Blues

4. The Blues Ahead.

"Why does he keep giving you weird looks? " I ask Melody, dragging my eyes away from the blond guy who sits three chairs ahead of where we are seated at the back of the classroom, and by the reeling mien of his, I detect the soreness behind it.

"Who?" she frowns, massaging her puffy eyes with her knuckles.

"That guy." I discreetly beckon with my head to him.

Her eyes search for the source of my interest before they stop, dilating remarkably. "Oh! That's Ryan."

"Ryan? Jeez, now I know who he is." I roll my eyes in a sardonic way.

We've been getting along just fine, even though we don't take the selfsame classes. We meet up when we both don't have lectures to attend, usually picking up coffee. She's told me a lot about herself, expecting me to give her some in return, but I predominantly jinxed her attempts, always changing the subject by casting the light right back on her.

She rolls her eyes right back at me. "We used to date last semester."

"And?"

"And now we don't."

"Why not? What happened?" I don't hide my curiosity.

"Why are you so interested in me today? It's so unlike you." She narrows her eyes, incredulous.

Voraciously, I'm not interested one bit in her love life, but for some reason, I enjoy her company, and as much as I hate admitting it, I can do with someone on campus.

Answering her, I shrug my shoulders, "You don't have to tell me if that's what you want."

"I cheated on him." She facilely drops the bomb and I recoil, not expecting her answer at all. She seems too affable to commit such a horrendous deed, but judging by the unadorned, placid tone she possessed, the whole matter isn't affecting her that much.

"Wow. You're very honest. " I simper, recovering from my shock.

She crosses one leg over the other, "I can almost hear it. "

"What?" my frown is back.

"The judgement." one side of her mouth quirks up humorlessly.

"I-"

"We all make mistakes that we regret, and cheating on him is the one I regret the most. " She's succeeding if she's trying to sound nonchalant. Her voice is lacking the contrition she's talking about. "But Candice, " She turns in her seat to face me, "What is your biggest regret?" she queries, her inquisitive eyes penetrating mine.

I feel stupefied for a moment, struggling to find an answer, but it doesn't last long. Both of our heads are abruptly turned to face the intruder who answers for me,

"Making me her enemy?" Dylan's voice is clear-cut and suave. He perches himself on the chair on my right, positioning one brawny leg over the other. He's wearing a black tee that clings to his taut muscles in a very luscious way, and I can't help but stare for a while, until I hear his low chuckle, it's very low and throaty.

My eyes shoot up to meet his, only to be faced with the lucid smirk I expected. His blistering eyes peer into mine, daring me to avert my eyes, but I don't. I maintain our intense eye contact until he's the one who blinks and diverts his gaze toward Melody, whose face is glaring in awe.

"I remember you," he states, eyeing her with mocking amusement. Her face instantly contorts with embarrassment and she looks away, her face flushing beet red. I'm reminded of the time she told me about her first encounter with him when he humiliated her in front of the whole class.

"Find another seat." I finally say, repeating his words to him.

He appears flabbergasted for a moment, marvelled at my audacity, before his surprise morphs into amusement once more. "You don't order me around, Candy." he leans back, his grin inciting an unfamiliar flip in my tummy.

"But you can order others around?" I fold my arms, letting my vexation show.

He tilts his head to the right, still eyeing me. "Apparently not everyone." his eyes leisurly trail down my front, lingering slightly on my pushed up breasts. His tone doesn't sound disapproving. If anything, it's the opposite. "You didn't get fired." he implicitly states. "I saw you working yesterday." he answers to whatever dumbfounded look he sees on my face.

He saw me working yesterday?! I don't remember catching a single glimpse of him At Nights since the day he showered me with alcohol.

I goggle in stupefaction at him for a moment. "Sorry to disappoint."

He frowns, genuinely bemused. "That's not what I wanted. "

"No?" My eyes shoot up in disbelief.

But he doesn't come back with an asserting answer, instead, he leans closer. His crisp scent invades my senses, giving off an alluring woodsy and musky odor, combined with a faint hint of black pepper. "This is me making peace. We can even be friends." his voice drops very low, carefully enunciating every single syllable in a way that makes my knees go lax before he leans back, his combusting gaze capturing mine anew.

We can even be friends. What's his game? Does he actually want to befriend me? Do i want to befriend him?

I expect him to leave, but he doesn't. Instead, he leans back in his seat, staring ahead at Mr. Garret who starts the lecture.

"Friends?." I lower my voice to avoid the trouble of touching off Mr. Garret's temper.

He stays silent for a moment, making me wonder whether he's going to answer me or disregard my question. "Yes. Meet me tonight at Emerald" he orders.

My mouth drops open, forming an O. Is he asking me out? No. Is he ordering me out?

Emerald is a widely known nightclub near campus. I remember Hannah telling me about it once, asking me to hang out with her and her friends there, but of course I politely declined.

"I'm not going out with you. " I disdainfully state.

His face sharply turns toward me, contorting in distaste."Who said anything about dates?" The contempt in his voice batters mine. "I don't do dates, Candy."

My face flushes with embarrassment. " Why are you asking me to go there then?"

"To get acquainted of course." His voice drips with amusement and I want to slap the smirk off his achingly beautiful face.

"I have a job."

"After you finish your shift then." His answer is smooth and ready.

"I finish at 12 and it's a school night." I hiss.

"We'll be there until 2 am at least. It's your choice if you want to hang out with us." His insouciant shrug makes his arm muscles contract, distracting me for a second.

Wait, what?!

"We?" I catechise, confounded.

He turns to face me once more, not bothering to camouflage his cockiness. "Why, of course we. Me and my friends." he jerks his head in the direction of his friends. The folks.

I hark back to Melody's words. "They never let anyone interfere or join them, unless it's a girl they're planning to feast on."

Oh my God.

... ... ... ...

*I'm sorry for the short chapter, but the flu wouldn't let me focus. I promise y'all an earlier update. It will be longer so stay tuned for it!

Please don't forget to press on the little star and tell me what you think of today's chapter. Yours xx*