Heated Hearts

That Bloody Bastard!

~Louis's POV~

Aster blinked rapidly for a few times before her eyebrows creased again, and she abruptly stood straight, freeing herself from my arms...

And I looked away, trying my best to hide the smile that forced its way to my lips.

When I looked back at her after composing my own expression, she was playing with her hair ; clearly trying to avoid my gaze... Shy... I thought.

I coughed a little to clear my throat before asking, “Are you okay?”

And at the same time, she said” Thank you!”

Our statements clashed with each other mid-air as we both looked at each other, and laughed awkwardly.

“I'm fine”

“You are welcome”

Again! We speak in sync as if we were in a competition to speak at the same time. Our eyes meet again and, she giggled making me laugh in return.

“What's up with us?!” I ask laughing as I walk beside her.

“I don't know, you tell me.” She asks me with a small smile as we started walking towards the campus.

I made a 'thinking face' before replying,”Hmmm... I think connected through previous life. Haha, maybe soulmates.”

With that she looked at me, her eyes as round as a saucer and I winked at her.

“Very funny, Louis. Do you use that pickup line on every girl you meet?” Aster asks me, one of her eyebrows c*****g upwards ; making sure she looked all serious but judging by her expression, I knew her enough to know that she was actually trying to suppress a smile.

I devilishly smirked inwardly as I stopped on my tracks and looked at her with a serious expression as I said,”Uh uh... Only the ones with fiery red hairs, mesmerizing eyes and a smile that steals my heart on the first gaze.”

I saw her pale cheeks turning crimson as she diverted her eyes from my gaze and started walking again...

Laughing a little, I joined behind her silently. We strolled across the yard and I thought if I should ask her the question that lingered at the back of my head. I couldn’t decide, if it would ruin the moment we were having or not.

But my curiosity and anxiousness won the best of me as I asked her in a low voice, “Do you mind if I ask you something? “

“Hmm... Sure, what is it?” She asked arching her eyebrows at me.

“Where did you go? I mean I saw you coming out of that forest area, and was just curious.” I asked looking at the grass.

Silence...

Silence...

I had almost lost hope of getting any answer out of her, when she finally sighed and spoke, “Actually, there's a place that I visit often there, an old abandoned castle...

My heartbeat stopped instantaneously, and my feet halted in my tracks as I heard her mention an abandoned castle...Shit... This couldn't be happening again!

“Louis?” I was pulled out of my trance as Aster called me and I looked at her abruptly to find her frowning.

“Pardon me, I just got lost in my thoughts.What were you saying again?Please continue. ” I muttered, trying to keep my expression as neutral as possible.

“Oh... Back to what I was telling you, I met a ridiculously arrogant person with hellish crappy attitude there today, and honestly I don't want to go there ever again.” Aster's grimaced, but her eyes were flared up, as if she was sad and angry at the same time...

If what I was thinking was right, the 'arrogant person with hellish crappy attitude' must have been Rayven. I frowned, thinking about how, yet again they met and here I was hoping that bastard would keep his words and won't cross path with her.

How foolish of me!

I balled my fist with anger as his face flashed through my mind... That bloody piece of s**t, where did his words go now? “I will not come in between you. I will make sure that she & me, we don't cross path this time”

Such a rotten liar!!

He couldn’t even wait one day, before he made his manipulating appearance in front of her.

The bell rang declaring it was lunchtime as we stepped into the cafeteria... Aster and I sat down on a table that was set at one corner, a bit away from people's eye.

“So, tell me about yourself.” Aster asked, trying to break the awkward silence between us.

“Hmm? What do you want to know?” I asked her a little confused.

“Umm... You know, apart from hitting on girls you met a few hours ago, what do you do? Hobbies? Family? Where are you staying?These kinds of stuff.” Aster's eyes twinkled with followed by a mischievous grin, as she tried to tease me.

“Uh ha, someone seems interested in me, don't they?” I c****d one of my eyebrows at her, smirking.

In response, Aster rolled her eyes and flicked her hairs away dramatically, trying best to hide her grin as she replied,”You wish, Louis Winceston.”

“And she knows my full name! Wow, I'm impressed! Keep it up, Aster.” I winked at her and chuckled when blood rushed into her cheeks, turning them peachy, then crimson again.

Before we could go on with our bantering and teasing, a voice squeaked from behind me.

“Aster got a boyfriend! Oh my God! She's got a boyfriend, and she didn’t even tell me!”

I turned around, confused to find a girl standing right behind me with a tray full of food in her hand. She was a bit chubby, her eyes, face, even her body looked like a round potato to me. In our castle, we used to have a person like her and others used to tease him saying, “Glutton.”

I almost laughed watching her but controlled myself at the end.

A known face appeared behind her, with another girl by her side. Chandler, who was apparently Aster's best friend tapped at the back of the chubby girl's head and gritted her teeth as she muttered,”Don't scream, dummy! And for God's sake, don't over act and sit down.”

“Awuch... sorry, jeez. You were the one who asked me to call him her boyfriend in the first... before she can finish her sentence the tiny human who was standing quietly beside Chandler placed her tray on the table and pushed a piece of bread inside the chubby girl's mouth, trying to stop her from spilling their secrets.

I looked at Aster to find her throwing daggers in their direction and I chuckled. Her eyes returned to me, and she pressed her hand on her forehead, as if trying to hide from me.

“Oh God! I'm so sorry, this is so embarrassing!” She muttered.

And I chuckled again.

One by one the three girls took their seats at the table and introduced themselves. Eva the shorty, Chandler the master planner, Jenna the glutton ;I gave them tittles inside my head and chuckled inwardly.

Aster sure got a nice team behind her!

“I'm Louis Winces ton, the new boy, who shifted from Germany. Aaand (deliberately dragged the pronunciation to gain Aster's attention), the guy who flirts with girls he just met according to your beautiful friend right here.” I chuckled.

“Aster said that, didn’t she?” Chandler asked giving Aster a teasing look.

“Yep, the one & only beautiful in my eyes right now.” I smiled and Jenna the glutton whistled.

“Man, you sure are a flirt!” Eva spoke trying to adjust her frame, not meeting my eyes. I wonder why she wouldn’t look into my eyes...

Weird...

Anyways, Aster's friend circle turned out to be more friendly and welcoming towards me than I had expected them to be.So,I guess, a little weird didn’t matter!

Before I could respond, the sound of someone screaming echoed through the cafeteria, gaining all our attention.

We looked back to find a small circle already formed, around the place where the yelling was coming from. The crowd blocked our view, so we could only hear shouting, yelling, and then someone screaming in pain.

“Guys, let's check it out!” Chandler said with a serious expression plastered on her face as she got up from her chair, all of us following behind her.

Once we walked through the crowd and finally had a clear view. My blood froze the very instant I saw him, and my eyes instantly diverted towards Aster.

I saw her expression changing in seconds as she placed both of her palms over her mouth, her eyes shot open with disbelief as she took in the scene in front of her...