Subject Me To Life [Book One] ✔️ *EDITING*

Chapter Twenty-Four

*Not edited* Not proofread*

Chapter 24— Tonight it is:

To say I'm shocked when I stroll into English the next day would be an understatement as I catch sight of the familiar blonde occupying his usual seat that has been empty for quite some time.

"Dakota?"

His name involuntarily leaves my lips in surprise as I stand opposite our desks. His blue eyes shine as he raises his head to look up at me, his arms still folded on the desk. I don't really know what to say as the silence between us grows awkward. Tense.

Was he mad that I had insulted the place where he lived?

I inwardly sigh. Fuck off, Kody, who gives a fuck if he's mad? It doesn't change the fact his side of town is a shit hole.

Not everyone can help the family they're born into, Kody. Who knows what he's been through. Jace's voice echoed.

"Good to see you back."

Good. To. See. You. Back.

Really? Fucking really? What the fuck was that?

The corner of Dakota's lips quirks upwards in a barely contained smile, one of his eyebrows raised. "Good to be back."

I awkwardly clear my throat and nod at him as I walk around to the other side of the table and take my seat.

My back is rod straight throughout the duration of the lesson, my shoulders square and my gaze trained directly in front of me. Dakota doesn't seem fazed by our earlier interaction, however I am. It disgusts me that I had been so nice. Good to see you back? Well that's a fucking lie. I couldn't care less whether the fucker's back or not, so why I had allowed for the words to tumble out of my mouth is fucking beyond me. Now he probably thinks I can actually stand him. Hell, he probably thinks I missed him.

His breath hits the shell of my ear as he leans into my side. His breathing heavy, like always, and irritating. "You think too much," he whispers so close I can feel his smile against my skin, causing goosebumps to spread across my arms and the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

My palms start to sweat as I ball my hands into fists. "I'm so close to breaking your fucking nose right now," I threaten. Dakota chuckles, the sound light-hearted and genuine.

"I'm serious, it'll cause wrinkles if you keep frowning like that."

"I'm serious, it'll cause broken bones if you keep getting close to me like that."

Again he chuckles. The not-so-horrible sound grating at my nerves. "Can we talk after class?" He has now moved away from my ear and is leaning forward in his seat to look at my face.

Scoffing, I whisper, "The last time you asked me to talk, you stayed the night at my house and I somehow wound up getting roped into being tutored by you every week. So no, I'm good."

Dakota never smiles much. I mean, he smiles of course, but it's never as big as Zeke's or as genuine as Lilah's. It's soft and small, not very fitting for his appearance but he manages to pull it off alright. However, I have come to notice he has three different types of smiles for different situations.