<Glory>
"And he was being so totally cute about it," Tsunami said, in the middle of one of her rants about Riptide. "He came up to my house with roses and chocolates and all sorts of sappy things like that, and ugh, he looked so good."
Sunny and I exchanged a look. "I'm very happy for you," Sunny said after a moment. "Sounds like Riptide's a good guy."
"Thant is an understatement," Tsunami cried. "He is a great guy."
I often hated it when Tsunami kept blabbing about her love life, knowing how badly I was struggling with mine. It took me a hot minute to decide Hailstorm was a cruel douche who totally did not deserve me. It still took a while to get over him, though, and I still often think I was in the wrong.
"If you're done fantasizing about Riptide," I said, "maybe you should acknowledge him standing right behind you." Tsunami whirled around in an instant and frowned when she realized I had deliberately lied to her. "Ha. You fell for it."
Sunny tried to muffle her giggle as Starflight fought off a smile on his face.
"Glory, I'll–" Tsunami started but was interrupted by Clay.
"Okay, Tsu, back down. Glory, leave her alone." Clay gave us both stern looks. I shrugged as I started dazing off for the twentieth time that day.
I still kept thinking about Deathbringer. A couple of days ago in the coffee shop, his first time being in there, he had said some stuff that only just now really caught my attention. He'd also said a few things when he was at my house that I couldn't seem to get off my mind.
"I'd rather bother you. Besides, you are much more interesting than all the other people."
"Especially with Glory. I just feel happier now."
"I really did like spending some time with you."
"Can we do this again, maybe?"
"This doesn't have to be pretend."
But then I also remember what he had said that I didn't really like.
"I'm just being a good actor."
He could be acting right now, pretending like he actually cares. Maybe he's slowly leading me into his trap by getting me to fall for him. It's certainly working, but I can't let him see that.
He's playing a game; I can't let him win.
As if on cue, Deathbringer came striding over to our table in the cafeteria and confidently sat down beside me. I bristled, but I didn't get up. Sunny's eyes flickered over Deathbringer for a moment before smiling.
"Hey!" she said sweetly, bringing Tsunami out of her rant as she brought her gaze to Deathbringer. "Came to visit your girlfriend?"
"Respectfully, shut up, Sunny," I said with an eye roll. "And don't even bother being friendly to him. He's not worth the energy." Deathbringer sent me a grin.
"Don't worry," Starflight said to Deathbringer. "Glory is usually this grumpy. You'll get used to it."
"I feel like you're just asking to get hit," I growled to him, and he quickly retreated.
I suddenly noticed a girl walking over to our table. Her blue eyes scanned all of us before her gaze landed on Clay. A shy smile made it to her lips as she tucked her red hair out of her face.
Peril.
Tsumani, Sunny, Starflight, and I were never too fond of Peril, and she wasn't fond of us, either. She often got on my nerves by the way she'd casually send us glares and shove past us any chance she got, all while being a perfect little angel anytime Clay was looking. It was irritating and aggravating and simply annoying.
"Hey, Clay," she mumbled as she shyly met his eyes. I noticed Tsunami roll her eyes as Sunny gave Peril a skeptical expression.
"Hi, Peril," Clay greeted, returning her smile.
"Um, I was wondering if you were still up for studying in the library after school," she stammered, trying to look innocent and sweet and totally not evil.
"He can't," I said, catching the glare Peril threw at me. "Um--because he told me he'd help me out... at my place." Clay sent me a puzzled expression.
"I did?" he asked and thought about it for a moment as if he wasn't really sure if he said that or not. "Well, if I did, can we reschedule? I kind of want to spend some time with Peril today, if that's alright."
"Aww, how cute," Tsunami mocked as Peril was profusely blushing at the moment. "Right. So, Sunny, Glory, Starflight? You up for my place today, since Clay is ever so busy?"
I pulled my glare from Peril and dropped it onto Tsunami. I could go to work today to earn some extra money, but it had been a while since I'd spent any quality time with my friends. Besides, it would take my mind off of Deathbringer for a while and it would give me a reason to avoid my mother and her thoughts of me getting married.
"Okay, sure," I said, tapping my nails on the lunch table. "I have nothing better to do, anyway."
"Wow, thanks for making us feel so loved," Tsunami said, rolling her eyes.
"Could I come, too?" Deathbringer suddenly interjected, making me groan. "Glory here said she'd like to be my friend, so I figured this was one way of bonding."
"I said no such thing," I scoffed, crossing my arms.
"Um, obviously," Sunny said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.
Seriously, Sunny? Even Tsunami seemed slightly annoyed, although, she was a part of this evil scheme of trying to get Deathbringer and me together.
"Fine, whatever," Tsunami said to Deathbringer. "But get under my skin and you'll regret it."
"Well," Peril said, turning to Clay again. "I guess I'll see you there." She gave him one small wave before turning around and walking back to her table with Scarlet, Blister, Blaze, and Burn.
The triplets, I thought.
I finally turned to Deathbringer, narrowing my eyes. "What are you playing at?"
"What?" he asked a little too innocently as he gave me a cheeky grin. "I thought this was how you made friends, right? Plus, I'll have other people to bother than just you, like you wanted, babe."
"Quit that!" I hissed in a low voice even though I kind of liked it when he called me that. "This is not the time to be 'acting', Deathbringer. That's only if you climb through my window again and my mom sees you."
"So, you want me to climb in through your window."
"What--no! I just meant if my mother would ever want to see you again."
"Well, she seems to like me a lot, so I think I'll stop by more often." I glowered back at his teasing grin, trying not to let his adorable face distract me.
Glory, what are you thinking? You teenagers seriously never learn, do you?
"You guys should just kiss already," Tsunami said, catching my attention again. Her face brightened. "Hey, Anenone!"
I looked over my shoulder and saw Tsunami's sister making her way over to us. Necklaces decorated her neck and the new Louis Vuitton handbag hung from her forearm. Golden and silver rings hugged a few of her long, elegant fingers. She was wearing a blue rib-knit backless crop top with a matching skirt and high heels. A baby blue claw clip held up her hair.
If only I could look as pretty as her.
I glanced at Deathbringer, who was examining Anemone from head to toe with an expression I couldn't decipher.
Does he think she's prettier than me? That thought was immediately followed by, Not that I care, obviously.
"Tsunami!" Anemone called back, her high heels clicking and clacking on the floor as she ran over. I noticed a boy towering behind her. He had a scar on his cheek and messy red hair. He looked around the cafeteria dangerously with a frown plastered onto his face.
Pike.
Pike was Anemone's hired bodyguard. Coral, Anemone's mom, looked for somebody who was in Anemone's school and was willing to switch all of his classes to match Anemone's so he could always keep an eye on her.
Deathbringer is in all of my classes, I realized with a frown. Why? No one else has all the same classes as me. Is he some secretly hired bodyguard? Is that why he always follows me around and is so desperate to get to know me?
Perhaps to earn my trust. Perhaps because if he manages to become my friend, no one would question why we were always together.
No, if he manages to become my boyfriend.
Different pieces of my mind started to neatly click together as Tsunami embraced her sister in a brief hug.
If he became my boyfriend, he'd always follow me around as his part as a bodyguard, and people wouldn't question it. They'd only see us as a couple.
And so would I.
Not that I have any romantic feelings for Deathbringer, obviously, but still.
But the question still remained.
Who would want to hire him.. and why?
"Look what Mom bought me!" She held up her Louis Vuitton handbag with her long, sleek fingers. I chanced a glance at Deathbringer, who seemed to have a slightly amused expression on his face.
"Nice for you!" Tsunami said with a chuckle as she took the bag and examined it before giving it back. "It's beautiful, just like you."
"Thank you!" Anemone said, beaming at Tsunami. Even though she was filthy rich, Anemone didn't seem to care about anything fancy. The only reason why she wore what she wore was that her mother bought it for her and she wanted to be grateful.
And, surprisingly, she wasn't the snotty, spoiled brat that was sure to come out of being that rich.
Pike inched a little closer to her, still frowning.
"Hey, Anemone," Sunny greeted with a small smile. Anemone waved to her and the rest of us before turning back to Tsunami.
"Oh, yeah," she said, "I just wanted to ask if we could take Auklet to get ice cream after school since it's her first day of kindergarten."
"Sure thing," Tsunami said with a toothy grin. "See you later?"
"Absolutely!" Anemone hugged her again before turning and skipping off, Pike right on her heels.
Why can't I have what she has?
Tsunami sat back down, a small smile still plastered onto her face as she thought about her sister. I winced and then suddenly felt Deathbringer's gaze transfer onto me.
"I really like her," Clay suddenly said. "She's so sweet."
"Don't let Peril hear that," I said, sending Clay a skeptical expression. We all managed to refrain from telling Clay how mean Peril was, just because we all saw that he really liked her, and so we were deliberately sparing her.
"Yeah, before she starts attacking her," Tsunami mumbled. Once, Peril got the impression that Tsunami liked Clay and literally jumped her in the middle of the hallway. Clay wasn't there, of course, and they all agreed not to tell him. Peril was lucky we loved Clay.
"Hm?" Clay asked.
"Nothing," Tsunami quickly said before looking up. "Anyway, while you're on your date with Peril, we'll all be having so much fun without you."
"It's not a date," Clay said as if the blush on his cheeks wasn't there. "We're just hanging out, that's all."
Sunny loudly clasped her hands together. "Anyway," she said brightly. "My mother is thinking of organizing some sort of after-school club. Qibli was thinking something crafty and artsy. It'll be so much fun. While we're at Tsu's, we can all brainstorm some ideas for the club." Thorn, Sunny's mother, was also the principal of the school, and by far the coolest we've had so far.
Our last principal, Principal Oasis, died, and her daughters were left to carry on her evil legacy.
"I'm thinking book club," Starflight said, pushing up his glasses.
"I'm thinking absolutely not," Tsunami snapped. "Starflight, not everyone is a bookworm." He shrugged but backed off.
"What about some sort of Drama Club or something?" Sunny suggested thoughtfully.
"I think that's an amazing idea, Sunny," Deathbringer said with a grin. "I'm a great actor, right Glory?"
"The greatest," I answered, a little wearily, but didn't meet his eyes. I stood up. "I feel sick. I'll see you all at Tsunami's house?"
"What's wrong, Glory?" Sunny asked as her bright expression was wiped away with worry. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah, it's just a headache," I said, picking up my lunch to throw it away.
"Are you sure?" Clay asked, to which I nodded.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Tsunami asked as she started standing up, but I quickly shook my head.
"No, it's fine," I quickly said. "I'm fine." I turned, threw out my lunch, and walked out of the cafeteria.
Does Deathbringer know that he's toying with my feelings? I know he isn't talking to me just because he wants to be my friend. There's obviously some other reason.
So, why is he really here?
<3