𝙁𝘼𝘾𝘼𝘿𝙀 (𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲)

¦Chapter 14¦

~ Laila ~

The one-week midterm holiday went by so quickly and the second half of the term began. Everyone seemed happy to be back in school. But I wasn't. The first half of the term wasn't my favorite time.

It was hell.

All thanks to a certain person and his puppets.

As I climbed up the stairs to the senior block, I felt someone behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Saheed with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Hello, pup," Saheed said loudly. My gaze slit at him with a frown, and I continued walking away. I heard him mutter something and then laughed, but I simply ignored him. I gave no shit about him.

All I prayed for was that they let me be and enjoy my time in school for the rest of the term.

I was still on my way when someone else muttered something close to my ear. I was shocked at the unfamiliar voice and I jeered, turning around to come face to face with Jason.

"Hey, Sofela,"

I stood, eyes wide open, shocked, staring at him. He stared back at me. His white headphones on his ears and a smirk quirk at the corner of his lips. His tie was undone as usual, but his uniform was neat and well-pressed.

"Why do you look so surprised?" he asked, bobbing his head sideways. His voice was soft and quiet. It was coming out effortlessly through his lips. He stood so tall and handsome with his dark full hair that was slightly curly at the top. And I couldn't stop staring.

It was the first time that he was speaking to me. And it was also the first time that he wasn't sounding cold. His voice was impassive, filled with no emotion, yet soft with a hint of something that I couldn't decipher as he stared back at me.

I also noticed he loves calling me by my last name. I don't think I have ever heard him call me by my first name and weirdly, I love how my surname rolls off his tongue. It sounded crazy, right? But that's how I feel. I wished he was a different person.

He leaned close to me, but not close enough to touch me. He made sure to leave that ample distance between us.

"I'm sure you enjoyed your holiday," he asked rhetorically. "Because I am not done yet with you. And you should stop staring at me like that." He leaned away, with the smirk still plastered on his face. "See you around."

Then he walked past me and went away, tapping something on the side of his headphones. I watched him trot away with a backward glance.

I stood transfixed to my position as I stared at his back while he walked away. I felt something strange surge inside of me. Something different from the huge dislike that I have for him because of his bullying. It was something new, which I couldn't pinpoint.

For a while now, even if I don't like him and he always makes me mad, I never hated him. Sometimes, I wanted to but I just couldn't. However, it doesn't change what I feel about his friends.

Honestly, I hate them. Those narcissistic annoying pricks. I don't like them at all. Maybe because they were the ones who did most of the bullying for him since he was their puppeteer. 

"Lai," I heard someone shout my name, waking me from my reverie. I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. That voice was beginning to be etched in my mind and I would recognize it even in my sleep. And for the first time that day, a big grin spread across my face. "Laila!"

"Mathias!" I squeaked.

"Welcome back to school, Lai," Mathias said cheerfully. He was smiling as he walked toward me. He had his bag on one of his shoulders. I grinned back at him while I spread my arms wide open.