Vlad Ruthollis above. I totally love his eyes guys and so does Maya.
But she is way too smart, sometimes for her own good. Enjoy this chapter, it is way too fun to be missed.
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"Hey Maya, where are you? Is the book-"
Darlene abruptly stops when she sees me and gorgeous eyes in the position we are. Awkward. I get out of the position I was in with gorgeous eyes and stand in front of Darlene and hand over her book.
"Here is your book, it was high up so it took some time." I smile apologetically, still aware of the hard stare gorgeous eyes was giving me.
"Oh no darling, it's perfectly fine. Vlad, don't disturb my customers." She smiles with amusement and a mixture of glare towards gorgeous eyes also known as Vlad.
"I would keep that in mind, grandma D." Vlad replied without any emotion.
Darlene leaves and that is when I turn around and face gorgeous eyes again.
And get mesmerized by his eyes, again.
"Hey, I am Maya Rook, nice to meet you." I introduce myself politely and put my hand forward for a handshake.
He accepts it without a hesitation and replies with a small smirk, "Vlad Ruthollis, nice to meet you too."
And then he kisses my hand. So old fashioned that I internally cringe.
He is hot. More hot then hot, I won't deny it, but just by observing him I can tell that there is something off.
He hadn't smiled once. When Darlene came up to him, he was emotionless. And the fact that he smirked gives out the fact that he is egoistic, full of himself and incapable of a normal greeting.
His kiss gave away that he wants to charm everyone he meets on first sight.
And all these observations summed up do not have a nice overall picture in my head.
"I have never seen you around in Lawliet. Are you new?" I ask politely, still trying to deduct his intentions and personality he has hidden so well. I know something is off. I just know.
I am always observing everyone around me. It is a normal habit of mine to try and deduct everything about them just by observing them.
"Yes, I am new, as a matter of fact. I just got transferred from Chicago and will be attending Lawliet University." He replied, now leaning again the bookshelf casually with arms crossed across his chest. He sure does workout, and it seems like he plays some sort of sport too.
"Oh, so you are the news that everyone is buzzing about, apparently." I say while rubbing my arm.
The expression on his face reveals that he loves to be the centre of attention. Typical.
"Yeah well, what can I say? News seems to be following me without breaking a sweat." He replied with a wider smirk.
Huh, new tactic, trying to distract me with his charm, but he doesn't know who he is dealing with.
But there was just something in the way his expression twisted before replying; it was almost hateful rather than appreciative, and based on my observation, it seems that he is putting a cover on something big.
"Well I guess I will meet you at The University, if we meet, that is." I replied, putting an end to this head swirling conversation.
Honestly, no one had been hard to deduce ever before but he might have earned a place in my challenge book, place no. 1.
"It was nice meeting you, Maya. By the way, what are you doing your major in?" He asked, now with a small smirk, a curious and a suggestive look too. Oh now I understand.
It was way too easy from the start to not to notice. The way he stared at me at first, then gave an emotionless reply to his grandma, and then how he was trying to charm me.
If we get a little closer in future, he would tell me the sob story of his life, I would start to feel sympathy for him and then love him, but the twist would be that I would play hard to get and he would fall head over heels for it.
It all sums up so well that it is almost too cliché and unchallenging to figure him out.
He is putting on the bad boy character, duh. Some high school habits of immature kids never change.
"I am majoring in psychology and English. They have a double major's facility." I replied.
I was feeling satisfied and thoroughly happy with myself on accomplishing my challenge no. 1 so fast. It was almost too easy, that it all feels fake.
But it's not.
"Me too, although I am nineteen, I will be in the first year itself. Starting a little late can be a pain." He laughed and it made him seem hotter, but nothing affects me, except good food.
"Well, then I will see you in classes. Good bye Vlad." I said, now getting bored with this conversation.
I can bet that if Charlotte was here, her mouth would be dripping with saliva for the boy, no, not boy, but the man standing in front of me and she would instantly fathom him as her husband.
That was how my bff was, way too fast paced.
I turned around and started to move forward but Vlad stopped me by grabbing my wrist.
"Are you free this evening?" He asked innocently but I knew better.
"No, I have some things that I need to finish. Why?" I asked him, taking my wrist out of his hold and turning around.
"I just wanted a tour of the college, and I also need a place to settle in. So I was in the hope that you would like to help me." He said.
I don't know why, but his incentive behind the so called tour is more than what he is showing.
"Alright, I will help you. Meet me in Canleen's Café, tomorrow, at sharp 9:00 a.m. Bye Vlad." This time, I completed the sentence with a note of finality and moved towards the front desk.
Reaching there I tapped the table to get the attention of Darlene who was thoroughly immersed in her novel.
"Maya, I thought you left, and kidnapped my book without giving me my money, too." Darlene joked, looking up from her book and I chuckled slightly. Honestly, she and Vlad have absolutely nothing in common.
Except good looks.
"I would never commit such a heinous crime, Darlene." I replied, playing along with her.
I don't know what I would have done if it was not for her and her book shop. I have been a regular customer since the age of four and I still come here.
"That book would cost $50." Darlene said.
After paying the amount and saying my good bye, I exited the shop and made my way towards my love, the infamous HP4.
The thoughts about the man I just met were still wildly running through my head but there were bigger things that needed my attention right now.
I wore the helmet, climbed on my bike and started the engine. I am more than ready to smooth Jake and his team out in this game, along with their ego the size of Russia.
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Reaching the University, I parked my bike and jogged towards the court on which everyone was waiting for me. The time for match was 7 p.m. and it was still 6:50 p.m.
Everyone was on the court. As soon as I stepped in, Charlotte embraced me in a bone crushing hug that I had to detach her from myself in a not so kindly way.
"Char, I don't like hugs." I reminded her for the umpteenth time but she wouldn't be Char if she listened to me, ever.
"Yeah whatever. But where were you? I texted you like a million times!" She exclaimed and made funny motions with her hands trying to explain me her bothered condition.
"Yeah Mom, I was just getting changed." I said while rolling my eyes. She is like an overprotective mother hen, but I still love her.
I was in my favorite outfit I have for the games. Pure white black stripped lowers along with a white tank top and Nike sports shoes.
Looking forward, I spotted my team along with Jake's team.
"So here are the teams. Jess, Koen, Leila and Arle are on your team while Chad, Nathan, Harry and the new boy, whose name is Vlad, are on Jake's team." She said giggling slightly towards the end.
Shocked. That was how I felt when I heard Vlad's name.
Here I was, sacrificing my Saturday morning to give him a tour and he had already made friends close enough to be on the team, who could provide him with a far better tour.
But this information just gave me a further insight into his character and my deductions proved to be right, once again.
He is just a manipulative person trying to get a good night.
"Don't tell me you have already fallen in love, please." I said pinching my eyebrows.
Cause if that was the matter, then I just have to shake some common sense in my best friend to not to fall for everyone at first sight.
She just giggled and skipped towards Lola and sat on the bleachers beside her. Some friend I had.
My team shook hands with me when I reached them and I introduced some strategic plans while keeping an eye on Jake's team.
The girls on my team are gorgeous as well as smart. We have been playing together for the upcoming games, but this practice game was a real deal.
"Girls, this is the real deal. Stay focused and give all you have out there." I said and tried to encourage them as I was the captain.
Some girls played on the team because they wanted to pursue it as a career and others because they liked it. But all them were immensely talented and wonderful.
Jake's team is strong, and their baskets are good too. But their problem is a lot of new people and a lack of communication.
They all seemed to be interested just in shooting hoops.
A whistle made our team to straighten out and get aligned. The designated referee, a senior in third year, has arrived and the time has come to show who was better.
Let the game begin.
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We lost. We freaking lost by one basket. I had never been more angry in my life ever before.
"Leila! What the hell were you doing? Why did you passed the ball to Ruthollis!?" I shouted and glared at the girl who was laughing as if we have come on a vacation.
"It was just a slip, Maya. Get over it." Leila replied hotly, stopping her conversation with Vlad who was standing right beside her.
"Yeah, just like he slipped in your room and in you last night, isn't it?" Jess came from behind me.
"Shut up Jess. Please stay out of this." Leila replied. Honestly, this statement cannot be classified even as a decent comeback.
"Well, as we have already seen how you play and where your loyalties- if you have any- lie, we have decided to put you off the team for the first semester." Koen quipped up from behind me, saying all this as if discussing the weather and not the girl's whole career.
"There is no need to do that. I was the one with great snatching skills and took the ball from her." Vlad said, poking his nose in the business from which he should stay far away from.
What do they think of themselves as? Coming here and trying to defend each other as if we were all goons.
I am going to show them how our team deals with treason.
"Vlad, I honestly thought that even if you seemed a bit sketchy, you might be a decent person. But cheating is something beyond decent, but it must be your daily practice."
I spat in his face which just made him more amused. He could hide it all he wants, but he was burning from inside. His eyes will always betray him, always.
"Cheating in a game is not my style Rook, so just let it rest and don't get your knickers in a twist." Vlad replied with equal fervor in his voice.
"Well, well, well. Cat got you tongue , huh, Maya?" Leila tried to give a very unwanted support from behind which just made me laugh.
And that is what I did, I laughed.
"No, Leila. The cat actually got your career and ruined it with her poop." This made my team crack and the boys' team started to make their way towards us.
"You can't do that!" Leila screeched and I almost had the urge to slap her but I settled down to just smirking for now.
We had now a crowd around us of both teams, Char and Lola.
"I just did, babe. Let's make an example out of you. No one will ever try to make the same mistake again, right girls?" I asked and was met with cheers and whistles from my team
When I am angry, there is nothing I can't do and no one who could stop me.
"Drop it M, don't be a sore loser." Jake appeared suddenly and his unwanted input on the matter made me more angry.
He is my best friend and should support me, not them.
"If you know anything about me Jake than you must know that loosing with pride is one of my traits. But not when I did not lost fair and square."
"Yeah Jake, you know M. Please don't be a jerk." Char said. I know she will always be with me, no matter what. I love my best friend, so much.
"I agree with M and Char Jake, just so you know." Lola agreed while glaring at Jake in not so subtle way.
I just hope Jake is smart enough to not to go against her beautiful yet devilish girlfriend.
"M, either ways, it isn't our mistake. What Leila did was her choice." Jake argumented and even I couldn't deny it.
But what made me more and more irritated was that all this time, Vlad was staring at me like a predator, with his gorgeous steel eyes.
I so wanted to rip out his eye balls but showing what you are feeling is the greatest mistake one can commit.
"You are right. I accept that we have lost. Now let's get over the bet."
"No M. We didn't lose. It was all a set up." Koen tried to interfere but Jess stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Jake is right. We lost." She whispered to her and I gave her a thankful nod.
"So, what do we have to do?" I asked and that is when the boys started cheering.
"Now we are talking." Nathan said, rather weirdly.
"Okay, so here is the deal.
"Each member is to pick one member from the loosing team and they can make them do anything for on whole week." Chad said in a rather suggestive tone.
All I wanted was someone to teach him some morals, which he had equal to the brain in Leila, none.
"Which is not wrong and against the law." Harry added sweetly.
He and Jake were the only people I was going to accept to be paired with.
"Alright. So let's start with Vlad as he scored the winning basket." Jake said and I honestly wanted to kill him right then and there.
"Of course it's going to be me, right Vlad?" Leila said, clinging to his arm like a leech and I exhaled a breath.
"Well, let's see. I want to be paired with... I want to be paired with Maya." Vlad said and my blood ran cold.
"No. I refuse, and Leila is way too interested in being paired with you." I said in my no nonsense tone.
Just the way he sees me, the way he pins me with his stare and the way his presence speaks to me are some of the million reasons I don't want to be paired with him.
"Yeah she is not even worth it, Vlad." Leila said again and I don't know if it was just me or her face was really morphing into some ugly shade of green.
"I have made my choice, leave my arm Leila. And as for you Maya, you don't even have a choice, darling." He smirked his oh-I-am-the-most-godly-and-smart-person-ever smirk
I hated it with a passion. And him too.
"Alright then, I choose Jess." Jake said from behind, stopping all my protests and complains.
"I choose Koen." Said Harry, blushing a little and Koen giggled from behind me. What is wrong with these people?
"I choose Leila." The douche Chad said to which Leila just scowled and ran away towards her car.
"I choose Arle." And the last pick was made by Nathan. They all must have already decided who they are going to pick if they won.
My heart must have skipped a beat when I first laid my eyes on Vlad Ruthollis, but it must be because my body and heart already sensed what a manipulative, lying and cheating jerk he was.
I looked in his eyes with so much fire and hatred inside of me that anyone would have flinched.
But of course, he matched my stare with his own and with equal fire and passion.
Mine held a promise of destroying him by the end of the week.
His held the promise of unraveling me by the end of the week.
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Hey guys.... So another chapter is up. I totally love you guys who have till now read and voted and added this story to your library.
The best pillars of an author that keep her going are the first few handful of readers who keep along with them till the very end.I love you all so much.
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Till next time, M.A.