Her Savior (Book Two Of The Brave Series)

5-Raven

5-Raven

The bell rang and Xepher stood dusting off his pants with his wrapped hands. Aria paused. It felt odd to think this way, but he had a nice bottom. His straight legged black jeans were in just the right place. Se had the urge to poke it, but the thought immediately sent a wave of embarrassment through her and she felt her face heat up.

"You okay?" Xepher asked, his deep voice almost vibrating through her. They'd sat together for more than half the last hour. Aria didn't realize that they'd had two classes together back to back and now that she did, she was hyper-aware of his presence. She nodded her head hurriedly trying to shake the thought out of her mind.

"Your face is red." He said bluntly causing her eyes to widen. She shook her head in denial even as her face burned brighter. Then she felt a sting on her forehead. He'd flicked her. She narrowed her eyes at him grumpily before turning and walking down the stairs.

"Oh, come on, you were so cute I had to tease you a bit." She tucked her head down even harder and kept walking, even as the whisper of students passing by could be heard. She could see Xepher taking long, easy strides to keep up with her as they headed towards the parking lot. She could see from her peripheral that he was looking at her but when she looked up at him, he didn't say anything. He simply stared, his eyes roaming over her face, causing it to heat up again. She turned her face away and mentally scolded herself. That was it, after today she would leave him alone and go back to normal and that was that. A hard wind came down then, blowing the cold air and snow harder into Aria. She felt herself shiver but toughened her body against it. This was normal.

"Aren't you cold?" Aria's head snapped back up towards Xepher who had his hands tucked into his jeans, shoulders braced against the cold. Aria shrugged and as another gust came down, threatening to cause her teeth to chatter, she hung her head and kept walking. That is, until she felt the sudden wave of warmth wrap around her. She found the warmth came from the leather jacket that Xepher had been wearing, but where it ended at the waist for him, it stopped just about her knees, completely encasing her. The cold didn't exist anymore as she looked back at him. He wore a white hoodie now, scrunching his shoulder inwards as he let out a puff of air. Aria shook her head and started to take off the jacket, but he put his hand on hers, stopping her completely. She froze at the contact and looked up at him. Their breaths mingled in the air and Xepher smiled softly.

"Don't worry, I don't need it." She looked at him for a few seconds more before she caved and simply nodded her head. They got to the parking lot and found the whole group standing next to a big yellow truck. Aria was surprised they were all there, as most students still had two more classes for the day. "We all made our schedule work, so we got off at the same time." Xepher said, seeming to read Aria's thought, shocking her. Aria took a step towards them but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to him, confused.

"Aria." he paused and lifted his hand to grab a stray strand of her hair in his fingers gently. "What are those scars from?" her eyes immediately drifted downwards as she stepped away, curling into herself and shaking her head. He sighed then, but leaned in, causing her to shut her eyes tightly. Then he whispered into her ear.

"You may not tell me now, but I hear you. If you think after today, you'll go back to being scared and alone, you're dead wrong. You're one of us now. So, one day, when you trust in me, I will be there for you. I promise." Aria gasped as she pulled away. The tears in her eyes came so fast she couldn't stop all of them. One came crashing down her ice-cold cheek as she looked Xepher in the eyes. He merely smiled a breathtaking, tooth showing smile, and wiped the tear away quickly before grabbing her shoulders, turning her around and steering her towards the group once more. She didn't know how to process what he'd just said fully, but she was touched, nonetheless.