Oreo Ice Cream

Chapter 13| Breathtaking

"We can meet at the library at ten -Tris." I found a sticky note pasted inside my desk as I sat down. I looked up to see Elle—but the class was less crowded.

"Hey," I beamed at Cole as he sat beside me.

"Sup?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Guess what?" I smirked.

"Okay, let me guess. Um, you and Tris... got back together?" I shook my head.

"Mr. Stewart gave you a candy?" I laughed as I shook my head, "You think he would, ever? Jesus Christ! No!" I laughed again.

"What's that?" He pointed at the stick note inside my desk and narrowed his eyes at me. Urghh! I forgot to peel that off. I tried to cover it with my hands, but Cole was faster and cleverer than me. He quickly peeled that off. "Cole, no! Damn, Cole, you won't see that! No," I tried snatching it from his, but he raised his hands.

"That's cheating! Hand me that. I swear, I will tell you." I screamed.

"What's written? Let me check, too," I sighed and gave up. He's not like Lee, who would think of something bizarre. 

"We can meet at the library," He mockingly choked. "God, can anyone give me water? I'll have a cardiac arrest! Meet at the library? Tris? Huh, huh? What's going on, Coral? Sounds l-"

"Hey, Flora," Elle interrupted Cole and smiled at me. I looked at her, terrified. God, I wished she didn't listen to anything. "Um, hi. Can you give us a sec?" I muttered, glaring at Cole. "Look," I said through my gritted teeth, "That's not it. It's something different. Jerkface, go! I'll tell you later." I pushed him as he winked at me.

I found Elle already sitting in front of me with a stern face. "Uh, sorry, he was being a jerk to me. Anyway,  do you want to say anything?" I half-guessed what she could ask me.

"Yup, so when will we start with the story stuff?" Her voice was quiet. Her wide brown eyes were unnoticeable; almost anyone melts away seeing them. I knew, right? She would ask me about the story.

"At ten," I replied instantly, while she nodded, smiling.

"Uh," I mumbled.

"Yes?" She turned back. Meanwhile, others have entered the class. I sensed Lucy's constant gaze at us.

"Come here," I half-whispered. Her lips formed an 'O' as she came closer to me.

"Hey," I murmured, "Is Josie off? I mean, of course, she isn't. Today's her birthday, but I feel like-" I paused and looked at her. She looked surprised.

"What?" I asked blankly.

"Nothing, I'm just, I mean, uh, you're concerned about Josie all of a sudden." She smiled, "It surprised me." She whispered. "And, no, I ain't know anything, actually. I haven't seen her quite lately." She shrugged.

"Okay," I nodded and looked at the door for the teacher, "Thanks anyway, and come to the library."

"Sure," She grinned and glanced at Cole before going away. I sighed. I was just afraid of losing everything again. True, I was an idiot to hug Tris all of a sudden. But I wasn't wrong, was I? Sometimes, when the sky feels too blue, it kisses pink. And there's nothing wrong with that.

~*~

"I don't think that's good," I nodded vehemently, "I mean, girls don't always grab pink for themselves, do they?

"They don't, true," Tris tapped his fingers on the table, "But that's a common thing, like most of them do."

"Why are you trying to make this sound like an I-have-heard-this-so-many-times story? I mean, why?" Sighing, I leaned back on my chair. Elle hasn't arrived yet. I looked at my wrist. Shit! I forgot my watch t'day.

"What's the time?" I muttered, looking out of the window. The air smelt like sweet candy; Tristan must be eating one.

"10:07" Tris looked at his watch, "She hasn't come yet." We sighed.

"Ms. Lakes made the worst choice in her life by including her in our team. Jesus! I mean, you know, she's, like, she's too much. She's like a total-"

"Tristan," I sat straight. "Mind yourself." I wrapped my hands around myself.

"Hey," We looked behind and found Elle waving at us. I lifted my lip corner as I watched her coming near our table. She half-jogged at us. Her hair was dyed peach strawberry that cupped her neck perfectly. She's put on extra makeup t'day to look extra beautiful, I guess, especially when Tristan was here. No offense, Elle looked too much in whatever she wore—and deep down, I have always found that sweet. More than sweet, cute was a perfect word to describe that too much. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I, uh, I got a bit late." She dragged a chair and sat, facing the window. I inhaled deeply. The air was soon filled with her spicy vanilla and peppermint perfume. I snorted and cleared my throat before tucking a stray strand of my light golden blonde hair behind my ear. 

"So," Elle's small voice broke the silence. And if I'm allowed to say, it was more like an intracranial tension. "What's the plot?"

"Here." I passed her the paper where the plot was scribbled in black gel pen. I looked up at Tristan. He was chewing strawberry chewing gum; I could smell that. And the air smelled absurd—vanilla, strawberry, and freaking peppermint—I wished I could vomit out of the window. Or better on this table.

"Nice," Elle looked up and grinned, "It's really nice. I mean, I like it."

"Any opinion? Changes?" Tristan ran his hand through his platinum-blonde hair. And I knew that was a deliberate move to hitch Elle's breath, flutter a hundred thousand butterflies in her poor belly, and weaken her legs. Tris has known these tactics since he has been cherishing the chemistry between Sam and Jaine. Oh lord! Someone knock some sense into his poor brain. But wait, was his brain poor? Not at all: everything was neat and polished, like the marble tea table in our house.

I twitched my lips. The strawberry scent choked me. But Elle, oh poor, her! She was all over Tris's pronounced jaw, sharp and pale pinkish cheekbones, and those flawlessly tattooed arms. I wished I could skip this moment and run into the bathroom, but Lord! Tris has somehow caught my breath as well.

~*~

"That was good." I smiled while running down the stairs.

"It was boring after she came." I slowed my pace, hearing Tristan.

"What do you mean boring?" I looked at him. "Look, you can't deny her. At least not now." I skipped the last stair and jumped on the ground.

"I'm not denying her," he muttered as we walked out of the school. "I told you, she's a total freak."

I was about to say, but he stopped me, "No, no, she is. And we both know that. Look, she is busy-"

"Looking at you, your tattoos. Especially the Snake Skeleton one, right? I've seen that." I move closer to him, "But you can't change her. Or remove her from our team."

"I thought you would say she was admiring me."

"She's not," I mumbled. His sharp blue eyes were driving me insane. Adrenaline rushed through my veins; my heart thumped faster, and I could feel an invisible horse storming to and forth inside of me. His eyes were darker, and my body was ready to explode with the unbearable heat. I licked my lips before stepping back. I clutched my fists and hurriedly turned away. 

"I heard the whole story," When he spoke up, his cold voice sounded like it was dipped in dark chocolate, but it crumbled my heart. The world seemed to spin around me. I didn't say anything, I couldn't, and that pained me more. I knew he did and that each move of his was deliberate. He did everything planned, only to scratch my heart with the glass pieces and make them bleed. I didn't know what would happen next, but somewhere I still felt my heart beating in an unexpected rhythm. Hopeful.

A/N: Comment a heart if you liked this chapter ❤️