His Unwilling Muse

Chapter 5: Undeniable Proof

Top student.

Penny's words still echo inside my mind, while I watch Nate disentangle himself from the group of fellow college students surrounding him. His progress is slow, especially because the most eager young women seem reluctant to let him get away.

I, on the other hand, still can't believe that Nate is a college student working on his master of Music in string performance. From the first time I heard him play, I knew he was talented, but I never expected him to be a college student. I honestly thought he was nothing but a street musician.

"So, you're the boyfriend?" An unknown male voice pulls my attention away from Nate and the college students grasping to keep him in their midst.

I turn back to Penny and Warren, who are both still standing right beside me, to find a tall stranger come to a stop beside Penny. His black hair is sticking up in a short heap, while both of his sides are clean-shaven. A big nose and an even larger mouth take up most of his face, but above them shines a pair of the warmest brown eyes I have ever seen.

"You don't seem like much." The stranger wraps his arm around Penny's shoulders and pulls her to his side, while giving Warren a once-over.

Warren blinks at the guy, and turns to Penny with a big question looming in his eyes. "Who is he?"

"Ignore him." Penny pulls the stranger's arm off her shoulders and glares up at him. "And you cut it out."

"What?" The stranger shrugs. "I'm just getting to know your boyfriend. Isn't that why we're all here today?"

"Don't mind him." Penny rolls her eyes at the stranger and then turns to face Warren and me. "He's just my idiotic friend Isaac."

"Isaac?" Warren glances from the guy to his girlfriend. "I don't remember you ever mentioning him."

"Ouch, that hurts." Isaac staggers a step backwards, while grasping his heart. "And here I thought you and I were friends."

Penny's only response is a roll of her eyes, while Isaac quickly straightens back up.

"But seriously? Has she really never mentioned me?"

"She did actually." Warren crooks his lips into a soft smile. "And it's nice to finally meet you, Isaac. I'm Warren."

He extends his arm toward Isaac and the said guy shakes it. Then he turns his head to the side, and stops, so he is looking directly at me.

"And who are you, pretty lady?"

"Violet." A male voice calls my name before I can even open my mouth.

I close my eyes for a second, not believing this is really happening. What did I ever do to deserve such misery?

When I finally turn in the direction the voice came from, I'm met with the by now frustratingly familiar pair of chestnut eyes. Nate is standing right in between Penny and Warren, while glancing at the people gathered in our weird little circle.

"What are you doing here?" He turns back to me and shoots me a knee-weakening smile. "Have you changed your mind?"

"No," I answer without a second of hesitation.

"Do you two know each other?" Penny asks, while glancing between Nate and me.

"No." I say.

Nate, however, opens his mouth right at the same moment and says, "Yes."

I turn back to him with a pointed glare, but instead of looking at me, his eyes are back to glancing between the other three.

"What are you guys doing here? And who is he?" At the last part he nods in Warren's direction.