My Professor

Chapter Nine

Lucianne twisted around in a split second, her heart in her stomach. Her back hit the shelf and some books came crashing down the sides of her. One hit her head and her eyes focused on what was before her.

Gabriel Blacken.

He bent towards the ground to pick up the book that hit her on the head. He held it before him, reading the title. Lifting his chin, he looked at the book in her hands.

"Researching about the Hex Beast?" he asked her.

"Y-Yeah," she said. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Why are you here?"

"This is the school library, isn't it? I'm here for the same reason you are."

"To find out more about the Hex Beast?"

"To read."

"But you're with me, in this section."

He half-turned and pointed at the section opposite hers. "Edgar Allan Poe is right here."

"Oh," was all she could say.

"What do you want to know about the Hex Beast?"

"I was just curious," she said. "I wanted to know more about why this town is the way it is."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did. But I still don't know one thing."

He stared at her.

"I don't know why the Hex Beast turned on its reason for existence," she continued.

"How were you born, Lucianne?"

"What do you mean? I was born because my parents fucked."

"That's true. You are not royalty, so your birth did not have a reason. It was natural. How do you think you'd feel if you came to life for one reason, a reason you didn't choose?"

"I don't know - " she said. "I haven't given much thought about what that would be like."

"The path of your life is yours to decide. You have the power to choose your destiny. But some aren't as lucky. Some are forced into... situations they do not want to be in."

She didn't say anything.

"Lucianne," he said. "Do you know what it's like to not have power over your own life?"

"No."

"Well, then maybe you can only begin to imagine why the Hex Beast turned on its creators."

"Are you..." Lucianne said. "Talking about yourself?"

"Do I look like a mythical beast to you?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, when you were talking about being forced into situations you don't want to be in, are you talking about yourself?"

"And why would you think that?"

"It sounded personal."

He kept silent, looking down once again at the book in his hands. He turned it around, before turning it over again. "I - " he began but stopped himself. Opening the cover, he flipped a few pages before shutting the book. Lucianne observed him closely, and her lips parted slightly when she saw a few tears falling from his eyes and causing dark spots to bloom on the clothbound book. Little tremors spread across his broad shoulders, and his fingers that were on the book tightened, his muscles clenching, the bed of his fingernails turning white.

"Gabriel..."

He wiped his tears away, blinking fast. Lifting his head to stare at her, his expression turned stone cold.

"That didn't happen."

"What caused you to feel powerless?" Lucianne asked, her breath leaving her in one long exhale.

"I'm not talking about that."

"It's alright. I won't tell anyone."

"You might want to pick up those books you knocked over," he said. "Arrange them by their serial numbers."

"That's an odd request," she said. "Most people wouldn't say that, and even if they did, they'd tell me to pass the books to the librarians."

"Ravenspire happens to be my campus, so," he said.

"You own Ravenspire?" Lucianne asked as she gaped.

"Yes."

She pondered that. "Ravenspire is owned by the founders of the town," she said. "Genevieve's family."

"And?"

"You're royalty."

"Hardly."

"It's clear now that you were talking about yourself - " she said. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be overstepping."

Silence.

"I think I should leave," she said.

She turned to the side and began to walk down the aisle, but his hand shot out to grab onto her arm. She spun around, staring at him with questions in her eyes.

"Wait," he said, reaching into his bag. He took an eucalyptus green clothbound book out and passed it to her. "Here."

She took it. "It's your poetry collection."

"It's my personal copy, you can have it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Why would you give this to me?"

"Well," he said, pausing for a while. "It's because you're special."