Sweet Epiphany

Chapter Nineteen: Hostility in Disguise

I move my head slightly. So he is the one who dumped her.

"Things just weren't working out, but all this is history now. Going back to your question, yes, I can most definitely ask her myself, but I have a feeling she wouldn't be fond of answering. So let me ask again: how is she?" James asks, sounding more assertive than before.

There is something about his tone that feels disturbing. His words pass off as normal, polite even, but that look on his face that is disguising something that feels precarious, it's not something I'm just going to overlook or pretend I didn't notice. There is definitely an ulterior motive behind his innocent question that he doesn't want me to see.

He's testing me. He's trying to find out how much I know, because he has something to hide.

Classic.

"She's okay." I answer flatly, refusing to drag the conversation any longer. "You haven't spoken to her?"

"Not properly, no." he shakes his head. Not properly, which means to say he did. It's still not a forthright answer. "She's quite an amazing girl, but you know, she's just a little bit too emotional, goes a little haywire in the head when you piss her off. I almost think she might physically tear me to shreds one day."

"She's not aggressive like that." I respond calmly, opposing his judgment.

"Well, you certainly sound like you know her enough to have an opinion." He says, his tone of voice unchanging, but his friendliness is now patently sarcastic. "You're even defending her, how nice."

"You sound like you're putting her down." I say, not bothering to be subtle.

"Now, I did say she's an amazing girl, did I not?" he chuckles slyly.

"You still left her."

"Okay, I can't deny that. It's just, such a shame. I'm sure we would've worked out, if only she was..." he trails off, then locks his mouth shut, clearly refusing to continue. "Nah, I'm not going to let you hear it."

"Good choice." I say, my patience wearing out much faster than usual.

"Hah, well, I suppose you could always talk to Terra if you want to hear more. I'm sure the girl has a lot to say." He says and I try my best to remain neutral.

"If you think I'm interested, then you've mistaken." I reply.

"Ah, but you wouldn't say so if you are. You won't deny that you're sort of cunning like that, aren't you?" he grins, and I can't tell for sure if he is being spiteful.

"Maybe." I say, a word I find myself to be using quite often nowadays.

"Don't get me wrong though, Terra and the history we share along with the friendship between the two of you won't get in the way of us." He adds, gradually shifting back to his initial friendly demeanor. I find it a little strange to hear him refer to me and him as 'us', like we're close, but I brush it off. "After all, who else am I supposed to score A's with in class, aye?" he continues.

"I might be the reason why you score a B next." I shrug.

"Yea, you speak like that." He laughs, although there's nothing humorous to laugh at. "Alright then, I better head on over to Student Council now, wouldn't want to piss off Clarice again. I'll see you tomorrow."

James walks into a different direction, abruptly ending the suffocating conversation. I am both relieved and irritated at the same time. I've never liked being tangled in other people's business, but the unspoken conflict between Terra and James puts me between a rock and a hard place. Then again, I think I'm the one who allowed myself to be put there. I can choose not to care, but I don't want to.

After all the classes we spent together, I still don't know what to think of him. Quite frankly, I don't really want to have an opinion, but how am I supposed to feel after that pathological exchange?

Exhausted, I start walking and someone catches up from behind.

"Hey." Terra greets, and it is the first time she does so properly. She is wearing a bright smile like how she normally does, putting effort into taking bigger strides to match mine. The very sight of her dissolves that accumulated irritation within me like sugar cubes drowning in water.

"Hey." I greet back, releasing a breath I didn't realize I've been holding. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Huh?" she responds, looking startled.

"You were really tired." I say.

"Oh." She hesitates. "I slept okay. So uh, I saw that you were talking to James earlier."

I jolt, but not enough for her to notice. "Yeah, we were discussing about our final assignment, nothing much." I shrug. It's surprising how she can bring up the topic so easily, almost like she is unbothered, but I know she isn't.

"Mm, okay." She grins, dropping the topic. I debate with myself if I should leave it as it is, or persist for the first time and address the persistent questions in my head.

She is now a stride ahead of me, her brown hair bouncing up and down with each big step she takes. She's always bubbly, carefree, her lips curving into a smile whenever I see her, but she is also the same girl who is lying about something I can't quite ask.

Terra, what are you hiding?

xxx

Chapter visual credit: Tumblr, Manu Rios.

A/N: Apologies for the slightly shorter chapter, I hope the content is enough to make up for it(?) :D It's the first proper exchange we witness between Zach and James after all.

This chapter is dedicated to AglaopeJam_ie, thank you for your reads and support for Sweet Epiphany :D hope you'll enjoy the rest of the journey together heh heh x)

The next chapter will be posted a little sooner, so hope to see you all then!

imperfectdreamer.