All Hail The Queen Of Hell

4) He touched my lips

               ****MELANIE****

I stared at the maroon door with the brown polished tag pinned above it. The words COUNSELOR in bold black ink screamed on the tag.

   When I had a school issue that couldn't involve my brothers, I always turned to Mrs Freckles for help. She knew the right thing to say and how to comfort me.

Sucking in some air, I knocked. There was no reply, but there was a click from the other side like someone had unlocked it. I took it as a 'get in' sign and pushed the door in.

   Maybe I'd get some peace of mind if I opened up to someone about how unsettling Mr Aldric was making me feel. How weird he felt.

I walked in, hands balled up in nervous fists while my eyes noticed the empty desk.

   As soon as I took three steps into the office, the door slammed shut, giving me the scare of my life. "Gawd!" I groaned shooting the fucking door one hot scowl. How had it even shut itself? Was there a new mechanism installed that could be controlled using a remote or something?

     "Mrs Freckles?"

I kept walking in.
The afternoon sunlight illuminated the entire office, giving it a serene aura that made me want to just sit behind that desk and bask in it.

"Mrs Freckles?" I called out again, wondering where she was and how she had unlocked the door.

I stopped in front of the wide desk and for a second, I pictured myself standing by the large window behind it.
As my mind wandered off to the perfect nature bliss, I must have missed someone walking in. They tapped the center of my head in a rude way to yank me back to reality. I frowned immediately, and hardened my right fist, ready to drill it into someone's face, or balls.

   I whirled around. "Who-"
All the anger that was yelling to be let loose died when a pair of serious black eyes met mine. "M-M-Mr..."

He bent a little to level his eyes with mine.

     "What is a troll doing in my office?" Aldric questioned.

Had he just called me a troll? Or was I hallucinating like the scumbag one? Had the first one even been a hallucination?

   "Are you mute Melanie?"

Maybe I had grown mute all of a sudden from the shock and the bazillion questions swarming in my head. But his closeness was more disturbing than any of that. He was so close that I could feel his breaths faintly crash with mine, leading to both of us sharing the same air(as if all humans breathe different types of air).

    Looking into the depths of his dark eyes reminded me of that novel I was reading. The author described her character as though she had been writing about Aldric himself. The black eyes, the long white hair.

The male sighed and straightened. "I'm not in the mood for teenage crisis. So pack up your legs and leave." He said while stepping aside for me to walk to the door.

  I started walking but stopped after four or five steps. Wait, where the fuck am I going?
      "Keep walking," Aldric cheered from behind. But to his surprise, I turned around and rushed back to face him.

"You!" I hissed pointing an accusing finger at his face. "I will tell the principal that you're a selfish mannerless teacher who doesn't even deserve to be in this school or any other-" A finger was quickly pressed to my lips.

    "You short troll, you really talk too much," Aldric smirked.

As if I hadn't been shocked enough by his previous insults, now he even had the guts to touch me. And not just anywhere, my lips. My precious lips that I was saving for my first kiss. A surge of rage and embarrassment mixed up in my chest and I raised my hand to hit his finger off of me.

    But Aldric grabbed my hand and quickly spun me around. "Listen to me troll. I-"

My defense reflex was stomping on his left foot with all my might. Aldric let out a low groan but didn't let go of my hand. He instead swept me off the floor like I weighed not more than a chicken's feather.

   "I will scream! This is harassment!" I threatened as my body wriggled to be free.

"Scream as loud as you can troll. Nobody can hear a thing outside this office."

    "Put me down!"
I could only fight against his hold so that the tears boiling behind my eyeballs would not flow out. He was scaring me. And not in a male-to-female mode. He was scaring me on a tiger-eats-bunny mode.

"As you wish."
Following his words, he let go of me, letting me fall.
I thought I would thud on the tiles and had already shut my eyes for impact. But I fell on something soft, beckoning me to separate my eyelids.

    A sofa. The damned male had dropped me on a sofa.

My eyes whipped up confused.
   Aldric just stood there, hands in the pockets of his pants as he stared down at me with a smug grin.

"You're the worst teacher I have ever heard of," I insulted.

   "And you're the shortest most annoying little scumbag I have ever met," Aldric retaliated. His words cut deeper than any paper cut I have ever experienced.

  Why had he called me short?
I knew I was short, but did he have to remind me?

Before I even knew it, my eyes teared up.

  The expression on Aldric's shifted to something close to...guilt.
He slid his hands from his pockets before moving down to set his left knee on the tiles.

I was too embarrassed and too insecure about his words that I didn't mind what he did next.
    Aldric reached out and wiped off the tears on my cheeks with his thumb but more flowed out. "Don't worry, even trolls have their place in the world."

       "I'm not short!" I sobbed, trying to sound bold.

"Sure. Sure. You're so tall." He lied and continued wiping my tears till they stopped coming out.

    "Now get the fuck out of here, troll." Aldric retreated wearing the most infuriating smirk.