THIEVES

The Four Months Deadline

"You don't get to walk in and out of my life at your convenience."

                           - Anonymous

Athena took a peek from a swift backward glance.

Xerus' big figure was enveloped by a trenchcoat as dark as his soul, and it was so close from reaching the ground.

It was supposed to be a very fleet glance but damn was he irresistible.

The astounding gloom that shaded his features was unparalleled to no one— probably not even Theo, despite Theo claiming a special place in her heart already, and that scared her all the more.

The anxiousness formed on her face as she tried to hide it but Xerus was to ept at reading body languages.

Athena composed herself by clearing her throat. "N-No of course not, I wasn't going to say that." A fucking mammoth was more suitable. However, she was convinced that she still hadn't lie at all but it would be smart to play nice while she was alone with Xerus in his home. "That would be really rude."

If this had been any other woman, Xerus would have taken pleasure in witnessing the pure terror decorate their face by stalking closer from behind them and circle them like sharks with his mesmerising yet baleful hazels.

Her long inky hair that cascaded over her shoulder blades unfortunately reminded him all over again that she wasn't a normal girl.

The soft, silky, dark image of it that he had been so accustomed to since childhood caused his blood to boil and he so wanted to just rip them off of her head. "It's funny since insolency was what your puberty worshipped. Fuck, I can't even stand breathing the same air as you. You fucking stink!"

Athena crinkled her eyebrows, maintaining eye contact with the pretty golden phoenix of the door. It wasn't a pleasant feeling to be called stinky but she wasn't nearly as insulted as she would be in normal days.

But, one thing was crystal clear— Ace may had been right again, and she abhorred him being correct.

Xerus— leader of the Thieves, God of the elites— was someone she had bullied in the past. Still, this could be false, right? She certainly hoped so.

Nevertheless, she needed him to speak. She wanted to clear things, things she had most likely forgotten. If it wasn't that, then she wanted him to tell her this was just a cruel bet or perhaps a prank.

Then again, a prank wouldn't have gotten so far that he'd cause a ruckus in A-List. "Xerus, first off, I want to apo—"

"How many fucking times should I say before your dumb head understand? Don't fucking call my name!" Xerus voice thundered, making the unclear opera music fail to reach her ears even after Xerus had ended his sentence.

His voice, being too loud, it patently deafened her. "Then I should just call you X? Like the X-Files or an IPhone X?" His ear-splitting tone must have made her deranged altogether. She gulped, "Sorry, I was just kidding." She so wasn't.

"No. Not even the first letter of my name. After this, we won't have to see each other anymore so don't even fucking bother," Xerus made sure his eyes stayed the hell away from her but no matter if he stared at the princely gasolier above or the very distant parlour down the hallway, it never ceased to drift back to her. "Now let's stop wasting my time. Hand over those pills and get the fuck out of my sight."

A large metal block dawned on the top of Athena's head as she rummaged through her brain for a not-so-bad answer. "About that..."

This made Xerus' eyes wide in fear. "What the fuck about it?" He contained so hard to keep his cool while his hands balled themselves into fists, his nails digging into his flesh.