Falling for a Superhero

Chapter ThirtyTwo-"Stay Away"

"Dastan!" I called down the hall, hoping that wherever he was, he could hear me. I ran with the counselor's pass in my hand but I couldn't catch up to him. By the time I made it to the office, he was sitting in a seat outside of the registry office, using his phone. As I tried to slow my breath around the corner where I spied on him, he held the phone up to his ear.

"Mateo, get out of class. I'm done with this place and so are you. Let's go," he hissed through the phone and then placed the phone in his lap.

Why was I doing this? Why was I approaching him in cowardice after I had finally driven my enemy away? Why was there this constant pull towards him? Whether I feuded with him or missed him, there was passion behind every goddamn emotion towards him and it was exhausting.

I took small, humble, silent steps towards him in my converse and when I reached him. "Do you really hate me that much?" I asked him. I meant to be honest, but when it came out, my voice cracked and my senses choked back tears. It was pathetic. Dastan looked up at me. His eyes were no longer burning of anger; it was more towards my own sadness. "Enough to just leave school?"

"Don't flatter yourself, I leave school every day." The way he said it was like he tried to talk to me in his condescending tone that he exuded in public, but he lacked the conviction. He could no longer pretend with me. He was just as exhausted as I was.

"Not like this. You can't just withdraw completely out of nowhere!" I rejected. "Honestly, Dastan, what the hell do you want from me?"

"What do you think?" he asked me, rolling his eyes back, closing them and then leaning to rest his head on the wall. Just admit it, Dastan. You're as drained as I am. 

"I think that you were put on this Earth to physically and emotionally conflict me," I insulted. His eyes opened and then he looked up at me pathetically.

"Was that supposed to be a pick up line or is it so I feel bad for you?" he asked. That's when I couldn't handle myself. I closed the distance between us and smacked him across the cheek. My hand tingled from either impact or how I usually felt after touching him. It spread throughout my hand just as the red color spread from one of Dastan's cheek to the other. His eyes flickered gold and red at the same time, and his chest heaved up and down. Suddenly, he stood up, grabbed my waist, and pressed me against the adjacent wall. This was it. He was going to kill me.

"I am so sorry," he whispered, his forehead resting on mine. Wait...what? "I'm sorry for scaring you on your first day. I'm sorry for breaking your phone. I'm sorry for being a jerk to those girls at the football game. I'm sorry for being the worst Journalism partner. I'm sorry for accusing you of stealing my coat. I'm sorry for making out with Mickie in front of you. I'm sorry for fighting with your brother. I'm sorry for yelling at you at the party. I'm sorry for wasting your day with Jem. I'm sorry for fighting with Hayden all the time with you around. I'm sorry for...for...making you feel like this and anything less than you do right now when you don't deserve that."

I searched his golden eyes and knew he meant every word. Emotions soared through my body, melting away at his touch on either side of my waist. 

He didn't scare me because I had already insulted him. My phone was nearly broken already. Those girls sort of deserved to hear the truth. He gave me credit for anything that was assigned for us. I technically did take home his coat without explicit permission. He made out with Mickie because that's what he did before I came here and who was I to stop that? He fought with my brother because Sebastian was still stuck in the past about who exactly he saw on the field in Frankford. He saved me from being kissed by some random drunken guy at the party. He made my day with Jem absolutely unforgetable. He fought with Hayden because that's just what they did and me in the process, didn't help.