Crossing the gangster

chapter 12

Chris stood by the stove, flipping pancakes effortlessly. Why was it that he could look good while just cooking yet I looked like a mess even when I wore makeup? I shook my head, sighing at the thoughts I should seriously block out before they do me any harm.

"You can cook?" I stuck with a simple, friendly conversation as I made my way to the counter and towards the delicious looking breakfast. "No hazel, I am casually burning the house down," He responded sarcastically, giving me an eye roll as he continued to make the most perfectly shaped pancakes."Of course I can cook," He snapped and this time I was the one who rolled my eyes. Jeez, don't need to get your panties in a twist. Instead of asking another question and getting shut up I just told him politely, "Thank you for the breakfast," before digging into the food that was calling out my name.

As I was chewing, I felt his intense gaze on me and looked up with slight confusion when he continued to stare at me. "Do I have something on my face?" I asked as I raised my hand to my cheek absentmindedly but finding no stray crumb of food there.

"You said thank you," He murmured, pretending to be slightly awe-struck, and I narrowed my eyes down at his dramatics. "Yes, I do have manners you know?" I told him and heard him mutter under his breathe, "Nope, I guess I learnt something new today."

That was obviously meant for my ears because when my glare intensified he just shot me a smirk. I rolled my eyes once again, realising that I had been doing too much of that lately. Well, something about chris always made me infuriated so it technically wasn't my fault...

I continued to shovel food into my mouth, knowing that if I didn't hurry up I was going to be really late for school. "Hazel, hurry up," Came Izzy's voice from the hallway as I was returning my food into the sink.

I was about to leave when a hand on my arm stopped me. I glanced up to see chris, his lips pressed firmly into a straight line as his gaze bore down on me. "Don't let them get to you, your stronger than that. I'm... sorry for the school incident," He let out and

I nodded before whispering, "thank you."

The corner of his mouth tugged up into a small smile and he nodded back at me, letting me go. I rushed to Izzy and we hurriedly got into the car and sped off tonurriedly got into the car and spea on to school. The whole way I was left thinking about how it would be like to see chris smile, a full smile.

The school day was torturous to say in the least, with all the stares bearing down heavily on me. I hated the fact that under all the stares, I felt so vulnerable like I had been stripped from all my defences. But I knew that was just my nervousness speaking because I had way too much practice at hiding my emotions.

Every time I glanced at the clock, it seemed like it was moving backwards. It made me scowl slightly because I felt like it was mocking me, prolonging my punishment by keeping me in here longer than I thought could handle.

It was no surprise that Sam and Georgia avoided me the whole day, those backstabbing bitches. It was evident that they got scared the minute they saw the guns but the damage had already been done in the incident they had caused.

It was like I had been unwillingly shoved into the spotlight, a halo hanging on my head 24-7 that begged people to stare at me and whisper behind my backs. It irked me to no end that I couldn't shut them up the way I wanted, the way that would end them up in hospital and me expelled.

When I had reached back to my ho- I mean the house, I let out a exhale of relief. I wasn't ready to call this place home yet, I don't think I ever will but it was still better than school. And I was glad to have the pressure of the stares lifted from my shoulders.

When I entered the house, Izzy led me to the living room where chris, Blake and Noah were seated. "Izzy, you have to bait someone tonight," chris commanded the minute we were seated but Izzy shook her head. "Can't bro, got a date tonight."