The Art of Drowning

Chapter Nine

Song for this chapter - Smile by Maisie Peters

"Woods." he said, seemingly surprised to see me here. "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

I continued to glare at him from the small beanbag I was perched on. "Well, of course I had to meet her," Vy said, "any girl that can put Henry Clark in his place is a good friend of mine." She said, winking at me and ushering Henry into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I mean, I wouldn't say she put me in my place," he said, beginning to make his way over to the desk chair next to me, "she got flustered and had to storm out of the room." He said all of this while chuckling, making my blood boil.

"I did not get flustered, I was just done wasting my breath on pointless argument, is all."

"Whatever you say, love."

Love.

I couldn't believe he'd called me that. No one's ever called me that before. Don't get me wrong I would have liked someone to call me love, but only if it were in an endearing and sincere way. I wanted it to come from someone I liked; definitely not Henry Clark. He was saying it to mock me. I was just about to argue with him when Lily asked, "What were you guys even fighting about yesterday?"

"He called me insane."

"On the contrary, I didn't call you insane. I called you a mental case." He replied smugly, as if calling me a mental case was actually much better than calling me insane.

"Hmm," I began, "correct me if I'm wrong, but don't those mean the same thing?"

"No, no, no. You've misunderstood me. If anything, it was a compliment."

"A compliment?" I asked, incredulously. "How the hell is that a compliment to you?"

"Well, if you'll remember, Woods, I also called you pretty."

My eyes rolled into the back of my head and I scoffed loudly at him. "Oh, please, it was a double entendre."

"I don't even know what that means." A low chuckle escaped his lips, as if that point was actually working in his favour.

"Of course you wouldn't..."

"Snob." he retorted.

Vy began to interject, "You guys are arguing like a married couple or something--"

"No, we're not!" Henry and I practically screamed in unison. I turned to look at him with a glare, so intense, I'm sure it could have killed someone. He was clearly immune to my death-stare however, as he simply glared back with the same ferocity. It was good to see I infuriated him as much as he did, me.

He looked away, his knuckles wrapped so tensely around the arms of his chair they had turned white. I couldn't help but stare at the way his veins protruded from his skin, and the way his silver rings glinted in the sunlight when he clenched his fists. Upon closer look, his rings clearly weren't cheap. They looked heavy. They were all beautiful, but one in particular caught my eye; it was oval-shaped and slightly darker around the grooves of the design in the centre. It had twisting vines, thorns and roses wrapped around a medieval-looking shield. It looked like a family crest of some sort.

When I realised I had been staring at him like some old pervert with a hand fetish, I quickly crossed my arms and looked in the opposite direction, sticking my chin in the air.

The room would have been in a complete awkward silence if it weren't for Henry sighing heavily out of his nose every couple of seconds, and Vy and Lily exchanging secret giggles when they thought neither of us were looking.