I hadn't prepared any food so Jules and I had to grab our lunch in the canteen. My mouth watered at the spinach-salmon lasagna they had stacked up. I checked today's menu again. A salad with some oil dressing was the only gluten and dairy-free option on the menu. Great.
"We could also go to that Asian place on Housten street," Jules offered with a glance at my face. He—and now Suz—were the only ones who knew why I had my eating restrictions.
"It's fine. We won't have the time to get there anyways," I grumbled and reached for a bowl of partly wilted green leaves. During my quarrel with Jess this morning, the scab on my wound had reopened. A painful reminder that I had to stick to my diet.
I was poking at my salad when a shadow fell over our table.
"Sup, Tay. You alright?" Cody greeted me with a concerned voice. I felt a tug at my chest, surprised by the genuine care in his tone.
"I'm good, don't worry."
He glanced at my tray. "Is that all you're gonna eat?"
"I told you I'm on a diet right?" I forced a smile.
"You're trying for size zero or what?" A familiar voice interrupted us.
Of course, he would be here as well... I exhaled. "I think I made a mistake."
Killian raised his eyebrows and sat across from Cody.
"It should be Watson, not Sherlock. Always the faithful sidekick." I flashed him one of my most cheerful fake smiles.
Cody bent over his food, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "It's always so refreshing to be around you, Tay. We should hang out more often."
Killian glared at us but I was determined to ignore him today.
"So, Cody, did you watch the game on Saturday?" Sadly, football was the only topic my brain came up with.
"Yeah. Did you watch it as well?" He leaned forward. "I can't believe Seattle scored a last-minute win. But of course, Dallas is still ahead. Prescott's stats are sick right now. And they also have Parsens..."
I hadn't realized the can of worms I'd opened until the sheer number of names of players and teams that followed made my head spin. Then he asked, "What do you think, Tay?"
Er...
He mentioned...Seattle, right? "Seattle can definitely make a comeback," I said confidently.
A dry voice cut in. "No, they won't."
Deep breath.
I met Killian's gaze, trying to keep my expression neutral. "Yes, they will," I said firmly.
A slight smirk tugged at his mouth. "On what grounds?"
"They didn't play bad last season." I hoped. It was a shot in the dark, but then again, how bad could they have been?
"They were second to last in last season," he remarked dryly.
O—okay, pretty bad. Great. My fingers tensed around the knife in my right hand. "They can still make a comeback."
Cody and Jules exchanged glances over my head.
"Sure. If they're living in a fairy tale maybe." Killian leaned forward and his voice dropped to a whisper. "Then again you'd know all about that right, princess?"
My jaw tensed. I would give him a fairytale. He could play the role of the evil villain that would get slain in the end. Painfully and slowly.
The abrupt noise of a tray hitting the table, interrupted our stand-off. Chris had dropped down next to Cody, alternately looking between me and Killian, followed by what seemed to be half the football team.
Oh no.
"Yo, Tay," Ben hollered at me. "I heard Jessica and you got into a catfight over Chris!"
The skin on my face tightened uncomfortably and I had to resist the urge to scratch at my face. I let my hair drop forward, suddenly acutely aware that I hadn't worn any make-up today. I knew there were going to be rumors, but that was what they were saying?
Chris made a show of being uncomfortable but he couldn't completely hide the smug smile slipping over his lips.
Suddenly my appetite was gone.
"Shut it, Jackson," Cody said.
Jules nudged me with his foot. "We have to go now or we will be late for quantum physics."
The salad bowl in front of me was still half full. "Right. Let's go."
Mine and Killian's chairs scraped over the ground at the same time as we both stood up. Killian sent Cody a look I couldn't quite decipher, and then wordlessly walked around the table and out of sight. However, I didn't miss the daggers that one of the guys was shooting at his back. Strange.
He had buzz-cut brown hair and a round face. His hands looked like shovels. I thought his name was...Mick?
Then another guy asked loudly, "You gonna be late for what now?"
"Quantum Physics," Jules repeated, a frown etched across his delicate brows.
"Quantum lyrics?" More laughter. "Whatcha gonna do with that? Quack in a rhythm?"
Jules's ears turned red. I gripped the tray in my hands tighter, leaned forward, and said, "Quack? Really? If that's all your bird brain could come up with, I think you got tackled a few too many times." Then I looked at Jules again. "Let's go."
They called something after us, but I barely heard them. I didn't care what they said. I was done playing nice with them. We were nearly out of earshot when they said something else but then Cody's sharp voice rang out and they shut up.
Jules kept tugging on the neckline of his sweatshirt. "I'll be right back, gonna quickly head to the toilet."
I sighed and leaned against the opposite wall to wait for him. The day was only halfway done, and I wished I had just stayed in bed. But then again, I would have to repeat the lab and I couldn't decide which option sucked more.
The door to the toilet opened and I straightened just to freeze when I realized it wasn't Jules.
Killian.
We stared at each other, and I was momentarily mesmerized by the way his eyes reflected the overhead lights, flickering between green and brown, until—
"Hey, Taylor." Veronica, Jessica's alter ego, sauntered over with Rosalyn hanging off her arm. Their eyes bounced from me to Killian and back.
I groaned inwardly. Just what I needed.
"What are you two doing here?" Veronica asked, her lips curling. Yeah. She'd definitely heard the rumors as well. Or some messed up version from Jessica herself.
"Nothing," I said and stepped back. They better not start any gossip about me and Killian, or I would really lose my mind.
"Sure." She rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Killian, are you like back for good now?" Rosalyn asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.
I was stunned. What was up with her?
"Mhm." Despite his nonsensical answer, a light blush spread over her face. Veronica thrust out her hip and smiled up at him.
Wait. Were they flirting? With Killian?
I didn't get it. Had they somehow failed to notice his awful personality...?
I studied his side profile. He had a sharp, well-defined jawline and I had to admit, his face was somewhat symmetrical. And okay his smooth skin made me sort of jealous... Fine. So, what if he was nice to look at? That didn't mean—
His hypnotic eyes flickered back to mine but this time I held his gaze. Fuck it. He had already caught me staring at him before.
One of his brows arched and to my annoyance, I heard Veronica giggle from the side.
"You got something to say?" I snapped at him.
"I should be asking you that, no?"
"I'm waiting for Jules. So how about you move along now."
Veronica and Rosalyn gaped at me, their eyes practically bulging.
"Just ignore her, Killian," Veronica scoffed. "Something's really wrong with her. This morning she went crazy on Jess—"
He shot Veronica a glare, instantly silencing her.
"I-I'm just saying," she huffed, but her bravado faltered under his unflinching gaze. She then took Rose's arm and stomped away.
He hadn't even said a word. Not that I'd ever admit it to his face but I was secretly impressed. Just a bit.
I watched them disappear around the corner and crossed my arms, but then I grimaced and dropped them back.
"Did...you get hurt this morning?" Killian asked quietly.
My breath hitched. How had he noticed? "No. It's nothing."
He pointedly looked at the crook of my arm. "Nothing, huh? At least your ankle seems to be better."
Did I really have to spell it out for him? "You don't need to act like you care, just because you know something about me. It has nothing to do with you."
"You act like it's this big secret." He shook his head. "I'm not the one pretending here."
My hands fisted at my side. For the first time, I wanted to have a perfect relationship. To have a fucking amazing boyfriend. Just so I could shove it in his face.
My heart sank. There was nothing to show for.
His eyes softened as he watched my expression.
"What?" I asked sharply.
He took a breath as if preparing to speak, but then let it out slowly without saying anything.
Heat prickled at the back of my neck and spread to my cheeks. Who was he to judge me? I shouldn't care about other people's opinions, but it had always been an issue for me. Heck, my own parents had made me feel guilty every time I voiced my own. And of course, Killian seemed to have an opinion about everything.
"Just spit it out if you have something to say."
"Why?" he drawled. "Does it bother you that much?"
I gritted my teeth. "If you have nothing to say then look elsewhere. I don't need your pity or whatever."
He barked out a laugh. "I think you're misunderstanding something."
"I think you're misunderstanding." Yeah. I was really witty today. Great response.
His jaw drew a hard line and he leaned forward his voice barely a whisper. "I couldn't care less about you, princess. The only people I pity are those that care for you. They must be suffering every day watching you go and belittle yourself."
The bathroom door opened and Jules appeared. "Sorry, I—" He stopped short when he noticed the tense atmosphere, but then Killian turned and strode away.
Jules pushed his glasses up, his head swirling between me and Killian's receding back. "Did I interrupt something...?"
Without another word, I pivoted on my heel and headed for the lecture. "Hey, Tay, wait!"
Quantum physics was one of my favorite subjects but today the professor might as well have been talking in Chinese.
I couldn't care less about you, princess.
"...the electron wave functions overlap in between the potential—" "
The only people I pity are those that actually care for you.
"...electrons can tunnel from one—"
They must be suffering every day watching you go and belittle yourself.
"...now if we want to calculate their kinetic energy—"
What an arrogant piece of... It shouldn't matter what he said. He didn't know me. But somehow, his words had hit uncomfortably close to home.
In my head, I was stabbing Killian with my pen when suddenly a loud smack interrupted the Professor's lecture. All eyes turned on me and I started at the hole that I'd pierced into my paper and the table below.
"Everything alright, Miss West?"
"I'm sorry," I said quickly, shifting in my seat. "I think my hand slipped." There were a few chuckles around me but thankfully the professor continued as if nothing happened.
I sighed and leaned back, trying to ignore the throbbing in my arm. I had more pressing matters than a certain annoying someone.
How did I manage to end up in the same situation? Again?