Genius (CENTURIES series: Book #2)

20

"You should be almost done with your piece by now," Valenches noted as he stopped by Mia's easel. "And yet I'm staring at a half-done canvas. What's wrong, Mia?"

What was wrong? The guy she was drawing whom she had thought was just a tattooed badmouther, was in fact a genius whom she now shared the most fucked up relationship with. The same guy was currently also living at her place with his best friend's little sister that had started asking after her big brother who was on the run-and-hide, because apparently someone was after – yup, you guessed it – the genius mastermind she was fucking/drawing/living with.

And then there was the thing that one of her best friends now knew about their fucked-up relationship and had decided to completely pretend as if Mia didn't exist.

"Nothing is wrong," She replied and glanced at Valenches. "I'm just taking my time."

"The final notice is in three short weeks, Mia. By then it'll have to be done so I can approve it. I know I say never to rush art, but if it's not done by then..."

"I'll flunk." Mia finished for him when he allowed the sentence to hang in the air. "I know. It'll be done by then, I promise."

Valenches nodded and then offered her a smile. "That's all I needed to know. Proceed."

Classes were really getting demanding. Mia was struggling to keep up, not just because she was finding it hard to find spare time between battling the tense home life and the tense school life, but because everything just seemed to be spiraling out of control.

Zoe had become the poor victim stuck in the middle of the crossfire between Anna and Mia. Anna was doing everything to keep Zoe glued to her side and keep her away from Mia, while Mia really just needed a friend to talk to. She didn't have many other friends than those two, she had always been a bit of a loner in a way. Never popular. It had always just been the three of them, but now it seemed that Anna and Zoe were throwing her out. Or at least Anna was trying to.

After class, Mia packed up her bag and headed for the cafeteria. She was in a rotten mood when she suddenly in the corner of her eye – without realizing she was actually looking for him – spotted Eli standing in a excluded corner behind a pillar, talking to... Anna?

Mia stopped in her tracks and clenched her fists.

Why were they talking? Why did Eli even bother listening to her after all the shit she called him the other day? And why was Anna standing so close to him?

Jealously prickled in Mia's stomach. It twisted and turned until she couldn't stop herself; She marched up to the two of them, Eli noticing her approach first since Anna was standing with her back to the hall.

"What's going on?" Mia demanded to know.

Anna and Mia's eyes met. Anna looked at her as if she had cursed her entire family and damned them to a life in Hell. "Can't even talk to your fucking boyfriend without you getting all territorial. Afraid I might steal him?"

"You mean like you're trying to steal Zoe?"

"If you two are going to fucking bitch fight again, I'm outta here," Eli announced, taking a step away from them.

Anna reached for his arm in that moment and stopped him, making fury spike up in Mia's stomach like a stalagmite.

Get... your effing hand... off my man.