Heated Hearts

Not A Prince Charming

|| Aster's POV ||

I looked at Rayven beside me, who was driving with his usual Stoic expression. As if nothing happened...

His blue eyes were now fixated on the road and God knew how much I wanted them on me, which couldn’t be good.

I needed to stop fantasizing about him and definitely need to get over this imaginary connection that I felt towards him.

I had to stop defending him in my mind, as well as stopping to contemplate that his actions had deeper meaning ; his words were not from his heart.

Yes, that's what I'd been doing all these while. Justifying his words and actions in my mind, thinking it wasn’t what he meant; how stupid could I be?

I don't know why something didn’t feel right, something told me he was hiding things ; something in his eyes that screamed in silence to me.

But...

He didn’t care, he didn’t want me... Hell, I think he didn’t even like me...

I was just another girl to him...

It's funny how I thought it was otherwise a few minutes earlier. What a fool I was!

How stupid I've been!

My vision become blurred with tears as a stinging pain shoot through my heart and I close my abruptly.

I was not going to cry in front him and let him think he won. I will act like it didn’t matter to me, just like it didn’t to him.

Everyone makes out at this age! It doesn't matter! I don’t care! It was just a random act on impulse.

I try to coax my broken heart but the moment from a while ago...

~Flashback~

Seconds passed by as our eyes bore into each other... The burning pair of blue eyes were staring at mine so intensely that it felt like my soul was getting devoured.

Something... There was something that changed in that moment, and I thought I saw pain flashing through his eyes just like I had seen the first day.

Rayven opened the car door abruptly and stomped off on his feet, leaving me inside alone with shock.

What just happened?

Why did he walk away like that?

My brain shot questions at me, as I sat there frowning.

Placing my hand over my left chest, I acknowledged the rapid beating of my heart and unknowingly a small smile paved its way on my face.

I got out of the car as well and looked around for Rayven, but he was nowhere around.

Looking around, I realized this was a trail that I never took and this road was unknown to me.

It was a bricked path, situated in between rows of trees.

Were we inside the dark forest?

Wow!

I looked around and my eyes twinkled with wonder, the trees were so big and the smell...

The smell of forest and wet soil... It felt like I was wrapped up in a quilt that had been used up by Rayven for years.

My eyes scanned everywhere and for some reason, the surroundings started feeling familiar.

A huge Bristle cone Pine tree stood in a distance and an invisible thread pulled me towards it.

I walked in short steps and sat down beside it. My hands automatically moved to touch the empty space beside me and I felt as if someone was supposed to be there...

No!

Someone was there once!

Then it happened again my mind ran back in and went through various layers of colors before stopping at one particular scene.

I seemed happy as I walked through the forest, smelling the fresh wood and soil mixed fragrance.

My eyes suddenly landed on a body that lied near a big old tree and my heart raced as I ran towards it.

Whoever it was, he or she seemed wounded!

***

“Aster!” “Aster!”

Rayven's voice pulled me back to the present and I took a sharp intake as if I was just rescued from drowning.

I looked up to find him staring at me, frowning.

“Why did you get out of the car?” He asked, his voice laced with ice ; it made me shiver as it rang through my ears.

Car...Oh, right! The car!

"Why did you?” I asked back, trying to keep my voice steady and strong.

Rayven raised his eyebrows and asked back,”Don't answer a question with a question, little girl.”

Something changed in him... Something that wasn’t present in the Rayven who was worried about me and picked me up from the school gate.

I didn’t answer, I didn’t like it when someone talked to me in that kind of tone.

"I left the car because I wanted to,” I spoke, while rubbing off the dirt from my back.

“Now your turn to answer.” I placed my eyes on him as I asked.

He hesitated... I'm sure he hesitated for a split second before he spoke in that ridiculous tone again,”I left because I had to resist myself from taking things any further with you.”

Rayven replied looking down, his feet moved around the ground making weird drawings.

“Why?” I asked my eyes fixated on him.

For a moment, he looked shocked as he stared back at me and then started laughing vigorously, and I frowned.

“Why?

Seriously? You don't get it?” he asked me in between his laughter.

“I am not a good guy, Aster. I don't have feelings, I don't do sweet stuff and I definitely don't go fool around with girls like you.” Rayven spoke, specially forcing his voice on the 'girls like you' part.

Fool around?

Of Course!

“What do you mean girls like me? “My voice sounded hurt and raspy, I hated it.

“Soft clingy girls, who has too much of feelings and fantasizes about prince charming riding a white horse. “ He stopped and laughed again, as he stared at me for a moment before continuing.

“I'm no Prince charming, hence you are not my type little girl. Whatever happened a while ago, just forget about it. Okay?”

Wow

Fisting my palms into balls, I stomped off on my feet and got on the passengers seat.

I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking it mattered to me, and run away. When in reality... I desperately wanted to run away.

~Flash Back Ending~

I felt Rayven's eyes on me the whole way, but I didn’t care anymore.

On the whole way back home, he didn’t say anything and neither did I.

I only called Chandler on the way and informed her. Though they said, they would drop by after school, but I didn’t want them to...

Knowing how miserable I would be once I step behind the closed door, it was obvious.

Each second in this car with him felt like it was strangling me and I wished this torture would end already!

Our car came to a halt and I tried to get down quickly.

“Aster,” Rayven called me, his voice barely a whisper and I halted.

Frowning I looked at him, I didn’t want anything about him to affect me as much as they did.

But hell! His voice, his eyes, his scent and him, everything pulled me towards him and attracted me like he was a powerful magnet.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice steady.

Rayven averted his gaze from mine as he spoke looking outside the window, “Why were you sitting beside that specific tree?”