The Pact

17. a man who enjoys his nose not broken

I glared at him. He looked back at me innocently, his eyes dancing with mischief.

I shook my head, wishing I was anywhere else. "Good luck with your exams," I said, keeping my eyes on Griff before turning away.

I barely made it down the hallway before Beck was beside me, his long legs moving too quickly for me to slip away.

"So, Florida reading week?" He asked, his head tilted downwards to watch me.

I kept my head straight. "I guess so," was all I said. "I see you didn't tell my brother about our deal."

"Yeah, well, I'm a man who enjoys having his nose not broken."

"I bet." I muttered, picking up my pace.

"Em, wait, I mean it. You don't have to go if you want to go somewhere else." He stopped walking, grabbing my arm to stop me as well.

I rolled my eyes, letting out a long sigh. "Yeah, and tell my brother about what happened? No thanks," I yanked my arm from his grasp.

"You're not going to tell him?" He raised a teasing brow. "Are you protecting me?"

"No," I crossed my arms. "Trust me, I'd love to see how my brother reacts, but I don't want to deal with it."

Beck watched me for a long moment, his eyes wandering my face. "I really want to talk this through," Beck replied, his voice low, his eyes soft.

"Whatever," I mumbled, pushing past him and heading towards the parking lot.

"Wait!" Beck called out, reaching out to grab my arm again. This time, I moved it away from him.

"Fuck, Beck. Just leave me alone, okay? I'm done talking."

"I know you're hurt. We can talk about it," he insisted softly.

"I'm not talking to you."

"Just let me try to make things right. I thought we could work this out."

"I already told you, Beck. There is nothing to work out. Don't waste my time. Or yours."

"That's it then, huh?" Beck asked quietly. The pain was clear in his tone.

"That's it." I repeated.

He stared back at me for a long moment. Unspeaking, unmoving. I watched the light fade from his eyes, turning them so dark they were almost unrecognizable.

I kept my head down as I made my way to my car, wanting nothing more than to get back to my house. I pulled out my phone, sending a quick text to Bryn telling her I wouldn't be there for fall break and that I'd explain later.

It wasn't until I reached my car that someone grabbed my arm.

I yanked my arm from their grasp. "Beck, I swear to god, touch me again and I'll rip you apart." I spat, turning around. Only, I wasn't met with Beck's grey eyes, instead, dark brown pools of honey stared back at me. "Theo," I laughed nervously, running a hand down my face. "I'm sorry, it's been a stressful morning."

Theo smiled, his eyes creasing as he took a step closer to me. If I hadn't felt like shit, I would have loved to feel his warm skin against mine. Instead, I stood still, watching him carefully.

"Hey, it's fine," Theo assured me. "I haven't seen you around recently," he said, his eyes flicking over my figure. "You look great."

"Thank you." I smiled.

We stood in an awkward silence for a moment before he cleared his throat. "I've been thinking," Theo said, leaning his hip against my car. He had such a shy smile. It was so different from Beck's. "These last couple months I just have felt like you have been kind of distant," his eyes never left mine. "Which is fair, I didn't treat you even close to how you deserve to be treated, but..." he took a deep breath, his hand gently cupping my face. "I'm ready. To treat you right,"