(Picture of Zev on the side!)
Chapter 3
The bell rang and I picked up my stuff from the bench, throwing the leftover food in the trash can on the way inside. As we passed by the tables in the cafeteria, I noticed everyone in Jared’s table was already gone.
“What class do you have right now?” Zev asked, walking dangerously close to me.
I took out my schedule and checked. The next class in my schedule was History, which wasn’t exactly my favorite subject.
I was more than thankful for being a Legen when it came to classes I disliked. My skills when it came to school subjects surpassed that of a human. I didn’t generally slack off in my classes, but when I did, it never took a toll on me.
I snapped out of my thoughts when someone grabbed my shoulders and roughly moved me aside. Zev tugged me out of the way and saved me from face planting on a door.
“You were about to crash,” Zev said, still holding my shoulders.
I shrugged out of his hold and turned to face him.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I was distracted.”
“No worries, I noticed you spacing out.”
“I wasn’t spacing out, I was simply thinking about something,” I stated, crossing my arms.
I immediately felt bad with how bitchy my comment sounded. I was irritated with myself and how bad the day was turning out. Zev was trying to make it better and helping me out. He was the last person I should’ve been treating badly.
“You didn’t tell me what class you had.”
“Oh right, I have History with Mr. Peters,” I replied, looking at my schedule again to make sure I had the right teacher.
This time, I made my voice nicer, friendlier.
“You’re a sophomore?” He questioned.
“Umm… yeah…?”
“Well, that’s okay, I guess,” he said after a while.
I didn’t understand his response, but I didn’t question it either.
“What are you?” I asked after we continued walking.
Posters of timelines and former presidents covered the new hall we entered
“What do you mean what am I? Why are you asking that?” Zev asking, looking worked up about something.
Without asking my permission, he wrapped his hand around my arm and shoved me into a room.
“Why did you ask me that?” Zev repeated his question.
His expression was no longer playful. He was staring at me intently, and his body was closer than it had been before.
I could feel his breath blowing across my face as he stood only inches away from me.
I didn’t know why he was mad. I told him I was a sophomore, yet he was making it seem like a crime to ask his grade.
If there was a moment to panic, this should have been it. What kept me from shouting or trying to protect myself was my confusion with the entire situation.
“Answer me.”
“Let her go.” I was surprised to hear someone else in the room.
Zev’s behavior distracted me from noticing that someone had walked in.
When I tuned towards the door, I saw Layton standing next to it, glaring at Zev. He looked dangerous and ready to attack.
“Stay out of this Pierce,” Zev threatened.
“If I were you, I’d watch my tone. Now let her go.” Layton was taking careful steps towards us.
I wasn’t sure what to do.
Would I be able to stop them in case something happened?
I didn’t think it would be hard to keep them in place. My only fear was exposing myself. Among the rules my father had, showing my gifts to anyone was number one.
“Can you guys please stop?” I asked, moving from Zev’s embrace so that I could stand between the two.
There was a look of distrust clear in Zev’s eyes and Layton wasn’t far behind.
“Come here, Cassidy,” Layton said with a tone that sounded like an order.
I looked at him incredulously.
“Why would I go with you?” I asked him, feeling annoyed that he was even in the room.
I didn’t understand what was happening, but things weren’t as tense before Layton arrived. I had to admit it was nice seeing him and knowing that he wanted me to go with him. Despite that, I couldn’t forget that he had been rude to me. Besides, I hardly knew the guy.
“Don’t be stubborn and just come here. You’re late to class,” Layton said, looking annoyed himself.
“Crap!” I muttered to myself.
I checked my phone, and fair enough, it was 12:15. I was fifteen minutes late to class, meaning it would be awkward walking in, like it had been during Art. I was considering skipping class all together.
“I’ll walk you to class. I have History right now as well,” Zev told me, keeping his eyes on Layton.
“No. I’m taking her to class. You stay away from her,” Layton growled.
They were both getting on my nerves. I didn’t understand what the heck was going on, but I needed to get to class pronto.
“Enough! I’m walking to class on my own and you two, stay!” I ordered.
They both looked taken aback by my outburst. Zev started chuckling which made Layton look at him darkly.
“You have to admit that was funny,” Zev commented, looking at Layton teasingly.
“That was offensive. You might be a dog, but I sure as hell am not,” Layton huffed.
I shook my head at the two, and headed for the door. Layton growled when I passed him but I ignored his behavior and continued to head out. With one last look towards Layton and Zev, I left to my History class.
I was forced to introduce myself in my History class. The class wasn’t so bad. I had the chance to talk with some girls and Mr. Peters was a nice teacher. Other than doing some reading and catching up with the assignments for the week, class went by without a glitch.
Science, which was my next class after History, passed by in a blur. I liked the teacher and my lab partner was Tyler. Surprisingly, he had been talking to me and explaining things about the class and school. It made me wonder why he had been so quiet during Art.
I was excited when the last period came along. The only thing putting a damper on my good mood was that the last class happened to be PE.
I was in good shape since I trained with my dad very often. It was mandatory that I be fit and ready for anything. My parents still didn’t trust the reason I was a Legen after so many centuries.
The problem with PE was that I always felt out of place. I was stronger than the rest but I had to be careful with my strength. I had to be careful with my gifts and I had to be careful not to hurt anyone by accident.
Tyler had PE with me as well, so we walked together to gym. When we got there, a few people were sitting in the bleachers. I noticed two coaches around, ‘supervising’ the students. Tyler pointed toward the one that was our coach, and I made my way to him.
Coach Walker was sitting in the bleachers on the other side of the gym. He was distracted reading something off his clipboard.
From afar, I could tell he was young. He was wearing black sweat pants and a white t-shirt, which was regular attire for a coach. Unlike the coach from my previous school, this one seemed to be in shape.
“Who are you?” Coach asked when I approached him.
“New student, I’m Cassidy Lockwood,” I replied, handing him my schedule.
He took a look at my schedule, marked something on his clipboard, and gave it back.
“I wasn’t aware there would be a new student. Did you bring an extra set of clothes?”
“Not really, I didn’t know I would have PE today. Sorry,” I replied, not really feeling sorry at all.
Why would I even think about bringing an extra set of clothes?
“I figured. I’ll have a uniform ready for tomorrow, but you can bring your own clothes if you want. For today, you can sit out in the bleachers.”
I smiled at the idea of having a free period. I made my way back to Tyler. Nick had arrived as well and he’d taken a set next to Tyler.
“Hey, I hadn’t seen you since lunch,” Nick greeted with a bright smile.
“I know. I had Tyler for Science but I hadn’t seen any of you guys either,” I replied.
“Aren’t you two changing?” I asked.
They were sitting down in the bleachers acting like if they didn’t belong in the class.
“Na, I have an excuse and Tyler doesn’t feel like it,” Nick told me with a grin.
“Well, lucky me. I don’t have clothes so I have a free pass ‘till tomorrow.”
While I was talking, Tyler’s gaze moved to the double doors. When I turned to see what caught his attention, my smile vanished. Jared was coming in through the door with Layton by his side, walking like he owned the place.
Layton had been in deep conversation with Jared. As soon as he saw me, he held my gaze. I narrowed my eyes at him and turned back to face Nick and Tyler.
“Hey Cass,” Jared said, looking happy to see me.
“Hey Jared,” I replied, not wanting to be mean to him even though I was mad at Layton.
“How’s the rest of the day gone? Any idiots run you over again, eh?” Jared asked, holding back his laughter.
“Not really, but I almost witnessed two dogs fighting after lunch,” I replied, looking at Layton.
As soon as I made the comment, all of the guys went still. Layton looked furious.
I felt smug and gave Layton an innocent grin just to piss him off more.
Tyler cleared his throat and the guys seemed to come out of some trance, because they pretended like nothing had happened and continued talking casually.
Layton sat next to me like if the past few hours hadn’t happened. I was facing the front, trying to ignore him. I really wanted to talk with the guys, but I didn’t want Layton to think I was including him.
So far, he’d only been acting like a jerk.
While he was sitting to my right, Layton kept staring at me. I pretended not to notice, but it was getting harder to ignore his intense gaze focused on me.
I looked around the gym, trying to use that as a distraction. I wasn’t searching for anyone in particular. Luck must have been on my side for a second or two because Zev walked through the double doors just then.
He was walking casually, with his hands in his jean pockets. It was impossible not to notice how carefree he looked. I was smiling just from looking at his happy mood.
Zev sat in the bleachers on the other side of the gym. He looked around, saw me, and smiled. I returned the smile while he waved. Since I had his attention, I decided to make my exit from the group. I quickly gathered my stuff and got up.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Layton asked, sounding irritated.
“I’m going with Zev,” I replied, taking a step down the bleachers.
“No, you’re not,” Layton said, forcing me back down.
As soon as his hand came in contact with my skin, I felt a shock run from my arm all throughout my body. He didn’t loosen his hold, even after he sat me down. We both just stared at his hand that had a strong grip on my arm.
I was confused by the small electric shocks his hand was creating where he was touching me.
It was pleasurable, and that scared me.
I looked up at his face, not knowing why this was happening. He looked at me and his expression softened.
I thought about the times I received a gift. I was only supposed to have three gifts and I already had them- telekinesis, my temp which was thunder, and healing.
The next thing I was supposed to receive was my element. But my element wasn’t supposed to kick in until I turned seventeen and there was almost a year for that to happen.
If it was another gift making its way through and causing the feeling, I had to get away from Layton. He had already felt the sensation and I was scared he would suspect something.
I took a deep breath and shakily pulled my arm from his hold. Jared, Nick, and Tyler were looking between Layton and I. They were all grinning at each other.
I didn’t want to stick around and answer any of their questions. I hurriedly got up to go with Zev, hoping that it would be safe with him. For future reference, I planned to avoid all contact with Layton.
“I told you you’re not going over there,” Layton firmly stated.
I shrugged, not really wanting to argue with him, and kept walking down the bleachers.
“Don’t walk away from me, Cassidy. You can’t go with him.”
I turned around to look at Layton. Nick, Jared, and Tyler looked tense. I noticed some of the people sitting in the bleachers were looking at Layton with fear. I cocked an eyebrow, wondering why anyone would fear Layton. Sure he was tall and intimidating, but he seemed all talk.
I started walking away from him once again. Half-way across the gym, Layton grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. The tingles I felt before returned right after we touched.
I was scared of what it meant, so I shrugged his hand away from mine as fast as I could. It felt really good to touch him, but if it had anything to do with being a Legen, I had to tread carefully.
“I told you not to walk away from me,” Layton said through gritted teeth.
“I don’t care what you say.”
My words made him angry and he made no effort to hide it. Layton growled and I couldn’t help but notice how animalistic he looked. He seriously needed to get a grip of himself.
When I turned to see why he was so peeved, I noticed Zev was right behind me. Layton and Zev were glaring at each other, while I stood between the two.
I rolled my eyes at their antiques and grabbed Zev’s hand, trying to drag him back to his seat.
“Don’t touch her!” Layton angrily yelled.
“In case you’re blind, she’s the one touching me. Not that I can complain.” Zev smirked at Layton, and let me drag him back to the bleachers.
Layton pulled me out of Zev’s hold and put me behind him. I turned just in time to catch Coach Walker approaching us. I was relieved with his presence. It took him long enough to come, considering a fight was about to go down in the middle of the gym.
“What’s going on here?” Coach questioned, looking between Layton and Zev. He then turned to face me, but I was still hidden behind Layton’s back.
“Nothing Coach, we were just talking. Layton was already going to his seat over there,” I replied, pointing to the other side of the gym.
“Okay, go take a seat over there Pierce,” Coach told Layton, while nodding his head toward the bleachers where the guys stood at.
“Montgomery, go back to your seat too,” he told Zev.
Both Layton and Zev stared at each other intensely a few moments, before walking away. I followed Zev. Layton didn’t look happy, but he kept walking since Coach was still glaring at him.
“I’m sorry about that,” I told Zev when we got to the top bleacher.
“Don’t worry about it. It happens all the time.” Zev made it sound like if confrontations between him and Layton were a daily occurrence.
We talked for the rest of the period. Layton kept looking at us and glaring at Zev every chance he got. I tried to ignore him and pay attention to my conversation with Zev.
I was still thinking of the strange feeling that overcame my body when Layton touched me. Discreetly, I touched Zev’s arm, wondering if anything would happen.
Zev noticed my touch and again froze when our hands came into contact. Other than that, I didn’t feel anything. From across the gym, I heard Layton growling.
The way he acted was throwing me off. Layton behaved like a jerk with me, yet he became overprotective when I was anywhere near Zev.