New Brother

A Crush Forgotten

Hailey

"W-what?!"

I stared at him wide-eyed, like a deer caught in headlights.

He didn't just say that... did he? Damn it. He actually did.

I'd been quiet, so fucking quiet. How could he have heard me? Or was it that in my dream I was loud? Even if had been was loud, it was nearly impossible for him to hear me, right? Had he been eavesdropping?

Technically he wouldn't need to. Our rooms were too close and the walls seemed thin enough.

"What?" he chuckled as he noticed my expression, amusement written all over his handsome face. "Did I just stumble upon one of your secrets?"

His question sparked a glimmer of hope. He didn't sound too sure. At least, that's what I hoped.

Maybe he was just throwing out random nonsense to get a reaction from me, and one reaction would confirm it.

Yeah...

He couldn't possibly know.

I had to play it smart, and then I'd be in the clear.

"You're living in a fantasy world. Me dreaming about you?" I scoffed, trying to sound dismissive. "No way."

Please, let my acting be on point. Please...

"Oh really?" Damien smirked, his left hand steering the wheel. "You're quite something."

"And I have to admit, you're quite overconfident," I flashed him a sarcastic smile, pretending to be utterly disgusted at the mere thought of dreaming about him. "I'd rather die than have dreams of you."

"But you're still alive," he commented, his tone playful. "So does that mean you like dreaming about me?"

He was a persistent bastard...

"Because thankfully you've never graced my precious dreams," I retorted, keeping up the act. "I can't stand you, and you can't stand me. Why on earth would I be dreaming about you?"

"Who said I can't stand you?" he chuckled, shaking his head. "You're quite assumptuous, Hailey."

A blush threatened to taint my cheeks at his words, so I quickly hid it with my next remark. "But I can't stand you."

"That's a lie," he declared, as if stating a fact.

"Now that's what I would call an assumption."

"You're too easy to read, Bunny. There's no need to be assumptuous about you when I can read you so well," he chuckled again.

"You're too full of yourself," I shot back. "You can't read me."

"Do you want me to prove it?" His eyes bore into mine, challenging me, and I felt something strange crawling up my skin. There was an intensity in his gaze, something too penetrating, too electrifying. It was...well, words weren't enough to describe it.

I wanted to say yes. Tell him to show me what he's got and let him take full advantage of my weakness towards him. But I wasn't that courageous to provoke the beast that was probably lurking beneath his skin. I already knew Damien Black was untamable, and I didn't want to stir up more trouble for myself.

"No need," I managed to let out, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Why?" His voice was husky, tempting even, stirring desires within me that I didn't dare acknowledge. His gaze was fixated at me.

"Because..." I struggled for a moment, but then my eyes found the college campus outside, and relief washed over me as I found my words, "Because we've arrived at college already."

With that, I undid my seatbelt and stepped out of the car. I heard his low groan, a sound of disappointment from the way it sounded, and then he too exited the car, following my lead. We both knew where we were headed—to the principal's office.

***

If I had known my situation at college would be like this, I would've gotten on my knees and fucking begged my mom to enroll me in another college because this shit was maddening. The two girls sitting behind me were literally whispering about me—yeah, me. And why? Because I was Damien's new sister. The news seemed to have spread like wildfire among everyone on campus, and the weird looks I received were enough to tell me that.

I was more furious at Damien than these girls who probably wanted nothing more than to hook up with him. They wanted his dick—it was painfully obvious from the jealousy in their tone. But I didn't understand why they felt this animosity toward me—I hadn't fucked Damien. Not yet, at least.

I was mad at my mom, really, really mad.

Damien practically owned this damn college, or at least he was one of the popular figures here. The last place I should have been was this college. But my mom had her own ways of tormenting me, and she had succeeded.

God! This was so uncomfortable. The stares only seemed to intensify.

"I bet she even drools at the sight of him," the girl on the left whispered to the other.

Okay. Enough was enough.

I turned my head, staring right at her, "No," I let out firmly. "I don't drool at my stepbrother's sight. So please, stop worrying about him. He's a grown man and knows how to take care of himself. But if you're so concerned, give me your number so that the next time I supposedly drool at the sight of him, I can call you to come and clean it up for both of us. Damien would be very pleased to have another helping hand."

Her jaw nearly hit the floor at my statement, and I heard a few snickers from the girls around us, as well as some boys sharing the same reaction. Her face turned different shades of red, her eyes expressing her anger. Surprisingly enough, she didn't have any comebacks. Instead, she hastily stood up and walked over to sit in the farthest corner of the room, the other girl followed suit.

I emitted a sigh, finally feeling some sort of relief as those two bitches were finally away from my poor ears.

As the class ended, I stood up and walked out of the room. It was history class now—going to be very boring, of course.

So, to attend that very boring class, I walked to room number 567 where the class would be held. I felt random boys' gazes on my ass as I walked, but I didn't pay attention to that—boys will be boys. Even if I dared to shoot them a glare, they'd still fucking look, so there was no point.

But one thing was worth mentioning: amidst all these boys, I noticed that none of them distracted me as much as Damien's face did. Even at the principal's office, he made me feel hot and heavy at the same time. Just standing next to him or simply talking to him was turning me on a little too much, and it was bad—really bad.

Talking about distraction, the moment I began to think about Damien, my head bumped into something strong, and I stumbled backwards.

A small groan slipped past my lips as I rubbed my forehead, looking up to see the person, and my gaze widened at the sight.

Never in my life, even for a second, had I thought this would happen at the new college.

"Well, long time no see, Hailey..." He flashed me that very dazzling smile I was crazy about once.

"Hi, Ricky."