Chapter Six — The Way He Looked at Me
1051 Words
By the time I got back to my hostel that evening, I had convinced myself of one thing.
Damien Carter was still my enemy.
Nothing had changed.
Not the way he remembered my coffee order.
Not the way he noticed every little thing about me.
And definitely not the way he had looked at Ethan during lunch.
I dropped my bag on the chair and fell onto my bed.
My phone buzzed.
Maya: So… you and Ethan had lunch together? 👀
I stared at the message.
Me: How did you know?
Her reply came almost immediately.
Maya: Because I have eyes, Amara.
I rolled my eyes.
Me: It was just lunch.
Maya: And Damien?
I paused.
Me: What about him?
Maya: Girl, please.
I smiled despite myself.
Before I could reply, another message appeared.
Maya: He likes you.
I immediately sat up.
Me: Who?
Maya: Don’t act stupid.
I locked my phone.
Absolutely not.
There was no way I was having this conversation.
The next morning, I arrived on campus earlier than usual.
I wanted peace.
Unfortunately, peace apparently had a different plan.
“Morning.”
I looked up.
Damien.
He was leaning against the wall outside the lecture hall, his arms crossed.
“Morning,” I replied.
His eyes moved over me briefly before settling on my face.
“You’re early.”
“So are you.”
“I always am.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Then why are you standing here?”
He shrugged.
“Waiting.”
“For what?”
His eyes stayed on mine.
“You.”
My heart skipped.
I immediately looked away.
“You’re weird.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
I walked past him.
“Good.”
He followed.
“Did you finish the project research?”
“Yes.”
“Without me?”
“You weren’t around.”
“You could’ve called.”
I stopped walking.
“Why would I call you?”
He looked genuinely confused.
“Because we’re partners.”
“That doesn’t mean I need to report everything I do to you.”
A small smile appeared on his face.
“I didn’t say you did.”
“You implied it.”
“I didn’t.”
“You always do.”
He laughed quietly.
I hated that sound.
Mostly because I liked it.
We entered the lecture hall together.
Maya was already sitting in our usual seats.
The moment she saw Damien beside me, her eyes widened.
I shook my head at her before she could say anything.
She smiled innocently.
Too innocently.
The lecture started, and for the next hour, I tried to focus.
Tried.
Because halfway through the class, I realized I had forgotten my pen.
I searched through my bag.
Nothing.
I sighed.
Without saying a word, a pen appeared on my desk.
I looked to my right.
Damien was still facing the lecturer.
“You need it,” he whispered.
I took it.
“Thanks.”
He nodded.
That was it.
No teasing.
No annoying comment.
Nothing.
And somehow, that bothered me more.
After class, we headed to the library to continue our project.
We had barely been there for ten minutes when Damien pushed a sheet of paper toward me.
“Read that.”
I looked down.
It was the section I had written the night before.
“You changed it?”
“Only one paragraph.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“It didn’t sound like you.”
I looked at him.
“How would you know how I sound?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he looked back at his laptop.
“I’ve heard you talk enough.”
Something about his answer felt strange.
Before I could question it, my phone buzzed.
Ethan: You coming to the student hangout tonight?
I smiled.
I hadn’t even remembered there was a hangout.
Another message came.
Ethan: I’ll save you a spot.
I typed a reply.
Me: Maybe. I’ll let you know.
I placed my phone down.
When I looked up, Damien was staring at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
He looked away.
“You’re imagining things.”
I scoffed.
“Sure.”
We continued working.
A few minutes later, Damien suddenly asked, “Are you going tonight?”
I knew exactly what he meant.
“The hangout?”
He nodded.
“Maybe.”
“Okay.”
I waited for the usual lecture.
It never came.
Instead, he simply returned to his laptop.
That surprised me.
“You’re not going to tell me not to go?”
He glanced at me.
“Do you want me to?”
“No.”
“Then I won’t.”
I stared at him.
Something had changed.
And I couldn’t figure out what.
When we finally left the library, the sun was already beginning to set.
We walked across campus together.
For once, neither of us argued.
It was strangely comfortable.
Until we reached the hostel junction.
Damien stopped.
“You forgot something.”
I frowned.
“What?”
He reached into his pocket and held out my silver bracelet.
My eyes widened.
“My bracelet.”
“You left it on the library table.”
I took it from him.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
Then his eyes stayed on the bracelet.
“You really like that thing.”
I smiled.
“My mum gave it to me.”
His expression changed.
Only for a second.
Something unreadable crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
“That’s why you never take it off,” he said quietly.
I looked at him.
“How did you know that?”
He froze.
For the first time since I’d known Damien Carter, he didn’t have an immediate answer.
His eyes met mine.
And suddenly, the air between us felt different.
“I just noticed,” he finally said.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Right.”
He gave me a small smile.
“Goodnight, Amara.”
He walked away before I could say anything else.
I watched him disappear into the crowd.
My fingers tightened around the bracelet.
There was something about Damien Carter I didn’t understand.
Something he wasn’t telling me.
And for the first time…
I wasn’t sure I wanted to stop myself from finding out.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD