The Devil of Devenir

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Quiet.

It's been noticeably quiet now that William is back to walking the halls of Devenir. He made people nervous. But he's been quiet, too. He shows up in class, does his work, and then disappears. He hasn't said a word to Thea all day, and it made her anxious. Why? It was a good thing.

Everything can finally go back to normal and the secret between them would remain a secret.

And yet every time she saw him in the hall, she expected him to stop and talk to her. She didn't know why.

They certainly weren't friends. In fact, before the incident, she couldn't say she really wanted anything to do with him. But that didn't mean she didn't worry. He was stabbed, for God's sake.

Her eyes narrowed and followed him now as he walked slowly towards his seat. She wasn't the only one watching. The entire room fell silent the moment the classroom door opened and he stepped inside. Overall, he appeared fine. But as he lowered himself to sit, his hand went to his side and he winced. She frowned and leaned towards him.

"Did you come back earlier than advised?" Her brow raised.

He looked at her. "No. I'm fine."

"I'd believe that if you didn't look like you were about to throw up. You need to rest, let your body heal up some more."

"Do—"

"You were stabbed. In the side. You nearly died. You're not fine."

His eyes flashed with something menacing as he shot her an annoyed glare. "Drop it, Sinclair."

She reeled back, surprised at his tone. Why the hell was he being so rude? I was just trying to help, she thought, scowling.

"Fine. Whatever. Bleed out all over the floor for all I care," she bit out.

He ignores her.

She let out a huff and faced forward. Fine. If that's how he wanted to be, so be it. She wasn't about to beg him for updates on his wellbeing. If he didn't care, why should she? After class, Thea didn't stick around. She walked towards the café, suddenly in desperate need for some caffeine. She rounded the corner, nearly running right into another girl.

"Sorry!" They said at the same time.

"Wait—hey! Thea!"

"Adia?" Thea hadn't recognized her at first due to the hairstyle change. At the party, her hair was out and curly, but now it was done back in long box braids. Thea's lips lifted up in a smile. "Hey!"

"Hey. How's it going?"

"Good. I was just going to get some coffee."

"I'd join you, but I've got class. Here—take my number; maybe we hang out later?"

"Definitely." Thea handed Adia her phone and Adia quickly put in her contact info.  "See you later, then."

"Bye!" Adia smiled and hurried off to class.

Luckily for Thea, the café was mostly empty, so she was able to order her coffee immediately. As she waited for it to be made, her eyes scanned the room and stopped when they landed on Joshua and Hunter talking in hushed tones at a table. They seemed...calm.