling.

As I lay there, too tired to even unpack my bag fully, my thoughts drifted to the empty bed and desk across the room.

Who was actually going to share this space with me? Hopefully, someone normal who could match my vibe, not some weirdo.

I lay in my bed for hours, unable to fall asleep. I wanted to know who my roommate was.

And then, suddenly, the doorknob jiggled.

I scrambled upright, quickly smoothing my hair and composing myself, bracing for the arrival of my roommate and practicing a polite, neutral expression in my head.

The door swung open, and he stepped in.

I blinked, my smile immediately fading from my face.

Standing in the doorway, wearing that exact, infuriatingly deadpan expression, was Xavier.

I pushed myself up to my feet.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

Xavier ignored me.

"The tour? Oh, don't worry about that. I already gave myself a good tour," I said, forcing on a small smile. "So, I'd like you to leave now," I added.

Xavier said nothing. He didn't even blink. He slowly closed the door behind him and began walking in.

"What are you doing? Please leave," I said, pointing toward the door. "I don't need—"

Before the final word could even leave my mouth, a shadow blurred in front of me.

The impact knocked the wind out of my lungs. I gasped, my eyes widening as I found Xavier looming over me. His face was flushed, his eyes bloodshot.

"Wh... what're you doing?" I mumbled, reluctantly stepping backward. "Stop moving..."

Before I could even yell at him to get off, he lunged forward and smashed his lips against mine.

My entire body froze in shock.

Before I could take another breath, he crossed the room in two long strides and slammed my back against the wall, his hand gripping my collar as his lips crashed down against mine.