My Annoying Yet Possessive Bad Boy

Chapter 28

I get up and make my way to the line of people getting their food. Today they have chili and garlic stir-fried chicken with sweet chili sauce & rice. I put a good amount of food, make my way back to my table, and start eating. I open my phone, and I see that I haven't closed my Instagram app yet. I choke when my eyes land on a picture of Amber and Ben kissing. Someone from the news club posted it and said that the two of them seemed in love and there was no chance that he was breaking up with her. I go into the comments to see other people's opinions just because I love punishing myself in the best way possible. But it surprises me to see some people finding it impossible for Ben and Amber to be together. Others speculate that when Amber tried to slap me in the morning, it was I who was saved because Ben thought it was wrong, so his sense of justice protected me.

I don't know what to say or rather think. My mind is blank, and the tightening in my chest that I felt before comes back with fury to bite. I sit there with my phone in my hands and wish I never saw the picture because now my emotions have all gone haywire.

My mind goes back to what my conscience said.

Or maybe it's because you have a crush on him.

Do I have a crush on him? I shake my head. It can't be. He's mysterious and everything but he... he can be sweet, slightly mean, and I don't know why, but every time I look at him, his face and his smile, I feel like I know him; there's something familiar about him. I sigh; if there are any emotions, like me having a crush on him, I have to kill them fast before they mess with my head and make me do things I'll definitely regret.

Once I'm done eating and maybe sulking, I put my plate away, and that's when I see that Laura and Nora have returned. They look at each other and seem to silently converse with themselves. My mind is too tired to add another overload of information to it. So I just mind my own business and not ask them anything.

"I have to get to my next class," I say to the girls, and they stare at me for a minute, seeming to scan my face. "Are you alright?" Nora asks, and the truth is that I don't know. I won't lie to myself and say that everything is fine when I feel my chest tightening every time I see or even remember that picture, but I love these girls and don't want to make them worry about me when they have enough on their plate or well... table.

"Yeah, I'm good," I say and hope that the smile on a fake smile on my face is enough for them to believe my words. They look at me and then at each other and sigh, but then they give each other a small smile as if they knew something that I didn't. Ugh! I'm too tired to think. I grab my bag and hoist it over my shoulder and wave them goodbye before they start probing me with more questions and telling me how I'm a bad liar. I check my phone, and I see that my next is just us having a class with our mentor, I'm about to make it out the door when I nearly run into someone. At least I dodged it this time. "Sorry," I say and look up my heart skirting and I mentally hear a record player scratch to a halt. I nearly ran into Ben. I step away from him as if he is a poisonous snake ready to strike.

"Uh... Crystal?" he asks trying to reach for me, and all my sirens and fire alarms in my head go off. The idea of quietly walking to class has changed to 'It's time to dip out'. I step further and further away from him, and it feels like I'm being forced into a jungle with a hungry lion right in front of me, well, a gorgeous one, but that's beside the point. I give my best and smile, hoping that it's real. "Uh... Um... Hi Ben," my voice has taken a turn for a higher pitch, and I clear my throat. "I can't talk right now. Gotta run," I say and make a run for it.

"Crystal!" Ben calls after me, and I just keep on going, ignoring his calls. He's dangerous for my heart, and if I stay close to him, I'll never be free of this annoying feeling starting to brew inside me.