I'll Protect You (Original Version)

I'm the Short Demon Loser from Hell, not Gorgeous

"Sparrow," Cross sighed, finally turning around to roll his eyes at me. "Are you coming or not?"

Being the stupid girl I was, it took me a few seconds to understand what he was implying. He wanted to eat with me upstairs. Oh, so he didn't want my food! Well, that's good enough for me.

Smiling, I tucked my iPod into the pockets of my cardigan and quickly, I joined his side and we headed up the stairs. We saw a few maids cleaning up in the palace and I flashed them bright smiles. 

They, on the other hand, looked unmistakeably horrified as they saw the food in our hands. My eyes widened as I recalled that my mother sympathized with a No-Food in The Bedrooms policy. It's not like Archer, Jasper, and I ever really listened. She never really noticed either because we always cleaned up after ourselves. 

I pressed a finger to my lips and quickly sent them a sign to not tell my mother. The maids seemed skeptical but they gave in as soon as Cross flashed each of them his trademark crooked smile.

"Alfred just better not catch us," I muttered under my breath. Alfred, for some reason, agreed with my mother one hundred perent on the ridiculous policy she set on food. The only thing he permitted was hot chocolate, but even then, it was difficult to get him to be okay about it.

"No worries," Logan replied. "He said it was okay for us to have dinner in our rooms for tonight."

No. Way. Really? I spent my entire childhood begging Alfred to let me have just one meal upstairs but the best I managed to get was hot cocoa. Damn you, Cross, I mentally muttered, already concocting a plan that would for sure let me have food in my room.

"Nice to know I'm so liked by the princess here," he chuckled humorlessly. Eyes widening, I understood that I had said it out loud, instead of mentally like I thought I had.

"Oops," I said, "sorry." Even though I really wasn't. Yeah, yeah, call me immature. But try spending so much effort for several long years but in the end, your efforts only earned you hot chocolate. And then Golden Boy shows up and in five minutes, he gets you a meal inside your room.

Um, I'd like to report a severe case of favoritism.

We reached the fifth floor. I expected him to turn to his room (or my room, but I will be generous and allow it to be labeled as Cross' room for this summer), but he didn't. Instead, he walked into my room since the door was already wide open and sat at my desk.

"Excuse me, but I believe your sleeping quarters are that way," I snapped, pointing a finger across the hall. His door, an oak door with a carving of a majestic dragon on it, stood facing me. 

"No," he stated curtly. "I want to eat with you."

"Ha ha, very funny. Go away, Cross," I drawled, yet I was unsure if he was really joking around. The absolute truth shone in his eyes as he stared at me with no emotion.

"No. I said, I want to stay here," he snapped back.

"Well, I don't want to eat with you," I argued tiredly. Great. I thought we had advanced past our pointless bickers, but I guess not. What had gotten into him anyway? First, he demanded to eat with me, but also, he's not the one tired of our quarrels, not me.

All of a sudden, Logan smiled. It wasn't his flattering, sunshine smile that he threw at teachers, girls, friends, or anything that was alive. No, it was a Park Sparrow smile. I don't mean Park Sparrow as in the way he smiled was like the way I smiled. Heck no, that was creepy. He was smiling a Park Sparrow smile--and the Park Sparrow smile was his dark side come out to public, the grin he always wore whenever he and I would have a duel in the middle of the academy halls. The smile he reserved for me, and only me.