IVY HIGH

CHAPTER FOUR

The next morning Eve and Natalie decided to stop at the cafeteria to grab breakfast before their first period. They were impressed by the huge variety of choices - they had at least twenty food options to choose from and all of them looked delicious.
Eve decided first and came up to the counter to order, while Natalie was still reading the menu written on the board above her head. She was so focused on her task, she didn't notice a guy walking up to her. She jumped when she heard a familiar voice next to her ear.
"Need help with deciding, honey?"
She looked at Constantin, startled, and he laughed, not even trying to hide the amusement on his face. He thought her startled face was pretty cute.
"What?" He feigned an innocent look. "I just thought you might need help since you're obviously not used to having so many options."
Natalie snorted. How could this guy annoy her in such a short period of time? He sure had a talent of being a pain in the ass.
"Don't worry, chunky butt. No matter how many options I have, you will still remain my last one", she assured him with a sarcastic smile. "Also, why do you always keep appearing next to me? Are you obsessed with me or something?"
"You wish I was." He gasped dramatically. "And did you just call my butt chunky?"
"You should keep your fantasies to yourself", she advised him, rolling her eyes. She wanted to get out of here, grab her breakfast, and head to class with Eve. She took a few steps towards her friend before she was stopped by Constatin's hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't we go to class together?", he asked, smiling so sweetly it made her cringe. Maybe that incredibly handsome face of his work on other girls, but she knew better: this guy was not worth it.
"So you can annoy me even more? No, thanks." She pushed his hand off her shoulder and came up to her friend, who was finally done with ordering and didn't even notice Constantin's arrival. 
Of course, the Prince of Greece couldn't take no for an answer. He said it's because he's worried she'll get lost again with her horrible sense of direction. When Natalie heard that reference to their last meeting she almost lost it but she was way too tired to argue, so she simply rolled her eyes, knowing that this will annoy her nemesis more. What she couldn't understand was why the guy enjoyed teasing her so much. Although she knew one thing, she won't let this slide, or rather she won't let HIM slide.
She tried not to pay attention to him by engaging in a conversation with her friend but she couldn't focus when she could so clearly feel his presence next to her. The worst part was that the more she tried to ignore him, the more his teasing intensified. It seemed that he really wanted to get a reaction out of her.
Finally, she had enough. She stopped and put her hand on her hip, annoyed to the maximum.
"What do you want? Just tell me so we can get it over with", she asked bluntly, expecting Constantin to say something stupid, after all that was all he ever said. He gave her a weird look and, instead of explaining himself like any normal person would, did something completely unexpected: he suddenly pushed her against the wall, placing his hands on both sides of her head, forcing her to look at him. She gasped, shocked, and furious at the same time. She wanted to push him away but he locked her hands above her head in such a strong grip she knew it was going to leave bruises.
"What the hell?!", she yelled angrily.
The position they were in was so damn cliche. Constantin was really acting like the bad boys in Wattpad fanfics she used to read about. However, this was her life and that definitely shouldn't be happening. Not to her, not with him and not here.
Although her reaction didn't make Constantin move away: instead, he leaned over, and now he was so close Natalie could feel his hot breath on her face. If he thought it was going to make her embarrassed, he was wrong: it just made her angrier. She gave him a piercing stare, trying hard not to look down as that would probably make him think he won.
"That's what you get for not paying attention to me", he murmured in a husky voice and she unconsciously flinched. He showed no intention of moving away, so Eve, who was awkwardly standing there all this time, noticing Natalie being too shocked to say a word, finally decided to intervene.
"Em... excuse me?" Eve's voice sounded like it came from somewhere very far away. "Could you let go of my friend? You're being really creepy right now."
Constantin gave Natalie one last smug smile before letting her go and leaving them, dumbfounded. Natalie felt a little weak in her knees. What the hell has just happened?

When they finally got to class, Natalie was hoping Constantin wouldn't be there. Of course, her prayers were not answered and as soon as she walked in, she saw the blond-haired boy staring at her with a teasing smile on his face.
I really wish I didn't have to sit in front of this psycho, she thought but it's not like she had much of a choice. She dragged her feet towards her desk.
Eve on the other hand had an excited and hopeful look on her face. Nikolai was there and she couldn't wait to say hi to him. She didn't understand why he wanted to be friends with Constantin who seemed like the most arrogant guy she's ever met.
They got to their desk and sat down but before Eve had a chance to turn back, the teacher arrived with a pile of papers in his hands.
"We're having a quiz", he announced cheerfully, ignoring the whining that occurred from the students.
The quiz was long and a lot of questions were tricky so a lot of students were still working on it when the bell rang. Mr. Callenreese asked them to turn in their papers regardless of whether they had finished it, and they listened, reluctantly.
Eve was disappointed that she lost her chance to talk to Nikolai so she tried to follow him as he was leaving the classroom but she wouldn't be her clumsy self if she didn't trip and drop all of her books onto the floor.
Shit, she thought, kneeling down and quickly picking up her stuff. In the meantime, Natalie was debating with Mr. Callenreese about how bad of an influence pop quizzes have on the mental health of high school students so she couldn't help her.
Suddenly, she saw an unfamiliar pair of hands reaching for her biology book that fell under the teacher's desk. She moved her gaze up from the floor and was met with an intense stare of Nikolai's hazel eyes.
I thought he left, she thought, surprised, but managed to send him a warm smile.
"Thanks", she said, grateful but also a little embarrassed that he saw her trip over her own feet.
"No problem." He looked a little distant, despite the smile. He handed her the biology book and she automatically took it from him. Their fingers brushed for a second and she felt a strange wave of electricity go through her body.
"You think you can make it to biology on your own today?", he suddenly asked, smiling playfully.
"Not sure man." She pretended to sigh. "This school is a freaking maze."
"They should give out maps at the entrance", he suggested innocently.
"My thoughts exactly!", she exclaimed. "We should tell that to the school administration."
"That would be helpful."
And so, they walked to class together again, creating their own little routine.

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