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"ARE YOU AVOIDING ME?"
The question was uttered quietly, but it was in the sort of pointed tone that carried across the room or, in this case, a high school hallway.
Rory didn't have to look up to know it had been Jasper who had sent the question her way. She didn't even have the chance to turn around or move away or do anything that would get her out of the conversation.
She had been shut off ever since classes started, lost in her thoughts and worries and insecurities, all brought up in the morning's event. In truth, she had been avoiding Jasper, but not for the reasons he was thinking. Her long silence shifted his expression.
"Well, I guess you already answered that." His voice was laced with pain, a sort of hurt disappointed pain that wasn't surprised.
It struck Rory. She finally looked up from her feet to the tall, leonine vampire strolling beside her as they made their way to one of the many classes they shared together. "I'm not un-avoiding you," she said, slightly cringing at the insensibility of her words.
His jaw clenched. "I see. I'll...see you later."
Jasper sped his gait as humanly possible to put some distance between him and the human that caused all his frustration. He still couldn't figure her out. Every two steps forward, they took three back. It was turning into quite the vicious cycle. He had truly and genuinely hoped that revealing his kind's secret to her and telling her the truth would ease that state of enigmatic proportions, yet he now saw he was wrong, indeed.
Rory didn't like seeing his back turned on her. She reached out just in time, snagging onto his cream colored coat. "—Wait!"
He turned swiftly. They were in the middle of the hallway, so Rory moved out of the way, which succeeded in catching more attention.
"I'm sorry," she measured out her voice lowly, keenly aware of eavesdropping ears. "I'm being an asshole and you don't deserve that. It's not you—"
"—it's me?" Jasper rose a brow cooly. It caused her heart to squeeze painfully. "I never took you for cliches, Rory."
"Seriously, it's nothing that you should be concerned over, it's my own problem I guess," Rory managed to say, meeting his golden eyes apologetically.
"Is this about this morning? That I needed to hunt inorder to manage another week at school."
"What? No—" she tried to interrupt, but he continued in that same harsh whisper that only met her ears.
