Androphobia

xxiii. strip tennis

Bad Dream - Cannons

A/N: thank you for the support on Androphobia. I want to make a point that yes, this version is different to the old one - I'm aware - and I appreciate that people consider the old Androphobia one of their comfort stories and one which they loved. That doesn't mean you have to comment that on every chapter and say this version is so much worse or that I "fell off". I know more than anything that the old version of Androphobia was nothing compared to this one - in terms of the quality of writing, complexity of plot, and depth of characters. Everyone is free to love and miss the old version but it's incredibly discouraging to have readers continuously ask for the old version because they don't like this one. Unfortunately, the old version will not be coming back. I hope you can respect that and look forward to new chapters.

THEA'S POV:

In the span of a month, I had undergone attempted murder, witnessed a murder, spoken to the woman who had attempted murder on me, and still managed to pass biology with an A.

The canteen hummed a cacophonous tune as I flicked through my test paper, mouth full of my turkey sandwich. Steadily, chattering girls poured into the building. Hands grasped for toasted paninis and warm waffles, some stuffing them into pockets without paying while others queued boredly and mumbled under their breath. It was difficult to read with the discord around me but somehow I managed to skim through my teacher's feedback with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Good girl, Thea," I murmured softly, a small smile flickering on my mouth, "Good girl."

I hadn't received the rest of my grades yet but the red A on my paper was enough to marginally lift my spirits before it all came crashing down again. I sighed and tangled one hand through my loose, dark hair. How could I care about test papers and grades when I was still mulling over that terrifying woman's words? Although our conversation had been short, she'd left more than an impression on me; she said she'd tried to kill me. Even now, I could still smell her rose-scented perfume, a single thread having woven into my sweater and mingled with the others. It was suffocating.

Why had she spoken about Synn like that? What on earth did she know about him that I didn't? And if she was telling the truth, did that mean that Synn was-

Someone roughly connected with my shoulder and knocked me out of my thoughts. At the action, I lurched to the side and let out a gasp. I looked up from my seat.

"Oh, Thea! I didn't see you there."

A hand lowered to my injured shoulder and gripped it firmly, making me fight a whimper.

"Sorry," Blessing said with sloping brows and a distinguishable pout. Her cat-eyes narrowed with a familiar grin and two of her friends snickered from behind her. They made my lunch sink deeper into my stomach.

The beautiful girl released me and I covered my shoulder protectively, offering a wince of a smile. "It's okay," I said weakly. Although I didn't want to, I couldn't stop my eyes from scouring the faces behind Blessing and her friends in hopes of finding Ember, but there was no one to be seen. My heart let out a brief stammer. Come on, Thea. You can be brave. You can do this on your own.

Blessing sank into the seat beside me, legs spread on either side of the round stool and skirt riding up her thighs. I shifted uncomfortably. She placed an elbow on the table and nestled her chin in her open palm. "You know, I've been meaning to talk to you, actually," she started and I furrowed my brows in question. "I wasn't really sure how to tell you this but I figured you should know... you know your little boyfriend? The one who turned up outside school?"