The science teacher's dreary voice droned on and on as I tried hard to concentrate. I almost put my head down, but I didn't, because I didn't want to get in trouble. My eyes were starting to droop, and I fought hard to keep them open. I decided to get a distraction by looking around the room, and immediately regretted it.
My eyes met Zayden's who was no doubt looking at me from before. We both instantly looked away, but it was enough to make me feel sick. I avoided Zayden at all costs, and I hadn't talked to him ever since he came looking for me by the tree.
Whenever I thought of Zayden I could only think of that night and the bet, which made me terrified and angry at the same time, and I most definitely did not want to talk to him. Whether he regretted doing what he did or not, I couldn't forgive him. Not now, and probably not ever.
I was thankful I didn't have many classes with him. He was a grade above me, and only a few classes were multi-aged, so I only had one or two classes with him.
Once class ended and lunch came up, I was in no mood to talk to anybody. I wanted nothing more than sit by my usual tree with a book as my only company.
I was such a loner.
I was in line at the dining hall getting a hamburger that I could carry outside when someone from ahead of me in line called, "Cass!"
I looked up, and Wendy was making her way towards me, maneuvering her way around the people who were giving her irritated looks. She put her tray beside me, and smiled.
"I was looking for you everywhere!"
"Well, here I am." I said. I doubted it was very hard to find me.
"I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. Nova is the gossipy one of the group, and she always likes to talk about guys and relationships. She was just curious, it's the way she is." Wendy said as we scooched ahead in line.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." I assured her. It was hard to stay mad at Wendy when she was so soft and gentle. She was sort of an airhead but well-intentioned.
"I really thought it's be nice if you could hang out with us."
"It's fine, really. Just don't expect me to sit with you all anytime soon."
Wendy nodded. "But...would it be okay if we hung out? Like, just the two of us?"
I smiled at her. "Of course."
Wendy's face lit up and she put in her student ID for the payment of her food. She waved to me as she headed to her usual seat. I paid for my food as well, and grabbed the bag which had my hamburger in it, and headed to the park.
When I got to my tree, Kyle was already there. I was surprised, but I decided not to make a show of it.
I sat down next to him and opened my lunch. I popped some fries in my mouth before taking a big bite from my hamburger. It was still hot, just made, and the meat was juicy, causing me to swoon.
The school cafeteria's food was the best.
"You eat like a guy." Kyle commented, and I turned towards him with an arched eyebrow. His statement was rude, but his eyes held amusement.
"You sit in my special spot, and you comment on how to eat? Really?" I said, teasingly instead of harshly.
"It's not your spot," Kyle said with an easy grin, "it's the school's land."
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, eating like a guy is not a bad thing."
Kyle let out a small chuckle as he munched on his bag of chips as he tapped something on his phone. He was so addicted to his phone, it was ridiculous.
We fell into a comfortable silence, and I didn't want to talk anyway, because I wanted to concentrate on the goodness of my burger. If there was one thing I liked about Kyle, was that he allowed silence. He didn't need to fill in the between of conversations. And for that I was grateful.
* * * * *
I was surprised by how little my life differed ever since Kyle told me he was supposed to be protecting me. Maybe in a way I already knew, that Kyle was at my school for some reason connected to me.
When I got home, I trudged up to my room, a little tired. I opened my door, and let out a surprised yelp.
Kyle was lying on his back, on my bed, as he tossed one of my stuffed animals in the air. My eyes were wide with surprise and irritation.
"What are you doing here?" I hissed, closing the door behind me.
"Waiting for you."
"How did you get in?" I asked, and he pointed to the window beside my bed, which was slightly ajar. Even if he could get through the security guards by my door, how did he climb up to the second floor? I didn't want to know. I wondered if Kyle was right when he said the security at my house was inefficient.
"But-" I mumbled, trying not to act shocked but failing miserably.
Kyle grinned and pointed to himself. "Spy."
I shook my head, giving up, and put down my bag before sitting beside him on the bed.
"Just because you're my bodyguard or whatever doesn't mean you can just sneak into my house you know. You could just use the front door."
Kyle shrugged, "Front doors take so much longer. And you need to talk to people and answer questions and be all awkward which I am in no mood of doing."
I laughed softly. Kyle was insane and weird. It was a change from the usual people I hung out with, well, was acquaintances with, and oddly refreshing.
Just then, I heard my mom's footsteps echoing the halls. "Cassandra, are you back?"
My eyed went wild as I turned to Kyle. "Quick! Hide!"
Kyle glared at me. "I am not hiding like some childish boyfriend."
"But-" I started, but it was too late, because my mom walked in.
"Honey, I was wondering, do you want blue decoration or pink..." Her question faltered when she spotted Kyle. She straightened up, "oh I didn't know you had a guest over. I'm Giselle Heywood, Cassandra's mother."
Kyle most probably knew that already, but he nodded politely. "I'm Kyle Foust."
My mom turned and gave me a look, and I resisted rolling my eyes. She was looking at me with that that's a good-looking boy you've got there sort of look, and a smirk was gracing her perfectly painted lips.
"So anyway," my mom said to me, "would you like blue or pink decorations for your birthday?"
I smiled sheepishly. "Can I go with black?"
My mom frowned, "well, if it's lacey, exotic black, I suppose so, yes."
"Okay, then I'd like that."
My mother beamed at me, "I have this brilliant cake I ordered for you, you're going to love it!" She squealed, and excused herself from my room.
"What was that about?" Kyle asked the moment my mom was out of earshot.
"My mom's planning a birthday party for me. It's in a week."
Kyle's face was emotionless, "you can't."
I laughed. "Trust me I don't want to have a huge birthday either, the guests not being my friends and all, but my mom loves throwing parties, and she always throws a huge party for me every year. She's especially excited this year because it's my Sweet Sixteen, and nothing is going to stop her."
Kyle shook his head. "You don't understand. This is too dangerous. A huge crowd, you in the spotlight, even with maximum security, you're constantly in the risk of getting attacked."
I sighed, "so much for wishing me a happy birthday."
"You can't have this party. It's too high a risk." He urged.
"Try telling my mom that."
"No, she barely knows me. Can't you just lie to her, say you're sick or something?"
"My mom looks forward to this day for the entire year, Kyle, I can't just do that. And I don't want to be sick on my birthday, especially if it's faking it."
Kyle groaned. "You need to get extra guards around your house and during the party."
"There always are." I said irritatedly.
"And I have to be beside you the entire time."
"Fine, overly-attached boyfriend." I remarked sarcastically, and Kyle glared at me. For some reason I didn't find his glare as intimidating as before.
"I'm being serious."
"So am I."
Kyle huffed, and I knew the conversation was over.
Once the heat of the argument had cooled down, I decided to ask Kyle the few questions I was wondering from before.
"Hey Kyle?" I said, and he looked up from his phone.
"I was just wondering, Melissa asked me a few things the other day, about you visiting, but am I allowed to tell others about you? Or is it like, top-secret?"
"Don't tell anyone," he replied, his voice montonous, "it's not top-secret, but you don't know who you can trust, so don't give any more information than is necessary."
I nodded, already knowing I was going to have to lie a lot for the next few weeks.
Kyle typed something on his phone, and his eyebrows furrowed, almost connecting in the middle.
"What is it you keep on doing with your phone? Is there a jealous girlfriend from your previous school or something?"
Kyle snorted, "If there was a jealous girlfriend, I would not put up with her shit."
"Well then, what is it?"
Kyle sighed. "This phone has a tracking system, so I can track you, and some other important pawns, from this phone."
I gasped, "you're tracking me?"
"Well, sort of. Your phone has a GPS."
"Oh." I mumbled, digging out my phone from my bag. It didn't look like anyone was tracking me, but knowing Kyle was, and that other people could track it, made me get goosebumps all over.
"And also," Kyle continued, "this phone is the only device I have that I can safely send messages without having any nosey people reading every line."
I nodded. Was everything Kyle does connected to me? I hadn't really thought about it, but Kyle had such a tough, devoting job he was sort of forced to do, and he had to stick by me at whatever cost. I couldn't imagine having a job like that. How was his childhood like, anyway, if he was part of this organization for a while?
Lost in my thoughts, I was staring at the ground, when Kyle stood up. "I'm leaving."
I looked up. "Okay."
He nodded, and instead of using the door as I expected, he crawled through the window, pushing his torso out and then his legs, and he grabbed the ledge of my windowsill, flexing his large muscles. He looked like an athlete as he moved around expertly, and for the first time I felt myself realize that Kyle Foust was super hot. But my mind didn't drone much on that, because the thought of him dangling from 40-feet high was occupying most of my brain.
"By the way," Kyle said, "when's your birthday?"
"October fourth," I replied nervously, hoping he wouldn't fall.
He grinned and waved a goodbye to me, and he climbed his way down my house's wall.
Kyle was absolutely insane.