Irresistibly Wicked

Beyond Cute

Lucya POV

Right before lunch I had Biology with Hanna. My stomach growled and I tried to subtly scoff down an apple before class started. I had only taken one bite when the bell rang shrilly. I sighed and stuffed the apple back in my bag. 

Mr. Klark smiled at all of as we filed in. “Good afternoon Miss Volkov,” He said when I passed by. Mr. Klark is my favorite teacher by far, all because he’s never treated me differently because I’m beautiful, even though he was only in his early twenties.

“Morning, Mr. Klark,” I said and slipped into the seat at my lab bench in the far back of the room. I always sat in the back.

“Ah, morning Miss Hart,” He said to Hanna. “Plan on staying awake this year?”

Hanna shrugged. “I’ll try.” She slipped into the seat next to mine. 

Less than a minute later, everyone had filed in and sat in their seats. No one dared to be late to Mr. Klark’s class. That’s how you got three detentions in a row.

Mr. Klark had just begun talking about electricity in the body when a knock came on the door and a tall boy walked in. “Sorry I’m late,” He said. “There was a mix-up in my schedule.”

My jaw dropped and my heart stuttered. At the front of the classroom was the guy from my painting, purple eyes and all. His eyes scanned the room, finally landing on me. His eyes widened, like he was just as shocked to see me as I was to see him.

This was the new guy?

I choked out some syllables that didn’t make sense. “What the heck are you doing?” Hanna hissed at me, fluffing her hair. “Don’t you want to make a good impression?”

I didn’t even know what type of impression I wanted to make. I thought I had dreamed this guy up. “Not really concerned about impressions,” I managed to whisper.

“I do not tolerate lateness,” Mr. Klark said sternly.

“Sorry,” The guy grinned and half the girls in the room sighed. I felt myself grinning, too. What can I say? It was infectious. “Like I said, there was a mix-up at the office. They wrote down the wrong room number.”

“And I’m sure no one would have offered to show you around,” Mr. Klark said drily, well aware that the girls were practically drooling. The guy barely noticed the girls drooling, though. His eyes flickered only between Mr. Klark and me. My heart skipped what had to be thirty beats when his eyes met mine.

“He’s staring at you,” Hanna whispered.

“Duh,” I managed, not taking my eyes off of his. My mouth was dry. Why was my mouth dry? My mouth was never dry around any guy.

“Why?” She whispered.

“Like hell I know.”

“It seems we need to find you a lab partner, Mr…?” Mr. Klark said, raising a single eyebrow. Like it would take a genius to figure out who he would be partnered with. Dylan was the only person in the entire room without a lab partner. 

“Lysenko. Roman Lysenko.” He said, his voice smooth. Suzy in the third row sounded like she was about to faint.

Mr. Klark nodded, his eyes scanning the room. Every girl sat a little straighter, a couple flipping their hair across their shoulder. Even the guys sat a little straighter – if anyone made friends with this guy, their popularity would skyrocket in a second. Fexts – and there was no doubt that he was one – tended to have that effect on people.

Even Hanna sat a little straighter. “Roman’s such a hot name,” She whispered.

“So is the city that the name comes from,” I whispered back drily.

Mr. Klark’s eyes landed on us. “Ah, it seems Miss Hart and Miss Volkov are a bit distracted today. Maybe a change of seating will do good. Miss Hart, I suggest you move to sit with Mr. Smithe, and Mr. Lysenko can join Miss Volkov.”

“That’s not fair!” Hanna immediately exclaimed, fury rising in her eyes. It wasn’t an uncommon reaction for Hanna in Mr. Klark’s class. “Lucya and I have always been partners.”

Roman mouthed Lucya like he was trying it out. I shivered at the thought of hearing him saying it out loud. Butterflies were forming in my stomach already.

Mr. Klark’s voice was hard. “Would you like me to add a detention to that, Miss Hart? Join Mr. Smithe now. Please.” He added, like an after thought.

Hanna’s jaw tightened, and I knew why. Dylan Smithe had to be her least favorite person in the entire school. It was pretty lucky Dylan wasn’t a Fext, because he would have cracked ages ago. But I have to admit, he does throw good parties.

But for some reason I can’t fathom, Hanna’s always hated him. She’ll attend all the parties in school – except for Dylan’s. The feeling is mutual between the two. 

Hanna murmured something under her breath and gathered her stuff roughly, placing it all on Dylan’s lab bench, which was right next to what used to be ours. “You touch any of my stuff,” She hissed at Dylan. “You die.”

“Ms. Hart, please do not threaten the other students.” Mr. Klark said drily. Everyone laughed except for me.

I was focused on Roman. He was making his way to me, his purple eyes never leaving mine. My mouth grew drier (if such a thing was possible) and my heart rate sped up. What I wouldn’t give to run my fingers through his hair… to feel his lips on mine…

Snap out of it, Lucya, I told myself, mortified at my thoughts. I had never been so affected by anyone before, not even a Fext.

Roman sat down next to me, his bag thudding onto the ground between us. Neither of us could stop staring. Everything about him was irresistible – his kissable lips, his silky hair, his perfect skin that would be perfect to kiss…

Didn’t I already tell myself to snap out of it?

I didn’t even get a chance to properly snap out of it. “Hey,” He rumbled, his voice deep but not too deep, if you know what I mean. “I’m Roman.”

“Like the civilization, I know.” I blurted out. A blush (a beautiful one that tinged my cheeks perfectly) crept up my neck. Like the civilization? What kind of line is that? Maybe next you should discuss what type of swords the Roman’s used. Fascinating.

Not.

Still, the hint of a smirk tugged at the edge of his lips. “Cute.”

That single word alone made me bristle. I hated being cute. Cute lead to beautiful, which lead to way too many problems. Plus, the word was something you used for a five year old who had gotten herself covered with paint. That was cute.

Being told I was cute by the very first who made my heart beat faster and my palms sweaty wasn’t exactly my dream.

“I’m not cute,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

He leaned in. “From where I’m sitting, you’re beyond cute.”

Which, I mean, was flattering and all, but also really disorienting. What – exactly – was beyond cute?

I couldn’t concentrate on the rest of Biology. Adrenaline rushed through me and my vision wavered between this reality and desire. So this is what it was like when a human saw a Fext. Completely disorienting.

I hated the feeling, but most of all I hated that someone had made me feel it when I didn’t want to.

I had to find Anton, let him know that the new guy wasn’t just a normal guy.

Roman was Fext. And for reasons I couldn’t fathom, I was already spiraling. If I didn’t find an outlet soon…

I might just crack and become the demon I was meant to be.