A/N: New character ;P And I may have over-dramatized the ending of the last chapter a bit o.o Just saying xD
Song above is 'Hurt' by Christina Aguilera :)
Image above is roughly how I imagine Arios (Ari) Mavel xP
*~*
The following day--which happened to be a Sunday--Ash and I decided to stay in the Dorms and have a girl's night filled with watching movies, eating sweets, and having a pillow fight. It was the most fun I ever had with a girl my age. The following Monday, though, I was so afraid of running into Elliot that Ash suggested we just skip class and stay in the Dorms all day. I knew I couldn't do that, though. I was still a new student, and I was actually afraid of skipping class. So that was out of the question.
Ace accompanied me to class for the first time, though, so I suppose that was an upside. Although what I didn't know is that I was in for two surprises this morning. One; As soon as I walked into the classroom and waved over at Rian in the back, it was then I noticed Professor Ivangard wasn't in class, and saw Elliot standing at the front of the room instead, taking over for the Professor once again, as was his duty for being Prefect. Two; There was a stranger talking with Rian.
I didn't recognize him from before, and since the back of his blonde head was faced towards me, I couldn't see his face. I blatantly ignored Elliot while heading to the back where Rian finally took notice of me and waved me over. "Hey, Gwen, we have another new student," Rian gestured up at the guy next to him, who turned to face me then. I stared. "This is-"
"Ari?" I breathed, nearly dropping my messenger bag in shock. It was him. It was really him. I squealed then and jumped into his open arms as he laughed and spun me around.
"Wow, I didn't expect you to look so grown up after all these years," Ari chuckled after he had set me back down on the ground.
I punched his arm, the smile never leaving my face. "Yeah, right! It's been, what, five years? I can't believe you're really here!" I hugged him tightly again as he squeezed me back.
"You guys know each other?" Rian looked between the two of us curiously.
I grinned over at him once I had pulled away from Ari's and my embrace. "Of course! We grew up together!" I beamed.
Ari chuckled and gripped my hand in his, giving it a light squeeze. "Well, that was until I moved away a couple years ago. Speaking of," Ari turned to me then with his bright green eyes, "I heard about your parents." His eyes were filled with sadness. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, Gwendyl."
I smiled at the nickname he used to call me when we were kids. "It's fine, Ari. I managed on my own. I mean, I'm here now, right?" I grinned widely up at him, and he smiled.
"Yeah, you are."
A clearing of a throat behind me caused both of us to look up. Elliot stood with a frown directed over at Ari and our hands. "I assume you are the new transfer student?"
I frowned and looked up at my childhood friend. "Transfer student?"
Ari nodded down at me. "Yeah, I've actually been attending Rich Dragon Academy, but I figured a new school would be the best way to go this year." He shrugged. "And so here I am."
I smiled. "Well, I'm glad you are, Ari."
Ari chuckled, and looked back up at Elliot. "I'm Arios Mavel, nice to meet you." Ari held out his free hand for Elliot to shake, who took it rather hesitantly, his bright blue eyes not leaving mine and Ari's clutched hands. I frowned up at him.
"I'm Eli Brookes," Elliot introduced, using his nickname, which actually made me blush. Was I the only one who knew his full name then? "I also happen to be-"
"The Prefect," I cut in, knowing he was about to tell Ari that he was my Buddy. I'm sure Ari knew about the Buddy system or whatever, but I wasn't quite ready for him to know about Elliot yet. "He's Brickstone's Prefect."
"Ah," Ari nodded and grinned over at Elliot while releasing my hand, only to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "Well, I hope you've been taking good care of my little Gwendyl for me while she's been here."
Elliot coughed roughly and looked down at me. "'Gwendyl'?"
I blushed. "It's the nickname he made up for me since my name was so long when we were kids."
"But how? Your name is only four letters," Rian voiced with a frown, his brown and gray eyes staring down at me expectantly.
I smiled up at Rian. "My full name is actually Gwendolyn. I just shortened it to Gwen, is all. But it seems Ari hasn't forgotten the nickname he gave me, right?" I smirked up at Ari then, gently jabbing my elbow into his ribs.
"Of course, you obviously didn't forget about my nickname, either, Gwendyl," Ari chuckled and pinched my cheek.
"Shtop dat, Awi," I tried saying while he held one side of my cheek, and he laughed.
"Still as cute as ever, Gwendyl."
I laughed, and poked his side. "Still as mischievous as ever, Ari."
"Only now and then," he shrugged before dragging me off to my seat next to Rian, completely leaving Elliot to stand all by himself as he stared after us. I didn't look back at him.
"Right." Elliot clapped his hands then, catching the attention of all our classmates, who had been watching the exchange between me and Ari up until now. "Professor Ivangard has arranged a Quiz for you all to take." There were several groans as Elliot narrowed his eyes at everyone. "Stop your complaining and begin." Elliot pulled out his golden wand then. "Aparo!" Several sheets of paper appeared on everyone's desk, including Ari's, who now sat in front of me while I sat beside Rian as usual.
We worked on our tests for the next hour of class. I just managed to finish as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of class, and handed in my Quiz to Elliot at the front of the room rather nervously. He took it without a word to me. I should've expected this kind of reaction. I cleared my throat and walked to the back where Ari and Rian waited for me. I grinned over at my two friends.
"How do you think you did?" Ari asked while draping an arm around my shoulders.
I shrugged. "I think I got a good enough grade to pass, at least. You?"
Ari chuckled. "I already studied this at Rich Dragon, so I aced it with no problem."
Rian laughed. "Same here, except I actually hit the books."
I sighed. "You guys are making me feel so incompetent."
Ari laughed and pulled me closer to his side. "You know I love ya', Gwendyl."
I chuckled and wrapped an arm around his waist, pinching his side as he yelped in surprise. "Me too, Ari."
"Good to know." I snapped my head up at Elliot's voice from behind us, and just saw his fierce blue glare on me before he hastily walked out of the classroom. I bit my lip. Now what did I do?
~+~
I knocked rapidly on the door, Ace perched on my shoulder as a reassurance. "Come in," I heard after a long while, and slid the door back before stepping inside and sliding it shut behind me.
"What the hell is your problem?" I hissed at him, and he snapped his head up at me in surprise, his blue eyes widening in shock, before they became dark and devoid of any other emotion but pure rage.
"I don't see how that's any of your business, Gardens." He slowly stood from his desk and proceeded to re-shelve his bookcase with the Spell books he had taken down from it.
I ground my teeth together in frustration and curled my hands into tight fists. Ace hastily flew off my shoulder and curled up in one of the armchairs, quietly watching my anger splay out at my Buddy. "So we're back to the formalities, is that it?"
"It seems so," he replied with his back to me, still shelving books. I felt my cheeks begin to burn in anger. I then grabbed a book from his desk and tossed it at his head, to which he swiftly spun around from the impact, his icy blue eyes cold and pinned on me.
"You're such an asshole!" I bellowed, the cloak of my uniform getting tangled with my legs, so I hastily pulled it off and threw it on the armchair that Ace wasn't occupying. "One minute you're leading me on, and the next I'm forgotten? How in the hell are you the Prefect!? You don't deserve any respect because you obviously don't know when a girl is hurt by what you say and do!" I don't know why, but I started crying. Did I really want to believe his words from Saturday that much? "I-I hate you," I mumbled, and wiped at my tears as my vision blurred. I reached for my cloak then and headed for the door, knowing Ace was already going to follow me, when a hand gripped my wrist and pushed me up against the wall, my cloak falling from my hands as I stared up at Elliot in shock. I shut my eyes then and struggled to pull out of his strong grip. "Let me go! I have nothing more to say to you!" I cried, and felt my body start to go slack, his arm wrapping around my waist while his other held the back of my neck, and pulled me forward.
I managed to let out a small gasp before his lips met mine. I stiffened, my eyes blinking open rapidly. Elliot was staring back at me, his lips still moving gently against mine. I slowly felt my eyes flutter close, his lips warm and soft against mine. Why was I enjoying this? Was I supposed to? Was I not? I curled my hand into a fist and swiftly clocked him in the jaw, knocking him away from me. I was breathing heavily from that kiss, and raised a hand to touch my lips. They felt a little swollen and were extremely warm. My face burned. "Why?"
He blinked, seeming surprised at my question. "'Why'?" he repeated.
I glared at him with bright gray eyes. "Yes, why. Why did you kiss me?"
"I-," he broke off, and swallowed. "Because I wanted to."
"That's it? Because you wanted to?" I fumed. "You had no right to steal my first kiss from me!" I bellowed, and his cheeks turned pink. I grabbed my cloak from the ground and slid the Office door open, rushing out of there as fast as I could, Ace clinging to my shoulder as I ran.
I didn't look back. And he didn't chase after me once again. I could only cry from the disappointment.
*~*
A/N: Tee-hee ;P
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